Chapter 1003: Business as Business

Chapter 1003: Chapter 968: Business as Business

The conflict that unfolded quickly spread throughout the compound. The newly appointed Secretary Lin Hongwei, upon hearing about it, was extremely furious. He had heard a bit about Xu Chunliang, but just because Xu Chunliang had once held the position of deputy town mayor here doesn’t mean he can act recklessly, assaulting law enforcement officers in a government building. This has a very negative impact and is a provocation against him and the entire Hu Shan Town Government—intolerable! If he turns a blind eye to this, how will all the cadres of Hu Shan Town view him?

Lin Hongwei’s source of information was Fang Yonggui. After considering, he instructed Fang Yonggui to follow normal procedures, which meant reporting to the police.

According to Fang Yonggui’s description of the scene, Xu Chunliang led Zhang Haitao and a group of temporary workers to beat their Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office staff. Of course, Fang Yonggui hoped Secretary Lin would back them up, but Lin Hongwei wasn’t that foolish. Having been here only a few days, he didn’t want to get involved in such trouble.

No matter how powerful you are, Xu Chunliang, you shouldn’t hit people. Once violence occurs, the nature of the situation changes. If anyone gets hurt, things could become even more complicated. Lin Hongwei believed that the police station could handle the matter.

Following Lin Hongwei’s instructions, Fang Yonggui reported to the police. Currently, the head of the Hu Shan Town Police Station is still Li Chengbo, who also serves as deputy town mayor.

After listening to Fang Yonggui’s account of the incident and learning that Xu Chunliang was involved, Li Chengbo’s first instinct was to pick a side. Setting aside his previous personal dealings with Xu Chunliang, every conflict Xu Chunliang has caused since arriving at Hu Shan Town, whether reported or not, Li Chengbo had personally witnessed, and without exception, Xu Chunliang always emerged victorious.

Fang Yonggui is really clueless. Why would you provoke someone like Xu Chunliang? Even if you haven’t experienced it firsthand, haven’t you heard? He’s known for putting people in their place.

Before acting, Li Chengbo decided to call Lin Hongwei. He wanted to know what Secretary Lin thought. To him, it seemed like Xu Chunliang had just hit a few temporary workers, not a matter worth exaggerating. As long as Secretary Lin gave the word, the incident could be downplayed and resolved amicably.

But when Lin Hongwei received the call, he simply said, “Handle it officially.”

Because of these words, Li Chengbo immediately led his team to the scene. Just as they reached the government building gates, Qin Zhengyang called.

Li Chengbo held immense respect for this former leader, and he greeted him respectfully, “Secretary Qin, what are your instructions?” Although Qin Zhengyang’s current position is secretary, Li Chengbo still habitually addressed him as Secretary.

Qin Zhengyang said, “We just received a public report that some folks in Hu Shan Town are disregarding Party discipline and state laws, abusing their power, and vandalizing the national-level resort command center under the Culture and Tourism Bureau.”

Li Chengbo felt a chill. He realized that Xu Chunliang had a contingency plan—he had directly reported the matter to Qin Zhengyang. Despite his many years at the grassroots level, Li Chengbo was very perceptive and quickly understood the implications. Qin Zhengyang was enraged because the command center’s office location was lent to the Culture and Tourism Bureau by him.

Though the national-level resort command center was said to move back to Dongzhou, the way they were hastily ousted by the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office was somewhat rash, disrespecting the former leader’s face.

Who is Qin Zhengyang? Secretary Wang’s close aide. Just a word from him in Secretary Wang’s ear would shake the entire Hu Shan Town. It seems the new Secretary Lin Hongwei was somewhat careless, not realizing whom he had offended. Yet he still insisted on handling it officially. Let’s not forget, Lin Hongwei’s jurisdiction is Hu Shan Town. But Qin Zhengyang’s jurisdiction now covers the whole of Dongzhou.

Li Chengbo said, “Secretary Qin, I am on my way to the scene and am not yet clear about the specifics.”

“You don’t know? Videos, photos have already been sent to me. Aren’t you aware of the command center’s status? I just left for a few days, and the cadres of Hu Shan Town have lost all sense of law and order?”

Detecting Qin Zhengyang’s anger, Li knew today’s incident had hit a sore spot. Qin’s fury was fueled by his friendship with Xu Chunliang, frustration over being forgotten so soon, and the cheekiness of bringing up utility bills. Initially, he ordered not to account for these with the Culture and Tourism Bureau. Challenging this decision was a direct affront, suggesting he was misusing public resources.

Li Chengbo said, “Rest assured, Secretary Qin, I will handle it officially.”

Qin Zhengyang said, “You should handle it officially. Arrest all those offenders who publicly vandalized and attacked the command center under the guise of law enforcement. Not one should escape.”

