Qi Tongwei at the start: Not relying on Liang Lu, but winning by a single move against Heaven.

A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.

Qi Tongwei suddenly felt a little tired and exhausted.

Just as things were starting to look up in Xishui, Fang Mingyi started making trouble again, which made him so angry he felt like his teeth were grinding.

The Santana sped along and soon arrived at the exit of Xishui County.

Before the Santana had even stopped, Qi Tongwei could see from afar that the two groups were locked in a standoff.

Fang Mingyi stood at the front, his face flushed as he argued with Zhao Donglai about something.

Upon seeing this, Qi Tongwei immediately inquired about Mao Qiang's situation.

"Has the mayor of Fangshan Township arrived?"

Mao Qiang glanced in the direction of the crowd, shook his head, and answered in a deep voice.

"I haven't seen them. I've already called them; they're probably still on their way..."

Qi Tongwei snorted coldly and said with a frown.

"Let's go check out the situation."

As Qi Tongwei walked to the edge of the crowd, he heard Fang Mingyi shouting at the top of his lungs.

"The state allows the public to raise issues, so why are you stopping us!"

Just as Zhao Donglai was about to reply, he spotted Qi Tongwei, immediately came over, and said in a deep voice.

"Secretary Qi, we stopped the person, but we were afraid of a conflict, so we didn't dare to use force."

Qi Tongwei nodded, glanced behind Zhao Donglai, and asked softly.

"Why are only your people here? No one from the petition office or Fangshan Township has arrived?"

Zhao Donglai frowned and nodded, but didn't respond.

Qi Tongwei didn't ask any more questions. He walked straight up to Fang Mingyi and said in a cold voice.

"Your name is Fang Mingyi, I recognize you."

"Your son, Fang Dezhong, was just arrested for illegal possession of a firearm."

Having said that, he didn't even look at Fang Mingyi, and spoke loudly to the crowd.

"The state allows petitions and provides various channels for people to do so."

"But the state opposes petitioning to higher authorities without going through the proper channels."

"If you have any problems, you can report them to the county's petition office or the county party committee..."

Before he could finish speaking, Fang Mingyi jumped up and down and shouted.

"You're the boss of Xishui County, so your word counts!"

"You gave the order to shut down the phosphate mines. Can you solve the problems we raise?"

Seeing Fang Mingyi shouting so enthusiastically, Qi Tongwei calmed down considerably.

He paused for a moment, then spoke loudly.

In 92, the Xishui Phosphate Mine experienced 16 roof collapses and 8 water inrushes.

The total number of casualties is 46.

"On average, there are two accidents per month, resulting in four injuries or fatalities."

"I took a look."

"Most of you are locals, and you all have elderly parents and young children to support."

"Do any of your family members or friends work in the mines?"

"Find your conscience, shouldn't phosphate mines be shut down for such a production environment?"

As the saying goes, one should not judge a person by their words, but by their character.

Qi Tongwei's words made sense, and the arrogance of the rioters instantly subsided.

But this rectification involves their vital interests, so they are not willing to give up easily.

As soon as the crowd calmed down, someone shouted again.

"Stop with the nice talk, people die in every mine!"

"Even eating can cause choking to death, yet you officials don't seem to eat less!"

These words immediately resonated with the crowd.

The sounds of commotion and the setting up of seedlings filled the air, and the scene descended into chaos once again.

Upon seeing this, Qi Tongwei frowned slightly and raised his voice to explain to everyone.

"Shutting down phosphate mines is not the goal; it's to ensure the safe and orderly mining of phosphate mines."

"Once the rectification is completed, the county party committee will not interfere with normal production and operation."

"As for the closure of small-scale phosphate mines, I have already explained that."

"Do the math yourselves. At your current production scale, are you even making a profit?"

"Risking accidents for meager profits is less worthwhile than merging production lines..."

These people were determined and refused to listen to Qi Tongwei's explanation.

Qi Tongwei's words were immediately drowned out by the clamor of about twenty people.

Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly difficult to control, Zhao Donglai said in a deep voice.

"Secretary Qi, if all else fails, then we'll have to resort to force."

"Take them back in custody first."

Just then, the director of the petition office and the mayor of Fangshan Township rushed over.

Accompanying them was an elderly man with white hair, none other than Fang Mingli.

Upon seeing Fang Mingli, Qi Tongwei was somewhat surprised. He immediately helped the old man up and asked in a deep voice.

"Old County Magistrate, it's a mess here, what brings you here?"

