Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

The open space was deathly silent.

Chen Yanshi pulled his right hand out of his pocket and pressed it against his left chest.

"Hai Zi!" His voice suddenly rose. "You—are you really my son, Chen Yanshi?!"

Chen Hai did not back down.

"I am your son. But I am also a prosecutor."

Chen Yanshi's lips were purple. He opened his mouth twice, as if to say something, but no sound came out.

He raised his finger and pointed at Chen Hai, his finger trembling.

"Dad, I'm asking you one last time." Chen Hai's voice was low, just loud enough for the father and son to hear. "What was your purpose in inciting the workers to riot?"

Chen Yanshi's eyes reddened. Not with emotion, but with anger and humiliation.

He wanted to fight back. He wanted to say that Li Dakang was a liar and try to win public opinion back to his side.

The words were on the tip of his tongue when he saw Chen Hai's eyes, which seemed to say, "Dad, don't force me."

Chen Yanshi has spent his entire life working in the political and legal system. He knows all too well that if he were to label Chen Hai in front of the live broadcast camera now, Chen Hai's political career would be completely over.

He had just been released from the detention center when his own father publicly condemned him online.

He'll never be able to turn his life around.

He couldn't bring himself to do it.

Chen Yanshi's hand slid down from his left chest and pressed back up. His face changed from ashen to bluish-purple.

"I……"

His body swayed slightly.

Zheng Xipo was the first to react. "Old Chen!"

Chen Yanshi's knees bent, and he swayed to the left. He kicked over the folding stool, and the sound of metal hitting the concrete bounced twice on the open ground.

Chen Hai rushed over and caught him.

"dad!"

Chen Yanshi gripped Chen Hai's jacket collar tightly with his right hand, his lips trembling as he squeezed out each word.

"You... will regret this..."

Then his eyes rolled back, and he went limp.

"Call an ambulance!" Chen Hai shouted.

The number of viewers in the live stream stopped at 510,000. The chat remained silent for two seconds, then surged out like a burst dam.

Chen Yanshi was sent to the First People's Hospital of Jingzhou City.

He suffered an acute myocardial infarction, had two stents implanted, and was admitted to the ICU. The doctor said he was out of danger, but would need to stay in bed for at least half a month.

Chen Hai sat in the corridor outside the ICU all night.

No one bothered him.

Sun Liancheng came by once, left a bag of fruit on a chair in the corridor, but didn't go in; he turned around and left.

The next morning at seven o'clock, Zheng Xipo called.

"Chen Hai, the factory security team has dispersed."

Chen Hai leaned against the wall, his voice hoarse. "Where's Wang Wenge?"

"He led the dispersal. Last night, a meeting was held where the workers themselves voted. All 312 people who attended agreed to cooperate with the demolition."

Chen Hai hurriedly called Sun Liancheng.

"The factory security team has left. When will you be moving in?"

"The excavator arrived this afternoon."

The phone hangs up.

Chen Hai placed his phone on his lap and stared at the ICU door for a long time.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

The diesel engines of three excavators started simultaneously at the entrance of Dafeng Factory. The yellow robotic arms rose and gripped the first wall.

The moment the brick dust flew up, several old workers turned their backs, not daring to look.

Sun Liancheng stood at the scene wearing a safety helmet, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand, his voice already hoarse from shouting.

"Demolish the eastern section first, paying attention to the load-bearing walls! Don't damage the pipes!"

Two hours later, the entire eastern perimeter wall of Dafeng Factory was bulldozed.

At 3 p.m., the main structure of the factory building began to be demolished.

As the sun set, the chimney of the Dafeng Factory, which had stood for thirty-two years, collapsed with a deafening roar. Dust billowed into the air, casting a gray-white pillar in the sunset.

Zheng Xipo stood across the street, watching the chimney fall down.

He took off his glasses and wiped them; the lenses were covered in dust.

"Old Zheng, let's go." Wang Wenge patted him on the shoulder.

"Where to?"

"go home."

Zheng Xipo put on his glasses, took one last look, then turned and left.

