Chapter 870: Don't Let the Schemer Get Their Way!

"Who exactly are these bandits?"

Ou Xiye could no longer sit still and asked with a stern tone.

The representative first showed a hint of hesitation in their eyes, but finally gathered the courage to speak:

"There were people from the Land and Resources Bureau, Urban Management from the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Bureau, and Police; officials from the county also came."

"As soon as these people left, gangsters came to intimidate and threaten us, and they would start beating people at the drop of a hat."

"Even... someone even lost their life!"

"Lost their life?"

A dark cloud instantly covered Xie Zhan's face.

His gaze fell involuntarily on the Reporter not far away.

He did not know if the camera had been turned on to record this part.

If this got out, the matter would blow up.

The representative glanced at a young girl beside them and said softly, "Child, tell them about your great-grandfather."

The girl was in her early twenties; despite her youth, she could not hide her sorrow, and her voice was choked with sobs:

"My great-grandfather was a veteran who participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. He didn't lose his life on the battlefield back then, but now he has been beaten to serious injury by a group of thugs."

"We called the Police, but those people had long since vanished. The Police only said they were all outsiders and that they couldn't be found at all."

"Later, my great-grandfather was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, but in the end, he couldn't be saved. We demanded an autopsy, but the hospital cremated the body directly."

Hearing this, the expressions of everyone present turned grave.

Once this matter involved casualties, especially since the deceased was a veteran of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the nature of the situation instantly became thorny.

Tang Ye glanced at Chen Qing, his tone carrying a hint of sternness: "Executive Chen, the land acquisition and demolition work for the Anthracite Project is currently under your direct charge. Now that such a major problem has occurred, I ask you to explain the situation to everyone."

Chen Qing swept a cold glance at Tang Ye and retorted: "Secretary Tang, what do you mean by this? The Anthracite Project is a key project of the entire city. We only used some necessary methods to speed up the progress."

"As for what they just said, some of it is completely unbelievable."

"Just like the passing of this old revolutionary—whether it was a natural death or truly death by violence requires evidence to support it; we cannot just listen to their one-sided story."

Tang Ye was burning with rage!

The person had already been cremated, so how could they find evidence?

In fact, Chen Qing had known about this matter for a long time; when the news reached his ears, he had also been quite shocked.

It was just that at the time, the people from the demolition company said they had handled the matter properly, so he did not continue to investigate further.

He never expected that this matter would stir up trouble again.

Tang Ye took a deep breath and turned to the representatives, saying:

"I have understood your situation well enough."

"Here, I promise you three things:"

"First, I will have the County Public Security Bureau immediately establish a Special Case Investigation Team to take the involved personnel into custody and formally open a case for investigation;"

"Second, we will re-draft the compensation plan according to your reasonable requests and try our best to satisfy your demands;"

"Third, before obtaining your consent, all subsequent demolition work will be suspended; we must ensure everyone's personal safety."

Upon hearing that the demolition work was to be stopped, Chen Qing stood up abruptly from his seat and said in a deep voice: "Is this your personal opinion, or the collective opinion of the County Party Committee?"

Tang Ye did not expect Chen Qing to question him in front of so many people, but he still responded calmly: "This is my personal opinion."

Chen Qing sneered: "Secretary Tang, the Anthracite Project was something you fought for, but the progress of the early land acquisition and demolition work was too slow, and the compensation standards were set too high, which created so many obstacles for the later work."

"What these people said just now is merely one-sided; it is neither fair nor conducive to the advancement of various tasks—they are just trying to get a few more dollars, completely disregarding the big picture, and causing trouble in crowds every day."

"This precedent must absolutely not be set, otherwise my work will be impossible to carry out in the future!"

The room suddenly fell silent, and everyone's gaze was focused on Tang Ye and Chen Qing.

Everyone in their hearts knew Chen Qing's intentions.

He was pushing the root cause of the problem onto his predecessor.

Tang Ye gave Ma Ran a look.

Ma Ran immediately took a document out of his briefcase.

Tang Ye took the document and, with a "slap," threw it in front of Chen Qing!

"County Magistrate Chen, this is a whistleblowing document I found in the crack of my office door a few days ago. I wonder if you have seen it?"

Chen Qing picked up the document and scanned it quickly, his tone somewhat stiff: "I haven't seen it!"

A look of disappointment appeared on Tang Ye's face: "You haven't seen it, but not only did I read it carefully, I also had people investigate it. Someone used their position to give the green light to this company. The problem has become so serious that it cannot be separated from the Government's indulgence."

Chen Qing's eyes widened suddenly, and the light in his eyes dimmed immediately after.

Tang Ye had come prepared.

A terrifying thought popped into his mind: Could it be that all of this was a trap set by Tang Ye?

However.

He quickly dismissed this thought.

Given Tang Ye's character, he would not stoop to such petty behavior.

Seeing that Chen Qing no longer spoke, Tang Ye turned to the mass representatives and bowed deeply, his tone low and sincere: "It is our work that has not been done well, and we have let everyone suffer grievances. On behalf of the County Government, I express my most sincere apologies to everyone."

The people at the scene all stood up silently, and after a long while, a smattering of applause broke out.

Tang Ye sighed softly and continued: "Everyone, rest assured, we will handle this matter as soon as possible. If the problem is not solved within a week, you can come to the County Party Committee to find me at any time."

The mass representatives hurriedly said: "Secretary Tang, we trust you! We will not come to block the door for the time being; we are willing to wait for the Government to give us a reply."

The crowd blocking the door gradually dispersed.

Xie Zhan, with a livid face, said nothing and took a car back to the city.

Chen Qing stood where he was with a gloomy expression, his mood unable to settle for a long time.

After this incident.

His standing in the Mayor's heart would likely plummet.

……

Returning to the County Party Committee Compound.

Chen Qing had just sat down.

The office door was knocked upon.

"Please come in!"

"Executive Chen, do you have a moment to chat?"

Chen Qing had not expected Tang Ye to come looking for him on his own initiative.

"Xiao Gao, go brew some tea for Secretary Tang."

Tang Ye took a sip of tea and got straight to the point: "Old Chen, how do you intend to handle the problems caused by the land acquisition and demolition for the Anthracite Project?"

Chen Qing's tone carried a hint of displeasure: "Didn't Secretary Ou already say it? This matter was handed over to you to handle with full authority."

Tang Ye sighed: "Since you knew there were problems in this from the start, why didn't you resolve them sooner?"

Chen Qing was somewhat indignant: "I had people go handle it at the time; who knew it would end up like this!"

Tang Ye softly guided him: "Who did you have handle it?"

Chen Qing was suddenly stunned; he opened his mouth but could not speak, merely pulling out a cigarette, lighting it, and silently taking two puffs.

Tang Ye knew Chen Qing had realized it, so he reached out and patted his shoulder: "Why wasn't it handled well? Why did it blow up today? Isn't it a bit too coincidental? This matter is not that simple!"

Tang Ye coming to visit on his own initiative was to wake Chen Qing up!

My friend, you have been set up by someone.

Once Chen Qing sobered up, he would naturally understand him.

The Anthracite Project was the common interest point for Tang Ye and Chen Qing.

Someone was sowing discord, deliberately creating opposition between the two!

Tang Ye took the initiative to reconcile with Chen Qing.

That was to keep the one who set the trap from getting their wish, and also to seek a way to break the deadlock!