295: Chapter 295 Someone Turned the Car Around

The fluorescent glow of the mobile phone screen reflected in Zhu Wenhao's eyes.

"Reservoir Old Accounts."

The vast net that Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan had woven across Qingjiang County relied on these deeply entrenched, parasitic channels of interest that drained the lifeblood of the people.

Now, the roots were exposed.

Zhu Wenhao pressed the phone screen off and pushed it toward Police Chief Zhao Gang.

Police Chief Zhao Gang leaned in, and after just one glance, his breathing grew heavier.

"The final payment for the Yuejin Reservoir... Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan is using this money to issue loans underground."

"This money flowed out from the county treasury, entered the brick kilns, and ensnared those villagers who had just received their relief funds. Come spring, this group of impoverished people, now burdened with debt, will be the most useful knives in Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's hands."

Zhu Wenhao tapped his index finger lightly on the ebony tabletop.

"Continue investigating the case. Follow the trail of Wang San and stir the water even more."

...

On the morning of the Lunar New Year, the wind was as cold as a knife.

Secretary Du Changhe sat in the Political and Legal Affairs Commission office, with the preliminary case files for the brick kiln case, which had been organized the night before, spread out on his desk.

The phone on the desk rang.

Secretary Du Changhe answered it; it was an old colleague from the County Public Security Bureau, a criminal police captain.

"Changhe, still working on a case during the New Year?" The voice on the other end sounded familiar. "I heard you guys in Heishi Town raided a gambling den last night?"

"It's just common folk gathering to play a few hands for fun. Don't make this too complicated. Characterize it as ordinary gambling, issue a fine, catch a few small-time thugs, and call it a day."

Secretary Du Changhe gripped the receiver, saying nothing.

"That's also Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's intention." The captain played his trump card. "It's the New Year, stability is what matters. You've just gone down there; don't make things so difficult that you can't back down yourself."

The call ended.

Secretary Du Changhe placed the receiver back on the base.

He lowered his head, his gaze returning to the case files.

On the list of gamblers, there were merchants from South Street who had just received their Spring Festival relief funds, villagers from Heishui Village, and mine workers who had just received their back pay.

If handled as ordinary gambling and they were released, those high-interest IOUs would become death warrants. The violent debt collection cases after the New Year would trample the threshold of the Police Station.

Scenes from the past few days in Heishi Town flashed through his mind.

In front of the ancestral hall, Zhu Wenhao had placed the power of law enforcement in his hands, letting him set the rules in front of the entire village.

In the Town Government courtyard, Zhu Wenhao had handed him the town's entire Spring Festival security plan, making him a Political and Legal Affairs Commission member worthy of the name.

Zhu Wenhao's rules were based on the law.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's rules were based on orders and scapegoats.

Secretary Du Changhe closed the files and stood up.

He pushed open the door and walked straight to the Deputy Town Mayor's office next door.

Police Chief Zhao Gang was reviewing the interrogation outline sent back by Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang; hearing the door, he looked up.

Secretary Du Changhe didn't exchange pleasantries; he pulled out the chair opposite and sat down.

"Director Zhao," he said, getting straight to the point, "The brick kiln case is more than just gambling. With the IOUs and ledgers right there, behind it all is a large-scale underground bank."

Police Chief Zhao Gang looked at him with an inquisitive gaze. "Did someone from the county send word?"

"They want me to handle it as a public security case." Secretary Du Changhe did not hide it.

Police Chief Zhao Gang tapped his fingers on the desk twice, silent.

"I propose," Secretary Du Changhe said, sitting up straight, "that the Town Political and Legal Affairs Commission take the lead, in conjunction with the Police Station, to launch a special investigation into the gambling dens, underground lending, and violent debt collection in the town during the Spring Festival."

He did not back down.

Police Chief Zhao Gang stood up, walked over to the water dispenser, poured two cups of hot water, and placed one in front of Secretary Du Changhe.

"Secretary Zhu's rules state that things must be done through proper channels." Police Chief Zhao Gang returned to his seat. "You can investigate. But all clues must be documented—arrests, interrogations, evidence collection—the full procedure must be followed. The case files must be able to withstand scrutiny from the County Public Security Bureau and the County Procuratorate."

"That is only right." Secretary Du Changhe picked up the cup; the water was very hot.

Secretary Du Changhe led the team personally.

Two police cars drove without sirens, silently entering the alley in the north of the town and stopping in front of a shop with a billiard hall sign.

The door was kicked open.

The room was thick with smoke, with two mahjong tables. In the inner room nearby, a few people were scattered, holding photocopies of IOUs.

The three middlemen responsible for the lending were pinned down on the spot and taken back to the Police Station for separate interrogations.

Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang took charge personally; after three hours of grinding, one of them couldn't hold out any longer and confessed.

"The place isn't ours. We just handle the legwork and lend the money; we pay a management fee to those above every month."

"To whom?"

"Wang San."

The confession was recorded, signed, and fingerprinted.

Secretary Du Changhe stood in front of the surveillance screen, looking at the words "Wang San" on the confession. This was a frequent guest at Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's dinners.

The case had reached right to Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's feet.

The phone in his pocket rang; the caller ID showed Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan.

Secretary Du Changhe walked to an empty room at the end of the corridor, pulled the door shut behind him, and answered.

