Nominal: My senior brothers are all big shots

After obtaining Chen Lili's USB drive and Zhao Tiejun's account book, Lin Feng did not rush to take action.

He locked the materials in the office safe, carrying the key with him at all times; even Chen Yue didn't know the password.

During the day, he would attend meetings, conduct research, and meet with guests as usual. In the evenings, he would return to his dormitory and occasionally video call Su Wanqing to ask about her health and the baby's condition.

Su Wanqing's belly was already slightly protruding. Zhou Shouzhen prepared medicine for her and checked her pulse every day, saying that her pulse was very stable and there was nothing to worry about. Lin Feng said, "I'll come back to see you after I'm done with this." Su Wanqing replied, "You go ahead with your work, I'm fine."

Days passed by like this.

Liu Zhi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that this new secretary was nothing special—he was loud and boisterous during meetings, but when it came to actually getting down to business, he fell silent.

Huang Zhiqiang also began to regain his former activity, and the work reports from the Political and Legal Affairs Commission became more frequent again. Zhou Tianming never came to the Municipal Party Committee again, but Lin Feng knew that he was still keeping an eye on him.

That morning, Lin Feng was reviewing documents in his office when the red telephone on his desk rang. It was the provincial party committee's dedicated line. Lin Feng answered, and the voice on the other end was that of Song Yunsheng, the secretary-general of the provincial party committee.

"Comrade Lin Feng, the Provincial Party Committee has decided to send an inspection team to Pingjiang City. The team leader will be Comrade Fang Jizhong, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. The inspection team will arrive tomorrow and will focus on the field of natural resources. Please make preparations accordingly."

Lin Feng held the phone, paused for a second, and then said, "Okay, Secretary-General Song. I'll fully cooperate."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Feng leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. What he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

The next morning, the inspection team's vehicle drove into the Pingjiang Municipal Party Committee compound.

Three black sedans, without police escort or sirens, behaved as discreetly as a routine official business.

Fang Jizhong stepped out of the first car. He was in his fifties, thin, wearing black-rimmed glasses, with a serious face and sharp eyes. Lin Feng was already waiting downstairs. He quickly went up to him and shook Fang Jizhong's hand.

"Secretary Fang, you must be tired from your journey."

Fang Jizhong nodded without exchanging pleasantries. "Comrade Lin Feng, let's find a place to talk."

Lin Feng led him into his office and closed the door.

Chen Yue brought in tea, then left, closing the door behind him. Fang Jizhong sat on the sofa, not drinking the tea, and took a document from his briefcase, handing it to Lin Feng.

"Comrade Lin Feng, this is the provincial party committee's decision regarding the inspection of Pingjiang. The focus is on the natural resources sector, especially the approval of rare earth quotas, the transfer of mining rights, and ecological restoration. You've been in Pingjiang for a while now, so if you have any questions, please tell me first."

Lin Feng took the document, glanced at it, and placed it on the table. He stood up, walked to the safe, entered the password, opened it, took out a file bag, and placed it in front of Fang Jizhong.

"Secretary Fang, these are some materials I've collected since arriving in Pingjiang. There are letters of complaint, copies of account books, photos, and audio recordings. Please take a look."

Fang Jizhong glanced at Lin Feng, opened the file bag, and flipped through the pages one by one.

His expression remained largely unchanged, but his fingers paused for a moment when he flipped to the account book. When he turned to the photos, his brow furrowed slightly. When he reached the recordings, he picked up the cassette tape, looked at it, and then put it back.

"Have you verified all these materials?" Fang Jizhong asked.

Lin Feng said, "Some of it has been verified. I went to Longnan Town to see the mines recorded in the ledgers, and they do exist. I also verified the people and events in the photos with the relevant people, and they are basically true. But there are still some that need further investigation."

Fang Jizhong closed the file folder and looked at Lin Feng. "Comrade Lin Feng, do you know what these materials mean?"

Lin Feng said, "I know. It means there's serious corruption in Pingjiang's rare earth industry. It also means some people won't be able to sleep at night."

Fang Jizhong nodded and stood up. "The inspection team needs your cooperation. Do you have any suggestions?"

Lin Feng said, "I suggest starting the investigation with the Natural Resources Bureau. Rare earth quota approvals and mining rights transfers all fall under the Natural Resources Bureau. If these issues are clarified, the rest will be much easier to handle."

Fang Jizhong thought for a moment and said, "Okay. Let's start the investigation with the Natural Resources Bureau."

The news of the inspection team's arrival was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in circles.

The Natural Resources Bureau was the first to panic. When Sun Decai received the notification that the inspection team wanted to review the rare earth quota approval files, his face turned pale on the spot. He locked himself in his office and made phone calls all morning.

In the afternoon, Sun Decai called the office director in and asked him to compile all the rare earth quota approval files from the past five years and send them to his office.

The office director asked, "Director Sun, the inspection team wants to investigate; shouldn't we just send the documents over?"

Sun Decai glared at him: "Just bring it when I tell you to. Why all the nonsense?"

After the files were delivered to the office, Sun Decai closed the door and began flipping through them one by one.

What he was looking for, only he knew. Some files he pulled out and stuffed into a large black garbage bag. Other files he tore out the key pages from, and then rebound the rest.

Working until late at night, Sun Decai carried the black garbage bag downstairs and put it in the trunk of his car.

He planned to take the garbage bags to the suburbs early the next morning and burn them somewhere. But little did he know, his car had already been targeted.

The inspection team acted in the early morning.

Fang Jizhong personally led a team, including several capable personnel from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and economic crime investigation police officers seconded from the Provincial Public Security Department, who followed Sun Decai's car in two separate vehicles.

Sun Decai's car left the municipal party committee compound and headed out of the city.

After driving for more than an hour, he arrived at an abandoned brick kiln in the suburbs. He parked his car in an open space, took the black garbage bag out of the trunk, and walked into the brick kiln.

The brick kiln had been abandoned for many years; the kiln was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. Sun Decai took out a lighter from his pocket, squatted down, and prepared to light it. Just then, several flashlight beams shone simultaneously, blinding him.

"Sun Decai, don't move." Fang Jizhong's voice came from behind the light, as cold as the winter wind.

Sun Decai was stunned, his hand trembled, and the lighter fell to the ground.

He looked up and saw Fang Jizhong walk in with several people, surrounding him. His face was as white as paper, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Fang Jizhong squatted down, opened the black garbage bag, and rummaged through the stacks of documents. There were complete files, files with key pages torn out, and some unfiled approvals, notes, and envelopes. He picked up an envelope containing a bank card with the PIN written on the back.

Fang Jizhong stood up and looked at Sun Decai. "Sun Decai, is there anything else you want to say?"

Sun Decai collapsed to the ground, trembling all over. His lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Secretary Fang, I...I confess...I confess everything..."