162: Chapter 162 Zhang Yuanhang's Choice

Dusk. The winter wind blew through the mountain pass, making the bare branches of the poplar trees at the entrance of Heishui Village rattle.

By the village road stood a single-story house built of red brick.

The storefront was small, and a paint-peeled wooden board hung above the door frame: "Yuanhang's Grocery Store."

Zhang Yuanhang sat behind the counter, wrapped in an old military overcoat.

He was in his forties, with a buzz cut, his hands covered in frostbite and calluses.

Yet his eyes were bright, revealing a raw, unpolished wildness.

The door curtain was lifted.

Cold wind swirled dust into the room as Police Chief Zhao Gang walked up to the counter and knocked on the glass.

"Give me a pack of Baisha cigarettes and a bottle of water."

Zhang Yuanhang looked up, glanced at him, then grabbed the cigarettes and handed over the water.

His movements were efficient; he didn't say a single extra word.

Police Chief Zhao Gang tore open the cigarette pack, pulled one out, and put it in his mouth, but couldn't find a lighter after searching his pockets.

Zhang Yuanhang casually slid the plastic lighter from the counter over to him.

"Thanks."

Police Chief Zhao Gang lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and carelessly placed the money on the counter.

"This village is quite remote. Can your grocery store actually make any money?"

Zhang Yuanhang tossed the money into the drawer.

"It's enough to get by."

Police Chief Zhao Gang exhaled a smoke ring, his gaze falling on an old photograph hanging in the corner.

The photo was quite old, a group picture of several young men in camouflage uniforms at an army camp.

"Were you a soldier?" Police Chief Zhao Gang asked.

Zhang Yuanhang followed his gaze, his expression cooling slightly.

"I served for a few years, then retired."

"Which unit?"

"I'm already retired, why bring that up?" Zhang Yuanhang replied stiffly.

Although he was holed up in this backwater, he wasn't a fool.

A huge incident had occurred at the village entrance just two days ago, and the Town Police Station had arrested almost all the key figures of the main branch.

Even though the man in front of him was in plain clothes, he could spot that distinct demeanor of a police officer at a glance.

This guy was fishing for information.

"Don't overthink it." Police Chief Zhao Gang noticed his vigilance. "I'm just passing through. Looking at your build and demeanor, you'd be more than qualified to be a village official. Why are you holed up here watching over a small shop?"

Zhang Yuanhang curled his lips, full of sarcasm.

He stared at Police Chief Zhao Gang.

"A village official? In Heishui Village, those three words are the private property of Village Secretary Zhang Dahai's family. If their main branch doesn't nod, an outsider can't even step over the threshold of the village committee."

"They won't allow it?" Police Chief Zhao Gang flicked the ash from his cigarette. "This is a society ruled by law now; village officials are elected. On what grounds do they forbid it?"

"Elections?" Zhang Yuanhang sneered. "You'd be better off asking those elders of the main branch how the accounts of the Red and White Council are calculated, and how the village's wasteland disappeared. In Heishui Village, the rules are set by the main branch."

There was nothing more to say.

Zhang Yuanhang turned around, facing away from Police Chief Zhao Gang to tidy the shelves, effectively showing him the door.

The door curtain was lifted again.

Zhu Wenhao stepped inside.

He was wearing that dark jacket, the hem carrying the chill from outside.

Zhang Yuanhang turned his head and recognized this young man instantly.

He was the new Deputy Secretary who dared to suppress the arrogance of the troublemakers from Heishui Village in the Town Government courtyard, and rumor had it he was also the mastermind behind the arrest of Village Secretary Zhang Dahai and Zhang Xing.

Zhang Yuanhang didn't move.

His vigilance grew even stronger.

Zhu Wenhao walked to the counter, not looking at the merchandise, his gaze fixed on Zhang Yuanhang.

No small talk, no pleasantries.

"Being ostracized by the clan means you haven't rotted into that pot yet."

Zhu Wenhao spoke, his voice steady.

Zhang Yuanhang's Adam's apple bobbed.

Over the years, he had clashed with the main branch many times for the sake of the second branch's interests.

In return, he received endless suppression and exclusion; even when he tried to lease a fish pond, Village Secretary Zhang Dahai interfered and ruined the deal.

Holed up in this grocery store, his passion had been ground down bit by bit by reality.

After a long while.

"So what if I haven't rotted into it?"

Zhang Yuanhang braced his hands on the counter, looking straight at Zhu Wenhao.

"Deputy Secretary Zhu, you may have established your authority at the Town Government and arrested people in Heishui Village, but you don't know how deep the water is here. Those people in the main branch have backers at the top. You come to see me today, and tomorrow they could make me close this shop."

"Han Feizi wrote: 'If a tree breaks, it must be because of wood-boring insects; if a wall crumbles, it must be because of cracks.'"

"Village Secretary Zhang Dahai has already been taken down by the Town Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Zhang Xing is also in the detention center. This wall of the main branch has already collapsed halfway."

Zhang Yuanhang's pupils contracted sharply.

Zhu Wenhao continued to peel back the layers.

"You were a soldier, you should know what this is called. It's called punishing the primary offenders."

"But Heishui Village is more than just the main branch. The Zhang Clan makes up seventy percent of the population; the main branch eats meat, while the second and third branches don't even get to drink the soup. Village Secretary Zhang Dahai encroached on the wasteland, and the dividends from the stone quarry were never posted on the village affairs bulletin board. As for that so-called Red and White Council, it uses the banner of ancestors to forcibly collect contributions, which is nothing more than a disguised form of extortion."

"Deputy Secretary Zhu, you've investigated very thoroughly." Zhang Yuanhang gave a bitter smile. "But in the end, I'm just an ordinary commoner. I can't fight them."

