The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

"I... I... I also agree that Mayor Chen should serve as the head of this investigation group."

When Luo Yide started to hem and haw,

Yuan Zhenting sensed trouble brewing.

Sure enough, he really did betray him.

The psychological gap was too vast.

In Yuan Zhenting's view, it was supposed to be a crushing game, just a formality.

Yet, Chen Fang had actually tied with him.

It seemed that the kid really had some tricks up his sleeve.

However, Yuan wasn't too worried.

There was still Xu Ming.

Xu Ming was his old partner.

Xu knew many of his dirty secrets, and there was no way he would go against him.

Xu Ming looked solemn.

He had not expected the final difficulty to fall on his shoulders.

He cleared his throat again.

Xu Ming said, "As the new mayor, Comrade Chen Fang has received such support from everyone; I am quite surprised. I'm getting old. The future world belongs to you young people. I am willing to give young people some opportunities. So, I too agree to have Comrade Chen Fang act as the head of this investigation group."

Boom!

It was a thunderclap on a clear day, and also the dust settling.

Such an outcome

Surprised everyone present.

Even those who supported Chen Fang.

Who would have thought that Xu Ming, who had always been a vassal of Yuan Zhenting, would turn around and support Chen Fang at the last moment?

The conference room fell into silence for an instant.

The kind of quiet where even the sound of breathing seemed to stop.

Suddenly,

In the corner, Yuan Zhenting's cane struck the floor heavily.

Making a 'smack' sound.

Then, everyone saw Yuan Zhenting stand up and walk towards the exit of the conference room.

Reaching the door, as if he just remembered something, he turned around, looked at Chen Fang, and said, "Congratulations, Mayor Chen, on becoming the head of the fire investigation team. I also hope that as the new mayor, you can handle all the troubles well. The wrath of Songlin Village now falls upon you to quell."

After dropping that line,

Yuan Zhenting quickly left.

Was this congratulations?

It was a naked warning.

A warning that Chen Fang would face major troubles to come.

Liu Fuwen and Qiu Mingchen also did not wait for the meeting to end and hurriedly followed him out.

Seeing that the party group meeting was in name only,

Xu Ming gestured and said, "The meeting is adjourned."

After everyone filed out in succession,

Only Chen Fang and Xu Ming were left in the conference room.

They looked at each other for a long time.

Xu Ming said, "Comrade Chen Fang, I hope you won't go back on your word. Otherwise, I, Xu Ming, won't let you off easily."

Chen Fang smiled and replied, "Secretary Xu, rest assured, if anyone ever brings up this matter to you again, it would mean that I, Chen Fang, have not kept my promise. You can take action against me anytime."

"Let's hope you keep your word."

After dropping that line, Xu Ming left.

Cong Duo's betrayal was expected.

After all, she was ambitious.

As long as there was a chance for promotion, she would try.

The betrayal of Luo Yide was not surprising either.

Luo Yide was a son-in-law who came through marriage, and his wife was a tigress. This was also the reason why he would not refuse when Cong Duo made advances.

He had always maintained a grasp on Cong Duo as an intermediary and didn't think she would go against him.

Unexpectedly, when Cong Duo went all out, Luo Yide became afraid.

It wasn't just the fear of the tigress, but also his own status.

If Cong Duo said they would go down together, how could he dare to act recklessly?

The only one I can't figure out now is Xu Ming.

But the reason is actually quite simple.

In the notebook left by Tan Yandong, there were also records about Xu Ming's little-known side.

The faking of Xu Ming's academic credentials.

Xu Ming started working at the Agriculture Bureau in his twenties.

At that time, his official educational background was junior college.

But don't look down on a junior college degree; in that era, it was quite prized.

In an age where the internet was not widespread,

there were many cases of academic credential fraud.

In fact, Xu Ming's education was only a middle school graduation.

If this matter were to be exposed, needless to say, Xu Ming's career would be over.

After all, forging academic credentials means deceiving the organization, deceiving the Party. How could such a person possibly have a future?

When Chen Fang pointed out this issue in front of Xu Ming, he was instantly rendered speechless. Almost no one knew about this, but Chen Fang, a young man in his twenties, somehow knew about it—which was terrifying to him.

Moreover, he was well aware that Xu Lianyun was behind Chen Fang.

Once the matter came to light, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In such circumstances, he had no choice but to compromise.

Bringing down the head of the investigation team did not mean victory.

It simply meant official-level recognition.

And it made all his actions comply with the Party discipline and state laws.

He was also aware that if Yuan Zhenting had staged such a big play, there was absolutely no way he would end it easily. If this meeting was just an appetizer, then what was to come would be the main course.

Moreover, the outcome of the Party committee meeting completely infuriated Yuan Zhenting and made him give up all illusions. His methods from now on would only be more brutal, more ruthless.

After lunch, he headed back to the hospital.

Cui Xianghui had not yet awoken.

So he thought about checking on Zhong Xiqian first.

He pushed open the door to her hospital room.

And found the hospital bed empty.

He was just wondering if she had gone out for a walk somewhere.

When her designated driver also pushed the door open and walked in.

Upon seeing Chen Fang, the driver paused and asked, "Mayor Chen, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see Miss Zhong, where has she gone?"

"Wasn't she taken away by your people?"

asked the driver.

A sudden chill gripped Chen Fang's heart.

He asked, "Taken away by my people? When?"

The driver scratched his head, saying, "About an hour ago, I guess. A car came along with a woman who claimed she was from the town government office, saying you sent her to pick up our Miss for a bit, that there was some important business to discuss, and our Miss followed her without a second thought."

"Why didn't you follow them?"

asked Chen Fang.

The driver replied, "I wanted to, but that woman said it involved some very important business, and it wasn't convenient for outsiders to be present, so the Miss didn't let me go with her."

"Where did they go?"

asked Chen Fang.

Shaking his head, the driver said, "The Miss didn't let me follow, so I didn't pay attention."

This was bad. Now things had gone from bad to worse.

Chen Fang's heart tightened all at once.

He was certain he hadn't sent anyone to pick up Zhong Xiqian.

With this in mind,

he rushed into the hospital's surveillance room.

He asked the staff to pull up the footage from over an hour ago.

Indeed.

Around 10:30 or so, a young woman in a black women's suit entered Zhong Xiqian's hospital room.

About five minutes later,

Zhong Xiqian, now in casual clothes, hurriedly left with the woman.

Wait a minute!

Chen Fang suddenly felt a jolt.

Pointing to the stranger on the screen, he asked, "Can you print this out?"

The staff member nodded.

And helped Chen Fang print out the blurry image of the woman.

After receiving it, Chen Fang immediately ran up to the third floor, opened the door to the innermost dormitory.

As he pushed the door open,

he saw three women.

Lying sprawled on the bunk was Ling Shaoqiu, with Fang Mei and Fang Gui guarding her.

"Do you recognize this person?"

Chen Fang, pointing to the printed image of the blurry woman, asked Ling Shaoqiu.