Chapter 1004 969: Who Is the Victim

Wang Jianming said, "Didn't you say Xu Chunliang was responsible for this in the past?"

Qin Zhengyang replied, "He's in the health system."

Wang Jianming said, "Whatever the system, as long as it's within Dongzhou's jurisdiction, I tell him to do it, he does it. That guy is full of energy; let him handle it. Give him more responsibilities; it won't tire him to death."

This was exactly the result Qin Zhengyang wanted. After leaving Wang Jianming's office, he sent a message to Xu Chunliang—short in words but rich in information: "The command center will be independent, under your temporary management, and you'll be accountable to me."

The police station arrested all seven temporary workers who smashed the command center and took them away. Fang Yonggui argued with Li Chengbo, but Li Chengbo sharply reminded him not to obstruct law enforcement. If he dared, he would be taken away as well.

Lin Hongwei received the report from Fang Yonggui and was preparing to leave the office when Deputy Secretary He Qiweng hurriedly approached him, softly saying, "Secretary Lin, why did you let people smash the command center?"

Lin Hongwei replied, "I didn't. I just told them to relocate. The Culture and Tourism Bureau staff left; only the temporary workers are left. They're occupying our government resources, using our free water and electricity, increasing our expenses daily—isn't it right to let them go?"

He Qiweng sighed and said, "Just now, Qin Zhengyang called me to relay a message to you: The city decided to split off the national-level resort command center from the Culture and Tourism Bureau, under his direct command and reporting directly to Secretary Wang."

Lin Hongwei's head buzzed loudly, realizing the gravity of the situation. Initially, he thought it had nothing to do with Qin Zhengyang and wasn't targeting him—he wouldn't dare.

If not for the confirmation from the Culture and Tourism Bureau about retracting the command center, he wouldn't have acted like this; but he never expected to stir up a hornet's nest. Qin Zhengyang could have called him, but since he didn't, it showed Qin Zhengyang was quite displeased with his actions, expressing dissatisfaction this way.

Lin Hongwei's face visibly turned pale, and He Qiweng sensed his fear. Lin Hongwei seems to have issues; just arrived in Hu Shan Town recently, it's understandable he wants to make a big impact, but it's unusual to target former leaders with the first move.

However, He Qiweng was also confused—the Culture and Tourism Bureau decided to retract the command center to Dongzhou, but suddenly they decided to make the command center independent, meaning it no longer relates to the bureau.

Though feeling sympathy seeing Lin Hongwei's state, He Qiweng was secretly glad—not long ago, he thought he could replace Qin Zhengyang, but then Lin Hongwei arrived. It's rare for deputies to sincerely respect their superiors, especially when the superior occupies the position they longed for and hasn't shown the ability to earn their respect yet.

He Qiweng said, "Secretary Lin, how did you let the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office handle this?"

Lin Hongwei shook his head, "It's a misunderstanding, definitely a misunderstanding. Fang Yonggui misunderstood me. No, I need to go to the scene and take a look, Old He, let's go together."

He Qiweng knew this guy lacked the courage to face the mess alone. You've created this trouble, and now what does it mean to drag me along? But since he's the superior, there's no choice but to go.

He Qiweng advised Li Hongwei, "Xiaoxu was assigned to Hu Shan Town for some time; you should have heard this, right?"

Lin Hongwei replied, "I don't know."

He Qiweng thought to himself, "Do you understand now?"

When they arrived at the scene, all seven people from the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office involved in the incident were detained and put into police cars.

Fang Yonggui was arguing heatedly with Li Chengbo.

The first to start the fight, Xu Chunliang, along with Zhang Haitao and several other temporary workers, became mere spectators, as if the incident had nothing to do with them.

Seeing Lin Hongwei arrive personally, everyone immediately quieted down. Fang Yonggui angrily approached Lin Hongwei, "Secretary Lin, look at what the police station is doing here? Not arresting the perpetrators, but instead detaining our law enforcement officers."

Li Chengbo signaled to the officers to pause further actions; he wanted to see what Lin Hongwei would say.

Lin Hongwei looked at the mess on the ground and frowned, saying, "I asked you to help sort out the command center, who told you to turn it into this?"

Fang Yonggui said, "Secretary Lin, Ming..."

Standing behind Lin Hongwei, He Qiweng gave Fang Yonggui a meaningful look, which even someone as dull understood. No wonder as soon as Li Chengbo arrived, he pointed fingers at them, openly protecting Xu Chunliang, and now Lin Hongwei was reneging on his orders—as if planning to blame everything on them?

Fang Yonggui said, "He was the first to assault our law enforcement personnel."

Lin Hongwei looked at Xu Chunliang, and Xu Chunliang was looking at him with a smile, but it was a cold smile.

Lin Hongwei said, "You seven against Director Xu all by himself? Who are you trying to fool? You think Director Xu managed to beat all seven of you temporary workers? Old He, do you believe this?"

