Me! A high-ranking official!

Zhou Hai, standing outside the door, immediately put on an expression of flattery and extreme enthusiasm, unconsciously bowing slightly: "So that's how it is! Secretary Zhou, which department does your classmate work in? My uncle is the vice president in charge of this hospital! If you need anything—a bed, a specialist, or medication—I'll call my uncle right away, and he'll arrange everything perfectly!"

Hiding in the storage room, he broke out in a cold sweat from listening.

My uncle is the vice president of the hospital?!

If Zhou Qingyan hadn't kept her composure just now, or had actually gone into the abortion room, and Zhou Hai had asked his uncle what illness Secretary Zhou had come for... the earth-shattering bombshell of an unmarried county party secretary getting an abortion in another province would have absolutely blown the entire officialdom of Linshui County upside down!

"No need, thank you for your trouble." Zhou Qingyan's voice remained calm, carrying an undeniable authority: "I've already finished my visit. The patient needs rest, and I'm preparing to return to the county. Did you have some family matters to attend to and request leave?"

"Yes, yes, my elderly relative isn't feeling well, so I took two days off to come back and check on them," Zhou Hai quickly replied. Seeing that his superior didn't seem inclined to offer help, he didn't dare to press the matter further: "Then, Secretary, please take care on your journey."

"Okay, you can go ahead and get busy."

As Zhou Hai's footsteps faded into the distance until they disappeared at the end of the corridor, he finally dared to exhale a long breath of stale air from his chest, gently pushed open the door of the storage room, and cautiously peeked out.

Zhou Qingyan stood alone in the empty corridor, his face ashen, staring intently at the white wooden door of the evacuation room, his chest heaving violently.

He jogged over, glancing nervously left and right, and asked in a low voice, "Secretary Zhou, what do we do now?...Should we continue?"

Zhou Qingyan turned her head, her eyes filled with a look that seemed to want to devour him whole. She clenched her teeth tightly, holding back for a full ten seconds before squeezing out a few words: "Zhou Hai's uncle is the vice president here! What am I supposed to do? Let's go!"

After saying that, Zhou Qingyan pulled up her mask abruptly and rushed out of the hospital gate in her high heels without looking back.

Like a scolded lackey, he slunk behind. After leaving the hospital, Zhou Qingyan walked to the private car, opened the back door, got in, and slammed the door shut.

He sighed inwardly, gave a wry smile, resignedly opened the driver's side door, and sat in the driver's seat.

I started the engine, shifted gears, and the car smoothly drove out of the gate of Huai'an County People's Hospital and onto the provincial highway back to Linshui County.

The carriage was deathly silent, the atmosphere so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

As he drove, he secretly glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror. Zhou Qingyan had his arms crossed, his brows furrowed, and his eyes were filled with extreme irritation as he stared at the scenery rushing past the window.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

What kind of situation is this? Two abortions.

The first time, I encountered the collapse of the Linhai Construction Building, which killed people, and was forced to urgently stop work and rush back to take charge of the overall situation.

The second time, the morning sickness had already started, and she was about to go into the operating room when, in a strange place more than 100 kilometers away, she ran into her subordinate, whose uncle was the vice president of the hospital!

It's as if there's an unseen hand in the dark, desperately trying to stop the child from being aborted.

The car drove for dozens of kilometers on the national highway without anyone saying a word.

Just when he thought this suffocating silence would continue all the way to the county town, Zhou Qingyan in the back row suddenly spoke up.

"Who is that person who drove a Maybach to Xiaozhai Village that day and spent over ten million yuan to buy up the courtyard?"

Her voice was cold, devoid of any warmth, yet carrying an extremely intense scrutiny.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly. He knew that the fright he had experienced while hiding behind the hospital door today had once again heightened Zhou Qingyan's political acumen. She was beginning to review the situation and assess her own capabilities.

"He's an old classmate from high school, named Liu Tao," he replied calmly, looking straight ahead.

"What are you going to do with those houses after you take them?" Zhou Qingyan stared at the back of his head and continued to press him for answers.

He smiled and said, "I have confidence in Secretary Zhou. I believe that with you personally overseeing it, the cultural tourism project in Xiaozhai Village will definitely be a great success. Since it can be successful, we can take over the dilapidated houses in the core area as a long-term investment. In the future, we can turn them into shops or homestays, which will bring in ten or even a hundred times the profit."

Zhou Qingyan sneered, a mocking smile curving his lips: "Ten times, a hundred times the profit? He, you certainly have a good plan."

She leaned forward slightly, staring intently into his eyes through the rearview mirror, and posed her first extremely pointed question: "Over four million yuan in cash, just thrown away like that? You're a deputy section chief in a government office who's been suppressed by Cao Wenting for so many years, and doesn't even have your own salary card. Where do you get such confidence and such abundant funds? Don't tell me it's your classmate's money. That car was rented. Do you really think I can't tell?"

He felt a chill run down his spine. This woman was indeed formidable. Despite the chaotic scene, she was able to tell at a glance that the car was rented.

But he remained calm, a composed smile playing on his lips: "Secretary, you have a good eye. To be honest, although Cao Wenting controls my salary card, I haven't been completely wasting my time these past few years. I know a bit about antiques and calligraphy. I was lucky enough to acquire a few genuine pieces in my early years, and I recently had someone sell them in the city. Combined with my classmate's own savings, we managed to scrape together a plate worth over ten million yuan. All the money is clean and legal income, and it can absolutely withstand an investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission."

He had already come up with this excuse. Antiques are a very complex subject, with no fixed value, making them the perfect way to cover up sudden wealth.

Zhou Qingyan raised an eyebrow slightly after hearing this explanation, clearly doubting it. However, she didn't dwell on the matter. Instead, she changed the subject, her tone becoming extremely sharp: "Fine, even if the money is clean, what do you call this? Insider trading?"

Zhou Qingyan's voice suddenly rose, carrying the immense pressure of a superior: "Him, do you know that once someone finds out about your relationship with Liu Tao, the person who bought the house, and once they know that the planner of this project is the real estate speculator behind it, this is a serious crime of malfeasance!"

Faced with this heavy burden that could crush a person, he was not afraid. Instead, he gently stepped on the brakes and slowed down the car.

"Secretary Zhou, you're exaggerating."

He glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes clear and open, even carrying a hint of defiant defiance: "First, I did not engage in any insider trading, because the breakthrough point and overall plan for this project were written by me overnight! I have confidence in my plan and am willing to invest real money to back it up; this is market behavior!"

He paused, his voice rising in intensity: "Secondly, that day in Xiaozhai Village, if my classmate hadn't used that 14 million yuan balance to forcefully acquire the property and break down the villagers' defenses, how would that mass incident have ended? Are you and County Chief Han really going to compromise with those holdouts and use two and a half times the government funds to fill that bottomless pit?"

He looked directly into Zhou Qingyan's eyes in the rearview mirror and said, word by word, "I'm not dragging you down with me. I'm risking my own life to ensure your first political achievement is successfully implemented! This isn't insider trading; this is mutual political success!"

The carriage fell silent once again.