That evening, the message reached the desks of the three men. Li Dakang, after reading the briefing in his office, laughed heartily, exclaiming "Good heavens!" He admired Shen Zhong's shrewdness even more; a display of paternal love and filial piety had finally brought down the old man Chen Yanshi.

Seven-day deadline, done on the fifth day.

The second one is Shen Zhong. When Zhou Weiguo put the briefing on the table, Shen Zhong was practicing boxing.

"Sir, Dafeng Factory has been demolished."

"Um."

Shen Zhong finished training and picked up the briefing to glance at it.

Where is Chen Hai?

"I stayed at the hospital. I didn't leave all night."

Shen Zhong put down the briefing.

"Tell Li Dakang to arrange a position for Chen Hai: the head of the Guangming District Procuratorate. This kid is talented, but he hasn't matured yet under Chen Yanshi's protection."

Zhou Weiguo nodded, turned around and left.

The third is Sha Ruijin.

He saw the briefing at 10 p.m.

Only one desk lamp was on in the office. The light shone on the briefing, and the words "Dafeng Factory demolition successfully completed" stung his eyes.

Chen Yanshi is hospitalized.

The Dafeng Factory was demolished.

Public opinion shifted the moment Chen Hai produced the payment details and recordings. The online discussion is no longer about "government-led demolitions," but rather "who is manipulating a 78-year-old man as a pawn."

Sha Ruijin closed the briefing, picked up his teacup, stood up, and walked to the window.

The streetlights in the provincial party committee compound were on, their orange glow casting long shadows on the sycamore leaves. A gust of wind blew, scattering the shadows across the ground.

Dafeng Factory's move has backfired.

Sha Ruijin turned around and pressed the intercom button on the table.

"Jie Tian Guofu."

Three rings.

"Secretary Guo Fu, this is Sha Ruijin."

"Secretary Sha, please speak." Tian Guofu's voice was hoarse, as if he had just fallen asleep.

"He Xia has been in Luzhou for over a month now. The provincial party committee should go and see the actual progress. You'll come with me to Luzhou next Monday for an inspection."

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

"Luzhou?"

"Yes. The provincial party committee has a responsibility to investigate the situation on-site and provide guidance."

Tian Guofu did not answer immediately.

Luzhou. He Xia. Shen Zhong's wife.

Sha Ruijin was about to make his move, but he had no other choice; he had already thoroughly offended Shen Zhong.

"Okay, Secretary Sha. I've also heard some news about Luzhou recently. It's said that some cadres were promoted while they had problems. I'll make some arrangements and we'll set off together next Monday."

"Oh, to promote someone while they're at fault? How can that be allowed? You'd better give me a proper report."

Jingzhou Municipal People's Procuratorate.

Chen Hai stood at the entrance of the office building and looked up at the plaque.

At 9:00 AM, the Deputy Director of the Organization Department of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee read out the appointment document. The Chief Prosecutor of the Guangming District Procuratorate, originally at the level of a full-fledged division chief, was demoted from deputy director-general to full-fledged division chief.

Li Dakang was in charge of all judicial review work related to the Guangmingfeng project.

After the announcement was made, the people from the Organization Department left.

Chen Hai sat in his new office, with a cup of tea, a stack of documents to be signed, and a brand-new prosecutor's certificate on his desk.

The person in the ID photo is 20 pounds heavier than they are now.

The phone rang.

Chen Hai glanced at the caller ID—Gao Yuliang.

His finger paused on the answer button for two seconds.

"Teacher Gao."

"Xiao Hai, I heard you've started your new job." Gao Yuliang's voice was calm and unhurried, carrying his signature magnetic quality. "Congratulations."

"Thank you for your concern, Professor Gao."

"You're my student, so of course I'm happy to see you doing well." (Pause.) "But Xiao Hai, there's something I need to tell you."

"You were locked up for over a year, so it's normal for your mindset to change after you get out. But it's precisely during times like these that you need to stay calm. Think more, observe more, and act less."