Fang Mingli patted Qi Tongwei's hand and said with a wry smile.

"Sigh, the child may be immature, but the adults can't be immature."

"Secretary Qi, please excuse my rudeness. Leave this to me, you can go back now."

After saying that, he took the megaphone from Mao Qiang and shouted loudly.

"I am Fang Mingli, and I only have one sentence to say."

"All those surnamed Fang, get back home! Anyone who doesn't will be expelled from the clan!"

At this moment, Qi Tongwei deeply felt the immense power of the Fang family in Xishui.

Not long after Fang Mingli finished speaking, more than half of the rioting crowd had left.

Even Fang Mingyi lowered his head and secretly retreated.

But as soon as he turned around, Fang Mingli called out to him and reprimanded him in a deep voice.

"Fang Mingyi, you are a senior member of the Ming generation, so you can't act like an old man."

"Don't think everyone doesn't know about what you did in Lüzhou Qian."

"I'm telling you this now: if you cause trouble again, I won't let you off the hook."

After the Fang family left, the remaining few lost their confidence and made excuses to disperse.

Seeing everyone leave, Qi Tongwei grasped Fang Mingli's hand and expressed his sincere gratitude.

"Mr. Fang, thank you so much for today."

Before he could finish speaking, Fang Mingli said with a smile.

"Secretary Qi, they won't understand, but the old man isn't blind."

"You truly care about Xishui and the people."

"I want to reiterate my position to you."

"Regarding the rectification of phosphate mines, Fang Mingli was the first to take the lead in supporting it."

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei gave Fang Mingli a deep look and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Fang Mingli is indeed extraordinary; that was a brilliant move..."

Back at the county committee, Qi Tongwei had just gotten out of the car when Jin Yue followed him.

"Secretary Qi, do you have a moment? I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Having just experienced a group interview incident, Qi Tongwei was in a very bad mood and wanted to refuse.

But seeing Jin Yue's serious expression, he had a change of heart and changed his mind.

"Let's go to my office to talk."

Back in the office, the two sat down.

Jin Yue turned on the recorder and spoke directly.

"I know you're busy, so I only have three questions. I'll leave after I ask them."

After saying that, she continued to ask without waiting for Qi Tongwei's reaction.

"The first question."

The situation at the Xishui phosphate mine is complex, with local forces colluding and frequent mass incidents.

"Why are you still insisting on regulating phosphate mines?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei pondered for a moment and replied sincerely.

In the 1980s, Xishui was an impoverished county in Jingzhou.

"The county has shaken off poverty and is now living a good life thanks to phosphate mining."

"It's no exaggeration to say that everyone was risking their lives to make money by mining."

"There was no other way. We were poor back then, and if we didn't work hard, we would starve."

"But things are different now. Xishui is prosperous, and the lives of the people are better."

"However, the methods of mining phosphate rock are still outdated and barbaric."

"As you just heard, there have been a total of 46 casualties in the past year."

"If a leg is broken, the compensation is 5,000 yuan; if someone dies, the compensation is 30,000 yuan."

"Reporter Jin, that was a human life, and it's only worth 30,000."

"Do you think this phosphate mine should be remediated?"

Qi Tongwei spoke with deep emotion, and Jin Yue listened with solemnity.

After a long silence, Jin Yue frowned, looked at Qi Tongwei, and continued to ask.

"These kinds of mass incidents are very sensitive, and superiors generally don't pay attention to the reasons."

"Aren't you afraid of tarnishing your political career?"

Qi Tongwei was taken aback, glanced at Jin Yue, and tentatively asked.

"Is this one of your three questions?"

Jin Yue blushed, smiled slyly, and spoke.

"This is an additional question; of course, you can choose not to answer it."

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei sighed and said with a wry smile.

Do you want to hear the truth, or a lie?

Upon hearing this, Jin Yue blinked and continued to ask.

"How do you tell a lie? And how do you tell the truth?"

Qi Tongwei lit a cigarette and gave Jin Yue an apologetic smile.

"This is my first cigarette at work today. I just couldn't hold it in any longer. Please forgive me."

After saying that, he paused for a moment, then continued.

"That's a lie. I should say I'm not afraid."

"I am a Party cadre, I do not care about personal gains or losses, and I am willing to sacrifice for the cause of communism."

He paused, sighed, and continued with a wry smile.

"But to be honest, I'm scared."

"We're not only afraid of being held accountable by our superiors, but even more afraid of the people not understanding..."