Chapter 186: The Full Story of the Song Wen Suicide Case

Lin Dongfan doesn't fear the shamelessness of his underlings; he fears they're shameless but not thorough enough, foolishly posing as decent people.

If you lot were decent folks, then I'd be a freak.

Only now does this suit my rhythm.

Lin Dongfan generously praised Peng Tianhua: "Realizing this makes you a good comrade; others should learn from you. In anti‑corruption, what we need is Old Peng's daring to be angry and to investigate—clap!"

Under Lin Dongfan's leadership, the meeting room burst into enthusiastic applause.

Peng Tianhua, who had been seething with anger, was instantly drowned by the applause, left bewildered, wondering what the hell was going on.

After twenty years of struggling within the system, I've never seen a monster like Lin Dongfan.

He has no sense of decorum—on his first day on the job he put his legs on the desk, caring nothing for image; one second he's brandishing a knife to stab someone, the next he's clapping and praising.

I can't make sense of it!

I have no idea what this monster is actually trying to do.

Could he be trying to kill me with kindness?

Thinking this, Peng Tianhua tensed his sensitive nerves and spoke cautiously: "I'll… I'll follow Director Lin's arrangements. As for awareness, I feel I still have a lot of room to improve…"

"You really will follow my arrangements?" Lin Dongfan asked with a smile.

Peng Tianhua hastily straightened his back and emphasized: "I will resolutely follow the leadership's arrangements!"

Lin Dongfan flicked ash from his cigarette: "Then tell me about the Song Wen 'suicide' case."

"No problem." Peng Tianhua turned to the subordinate beside him: "Xiao Zhao, go fetch the relevant files."

"Sure."

Xiao Zhao is a young man in his twenties, full name Zhao Qingyang, and a trusted aide of Peng Tianhua.

Five minutes later.

Xiao Zhao handed the file to Peng Tianhua.

Peng Tianhua has a good memory; he actually retains a deep impression of this case, recalling every detail clearly, yet he still pretended to peruse the file for a while.

Finally.

He briefly reported to Lin Dongfan:

"January 1, 2007.

The Jianglan Oilfield Subsidiary of state‑owned Haiyan Group disclosed its financial report, posting a year‑on‑year loss of 25.9 billion and falling into operational difficulty.

January 18, 2007.

The Jianglan Oilfield Subsidiary signed an agreement with Jianglan Tianxing Group, transferring the 15 exploration and mining rights of the Jianglan oilfield to Tianxing Group.

March 19, 2007.

Someone reported Song Wen to the Z Discipline Inspection Commission, accusing him of deliberately sabotaging the Jianglan Oilfield Subsidiary and then cheaply transferring its assets to Tianxing Group to convey benefits.

April 4, 2007, the Z Discipline Inspection Commission summoned Song Wen for a talk.

April 5, 2007.

Song Wen returned to his hometown to sweep the graves and offer sacrifices, then shot himself in front of the ancestral tomb.

That is the full background of the Song Wen suicide case.

Three years ago, our Anti‑Corruption Bureau and the Public Security Department formed a Joint Investigation Team. The final investigation showed that Song Wen died of suicide to avoid punishment.

What Peng Tianhua reported matches pretty much what Lin Dongfan remembers.

In his previous life, Lin Dongfan had never handled this case, but as a member of the political‑legal system he had carefully studied major corruption cases nationwide.

If everything proceeds along the established track,

in eight years, after the current leadership of Haiyan Group falls, the truth will come to light—Song Wen will be an innocent scapegoat killed by others.

But now this case has actually landed in my hands.

That means we certainly won't have to wait eight more years to uncover the pot.

Lin Dongfan ordered everyone present: "Let's get moving—lock onto two investigation targets: first, the current head of Haiyan Group, Jia Yuzhang; second, the chairman of Tianxing Group, Gao Lu."

Hearing this, Peng Tianhua and the others felt their scalps go numb.

Peng Tianhua hesitated: "Director Lin, do you want to hear what you're saying?"

"What's wrong? Do Jia Yuzhang and Gao Lu have thorns on their backsides that keep you from touching them?" Lin Dongfan struck a slightly surprised pose.

Peng Tianhua strained to explain: "In 2007, the person in charge of this case while sitting in your position was Deputy Bureau Chief Kang. Now you don't greet him and just relaunch the investigation—isn't that slapping Deputy Bureau Chief Kang in the face?"

The Deputy Bureau Chief he referred to is the Deputy Director of the Anti‑Corruption Bureau, Kang Shaoxiong.

Lin Dongfan replied dismissively: "Even if the sky falls, I've got you covered—what do you have to fear? I'll give you one week; within that week I want to see the private‑relationship material between Head Jia and Boss Gao."

"It's not that I'm scared; this really is frightening."

Peng Tianhua, feeling uneasy just thinking about it, urged: "If you insist on reopening the investigation, I have no objections, but this matter truly involves a lot—can we first consult Deputy Bureau Chief Kang?"

"Old Peng, do you know why you can't sit in my position?"

"Why?"

"Because you're used to asking for instructions and reporting back, lacking decisiveness. You're afraid of dragons before you act and tigers after—so what's the point of fighting corruption at all?"

"Well…"

Faced with this merciless contempt, Peng Tianhua was embarrassed, his feet shuffling and his head barely able to lift.

He just couldn't understand: isn't asking for instructions and reporting normal? No matter which unit, subordinates doing work—who doesn't report upward?

Not asking or reporting—leaving aside whether it violates organizational discipline,

if something blows up and the higher‑ups slap us down, do we have iron‑head skill or a golden bell shield? We're just ordinary mortals—we'd be turned into mincemeat in minutes!

The more Peng Tianhua thought about it, the more nervous he became.

He steeled himself and added: "Director Lin, let me speak from the heart—when you first arrived, I really didn't take to you. But now you're dead set on reopening the Song Wen suicide case, I admire you a bit and feel you're a real man. Speaking honestly, I also think the Song Wen suicide case is fishy and I want to investigate it, but…"

"But what?" Lin Dongfan asked.

Peng Tianhua sincerely gave Lin Dongfan a heads-up: "Deputy Bureau Chief Kang is very face-conscious; if we don't greet him and just restart the case he handled, it wouldn't make sense emotionally or logically, and we might end up taking the fall."

You finished speaking?

Finished.

Once you're done speaking, put away your worries, adjourn the meeting, carry your infinite admiration for me and your infinite loyalty to the anti-corruption cause, and boldly forge ahead—I'll guarantee you make it to the grand finale.

Sigh!

Peng Tianhua let out a mournful sigh.

Really speechless; advising back and forth, it's utterly useless.

In the eyes of Section Chief Lin, Deputy Bureau Chief Kang seems like an insignificant little thing—this is utterly unscientific. Is it that Section Chief Lin looks down on everyone, or does Deputy Bureau Chief Kang also have problems?

Just thinking about this gives me a headache.

After the meeting adjourned, Peng Tianhua cautiously instructed his subordinates: "Since Section Chief Lin doesn't want to alarm Deputy Bureau Chief Kang, everyone keep quiet and launch a covert investigation."

Upon hearing this, his subordinates also felt like walking on thin ice, daring not to speak recklessly.

Because Peng Tianhua wasn't saying that Section Chief Lin didn't want to report to Deputy Bureau Chief Kang; he was saying that Section Chief Lin didn't want to alarm Deputy Bureau Chief Kang.

Alarm!

This word is sensitive, implying that Deputy Bureau Chief Kang is also a suspect in Section Chief Lin's eyes.