Chapter 1795

Chapter 1795: Chapter 1795

Song Guanchao originally didn’t want to explain too much, as he often dealt with deeply scheming people and didn’t need to speak too clearly.

But Yang Ling was just a small-town teacher, hoping she could understand the subtleties was asking too much of her.

He thus had to speak more plainly: "If County Magistrate Cao doesn’t arrest you, the matter won’t get big enough, making it hard to deal with him."

Upon hearing this, the previously half-understanding Yang Ling suddenly had an epiphany.

"You don’t need to worry, at most County Magistrate Cao will just detain you for a while, there’s no danger."

"Understood." Knowing Song Guanchao’s plan, Yang Ling’s tense nerves finally relaxed.

"By the way," Yang Ling asked, "can I tell Mayor Gao about this?"

"No need to tell him, it’d be worse if he knew. If they ask, just say it was your own decision, don’t involve others. After all, Mayor Gao is a Vice Mayor, letting others know he arranged for you to report across levels will only complicate things."

Yang Ling uttered an "oh."

Song Guanchao wasn’t sure if she could withstand the pressure, but he’d given all the warnings he could; whether it would succeed depended entirely on her performance.

...

Bao Qi arrived at the Disciplinary Committee, where a report letter sat on the desk.

A signed report letter.

He raised an eyebrow, opened and scanned it, looking somber.

He folded the report letter and found Zhou Zheng.

After Zhou Zheng read the content of the report letter and asked a few questions, he sent Bao Qi back and then called Cao Xiaolou.

Seeing Zhou Zheng calling, Cao Xiaolou quickly snuffed out the cigarette in his hand.

"Secretary Zhou, what are your instructions?"

"Did you withhold the education department’s subsidies?" Zhou Zheng began questioning, and Cao Xiaolou, startled, stammered.

Seeing his reaction, Zhou Zheng knew the report was true and scolded, "How did you mess up? How could something like this be exposed?"

Cao Xiaolou quickly asked, "Secretary Zhou, how did you find out?"

Zhou Zheng scolded, "The report letter landed right on Secretary Bao’s desk!"

"What?" Cao Xiaolou felt a panic inside.

Zhou Zheng snorted, "Mayor Wu will be down to inspect tomorrow, you better clean this up quickly!"

"Don’t worry, Secretary Zhou, I’ll handle it. By the way, who reported it?"

"A teacher named Yang Ling from your town." He couldn’t be bothered to waste words and hung up.

Zhou Zheng was very angry, not because Cao Xiaolou appropriated the education subsidy, but because he did it so sloppily.

At such a crucial time, he got reported.

If Wu Qiangwei found out, she wouldn’t spare him.

...

"Go check the nearby towns for a female teacher named Yang Ling."

Cao Xiaolou told his secretary to investigate, then started thinking about the report matter.

He didn’t think it was a coincidence.

Could there be such a convenient timing?

Just as Wu Qiangwei was set to inspect tomorrow, he got reported today.

Moreover, could a teacher from a small town have the nerve to report him to the City Disciplinary Inspection Committee?

There must be someone behind this.

He almost immediately suspected Gao Qi!

In Gaoshui County, only Gao Qi opposed him!

"Playing these minor games with me, Gao Qi, you truly won’t give up your devious plans!"

Cao Xiaolou was furious, but it was not appropriate to start a confrontation.

Gao Qi only manipulated others, not acting personally, indicating he didn’t want to completely break ties.

If he overturned the table now, it would only play into Gao Qi’s hands.

Soon, the secretary returned: "Mayor, we found her. Yang Ling is a fifth-grade Chinese teacher at Sanwan Town Elementary School."

"Bring her in, ask who instructed her to report to the City Disciplinary Committee."

The secretary was taken aback. This woman actually bypassed levels to report the Mayor to the City Disciplinary Committee?

"Okay." The secretary immediately went out and made a phone call to the county bureau.

