Chapter 432

A fatal accident occurred at the construction site, and the driver of the excavator responsible for the accident is a key figure.

If the driver responsible also suddenly died or disappeared, the truth of the accident would have no witnesses, and all responsibility would fall on Zhengtong Capital, which in plain terms means Lin Dongfan would bear it.

Under these circumstances.

Lin Dongfan, under the guise of a 'request,' asked Guo Lichun to personally intervene to ensure the personal safety of the driver responsible.

Is this called a request?

This is actually putting shackles on Guo Lichun!

Yu Huacheng again set the tone with the pretense of 'demonstrating the government's importance,' appearing righteous on the surface but actually putting Guo Lichun over a fire.

The two of them are openly playing an open scheme!

They have mastered the use of scheming thinking and officialdom's rhetoric to perfection!

This is also one of the things that frustrates Guo Lichun the most; even though he knows Lin Dongfan and Yu Huacheng are colluding to dig a pit and bury someone, he cannot avoid it and can only steel himself to jump in.

The open scheme has no solution!

If he does not jump into the pit, Yu Huacheng will seize the opportunity to blame him for not valuing the people's lives and property, and will put a hat on him!

Lin Dongfan will also reasonably question why he refuses to protect the driver responsible—is he trying to silence him by killing him?

By that point……

Guo Lichun's political image will completely collapse; perhaps the provincial authorities will take this as an opportunity to strike him a heavy blow, with unimaginable consequences!

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Guo Lichun is deeply immersed in anger.

He coldly stared at Lin Dongfan.

He secretly analyzed to himself:

"Compared to the Long Dragon Society members who only know how to fight and kill, this guy is obviously much stronger. His chokehold technique is quite a set! Previously he incited the fishermen's villagers to choke Zhang Yinlan's neck, forcing Zhang Yinlan to take sides! Today, without spending a single soldier, he chokes my neck, forcing me to protect the driver responsible! This guy is well-versed in officialdom's rules, clearly knowing everyone's weak points—could he really just be a merchant?"

The more he thought about it, the more confused Guo Lichun became; he simply could not see through this person before him.

But Guo Lichun is not made of paper.

The tragedy of drawing fire upon himself is about to unfold; he cannot possibly sit and wait for death!

After a period of silent contemplation.

Guo Lichun publicly launched a counterattack against Yu Huacheng: 'Old Yu, regarding the construction site fatality, I will order the Municipal Public Security Bureau's comrades to get to the bottom of it. If the driver responsible is truly suspected of murder, I guarantee to the Municipal Party Committee that I will ensure he stands trial alive, giving the broad public an explanation. But!'

Having said that, Guo Lichun suddenly shifted his gaze to Lin Dongfan.

His tone suddenly shifted: 'Lack of safety protective measures is one of the factors causing the accident; Zhengtong Capital bears an inescapable responsibility and should be ordered to halt work! After the relevant issues are thoroughly investigated, whether to order rectification or to revoke Zhengtong Capital's engineering qualifications will be decided based on the specific situation.'

In plain terms, Guo Lichun simply wants to regain control of the lost project.

To take back the big cake of Fisherman's Port New City from Lin Dongfan's hands and return it to Zheng Canghai, thereby consolidating Zheng Canghai's position as Dragon King.

Yu Huacheng responded without showing weakness: 'Zhengtong Capital is a provincial state-owned enterprise; its engineering qualifications are definitely unproblematic. Mayor Guo, you must speak prudently!'

The two words 'prudently' are undoubtedly a warning to Guo Lichun.

Guo Lichun, smiling angrily, asked: 'What does prudence mean? Just because Zhengtong Capital has a state-owned background, does that mean we cannot question its engineering qualifications? People have died at the construction site now—that is a fact!'

"!!!"

Yu Huacheng's anger rose from his heart, leaving him momentarily speechless.

At that moment, the atmosphere on site dropped to freezing point; it could be said that swords were drawn and bows bent!

The leaders of all ranks present at the meeting had never before seen Yu and Guo openly opposing each other with swords drawn; each gasped in shock, and none dared to make a sound.

