Right path to power

"I'm sorry, Director Chung, I've dragged you into this. But don't worry, this won't end here. I also believe that no one can cover up everything."

"County Chief Lin, you're too kind. I firmly believe that a person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear."

"Yes, that's exactly right."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiao called Song Wanqing to explain the situation.

After listening, Song Wanqing said speechlessly, "Don't these people have any moral compass?"

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Wife, since someone is in such a hurry to go on stage to perform, let's see what other programs he has up his sleeve."

"County Chief Lin is quite composed."

"Well, good always triumphs over evil, so they probably won't be able to cause much trouble."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiao sat in her chair for a long time without saying a word.

Objectively speaking, Huang Shulei's case is ultimately just a vicious isolated incident, but the Zhenxing District Branch's reaction to this not-so-serious case was extraordinary.

Branch Director Zhao Lixun disregarded the dashcam footage evidence, forcefully took over the case, and released Huang Shulei after a perfunctory process. Then, he turned his attention to Zhong Haibo, who had handled the case impartially—not only suspending him from his duties but also bringing in the district discipline inspection commission to investigate alleged case-handling expenses.

This is making a mountain out of a molehill, a ridiculously large-scale mobilization.

The connection of the district party secretary's son alone wouldn't be enough to make a district bureau chief gamble his future and go to such lengths to protect him.

Lin Xiao vaguely sensed that the bond of interests between Zhao Lixun and Huang Jingneng was far deeper than he had imagined.

Then, recalling what the couple had seen in the Hengsheng Industrial Park last night, several clues slowly came together.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xiao picked up her phone and dialed Su Anji's number. She explained the situation and said, "Secretary Su, I feel there might be more to this than meets the eye, otherwise there wouldn't be such a fuss. Besides, my wife and I just want justice; it's not worth all this."

Although he suspected the relationship between Zhao Lixun and Huang Jingneng, he was not a member of the Discipline Inspection Commission or the Public Security Bureau, so he couldn't be too explicit.

Su Anji nodded: "What you said makes a lot of sense. As far as I know, Huang Shulei was spoiled by his father and grandfather, who were both officials, since he was a child. As he grew up, he became even more unscrupulous."

Lin Xiao sighed, "It's the father's fault if the son isn't properly taught."

Su Anji chuckled: "You're getting more and more roundabout with your words these days. If you want to mess with someone, why don't you just say so? Do we need to beat around the bush between us?"

"Hehe, you were the one who said you would mess with them, I never said that."

"Okay, okay, I was the one who wanted to mess with them, is that alright?"

"That's more like it."

"Then I'll make the arrangements first, and we can get together another day." Su Anji suddenly paused, then laughed, "Oh, I almost forgot, you're not single anymore, so drinking probably requires Director Song's approval, right?"

Lin Xiao laughed and said, "No need."

"Really? I don't believe it!"

"hey-hey......"

Soon, the Municipal Public Security Bureau formed a joint task force by drawing elite personnel from the Supervision and Criminal Investigation Detachment and stationed them at the Zhenxing Branch to investigate Huang Shulei's case of deliberately causing a traffic accident.

With conclusive evidence, the task force immediately arrested Huang Shulei again.

At the same time, Su Anji, in accordance with the Inspectorate Regulations, approved the suspension of Zhao Lixun's duties for sixty days and the suspension of all his police command authority.

Upon receiving the notification, Zhao Lixun was completely dumbfounded. He hadn't expected the Municipal Bureau to react so quickly.

No sooner had he released Huang Shulei than a task force moved into the branch office, not only bringing him back but also suspending him from his duties.

Shocked, he immediately called Huang Jingneng, the district party secretary, to report the matter.

Huang Jingneng was also surprised by the city bureau's strong reaction.

Upon learning that the person involved was merely a section chief in the Municipal Party Committee's Publicity Department, he immediately called Peng Yang, the deputy director of the Municipal Party Committee's Publicity Department.

"You mean Song Wanqing? She just came down from the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department. You must know her husband, Lin Xiao, the acting county head of Fuchuan County."

Peng Yang was promoted by Huang Jingneng's father-in-law, and he also had a good relationship with Huang Jingneng in private, so there was nothing to hide.

Upon hearing that this matter was related to Lin Xiao, Huang Jing immediately understood what was going on, no wonder the Municipal Bureau reacted so quickly.

He immediately called and berated Zhao Lixun for acting recklessly without understanding the situation.

