Official statement: Tongwei is dead! You chose Ruijin, didn't you?

Meanwhile, in the provincial party committee compound, in Lu Chengzhou's office.

Lu Chengzhou had just returned from visiting a patient at the hospital and was holding a thermos, blowing on the goji berries floating on top.

Qin Yuanzhou, head of the central supervision team, sat on a leather sofa reviewing case files, while Zhou Zhengming, deputy head of the team, stood by the window, looking at the familiar Hongqi limousine in the courtyard below.

"Secretary Lu, Team Leader Qin,"

The director of the provincial party committee's general office cautiously pushed the door open, fine beads of sweat still clinging to his forehead. He didn't even dare to fully open the door.

"Comrade Chen Yanshi caused a scene in the veteran cadre reception room. He insisted on seeing the two leaders, saying that it concerned the overall situation of anti-corruption in Handong and that there was a major issue that required a face-to-face meeting."

Lu Chengzhou's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air. Without even lifting his eyelids, he asked indifferently:

"What's going on?"

"He insisted on seeing the two leaders, saying that it concerned the overall situation of anti-corruption in Handong and that there were important developments that needed to be reported in person. He even smashed the coffee table with his cane."

The director wiped his sweat.

Lu Chengzhou took a sip of water, swallowed, and then slowly asked, "What specific position does he hold in the provincial party committee now?"

The director of the general office was taken aback for a moment, then quickly replied, "Uh... Mr. Chen was the former executive deputy chief prosecutor of the provincial procuratorate, and he has been retired for many years."

"Now that I'm retired, I'm just an ordinary old comrade."

Lu Chengzhou put down his teacup, the bottom of which made a crisp clinking sound against the solid wood tabletop, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet office. "The provincial party secretary and the head of the central supervision group, he thinks he can just order them to meet whenever he wants? Does he think this is a family meeting, or a rendition of 'Shajiabang'?"

Zhou Zhengming chuckled softly by the window, turned around, and said with a hint of mockery in his eyes, "Secretary Lu, you may not know this since you're new here, but this old Chen is known as the 'Second Organization Department' in Handong. When Comrade Sha Ruijin was around, he called him 'Uncle Chen' all the time, and the Standing Committee meetings would have to stop halfway through to answer his guidance calls. He hasn't adjusted to the time difference yet; he really thinks the Provincial Party Committee compound is his backyard."

Qin Yuanzhou closed the file and snorted coldly: "Back then, under the guise of 'organizational testing,' they exiled a first-class meritorious anti-drug hero to a remote mountain village. Now he still has the nerve to come here and give orders? If we see him, the rules of Handong will truly become a joke."

"He doesn't know the rules, just like that Hou Liangping."

Lu Chengzhou said calmly, "We welcome the enthusiasm of veteran comrades for caring about national affairs, but the rules cannot be broken. Zhengming, have Xiao Lin from your supervisory group's petition team accompany the comrades from the Veteran Cadre Bureau to receive them. Bring recording equipment and follow the proper petition procedures. Record every single word of any 'major situation' he wants to report."

"Understood, I'll arrange it right away."

Zhou Zhengming took out his phone and dialed the number directly.

Ten minutes later, in the cadre reception room.

Chen Yanshi sat on the leather sofa, his chest heaving violently.

He originally thought that as long as he personally took the initiative and brought up his seniority as a veteran revolutionary, the newly arrived provincial party secretary would at least give him some face and come to listen to his heartfelt words.

The door opened.

The person who came in was neither Lu Chengzhou nor Qin Yuanzhou, but a young man in his early thirties wearing a dark jacket.

Behind him followed a senior bureau chief with a beaming smile and a back bent like a shrimp.

Chen Yanshi frowned sharply, slamming his cane heavily on the ground with a dull thud.

"Who are you? Where is Lu Chengzhou? Where is Qin Yuanzhou? Why haven't they come to see me?!"

The young man pulled out the chair opposite Chen Yanshi, sat down with neither arrogance nor servility, casually took out a voice recorder from his briefcase, placed it in the center of the table, and pressed the red light.

"Hello Mr. Chen, I am Lin Jianguo, a staff member of the petition team of the Central Supervision Group."

