Chapter 37: Strike at His Wife!

The next morning, after Tang Ye finished breakfast and was preparing to head to the Government, he saw a black sedan parked beside a sesame pancake stall on the side of the road.

Shang Dayong handed ten yuan to the stall owner through the car window; the stall owner failed to catch it, and Shang Dayong slammed the pancake into the other person's face before driving off.

The owner of the sesame pancake stall was an old woman, nearly sixty years old; she wiped away tears in grievance, but pressed by the needs of life, she quickly adjusted her mood and greeted the next customer.

Tang Ye arrived at the Government and discovered that Shang Dayong's car was parked in the courtyard.

As he passed by Xia Haiqiao's office, Shang Dayong happened to be coming over to close the door.

Xia Haiqiao poured the money out of an envelope and, while counting it, nagged, "You really have a foul mouth, but your efficiency in getting things done is acceptable. Next time I have an order, just listen. Don't argue with me."

Shang Dayong said yes with his mouth, but his heart ached terribly.

One hundred thousand was no small sum to him; it was the death compensation for his younger brother and sister-in-law.

"In a while, there will be a big project in town. Aiou Electric is investing 220 million and plans to start construction in Houhe Village. When the time comes, you organize a construction team and take on some work; I guarantee you'll be lying down and counting money."

Xia Haiqiao skillfully began to paint a big picture for Shang Dayong.

Shang Dayong's eyes lit up, "That's great! I heard there's going to be demolition too?"

Xia Haiqiao nodded at Shang Dayong, "Your ears are quite sharp, but this lucrative position of demolition won't fall to you; it has already been snatched up by Xu Jie, who put in a word early."

Hearing the name Xu Jie, Shang Dayong's expression changed slightly.

Xia Haiqiao knew about the bad blood between Shang Dayong and Xu Jie and added, "You can hire some thugs; they will definitely be useful when it comes time for demolition. You might not get the big share, but if you just take a little, it will be enough for you to eat until your mouth is oily."

Shang Dayong's brow relaxed, and his heart blossomed with joy, "Thank you, Grandpa, for giving me the opportunity to make money!"

Xia Haiqiao patted Shang Dayong on the shoulder, "I heard there's a new project at Ziteng Pavilion."

Shang Dayong came back to his senses and said with a smile, "Yes, those girls are from Guangdong Province and are of very high quality. The one I found yesterday was a nurse, and her figure was especially hot."

Xia Haiqiao chuckled, "Are there any flight attendants?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Dayong became excited and slapped his thigh hard, "Yes, and even lawyers! I'll arrange it. Is the Party Secretary going?"

After waiting for a long while, seeing that Xia Haiqiao didn't make a sound, Shang Dayong stood up to leave.

Xia Haiqiao added, "I'll ask the Party Secretary later to see what profession he likes! No matter the profession, they all have to wear underwear, and they all have to resist before things happen..."

Wan Ming walked into the office with a livid expression.

Tang Ye was curious, "Your expression is so serious, what's wrong?"

Wan Ming said coldly, "I just ran into Shang Dayong! This kid is involved in the chemical plant explosion case from back then."

Following Tang Ye's instructions, he had conducted an investigation into the town's chemical plant.

The town chemical plant exploded several years ago, causing many deaths and leaving many injured and disabled; many of the current employees at Qinge Clothing Factory who are disabled were caused by that disaster.

"I checked Shang Dayong's account transactions. A month before the incident, his account received a sum of money. Later, because his younger brother and sister-in-law died in the accident, he received a compensation payment. He was the only one who received the full amount of compensation."

Tang Ye's expression turned cold, "These people are too wicked. By the way, doesn't Shang Dayong have a niece? She is the one who should have been the beneficiary of the compensation."

Wan Ming became more agitated as he spoke, "After his younger brother and sister-in-law died, the niece was adopted by them. The niece is in the first year of junior high this year; she applied for a leave of absence a few days ago, saying she couldn't continue her studies for the time being. From what I understand, the niece's grades were at the top of her class. When the teacher visited their home, they learned from Shang Dayong's wife that the niece had gone to join relatives in another place, saying she was going to work!"

Tang Ye sensed something unreasonable, "Work? Wouldn't that be child labor... I'm worried the girl is in grave danger."

Wan Ming grabbed his hair fiercely and said in distress, "Those sons of bitches, they won't even spare their own niece; they simply have no humanity..."

Tang Ye thought for a moment and sorted out the clues, "Contact that relative and see if you can find the girl. Arrange for someone to tail him; I don't believe he can make things seamless. No matter how cunning a person is, they will eventually leave a trail."

Wan Ming cracked his knuckles with a "pop-pop" sound.

"I will arrange for people to keep watch in twenty-four-hour shifts!"

In the afternoon, a Party Committee meeting was held, with the agenda mainly revolving around the land requisition and demolition work for the Aiou Electric factory investment.