"Changhe." Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's voice suppressed anger. "You've been making quite a stir in Heishi Town these past few days."

"Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan, I am organizing a Spring Festival public security investigation."

"An investigation?" Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's voice suddenly rose. "I sent you to Heishi Town to manage the public security team, not to smash the rice bowls of your own people! Wang San is just doing some small business in Qingjiang County; why must you insist on dragging him into high-interest lending? Have you forgotten who promoted you to that position of Public Security Captain back then?"

Secretary Du Changhe leaned against the cold wall.

"Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan." His tone was flat, without a ripple of emotion. "The case has already been filed. The confession, IOUs, and financial ledgers—the full set of procedures has entered the law enforcement process and been entered into the system. I alone cannot withdraw it."

He was telling Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan that this was the law in motion, and he, Secretary Du Changhe, had no authority to interfere privately.

On the other end of the line, there was only heavy breathing, like a trapped beast.

"Fine." Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan spat out the word. "Changhe, you've grown ambitious. Weigh the consequences yourself."

The call ended.

Secretary Du Changhe looked at the darkened phone screen and stood for a long time.

He walked out of the room, returned to his office, and took a work notebook from the drawer.

He turned to a new page, picked up a pen, and wrote down the date and time.

"Received a call from Deputy Secretary of the Qingjiang County Party Committee, Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan. He demanded that the investigation into Wang San and others suspected of involvement in an underground bank be stopped. Because the case has already entered legal proceedings, the request was refused."

After writing, he closed the notebook, took his phone, and walked to Police Chief Zhao Gang's office.

"Director Zhao," Secretary Du Changhe said, placing the notebook and phone on the desk, "This is the call record and my work notebook. Please make a record for safekeeping."

Police Chief Zhao Gang picked up the notebook and glanced at the words on it.

Recording the interference of a superior leader and filing it into the case records was completely cutting off his own retreat; it was also the most resolute pledge of allegiance.

"I will record it in the supplementary file and archive it confidentially." Police Chief Zhao Gang took the notebook.

In the afternoon, in the Deputy Secretary's office.

Police Chief Zhao Gang placed Secretary Du Changhe's filed materials on Zhu Wenhao's desk.

"He recorded Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's call," Police Chief Zhao Gang reported. "He has completely come over to our side."

Zhu Wenhao looked at that page of notes; the handwriting was forceful, piercing through the paper.

"The trend of the world: those who follow it prosper, those who resist it perish." Zhu Wenhao pushed the notebook back. "Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan has covered the sky with one hand in Qingjiang County by relying on the binding of interests. Once the chain of interests is broken, the binding no longer exists."

He picked up the document at hand.

"He followed Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan before because Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan could give him a position. Now he understands clearly: following Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan will only lead to the Discipline Inspection Commission's detention room in the end."

Zhu Wenhao looked out the window; the snow had melted, revealing the dirty mud beneath.

"When people reach a fork in the road, the path they choose for themselves is the one they can walk furthest on."

Police Chief Zhao Gang put the materials away.

"What about Wang San?" Police Chief Zhao Gang asked. "The confession has already pointed to him."

"Watch him, but don't act yet." Zhu Wenhao set the tone. "Wang San is a thread. Follow it to solidify the closed loop of funds for the reservoir's old accounts. Without a closed loop, if we arrest Wang San, Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan can sacrifice a pawn to save the rook at any time."

"Have Director Li Qiang from the County Commission for Discipline Inspection coordinate with Secretary Pang to investigate the source of that 200,000-yuan old account. Do not alert anyone else in the county."

...

Qingjiang County Party Committee building, Deputy Secretary's office.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan picked up the ceramic pen holder on the desk and smashed it hard onto the floor.

"Clang!"

With a crisp sound, fragments mixed with pen barrels splattered everywhere.

Secretary Du Changhe, the knife he had personally promoted, had turned to slash at him!

"Zhu Wenhao!"

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan gritted his teeth, his chest heaving violently.

The old people in Heishi Town had been purged, and the new ones assimilated. Secretary Du Changhe had defected, and Town Mayor Liu Wenxuan was holding his ground. The rules Zhu Wenhao had erected in Heishi Town were like an iron fence, chopping off every hand he reached out, one by one.

The desk phone rang.

Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan answered.

"Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan, news has come from Wang San's side." The call was from a trusted subordinate. "Several of the brick kiln's downstream contacts have all been arrested, and the underlying accounts have been leaked."

Veins bulged on the back of Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan's hand.

Once the underlying accounts were leaked, the matter of the reservoir could no longer be covered up.

This was not just a matter of money; it was a matter of life.

"Tell Wang San to clean up everything related to him! Don't contact anyone in the town for these next two days!"

Hanging up the phone, Deputy Secretary Qin Yuanshan walked to the window and looked at the traffic below.

Heishi Town could no longer be left for Zhu Wenhao to toss around; he had to overturn this game of chess completely.

He turned and walked back to the desk, pulled open the drawer, and took out a personnel transfer approval form.

On it were suggestions for adjusting the leadership team of Heishi Town.

He wanted to transfer Secretary Du Changhe from his position as a Political and Legal Affairs Commission member at the County Party Committee Standing Committee meeting and replace him with someone obedient.

The tip of the pen landed on the paper with a rustling sound as he signed his name.

The wind blew across the glass window.

A proposal for transfer lay quietly on the desk.