Evening.
Cheng Gang County.
In a hotel room, Dong Xuebing sat alone on the sofa, sipping a small gla.s.s of liquor and eating some dishes. The news on the TV in front of the bed was playing, and he had been staring at it. However, when it reached the news time, Cheng Gang County TV station didn't report anything about the afternoon incident. They didn't even mention it. Dong Xuebing shook his head in disappointment, sipped his drink, and then changed the channel to Mei He City's news channel.
As soon as he switched channels, the news started.
The screen showed the collapsed County Party Committee building in Cheng Gang County, now reduced to ruins.
The average-looking female anchor said, "It is reported that around 2:00 p.m. this afternoon, there was a building collapse incident in Cheng Gang County. This was the new County Party Committee building. Since it was still under construction, no staff was inside. The specific cause of the accident is still under investigation."
That was all the information provided.
Dong Xuebing watched for a while, then turned off the TV. He knew he wouldn't get much information from there, so he called. However, when he took out his phone, he realized it was out of battery and didn't know when it had run out. This trip was hasty, and he hadn't brought a charger. He tried the hotel phone, but it only allowed internal calls. Unable to make an outside call, Dong Xuebing had to put on his clothes, go downstairs, and find a public telephone. After thinking for a moment, he decided to call Mayor Jiang’s secretary, Li Xiaona. He initially wanted to ask Yao Cui, but Cui'er became his secretary only after he took office, and her network was still limited. On the other hand, Li Xiaona, who had been Mayor Jiang's secretary for several years, had a broader network and must be well-informed.
Ring, ring, ring…
The call went through.
"h.e.l.lo, who are you?" Li Xiaona answered.
"Secretary Li, it's Dong Xuebing," Dong Xuebing said.
"Mayor Dong," Li Xiaona responded quickly, "where are you?"
"Still in Cheng Gang County."
"Oh, you're okay."
"I'm fine. What's going on?"
"I heard that the new County Party Committee building in Cheng Gang County collapsed. Chief Jiang and Secretary Yao tried calling you several times this afternoon, but your phone…"
"Ah, I didn't bring a charger. The phone ran out of battery."
"I see. Secretary Yao is quite anxious. Chief Jiang is also worried about you. She just called me to ask where you are. I haven't had a chance to call back."
"Tell Chief Jiang not to worry. I'll call her later. By the way, I wanted to ask about the situation in Cheng Gang County. Have you received any information? Why hasn't it been reported in the news?"
"They're still investigating, so many details should be kept confidential," Li Xiaona said. "The information I have is from people in the construction company and the project team. Several leaders ran away in the afternoon, and they managed to catch one. The others are still on the run."
"They ran away?"
"Yes, as soon as they heard about the building collapse."
Dong Xuebing squinted his eyes, knowing that there must be some irregularities in the construction of the county committee building. Why would they run away instead of waiting for an investigation if they had nothing to hide? There must be something they didn't want others to know. "What else happened?"
Li Xiaona continued, "Mayor Li has lost his sight. Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g suffered a head injury and hasn't woken up yet. Also, there's recent news. The City Discipline Inspection Commission has sent people down and taken control of the headquarters responsible for Cheng Gang County's project. Mayor Li, Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g, and others are currently in the hospital due to injuries, so no measures have been taken against them for now. However, they can't escape. The Discipline Inspection Commission has even sent people to the hospital. As for the construction company, the city police have also taken control, and they are currently searching for the person in charge who tried to escape."
"They acted so quickly."
"Yes, even the County Party Secretary of Cheng Gang County has been called in for questioning by the Discipline Inspection Commission."
Dong Xuebing nodded slightly.
Li Xiaona sighed, "This is no small matter. The entire office building collapsed without any apparent reason. There must be a problem. Cheng Gang County is in chaos this time. This incident is likely to implicate more than a dozen leading leaders. A major reshuffling is imminent."
Having learned the details of the situation, Dong Xuebing asked Li Xiaona for Jiang Fangfang's phone number. Li Xiaona's number was easy to remember, with the last few digits being 898989, so Dong Xuebing noted it down. However, Jiang Fangfang's number was harder, and his phone was out of battery, making it impossible for him to remember.
After hanging up, Dong Xuebing called Jiang Fangfang to report his safety.
Finally, he called Yao Cui to rea.s.sure his old friend.
Back at the hotel, with everything here settled and having let off some steam, Dong Xuebing felt there was no point in staying. He packed up, went downstairs, and started the car.
Pa.s.sing by the entrance of the new County Party Committee headquarters, several police officers were still on guard, s.h.i.+ning flashlights inside. It seemed that investigators from the city were examining the cause of the accident. Seeing Dong Xuebing's car stopping at their entrance, the police officers recognized him. One was the police officer who had tried to forcefully extract his fingerprints at the hotel earlier. Their expressions were not pleasant; after all, the situation was significant. Surprisingly, this time, none of them came to bother Dong Xuebing. They didn't confront him or give him hostile looks. It was as if they hadn't seen him. They turned their heads away and pretended to be focused on something else.
