Chapter 871

Night fell.

In Place downtown, there was an inconspicuous teahouse.

Qi Ting sat in the private room; the tea before him had been changed three infusions, yet he hadn't taken a sip. His fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop, his brows knotted into a worry‑filled lump.

When the door was pushed open, Qi Ting finally showed a hint of a smile.

"Qi Ting, sorry, there was a traffic jam on the way." Lin Dongfan walked in holding a briefcase, wearing the apologetic smile fitting for someone late.

Qi Ting gestured to a seat: "Sit down and speak. Right now, the busiest person in all of Wuzhou is you. Your coming already gives me enough face."

"Don't flatter me; I'm prone to getting carried away."

As they talked and laughed, Lin Dongfan sat down opposite Qi Ting and personally poured himself a cup of tea.

Lin Dongfan asked: "What's so urgent that we have to meet in person?"

"Of course it's something inconvenient to say over the phone." Qi Ting laughed: "Have a sip of tea to calm yourself first; I'm afraid what I'm about to say will scare you."

"Go ahead, my heart is strong enough."

Although he said that, he still needed to drink the tea, mainly because he had rushed over in a hurry and hadn't even had a chance to sip water along the way, leaving his throat a bit dry.

Qi Ting stood up and closed the private room door.

Only then did he return to his seat and speak slowly: "Today Deputy Governor Deng went to see Secretary Jiang—guess who he's aiming this cannon at?"

"Me?"

Lin Dongfan gave a knowing smile.

Qi Ting followed with a laugh: "Talking to a smart person saves effort. Today his salvo wasn't light—it almost blasted you from Wuzhou all the way to Jiangbei."

"He wants to move against me?" Lin Dongfan looked astonished.

Qi Ting neither confirmed nor denied, nodding slightly: "He wants to move against you; this isn't something that started just a day or two ago. Since the day you crossed swords with the Zhao Group, he's already taken a dislike to you."

"What's his reason for moving against me?" Lin Dongfan asked.

Qi Ting replied: "You clashed with Wang Qigang at the meeting, and some said you lacked organizational loyalty. Plus, the Cloud Peak Mountain Villa project has been halted for over a month, rumored to be your negligence. Add to that the Mortal Group's annexation of the Zhao Group, rumored to be you using power for personal gain to pave the way for Ye Jiaying. That's the grounds for their impeachment."

"Heh, just that? Nothing new either."

Lin Dongfan set down his teacup, his face showing no ripple of expression.

But Qi Ting grew anxious: "My Mayor Lin, why are you acting like an emperor who isn't worried while the eunuch panics? You should know that Deputy Governor Deng Chunning has already passed the word to Secretary Jiang's ear, suggesting you be transferred to Jiangbei. Nominally it's to train young cadres; actually what's the trick? You know better than I."

Lin Dongfan smiled dismissively: "Jiangbei? That place is indeed a good spot for tempering people."

"A good spot?"

Qi Ting was bewildered by Lin Dongfan's reaction, urging: "My Mayor Lin, if you really go to Jiangbei, the next Party Secretary of Wuzhou will have nothing to do with you—how can you still laugh?"

Lin Dongfan leaned back in his chair, calmly lighting a cigarette: "Heaven's rain, a daughter's marriage—these are things you can't stop. If Secretary Jiang nods and approves his suggestion, I have nothing to say."

"You can't just give up; if you fall, who will I fight side‑by‑side with?" Qi Ting said: "I came to see you today just to tell you they've already shown their hand—don't drop the ball at a critical moment."

"What's Secretary Jiang's attitude?" Lin Dongfan asked.

Qi Ting replied: "Secretary Jiang hasn't directly endorsed Deputy Governor Deng's suggestion, nor has he rejected it. He said he'd observe further, which is basically leaving you some room to struggle and save yourself."

"Observe what? Observe how I'm tearing apart with Wang Qigang?"

