Chapter 609: A Protective Umbrella for Evil Forces?

Someone took advantage of the gap while he was accompanying Secretary Zhou to pay New Year calls in Yanjing to stir up trouble in the shadows.

Du Chengfeng was a perceptive man and soon cleared up the threads: who was making mischief behind the scenes, and what kind of purpose they harbored!

He had a quite good impression of Sun Hai.

For one, Tang Ye often mentioned this friend, and for another, Sun Hai would visit their home every holiday, yet he always maintained a keen sense of propriety.

Sun Hai never brought expensive gifts, always interacted as Tang Ye's friend, and knew when to advance or retreat, which made people feel at ease.

Moreover, whenever the family had occasional difficulties, Sun Hai's support was always very timely.

Not long ago, his sister-in-law Xiao Fang suffered a sudden acute cerebral hemorrhage and urgently needed a vehicle; Sun Hai drove her himself without a second word, and Du Chengfeng was truly moved in his heart after learning of it.

Of course, Du Chengfeng did not draw a conclusion about the incident based on this alone.

After all, he had to first figure out whether Sun Hai really had any problems.

Thus, he dialed Guo Zhengting's phone number.

Guo Zhengting had always held an objective stance, and his attitude was very important.

Guo Zhengting received the call from his old partner and felt as clear as a mirror in his heart.

Without needing to think much, he knew it was mostly for the matter regarding Sun Hai.

"Secretary-General Du, what are your instructions?"

"I am asking you about a matter: Sun Hai was arrested before, what exactly is going on?"

Guo Zhengting was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "Tang Ye has looked for me regarding this matter. I immediately tried to communicate with Shen Mingcheng, but he has deep-seated prejudices against Sun Hai. Currently, the police are still investigating; the main reason is that Sun Hai's company hired several individuals released from labor reform, and furthermore, it involves the pretext of bribery."

Du Chengfeng frowned and said in a deep voice: "After these labor reform individuals entered the company, have they done anything illegal?"

"I have inquired; there has never been any illegal behavior. They have all turned over a new leaf and are working diligently. The conflict that day was also intentionally provoked by the other party," Guo Zhengting responded softly.

Du Chengfeng breathed a sigh of relief and asked again: "Then what about the bribery matter, what is that really about?"

Guo Zhengting's tone became serious: "I have looked into it; strictly speaking, it is more like extortion. A Staff Member at the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau demanded so-called 'coordination fees' from the Project Manager of Sun Hai's company and even used threats and pressure.

This Staff Member is currently being investigated, and he has always claimed to others that he is a confidant of the Director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, demanding fees from many cooperative enterprises.

Now this money has been returned in full to all involved enterprises."

Du Chengfeng was silent for a moment.

With his experience, he could naturally see that a mere small Staff Member would never have such great courage; there must be someone backing him behind the scenes.

"This matter has a vile influence and will destroy the business environment that Tianling has worked so hard to establish. I hope you focus on it; you cannot let the innocent suffer grievances, and even more so, you cannot let the evildoers go unpunished."

Guo Zhengting sighed: "Please rest assured, Secretary-General, I will keep a close eye on the subsequent progress of this matter, and as soon as there is new information, I will certainly report to you immediately."

Hanging up the phone, Du Chengfeng rubbed his temples. Shen Mingcheng had served as the County Party Secretary of Tianling County for over a year and had stirred Tianling into a mess—not only did the projects he previously negotiated frequently have problems, but he also planted his own cronies in several key departments.

Du Chengfeng could roughly guess his mindset: knowing that he was only in Tianling as a transition, he racked his brains to achieve political achievements as quickly as possible in order to seek promotion.

But haste makes waste; some of Shen Mingcheng's methods really seemed insufficiently steady.

Du Chengfeng dialed Tang Ye's phone number again; he wanted to understand the situation from multiple aspects.

"I just learned that Sun Hai was arrested in Tianling County a few days ago; how is his situation now?"

