Chapter 970: Fan Ye speaks out, driving Old Guo mad

Although the secretary's voice was kept very low, in this information age there are no walls that don't let wind through.

Onstage, offstage.

Several leaders' phones rang; it was their subordinates sending messages to report the situation.

The city convened a meeting of all municipal leaders and cadres, yet hundreds of masses gathered at the government building's entrance. This is no small matter. What's feared is that the masses might cause trouble, creating a negative social impact.

Whispered discussions rose and fell across the venue.

Soon after.

At least one-third of the people in the venue already knew that over a hundred villagers had come downstairs to present Luo Zhiwei with an item.

Sitting on the presidium, Character's facial muscles had tensed from anger, and he was gritting his teeth.

He coldly stared at Luo Zhiwei downstairs, then suddenly slapped the conference table, letting out an uncontainable angry question: "Luo Zhiwei! Were those villagers outside arranged by you alone?!"

Luo Zhiwei himself had only learned of the situation outside a second ago.

This news was sent to his phone by Director Liu of the Faction office, saying that a large group of villagers had come outside the venue to present him with an item.

Why did this happen? Luo Zhiwei was also completely bewildered.

Unable to fathom which deity he had moved, in the darkest moment of his life, a wave of surprise was actually sent his way.

But Luo Zhiwei quickly steadied his emotions.

Meeting Character secretary's death‑like doubtful gaze with neither humility nor arrogance, he said: "Character secretary, I don't know what you're talking about; I arranged nothing."

"You're still acting with me!"

Regarding Luo Zhiwei's words, Character now doesn't believe even a punctuation mark.

At the government building's entrance, hundreds of people gathered in a dark mass—some held items, some shouted slogans, some unfurled banners!

The banners read: "People's good police, the public's intimate companion!"

On the items, the top inscription read: "Presented to Luo Zhiwei, Chief of the Wuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau." Moreover, there was more than one item—over a dozen in total!

Some read "selfless and impartial", some "selfless dedication", some "the finest public servant".

Various words of praise shaped Luo Zhiwei's public‑servant image into something both glorious and towering, just short of erecting a monument and writing his biography.

In Character's view, this was Luo Zhiwei's self‑directed, self‑staged play to oppose the organization!

Character angrily retorted: "Luo Zhiwei, you've overplayed this act! Those villagers didn't send the items earlier or later—they chose today to present them to you! How could such a coincidence exist?!"

His words resonated with many, and some downstairs whispered in discussion.

Luo Zhiwei stood stock‑still, spine ramrod straight: "I already said it wasn't me who arranged it. If you don't believe me, you can send people to investigate—I, Luo Zhiwei, walk the straight and narrow."

"!!!"

Character stared at Luo Zhiwei for a good while.

He hoped to catch a guilty flicker in Luo Zhiwei's expression, but damn it, Luo Zhiwei wore a completely candid look—truly the picture of someone who walks the straight and narrow.

If it wasn't Luo Zhiwei's self‑directed, self‑staged act, then who arranged it?

Character turned his head to glance at Lin Dongfan, only to see Lin Dongfan wearing a face of regret, as if he too were worrying about the sudden incident, giving nothing away.

Could it not be that he was sabotaging things from within?

The more Character thought, the more confused he became.

Since he couldn't figure it out, he also couldn't be bothered to think further; the urgent task was to stabilize the situation—no matter what, he absolutely could not let those villagers disrupt the meeting's rhythm.

Character immediately ordered the secretary: "At once send people to maintain order and disperse the crowd downstairs! This is the Municipal Party Committee office building, not a vegetable market! To hang banners and shout slogans here—what nonsense is this?!"

Disperse the crowd?

Someone downstairs sucked in a breath of cold air.

Observant people had already noticed that Character's wording was "disperse," not "evacuate"—meaning that if the crowd downstairs didn't leave, forcible dispersal measures could be taken.

"Wait."

Just as the secretary was about to carry out the order, Lin Dongfan suddenly spoke up to stop him.

In that moment.

Everyone in the venue turned their gaze to Lin Dongfan; this silent bigwig finally spoke up, apparently disapproving of Character's approach.

Character's face darkened slightly: "Mayor Lin, what's your opinion?"

"Character secretary, the common folk are here to present items, not to cause trouble—this is also goodwill. If we forcibly disperse them, should the matter get out, the impact would be bad. Uninformed people might think our Wuzhou cadres don't welcome the public's praise, which would harm unity." Lin Dongfan said.

On the stage, Director Qi nodded in agreement: "Mayor Lin, that makes sense."

Character, however, felt anger rise from his heart.

He thought:

"You sure can speak eloquently!"

"You worry that dispersing them will cause a bad impact, but letting them slap my face as secretary wouldn't cause a bad political impact?!"

Character suppressed his anger and asked: "Mayor Lin, do you mean to let them keep causing a ruckus at the entrance?"

"Cause a ruckus? Secretary Character, you're overstating it."

Lin Dongfan smiled faintly: "The crowd hasn't stormed the meeting venue; they're merely at the building's entrance expressing thanks to a certain official, and they haven't disrupted office order."

"!!!"

Character seethed, gritting his teeth in silence.

Unable to contain himself, he emphasized: "The Municipal Party Committee just announced the removal of all Luo Zhiwei's posts, yet the meeting hasn't even adjourned when hundreds of villagers converged on the building's entrance to present him with items! What kind of nature is this? Although they didn't storm the meeting, their act is tantamount to slapping the Municipal Party Committee's face! This is a disguised protest!"

"I believe we should allow different voices to exist."

Lin Dongfan glanced at the assembled cadres.

He continued: "The common folk spontaneously presenting items to Luo Zhiwei is a good thing—it shows our cadres still have a reputation in the people's hearts."

Upon hearing this, Character flew into a rage: "According to your logic, do we have to line up to go out and apologize to the masses, saying we're blind and have wronged a good cadre?!"

"Character secretary, calm down first."

Lin Dongfan said calmly: "Earlier, the Municipal Party Committee's decision to first remove Luo Zhiwei from office and then retire him early was mainly due to insufficient investigation, overlooking Luo Zhiwei's reputation among the masses. Following the principle of selecting candidates based on both virtue and ability, with virtue prioritized, I propose adjusting the relevant personnel decision."

"How do you want to adjust it?" Character said, unable to hide his anger.

Lin Dongfan spoke bluntly: "I suggest keeping the removal from office; Luo Zhiwei is indeed unsuitable to remain as chief of the Faction. However, the early retirement can be discussed; we could assign him a deputy position in the Political Consultative Conference. This way, we ensure the personnel adjustments in the Faction proceed as planned, while also conforming to public sentiment."

"!!!"

Hearing this, Character felt only two words—disgusting!

A surge of anger welled up from his heart:

Damn it!

Now all the municipal leaders know that I, Character, am going to take down Luo Zhiwei! I, damn it, spent great effort to convene today's municipal leaders' meeting!

Now you casually say one sentence, why not assign Luo Zhiwei a deputy position in the Political Consultative Conference!

From Division Level to Deputy Bureau Level position!

Is this how you handle Luo Zhiwei?

I've already played the bad guy; earlier you also nodded, agreeing to my plan! Now only this final step remains, yet you turn around and act like a do-gooder!

You damn well treat me like a monkey, don't you?

The more Character thought, the angrier he felt; his whole feeling was like having swallowed a fly, stifled and uncomfortable all over! He wanted to spit a mouthful of saliva at Lin Dongfan's face, but couldn't muster the courage.