Chapter 992

However, at this moment, Hou Junlai's phone rang. He glanced at everyone and said, "Secretary Zhang, there's an important call; I'll take it first."

Saying that, he walked out of the meeting room to answer the call. Because someone left to take the call, a vote was missing, so the meeting had to be briefly postponed—this is normal procedure.

But Zhao Nansheng secretly felt something was off: why did Hou Junlai run out to take a call at this time? Normally, if it weren't a major matter, it should be prioritized for the Standing Committee.

Shortly after, Hou Junlai returned and said, "Secretary Zhang, comrades, I have an urgent situation to report to everyone. Regarding the sand mining issue, officials from Gutangou Township have come forward to voluntarily confess, saying this matter was organized by them, and they directed the villagers and these ordinary people to do the mining."

"Moreover, just now the disciplinary commission officers from the Public Security Bureau called; their village head and party secretary just sobered up and also said it was the township that issued them the notice. The specific person responsible for this matter is their township Party Committee Deputy Secretary Wang Yinxiang and Deputy Township Head Yao Lichun."

"They are currently with our staff here and will immediately return to the county seat, so regarding the sand mining matter, can we now reach a conclusion?"

As soon as he said that, everyone except Su Yang breathed a sigh of relief, especially Qi Guohui—this way no one would have to take the blame. However, what followed was a deep sense of humiliation, because just moments ago they had been arguing earnestly, but after half a day of debate, the other side came forward to confess, delivering a stinging slap to their faces.

Zhao Nansheng's face alternated between green and white as he silently cursed these people as idiots. If they had planned to admit this from the start, why make everyone go through so much trouble in the Standing Committee?

Only Su Yang felt that this matter indeed matched his prediction—someone really couldn't sit still, didn't want him to keep digging deeper, and immediately threw out a few sacrificial pawns, hoping to temporarily block the issue.

Of course, Su Yang's goal was merely to sound a warning; he didn't intend to uncover the sand mining lid now, as the timing wasn't right. If he dove in now and exposed it, he would surely be implicated himself—something a mature cadre shouldn't do; otherwise his studies would have been in vain.

Deputy Party Committee Secretary

Just as everyone thought the Standing Committee would end this way, Qi Guohui's phone suddenly rang, and it kept ringing. He had hung up once, but it rang again, so he had to pull it out and see that it was a call from Public Security Bureau Chief Sun Chengjun.

He wondered: since he took office, Sun Chengjun had never proactively called him; now a call definitely meant something. However, he didn't answer directly, but said to Zhang Jiangbo: "Secretary Zhang, it's the Public Security Bureau's Sun Chengjun calling; do you think I should take it?"

Zhang Jiangbo almost cursed, "Are you brain‑dead? You ask me whether to answer a phone call?" but he restrained himself and said: "The Public Security Bureau chief calling you, the Political and Legal Affairs Commission secretary, must have important work to report—of course you should answer; just put it on speaker."

Qi Guohui pressed the speaker button, and from the other side came Sun Chengjun's slightly excited voice: "Secretary Qiu, I have a situation to report to you. Regarding the two earlier homicide cases, according to our previous investigation conclusion, the two men went to the construction site to steal things after drinking, and because the loot was split unevenly, they fought, resulting in two deaths."

"But during our follow‑up inquiries we discovered there is a hidden motive—this was premeditated. The mastermind behind it is a man named Yao Changhe from the Yao family, who has already been apprehended by us."

"According to his confession, it was the township head Miao Wei who ordered him to plan this. Moreover, the incident did not occur at any project site; it happened when they had finished drinking and went one after another to the toilet. The Miao family member struck first, grabbing an iron shovel and killing the Yao family member in front, and then, under Yao Changhe's direction, the Yao family members counter‑attacked the Miao family and killed the person who had struck first."

"According to his confession, they were not originally aiming to kill anyone, but someone dealt a lethal blow, causing death. Therefore we now need to immediately bring Township Head Miao in for questioning, but given his status I must first brief you and follow the required procedures. I also need to simultaneously report the situation to the Discipline Inspection Commission."

At this moment Qi Guohui's face turned grim, and Zhao Nansheng was the same. Nobody had imagined that their desperate attempt to pin a hat on Su Yang would suddenly turn into such a major twist.

The fact that Yao Changhe had been caught and directly implicated the township head Miao Wei turned what seemed like an accidental fatality into a political incident in an instant, leaving him unsure how to respond to Sun Chengjun.

Su Yang also felt a surge of shock; regarding this matter he had basically gotten to the truth, but he never expected that the seemingly honest and simple township head would be involved.

According to the earlier narrative, the behind‑the‑scenes operators should have been Wang Yinxiang and Yao Lichun; he had only suspected them a little, always feeling things weren't that easy because, fundamentally, this was aimed at him. Yet he never imagined they would drag the township head into it—this looks like a case of sacrificing a limb to save the body.

But in a flash he realized: someone doesn't want the Gutangou Township affair to keep escalating, because the two incidents have already drawn the city's attention.

Why say two? Because later, when the Public Security Bureau detained the sand‑mining locals, some people cleverly leaked the issue to the city, originally thinking it would become a final lever to suppress Su Yang, but instead it became a shackle around their own necks.

It seems there are still smart people; this way, whether it's the river sand theft, the earlier absurd project, or the homicide case, all can be settled, and Lishan County can return to calm.

Sacrificing these three people can protect a large group—this deal seems worthwhile. Moreover, they counted on Su Yang not continuing to dig deeper, because digging further would bring him no benefit; otherwise his studies this time would have been for nothing.

Zhang Jiangbo was simply furious to the extreme; he had thought he was the director, but then discovered he didn't even count as a lead actor, at most just an extra, because the entire plot's direction was completely not under his control. But he is the top boss, after all; in such a situation, he still has to express his stance, cannot just let it go awkwardly silent.