The first batch of funds from Aiou Electric had already been wired into the account.

The twenty million payment was for requisition and demolition, and the purse of Pinghu Town instantly swelled up.

With money, many people's minds became active.

A portion of the demolition money is used to compensate residents, while another portion can be pocketed!

Over these past few days, Xu Yiping had gone to the county multiple times to report on the requisition and demolition situation; anyone with a heart knew this was a way to claim credit.

After the demolition plan was approved by the County Party Committee leaders, Xu Yiping organized a meeting to announce the details of the demolition:

"This demolition time is tight and the task is heavy. The Town Party Committee is establishing a Demolition Group. I will serve as the Team Leader, Comrade Haiqiao will serve as the Deputy Group Leader, and other departments must actively coordinate to strive to complete the task within two months."

Tang Ye saw that Chen Zhihua's expression was livid.

Xu Yiping had not communicated beforehand and announced it directly at the leadership team meeting, leaving Chen Zhihua with no way to save face.

The leadership group responsible for demolition could do without Tang Ye, but according to the rules, the Deputy Group Leader must be Chen Zhihua.

However, Xu Yiping directly ignored Chen Zhihua.

Everyone cast their gaze toward Chen Zhihua.

Unexpectedly!

Executive Deputy Town Mayor Wang Kaicheng was the first to stir up trouble, "Party Secretary, the project was secured by Tang Ye; shouldn't his name be added to the Demolition Group list?"

Wang Kaicheng appeared to be speaking up for Tang Ye, but in reality, he was reminding Xu Yiping not to forget about him!

Xu Yiping wore a smile and explained patiently, "Demolition requires an understanding of Pinghu and involves many aspects. Comrade Tang Ye's strength lies in investment promotion; he should still focus his work on where he excels!"

Xu Yiping's meaning was clear: the list of personnel for the Demolition Group was set, and no one should have any other thoughts.

A smug smile appeared on Xia Haiqiao's face.

Although the cake was very large, if one more person was added, a piece would have to be shared, so the fewer people involved, the more the others would get.

Tang Ye and Chen Zhihua exchanged a glance and didn't say much; Wang Kaicheng's statement meant that because of the uneven distribution of benefits, a crack had already appeared in the opposing camp.

After the meeting ended, Tang Ye walked into Chen Zhihua's office.

He closed the door behind him.

Chen Zhihua slammed the table heavily and sneered, "I have never seen such a shameless person, planting all his cronies into the Demolition Office! They are all thinking of sucking blood from the demolition! This is all the hard-earned money of the people! We absolutely cannot let them succeed."

Tang Ye, however, held a different view, "Town Mayor Chen, while there is profit to be made in demolition, eating too much rich food easily leads to diarrhea."

Chen Zhihua secretly mused that Tang Ye still underestimated the greed and methods of Xu Yiping, "Previous issues involving demolition were all monopolized by Xu Yiping; although the higher-ups knew there were problems, they turned a blind eye. Their demolition style was extremely barbaric, often carrying out forced demolitions in the middle of the night. There was one household with only an old person, and they directly buried the person alive. By the time they were rescued with great difficulty, the person was on the verge of death, and the compensation money wasn't enough to cover the medical expenses. The old person died with a grievance. The son wanted to defend his rights, but every time he went to petition, he would be caught and brought back, and later he was sent directly to a mental hospital."

Tang Ye had not expected that this group led by Xu Yiping would be so cold-blooded.

Furthermore, he felt that because Chen Zhihua had lost to Xu Yiping many times, he had become afraid of losing, so he comforted him, "Let us wait and see how things develop for now."

Tang Ye being so calm surprised Chen Zhihua.

Reflecting on himself calmly, he appeared overly eager for quick success.

He changed the subject, "The County Audit Group came to check the accounts, and the two hundred thousand for the nursing home was actually filled in. Xu Yiping reacts quite quickly!"

Tang Ye also felt the craftiness of the old turtle of Pinghu, and questioned, "By robbing Peter to pay Paul, wouldn't that leave traces?"

Chen Zhihua waved his hand helplessly and said in a low voice, "The higher-ups have already characterized it, and will not pursue this matter further."

Townships sometimes have demolition and compensation expenses; as long as the general ledger is fine, they are given a certain amount of room to maneuver.

Tang Ye took a deep breath; he knew that Xu Yiping was very close to the Deputy County Party Secretary Gao Zhanjun.

With Gao Zhanjun covering for him in the county, that was why he was so arbitrary.

Returning to his office, Tang Ye received a call from Wan Ming.

Wan Ming's tone was serious, "My people have already arrived in the other region and found a distant relative of Shang Dayong, but they did not find his niece."

Tang Ye stood up from his chair with a start and said excitedly, "Immediately arrest Shang Dayong... 's wife."

Shang Dayong is very cunning!

Starting with his wife will make it easier to break through...