Chapter 680: I

After walking around the company, Tang Ye arrived at the conference room and sat in the very center of the podium.

Hu Dake was the first to give a work speech and report, while a smile that wasn't quite a smile remained on Tang Ye's face.

Because Hu Dake's speech draft had been written for him by Tang Ye not long ago, he hadn't expected Hu Dake to be so lazy as to copy the draft word for word.

Subsequently, the Deputy County Magistrate in charge, Wei Min, said loudly, "Next, we invite County Magistrate Tang to speak."

After finishing, Wei Min immediately began to applaud, and under his lead, thunderous applause erupted in the venue.

When the applause gradually died down, Tang Ye adjusted the height of the microphone and smiled faintly, "I am very happy to be with everyone in a brand-new capacity. Let me introduce myself; my name is Tang Ye. I am a cadre who transferred from Huai Province to Shaan Province, and I currently serve as the Executive Deputy County Magistrate of Dayu County. I must apologize to everyone, as I spent over ten days among you using the identity of a temporary worker."

As soon as Tang Ye said this, the venue became so quiet that one could seemingly hear a pin drop.

I originally intended to get along with you as an ordinary person, but what I got in return was being made a scapegoat!

I'm done pretending!

I am the Deputy County Magistrate!

I'm laying my cards on the table!

Xie Nengtong stood up, pointed at Tang Ye, and said, "I recognized you a long time ago. You are Little Tang; you deceived us so bitterly!"

"I told you, he is Little Tang!"

"Once Little Tang put on his cadre uniform, his entire aura changed!"

Seeing the chaotic state of the venue, Hu Dake felt as if his brain had short-circuited, and he couldn't seem to process what was happening.

What did County Magistrate Tang mean?

Was he a temporary worker at the company before?

Hu Dake recalled the events from not long ago.

The first party believed there was a quality issue with a batch of coal and demanded that it be addressed.

Then, Chen Mazi made a temporary worker take the blame and fired that temporary worker.

It was said that his wages weren't even settled.

Could that temporary worker be County Magistrate Tang!

If that were really the case, hadn't he offended Tang Ye to death?

Tang Ye smiled and nodded to everyone, and after the venue quieted down, he continued, "Hu Dake's speech just now was very good, because I was the one who wrote it for him. Could a draft written by me be bad?"

Hearing this, the people below burst into laughter.

To Hu Dake, however, these words felt like a resounding slap in the face.

He felt his face burning with heat, and he hung his head in shame, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.

He was now certain that Tang Ye was the temporary worker who had been dismissed not long ago.

Why did he sneak into the company?

Could it be to collect first-hand information?

Xie Nengtong searched the venue for Chen Mazi's figure, and at this moment, he only saw Chen Mazi with his mouth agape, his eyes hollow and dazed, as if his soul had been sucked out.

Chen Mazi, oh Chen Mazi, you bully people all day long; now you finally know you bullied the wrong person!

Chen Mazi's first reaction was to try to run away, hoping that Tang Ye might forget about him.

However, Tang Ye's next words directly destroyed his hope.

"More than ten days ago, I came to Dayu County carrying beautiful hopes, and after screening, I was finally hired by the Sales Company by Comrade Mei Xiang.

The comrades at the Sales Company were very enthusiastic; they arranged a dormitory for me and offered me tolerance and help in areas of business I was unfamiliar with.

However, in just over ten days, I also discovered many problems. What is especially hard to understand is, why is everyone clearly holding a golden rice bowl, yet living such a difficult life?

Moreover, the company's final disciplinary action against me was also inexplicable. It clearly wasn't my signature, yet it was forcibly pinned on me—just because I was a temporary worker?

This is unfair!

I came here to conduct research today to seek justice, not just for myself, but for everyone!"

A complex look appeared on Hu Dake's face, and he stammered, "County Magistrate Tang, is there some misunderstanding here? Please give me some time; I want to sort out my thoughts."

County Magistrate Tang looked at Hu Dake calmly, shaking his head and sighing, "I'm sorry, I cannot agree to that."

At this moment, a group of people walked in from outside the conference room.

The person leading them was the County Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary, Zhang Yue.

Zhang Yue gave a look to the two subordinates on his left and right; the two walked to Hu Dake's sides, one hand pressing on his shoulder and the other lifting his arm. It seemed they didn't use much force, yet Hu Dake was hauled up.

Hu Dake looked as if his bones had fallen apart as he was taken away directly from the venue.

This was the script Tang Ye had coordinated with Zhang Yue.

On one hand, it was to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, letting other law-breaking and undisciplined elements know the severity of the situation and making those with ulterior motives restrain themselves;

On the other hand, it was to give the masses confidence, making everyone realize that the government had changed and was determined to crack down on corruption.

Seeing this scene, Chen Mazi was so frightened that his face turned deathly pale.

The reason Chen Mazi lived so comfortably at the Sales Company was mainly because he was Hu Dake's confidant; he had participated in Hu Dake's corrupt activities, and now that Hu Dake had been arrested, he wasn't far from being arrested himself.

Xie Nengtong applauded vigorously. He was not a natural scoundrel, but after witnessing Hu Dake's unchecked power and Chen Mazi's bullying, he had become weary, which led to his desire to just lie flat.

Tang Ye leaned into Zhang Yue's ear and pointed in a direction off the stage.

Zhang Yue quickly issued instructions to his subordinates.

The moment he saw the Discipline Inspection Commission personnel pinning him down, Chen Mazi finally collapsed.

He had originally held onto a glimmer of hope, but judging by Tang Ye's reaction, he couldn't escape at all!

Now that Hu Dake and Chen Mazi had been arrested, Xie Nengtong felt the frustration of many years being vented in an instant.

"County Magistrate Tang, you are a good man!"

"We support you!"

Listening to the feedback from the employees below, Tang Ye also felt encouraged and inspired.

After lurking in the Sales Company for over ten days, he had received many cold looks and tasted quite a bit of grievance, but at this moment, it all vanished into thin air, because those parasites hidden in the shadows were now all about to be rooted out.

The meeting hall quieted down again, and a smile appeared on Tang Ye's face.

"The rat droppings have been picked out. We can now communicate calmly. Comrades, I have known you all for a while and know your most urgent needs. Do you want a raise?"

"We do!"

"We dream of it!"

"It's been over a decade; prices have been rising, but our wages haven't changed at all!"

"Can you give us a raise?"

The crowd immediately nodded their heads like chicks pecking at rice.

Tang Ye said gently, "Everyone's wages are too low. I want to give you all a raise! Not only do I want to give you a raise, I also want to build a new residential building for you all."

At these words, the employees stood up one after another and applauded incessantly; the applause was dozens of times more enthusiastic than before and showed no sign of stopping.

"But for a raise, you cannot just sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor; everyone must have a consciousness for change. There will be major changes in the Sales Company next; for everyone, the process might be difficult, but the future is bright!"

Wei Min stared blankly at Tang Ye, finally realizing why Tang Ye was so young yet able to participate in the Cross-provincial Cadre Exchange Program!

They were both at the Deputy Division Level, but there was a gap between people!