Li Chengbo’s face turned green. Damn, this is getting serious. The former secretary was furious, and he also had to handle things officially.

Cautiously, Li suggested, “Secretary Qin, perhaps you could privately speak with Secretary Lin…”

There was a sudden silence over the phone. Li could hear his own heart pounding loudly—he realized this suggestion displeased Qin Zhengyang. If Qin wanted to consult Lin, he wouldn’t have called him separately.

In a hurry, Li promised, “I guarantee the mission will be completed.”

Only then did Qin Zhengyang contentedly say, “Old Li, when I was in Hu Shan Town, we always worked well together. I trust your handling of matters.”

After hanging up, Li bit his lip and shouted, “Sound the siren!”

After Fang Yonggui reported to the police, he immediately mobilized people from the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office, feeling backed by Secretary Lin. Before the police arrived, Xu Chunliang shouldn’t think of leaving.

The seven beaten temporary workers didn’t leave the restroom; they lay there moaning, maintaining their positions as instructed, enduring the smell until the police arrived.

Three police cars roared into the government compound, shattering the courtyard’s tranquility and alarming the working staff.

Though Xu Chunliang caused quite a commotion, it was nothing compared to the police cars entering.

Secretary Lin Hongwei, too, heard the jarring sirens. He didn’t intend to get up, but the sirens prompted him to eventually stand up, walk to the window, and watch the scene below. The three police cars had entered the compound but hadn’t stopped their sirens.

Unable to resist, Lin complained, “What is this noise?”

Fang Yonggui, seeing the police cars arrive, regained his confidence and shouted, “Make sure none of the perpetrators leave.”

Li Chengbo and his team arrived on scene, and Fang Yonggui approached him first: “Old Li, look at them—brazenly defying our lawful enforcement. This person even assaulted our Law Enforcement Office members and filmed our enforcement without permission.”

Li Chengbo looked at the scattered cardboard boxes and furniture on the ground and calmly asked, “Was the command center vandalized by you?”

Fang Yonggui hesitated, “No, we were helping with the cleanup…”

With a stern expression, Li said, “Take everyone involved in vandalizing the command center away.”

Fang Yonggui was dumbfounded, “Old Li, are you mistaken?”

With impartiality, Li coldly replied, “I’m not mistaken. What level of unit is the command center? Who gave you the authority to vandalize it?”

“It was Secretary Lin…” Fang hurriedly stopped, realizing his slip of the tongue as soon as the words left his mouth.

Xu Chunliang commented, “Oh, it was Secretary Lin, was it? Secretary Lin ordered you to vandalize the command center.”

Fang Yonggui retorted, “Stop making baseless accusations! The decision to disband this command center came from the city. We’re simply following city leaders’ policies.”

Xu Chunliang asked, “Is that what Secretary Lin told you?”

After signing the documents, Wang Jianming handed them to Qin Zhengyang. Noticing that Qin made no moves to leave, he smiled and asked, “Is there something on your mind?”

Qin nodded, “It’s not a big deal. Recently, some issues have arisen with the Culture and Tourism Bureau. Rumors are circulating that Secretary Wang is refocusing Dongzhou’s cultural and tourism development, slowing down the national-level resort construction.”

Wang Jianming frowned, “There are such rumors? Hasn’t the construction of the Weishan Lake national-level resort been ongoing?”

Qin nodded, “Someone sent me some on-site photos.”

Wang gestured for him to come closer, and Qin retrieved his prepared video on his phone for him to watch.

After watching for a while, Wang’s expression grew increasingly grim, “What are they doing? How could a town’s Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office act so recklessly?”

Qin said, “This one segment might not be conclusive, but it does show their lack of respect for higher authorities.”

Wang said, “I don’t care about their current situation; they need to handle it themselves. Suggesting I’ve refocused Dongzhou’s cultural and tourism development is subtly implying I’ve dismissed the foresight of former leaders. The national-level resort is a national plan—how could I deny it? It’s utter nonsense.”

Standing respectfully on the side, Qin awaited Wang’s instructions.

After pondering a bit, Wang said, “Hold those responsible accountable. You’re most familiar with the situation in Hu Shan Town. Why was a unit under the Culture and Tourism Bureau set up in the Hu Shan Town Government in the first place?”

Qin succinctly explained the situation.

Wang, seemingly thoughtful, considered for a moment and said, “The Culture and Tourism Bureau is in chaos with too many negative news stories. Let’s separate the command center from the Culture and Tourism Bureau. Since you’re familiar with that area, you can take the lead and resolve the issue, reporting directly to me.”

Qin said, “I’ll need some assistance though.”