216: Chapter 216 The Umbrella of Ten Thousand People

Outside Heishui Village, police lights illuminated the winding dirt road.

The Qingjiang County Public Security Bureau had dispatched five large passenger buses overnight for this operation.

The doors were flung open, and fully armed riot police pushed the young and able-bodied men of the Zhang clan into the vehicles, one by one.

On the side of the road, Executive Deputy Chief Sun Jian approached and pulled a cigarette from his pocket, offering it to Police Chief Zhao Gang.

"Director Zhao, this job was handled cleanly. Secretary Pang Jianguo specifically instructed that the County Public Security Bureau would fully cooperate with the town's anti-gang operations. The County Public Security Bureau will receive these dozens of people overnight and guarantee that their confessions are airtight."

Police Chief Zhao Gang raised his hand to block the offered cigarette.

"Hand the people over to you, but I am taking the main culprits, Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi and Accountant Zhang Cai, with me. The Town Police Station will set aside a separate prisoner transport vehicle to take them back for immediate interrogation."

Executive Deputy Chief Sun Jian nodded repeatedly.

Since the County Party Committee's Secretary Lu had set the tone, how could the County Public Security Bureau dare to be even slightly negligent?

Zhu Yuntong stood with his hands behind his back in the wind.

With all matters settled, he did not need to personally involve himself in the trivial processes of raiding homes and making arrests.

Exhausted from days of maneuvering, he tightened his overcoat, turned around, and walked toward his car parked in the shadows.

Just a few steps later, a crisp "crackling" sound broke the silence before dawn.

A burst of red and green fireworks dragged a long tail into the sky, exploding brilliantly above the dilapidated roofs of Heishui Village.

Immediately after, a second, then a third.

Villagers from the second and third branches, who knows where they dug out firecrackers they had been saving for the New Year, unable to bear setting them off until now.

Men, women, and children pushed open their wooden doors, stood in the cold wind, and used incense sticks to light the fuses.

The firelight illuminated those furrowed, weather-beaten faces that had suffered exploitation for years.

There were no cheers, no shouts, only the deafening sound of firecrackers venting the pent-up anger they had harbored for years.

Zhu Yuntong stopped and looked up at the sky.

Police Chief Zhao Gang trotted over, pointing toward the village.

"Secretary Zhu, it isn't even the end of the year yet. The common people were truly stifled."

Zhu Yuntong stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze profound.

"What the people love, I love; what the people hate, I hate."

He watched the brilliant sky. "The prosperity of a town lies in the hearts of the people. Thunder and dew are both justice. Let's go."

He got into the car and left.

Returning to the staff dormitory building in Heishi Town, the hallway was pitch black. Zhu Yuntong walked up to the third-floor landing and his leather shoes stopped.

On the old doormat in front of the security door, a small package lay quietly.

It was wrapped tightly in kraft paper with a piece of white paper stuck on top. The characters were made of cut-outs from old newspapers: "Secretary Zhu, reporting materials regarding Executive Vice Mayor Qian Dayong."

Zhu Yuntong glanced down at it.

He bent down to pick up the package and took out his keys to open the door.

The lights in the room were off. He tossed the package onto the coffee table in the living room with a dull thud.

He didn't even have the interest to unwrap it.

Handing over a knife in the dead of night, hiding one's head and showing one's tail. The fence-sitters in this town finally couldn't hold out any longer.

However, since the chess piece had crossed the river, when to drop the knife depended entirely on the chess player's calculations.

At the same time, the light in the Town Commission for Discipline Inspection office was still on.

Secretary Chen Jianjun sat at his desk, staring at a letter signed with similar cut-out characters, remaining silent.

As a former soldier, his actions were straightforward, but his mind was clear. Executive Vice Mayor Qian Dayong was a dignified Executive Vice Mayor and Secretary Qiu Dehai's right-hand man. Once he moved against him, the entire Heishi Town would be turned upside down.

Secretary Chen Jianjun pulled open the drawer and pushed the letter to the very bottom.

This powder keg would have to wait until dawn to ask Secretary Zhu for instructions.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the temporary case-handling point on the second floor of the Town Guesthouse was completely different.

Director Li Qiang was holding a cup of strong tea, his eyes bloodshot from staying up all night.

Spread out before him were identical reporting materials.

The South Street drainage ditch project, inflated costs, his brother-in-law taking kickbacks, and cutting corners. Each account was accompanied by on-site photos, clear and damning.

