Chapter 1037

In the evening, news came one after another; first Zhao Nanxing and others were detained, then Hou Junlai turned himself in—all of this was within his expectations.

The most shocking thing was that Zhou Yanru jumped off a building.

Just last night everything seemed fine; they thought Zhou Yanru would wait for the Discipline Inspection Commission to come for an investigation talk, and even if he went in, it would only be a matter of a few years, perhaps ten or more.

Su Yang did not expect Zhou Yanru to be so righteous, jumping off a building rather than submit to investigation; such a person, if placed in ancient times, would certainly be a loyal and righteous gentleman—of course, his loyalty was to a certain individual, not to the organization.

He also left a suicide note, in which he took full responsibility for the illegal mining in Sha He, even demanding that the organization sentence him to death.

Moreover, he candidly stated that the profits from the illegal mining in Sha He over the years amounted to over a hundred million.

He intended to be a solid scapegoat, but he overlooked the fact that many people knew the inside story—besides him, there was Hou Junlai, even Ma Su, and Yao Daya, who was singing prison songs inside.

For a moment, aside from the townships outside Guantan Gou Zhen, every government unit in the county was panic-stricken; virtually all the top leaders of any powerful unit had some connection with Ma Su—though they might not have taken money, they had certainly slept together.

Later, Sun Chengjun came to Su Yang's office to report on the progress of the traffic accident case.

"County Magistrate Su, the drunk driver has some issues—he usually doesn't drink much, but he did drink that day."

"He has traveled the road beside Sha He for over ten years; it's impossible he wouldn't know where the potholes are."

"Furthermore, our investigation found that a month earlier he went to the city hospital for a check-up, and his medical records showed late-stage cancer."

"In the following days, he built a new house for his family and saved 20,000 yuan for his wife and children."

"But there were no obvious financial transactions, and no strangers had approached him; it felt impossible for his income to suddenly produce that much money."

"But now the person is dead, the leads are cut off, and no one knows where that money came from."

"But one thing is certain: this incident was not an accident; it was deliberate, although they probably never imagined it would become so serious."

Su Yang angrily slammed the table: "Really ruthless, so vicious!"

"In political maneuvering, political tactics are normal, but they shouldn't be this despicable. I, too, will make whoever is behind this pay if I find out."

"How are the other injured doing now? Have their families been comforted?"

Sun Chengjun said: "Secretary Zhang seems unusually proactive this time; he personally went to the deceased's family."

"He also had the Civil Affairs Bureau's relevant departments extend care and condolences, mainly to address practical difficulties."

"I hear from outside that rumors are spreading that all the evidence related to this illegal mining case was provided by you to the city, and that the common people of Guantan Gou Zhen as well as the relatives and friends of the implicated officials are all stabbing you in the back."

"I also heard that someone is preparing to spend a lot of money to find someone to harm you; over the years they've made plenty of money from Sha He, so coming up with two million yuan would certainly be possible."

"What I mean is, starting now, I'll have Song Zhong bring people to protect you 24/7, ensuring you encounter no problems."

Su Yang said: "Don't worry, they're not that crazy, nor do they have the guts—plotting to harm a division-level official is no small matter."

"However, those spreading these rumors or inciting the masses certainly deserve punishment."

As they were speaking, the evening interview program on television began; Su Yang originally paid no attention, because the interview segment had no contact with their county's publicity department, nor had it been announced that they would start interviewing, let alone that they should receive them.

Moreover, even if a program were made, it couldn't possibly be aired the same day—that would defy common sense.

When he saw the footage showing the county seat of Lieshan Xian, with the focus on Yingbin Dadao and the imitation ancient city tower building, he finally realized they were being reported on.

Sun Chengjun naturally saw it too, so he swallowed the words he was about to say and had everyone shift their gaze to the television.

At the start of the program, they threw out a key topic: whether urban development needs achievement projects, and whether it needs fiscal investment to exchange for empty fame.

Next, the female host, who appeared fair and comely, holding a microphone, appeared on the streets of Lieshan Xian to begin interviewing.

Her interviewee was a woman over sixty.

"Hello, auntie, we are reporters from the TV station, and we would like to interview you."

"I've heard our county is developing rapidly, the city's appearance has changed greatly, especially this imitation ancient city tower, which looks somewhat like a scenic spot's feature—what do you think of it?"

That auntie, who had been sitting on a roadside bench knitting a sweater, immediately stood up upon hearing this, filled with righteous indignation, and said: "They're really letting down our ancestors! Our county is so poor; we common people know it in our hearts—do the officials not know it themselves?"

"Many places can't even fill their stomachs, yet they spend money building towers—can you eat that?"

"They say it's to beautify the image, but it's really just to facilitate corruption!"

The reporter then asked: "Do you know which leader advocated for the Yingbin Dadao project? I suppose his intentions must have been good."

The auntie burst out again: "This is the doing of that Vice County Magistrate named Su Yang! He relies on his background, so as soon as he arrived in the county he acted as if he controlled everything—what the county magistrate and county party secretary say doesn't count; all county policies are decided by him alone!"

"The county leadership clearly opposed this project, yet he insisted on going ahead, even running to the bank to borrow over ten billion yuan; however, it's said that the money actually spent on this project is less than two billion, and the rest may have been embezzled by him."

The scene shifted, and the reporter interviewed a person riding a bicycle, hurrying to work: "Hello, sorry to bother you, we are from the national TV station and would like to interview you."

"What do you think about the current development of our county?"

The person stopped the bicycle, propped one foot on the ground, and said: "How do I view it? I just want to know if I can curse."

"Our county used to have poorer conditions, but most of us had jobs and could support a family."

"But last year a Vice County Magistrate named Su Yang came along, and without a word, he used his own authority to wreck the Twin Ditch Large Koji Winery that our county had operated for many years, driving it into bankruptcy!"

"This left several thousand workers without food, and the winery ceased production!"

"What about the county's sweeping reforms and development—what's your view? Or are you still satisfied?"

The man with one foot on the ground said: "Satisfied? I'm satisfied with a hammer! These county leaders don't think about improving our livelihoods; they just undertake useless projects. What use is Yingbin Dadao? The old road worked just fine before, and there's never been any traffic congestion."

"Building such a huge tower while taking out loans is nothing but a face-saving project; when they leave, they'll just pat their backsides and walk away, leaving this mess for us common people to clean up!"

The host then asked: "How do you know who proposed and pushed forward the Yingbin Dadao project?"

The man replied: "It's Su Yang! As soon as he arrived, he knocked down our winery, then went on to undertake those pointless projects!"

Afterward, there were several more interview clips, basically repeating the mention of the Yingbin Dadao project, the loan and fiscal investment, and that this is Su Yang's achievement behavior—purely a face project, an image project.

At the end of the program, the host even posed a soul-searching question:

"What is the original aspiration of our Party members and cadres? Should a locality's development consider its own conditions rather than blindly undertake image projects through fiscal overextension and harming the people and finances?"

"When power supervision fails, is it a good thing for a locality's power to be concentrated in the hands of a few? This is worth deep reflection."