At this moment, Lin Dongfan suddenly spoke: 'Since Mayor Guo is not afraid of delaying the project schedule, let us follow his request; we, Zhengtong Capital, are willing to halt work and cooperate with the investigation.'

'Director Fan, don't misunderstand—I'm not targeting you, I'm just stating the facts.' Guo Lichun wore a solemn expression, behaving like an impartial and selfless gentleman.

This serious-acting performance made Lin Dongfan chuckle.

Lin Dongfan lightly smiled and asked: 'Before the bidding, the relevant departments had already strictly examined Zhengtong Capital's bidding qualifications. Mayor Guo, now that you are overturning all this, have you considered how the comrades of the Housing and Construction Bureau feel? It seems they were previously making decisions with their buttocks and voting with their feet.'

'Director Fan, Old Yu just said to speak prudently! I think your current speech is imprudent, with suspicion of sowing discord.' Guo Lichun said solemnly: 'I am not doubting that the Housing and Construction Bureau's comrades are lax in oversight; I suspect your unit engages in fraudulent operations, relying on its state-owned background to forcibly take on projects!'

'You just said you weren't targeting me, but now you suspect me—how contradictory.' Lin Dongfan laughed.

Guo Lichun's face darkened with anger: 'You're stirring up nonsense! I said I suspect your unit—when did I say I suspect you?'

'Zhengtong Capital is up to me; doubting Zhengtong Capital of fraud is doubting me, Fan Donglin, of fraud!' Engaging in a mudslinging fight, Lin Dongfan is serious, and the more they argue, the more heated it becomes.

After all, the leaders of all municipal departments are present.

Today!

This is the perfect opportunity to give these cadres a good lesson!

Lin Dongfan wants all the city's cadres to realize this issue: although Guo Lichun is a fierce tiger, his backside is not off-limits to touch!

The key is to destroy Guo Lichun's cohesion.

Thus Lin Dongfan further engaged in the mudslinging: 'Mayor Guo, let me put the ugly truth up front: if, after investigation, it turns out that it is not our Zhengtong Capital's engineering qualifications that are problematic, but rather the excavator driver was instigated and intentionally murdered! Are you willing to bear the responsibility you should bear for delaying the project?'

'What do you mean by that?'

Guo Lichun said solemnly and sternly: 'Someone died at the construction site; I ordered your unit to halt work and thoroughly investigate your unit's engineering qualifications—this is taking responsibility for the people's safety!'

Lin Dongfan calmly countered: 'So you mean: regardless of whether our Zhengtong Capital's qualifications are problematic, you just want to halt work! Moreover, you do not want to bear responsibility for the resulting wage delays! Am I, Fan Donglin, supposed to just accept bad luck? Is that what you mean? Is that the responsibility of a mayor?'

"!!!"

Guo Lichun was dumbfounded; he never imagined in his dreams that the other party would dare provoke him like this!

After all, Guo Lichun is also a mayor!

What reason does a merchant have to go berserk to this extent? This makes him doubt once again whether the Fan Donglin before him might truly not be an ordinary merchant!

The atmosphere on site, tense as drawn swords and bent bows, has already reached the extreme point.

The cadres of all ranks present at the meeting also focused their gazes on Lin Dongfan and Guo Lichun, and everyone present was equally shocked.

In the distant rear rows, someone whispered:

"Zhengtong Capital merely has state-owned shares, not a true state-owned enterprise; how dare Director Fan openly turn against Mayor Guo? It's truly incomprehensible."

It's not complicated, is it? Fan Donglin is Secretary Yu's right-hand man.

Is it Secretary Yu who's backing Fan Donglin behind the scenes?

This is obvious: Secretary Yu seized control of the project, Mayor Guo isn't happy about it, and the two have started fighting it out; I'd say one of them is bound to fall this time.

So what should we do?

Let's wait and see; nowadays Secretary Yu is getting stronger and stronger—he's no longer the bare-bones commander he used to be—and the outcome of this showdown is hard to predict.