Official Career Storm
Chapter 193

Chapter 193: Chapter 193

Hui Po Company’s case was conducted covertly.

So it didn’t cause much stir online.

Song Guanchao made his point very clear and also told him where the bottom line of this matter was.

Wu Qiangwei could drop the pursuit, but only if the money was coughed up.

If they didn’t cough up the money, she wouldn’t be blamed for tearing off their masks, and anyone remotely connected to Hui Po Company, each and every one of them, would end up behind bars eating "national meals."

Director Qin didn’t doubt Wu Qiangwei’s determination for a second.

But getting him to throw up the money he had swallowed was easier said than done?

This car accident involving Zhang Xiaoming was intended to send a message to Wu Qiangwei—don’t push me too hard, or nobody will have it easy!

As it turned out, the car accident had the desired effect.

Wu Qiangwei did not intend to escalate things.

But for Director Qin, this alone was not enough.

He was hoping for a symbolic arrest of a few people, a symbolic refunding of some money, and a symbolic fine.

That way, Wu Qiangwei’s objective of establishing her authority would be achieved.

Director Qin and others would have paid dearly.

Everyone would be happy.

After Song Guanchao left, Director Qin contacted He Kang and briefly informed him.

After a long silence, He Kang said, "Make up some fake accounts and submit them."

"She won’t believe it."

"She’ll believe it."

He Kang hung up the phone and dialed his father’s number again.

"Dad, I need you to contact the province for me..."

...

...

As Song Guanchao drove back to the City Committee, he pondered the direction of this matter.

He and Wu Qiangwei were aligned in their views and objectives.

But upon closer analysis, it became evident that their objectives were nearly impossible to achieve.

The group behind Hui Po Company were unlikely to cough up the money.

Arresting a bunch of people and making them spit out some money as a gesture was already the limit of what they could do.

Forcing them to spit out all they had swallowed was unrealistic and could drive them to some desperate act, possibly leading to some mishap.

Thus, Song Guanchao actually hoped Wu Qiangwei would take a step back.

Backing down wasn’t compromising; it was maximizing the benefit.

He planned to have a good talk with Wu Qiangwei once he got back.

As he entered the parking lot and was just getting out of his car, Minister Su called.

"Secretary Song, Mayor Zheng just contacted me."

"What did he say?"

"He asked me to contact the TV station and suppress the news about Hui Po Company."

"Then do as Mayor Zheng said."

"Okay, I got it."

It seemed that Mayor Zheng was indeed very angry.

He suddenly became curious about the relationship between Xu Xin and Mayor Zheng.

It wasn’t gossip; he felt that, if what Xu Xin said was true, she could be a very useful person.

After all, she was promoted by Mayor Zheng and certainly trusted by him to some extent.

If he could control her, it would be like planting a nail next to Mayor Zheng.

He walked towards the City Committee Building and entered the elevator. Zhou Qian called as he headed to his office.

After entering his office, he picked up the call.

"Miss Zhou, what’s the matter?"

"The head of the station just came to me, ordering me not to report on Hui Po Company anymore."

"Listen to your station head."

"By the way, I heard that Zhang Xiaoming had a car accident?"

"You know about that?"

The car accident was severe, but the related videos were restricted, and very few people knew about it.

Even among the system, only a handful were aware.

Zhou Qian was quite well-informed.

"Yeah, a friend told me," Zhou Qian said in a light tone.

Song Guanchao thought for a moment and then said, "If you notice anyone following you during this time, call me."

"Will someone be following me?"

"It’s possible."

"That sounds dangerous, I’m a bit scared now."

"It should be alright, but if you’re worried, just take a break for a while and go on a vacation out of town. I’ll reimburse your expenses."

"I was just saying, I’m not actually scared. In our line of work, being threatened is commonplace; I’ve even received threatening letters before."

Zhou Qian asked, "By the way, when will you have time for an interview?"

"Probably not for now; Zhang Xiaoming’s accident and the investigation into Hui Po Company might even lead to the establishment of a steering group..."

"Okay." Zhou Qian sounded deflated, but she knew Song Guanchao was indeed busy.

When he finished the call, Zeng Li had been watching him and just as she was about to speak, Song Guanchao had already pushed the door and entered Wu Qiangwei’s office.

Zeng Li was visibly irritated, harboring many questions but lacked even the chance to ask.

As Song Guanchao sat down and was about to speak, Wu Qiangwei’s phone rang.

She made a shushing gesture and answered the call.

"Mayor Zheng, hello."

"Yes, I’m keeping an eye on this case. Mhm, I know, your point makes sense; I actually share that concern. Okay, good, I got it."

After hanging up, Song Guanchao asked, "Did Mayor Zheng call to reprimand?"

Wu Qiangwei was somewhat surprised, "How did you know?"

Song Guanchao replied, "Xu Xin told me."

"Xu Xin?"

The answer surprised her.

Song Guanchao continued, "Xu Xin expressed her loyalty to me, saying she has no relations with Mayor Zheng."

Wu Qiangwei laughed, though she said nothing, her smile said it all.

These were words she didn’t believe.

Although it was Minister Zhou who nominated the new Secretary of the Municipal Committee,

she was already the Director of the Inspection Office before becoming the Secretary of the Municipal Committee.

That position wasn’t something you could just achieve through sheer effort.

And she was a woman on top of that.

If she had no relations with Mayor Zheng, would he have made her the Director of the Inspection Office without any reason?

That was absolute nonsense.

Song Guanchao said, "Secretary, should we bring up the issues of unified signage and petty corruption now?"

Wu Qiangwei pondered and fell into deep thought.

Instead of answering, she threw the question back, "What do you think?"

Song Guanchao replied, "I think we could bring it up, but not in such an overt way like with the Hui Po Company case."

"What do you mean?"

"Hasn’t the secretary noticed that Fengjiang District’s Secretary Mr. Chen wasn’t involved in the Hui Po Company case?"

Wu Qiangwei’s eyes flickered, "Go on."

Song Guanchao said, "I suspect that Mr. Chen, the Secretary of Fengjiang District, doesn’t have that close a relationship with Director Qin."

"Moreover, even though the secretary asked not to escalate the Hui Po Company case, it will still affect related departments, inevitably offending some people."

"If we bring these two issues into the open at this time, it would only offend more people, which wouldn’t be a wise move for the secretary."

"My suggestion is that the issue of unified signage could be raised, but the secretary could privately call the leaders of the related departments for a meeting—that would suffice."

"Plus, I think we should call them in the next few days."

"With the Hui Po Company case as a precedent, and the secretary treating them leniently, giving them a chance to correct their errors, this would be an excellent opportunity to win people’s hearts."

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