If they had known earlier that the other party was Lin Xiao and his wife, the way they handled it would definitely have been different, since everyone knows that Lin Xiao has Wang Yuanze, the municipal party secretary, standing behind him.

Afterwards, he asked someone to get Lin Xiao's number, prepared his emotions and words, forced a smile, and dialed the number.

However, as soon as Lin Xiao saw that it was an unfamiliar number, he hung up immediately.

He guessed that most of the calls at this time were from people pleading for Huang Shulei.

After being called out twice in a row, Huang Jingneng's face darkened and his smile vanished instantly.

After thinking for a moment, he found another number in his contacts and dialed it.

Soon, Lin Xiao received an internal call from Zhu Lishu.

"County Magistrate Lin, are you busy?"

"Secretary, I'm not too busy. Just tell me what you need."

"It's nothing, I just heard your car was hit last night."

Lin Xiao frowned slightly, then smiled and said, "Yes, we ran into a group of thugs who deliberately rear-ended us. We've already called the police, and my wife is very angry and insists on getting an explanation."

He understood, of course, that Juliet was there to mediate, but he wasn't going to back down. Instead, he simply pointed out the nature of the matter to dissuade Juliet from her idea.

On the other end of the phone, Zhu Lishu gave a wry smile, but still tried to say, "Xiao Lin, that child is from Secretary Huang's family in Zhenxing District. He's young and doesn't know any better. Secretary Huang wants to talk to you in person, saying he's been trying to call you but no one answers. We all run into each other eventually, so why don't you talk to him face-to-face, apologize if necessary, and get the car fixed if needed? What do you think?"

Seeing that Zhu Lishu still wouldn't give up, Lin Xiao said coldly, "Secretary, my wife is still furious. If she hadn't reacted quickly last night, the consequences would have been unimaginable. What's even more infuriating is that they actually turned the tables and framed me. That Huang Shulei clearly knew my identity, yet he still dared to do such a thing. Tell me, who gave him the guts? Luckily, there was video footage, otherwise we wouldn't be able to explain ourselves. Now the Municipal Public Security Bureau has taken over this matter, and I believe they will handle the case impartially, so we don't need to worry about it."

Zhu Lishu sighed and said, "Alright, I'll talk to Secretary Huang. You should also try to calm your wife down. It's good that she's not dead. The other party will definitely cover the car repair costs. It would be best if we could resolve this through negotiation."

"Okay, but I'm not sure when my wife will calm down."

On the other end, Huang Jingneng was furious after hearing Zhu Lishu's reply: "What does he want? Making a mountain out of a molehill? Does he really think I'm afraid of him? What a joke!"

After that, Lin Xiao never received another call from Huang Jingneng, and he didn't bother to answer it.

Su Anji has already taken charge of the matter; the couple just need to wait for the outcome.

The following morning, Lin Xiao convened a meeting of the county mayor's office.

At the meeting, he listened to the reports from the deputy county heads on the progress of the final work, clarified the requirements for advancement, and made arrangements for cultural and tourism work during the New Year's Day and Spring Festival holidays.

As the influence of the "Childhood in the Countryside" program continues to expand, the broadcast of the Fuchuan special episode will inevitably have a strong boosting effect on the county's tourism industry.

Therefore, he demanded that all relevant departments in the county make every effort to improve service quality and tourist experience, so that tourists would want to come back again.

"Comrades, next year is the second year of the three-year plan, and also the most crucial year. We must further consolidate the foundation for development this year, and then seize the opportunity to move forward..."

He instructed the deputy county heads to organize their respective departments to not only complete the year's work effectively but also to actively plan for the start of next year's work: they should have clear goals and detailed plans, and he would hold a special meeting to discuss these matters.

After working together for several months, everyone had gotten used to Lin Xiao's pace and was familiar with his work style—he would see things through to the end.

Therefore, no one dared to be careless, and after the meeting, everyone went to convene their respective departments to discuss the matter.

Lin Xiao was also very busy, as she had to listen to reports from people while reviewing documents.

As the year draws to a close, all units are working hard to come up with ways to complete their tasks and are communicating and reporting in advance.

Actually, the main reason is that the assessment standards this year are completely different from those in the past. In the past, it was possible to change some of the results by using back channels or pulling strings, but this year not only is it not allowed, but once discovered, it will be severely punished.

This year's assessment criteria are singular: excellent results, solid skills, and a promising future!

In the afternoon, just as Lin Xiao had seen off the person who was reporting on his work, the internal phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and frowned slightly.