Chapter 867: The Uproar

Yuan Hongzhan looked at the surrounding crowd and whispered to Zhou Andong, "The village cadres were taken in one fell swoop. Among the village party secretary, village chief, or village director, is there a position for him?"

Zhou Andong rubbed his chin. "Judging by his popularity, it should be about right."

Yuan Hongzhan nodded. "Then I'll have plenty of dealings with him in the future."

Zhou Andong took out cigarettes and gave one to Yuan Hongzhan, then lit one for himself.

"I'm becoming more and more interested in Zhou Baoshan. I always feel he's a man with a lot of stories."

Yuan Hongzhan laughed. "It's fortunate he's not a woman; otherwise, I'd have to tell Qiuqiu to keep a close eye on you."

Zhou Andong rolled his eyes, listening to the discussions of the people around him, but after listening for a long time, he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Yuan Hongzhan nudged Zhou Andong. "Do you think the village cadres being taken in one fell swoop has anything to do with Yuan Hongbiao's case?"

"Does that even need asking?" Zhou Andong opened his mouth and exhaled a smoke ring. "The limestone mine belongs to the village. With such a big pot of meat, the leaders are all eating until their mouths are oily; as the masters, how could they not drink some soup?"

"It seems the city is really going to take ruthless action." Yuan Hongzhan said in a low voice. "First clean up the bottom, and once more evidence is obtained, it will be time to move against those above."

Zhou Andong glanced at Zhou Baoshan, who was surrounded by villagers and talking in front.

"That's it. There's nothing to see. Let's go!"

Yuan Hongzhan also looked over. "Should we go say hello to him?"

"You go!" Zhou Andong said. "If he really can become a village cadre, there will be plenty of opportunities to interact with him in the future, so saying hello is fine."

"Alright!" Yuan Hongzhan squeezed into the crowd and greeted Zhou Baoshan.

Zhou Baoshan looked up and waved at Zhou Andong.

Zhou Andong smiled and nodded, then turned and walked toward the car not far away.

At this moment, he saw the woman from the Liu family walking over from the opposite side, accompanied by an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, who should be her daughter.

Zhou Andong stood by the car and greeted her with a smile. "Big Sister, you're also here to watch the fun."

The girl didn't hide her disgust for the village cadres. "A whole nest of bastards was taken away. Such a big, joyous event, how could I not come and see?"

It was estimated that those village cadres hadn't played any positive role in the mine disaster and might have even helped Yuan Hongbiao commit evil.

Therefore, the hatred these families of the mine disaster victims had for those things had reached an unbearable point.

"Little Sister is here." Yuan Hongzhan returned.

In fact, his age might not even be greater than the woman's, but he couldn't help it—the woman looked young.

The woman asked curiously, "Do you know why those bastards were arrested?"

Yuan Hongzhan shook his head. "I asked just now, but nobody knows why they were arrested. It was quite sudden."

The woman laughed. "I'll go take a look."

Zhou Andong and Yuan Hongzhan said goodbye to the woman and turned to get into the car.

In Zhenxing Village, the news that Yuan Hongbiao had been arrested had spread. The village entrance was full of people, all discussing the matter.

As soon as Zhou Andong's car appeared, everyone surrounded it. Helpless, Zhou Andong and Yuan Hongzhan had to get out.

"Oh my, Old Gada is here too." A villager asked impatiently, "Do you know that Yuan Hongbiao has been arrested?"

"I know!" Yuan Hongzhan took out cigarettes and distributed them to the villagers. "I just came back from the town and heard about it."

Another villager asked, "Do you know why?"

Yuan Hongzhan shook his head. "I don't know about that."

"By the way!" Another villager said with *schadenfreude*, "I ran into Yuan Xibin. Before, when we met, I'd greet him and he'd just grunt without saying a word. Just now, I ran into him and he was walking with his head down, avoiding me."

Yuan Hongbiao hadn't really done anything excessive to the villagers of Zhenxing Village. But the family of Old Master Yuan the Second had their eyes on the top of their heads from top to bottom, so most villagers didn't like them.

This time, Yuan Hongbiao was arrested; few sympathized, but there was a lot of *schadenfreude*. This also explained a problem: no matter how high your status, you cannot be divorced from the mass base.

After chatting with the villagers for a while, Zhou Andong and Yuan Hongzhan went to the brigade headquarters again to call Zhi Wanshan. A woman answered, telling him that the boss had been picked up by people from the city.

As soon as Zhou Andong heard this, he understood. It must be the investigation team. Because Zhi Wanshan was a party involved, he must have had contact with other victims. Only by finding them could the chain of evidence be completed.

Over the next two days, the news that Yuan Hongbiao and the village cadres of Jianshe Village had been arrested caused an uproar. Immediately afterward, news also came out of the county that several leaders had been taken away for investigation.

August 11, 1993, the twenty-fourth day of the sixth lunar month, Wednesday!

Just one day before Zhou Andong returned to Jiangzhou, Zhi Wanshan came. Compared to the disheveled state he was in when they first met, he now looked spirited and radiant, as if he were a different person.

Behind him followed two people who looked younger than him, but not by much. One was wearing a suit that didn't fit very well, a large gold chain hanging around his neck, a bag tucked under his arm, and a brick-sized mobile phone in his hand.

The other looked very low-key, wearing an undershirt, large shorts, and cloth shoes, and he had a smile on his face for everyone. Even when Old Four, who was playing in the courtyard, looked at him, he would smile and greet him, which greatly satisfied Old Four's small vanity.

"Boss Zhi, you really are in high spirits because of happy events." Zhou Andong reached out and shook hands with Zhi Wanshan.

Zhi Wanshan said gratefully, "Chairman Zhou, I will remember this kindness of yours."

Zhou Andong waved his hand. "It was just a small effort; there's no need for this."

"No!" Zhi Wanshan said with a serious face. "To you, it was a small effort, but to me, it is a kindness as big as the sky."

Zhou Andong shook his head with a smile. "Don't stand outside. Come inside and talk."

The four of them entered the house, and Zhi Wanshan introduced the two people.

"Chairman Zhou, these two are my good brothers. This one is Wang Yumin, and this one is Zeng Li!"

"Chairman Zhou, hello!"

The two shook hands with Zhou Andong and greeted him respectfully.

Then, Zhi Wanshan got straight to the point. "These two brothers of mine were also parties involved in that matter back then. They also have coal mines in their hands, and they are both medium-to-large mines. Although they are not open-pit mines, the coal seams are not deep, and the heat of the coal is very good. Are you interested?"

Zhou Andong said helplessly, "You are treating me as a philanthropist. Don't you know why I took over your coal mine?"

Zhi Wanshan gave a bitter laugh. "I have no other choice. They are also going to the Middle East with me, so the mines in their hands must be dealt with. But apart from you, we can't find any other buyers."

Zhou Andong didn't answer him, but asked, "When do you plan to leave?"

"It will take at least two or three months. After the case is over, because we are victims, we have to testify in court. In addition, there is the matter of settling the family, and some assets in hand also need time to be dealt with." ===== CHAPTER 868 =====