The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

"Hmph! It seems you are nothing more than a greedy official who cares only about personal gain!"

Pei Shaochun cursed and then fell silent.

Back from Stone Nose.

As they neared the health clinic.

They saw that the clinic's entrance was already crowded with people.

A sea of heads, no less than a hundred people.

And more were still gathering from all directions.

There was no need to guess, Yuan Zhenting's "big move" had arrived.

This confrontation was the real deal.

The front entrance was impassable.

Chen Fang and the others had entered through the back.

Upon entering the hall, Guo Zheng came forward, looking anxious as he spoke, "A lot of people have come, and for safety reasons, I've already closed the main door."

Chen Fang nodded.

He patted him on the shoulder and said, "You've done well."

After saying this.

He walked towards the entrance of the health clinic.

Out of concern.

Zhong Xiqian wanted to stop him.

She had just reached out when Fang Mei stopped her, saying, "Don't worry, that guy is tricky. If he didn't have some confidence, he definitely wouldn't be courting death."

Zhong Xiqian curiously asked, "Have you suffered at his hands?"

As soon as she asked this.

Fang Mei's face turned red.

She recalled the scene of being "bullied" beside Chen Fang.

At that time, she had thought Chen Fang was sleeping.

But in reality, he had been shamelessly taking advantage.

And he did so blatantly.

"Do you like him?"

Zhong Xiqian covered her mouth, laughing.

Upon hearing this, Fang Mei became flustered.

She quickly said, "I definitely won't like this ruffian, he's a big bad egg."

As she spoke those words, for some reason, she felt somewhat guilty.

At the doorway.

Separated by an iron gate.

Chen Fang stood on one side.

On the other, an angry crowd.

It was clear without guessing, these were the villagers from Songlin Village, instigated by Yuan Zhenting.

"That's Chen Fang, he's the one covering up for the arsonist."

In the crowd, someone shouted loudly.

Obviously, this was a provocateur arranged in advance.

"Hand over the murderer, hand over the murderer, hand over the arsonist!"

Following this, people began chanting slogans.

Initially, only a few joined in, but as the number of chanters grew, so did the volume. Under the inspiration of the slogans, they became even more impassioned.

Just as the situation at the scene seemed to spiral out of control.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "The old town chief has arrived."

The chanting gradually subsided.

Then.

A path opened through the middle of the crowd.

Flanked by a group of people, Yuan Zhenting made his appearance.

Still using his crutches, he moved in an unhurried saunter.

Along the way, everyone treated him with great respect.

"Old chief, we have suffered such a great loss, you must stand up for us."

"Old chief, you must make them hand over the murderer, we can't be bullied for nothing."

...

The same remarks were echoed by many as he walked.

Yuan Zhenting nodded at each one.

Finally.

He made his way to the front of the crowd.

Though separated by an iron gate, he was now face to face with Chen Fang.

Their eyes met, holding a confrontation for a good while.

Chen Fang said, "Old town chief, your reputation is indeed well deserved, with a single call, everyone from Songlin Village has come. You're preparing to reenact the scene from four years ago, aren't you? Except, this time, your target has become me, Chen Fang, right?"

Yuan Zhenting cracked a slight smile.

He said, "Yuan has worked in Fuguang Town for twenty years, wholeheartedly serving the people. It's normal to receive such misplaced affection. As for Mayor Chen, who positioned himself against the people from the moment he took office, I'm genuinely worried. How do you plan to continue as the mayor?"

"Against the people? In my view, it's more like against the former mayor, right?"

Chen Fang let out a cold laugh and said.

Yuan Zhenting, full of confidence, leisurely said, "Smooth talking and currying favor are just petty tricks that can't last forever. The most important thing in officialdom is taking sides. Mayor Chen is young and promising, with a future that should be bright, but it's a pity you've allied yourself with the wrong people. The result, naturally, is predictable."

"So, the former mayor means I should pledge loyalty to County Chief Sun rather than Executive Xu, correct?"

Chen Fang had spoken quite bluntly.

Yuan Zhenting laughed but did not answer.

After pausing, he continued, "Well, Yuan came here not to lecture you, and moreover, I did not come in the capacity of the former mayor. As a member of Songlin Village, with the cooperative suffering such a heavy loss, it's understandable that everyone wants you to hand over the arsonist. Whether to comply with public sentiment, that's up to Mayor Chen to decide."

"And what if I don't hand the person over?"

"Not hand them over? I'm afraid Mayor Chen can't hand them over, right?"

A sly smile appeared on Yuan Zhenting's face.

Just as Chen Fang was heading towards Shibitou,

he had already arranged for someone to infiltrate the clinic and deal with Cui Xianghui.

And he received the confirmation.

Cui Xianghui was already dead.

It was precisely because of this that he dared to immediately play his trump card.

If Cui Xianghui died in the clinic, Chen Fang would be finished. It was Chen who had insisted on keeping Cui Xianghui there instead of handing him over to the police station. Now that Cui was dead by his hand, it would be considered dereliction of duty.

Whether facing the rage of the common people or the scrutiny from above, he, as a mere town mayor, would not be able to withstand it.

With Chen Fang's fall,

Xu Lianyun would be implicated.

No matter how they tried to pin the blame, Xu Lianyun couldn't wash clean even if she jumped into the Yellow River.

This way, this line would be completely cleared up.

In Fuguang Town, there would be no more waves.

More importantly, the incident from four years ago would no longer stir up any ripples.

"As the head of the investigative team, I cannot possibly hand over a suspect before the investigation has concluded. That's the simplest logic. The former mayor wouldn't fail to understand that, right?"

Chen Fang stated.

In Yuan Zhenting's eyes,

Chen Fang at this moment was deliberately concealing the cause of Cui Xianghui's death.

He turned leisurely and called out to the crowd behind him, "My fellow villagers, I've talked with Mayor Chen. He simply refuses to hand the person over. What should we do?"

From amongst the crowd, a robust voice shouted, "He's trying to protect the murderer. Let's charge in and grab the person!"

"Right, let's charge in and grab them."

Immediately, others echoed the sentiment.

A gathered crowd is easily swayed by emotion.

One person shouted out,

and the rest began to clamor in agreement.

"Mayor Chen, if things get out of control in a moment, that won't be my problem. It will be yours."

After saying this,

Yuan Zhenting sneered with disdain.

He took a few steps back.

This was a sign for action.

Seeing this,

someone charged up and grabbed hold of the iron gate, violently shaking it.

One person did this,

others followed suit.

Very quickly,

the clinic's iron gate began to loosen under the forceful shaking of the crowd.

Chen Fang stood alone on the opposite side, unmoved.

One could imagine that once these irrational people broke through, Chen Fang, being in the frontline, might face the same fate as Cui Xianghui, who had been beaten previously.

Through the crowd,

Chen Fang could see the confident and mischievous smile on Yuan Zhenting's face.

After all, in his view,

he had the upper hand again, just like in the melee four years ago.

The two men stared at each other relentlessly.

Suddenly, Chen Fang cracked a slight smile.

This smile made Yuan Zhenting's heart skip a beat.

"It's time for you to come out!"

Without turning around, Chen Fang simply called out loudly.

At the gate of the clinic,

a row of fully armed police officers suddenly burst out.