...

At eleven o’clock, Lu Feng called Song Guanchao.

"Class leader, that female teacher was taken by the police."

"I know."

The situation was progressing exactly as Song Guanchao had predicted.

...

Thanks to Song Guanchao’s prior warnings, Yang Ling wasn’t overly alarmed when the police came to arrest her.

She was brought to the county town’s police station.

The police asked, "Who instructed you to report to the city?"

Yang Ling said, "No one instructed me."

"Yang Ling, be honest!" The police officer’s eyebrows rose.

Yang Ling remained unafraid, "Is reporting a crime? Which law states I can’t report?"

This amused the officer, "Whether it’s a crime isn’t for you to decide. Be honest and cooperate with our work, maybe you’ll get home sooner. If not, you’ll be staying here!"

Although Song Guanchao assured her she wouldn’t be in danger, under the police’s verbal threats, she couldn’t help but feel scared.

...

Thursday.

Song Guanchao packed his pre-prepared luggage into the car and headed to the City Government.

Wu Qiangwei was visiting Gaoshui County today; one day wouldn’t be sufficient, they estimated staying in the county for a day or two.

This visit primarily focused on addressing Gao Qi’s previous attempt to secure a position; Wu Qiangwei wanted to understand Gaoshui County’s leadership situation.

However, she knew that even if she inquired individually, these officials wouldn’t tell her the truth.

So, she had no particular research agenda this time. Those accompanying her were also not pre-determined.

Besides Song Guanchao, there were the Secretary General Han Lan, and two Vice Mayors, Zhu Shixian and Xue Mingde.

The group was small, and since Wu Qiangwei disliked big scenes, no minibuses were arranged. They just used the usual government car to head to Gaoshui County.

The journey was about fifty to sixty kilometers, taking the outer ring road, they reached Gaoshui County within an hour.

Although Jiangzhou was the Provincial City, Gaoshui County was adjacent to the city, but its development lagged significantly compared to the city’s other districts.

At 10:17 in the morning, the car pulled up to the Gaoshui County Party Committee building.

Nearly sixty-year-old Secretary Xie, along with several main leaders of the Party Committee, came out to greet them.

Wu Qiangwei stepped forward to shake hands and exchange pleasantries, then entered the building to hold a brief meeting.

The primary goal of their visit was to coordinate with the county government; the Party Committee was just a formality.

However, having been in Gaoshui County for many years, Secretary Xie was deeply familiar with the county, so after the meeting, Wu Qiangwei talked to him to get a rough understanding.

Nevertheless, Secretary Xie was a master speaker; in his words, the county’s Party Committee and government were all good comrades and cadres, offending no one.

As retirement approached, he naturally didn’t want to make enemies.

The county was no match for the city, let alone the Provincial City, which was a hub of power.

Once he retired, he’d be faced with the cold shoulder, unseen and unheeded.

Latter, if his relatives or friends wanted to progress within the system, they’d inevitably seek favors from former colleagues.

If he said anything negative to Wu Qiangwei, who would care about him later?

But Wu Qiangwei wasn’t interested in these trivialities and directly asked, "What does Secretary Xie think of County Magistrate Cao?"

Secretary Xie acted like he didn’t grasp her implied meaning and said, "County Magistrate Cao is very capable of uniting comrades, highly praised by city leaders. It’s likely Gaoshui County will be entrusted in his hands in the future."

Wu Qiangwei asked again, "And Mayor Gao?"

Secretary Xie’s eyes flashed subtly.

Outsiders might not know, but who among the county’s leadership didn’t understand the discord between Cao Xiaolou and Gao Qi?

Wu Qiangwei’s question first about Cao Xiaolou then Gao Qi clearly indicated she’d heard something to prompt such inquiries.

Her direct questioning of him meant she wasn’t interested in typical superficial responses either.

Secretary Xie sipped his tea mulling over whether he should say something substantive.