Lin Dongfan laughed again; that damned sense of relaxation made Qi Ting, sitting opposite, feel an urge to vomit blood.

Qi Ting lifted his tea and gulped down a mouthful.

After the pressure of urgency subsided, he finally collected himself and said: "Politics isn't child's play; mishandle it and people can die—please pay some attention."

"Then what do you want me to do to pay attention?"

Lin Dongfan gathered his smile and assumed a serious demeanor.

Qi Ting said: "The focus now is the Cloud Peak Mountain Villa project. They're treating this project as a weapon in hand to stab you. The breathing space given by the Provincial Party Committee's Secretary Jiang is also to see how you settle the Cloud Peak Mountain Villa issue. No matter what method you use, you must get the villa back to work as soon as possible."

"Were you present when Deputy Governor Deng made his suggestion to Secretary Jiang?" Lin Dongfan asked in surprise.

Qi Ting shook his head: "No."

"Then how do you know what they talked about?" Lin Dongfan doubted: "Where did you get this information? Is it reliable?"

Qi Ting poured himself a cup of tea: "Don't worry about that; I called you over in a hurry, I wouldn't spout alarmist nonsense."

"Qi Ting, you've made me nervous." Lin Dongfan laughed.

Qi Ting rolled his eyes at him: "This is such a serious matter, concerning your future—shouldn't you be nervous?"

"Exactly!"

Lin Dongfan lifted his teacup, using tea in place of wine.

He earnestly offered Qi Ting a cup: "Thank you for running to inform me, but I want to stress that the Cloud Peak Mountain Villa problem looks like an unsolvable dead end, yet breaking through is actually not difficult."

"As long as you have confidence, that's fine."

Qi Ting clinked cups with Lin Dongfan and added: "I won't ask for the details of the breakthrough; don't tell me, don't tell anyone else—now you can only rely on yourself."

"Haha, I didn't expect Qi Ting to be such a down‑to‑earth person."

As for the details of the breakthrough, Lin Dongfan indeed had them fully planned in his chest.

The problem of Cloud Peak Mountain Villa's shutdown is undoubtedly behind Wang Qigang's covert manipulation. The contractor causing trouble, Huang Jintang, is merely a front‑stage puppet used by politicians.

On the surface, control of this matter is in Wang Qigang's hands.

But this front‑stage puppet used by Wang Qigang—Huang Jintang—is not a soulless, feeling‑less dead puppet.

He also has a sense of gain and loss, and fear!

In Lin Dongfan's view, Huang Jintang is the crucial crux; if you grasp his weak point, everything stays within controllable limits.

After the meeting with Qi Ting ended.

As soon as Lin Dongfan got back into the car, he called Ye Jiaying: "Jiaying, have you arrived in Wuzhou?"

"I have."

Ye Jiaying, pulling a suitcase, had just walked into the booked hotel.

Ye Jiaying asked over the phone: "Are you coming to find me, or am I going to find you?"

"Where are you? I'll come find you." Lin Dongfan asked.

Ye Jiaying replied: "The hotel under the group, or the original room number."

"I'll be right over."

Lin Dongfan hung up the phone and drove straight to the Mortal Hotel under the Mortal Group. On the way, Lin Dongfan called Yang Qing again to inquire about the investigation progress of the case.

Early this morning.

Yang Qing had already, under the pretense of "helping you clear your suspicions," forcibly taken Zhou Zheng away from the hospital and escorted him to Baiyue Province for further injury assessment.

Yang Qing replied over the phone: "I'm bringing Zhou Zheng to Baiyue Province, not to listen to your advice. Mainly, I really miss Comrade Jian Sining and want to see her."

"Then tell her for me, I also really miss her."

Lin Dongfan thought for a moment, then added: "By the way, that Chen Shaokang of the Baiyue Province Provincial Department—I helped him up myself back then. If you have anything, you can find him, give my name, and he'll assist you."