I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 204: Chapter 120: The Never-ending Meeting

The sudden, sharp question made Zhou Yong flinch. His eyes grew even more frantic as he stammered,

”Captain Zheng... Captain Zheng, he... he was just anxious. He thought there was something wrong with Hongyuan Trading Company, so he took his men over... The scene... the scene was chaotic. The two sides started shoving each other, and I don’t know who threw the first punch, but a fight... a fight just broke out... Those people... those people died in the melee. Really, it was just chaos, stray bullets, and clubs...”

”Chaos?” Wang Ze’en sneered from the side. ”Then why did the people from the Civil Affairs Bureau have you dispose of the bodies?”

”I... I...” Zhou Yong was drenched in a cold sweat, his lips trembling. ”They... they said they were afraid of the bad publicity and told me to take care of it quickly... so I... I just did as I was told...”

”They? Which ’they’? Was it...” Wang Ze’en pressed, nearly naming a specific person before Xia Meng, who was beside him, quickly coughed.

”Just the people I mentioned earlier.”

Yang Wenqing stared at Zhou Yong and asked Liao Tianming, who was beside him, ”What do you think? Is this Zhou Yong a genuine clown, or is he putting on an act for us?”

Liao Tianming replied, ”Whatever he is, we must report this to the county first. The Inspectorate might send people over tomorrow morning. I hope it won’t affect the case we’re investigating.”

The corruption of the Town Hall officials was likely already on record at the Inspectorate. In the past, as long as it didn’t involve major issues affecting the public’s livelihood, they couldn’t be bothered to actually investigate. But Zhou Yong’s confession tore away this veneer of respectability, implicating nearly half the people in the Town Hall. Now, an investigation was unavoidable.

And once they were investigated, some positions at the Town Hall would open up, leading to a new spectacle of human nature on display. This was something that normally couldn’t be decided in a short time, but the current situation demanded a quick resolution. County Magistrate Wang was probably in for a busy time. None of this, however, had anything to do with Yang Wenqing anymore.

「Two hours later.」

A confidential conference call between three departments—the County Civil Affairs Bureau, the City Defense Bureau, and the Inspectorate—was quietly convened. Yang Wenqing and Liao Tianming were in attendance.

The meeting began with Liao Tianming giving a concise summary of the core content of Zhou Yong’s confession. A brief silence followed his report, after which Yan Song, the Vice Dean of the Inspectorate, was the first to speak:

”This matter is heinous in nature. Regardless of whether Zhou Yong’s testimony is true or false, the Inspectorate must intervene.”

He began by making the necessary declaration.

Then, he continued, ”The number of personnel involved is extensive. To ensure fairness, to quickly clarify the internal issues within the civil administration system, and to avoid interfering with the investigation of a more important case, I propose that this be handled separately from the case of the attack on the guards. The Inspectorate will take the lead, with the Civil Affairs Bureau cooperating, to form a special task force for an independent investigation.”

County Magistrate Wang immediately responded, ”Dean Yan’s words are reasonable. The development of Lingshan Town is a key project designated by the province. The emergence of such a black sheep also shows that there are still lapses in our daily oversight. The Civil Affairs Bureau firmly supports the Inspectorate’s independent investigation. All personnel involved will be immediately suspended pending review. The entire Civil Affairs Bureau will cooperate fully and will absolutely not shield anyone.”

His tone then shifted, becoming heavier. ”However, Dean Yan, Director Zhang, Team Leader Wenqing, Director Tianming, one point must be made clear: the bigger picture of Lingshan Town’s development cannot be disrupted. This is a political mandate, and the people’s livelihood depends on it.”

”The investigation must be thorough, but we must be careful about our methods. We cannot cause widespread panic. Dean Yan’s proposal is excellent—separate the two cases. We will clean up our own mess here at the Civil Affairs Bureau, and we will absolutely not let it become a stumbling block for the investigation into the attack.”

Zhang Qiming’s voice was heard next: ”I completely agree.”

After this simple statement of agreement, he said to Yang Wenqing, ”Wenqing, regarding the matter with the Civil Affairs Bureau, since the Inspectorate has already taken over, the investigation team should not divert its energy to dig deeper, unless there is direct evidence showing a conclusive link to the attack case.”

”Yes, Directors. I understand!”

Yang Wenqing replied in a tone of assurance.

The meeting quickly reached a consensus. The Inspectorate would immediately form an investigation team to independently look into the violations of regulations and discipline by relevant personnel in the Civil Affairs Bureau system, handling it as a separate case from the attack on the guards.

Zhou Yong and his testimony were to be handed over to the Inspectorate for further interrogation to clarify his specific role in both the civil administration violations and the on-site conflict. If needed, the City Defense Bureau could request access to the relevant transcripts according to established procedures.

For Yang Wenqing, this was an expected outcome. If Zhou Yong hadn’t been so cowardly, the result might have been simpler. Unfortunately, in reality, there are no ’what ifs’.

After the meeting, Yang Wenqing stopped interrogating Zhou Yong. He simply had him locked up, with people from the Civil Affairs Bureau sent over to stand guard.

After this incident, Yang Wenqing grew even more curious about Hongyuan Trading Company’s background. Li Yue had just returned with a large stack of files, the majority of which were about Hongyuan Trading Company.

Yang Wenqing no longer had much interest in the files. He walked out to the courtyard behind the police station and contacted Vice Director Gao. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he got down to business. ”This Zhou Yong’s social connections are all within the county. Can we investigate them?”

Vice Director Gao replied with a chuckle, ”I had the same idea. After all, even if nothing comes of it, it would still piss off Zhang Qiming. But I found that someone is already investigating him. Can you guess who?”

”Director Zhou?”

”Haha, it seems you’ve had your suspicions for a while.”

”So that means...”

”Let’s not talk about things we don’t have proof for.”

”True. But in that case, I think this case should come to a conclusion very soon.”

A chill crept into Yang Wenqing’s voice as he finished speaking. Vice Director Gao reminded him to be patient, and after a bit more small talk, they ended the call.

Back in the investigation team’s office, Yang Wenqing glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already eleven o’clock. He had spent his first night in Lingshan Town compiling various materials.

After daybreak, Yang Wenqing sat upright in his office chair and circulated his energy for two full cycles. He cast a ’Dust Clearing Skill’ on himself, then instructed Qian Lu, ”Notify the Government Soldiers. I’m heading out in half an hour.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the interrogation room next door. Wu Qianjun was still interrogating the foreman and accountant from Hongyuan Trading Company, and it looked like he’d already started using torture on some of them. Yang Wenqing couldn’t be bothered with it anymore. After reviewing the last of the files that had been brought back, he got up and headed for the site where Liu Rong and Wu Yan had been attacked.