I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 213: Chapter 125: The Arrival of Zhang Qiming

After Liao Tianming left, Yang Wenqing returned to the investigation team’s office with Liu Xin, Qian Lu, and Zhao Tiezhu.

The office was now crowded with people. Stacks of freshly transcribed depositions lay on the central desk, and some of the organized transcripts were already piled on Yang Wenqing’s desk.

Of the people brought in, very few were as cowardly as Zhou Yong. Faced with the organized accounts, the psychological defenses of most had already begun to crumble. Their testimonies formed the initial web.

To get more people to talk as quickly as possible, the investigation team offered the lesser merchants and low-level officials who voluntarily confessed and whose offenses were relatively minor a chance for reduced or even waived penalties, on the grounds of "cooperating with the investigation, actively returning illicit gains, and eliminating negative impact."

This strategy quickly proved effective. More people began to talk, confessing to the matters they had handled. Like the first domino to fall, their confessions caused line after line to gradually weave into a larger net.

For the next few days, Yang Wenqing was pinned in front of the Communication Array, attending one remote, encrypted meeting after another. Sometimes, he was cross-referencing the latest depositions with clues held by the Inspectorate with Vice Director Yan; other times, he was communicating with Vice Director Gao and Deputy Director Zhou; and sometimes, he even had to engage in tedious coordination with heads of relevant departments from the city bureau.

The meetings were long, the topics complex, and the demands of all parties intertwined. Yang Wenqing had to carefully explain and advocate amidst it all. His brain was like a precision instrument operating under extreme overload, constantly receiving, processing, and outputting massive fragments of information.

After countless sessions of organization and comparison, the net in the fog grew ever tighter. All the lines, both overt and covert, pointed toward a core political broker in Coral City as they stretched into the depths.

The chain of evidence was established!

This process took a full six days.

On the evening of the seventh day, just as Yang Wenqing had received the summary of this key deposition and before he had a chance to brief Vice Director Yan, the communication badge on his chest began to vibrate urgently.

It wasn’t an encrypted channel.

He frowned slightly and answered the call.

"Is this Group Leader Yang Wenqing of the Qianjiao County Lingshan Town Investigation Team?" came the soft yet formally distant voice of a middle-aged man. "I am Li Qing from the city’s Civil Affairs Bureau."

Information about this person immediately surfaced in Yang Wenqing’s mind. He was the Vice Director of the Secretariat of the city’s Civil Affairs Bureau.

"Director Li, hello. This is Yang Wenqing." Yang Wenqing’s voice was calm.

"Yang Group Leader, you’ve worked hard overseeing things in Lingshan Town." Vice Director Li’s tone carried a hint of appreciation. "A young and promising cadre like you, tempered at the grassroots level, is someone the city’s Civil Affairs Bureau pays close attention to. However, the city has recently received some feedback from other quarters, and the leadership has asked me to speak with you."

He paused briefly, as if leafing through some documents. "I hear you’re from the Yang Family Village in Qianjiao County? I know that village. It used to be quite poor, but in recent years, they’ve started a collective enterprise, established the Four Seas Company. I hear it’s doing quite well and has helped many villages prosper."

"You flatter me, Director. The village folk are just trying hard to make a living." Yang Wenqing’s voice tightened unconsciously.

"Striving to prosper is a good thing, of course." Vice Director Li’s tone took a subtle turn. "But collective enterprises are large operations, and oversights in management are inevitable. Recently, we’ve received some reports over here, mainly concerning potential procedural flaws or gray areas in Four Seas Company’s past operations."

His tone grew serious. "Yang Group Leader, you know as well as I do, thanks to the Lingshan Town case, these are extraordinary times. Many companies and Commerce Associations are conducting internal reviews. This is especially true for collective enterprises connected to the clans of investigating personnel. They must be treated with the utmost seriousness and undergo the necessary audits."

"Once such an audit begins, it tends to be quite thorough to ensure fairness. During that time, the company’s normal operations, credit lines, and project collaborations will inevitably be affected."

"Director Li." Yang Wenqing’s voice carried a heavy weight. "The Yang Family Village is only a minor shareholder in the Four Seas Company, but we have always adhered to the principle of lawful and compliant operations. We are willing to accept a legal inspection from any department. I believe the innocent have nothing to fear."

"I also trust that the higher authorities will be objective in their audit, distinguish between normal business dealings and illegal activities, and protect the healthy development of a legitimate collective economy. They will not allow those with ulterior motives to use the investigation process for retaliation, nor will they dishearten the hardworking village folk."

"Heh heh, Yang Group Leader, your awareness is high, and your feelings for the collective run deep. That’s very good." Vice Director Li’s tone remained unchanged, but the meaning behind his words deepened. "Of course the city and county will act in accordance with laws and regulations to protect legitimate businesses. But, you know, investigating a case and conducting an audit are sometimes like combing hair. A fine-toothed comb will inevitably pull out a few good strands."

"But then again, when investigating a case, as long as you grasp the main contradiction and solve the core problem, some of the branches and vines can become too entangled. If you insist on sorting out every single detail, you might harm the innocent. That would probably defeat the original purpose of the investigation, don’t you think?"

"I understand the Director’s instructions. I will consider them carefully." In the end, Yang Wenqing could only give a vague and restrained reply.

"Good. As long as you understand." Vice Director Li took the initiative to end the call.

The call ended.

The doors and windows of the office were clearly shut tight, and it was the height of summer, yet Yang Wenqing felt a chill.

The stacks of deposition transcripts on his desk—papers that had just moments ago represented progress and victory—now seemed blurry and heavy at the edges.