Chapter 681

In order to see his son, after finishing his duties in Xingcheng, Chen Yang still secretly made a trip back to Qingshui City.

When he arrived at the Lin family home, Lin Jianguo and Lin Wei were not there; only Hu Qingwan and two nannies were at home.

Hu Qingwan was still very warm toward Chen Yang. This former son-in-law, although he had transferred his affection elsewhere, actively left her daughter a settlement fee of one billion US dollars. That definitely counts as being both emotional and righteous.

And because of this money, Lin Wei's status in the Hu family rose quickly. The old master Hu had already said that he would focus on cultivating Lin Wei as his successor.

"Chen Yang, you rarely come by; just stay for dinner tonight."

Chen Yang didn't expect Hu Qingwan to voluntarily invite him to stay for dinner; feeling a bit worried, he said, "Mom, is this appropriate? Will Lin Wei be unhappy?"

Hu Qingwan said seriously, "You still acknowledge me as your mom; what's the harm in having a meal? It's a good chance to help me talk sense into your dad—he hasn't been in a good mood lately."

Chen Yang also wanted to spend more time with Chen Shengli, so he was happy to stay a while longer at the Lin residence. He curiously asked Hu Qingwan, "Mom, has anything big happened in the city lately?"

Hu Qingwan slightly shook her head and sighed, "It's work-related; your dad rarely tells me about it. You'll have to ask him yourself later!"

Chen Yang had been in Modu all this time and hadn't paid attention to the situation in Qingshui City. But the business operations in Qingshui City had been running smoothly; only Zheng Yun reported that the situation in Qingshui County was not very optimistic.

Not long after the commercial street project he cooperated with Divine Wind Group launched, the ugly faces of the two brothers, Fan Yu and Fan Tianbao, were exposed.

As Qingshui County Magistrate, Fan Yu acted unilaterally, letting his brother Fan Tianbao's demolition company, under various pretexts, tear down all the old residential areas around the commercial street. Some residents who refused to relocate were directly locked up in a small black room on the charge of hindering Qingshui County's development; when they were released, their houses had already been forcibly demolished.

Because they were dissatisfied with the Fan brothers' misconduct, many residents jointly filed a complaint with the Qingshui City Government.

In this light, Lin Jianguo's worries likely stem from Qingshui County.

However, Chen Yang, not wanting to startle the snake, did not let Zheng Yun investigate the Fan brothers' issue deeply, and for now he couldn't help Lin Jianguo.

After the latter got off work and came back, he tentatively asked, "Dad, I heard there's been a big commotion lately in Qingshui County?"

Lin Jianguo wasn't surprised that Chen Yang knew about Qingshui County's affairs, and he sighed, "This Fan Yu is too eager for quick success. To develop the commercial street, he forcibly demolished the surrounding old houses. The City Letters and Visits Office has recently received over a hundred complaint letters from Qingshui County."

Chen Yang asked Lin Jianguo, "Dad, County Magistrate Fan is acting so radically; shouldn't the Qingshui County Committee Secretary remind him?"

"I asked." Lin Jianguo said displeased, "The Qingshui County Committee's reply was: For Qingshui City's future development, short-term pain is better than long-term pain."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yang immediately guessed Lin Jianguo's source of worry. Although Fan Yu's behavior was extreme, he was acting under the banner of "developing Qingshui County's economy." As long as the final outcome is right, most of the city's leaders will turn a blind eye. Even if it escalates to the province, it will eventually be settled quietly.

That is to say, as long as Qingshui County doesn't have a major incident, Lin Jianguo can at most scold Fan Yu a couple of times.

Chen Yang thought for a while, then told Lin Jianguo, "Dad, since things have already become fact, pursuing blame is pointless. I personally think that as long as County Magistrate Fan has no vested interest in this demolition and reconstruction process, we might as well let him carry out the plan."

Lin Jianguo looked at Chen Yang, a little puzzled, and said, "You little brat, you don't get along with Fan Yu, so why are you speaking up for him this time?"

Chen Yang laughed, "There are many engineering firms in Qingshui County, yet only Fan Tianbao's company dared to take on this demolition project. That already shows the problem. From my point of view, I don't believe the Fan brothers are completely clean. Even if they can act well, time will reveal their true nature. Then you can rest assured—any investigation will turn up something."

Lin Jianguo immediately understood Chen Yang's meaning. The heavenly net is vast, though it lets some slip through; the Fan brothers, even if they could conceal themselves further, will eventually have the truth surface. By then, when he handles this matter, he will face far less resistance.

After figuring this out, Lin Jianguo's mood improved greatly. After all, these past few days everyone around him has been pleading for Fan Yu. Even the City Committee Secretary, Kong Jie, hopes he will prioritize the bigger picture.

The two chatted a while longer, and Lin Wei also returned.

She saw Chen Yang holding Chen Shengli, froze for a moment, then went straight back to her room and never came out again.

Chen Yang wanted to call her, but Hu Qingwan stopped him.

"Don't mind her; when she's hungry she'll naturally come out to eat."

Seeing Hu Qingwan firmly supporting him, Chen Yang felt a bit embarrassed. He handed the child to the nanny and, using the spare key, opened Lin Wei's door.

"Why aren't you eating and coming to my place?" Seeing that the person who opened the door was Chen Yang, Lin Wei immediately put on a cold face.

Chen Yang saw that she had become even thinner than before, and feeling a pang of sympathy, he said, "You're now the town head; you don't need to do everything yourself. When it's time to rest, you still ought to pay attention to resting."

Lin Wei gave Chen Yang a fierce stare.

"Who are you? What right do you have to meddle in my affairs?"

Chen Yang gave a wry smile, "Even if we're not husband and wife, we don't have to be enemies, do we? As the child's father, I just want the child's mother to be a little happier—what's wrong with that?"

Lin Wei snorted coldly, "I have power, I have money—who says I'm not happy?"

Seeing that her words didn't match her heart, Chen Yang directly asked, "Are you really happy?"

Lin Wei retorted, "Why wouldn't I be happy?"

Chen Yang didn't ask again, turned around and prepared to go back to Lin Jianguo's side. Unexpectedly, Lin Wei suddenly chased after him and tightly embraced him from behind.

Chen Yang, you bastard who deserves to die!

You think you can just come and go as you like—what do you think this place is?

Chen Yang sighed and said, "This place used to be my home too! It was you who personally drove me out..."

Lin Wei's body shuddered violently, yet she held Chen Yang even tighter in her arms.

Her warmth made Chen Yang involuntarily recall the happy days of the past.

Thus, the two of them once again became adept at entwining.

After a long, long time, when Lin Wei lay contentedly on Chen Yang and fell asleep, he began to repent for his infidelity toward Chu Ning.

Men, indeed, cannot keep their pants up.

If the Chu family also placed spies around him like Old Master Hu did, then after this Spring Festival his relationship with Chu Ning would surely be cut off....

Thinking of Chu Ning's cold-hearted older brother and that grandfather whose gaze was as sharp as a blade, Chen Yang's head suddenly began to throb faintly.