Chapter 952: An Incident Occurred in the County

Su Yang's first reaction was to hang up the phone outright, because at such an important moment he normally wouldn't answer.

But as soon as he hung up, the phone rang again; he frowned slightly and hung up once more— it's the New Year, what could the office possibly need?

Moreover, Zhang Jiangbo was already in office when his incident occurred, and Zhao Nanxing and the others were all back to work on the sixth day of the New Year; having one more or one fewer vice county magistrate in the county makes little difference.

The investment‑promotion work is being followed up by Li Lingyu, so there won't be any major problems.

Besides, he already knows these matters; basically everything has been finalized, and the next step is just moving into the incubator park.

Yet after the second hang‑up, the phone rang again, and Su Yang instantly realized that something might have happened.

At that moment, Zhou Weiguo also looked at Su Yang: "There must be something; look who's calling."

Su Yang picked up and saw it was Li Lingyu. As soon as he connected, he heard Li Lingyu speak very urgently: "County Magistrate Su, hello, during the New Year we shouldn't disturb you, but something has happened here and I had to call you."

Su Yang frowned and asked: "What exactly happened?"

Li Lingyu said: "There was an accident on the road‑construction project, specifically on the main road from Guantan Gou Zhen to the neighboring township; there were fatalities, two people died."

Su Yang's complexion changed in an instant: "What exactly is the situation? Didn't they say to halt work at this time? Even if they were working, the safety‑supervision company was present, how could this happen?"

Li Lingyu said: "Actually, since New Year's Eve and the first day, the villagers near the site couldn't stay idle, they all came to help with the road, and the contractors are also locals, so they all coincidentally showed up for work."

"It was originally a good thing, everyone was working enthusiastically, but you also know the village's bad habit: during New Year evenings everyone likes to drink and gamble."

"In a village of Guantan Gou Zhen, two people lost a gambling bet, and in the middle of the night they went to the site to steal iron shovels, small carts, and the like; then a dispute over the loot with another accomplice broke out, and one of them smashed the other to death with an iron shovel."

"After the incident, the victim's family members came out en masse demanding justice; I don't know who led them, but they beat the other person to death as well."

"Oh right, the group of attackers were the original secretary's family's nephews and brothers from Guantan Gou Zhen. Then this sparked an armed clash between their family and another major clan."

"So it started as theft, turned into a murder case, then escalated into a clan armed fight. The matter has already reached the city level."

Su Yang coldly said: "Why wasn't I told earlier? From what you say, the incident happened at the latest last night, why only now tell me?"

Li Lingyu said with some grievance: "When the incident first occurred, there was no clan armed clash, only two deaths; we reported it to the police and the County Public Security Bureau handled it urgently. But who could have imagined that later, for unknown reasons, the two families started an armed fight?"

"During the New Year, all kinds of knives, swords, spears, clubs were used; someone even used an old homemade gun, resulting in over a dozen injuries."

"I originally wanted to call you to report, but County Magistrate Zhao said Secretary Zhang intended to suppress the matter, not let it spread publicly, to avoid negative social impact, and even convened an emergency standing committee meeting."

"They all said that, so I didn't report to you, because it was a collective decision by the County Party Committee and County Government. But later it escalated to the point that even the Public Security Bureau couldn't control the situation; the matter worsened, and the county urgently convened a second standing committee meeting."

"The unexpected outcome was that County Magistrate Zhao proposed at the meeting that all the projects are under your charge; you are the primary responsible person, regardless of whether you were present, you should be held accountable for this."

"After he raised it, Secretary Zhang first expressed agreement, and then, aside from me, Secretary Zhou, Minister Chen, and Secretary Hou, everyone else endorsed County Magistrate Zhao's statement."

"Secretary Zhang said, since this matter is your responsibility, the liability also falls on you, so you will handle the follow‑up entirely; he will coordinate emergency public relations with higher‑level government departments, to prevent the situation from spreading and worsening."

After speaking, she added: "This is clearly aimed at you; if you had tackled it proactively from the start, it wouldn't have escalated. Now that it has reached this point, they can't contain it, so they push you out; I'm really angry."

Su Yang said: "Alright, I understand. Then I'll book the earliest flight tomorrow, aim to be at the office before noon to handle this. Before that, you and Secretary Zhou should go to the Public Security Bureau again and make sure the officers do the necessary work to stabilize the situation."

"Remember, in such incidents do not suppress with force, do not intimidate; you should patiently guide and persuade. If that fails, you can go directly to Mayor Wang to report. Of course, since Secretary Zhang is now Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, I think he will handle the relevant reporting to city leadership."

After hanging up, the old man asked: "What's going on? They called you at this hour, what exactly happened?"

Su Yang recounted the whole thing. The old man's face instantly showed anger: "Why are today's officials like this? When trouble arises, they think about covering it up, minimizing impact, rather than solving the problem."

"But this only intensifies the underlying conflict. It started with just a greedy gambler and a drunk, yet now there are two deaths and a clan armed clash, one of which involves the former town committee secretary's family. There must be other reasons; don't rush in blindly, first understand all aspects before deciding."

Zhou Weiguo said: "Having such incidents during the New Year is truly infuriating. But when something happens, as the primary person responsible for the project, you do bear inescapable responsibility. The matter must be investigated immediately, yet you also need to return quickly to coordinate relevant departments to resolve the issue."

"Here, I want to stress one point: the problem must be solved, the conflict must not keep expanding. The government's face is not important; what's important is that the common people are not harmed. Also, you must not be on the front line of any matter; you are now a senior leader."

"If it's about maintaining public order, the Public Security Bureau handles it; the primary leaders for solving the problem are the Secretary and the County Magistrate. Do your job. Of course, any responsibilities you must bear, you must take on, don't evade. Once you have uncovered the truth and resolved the matter, be sure to let me know."