"I didn't come here today to promise you any official position, nor did I come to listen to your complaints."

Zhu Wenhao stood with his hands behind his back.

"If a clan only protects the purses of a few, it no longer deserves to invoke the ancestors. The government removing the troublemakers of the main branch today is about re-establishing the rules for Heishui Village."

He looked at Zhang Yuanhang.

"If you are willing to stand up, the government can give you a platform to reason."

"Let the people of the second and third branches take back what belongs to them."

A platform to reason.

For Zhang Yuanhang, who had been suppressed for years, these five words carried more weight than gold.

What he wanted was fairness.

Zhang Yuanhang gritted his teeth, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

He was weighing the options, struggling.

The rules of the ancestors and the oppression of reality clashed fiercely in his mind.

Police Chief Zhao Gang extinguished his cigarette butt on the side.

"Deputy Secretary Zhu." Zhang Yuanhang raised his head. "I'll trust you once."

He reached under the counter, pulled out a locked tin box, turned the key, and pulled out a stack of yellowed photocopies from inside.

"I don't want an official position, and I don't have the ability to be an official."

Zhang Yuanhang pushed the papers toward Zhu Wenhao.

"These are the secret accounts of the passing fees for the stone quarry and the wasteland the main branch has occupied over the past few years. I was a soldier; in order to lease that piece of land, I got hold of their leverage and snuck into the accounting room to secretly make copies. But..."

Zhang Yuanhang paused.

"Deputy Secretary Zhu, I'm handing these things to you. How you investigate is up to you, but you must protect the safety of my family. Those people in the main branch are capable of anything."

"Director Zhao." Zhu Wenhao called out.

Police Chief Zhao Gang took a step forward.

"Brother Zhang, don't worry. From today on, there will be patrol cars in Heishui Village conducting checks at fixed times and locations. Whoever dares to touch a hair on your head, I will personally take them down."

Zhu Wenhao reached out and took the stack of photocopies.

He didn't read them on the spot, but folded them neatly and put them into his pocket.

"Wise decisions originate from heaven, grand strategies command all talents."

Zhu Wenhao left behind a sentence.

"As long as you stand straight, no one in this Heishui Village will be able to make you bow."

Having said that, he turned and walked out of the shop, with Police Chief Zhao Gang following closely behind.

Returning to the Deputy Secretary's office at the Town Government in the middle of the night.

Zhu Wenhao spread the stack of photocopies flat on the wide desk.

The pages were yellowed, but the handwriting on them was clear.

This was an old dividend table recording the profit distribution of the Heishui Village stone quarry over the past three years. The names of several core members of the main branch were listed prominently, with huge amounts.

Police Chief Zhao Gang stood by, his gaze moving with Zhu Wenhao's fingertips.

"These people in the main branch have such huge appetites." Police Chief Zhao Gang said coldly. "The cut they take from the stone quarry alone every year is enough to feed the whole village for several years. No wonder the second and third branches have so much resentment."

Zhu Wenhao did not comment.

His gaze swept one by one through the long list of names, looking for the real mastermind hidden behind the chain of interests.

When he flipped to the supplementary list on the last page, his fingers stopped.

At the end of this list, which should have belonged to the village-level cooperative's dividend roster, several "coordination fees" and "entertainment expenses" were listed in an extremely obscure way.

The final flow of funds did not fall into the pockets of the main branch but was transferred to several personal bank accounts.

"Zhu Wenhao, look at this." Police Chief Zhao Gang had sharp eyes, pointing to one of the lines.

It was an expenditure labeled "Land Consolidation Consulting Fee."

The amount wasn't much, fifty thousand yuan.

But the name of the recipient of this money was extremely eye-catching.

Zhang Mingli.

The son of the Town Peoples Congress Chairman Zhang Jianming, Zhang Jianming.

Zhu Wenhao leaned back in his chair, his knuckles tapping lightly on the paper.

This was a hidden line.

"It really is him." Police Chief Zhao Gang's face turned livid. "The fire of Village Secretary Zhang Dahai's corruption didn't just burn into the village; it burned directly into the Town Committee's leadership team. No wonder Secretary Qiu Dehai was in such a hurry to set up some 'Aftercare Coordination Group' at the meeting today; he is protecting Zhang Jianming, and he is also protecting himself!"

Zhu Wenhao pulled that page of photocopies out separately. He understood one truth: the most lethal weapon must be fired at the most critical moment.

Throwing out Zhang Jianming now would only make Secretary Qiu Dehai desperate, perhaps even using his connections in the county to forcibly suppress the case.

"Keep this list under wraps for now." Zhu Wenhao locked the photocopies back into the drawer.

Police Chief Zhao Gang was puzzled: "We have the evidence in our hands, and we're not going to move against him?"

"Strike the snake at its seven inches. The money was given to Zhang Mingli, not Zhang Jianming himself. There are still flaws in the evidence. We need to deliver a fatal blow."

Zhu Wenhao stood up and walked to the window.

"Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan wants the County Commission for Discipline Inspection to take over Village Secretary Zhang Dahai's case, just to keep this account book tightly covered up in the county."

He turned around, his gaze cold and stern.

"Notify Secretary Chen to intensify the interrogation of Village Secretary Zhang Dahai overnight. Not only ask about the money but also about the mine. As long as Village Secretary Zhang Dahai spits out the name of Heishi Mining, no one will be able to suppress this fire anymore."

Police Chief Zhao Gang received the order and withdrew.

The office returned to dead silence.

Zhu Wenhao stood before the desk.

When governing a chaotic situation, one must not be impatient for success.

Now that the chess piece has been dropped, the stagnant water of Heishui Village has finally been stirred up.

And that behemoth hidden even deeper is about to surface.