Chapter 1070: The Missing Camera Film!

The next morning, Tang Ye sat at his desk, carefully reviewing the speech draft for tomorrow's meeting and revising a few word choices.

Zheng Shaokang suddenly knocked on the door and paid a visit.

Tang Ye instructed Ma Ran to make some tea.

Zheng Shaokang waved his hand, "Xiao Ma, no need to trouble yourself. I'll just say a few words and be on my way."

Although Zheng Shaokang refused, Ma Ran still smilingly made tea for him.

Zheng Shaokang secretly thought that County Magistrate Tang's Liaison Officer was quite good and had high emotional intelligence; his own Liaison Officer certainly didn't have this kind of perceptiveness!

Ma Ran placed the teacup steadily by Zheng Shaokang's hand, walked out of the office, and gently closed the door.

Zheng Shaokang reported, "County Magistrate Tang, I have already arranged for personnel to secretly protect the safety of Wu Li and her daughter."

Tang Ye nodded, "If Comrade Zhou Songtao did not commit suicide, but died in the line of duty due to special reasons, then the province will have to re-characterize this incident. If his wife and daughter were to meet with any accidents after petitioning, it would certainly cause a massive uproar."

Zheng Shaokang nodded slightly, "County Magistrate Tang, I assure you that I will definitely investigate this case thoroughly. If County Magistrate Zhou was murdered, I will certainly ferret out the culprit."

Tang Ye could feel the change in Zheng Shaokang's attitude.

Deep in the bones of an old criminal investigator, there has always been a hot-blooded hatred for evil.

It just needed a spark to ignite the long-dormant passion deep within his heart.

"Are there any new leads in the case?"

"We have locked our target onto Chen Shunfei. According to Yang Guofeng's testimony, before he went to see County Magistrate Zhou, he personally saw Chen Shunfei and County Magistrate Zhou having a fierce verbal conflict in the office."

Tang Ye said in a deep voice, "What exactly is this Chen Shunfei's background?"

Zheng Shaokang took a document out of his briefcase.

A photo of Chen Shunfei was pasted on the front page of the document.

Judging by his appearance alone, this was a character with deep hidden motives and unfathomable thoughts.

"Chen Shunfei is the Chairman of Shunteng Development Co., Ltd., and his company has undertaken many key engineering projects in our county. Among them, the Jinyu Tianxia residential complex currently under construction can be considered the 'king of buildings' project in our Yechuan County; the houses were sold out long ago, and they will be officially delivered in another half a year."

Tang Ye asked in confusion, "Since it is a key project of the county, why would County Magistrate Zhou have a conflict with him?"

Zheng Shaokang said, "Because several buildings in Jinyu Tianxia did not go through the approval process and are considered illegal construction.

After County Magistrate Zhou discovered this, he immediately demanded that Chen Shunfei demolish those illegal buildings at once.

Chen Shunfei communicated about this matter, but the two sides stuck to their own versions, which is what triggered the fierce dispute."

Tang Ye nodded slightly, "Looking at it this way, Chen Shunfei has a motive for the crime. How were those illegal buildings handled later?"

Zheng Shaokang said softly, "Later, with the intervention of County Magistrate Mao, Chen Shunfei not only didn't demolish the buildings, but also smoothly obtained all the relevant paperwork."

Tang Ye keenly sensed the problem in this, "Is the relationship between County Magistrate Mao and this Chen Shunfei quite deep?"

Zheng Shaokang had Tang Ye flip to the next page, "This is the list of the team that County Magistrate Mao led to Shenzhou for research last year. Chen Shunfei was among them.

I privately asked several staff members who accompanied them at the time, and they said that during that research trip, all of County Magistrate Mao's expenses were paid for by Chen Shunfei on the side."

After hearing this, Tang Ye clenched his fist tightly and slammed it heavily onto the desk, "Regardless of whether Chen Shunfei has a direct connection to County Magistrate Zhou's death, as long as he is suspected of violating the law and discipline, he must be investigated to the end, and we will never be lenient!"

Zheng Shaokang immediately stood up and replied: "Understood! After I go back, I will immediately organize personnel to launch an investigation!"

After Zheng Shaokang left, Tang Ye calmed his mood slightly, then picked up the phone on the desk and dialed Jiang Jing's number.

