15: Chapter 15 To Save or Not to Save

The three of them found a private room on the second floor, opened a bottle of white liquor, ordered a few dishes, and started chatting while eating and drinking.

It was clear that Deputy Party Secretary Fu was leaning towards joining them.

This was all thanks to Ma Zhengnan.

There were a total of seven Party Committee members in Dahe Township. Three of them were very close to Township Head Liu Qiang: Deputy Township Head Wang Feng, Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen, and Organization Committee Member Zhou Fengjie.

They were a faction.

With only seven members in total, Township Head Liu Qiang's faction held four, a majority. This was why he was so confident and certain he could sideline Qin Chuan.

Director Liao Ping knew this too. With Township Head Liu Qiang firmly controlling the Party Committee, she wasn't afraid of Qin Chuan at all, feeling her position was as stable as Mount Tai.

Deputy Party Secretary Fu had been close to the previous Township Party Secretary and was also a target of suppression and exclusion by Township Head Liu Qiang's faction.

After the previous secretary was transferred—a lateral move, not a promotion—Deputy Party Secretary Fu's situation in Dahe Township became a bit difficult.

After Qin Chuan arrived, he had seen hope.

He had thought about whether to lean towards the new secretary and look for a new backer, but he had some concerns. On one hand, he didn't think highly of Qin Chuan and didn't believe Qin Chuan could defeat Township Head Liu Qiang and the others; after all, they firmly controlled the Party Committee.

On the other hand, he was worried about being called a fence-sitter, so he remained indecisive and in a wait-and-see state.

It wasn't until Ma Zhengnan persuaded him that he made up his mind: no matter what, he would firmly lean towards the new secretary.

Deputy Party Secretary Fu raised a full glass of liquor and said very sincerely, "Secretary, I'd like to propose a toast to you. In our future work, please provide more guidance and offer more criticism."

Although he didn't state it explicitly, the meaning was obvious: he was actively offering his allegiance.

Qin Chuan understood the implication immediately. He was worried about having few supporters, with only Ma Zhengnan, so he certainly hoped for another.

"Comrade Fu, we must adhere to the Party's leadership. Dahe Township is the Party's territory, and I am also happy to see you all leaning towards the Party."

Hearing this, Deputy Party Secretary Fu felt a weight lift from his heart.

Knowing that Qin Chuan had accepted him, he immediately promised, "Secretary, rest assured, we will unswervingly carry out our work under the Party's leadership."

"Come, let the three of us clink glasses."

The three glasses clinked together, and all three drank their liquor in one gulp.

Afterward, the atmosphere became very relaxed. The three chatted about many things, even discussing the issue of unpaid teacher salaries.

Ma Zhengnan said, "We all know about this, but we are powerless. The teachers' salaries have been in arrears for over half a year; Township Head Liu Qiang and the others are going too far."

Qin Chuan was slightly puzzled, "The township treasury has over ten million; why are they withholding the money instead of paying it out? What do Township Head Liu Qiang and the others plan to do with this money?"

"I know about this," Deputy Party Secretary Fu said. "Township Head Liu Qiang and the others are planning to pool money, aiming to spend about fifty million to give our Township Government building a major renovation."

Damn it!

Qin Chuan wanted to curse!

Dahe Township's economy was so backward, yet they weren't considering spending money on education, people's livelihoods, or economic development, but only thinking about improving their office environment and building a luxury office building. They were truly talented.

Of course, this also had something to do with the environment at the time.

Many townships, bureaus, or County Governments were building office blocks that were more beautiful and luxurious than the last, and Township Head Liu Qiang also wanted to build a luxury office block.

This matter definitely wouldn't fly!

Qin Chuan rejected it outright, "He doesn't even need to think about it. Before Dahe Township's economy is turned around, the office building will remain as it is; it won't be touched for the time being."

The meal lasted a long time, and the relationship between the three solidified further.

Township Head Liu Qiang was still very well-informed.

He soon received a report.

In a private room, smoke swirled, and the sound of mahjong tiles clattered. On the table, bundles of hundred-yuan bills were very eye-catching.

Besides Township Head Liu Qiang and Deputy Township Head Wang Feng, another person was Wang Jun, the owner of Jiucailing Coal Mine, and there was another big boss as well.

Township Head Liu Qiang liked playing mahjong, especially big-stakes mahjong. It was normal to win or lose tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand, in a single night.

Someone came over, leaned down, and whispered a report into Township Head Liu Qiang's ear.

After hearing the report and understanding what was going on, Township Head Liu Qiang sneered coldly, thinking to himself: 'So they are preparing to pull people over and form an alliance? But it's all in vain. Out of seven Party Committee members, our faction has four. Even if Ma Zhengnan and Deputy Party Secretary Fu lean over, the arm cannot twist the thigh.'

The next day.

Waking up early, the first thing Qin Chuan did was check the system's update information; there were three items in total.

1. County Party Secretary Jia Zhengwang suspects you have a powerful background and has started investigating secretly.

2. Last night, Township Head Liu Qiang and Wang Jun and others lost over 120,000 playing mahjong; his mood today will be quite terrible.

3. Today at 8:15 AM, Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen's only son will be crushed to death by a coal truck while crossing the road to go to school at the Township Government gate.

All three pieces of information had a significant amount of content.

County Party Secretary Jia Zhengwang investigating his background in secret wasn't entirely a bad thing, but it was unclear whether he would be able to find out his true background.

He hadn't expected Township Head Liu Qiang to play mahjong with such high stakes, losing over a hundred thousand in one night. He could leverage this point about Township Head Liu Qiang's gambling in the future.

As for the third piece of information.

Qin Chuan thought to himself: Today, Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen's son would actually be crushed to death by a coal truck at the Township Government gate.

This...

Qin Chuan was thinking and weighing his options in his mind.

He had been in office for three days and had a certain understanding of most township leaders, and he also had some understanding of Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen.

He was a Party Committee member and part of Township Head Liu Qiang's faction. He had a son, nine years old this year, who was in the third grade of primary school at the Central School.

Because it was close, it took only a few minutes to walk, so after he started third grade, he didn't need to be dropped off, and Mu Zixuan went to school by himself.

A human life—should he save him or not?

Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen was Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen, and his son was his son. Besides, having someone crushed to death at the Township Government gate was never a good thing.

If he saved Mu Zixuan, could he use this to pull Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen over?

After thinking for a long time, Qin Chuan decided to save him. After all, it was a human life. Furthermore, after saving Mu Zixuan, it might allow him to gain one more supporter.

Having made up his mind, Qin Chuan washed up, timed it perfectly, and went out. Originally, he had been having breakfast at the Township Government canteen for the past two days, but this time he didn't; he went out to a breakfast shop opposite the Township Government compound.

"Secretary Qin, you're here to have breakfast in person?"

The breakfast shop owner recognized Qin Chuan and was a bit excited, even saying something like "having breakfast in person."

Qin Chuan didn't mind and smiled slightly, "Boss, a bowl of beef rice noodles, please."

The beef rice noodles here tasted good. Eating a bowl of rice noodles was a complete enjoyment for the taste buds.

Soon, a bowl of piping hot beef rice noodles, rich in color, aroma, and taste, was served to Qin Chuan.

As for Qin Chuan?

While eating the delicious beef rice noodles, he kept an eye on the situation on the road and checked the time from time to time.

A few minutes later, he saw a little boy; that was Mu Zixuan.