Chapter 1005: The Tree Wants to Be Still, but the Wind Won't Stop

Chapter 1005: Chapter 970: The Tree Wants to Be Still, but the Wind Won’t Stop

Xu Chunliang said, “Old Lin, before the official documents from the city are issued, the command office may need to continue working here. Secretary Wang might be coming over for an inspection soon.” He was speaking on behalf of Wang Jianming, knowing none of them had the chance to verify this with Secretary Wang.

Lin Hongwei nodded repeatedly, “I’ll immediately have them clean up properly and restore all items in the command office to their original state.”

Xu Chunliang smiled and, in front of everyone, made a call to Wang Jianming.

After the call connected, Xu Chunliang said, “Secretary Wang, I have something to report to you.”

Lin Hongwei’s palms were filled with cold sweat, and his legs were weak. Xu Chunliang, oh Xu Chunliang, I’ve humbled myself to this extent, yet you won’t let me go?

Actually, he was overthinking it. Xu Chunliang wouldn’t mention him to Wang Jianming, and even if he did, Wang Jianming wouldn’t know who Lin Hongwei was.

Wang Jianming said, “Go ahead!”

Xu Chunliang informed him about Lin Sijin and her daughter coming to Dongzhou, and Wang Jianming immediately expressed his intention to visit them.

Although Lin Hongwei was standing, internally he was kneeling to Xu Chunliang. He never imagined the situation would become so serious; originally, his motives weren’t against Xu Chunliang, let alone Qin Zhengyang. Who would have thought this would lead to such a conflict?

Seeing Lin Hongwei’s predicament, several onlookers felt secretly pleased, and He Qiweng was one of them.

However, he hid it well and proactively smoothed things over, “Since the misunderstandings have been cleared up, Mr. Li, you can dismiss your team.”

Li Chengbo smiled and said, “Sure.”

He told his subordinates to release the temporary workers. Although the seven temporary workers were not very knowledgeable, seeing the situation, they realized they had taken the beating for nothing and, if they persisted, they might implicate themselves further.

Fang Yonggui hung his head; he was feeling the most depressed.

Lin Hongwei didn’t care about him and cheerfully invited Xu Chunliang to the office for a chat.

Xu Chunliang declined, saying he had other guests to attend to.

Zhang Haitao then drove Xu Chunliang back to the winery spa.

Ye Qingya and Lin Sijin were sitting in the pavilion, engrossed in conversation, entirely unaware of what had transpired during Xu Chunliang’s absence.

Xu Chunliang approached the entrance of the tunnel and shouted inside, “Brother Jin Wu, you two didn’t run into any trouble, did you?”

After a short while, Wang Jinwu climbed out, looking displeased, “Why are you shouting? I’m accompanying Miss Xue in her archaeological work.”

Xu Chunliang laughed, “A single man and woman alone together, in the dark, I’m worried you might make a mistake.”

Wang Jinwu said, “What mistake could I possibly make?”

Xu Chunliang leaned in close to him, whispering, “What’s she doing down there?”

Wang Jinwu replied, “Normal archaeological work. Anyway, I can’t understand her equipment; it looks quite advanced.”

Xu Chunliang thought it might be challenging for an outsider like Wang Jinwu to keep an eye on Xue Anning. If Pu Jian were here, that would be ideal. Although Pu Jian was in Dongzhou recently, he was elusive.

At that moment, Xue Anning also came up. She first washed her hands, took the towel Wang Jinwu handed to her, and said to Xu Chunliang, “There might be more tunnels below.”

Her words left Xu Chunliang stunned, “More?”

Xue Anning said, “What’s so surprising? A tunnel beneath a tunnel, tunnels within tunnels; in some large-scale tombs, finding several, even dozens, of tunnels is very common.”

Xu Chunliang asked, “How do you know?”

Xue Anning explained, “Modern archaeology is combined with high technology. Using advanced underground cavity archaeological instruments, we can outline the three-dimensional structure beneath the surface. While not 100% accurate, it serves as a reference to some degree.”

Xu Chunliang’s gaze fell upon the backpack behind her.

Xue Anning said, “I was just casually visiting today. Formal archaeology requires the local heritage department to submit applications and go through a series of official procedures.”

Xu Chunliang asked, “How deep is the other tunnel beneath the original one?”

Xue Anning said, “Roughly five meters deep. As for how long it’s been there, that’s hard to say.” She then asked Wang Jinwu to take her for a look around.

Xu Chunliang silently lamented that several rounds of archaeological expert teams had come, including the academic leader Bai Mushan, yet they hadn’t discovered the tunnels beneath the original tunnel. Xue Anning did so immediately upon her arrival. Was Xue Anning really this capable, or were those so-called experts too mediocre?

But why did Xue Anning mention it to him? Surely she wasn’t simply trying to show off her skills.

At noon, the group arrived at Xianhong Farm, where the National Style Hot Spring Hotel, invested by Zhan Aihua and his son, had been completed and was set to officially open next month.

Recently, Song JianShe was in charge here and was quite familiar with Xu Chunliang.

It was heard that Xu Chunliang brought guests, so Song JianShe promptly offered them a hot spring courtyard.

Even Lin Sijin and Ye Qingya were attracted by the hotel’s style.

Xu Chunliang told them to rest for a while first and then went to the waterfront restaurant with Wang Jinwu. The hot spring hotel is still in the preparation stage, accommodation is fine, but it cannot provide dining service yet, so lunch was arranged at the farm’s waterfront restaurant.

