Official Career Storm
Chapter 243

Chapter 243: Chapter 243

Song Guanchao hesitated repeatedly but still sent over the room number.

He was about to explain when he saw a message from Fu Ying.

"Be careful, there might be surveillance in the room."

"What do you mean?"

Why would there be surveillance in a hotel room?

"Some local real estate companies with significant influence are looking to pluck any passing geese. They specifically have people watching the highway exits. Any vehicle from out of town gets followed."

"You’ve probably already been targeted."

Song Guanchao asked, "What will they do? Surely they aren’t going to break down the door?"

"It won’t go that far, but they mainly want to listen in on your conversations. If they confirm you’re here for the land auction, they’ll send someone to approach you."

Song Guanchao had an idea of what the routine was likely to be.

He hadn’t expected that the environment in Dujiang County would be this hostile.

The key point was, weren’t the local leaders supposed to manage such brazen tactics from the real estate companies?

He put down his phone, turned off the light, and walked through the corridor toward the room, his gaze meticulously sweeping over the TV, outlets, and any potential hiding spots for cameras.

"Found it!"

He stood in front of the TV, staring at the set-top box.

"Why did you turn off the lights?"

Wu Qiangwei came out of the washroom and asked.

Song Guanchao went to turn on the light, and as he passed by Wu Qiangwei, a subtle scent rushed to his nose.

He turned away and said, "There’s a camera in the room."

Wu Qiangwei paused briefly, her brows slightly furrowed, "What’s going on?"

Song Guanchao picked up the set-top box and started taking it apart while relaying Fu Ying’s warning to her.

Wu Qiangwei’s frown deepened bit by bit as she realized the situation in Dujiang County was more severe than she had imagined.

She suddenly felt that the decision to conduct an undercover investigation in Dujiang County had been extremely wise.

Had it been a routine investigation, she would not have uncovered this much information.

Nor could she expect the Dujiang County leaders to be completely forthright.

Soon enough, the set-top box was disassembled, and the hidden pinhole camera extracted.

Looking at the camera in his hand, Wu Qiangwei’s heart fluttered with a wave of relief and fear.

Just this afternoon, Song Guanchao had been massaging her hips.

If that scene had been captured and leaked, it would have a significant impact on her personal reputation.

Even worse, someone could use the video to blackmail her.

In her panic, Wu Qiangwei felt a surge of anger.

"This device doesn’t have wireless receiving capabilities. The memory card must be removed to read the data."

Song Guanchao took out the memory card and restored the camera to its place.

Wu Qiangwei said, "Won’t they notice if the memory card is removed?"

"They will definitely notice, but they won’t be suspicious. They’ll just think they forgot to insert the memory card."

After putting the set-top box back in place, Song Guanchao glanced at her.

Wu Qiangwei wore a pure black silk robe that perfectly outlined her exquisite figure.

Especially noticeable were the two points on her chest.

Sensing the sweep of Song Guanchao’s gaze, she turned without a word, climbed into bed, and pulled the covers over her.

She picked up her phone and said, "I had someone pull Tu Zhaorui’s file. Take a look."

Song Guanchao’s phone pinged once, and she sent over the file.

He was just about to pick up the phone to check it when Wu Qiangwei said, "You go take a shower first, look at it after you’re done, and we can have a talk."

"Okay."

He took his underwear and went to take a shower.

Because of the pinhole camera, he was not in the mood to think about random things; his mind was filled with thoughts of Dujiang County.

From Fu Ying’s account tonight, along with the almost gang-like behavior of the local real estate companies, the whole of Dujiang County gave Song Guanchao the impression that it was thoroughly under the control of an invisible, powerful hand.

This place definitely harbored hidden black and evil forces.

After the shower, seeing Song Guanchao wearing only his boxer shorts, Wu Qiangwei, stable as she was, couldn’t help but blush: "Why aren’t you wearing any clothes?"

"I am wearing underwear."

"You..." Wu Qiangwei, her face shy, said, "Get under the covers quickly!"

"Oh..."

Song Guanchao was speechless but still crawled under the covers.

The blush on Wu Qiangwei’s face subsided a bit, and she said, "Check the file first."

"Okay."

He picked up the phone, and the file was incredibly detailed.

It thoroughly recorded every superior Tu Zhaorui had worked with since he first entered the system.

After about fifteen minutes, he put the phone down.

Wu Qiangwei asked, "What is your opinion on this Secretary Tu?"

Song Guanchao said, "Tu Zhaorui has served under numerous leaders, but from his track record, the person who had the greatest influence on him was Xu Hua, the former County Magistrate of Dujiang County."

"Xu Hua was one of the first reform pioneers who rose after ’92, and he possesses all the characteristic traits of such pioneers. Courageous, bold, fond of autocracy, domineering in style, but lacking in theoretical depth."

"He was ostensibly just a County Magistrate, yet his say was more powerful than the County Party Secretary at the time, firmly holding all of Dujiang County’s power in his hands. Anyone who didn’t listen to him got sidelined and marginalized!"

"Such figures, with insufficient understanding of the new circumstances of reform and opening up and lacking a keen political sense, were bound to be weeded out by the new situation."

At this point, Song Guanchao asked another question out of curiosity, "Secretary, this County Magistrate Xu Hua, where is he serving now?"

Wu Qiangwei said, "He later went to Tong City, and entered the standing committee."

Song Guanchao nodded, "His style makes it no surprise he could become a member of the standing committee. But if I’m not mistaken, that’s probably as far as he’ll go."

Wu Qiangwei hummed, "Initially, he served as Deputy Mayor, but just like you said, when he was County Magistrate, the Magistrate was the one in charge; when he played Secretary, the Secretary was the one in charge."

"Right after he became Vice Mayor, he dared to challenge the then City Secretary head-on in the standing committee meetings, leaving no room for face and causing widespread anxiety in Tong City. Not long after, he was transferred to the Political Consultative Conference, moving to the second line."

Song Guanchao smiled, not at all surprised by Xu Hua’s outcome.

Xu Hua had made his way up, undoubtedly making many enemies.

Being able to retire smoothly to the second line was a stroke of great fortune and reward.

"This Secretary Tu from Dujiang County is heavily influenced by Xu Hua; looking at his file, he’s practically a carbon copy of Xu Hua. Courageous, bold, domineering in style, but with very low theoretical level."

Song Guanchao brought the conversation back to Tu Zhaorui: "Such people find it difficult to accept others’ counsel; they have their own set of theories in their hearts. At the county level, it’s easy for someone like him to achieve results. But once in the city, that level isn’t enough."

"County Magistrate Fu said too, most of the credit for Dujiang County having the chance to upgrade to county-level city goes to Secretary Tu. This also indirectly shows that Secretary Tu has absolute power in Dujiang County, almost single-handedly dictating everything."

"However, these types of people are often not corrupt."

Song Guanchao’s brows suddenly furrowed, "This is strange, how could such a domineering figure tolerate such chaos from his subordinates?"

Wu Qiangwei watched him quietly.

Just from a file, he was able to analyze so much, and her appreciation for Song Guanchao grew even more.

However, Song Guanchao’s last question had also plunged her into thought.

The two of them pondered in silence.

Suddenly, they looked at each other, and in unison exclaimed, "County Magistrate Hou!"

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