Chapter 138: This Clue Is Too Critical!

Tang Ye drove toward Pinghu, and on the way, he dialed Chen Zhihua's phone to brief him on the results discussed at the county meeting.

"Secretary, the county has already established a task force with the goal of recovering the losses for the common people."

Chen Zhihua's tone sounded quite heavy, "This matter is not easy. I just spoke with Zhong Hui; the other projects that Hongzhen Company is running are all just fronts to bluff people. They rent a place near a construction site, and when they take investors to see the projects, the people they meet are all shills they hired. The scheme is very deep."

"These guys are too cunning! But no matter how cunning, they won't escape the sanctions of the law in the end. Time is tight now; we must seize these golden seventy-two hours and act immediately," Tang Ye said with a frown and a serious face.

Why can't many fraud cases be solved?

It is often because the Government reacts a beat too slow. Before the Government has time to act, these criminals have already greased their feet and run off without a trace.

Why is it said that three days is the golden time?

Because if no clues are found within three days, the other party will likely wipe away all traces of the crime!

"Also, Guo Liang still cannot be reached. It's spreading everywhere outside that he colluded with the fraud gang. Many investors have seen him helping to organize things and even vouching for those scammers," Chen Zhihua continued.

Hearing this, Tang Ye responded decisively: "I know Guo Liang's character too well. He values power, but he has no greed for money. Without solid evidence, we cannot guess blindly, and we certainly cannot slap labels on him."

He knew clearly in his heart that if Guo Liang had truly become an accomplice to the fraud gang, the credibility that the Pinghu Government had worked so hard to build would be completely ruined. How could they win the people's trust in the future?

……

Just at this moment, the landline in Zhong Hui's office rang; the person calling was Cao Debiao.

Ever since Cao Debiao failed the township election, he had been transferred to the County Grain Bureau. Although his administrative rank hadn't been lowered, he had no real power in his hands and could only waste his days there waiting for retirement.

"Town Mayor Zhong, I heard something big happened in Pinghu?" Cao Debiao asked with a mocking tone.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Hui was very displeased. This guy really knew how to rub salt in the wound, so he replied coldly: "A fraud gang appeared, but it has nothing to do with the Government."

"How could it have nothing to do with it? I heard Guo Liang lost contact, and he was helping the fraud gang pull people in before," Cao Debiao persisted.

"That's not the case at all! I have things to do; let's talk next time." Zhong Hui hung up the phone directly.

Listening to the busy signal coming from the phone, Cao Debiao felt a sense of satisfaction, thinking this was the retribution for Tang Ye and Chen Zhihua pushing him out back then.

After Zhong Hui hung up the phone, he felt unsettled, experiencing a mix of emotions.

He used to think that Tang Ye was deliberately targeting him, but now it seemed that Tang Ye's refusal of the project proposal he submitted back then was truly prescient.

If that project had been approved at the time, the amount defrauded by Hongzhen Company would surely have skyrocketed. When the bubble burst, the Pinghu Government and he himself would have been dragged into big trouble, making it hard to get away.

As for Guo Liang, Zhong Hui felt that he was likely lured and trapped by Chu Kun and his group.

After all, in order to appear wealthy and powerful, the Hongzhen gang's wining and dining was incredibly extravagant; it was truly hard for an average person to resist such temptation. As for himself, he figured he was likely sidelined because he had no more utility.

……

City Television Station.

Ma Rundong was just about to contact Zou Zhen to ask about the progress of the publicity work in Pinghu. At this moment, Ding Guoyong, Deputy Minister of the Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department, called.

"I'm informing you of some news: there is a problem in Pinghu. The Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee has issued instructions that no news about Pinghu is allowed to be reported."

Upon hearing this, Ma Rundong was full of surprise and hurriedly asked: "What happened?"

"A fraud case occurred in Pinghu, and the amount involved exceeds one hundred million. We must control the direction of public opinion now," Ding Guoyong said in a very serious tone.

Ma Rundong gasped and hurriedly thanked him: "Understood, thank you for the reminder, Minister Ding."

Ding Guoyong then added: "Forget about the matter you mentioned yesterday."

Ma Rundong understood in his heart that Ding Guoyong was talking about the matter of matchmaking Tang Ye and Ding Xiang. Now that such a big problem had occurred in Pinghu, Tang Ye, as the second-in-command of the town, would certainly not be able to escape responsibility, and his official career would likely be affected.

Ding Guoyong felt that this matchmaking should stop right there.

Ma Rundong hung up the phone and immediately dialed Zou Zhen's number: "Cancel the publicity report for Pinghu Town immediately and prepare the pre-selection plan quickly."

"Why?" Zou Zhen asked, full of confusion.

"Don't ask so much. If I tell you to stop, you stop. Why so much nonsense!" Ma Rundong rarely lost his temper.

Although Zou Zhen didn't understand what was going on, he could only respond: "Understood, executing immediately."

Not long after Tang Ye returned to his office, Xu Qiao walked in with a worried face: "Town Mayor Tang, news came from the newspaper office that all the press releases we sent over have been rejected!"

Tang Ye had long expected this. The news of the major fraud case in Pinghu had already spread; in order to avoid trouble, the newspaper office would certainly wait and see for a while.

Now, not only must negative public opinion be controlled, but positive publicity must also be suspended.

It was estimated that the publicity at the television station had also fallen through.

"Has Guo Liang contacted your sister?" Tang Ye asked.

"No, my sister is almost driven crazy with worry, washing her face with tears at home every day. I used to think their relationship was just so-so, but after this happened, I realized my sister actually loves my brother-in-law very much." Xu Qiao paused and asked in a low voice, "Could my brother-in-law be..."

Tang Ye hurriedly comforted her: "He won't be. Your brother-in-law is a rational person, and he has a job and a family; he won't be tempted by money."

Xu Qiao smiled bitterly and said: "I mean, could my brother-in-law already be... dead!"

Tang Ye was stunned upon hearing this.

He thought about it carefully and felt that Xu Qiao's worry was not without reason.

Information is so developed now; if a person suddenly loses contact, it is truly possible that they have met with misfortune.

He hurriedly appeased Xu Qiao: "Don't think blindly; Guo Liang will definitely be fine. I'll give you a few days off; go back and keep your sister company."

Xu Qiao was indeed very worried about her sister's mental state, so hearing Tang Ye say this, she hurriedly thanked him.

Rumors about Guo Liang's disappearance were flying all over the Town Government.

Some said he eloped with a lover, some said he fled to avoid punishment, and others said he was murdered by the Hongzhen gang.

In such a chaotic environment, Xu Qiao really couldn't work with peace of mind.

After Xu Qiao left, Wan Ming called: "According to your request, we investigated Guo Liang's whereabouts before he lost contact and found him on the surveillance at the highway toll station. He deliberately rolled down the car window at the time and spoke to the camera. A lip-reading expert deciphered that he said 'Shigong Village, Qiu County'. This matches the intelligence we obtained earlier!"

Tang Ye's eyes lit up; it seemed highly likely that Guo Liang was coerced by someone.

"This clue is too critical; you all must go find him immediately. If nothing goes wrong, he should be with the criminal ringleader. Finding Guo Liang is the key to breaking the deadlock."

Wan Ming was full of confusion and couldn't help but ask: "How could Guo Liang get mixed up with that group of people?"

Tang Ye pondered for a long while before saying in a deep voice: "Is it possible that he wanted to be an undercover agent and voluntarily went deep into the tiger's den?"

Wan Ming was stunned for a long time before he reacted……