Chapter 274

Someone died at the Laoyingzui construction site, and they were beaten to death, which made the matter particularly significant. Huang Qishan was recalled to the County Party Committee to report on his work, and before leaving, he insisted on dragging me along.

I was originally hesitating, but Guo Wei suggested that the three of us go back to the county together to report.

Guo Wei's head was wrapped in bandages, a circle around his head, making him look particularly heroic and intense.

This was the first time Liu Qimeng held a meeting for us as Secretary. There weren't many people attending: the County Public Security Bureau Director, the Procuratorate Chief, the Court President, the County Party Committee and Government Office Director, plus the three of us—less than ten people.

My appearance surprised Liu Qimeng. He looked at the three of us, waved his hand, and signaled for the meeting to begin.

Huang Qishan, as the main reporter, gave a detailed report on the death incident that had occurred at the new town government construction site over the past two days. Through his report, I began to understand the ins and outs of the incident.

After I terminated Qian Youyu's mineral water factory, he returned to Yuetang Village and told the villagers about my idea of building an agricultural trade street. I had expected the villagers to oppose it, but to my surprise, my proposal was met with the support of the entire village. Everyone was willing to build houses first; without a place to live, even being given a State Council office wouldn't be a solution. Besides, the agricultural trade street was being built in Suxi Town, and since their household registration had been resolved earlier, they were considered to be "eating imperial grain," so there was no reason they couldn't live in the township.

An agricultural trade street could not only establish their status but also had a greater function: a town always needs people, and where there are people, there is business. With business, why worry about not having a livelihood?

The location of the agricultural trade street was very important. Guo Wei and I had carefully considered it and decided to build it 300 meters away from the town government office building. After all, it was Suxi Town's first street, and from the perspective of planning, design, and long-term goals, it should be built grandly. The street was designed to be 15 meters wide, enough for five large vehicles to drive side-by-side. At the end of the street, an agricultural market would be built, with a hospital on the left and a school on the right.

A square would be built in front of the town government, and a cultural and sports center would be built opposite it. A road would be built in front of the cultural and sports center, connecting to the agricultural trade street. This road was called the Welcoming Avenue, and hotels, restaurants, and other commercial buildings would be built along it.

Everything had been arranged properly, and the agricultural trade street had broken ground. The people of Laoyingzui watched the construction site every day and, discovering that the new government hadn't reserved land for them to build houses, went to Guo Wei to make a scene.

Guo Wei initially promised to study and resolve it, but later simply avoided the people of Laoyingzui. Unable to find Guo Wei, the people of Laoyingzui had no choice but to block the construction together.

The people of Yuetang Village naturally didn't want the construction period to be delayed. The highway was already under construction, and the old houses had already been issued demolition orders, with a deadline for relocation. If they didn't move by the deadline, the highway construction crew would use an excavator to level everything. Therefore, finding a place to settle down was the urgent desire of all the people in Yuetang Village.

One side wanted to block the construction, the other side didn't want to, and the two sides ended up pulling and tugging. No one knew who started it first, but the scene turned into a chaotic mess.

Zhao the Half-Immortal of Laoyingzui was old and couldn't fight, so he sat on the construction site's door beam, watching the people from the two villages punch and kick each other. After a while, the people of Laoyingzui were defeated. The people from Yuetang Village at the construction site were all somewhat strong, and the fact that Laoyingzui had sent someone like Zhao the Half-Immortal showed that their strength wasn't on the same level.

Zhao Dequan was unwilling to accept defeat. Since he couldn't win with his fists, he resorted to weapons, grabbing hoes and shovels from the construction site and hacking away. Two or three people were knocked down on the spot, groaning on the ground. One of them fell at Zhao the Half-Immortal's feet. Zhao the Half-Immortal got up to look, but unexpectedly, a shovel flew from behind, and he fell to the ground on the spot, blood flowing everywhere.

By the time Qian Youyu rushed over, the battle was nearing its end. Seeing his fellow villagers lying all over the ground, he felt terrible and shouted at the people of Yuetang Village to defend their homes. Another chaotic fight ensued, and no one cared about Zhao the Half-Immortal, who was still breathing. By the time Hao Qiang arrived, several more people were lying on the ground. Hao Qiang couldn't stop them and fired a shot into the air to scare the people fighting. When everyone went to look at Zhao the Half-Immortal again, he only had air going in and none coming out.

Qian Youyu panicked, crying and shouting to call an ambulance to save him. Zhao Dequan kicked Qian Youyu in the butt and said: "Boss Qian, just wait to die."

Before the words had faded, the small police officer from the station clicked the handcuffs onto him. When they turned back to look for Zhao Dequan, they found he had already run away, leaving only a shadow.

Huang Qishan reported everything in detail and vividly, as if he had been there himself, explaining everything clearly and distinctly, even reporting every word spoken by every person meticulously.

I secretly glanced at Secretary Liu and found his brows tightly locked, his cheeks puffed up high, clearly gritting his teeth.

I looked at Guo Wei beside me, but his face was pale and covered in cold sweat.

