I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

Tuesday morning, Liuhe Town.

Qian Cheng was sitting in his office when his phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID and answered immediately.

"Old Qian, I've found out. Someone told me the details."

The voice on the other end of the phone was very low.

"explain."

"Recently, people from different channels have been obtaining data from five departments: the Statistics Bureau, the Finance Bureau, the Development and Reform Bureau, the Commerce Bureau, and the Natural Resources Bureau—all of them. The final destination is that person surnamed Chen. Although the method was very covert, it was still uncovered upon closer inspection."

Qian Cheng's fingers tightened slightly: "What did you adjust?"

"Data from the past three years, month by month, item by item. All of it comes from our Liuhe Town."

Qian Cheng was silent for a few seconds: "That's all?"

"That's all. But it's unusual that a newcomer like him is focusing solely on Liuhe Town, ignoring other townships. It doesn't seem like he's familiarizing himself with the work; it seems more like he's investigating something."

"understood."

Qian Cheng hung up the phone.

A new employee who had been on the job for less than a month focused solely on Liuhe Town's data, examining it month by month and item by item for the past three years, without looking at other towns.

Nobody would believe there was no one behind this.

After half an hour.

Qian Cheng arrived at Fang Zhiwen's office.

The door wasn't closed.

Fang Zhiwen was reading documents when he saw Qian Cheng come in and looked up.

"You found it?"

Qian Cheng closed the door, walked to the table, and lowered his voice: "I found it. The statistics bureau, finance bureau, development and reform bureau, commerce bureau, and natural resources bureau—they've all pulled data from the past three years. It's all from our Liuhe Town."

Fang Zhiwen's face darkened: "That's all?"

"That's all. But it's unusual that he's a newcomer who doesn't pay attention to other towns and villages, but only focuses on us."

Fang Zhiwen leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers twice on the table.

He didn't know what Chen Dapeng had found out, nor what he was looking for.

But the fact that someone close to He Ying was systematically investigating data from Liuhe Town—this in itself is a signal.

He Ying is in Dongliuhe Town.

"That guy surnamed Chen?" Fang Zhiwen asked.

"Yes. It's the one I came to do research with last time; she took it everywhere she went."

Fang Zhiwen was silent for a few seconds, then picked up his phone, found Fang Mingyuan's number, and pressed the call button.

The phone rang twice and was answered.

"Brother, we've found out."

"explain."

"The statistics bureau, finance bureau, development and reform bureau, commerce bureau, and natural resources bureau—the data for the past three years—were all transferred. They're all from our Liuhe Town."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"He Ying's people?"

"Yes, his surname is Chen."

"I understand," Fang Mingyuan said calmly. "I'll handle this."

Fang Mingyuan hung up the phone.

Fang Zhiwen put down his phone and looked at Qian Cheng.

"Go through the accounts again and complete all the formalities. No matter what that kid wants to investigate, we can't leave any loopholes."

Qian Cheng nodded: "I'll take care of it right away."

……

Tuesday afternoon, county government.

Fang Mingyuan sat in his office with Chen Dapeng's file spread out in front of him.

He had someone transfer him here this morning.

The file is simple: 24 years old, graduated from a university in the provincial capital, ranked first in both the written and oral exams of the provincial civil service exam, and got a job in the county government office.

Family background: Father is a high school teacher, mother is a junior high school teacher, and older sister Chen Yang works in a provincial state-owned enterprise.

Fang Mingyuan picked up the phone and called an acquaintance in the county party committee's organization department.

"Chen Yang? What social connections does she have?"

A few words were spoken on the other end of the phone.

Fang Mingyuan's expression changed slightly: "He Ying's classmate? Her university classmate?"

A few more words were spoken on the other end of the phone.

"understood."

Fang Mingyuan hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

He Ying's younger brother.

No wonder.

He closed the file, picked up his thermos, walked to He Ying's office door, and knocked.

"Come in."

Fang Mingyuan pushed open the door and went in, a warm smile on his face.

He Ying put down her pen: "County Chief Fang, is something the matter?"

"County Chief He, there's something I'd like to discuss with you." Fang Mingyuan sat down in the chair.

"you say."

"The staff in the government office's information department is a bit aging. I was thinking, shouldn't we give the younger people more opportunities to develop? That new guy, Chen Dapeng, I think he writes good reports and he's quick-witted."

He Ying's expression remained unchanged.

Fang Mingyuan continued, "I was thinking, could we let Xiao Chen train in the Information Technology Department for a while? Information work can familiarize him with the county's data operation process, which is good for the growth of young people."

There was a two-second silence in the office.

He Ying looked at Fang Mingyuan, and Fang Mingyuan looked at He Ying, both of them with smiles on their faces.

He Ying picked up her coffee, took a sip, and put it down: "County Magistrate Fang is right, young people do need more exercise, but let me think about it first."

"Of course." Fang Mingyuan nodded, stood up, and said, "Then I won't disturb you any longer."

"Take care, County Chief Fang."

After the door closed, the smile on He Ying's face slowly disappeared.

Fang Mingyuan arrived too quickly.

This indicates that people in Liuhe Town have already noticed that someone is tampering with their data.

But Fang Mingyuan didn't know what Chen Dapeng had found out—he only knew that Chen Dapeng was adjusting data.

This is why he was hesitant to act rashly.

Fang Mingyuan transferred Chen Dapeng to the Information Department, ostensibly for "training," but in reality, it was to remove Chen Dapeng from the General Affairs Department and from her side, cutting off his direct channels of working for her.

She originally thought that she could keep Chen Dapeng's data investigation a secret for at least two weeks, and wait until she had perfected the materials and the timing was more opportune before considering how to deal with Fang Mingyuan's counterattack.

But Fang Mingyuan didn't give her that time.

He acted directly, and his move hit the nail on the head—he wanted to transfer Chen Dapeng away from her.

He Ying leaned back in her chair, weighing her options.

If you don't agree to transfer Chen Dapeng to the Information Technology Department—

That's tantamount to telling Fang Mingyuan directly: Chen Dapeng is my man, I'm investigating you, and I won't let you touch him.

At that point, Fang Mingyuan will no longer be polite. He will directly use his connections and resources in various departments to cover up, conceal, or even turn the tables on Chen Dapeng for what he found out.

However, her foundation was not yet stable, and she was simply unable to withstand Fang Mingyuan's full-force counterattack.

If she agrees to transfer Chen Dapeng to the Information Department, Fang Mingyuan will think she has given in, that she has backed down and dares not oppose her anymore.

This could actually buy her time—time to make arrangements in other directions, and time to wait for Chen Dapeng to continue his investigation in a more covert way.

She found Fang Mingyuan's number and typed a message.

"County Chief Fang, regarding Xiao Chen's transfer to the Information Department, I've thought about it. Young people do need to gain experience in multiple positions. I agree. Please have Director Cui arrange the specific procedures."

Press the send button.

Fang Mingyuan replied in less than a minute.

"Don't worry, County Chief He, I will instruct the staff in the Information Section to take good care of Xiao Chen."

He Ying's lips twitched slightly as she read the reply.

"Take good care of yourself"—these three words, coming from Fang Mingyuan's mouth, didn't sound like well-intentioned at all.

But now, she has no choice but to respond, to retreat in order to advance...