Chapter 642: Sit on the Mountain and Watch the Tigers Fight

Fan Yu suddenly felt something was off. After calming down, he solemnly asked Fan Tianbao, "Who did you hear saying this project would be taken by Sunlight Real Estate?"

Fan Tianbao blurted out, "Chief Jia of the Agriculture Bureau told me that over a meal..." He said this, then suddenly paused, and his attitude turned serious. "Brother, could he be wrong?"

Fan Yu cursed, "That idiot," and said hatefully, "Surname Jia has always resented Zhou Zhengyang for taking his deputy county magistrate position. Chen Yang's investment in Qingshui County benefits Zhou Zhengyang the most. Do you think surname Jia would want this to happen?"

Fan Tianbao was no fool; he immediately smelled the rat, gritted his teeth and said, "Surname Jia dares to use me as a pawn—I'll go ruin him right now." Having said that, he stormed out angrily.

Seeing Fan Tianbao about to go settle accounts with Chief Jia, Fan Yu immediately called out to him, "What are you going to do? The most important thing now is to get Chen Yang back for me. If he doesn't come back, even my position as county magistrate will be at stake!"

Fan Tianbao immediately became embarrassed. "Brother, I don't even have his phone number, and I don't know where he lives—how am I supposed to ask him?"

Fan Yu immediately took out his phone and dialed Chen Yang's number, but no one answered after a long time. Angry, he directly smashed the phone.

Seeing this, Fan Tianbao lowered his voice and said, "Brother, what if I go to Qingshui City and kneel to beg him to come back?"

Fan Yu sighed, "Others going might be fine, but if you dare go, whether you can return is a problem. Don't forget, Mayor Lin is his ex-wife's father."

Fan Tianbao said, bewildered, "Chen Yang has already divorced Mayor Lin's daughter—what's there to fear?"

Fan Yu gave his brother a look of disdain and angrily scolded, "Is your head filled with paste? If Chen Yang didn't divorce, could he still invest in Qingshui City?"

Although Fan Tianbao doesn't mix in official circles, he also knows that officials' family members aren't supposed to casually engage in business. However, these rules in Qingshui County are merely a formality. Most officials' relatives in the county have their own companies. Someone like Chen Yang, who proactively divorced and then invested, is almost nonexistent.

If Lin Jianguo were Chen Yang's backer, he certainly wouldn't dare go to Qingshui City. After all, in the county, if things go south, he could have a chance to flee. Leaving his own turf, he'd be a lamb awaiting slaughter.

"Brother, do you think Chen Yang is sick? He has such a powerful backing, so why would he let me have the project?"

Fan Yu snorted coldly, "They basically have no interest in investing here; they came only because of Zhou Zhengyang's connections. Your fuss just gave them a perfect excuse to leave."

Fan Tianbao originally thought Chen Yang was righteous, but didn't expect he was digging a pit for him. He cursed, "This Chen surname—if he doesn't want to invest, just say so; why all the scheming? Can't our Qingshui County function without him?"

Fan Yu kicked Fan Tianbao hard, angrily scolding, "Besides being loudmouthed, what else can you do?"

Seeing Fan Yu repeatedly resort to violence against him, Fan Tianbao said, displeased, "Brother, if you're capable, you go fetch Chen Yang yourself. Taking out your anger on me won't solve anything!"

Fan Yu glared fiercely at Fan Tianbao. Chen Yang wasn't answering the phone, and he actually had no other recourse. The only hope now was that Zhou Zhengyang could call Chen Yang back.

Thinking this, he immediately walked to Fan Tianbao's desk, picked up the office phone there, and dialed Zhou Zhengyang.

"Comrade Zhengyang, how's Director Chen's side? Has he come back?"

"County Magistrate Fan, sorry, my car was slow and I didn't catch up to Director Chen."

"In that case, you should still go to Qingshui City and personally explain the misunderstanding to Director Chen."

"Okay!"

After hanging up, Zhou Zhengyang solemnly asked Chen Yang, "Director Chen, are you really not going back?"

Chen Yang said calmly, "If I go back now, Secretary Zhang and County Magistrate Fan will unite again to trap me. Or we could first sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight a while longer, then talk."

Zhou Zhengyang said doubtfully, "County Magistrate Fan is very utilitarian and lives extravagantly; your suspicion of him I can still understand. Secretary Zhang is Secretary Kong's protégé, and his reputation has always been good. How could he be that kind of person?"

Chen Yang smiled, "You may know a person's face but not their heart. Secretary Kong, burdened with countless affairs, occasionally misjudges—this is only human."

Zhou Zhengyang still didn't believe it, saying helplessly, "Director Chen, if you don't go back, how am I going to report to them?"

Chen Yang replied, "Follow me to Qingshui City and stay a few days. If they ask, just say you're working on my thoughts."

Zhou Zhengyang hesitated a moment, then said, "If I go with you to Qingshui City, how will the county's work be handled?"

Chen Yang said, "Your most important task right now is to get me back to Qingshui County. If you don't believe me, you can call Secretary Zhang and County Magistrate Fan to check."

Zhou Zhengyang immediately called Zhang Tianhe, explained his situation. The result was indeed just as Chen Yang had guessed.

He then dialed Fan Yu's office extension; the answer was still the same.

"Director Chen, it seems you truly can foresee things like a god!"

Seeing his heavy mood, Chen Yang smiled and soothed, "If you find following me boring, you can go check out the newly built commercial pedestrian street in Qingshui City and learn how Hong Kong entrepreneurs run commercial streets."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengyang immediately became interested. "Director Chen, I've heard you have a great relationship with Divine Wind Group—could you introduce me?"

Chen Yang indicated no problem. Zhou Zhengyang wanted to establish a firm foothold in Qingshui County; relying solely on his own support wasn't enough. If he could bring Divine Wind Group over, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

The two went together to Qingshui City Commercial Street; just as they entered the urban area, Zhang Chunhua's call came in, asking Chen Yang to go to the Municipal Committee Office.

Chen Yang had no choice but to call Wu Jinghui, the person in charge of Divine Wind Group in Qingshui County, to entertain Zhou Zhengyang. Then he hurriedly rushed to Kong Jie's office.

"Chen Yang, you little brat, what are you up to? If you're going to support your hometown's construction, you should see it through from start to finish. They just finished setting up the stage, and you, the lead, just ran off without a word—isn't that inappropriate?"

Facing Kong Jie's questioning, Chen Yang put on a look of grievance and said, "Senior Leader, this isn't my fault. I was just taking a nap in the county committee guesthouse when a big gang of local thugs showed up, threatening me to relinquish this commercial street project. How could I refuse?"

"Local thugs causing a ruckus at the county committee guesthouse?" Kong Jie frowned slightly and said, "How I heard it was Fan County Magistrate's brother amicably negotiating with you?"

Chen Yang sighed, "Senior Leader, I only have four bodyguards, while they have at least a dozen or more. Outside, who knows how many reinforcements they have. If we're not friendly, will you still be able to see me intact?"

Kong Jie, hearing this, angrily slammed the table. "Unreasonable! Is Fan Yu trying to monopolize Qingshui County all by himself?"