150: Chapter 150 The Storm in the Red Countryside

Little Lin stuck out her tongue. "I'm sorry, I got too excited. These regulations have really made life miserable for us young people. Every week, we're organized to go out for 'volunteer labor'—which is actually just using toothbrushes to scrub the gaps between bricks and picking up fallen leaves. We also have to act as hygiene inspectors, and if a shop doesn't meet the standards, we can't bring ourselves to give the shop owner a hard time, so we just end up doing the work ourselves."

Xiao Bei smiled. "That won't happen in the future. By the way, do you know how these regulations came about in the first place?"

Little Lin looked left and right, then lowered her voice. "I heard that last year, a leader from the provincial level came for an inspection and casually remarked, 'The roads in Hongxiang Town are really clean,' and Director Hao just took it to the extreme. Later..."

She suddenly stopped.

"Later what?" Xiao Bei pressed.

"Later, I heard... I'm just saying what I heard, mind you—these 'high standards' became a justification for demanding poverty alleviation funds from higher-ups."

Little Lin finished quickly and hurried away.

Xiao Bei and Team Leader Zhang Yining exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.

When they walked out of the Town Government building, Xiao Bei was surprised to find Old Chen from the breakfast shop that morning squatting on the steps at the entrance. Seeing Xiao Bei, the old man hurriedly stood up and pulled an oil-paper package from his chest.

"County Magistrate Xiao, this... this is for you."

Old Chen's hands were trembling slightly. "My son worked as an accountant in the town, and last year he... he just disappeared. He only left this behind, with a note saying that if I ever met an honest official, I should hand it over."

Xiao Bei took the oil-paper package and gently opened a corner—inside was, shockingly, an account book!

"Sir, it's not convenient to talk here. Are you free this evening? I'll come to your shop to talk in detail."

Old Chen nodded and hurried away. Xiao Bei carefully tucked the account book into his briefcase, his heart pounding like a drum. This might be the key evidence to bring down Liu Fuzhi!

Just then, Team Leader Zhang Yining's phone rang. After answering it, her face changed drastically: "County Magistrate Xiao, I just received news. Liu Fuzhi has been released on bail!"

"What?" Xiao Bei couldn't believe his ears. "So soon?"

Team Leader Zhang Yining bit her lip: "They say... Party Secretary Fu personally made the call."

Xiao Bei looked into the distance, Qin Ruoxi's warning echoing in his ears: "On this path, do not trust anyone except me."

Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon; a greater storm seemed to be approaching.

Twilight fell, and the streets of Hongxiang Town gradually grew quiet. Xiao Bei stood before the window of the Town Government office, clutching the oil-paper package tightly, his knuckles white from the force. Outside the window, the last lingering rays of the sunset dyed the distant mountain ridges red, like an unhealed wound.

"County Magistrate Xiao, the car is ready." Team Leader Zhang Yining knocked gently.

Xiao Bei nodded and carefully tucked the oil-paper package into the inner compartment of his briefcase. He glanced at his watch—7:40 PM, twenty minutes until the time agreed upon with Old Chen.

"Team Leader Zhang Yining, you go rest in the Town Government reception room first. I'll go by myself, and I'll pick you up when I get back."

Team Leader Zhang Yining hesitated: "But Mayor Qin gave instructions..."

"I know." Xiao Bei interrupted her. "But some things are better known by as few people as possible."

Team Leader Zhang Yining pursed her lips and finally nodded, leaving. Xiao Bei watched her retreating figure, recalling Qin Ruoxi's words, "Trust is more precious than ability," and felt a complex mix of emotions.

Ten minutes later, Xiao Bei walked to Old Chen's breakfast shop. The door was slightly ajar, with dim yellow light spilling out from within. He looked around to confirm no one was following him, then gently pushed the door open and entered.

"Old Chen?" Xiao Bei called out in a low voice.

"County Magistrate Xiao!" Old Chen hurried out from the kitchen, followed by his wife. Both looked nervous; Old Chen's hands were still covered in flour, clearly having just been preparing ingredients for tomorrow.

Old Chen's wife quickly pulled down the roller shutter, locked it, and then took a thermos from under the counter to pour a cup of hot tea for Xiao Bei. Her hands were still trembling slightly, causing ripples in the tea.

"Sit, sit." Old Chen wiped a stool with his apron. "It's humble, please don't mind."

Xiao Bei sat down and took the oil-paper package from his briefcase: "Old Chen, can you tell me in detail about your son's situation?"

Old Chen's eyes dimmed instantly. His wife suddenly covered her mouth and turned into the back room, where faint, suppressed sobbing could be heard.

"My son's name is Chen Zhiming, and he was an accountant in the town." Old Chen's voice was hoarse. "Just a while ago, the county wanted to organize a live streaming campaign to help farmers, and we were a pilot site. The town followed Qingshan Township's lead and started live streaming, saying it would help the common people sell goods and increase their income. Zhiming was in charge of the accounts, and at first, he was quite happy about it..."

Old Chen's hands unconsciously rubbed against his apron, leaving several white traces of flour.

"And then?" Xiao Bei asked softly.

"Later, one night, Zhiming came home very late, his expression looking terrible." Old Chen recalled. "He said there were problems with the accounts; most of the money earned from the live streaming sales organized by the town hadn't gone into the pockets of the common people. He also said that a Live Streaming Company introduced by a county leader had hired many young women and men as streamers, spending all day live streaming in a warehouse on the edge of town, but they never let anyone get close."

Xiao Bei furrowed his brows, recalling the audit report Qin Ruoxi had given him. The report showed that the Hongxiang Town live streaming poverty alleviation project had invested nearly a million, but the actual results in helping farmers were minimal.

"Zhiming said that since the town needed to send someone to help at the Live Streaming Company, he volunteered." Old Chen's voice began to tremble. "He had worked there for a few days, and that morning before leaving, he... he called me into the back room and said that if he didn't return in three days, I should go under his bed to find something..."

Old Chen suddenly choked up and couldn't continue. The door to the back room opened a crack, and his wife, with red eyes, handed out a handkerchief.

"On the fourth day, Zhiming didn't come back." Old Chen wiped his eyes. "I went to the Town Government to ask, and they said Zhiming had taken leave to go back to his hometown. I didn't believe them, so I went to check his dormitory; his belongings were all there, but he was gone. Later... later, I found this under his bed."

Xiao Bei carefully opened the oil-paper package. Inside was a hand-bound account book, with obvious signs of wear on the corners, looking as if it had been written in a hurry.

Opening the first page, it was densely filled with numbers, dates, and some names and amounts.

"This is..."

"Zhiming said this is the 'real account book'." Old Chen lowered his voice. "The account book made public by the town is fake; this is the real one. He mentioned before, when he was able to come home, that for every order the Live Streaming Company sold, only one-tenth of the money went to the farmers, and the rest was split up. A big leader from the county took the lion's share, and Party Secretary Qiao, Director Hao, and the others in the town took the smaller shares..."