At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

"A country bumpkin selling building materials? Can't cause any trouble? Heh... Hahahaha!"

The person on the other end of the phone was so angry they laughed.

"Wang Jianhui, Wang Jianhui, how could I have been so blind to support such a brainless idiot like you!"

The leader's roar made Wang Jianhui's eardrums ache. "Before you took action, didn't you at least do a little research on who this guy who grew up with Zheng Hao was?!"

Wang Jianhui was somewhat bewildered by the scolding. "He's just a guy who deals in sand and gravel building materials in Jiangyang County, what kind of people could he possibly know..."

He didn't even consider that possibility. After all, what kind of powerful connections could someone who just makes a living in a county town have?

"idiot!"

The roar on the other end of the phone almost shattered the receiver. "Why do you think that kid from the Zheng family dares to stand up to you like this? The person standing behind him is Li Xiao! Li Jianguo's only son! The Li family has been rooted in Jiangyang County for three generations. The old man retired from the provincial party committee, and the third uncle still holds a powerful position in the provincial department! You think you're just messing with a piece of land? You're fucking messing with the Li family's entire fortune!"

Wang Jianhui felt a sudden rush of energy, as if he had been punched in the face.

The Li family? The Li family in Jiangyang County that never shows off?

"Sir, I really didn't know... that kid surnamed Zheng didn't mention the Li family at all from beginning to end—"

"Of course he wouldn't mention it! They dug a pit and waited for you to jump in, and you actually did! The Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection has already received the report materials; related accounts, frozen assets, and old debts in Linjiang County have all been dug up. Listen to me—from now on, keep your mouth shut and don't say a single word. I'll handle this. If I find out you've acted on your own again, I won't wait for the Commission for Discipline Inspection; I'll be the first to send you to jail."

"Understood, understood, now I'll do..."

Before Wang Jianhui could finish speaking, the other end of the phone hung up.

The Li family, the Li family that has been entrenched in Jiangyang County for three generations, with roots in both politics and business that are unfathomable. He had never thought of this before, after all, no one would have imagined that the Zheng family would be involved with the Li family, and judging from the above, the relationship between the two is not ordinary.

What kind of nonsense is this? Li Xiao, why aren't you being a proper young master? What are you getting involved with these peasants for?

Fortunately, judging from the leader's last few words, the sky hasn't completely fallen. As long as he keeps his mouth shut, the higher-ups will naturally step in to suppress the matter. At worst, he can give back the land in the south of the city as it is, pay some compensation, and act like a pushover for a few days. Once the storm has passed, he'll still be the powerful and influential Boss Wang of Tianshui City.

He shakily pulled out a number with the contact name "Xiaomin".

This is his younger sister, and he owes his current status entirely to her.

The phone rang six or seven times before being answered. Wang Jianmin's voice came from the other end, but it was clear that he was annoyed at being woken up. "Brother? Do you know what time it is?"

"Xiaomin, listen to me, something's happened, something really bad!" Wang Jianhui was frantic, like a cat on a hot tin roof. "Call your boss right now and ask him what the arrangements are! I just called him, and he gave me a piece of his mind, saying the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection has already been mobilized!"

On the other end of the phone, Wang Jianmin was clearly jolted awake by those words. His previously languid voice instantly rose eight octaves: "What did you say?! The Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection?! Wang Jianhui, what trouble have you gotten yourself into?!"

"I...I just wanted to acquire a piece of land in the south of Jiangyang City, but who knew I'd offend the Li family!"

Wang Jianhui wiped the beads of cold sweat the size of soybeans from his forehead and pleaded as if grasping at a straw, "Xiaomin, you gave birth to his son! He should at least give me some face! Quickly ask him if he really intends to protect me, just now on the phone when he said he would handle it?"

"The Li family? The Li family from Jiangyang?!" Wang Jianmin shrieked, "Are you crazy?! How dare you touch them?!"

After a flurry of frantic dressing, Wang Jianmin, barely suppressing his anger, said, "Don't panic. Stay in your office and don't go anywhere. I'll call him right now..."

However, before Wang Jianmin could finish speaking, Wang Jianhui suddenly heard a banging sound coming from her side of the door.

"Ms. Wang Jianmin, we are from the Seventh Investigation Office of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. Regarding the several properties under your name and the abnormal flow of funds in your overseas accounts, please cooperate with us to return and accept the investigation."

Immediately following was Wang Jianmin's distorted scream and the piercing beep of a phone shattering on the ground.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

Xiaomin was taken away.

People from the provincial discipline inspection commission came directly to her door and took her away in front of her. His so-called brother-in-law, from beginning to end, had no intention of protecting him—his statement, "I'll handle this," wasn't meant to cover for him, but rather to personally sever ties between him and his sister.

If even the woman who bore him a son could be thrown away like a pawn without batting an eye, then in their eyes, Wang Jianhui probably wouldn't even be considered a pawn, at most a rag to be used and then discarded.

His legs went weak, and he slumped into the sofa.

It's over. It's all over.

He suddenly remembered what Wang Zairen had said on the phone half an hour earlier—"What kind of hidden Yama have you offended?"

At the time, he didn't take it seriously, thinking that with his network of connections built up over ten years, he could easily suppress the matter. But now, his sister has been taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission, his brother-in-law's connections have been severed without a trace, and his acquaintances at the county bureau have distanced themselves from him just like that.

Wang Jianhui's network of connections, which he had cultivated in Tianshui City for ten years, was as fragile as paper in front of Li Xiao, and was easily shattered with a single touch.

He lit a cigarette, his hands trembling, took two puffs, and then stubbed it out. No, he couldn't just give up like this. He jumped up, rushed to his desk, and opened the safe. Inside were neatly stacked cash and several ledgers. He flipped through the ledgers, then slumped back down.

The provincial discipline inspection commission has already opened a case and placed it under its supervision. Destroying evidence now would only worsen the crime.

He sat blankly in the darkness, recalling how he had arrogantly said on the phone that morning, when Wang Jianguang led the team out to battle, that he would take responsibility if anything went wrong.

Now, no one can hold on any longer.