Fingerprinting, shoe prints, investigating Dong Xuebing. All of it had lost its meaning.
Cheng Gang County had initially planned to use Dong Xuebing to divert attention, employing various despicable tactics against him. However, with the collapse of the building, issues like falling construction materials and the question of whether someone was pushed became less relevant. The attention was now firmly focused back on Cheng Gang County, making them the center of the city's attention again. There was no way to s.h.i.+ft the focus anymore. In this situation, n.o.body cared about Dong Xuebing anymore, and the false testimonies and accusations made by Zhou's secretary and the construction company's CEO had become meaningless.
Dong Xuebing glanced at them, then looked at the ruins not far away. He started the car and drove away.
But it wasn't over yet. Before leaving, Dong Xuebing made one final visit to the County People's Hospital.
He got out of the car.
Went upstairs.
Found the ward.
Outside the ward of Li Zhixin and Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g, there weren't many officials gathered, which was unusual. Normally, when high-ranking officials were injured, there would be many staffs coming to visit. But now, there was no one. Only some personnel from the Discipline Inspection Commission were discussing something. It was understandable. Despite Li Zhixin's former power, he was just an ordinary person without his official position. The situation outside the ward indicated this. Li Zhixin had lost sight and was directly responsible for the collapse of the office building. Seeing officials from the City Discipline Inspection Commission arriving, no one dared to get too close to Li Zhixin at this time.
It was a matter of life and death.
No one was that foolish, busy avoiding suspicion and distancing themselves.
Dong Xuebing knew that Li Zhixin and the others were finished this time, but he didn't mind giving them a few more kicks. So, he walked up and said, "You're from the City Discipline Inspection Commission, right?"
An old Discipline Inspection Commission staff looked at him, "Who are you?"
Dong Xuebing said, "I'm Dong Xuebing from Zhen Shui County."
" Mayor Dong," the Discipline Inspection Commission staff and the others all turned towards him. The leader extended his hand for a handshake, "h.e.l.lo, I heard that your spouse had an incident at the new County Party Committee building yesterday. It seems there are testimonies from comrades in Fen Zhou City stating that someone pushed Mayor Xie, causing Mayor Xie's injury. Is this true?"
Dong Xuebing replied, "Yes, there were many witnesses at the time."
The Discipline Inspection Commission staff said earnestly, "We were also eager to understand the situation at that time. Can you tell us in detail?"
Dong Xuebing said, "No problem."
The person said, "Then, please have a seat here."
Dong Xuebing naturally did not hesitate and directly recounted the incident involving his wife, the subsequent att.i.tude of Cheng Gang County, and even the false accusations made by Zhou's secretary and others. He thoroughly fueled the already dire situation for Cheng Gang County and Li Zhixin's group.
7:30 PM.
The people from the City Discipline Inspection Commission listened with furrowed brows.
With the situation explained, how to investigate would now be the responsibility of the Discipline Inspection Commission and the police. After checking his watch, Dong Xuebing nodded to bid farewell to the City Discipline Inspection Commission officials and comrades.
At the hospital courtyard.
Dong Xuebing encountered several officials and staff members from Cheng Gang County. It was unclear whether they were there to a.s.sist in the investigation or to visit. Dong Xuebing glanced at them and got into his car, heading back to Zhen Shui County.
Watching Dong Xuebing's Land Rover gradually disappear, the people from Cheng Gang County didn't know what to feel.
In fact, after Mayor Xie's incident following the visit of Mayor Dong for inspection, many officials in Cheng Gang County knew that Mayor Li and Secretary Zhou might have indeed pushed Mayor Xie, causing the near-fatal incident for the mother and son. However, even though they knew it, they didn't react. Their initial thoughts were similar to Li Zhixin's group. s.h.i.+fting blame first, not allowing their County to bear such a bad reputation. But as the situation unfolded, the people of Cheng Gang County were shocked to discover that the development of the events was far from what they had antic.i.p.ated.
First, Secretary Zhou and the others all became disabled.
Then, the new County Party Committee building collapsed right before their eyes. Finally, even Li Zhixin and Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g were both incapacitated, dragging the City Discipline Inspection Commission into the mess.
This could no longer be described as coincidental. It was unbelievably coincidental. Why did all those present with Mayor Xie end up permanently disabled? Why did the County Party Committee building, which almost killed Mayor Xie, have multiple incidents, one after another?
All the coincidences pointed to Dong Xuebing, the Mayor of Zhen Shui County.
Since Dong Xuebing arrived, accidents kept happening one after another. Individuals who had conflicts or disagreements with him and his wife ended up paying a b.l.o.o.d.y price one by one.
Now, looking back, everyone felt a chill running down their spine.
What the h.e.l.l is this Dong Xuebing? Is he some kind of jinx?