Xiao Lin opened his notebook and said in a businesslike tone, "Secretary Lu and Team Leader Qin are busy with important official duties and cannot be present. If you have any important information, you can report it to me. We will record the entire conversation to ensure an accurate report to our superiors. Please go ahead."

Looking at the red-glowing voice recorder on the table, Chen Yanshi felt like an ordinary petitioner, and this huge sense of disparity made him furious.

"What can a young kid like you do?! I'm talking about the overall political situation in Handong!"

Chen Yanshi said angrily.

"Old Chen,"

Kobayashi smiled slightly, giving a direct but firm rebuttal: "When it comes to organizational procedures, there is no distinction between young and old, only facts and evidence. If you feel wronged by speaking to me, you can go back and write it down and send it to the Central Committee. If you want to speak now, I'm all ears."

Chen Yanshi felt a tightness in his chest and almost couldn't catch his breath.

He gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn't maintain his composure today.

"What I want to report is that Comrade Sha Ruijin has been wronged!"

Chen Yanshi raised his voice, speaking with righteous indignation as if he held the truth in his hands, "Xiao Jinzi... that is, Sha Ruijin, I watched him grow up since he was a child. He has extremely strong party loyalty and cannot tolerate any injustice! He came to Handong to fight corruption and to break the political deadlock in Handong! By suspending him now, you have fallen into the trap set by the local forces in Handong!"

Xiao Lin's pen flew across the paper as he took notes, and without looking up, he asked, "Old Chen, the decision regarding Comrade Sha Ruijin's work assignment was made after comprehensive assessment by the Central Committee. You said he was wronged; do you have any specific clues or evidence?"

"Evidence? Gao Yuliang is the best evidence!"

Chen Yanshi waved his arms excitedly, spitting everywhere, "Gao Yuliang faked his suicide attempt! How could a real suicide happen to land on Xiao Jinzi's car roof and still survive?! It was a calculated self-inflicted injury! A political extortion! He's using his worthless life to blackmail the organization! Your supervisory team can't be blinded by this kind of political thug!"

Upon hearing this absolutely mind-blowing logic, Kobayashi even stopped writing.

He looked up at the legendary old revolutionary as if he were looking at an alien, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts.

"Old Chen."

Xiao Lin's tone turned cold. "Comrade Gao Yuliang fell from the sixth floor, suffering multiple comminuted fractures and internal organ damage. He is currently in the intensive care unit and is being kept alive by a ventilator and a polymer plaster cast."

You say it was a fake suicide attempt, a self-inflicted injury. Do you have a medical report? Or do you think someone could precisely calculate the trajectory of free fall, the acceleration due to gravity, and the thickness of the sheet metal on the roof of the Hongqi sedan, deliberately faking a comminuted fracture to stage an accident?

"What evidence do we need? Anyone with eyes can see that!"

Chen Yanshi argued illogically, and the veins on his neck bulged out.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Chen. The supervisory team only looks at irrefutable evidence, not the intuition of 'sharp-eyed' people, and certainly not metaphysics. Physics still exists in Handong."

Kobayashi closed his notebook, his tone cold and unforgiving. "If the 'significant situation' you reported is merely based on your personal feelings and subjective assumptions about Comrade Sha Ruijin, then our conversation ends here. I will report your opinions truthfully."

"You...you're exaggerating this! You're denying Comrade Sha Ruijin's achievements in fighting corruption!"

Chen Yanshi was so angry that he trembled all over. He suddenly stood up and pointed his cane at Xiaolin.

"Old Chen, no one denies the fight against corruption, but it cannot be used as a cover for factional struggles, much less rely on 'adopting godparents' to solve all problems."

Kobayashi stood up, politely gestured "please," and said with unwavering eyes, "Take care, don't bother seeing me out."

Chen Yanshi glared at Xiaolin for a full five seconds before finally leaning on his cane and storming out, slamming the door behind him.

……

Just as Chen Yanshi was running around the provincial party committee compound and throwing a tantrum over his "little gold,"

In another inpatient building of the First People's Hospital of Jingzhou City, a completely different and desolate scene unfolded.