He Qiweng thought to himself, "this damn thing drags me into it again," and shook his head, "One against seven? That sounds a bit exaggerated, doesn't it?" He knew in his heart it wasn't exaggerated at all, not even if it were seventeen against Xu Chunliang.

Li Chengbo said, "Secretary Lin, you asked me to handle this impartially. Based on my investigation, it was the seven workers from the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office who chased and attacked Director Xu first."

Fang Yonggui was so angry he almost fainted. Where could he possibly reason this out? He admitted that the seven temporary workers chased and attacked Xu Chunliang, but they never landed a hit and ended up being led to the bathroom for a thrashing. This Xu was too cunning, choosing spots without surveillance to act.

Lin Hongwei nodded, "Do what needs to be done. Such conduct happened right under our noses. What do you take the town government for? I tell you, no one involved in this attack against the command center should be let off, and you, Fang Yonggui, need to thoroughly review yourself."

Fang Yonggui cursed silently, "Review your ass! Didn't you order us to do this? Things got big, and now you're acting impartial, even turning against your own people. Lin Hongwei, how do you expect people to follow you? Have you no shame?"

Lin Hongwei quickly approached Xu Chunliang and extended both hands to shake his right hand. Xu Chunliang didn't dodge, just watched to see what he'd do next.

Lin Hongwei said, "Director Xu, I'm really sorry for being late. It's all our work mistake."

Xu Chunliang asked, "And you are...?"

Lin Hongwei knew he was playing dumb but still answered bravely, "My surname is Lin, and the higher-ups assigned me to oversee the work here in Hu Shan Town."

Xu Chunliang nodded, "Old Lin, you've only been in Hu Shan Town for a short while, so it seems like you're not familiar with the working methods here, nor do you know anything about the nature of the command center's work."

Lin Hongwei, admonished by Xu Chunliang in front of so many people, felt very upset, but he recognized that the troublemaker today was the former Qin Zhengyang, who he couldn't provoke. Moreover, all signs indicated that this matter had escalated, and if not handled properly, he might lose his position.

Lin Hongwei smiled along and said, "It's a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding." He gave He Qiweng a look, signaling him to say something to help.

He Qiweng couldn't stay silent and said with a smile, "Comrade Chunliang, I think it must be a misunderstanding today. I hope there isn't too much damage."

Xu Chunliang pointed to the seven-star begonia on the ground, "This begonia was left for me to care for by Town Mayor Mei. It was smashed by your Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office comrades. If Town Mayor Mei finds out, she won't be as easygoing as I am."

Lin Hongwei was aware of Mei Ru Xue's reputation. He didn't believe someone of her stature would retaliate over a pot of begonias. However, Xu Chunliang's implication was evident—she had many ways to deal with him. Lin Hongwei said, "I'll arrange for someone to take good care of this flower immediately."

Xu Chunliang said, "She's sentimental. The pot is broken, and this is an antique she brought from the Capital City."

Lin Hongwei said, "Fang Yonggui, go buy an identical one immediately." His voice quivered slightly. Did he hear it right? If it's an antique, how much would it be worth? Could this guy be trying to extort us?

Fang Yonggui remained silent, starting to ponder over responsibilities. Handing over the seven temporary workers might not be enough; probably, Lin Hongwei would sacrifice him too.

Xu Chunliang said, "I basically shouldn't be here, but Secretary Wang asked me to help with some command center work. Knowing that everyone's busy, I didn't want to bother you. I intended to quietly move our stuff with a few people, but who would've thought."

Lin Hongwei thought, "You think bringing up Secretary Wang will scare me, though he believed it highly probable that Xu Chunliang was merely exploiting the name, but he was still afraid." "Director Xu, we never wanted the command center to move. Having the office here facilitates work communication, and we rely on the command center for the latest directives."

Xu Chunliang said, "It's not appropriate; it still needs to move. You're just a department-level unit, and the command center was previously under the Bureau of Culture and Tourism at the deputy division level. Now the city has decided to make the command center independent at the main division level. We can't have a main division-level unit attached to a department-level unit, can we?"

Xu Chunliang was simply making things up, but others, unaware of the situation, were left speechless.

Lin Hongwei said, "No problem, we will strictly cooperate with the higher-ups and follow orders."

Fang Yonggui looked at Lin Hongwei, feeling frustrated. "Have you no shame? You ordered us to clear things out, now you're the one selling us out. Publicly facing everyone, you've really put it all on the line."

Xu Chunliang said to Li Chengbo, "Mr. Li, forget it, let all seven of them go. After all, I wasn't seriously injured. It's not easy being a temporary worker; let's not make them scapegoats every time something happens."

Everyone looked at the seven temporarily beaten temporary workers, wondering who the victim truly was. It's kind of confusing.