"Mayor Jiang, I'm letting you know that yesterday I already settled Zhou Songtao's wife and daughter into their new home. The state of the mother and daughter is quite good, and Wu Li also clearly indicated to me that she will not go to the province to petition again in the future."

Jiang Jing said with relief, "This arrangement is very good; I will report this matter to Provincial Governor Fu later. However, the problem is still not solved. Is there any progress?"

"Currently, some key leads have been found, but there is no conclusive evidence to support them yet, so it is impossible to draw a final conclusion for the time being. Once there are concrete results later, I will report to you immediately."

Jiang Jing sighed, "You've worked hard during this time."

Tang Ye said softly, "This is what I should do."

Jiang Jing was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "By the way, has Xie Kai been in contact with you recently?"

Tang Ye answered truthfully, "He took the initiative to contact me once before, but I happened to have urgent matters to handle at the time, so I didn't chat with him much."

Jiang Jing frowned and said, "Xie Kai is not a bad person, but he is not mature enough in his actions and is easily led astray."

Tang Ye secretly agreed in his heart.

Mayor Jiang truly hits the nail on the head when judging people!

"Mayor Jiang, I will keep an eye on Xie Kai's whereabouts. If I discover any signs of him acting strangely, I will definitely take measures immediately to stop it."

Jiang Jing gave a self-deprecating smile, "Do you think I'm arranging too many things for you?"

Tang Ye said earnestly, "That is because you trust me enough. To me, this is an honor, never a burden."

"Alright, if you encounter resistance, contact me at any time." Every time Jiang Jing communicated with Tang Ye, she felt a sense of being healed.

Even in the face of difficulties, Tang Ye could maintain an optimistic mindset.

Emotions affect the people around you; good emotions create a positive magnetic field.

Hanging up the phone, Tang Ye took out a pen and, based on his memory, wrote down the numbers from the back of the photo found at the Zhou home on a piece of paper.

Tang Ye always felt these numbers had some meaning.

Even if they weren't left behind intentionally by Zhou Songtao.

But, they must have some connection to his death.

Additionally, Tang Ye discovered one more thing.

Yesterday, while organizing the belongings at the Zhou home, he clearly saw a cabinet full of photo albums, all of which were works shot by Zhou Songtao, yet after searching the entire house, he only found one old-fashioned, ordinary camera, and didn't even see a single roll of spare film.

This point was truly too suspicious.

For a photography enthusiast, cameras and lenses are absolutely personal items more precious than life itself.

Given the depth of Zhou Songtao's love for photography, he would definitely not be satisfied with just one ordinary camera.

Moreover, the image quality of those photos in the albums was clearly something that could only be captured with high-end professional lenses.

And those rolls of film that had been shot—according to common sense, Zhou Songtao would certainly have kept them properly preserved.

From this, it is evident that Zhou Songtao's professional photography equipment and film rolls were either hidden by him in some unknown location, or they have already been secretly moved or even destroyed by someone.

Therefore, as long as the missing relics can be found, it is possible that crucial new clues could be unearthed from them.

Of course, there is also a worst-case scenario—the relics have already been discovered and completely destroyed by someone.

If someone really did that, it further proves that Zhou Songtao's death is a Hidden Plot.

The mystery of Zhou Songtao's death seems to have become the main quest of a Game Dungeon...

A ringtone interrupted Tang Ye's train of thought.

Tang Ye took a look and saw it was a call from Tang Yu.

"Ye, I have some good news to tell you. After these few days of careful conditioning, Mr. Dou's physical state has fully reached the standard for surgery. We have scheduled the surgery for him at ten o'clock the day after tomorrow."

Tang Ye breathed a sigh of relief, "Dad, how much confidence do you have in this surgery?"

Tang Yu was stunned for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I'm only saying this to you.

Over these past few days, Professor Cheng and I have repeatedly refined every detail of the surgical plan and cleared away all potential risks!

I am full of confidence in this surgery!

Don't reveal this to the patient's family; if they hear it, they might think I am being too overconfident."

Tang Ye said excitedly, "That's great!"

After hanging up his father's call, Tang Ye dialed Dou Qingqing's number.

Dou Qingqing answered quickly, "Senior! I was just about to call you; my dad's surgery time has been set."

Tang Ye hesitated for a moment, but still shared Tang Yu's confidence with Dou Qingqing.

"My dad told me too.

He is very confident about this surgery!

I will go with you to see the Chairman into the operating room!"