Tang Ye did not expect his father-in-law to take the initiative to ask about this matter.

Du Chengfeng had always been clear about the distinction between public and private matters.

"Dad, Sun Hai has already been released. It was mainly because both accusations lacked evidence and were based entirely on subjective conjecture. However, this matter was a huge psychological blow to him, and he is currently in very low spirits."

Du Chengfeng felt both regretful and somewhat disappointed in his heart.

In front of his son-in-law, he felt he had lost face.

"The way Tianling County handled things this time was truly too arbitrary!"

Tang Ye sensed his father-in-law's anger and hurriedly comforted him: "Dad, the matter has already passed, please don't be angry. The innocent will clear themselves; after this incident, it can prove Sun Hai's innocence, which can also be considered a good thing."

Du Chengfeng, however, disagreed: "I cannot agree with this viewpoint. Since they are clearly good people, why must they prove their own innocence?"

Tang Ye explained: "Dad, Sun Hai's company hired quite a few individuals released from labor reform; after these people entered the company, they all worked very actively. Sun Hai is using another way to resolve potential conflicts for society; he not only gives them job opportunities and helps them reintegrate into society, but also pays them good salaries, and the company's atmosphere has always been very good. Yet, incited by people with ulterior motives, they were labeled as a criminal gang; it is truly unjust!"

Du Chengfeng knew that Tang Ye had the ability to solve problems, so he asked: "What do you plan to do?"

Tang Ye's tone was earnest: "I think we should positively publicize Sun Hai's approach and promote this kind of good deed. Let more people understand his righteous actions, completely break the malicious speculation from the outside world, restore Sun Hai's innocence, and also give those who have been wronged a little confidence. Let this society have less hostility, less prejudice, a little more light, and a little more human touch."

Du Chengfeng approved: "Hmm, your idea is very good, I support you."

Hanging up the phone, Du Chengfeng pondered for a long time, but in the end, he still dialed Shen Mingcheng's phone number.

When Shen Mingcheng saw that the caller ID was Du Chengfeng, a trace of coldness flashed across the corners of his mouth.

After connecting the call, his tone immediately became enthusiastic: "Uncle-in-law, it's so late, is there something you need?"

Du Chengfeng got straight to the point: "Regarding Sun Hai's matter, I hope you can handle it with caution."

Shen Mingcheng feigned surprise: "Uncle-in-law, did someone speak ill of me in front of you? Please don't easily believe rumors; my handling of this Sun Hai matter is absolutely impartial. Many people have contacted me to put in a good word for Sun Hai, which is enough to show that the forces behind him are not shallow and his network of connections is deep.

Sun Hai acts high-profile in Tianling, one could even say he acts like a local tyrant; it is not without reason!

Uncle-in-law, I know you have always supported my work, and I believe you will firmly be my backing this time as well."

Shen Mingcheng had clearly already thought of his rhetoric.

Du Chengfeng thought to himself, is this brat pointing at the mulberry tree to curse the locust tree, assuming that I am Sun Hai's backer, which is why he acts so domineering and unscrupulous?

Have I, old Du, actually been framed as the protective umbrella for evil forces?

Du Chengfeng was furious!

When had he ever been so wronged?

"Mingcheng, as an elder, I advise you: you must be cautious in doing things, otherwise you will suffer a great loss sooner or later. As far as I know, Sun Hai has no problems..."

Shen Mingcheng interrupted him directly: "Uncle-in-law, I have always respected you. But I am the County Party Secretary of Tianling County and must uphold my principles. Perhaps my methods make you feel uncomfortable, but I have reasons I must act this way! As for those who slander and defame, I have a clear conscience!"

At this moment, Shen Mingcheng had effectively molded himself into the image of an incorruptible official who had been parachuted from the provincial level to Tianling, determined to fight against local forces and set the atmosphere straight.

Du Chengfeng saw that he was impervious to reason and knew that further talk was useless, so he said in a deep voice, "Mingcheng, you had better fend for yourself!"