Director Li Qiang slammed his hand heavily on the edge of the table.

What was Director Zhang Qiu? A health center director, nothing more than a sesame-sized official in Secretary Pang Jianguo's eyes.

If he, Director Li Qiang, wanted to prove his value and cut off Deputy Secretary Tian Wenguang's thoughts of revenge, he needed to throw out a real big fish.

Executive Vice Mayor Qian Dayong.

And here he was, delivered to his doorstep.

"Everyone up!" Director Li Qiang shouted to the officers in the outer room. "Verify these project details for me overnight! First thing tomorrow morning, go directly to investigate the acceptance receipts for the South Street drainage ditch!"

The next morning.

The early winter sun rose, dispelling the thin mist in the Town Government courtyard.

Outside the main gate, several elderly people with gray hair, leaning on canes, supported each other as they approached. In their hands, they tremblingly held an object.

The guard went to stop them, but once he saw what it was, he froze in place.

Director Xu Jie had just finished verifying the petition files on the second floor. Hearing the commotion downstairs, she walked to the edge of the corridor and looked down. The moment she saw it, she hurried downstairs and headed straight for the main gate.

Afterward, she quickly returned to the Deputy Secretary's office.

"Secretary Zhu." Director Xu Jie's breathing was slightly short. "Several elders from Heishui Village have come. They brought an umbrella."

Zhu Yuntong put down the pen in his hand and got up to go downstairs.

In the center of the courtyard, several elders stood awkwardly.

It was not a western umbrella to shield from the wind and rain.

The canopy was pieced together from rough scraps of old cloth of various colors, the stitches crooked. On the cloth, dozens of dark black names were written.

Where people couldn't write, they had directly pressed bright red fingerprints onto the cloth.

An Umbrella of Ten Thousand People.

Such an old tradition was rare nowadays.

The leading elder was Old Man Li. He held the wooden handle with both hands and stepped forward.

"Secretary Zhu. The tumor in the village has been removed, and the occupied land has been returned. We are poor and have nothing good. Everyone spontaneously collected some cloth scraps and sewed this umbrella." The old man's eyes were moist. "You spoke up for the common people, so we are holding this umbrella for you."

Zhu Yuntong walked down the steps and took the heavy Umbrella of Ten Thousand People with both hands.

The corridors on the second and third floors of the courtyard were crowded with officers from various departments.

Everyone watched this scene in silence. Having grown accustomed to the daily comings and goings, when had these grassroots cadres ever seen the common people offer such genuine support?

In the Secretary's office, Secretary Qiu Dehai stood behind the curtains, his face as gloomy as water.

This umbrella had struck him in the face.

No matter how high one's political maneuvering, it could not withstand the will of the people. This umbrella had pushed Zhu Yuntong to the peak of morality and public opinion. Secretary Qiu Dehai wanted to counterattack, but before this public sentiment, he appeared pale and powerless.

Zhu Yuntong glanced at the fingerprints on the umbrella surface but did not take the umbrella back to his own office.

"Director Xu." Zhu Yuntong said.

"Yes."

"Find a nail. Hang this umbrella on the wall in the very center of the Town Government lobby."

Director Xu Jie personally found the tools, stepped on a ladder, and hung the Umbrella of Ten Thousand People high up.

The various scraps of old cloth on the white wall of the government lobby looked extremely conspicuous.

Anyone entering or leaving the office building would see this mirror at first glance.

Zhu Yuntong walked to the wall and turned to instruct: "Go get some pen and ink."

Director Xu Jie quickly retrieved the four treasures of the study.

Zhu Yuntong picked up the brush soaked in thick ink and wrote on the blank scroll hanging nearby. The calligraphy was vigorous and powerful, piercing through the paper.

"This umbrella belongs not to one person, but to the justice of Heishi Town."

The brush fell, the words were formed.

The lobby was silent.

Third-floor Executive Vice Mayor's office.

Executive Vice Mayor Qian Dayong watched the scene in the courtyard through the glass, and the unease in his heart grew stronger. The mobile phone on his desk rang. After answering, his brother-in-law's voice came through with a sobbing tone.

"Brother-in-law! It's bad. Director Li Qiang from the County Commission for Discipline Inspection took people to South Street and dug out all the ledgers for the drainage ditch project. He's currently dragging people to the site to measure and compare!"

The hand holding the phone trembled.

The great blade of reckoning had finally fallen upon his head.