Huang Qishan closed his notebook, indicating that the report was finished, and waited for the leader to speak.

Secretary Liu closed his eyes slightly and remained silent for a long time, his fingers tapping the table rhythmically. After a long while, he opened his eyes and asked the Public Security Bureau Director beside him: "Old Qiu, what do you think should be done about this?"

The Public Security Bureau Director hurriedly stated his position: "Whatever decision the County Party Committee makes, our Public Security Bureau will resolutely execute it."

The Procuratorate Chief and the Court President also took the opportunity to state their determination to execute it.

Secretary Liu didn't ask them, but turned to ask me and Guo Wei: "You are the Secretary, and you are the Town Mayor. An incident occurred, someone died, and you cannot escape responsibility. Tell me yourselves, how should this be handled?"

Guo Wei squeezed a sentence through his teeth: "Those who beat people to death must be dealt with according to the law, and it must be done strictly, severely, and quickly. Those who led the beating must also be dealt with according to the law, and they must be punished as principal offenders."

Secretary Liu nodded and asked me: "Town Mayor Chen, what is your opinion?"

I cleared my throat and said solemnly: "This matter is not just a simple fight resulting in death; we must look at the root cause."

"Once a conflict has occurred, we must find a way to resolve it. Now that people have been arrested on both sides, both sides are like powder kegs; a single word or a single incident could trigger an even greater conflict. My personal opinion is to temporarily not enter the judicial process and first find a way to appease the family of the deceased. Once the family is stabilized, no matter how much they make a scene, they won't be able to cause any impact. Therefore, I suggest that Secretary Huang's aftermath team find a way to let the deceased be buried in peace. After that, everyone can sit down and talk calmly."

Secretary Liu nodded approvingly and turned to the Procuratorate Chief: "I think this idea is good. The Procuratorate should temporarily not make a decision to approve the arrest, but first detain them criminally."

The Procuratorate Chief nodded in agreement, saying: "The police side hasn't sent an arrest opinion letter yet either."

The Public Security Bureau Director said: "This responsibility doesn't lie with our Public Security Bureau. If you want an opinion letter, I can give it to you right now."

The two almost started fighting. In fact, everyone present understood that this was just them not wanting to take responsibility!

"The County Party Committee Propaganda Department must block this news and not let outside reporters come in to stir up trouble. From now on, all external publicity must be approved by the County Party Committee Office before being released. Violators will be disciplined according to regulations," Secretary Liu gave a decisive order: "For the Suxi Town matter, the person who tied the bell must untie it. Youth League Committee Secretary Huang will take the lead, the Suxi Town Party Committee and Government will cooperate, and the Public Security, Procuratorate, Court, and relevant departments will enter together. The matter must be nipped in the bud and must not be allowed to expand!"

We all nodded seriously.

Secretary Liu scanned us and said slowly: "It hasn't even been a year since Suxi Town's establishment was approved, and the new government is still under construction. It's expected and understandable that some incidents would occur. A new thing cannot grow well without some setbacks. This incident reflects that rural land and farmers' consciousness have become linked with the market economy. We cadres shouldn't always hold the idea that farmers are uncultured people. We must actively think of ways and actively connect with the masses. Only when we know what they need can we serve the common people well."

The report meeting lasted for two hours, and the final conclusion was to appease first.

After leaving the meeting room and going downstairs, Huang Qishan came over and asked me: "Chen Feng, you said appease, how do we appease?"

I patted him on the shoulder and said: "Is there anything in this world that can stump our Secretary Qishan? Just find a way to execute the County Party Committee's decision."

Huang Qishan spread his hands and said: "How do I execute it? Do you want me to be like Secretary Guo and have my head opened up too?"

Guo Wei smiled embarrassedly and said: "These unruly people! I just said one sentence, and they opened my head. If I had said a few more, wouldn't that have cost me my life?"

Huang Qishan laughed: "Don't worry, you, Secretary Guo, are a man of bronze head and iron arms, you can't be beaten to death."

Guo Wei cursed: "Talk your dog-farts! I'm not a man of flesh and blood?"

Huang Qishan apologized repeatedly, laughing: "The County Party Committee's decision—you two and I are grasshoppers tied together. Now that there's no major trouble in the world, everyone think about it, how do we appease?"

I said: "Secretary Huang, with your silver tongue, are you afraid you can't convince the masses? We both believe in you. You go in front and lead the charge, and we'll follow behind you. If something really happens, we'll be there to save you."

"Chen Feng, you are the type who fears the world won't be in chaos. I'm telling you, if I don't have a good life, don't think you two will have peace either. I've long seen that you kid have ghosts in your belly. Tell me, what's the plan?" Huang Qishan cursed, reaching out to ask me for a cigarette.

The three of them stood at the gate of the County Party Committee compound, each with a cigarette in their mouth, looking exactly like three street hoodlums.

Suddenly, a horn sounded. The three of us looked up in unison and found a car parked in front of us. Wu Qian stepped out of the car, smiling, followed by Sister Xiao Mei, who had a worried expression on her face.