While Wang Jinwu was making arrangements, Xu Chunliang received a call from Qin Zhengyang, who quietly told him that Secretary Wang had decided at the last minute to go to Weishan Island in the afternoon.

Xu Chunliang pondered, Wang Jianming definitely did not come for the matters concerning the command center but because of Lin Sijin. In fact, judging by Lin Sijin’s position alone, she shouldn’t warrant such solemn treatment from Wang Jianming, after all, she is in charge of the Traditional Chinese Medicine department.

In Xu Chunliang’s opinion, it would not be too late for Wang Jianming to pay a visit after Lin Sijin arrived in Dongzhou.

But surprisingly, Wang Jianming came over anyway. Could it be because of the Ye family’s influence?

Qin Zhengyang reminded Xu Chunliang not to disclose Secretary Wang’s itinerary ahead of time. This time Secretary Wang didn’t come alone; his wife accompanied him, and it wasn’t for official business, mainly for leisure.

The incident of Jianjie Square destroying ancient tombs and excavating ancient artifacts ten years ago had a bigger impact than anticipated. Former Huayuan Vice President Duan Yuanhong, who thought he was safe, was also apprehended in Xingjia Slope and transferred to China for trial.

Because of his arrest, some foreign media maliciously exploited the situation, deliberately amplifying it. The biggest impact was naturally on Huayuan Group, which is already embroiled in a debt restructuring crisis and now has entered a state of credit bankruptcy; everyone is clear, Huayuan is over, and so is Jiayue Department Store.

Dongzhou’s city image has also been significantly impacted by this matter. This is not Wang Jianming’s problem, nor Secretary Zhou’s problem, not even a problem of any past leadership, but the fact remains that it happened and it harmed Dongzhou.

Wang Jianming’s plan to rebuild Dongzhou’s historical context went from being highly praised to being questioned. At this sensitive time, a new episode of CCTV Focus was launched, discussing the inadequate genuine cultural relics protection while large-scale reconstruction of ancient buildings occurred in various places, highlighting the Jianjie Square case in Dongzhou.

The broadcast of this news immediately put Wang Jianming’s plan to build Dongzhou’s historical context in a very awkward position.

According to the concluding questions from the CCTV commentator, are the relevant departments yearning for fish or mending the nets after retreat? Is it genuinely protecting cultural relics, or is it investing money into the construction of so-called ancient cities and buildings?

Wang Jianming’s sudden decision to visit Weishan Island had a hint of a discreet visit, suggesting Qin Zhengyang not to alert local cadres, treating it as a leisure trip. Coincidentally, the next day was also a weekend, so he invited his wife He Wanying to Weishan Island for a getaway.

Upon receiving the notice, Xu Chunliang immediately arranged for Wang Jinwu to send a yacht to pick them up; not wanting to disturb too many people, he would directly bring them to Xianhong Farm’s pier.

On Lin Sijin’s side, Xu Chunliang also gave a heads-up, of course not saying Wang Jianming and his wife came specifically to visit her, just mentioning that Wang Jianming came for a vacation since it was the weekend.

Wang Jianming had a special relationship with the farm’s owner, Tong Guangsheng, as they were comrades in arms with his father back then. However, Tong Guangsheng had recently gone to Dian Nan Tea Factory.

As Xu Chunliang was just wrapping up his arrangements, Deputy Secretary He Qiweng called; he was doing so at the request of the new Secretary Lin Hongwei, wanting to organize a gathering that evening where everyone could meet up.

Xu Chunliang politely declined He Qiweng, stating that this visit was to accompany family for a vacation, so he couldn’t make time, but assured there would definitely be interactions in the future.

He Qiweng relayed Xu Chunliang’s words to Lin Hongwei.

Lin Hongwei now deeply regretted it, had already instructed those from the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office to restore the command center to its original state. Although no formal document was issued, one thing could be confirmed, the command center wasn’t rescinded, and in the future, it wouldn’t be related to Dongzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau, being directly under Qin Zhengyang’s charge.

Lin Hongwei felt as if a tight crown had been placed on his head, an incredibly unpleasant experience.

Wang Jianming and his wife docked at the Xianhong Farm pier, and Xu Chunliang, who had been informed in advance, was there to greet them.

It was He Wanying’s first time here, immersed in the beautiful mountain and lake scenery.

Xu Chunliang respectfully greeted them.

Wang Jianming asked, “Where is Aunt Lin and the others?”

Xu Chunliang pointed towards the hot spring hotel not far away and escorted the couple over.

Qin Zhengyang followed behind but stopped at the courtyard.

Xu Chunliang also didn’t enter; the two looked at each other knowingly and went to the nearby Cloud Tea House, unexpectedly finding Xue Anning sitting inside alone drinking tea.

Xu Chunliang smiled at her and sat outside with Qin Zhengyang.

“Why did you come unexpectedly?”

Qin Zhengyang took a sip of tea and said, “Did you follow the news these past two days?”

Xu Chunliang shook his head.

Qin Zhengyang briefly described the recent public opinion trends.

Xu Chunliang said, “What does this have to do with Secretary Wang? It was an issue from more than ten years ago, and responsibility lies with the supervisory departments at the time.”

Qin Zhengyang said, “Others don’t care about that reasoning. Coincidentally, the Focus program connected this matter with the recent craze for building ancient cities and structures nationwide. Doesn’t this point the finger right at Dongzhou’s rebuilding of its historical fabric?”