Official Career Storm
Chapter 265

Chapter 265: Chapter 265

Yes, at such a critical time for Dujiang County, as long as County Magistrate Hou is not a fool, he would never allow Lu Xiaotian to do such a thing.

So, why?

Could it be that County Magistrate Hou has lost control over Lu Xiaotian?

Or, could it be Secretary Tu?

Song Guanchao had a flash of insight, and his inner doubts were immediately swept away.

He understood!

"Secretary Tu!"

Song Guanchao said, "It’s Secretary Tu who is deliberately indulging Lu Xiaotian!"

Cai Zixiang revealed a satisfied smile, "Guan Chao, you have a natural gift for politics."

Song Guanchao appeared somewhat embarrassed; he could tell that Cai Zixiang’s praise was sincere.

However, the compliment made him feel somewhat hollow inside.

He had so much information at his disposal, yet the conclusions he analyzed varied greatly.

Cai Zixiang merely listened to his retelling, and without much thought, he largely figured out the situation in Dujiang County.

The gap between the two of them was not a small one.

Cai Zixiang said, "Yes, the one who is deliberately indulging Lu Xiaotian is not County Magistrate Hou, but Secretary Tu."

"At such a critical period, for County Magistrate Hou to dare allow Lu Xiaotian to commit crimes in defiance of the wind is certainly not the act of a mature politician."

"So I conclude that it must be Secretary Tu who is meddling and doing it on purpose."

"This Secretary Tu is also ruthless. Having lurked and endured for so many years, once he gained power, he struck with a killing blow!"

Song Guanchao slightly furrowed his brows, a new doubt arising, "Why would Secretary Tu do this? Besides making County Magistrate Hou embarrassed, it doesn’t seem to have any other benefits, does it?"

Cai Zixiang shook his head, "This move is indeed very strange; logically, having endured for so many years, he shouldn’t do such a thing at this key moment."

Lu Xiaotian is like a time bomb, and once detonated, it will be a pyrrhic victory for Secretary Tu, harming a thousand enemies yet suffering eight hundred losses himself.

After all, he is the County Party Secretary; if things go wrong, he must take responsibility too.

On this point, Cai Zixiang also couldn’t figure out a reason.

Yang Jing, who had been silent until now, said, "Listening to various sources brings enlightenment, but only believing one side leads to ignorance."

"Guan Chao, these are just Secretary Cai’s rudimentary analyses; you should listen and consider them, but remember there is too little information."

"The situation in Dujiang County might be as described, or it might be something different. Unless you can get a definite answer from either Secretary Tu or County Magistrate Hou, you can only take it as a reference."

"I understand, Sister Jing,"

Song Guanchao felt moved; his experience was actually not shallow, but compared to these two, he understood how big the gap really was.

Whether it was life experience, understanding of the political ecosystem, or sensitivity to details, he was far behind.

He now comprehended the meaning of the phrase, "One’s shallow understanding from books feels inadequate until one actually practices."

After that, he chatted with the two for over half an hour before rising to excuse himself.

Yang Jing said, "Guan Chao, the video you prepared, hand it over to Secretary Cai later. Additionally, I will contact a journalist from Hong Kong Island; they will come to Dujiang County for a covert investigation."

Song Guanchao was stunned, "Sister Jing, there’s no need to go to so much trouble..."

"If we’re going to do it, we need to do it thoroughly. We must strike forcefully and hit the vital points to achieve the best result."

"Then, thank—cough, I won’t say thank you to Sister Jing."

He left with Cai Zixiang and returned home afterward.

The next day.

Song Guanchao arrived early at Li Lake Mansion, and soon he saw Wu Qiangwei coming down in exercise attire.

Her injury had healed, and she had resumed her usual morning runs.

Song Guanchao took out the sports attire and sneakers he had purchased recently from the back seat, changed into them, and followed her out of the car.

Wu Qiangwei glanced at him and asked, "When did you get back?"

"I came back yesterday."

"How did the bidding go?"

"Secretary, it’s better not to talk while running, it’s easy to get a stitch. Let’s wait until we get to the City Committee, and I’ll report to you then."

"Thanks for the concern; I run often, so I know how to regulate my breathing... hiss!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Wu Qiangwei suddenly gasped for air, her running stopped, and she clutched her left side, bending over in pain.

She was out of breath.

"I told you you’d get winded..."

"Shut up!" Wu Qiangwei glared at him.

It had happened before in the office, too; he warned her to be careful about getting a crick in her neck, and sure enough, she’d ended up with one.

And now this!

Was this bastard some kind of jinx?

"Secretary, why don’t you sit over there for a bit?"

She wanted to insist stubbornly that she didn’t need to, but the pain from being winded was so intense that she walked over to the bench by the roadside without a word.

After sitting down, she kept taking deep breaths.

Song Guanchao took the opportunity to update her on the bidding event that took place over the weekend.

"Barricading the door? Smashing things up?"

Wu Qiangwei frowned—violent bidding incidents like this hadn’t occurred in many years.

She hadn’t expected that it would happen again in Dujiang County under Lingjiang’s jurisdiction.

If it weren’t for Song Guanchao telling her, she would doubt the authenticity of the incident.

"Moreover, through my investigation, I found that the relationship between County Magistrate Hou and Director Qin is quite unusual."

"Director Qin again?" Wu Qiangwei’s frown deepened.

It seemed that wherever she went, this Director Qin appeared.

"You need to take charge of this matter and resolve it as soon as possible."

If she didn’t have to consider the impact, Wu Qiangwei would have liked to call all the members of the Dujiang County leadership team to Lingjiang and give them a proper criticism.

Song Guanchao acknowledged with a hum, just about to speak, when he suddenly felt his hair get wet.

Then his neck and arms too.

He looked up to discover it had started raining.

"Secretary, it’s raining; let’s get back quickly."

The rainy season was approaching when rain could come without warning.

At first, it was just a drizzle, but before they had gotten far, the drizzle turned into a downpour.

They were soaked through in no time.

Song Guanchao took off his clothes, holding them over her head.

"Secretary, don’t run, you’re still out of breath, and the more you run, the more it will hurt. Plus, it’s raining; you might turn your ankle."

"Hss—"

He had barely finished speaking when Wu Qiangwei felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen.

Immediately after, her foot slipped, and she twisted her right ankle.

She cried out in pain and toppled to one side.

Song Guanchao quickly caught her: "See, I told you it’s easy to twist an ankle."

This guy was definitely a harbinger of doom!

Whatever he said seemed to come true.

Wu Qiangwei didn’t even have the energy to complain.

Seeing her in such pain and with the rain getting heavier, the thunder booming, Song Guanchao said, "Secretary, I’ll carry you back."

"No need."

She endured the pain, but couldn’t speed up her pace.

Seeing no sign of the rain letting up, and continuing to get drenched, it would be easy to catch a cold.

Song Guanchao couldn’t care less at that point, covered her head with his clothes, and with one arm, Wu Qiangwei felt her body lightened, being carried in his arms.

"You..."

"Secretary, keep the clothes over you, don’t let anyone see your face."

Song Guanchao gave her a reminder and ran toward the residential area.

Despite carrying an adult, his pace wasn’t affected in the slightest, and he moved briskly along.

With her head covered by the clothes, Wu Qiangwei pressed her lips tightly together, feeling as though a deer was frantically pounding in her heart.

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