19: Chapter 19 A Golden Opportunity Falling from the Sky

Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen also looked outside and said, "What is going on? Why are there so many people at the main gate?"

Qin Chuan waved his hand and said, "Let's go take a look."

Soon, the two arrived at the Township Government main gate. Seeing the leaders approach, the onlookers scattered to make way.

Qin Chuan finally saw clearly: a middle-aged rural couple was kneeling on the ground, holding a sign that read, "Director Li Youfu has seized my family's homestead, bullying the weak with his power. I ask the leaders to uphold justice for me."

Upon reading the content, he understood the situation for the most part.

Qin Chuan stepped forward two paces and asked with concern, "I am the Secretary of the Township Party Committee. Please get up first; kneeling here looks bad. You can tell me whatever the matter is."

The couple was visibly stunned.

They found it hard to believe that the new Township Party Committee Secretary was so young.

They dared to come here to hold the sign and kneel at the Township Government gate because they had heard a new secretary had arrived, but they hadn't expected the new secretary to be so young and look so approachable.

Someone nearby said, "This is the new Qin Chuan!"

It really was the new secretary!

The couple seemed to have found someone who could take charge and began to pour out their grievances with tears and snot streaming down their faces.

After listening for a few moments and seeing the crowd growing, Qin Chuan said again, "Please get up first. Let's go inside and talk. I will definitely uphold justice for you."

Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen also added, "That's right, let's go inside. This is really not the place to talk."

Perhaps it was the natural charisma of Qin Chuan that had an effect; the couple hesitated for a moment before following Qin Chuan and Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen into the Township Government compound.

Watching them leave, the onlookers did not disperse but began to discuss the matter animatedly.

"I know Director Li Youfu is building a new house. That house is so imposing, and it covers a huge area!"

"I've seen that house too. It's basically finished, and the renovation is beautiful—a typical mansion!"

"That's Director Li Youfu's neighbor. I heard Director Li Youfu seized at least two or three hundred square meters of their homestead land!"

"Now we're in for a show!"

"I doubt it. Officials protect their own; those in power will definitely side with those in power."

Because they were outside the Township Government compound, most of the onlookers were ordinary citizens. Most did not believe Qin Chuan would uphold justice; they assumed he would likely just mediate and secretly side with Director Li Youfu.

With such a commotion, where was Director Li Youfu?

He had already clocked out. When the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones are askew; Township Head Liu Qiang was often late and left early, sometimes even missing the entire day. Director Li Youfu was slightly better, but not by much; leaving work early was his standard operating procedure.

Qin Chuan attached great importance to this matter.

He keenly realized in his heart that this was a godsend opportunity to take down Director Li Youfu.

If Director Li Youfu were a member of the Party Committee, his appointment and removal would need to be approved by the County Party Standing Committee, but since he was not, the Party Committee could decide on his removal.

Qin Chuan brought the couple to his office, invited them to sit on the sofa, and personally brewed hot tea for them.

This left the couple feeling a bit flattered, and they saw a glimmer of hope in their hearts.

Previously, they had come to the Township Government several times, but each time they received no resolution. They were either fobbed off, given the runaround, or even threatened.

Qin Chuan asked kindly, "Could you tell me exactly what happened?"

The couple recounted the cause and course of events from beginning to end.

After listening, Qin Chuan had a fairly good understanding. "Rest assured, I will handle this matter seriously. As a Party member and cadre, to bully the common people and run rampant in the township is simply outrageous."

Hearing this, the couple almost knelt down to thank him.

Qin Chuan supported them, comforted them, and personally escorted them to the main gate.

After seeing the couple off, Qin Chuan said, "Comrade Mu Xiuwen, are you aware of this matter?"

Relying solely on one side of the story was definitely not enough, even though Qin Chuan felt the couple was telling the truth and likely hadn't exaggerated.

Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen said, "I am quite aware of this matter. It is indeed true that Director Li Youfu seized two or three hundred square meters of their homestead land."

Qin Chuan said, "Since that is the case, I happen to be planning to convene a Party Committee meeting tomorrow. You should bring this matter up at the meeting."

This was a pledge of allegiance!

Simply declaring a side with words was not enough; one had to take concrete action. Therefore, tomorrow, Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen would raise this issue and directly challenge Township Head Liu Qiang, Director Li Youfu, and the others.

Vice Township Head Mu Xiuwen did not hesitate in the slightest and agreed immediately, "No problem. I will bring this matter up tomorrow."

The two discussed some other work matters and didn't clock out until around 5:30 PM.

It was already past 9:00 PM when Director Li Youfu learned about someone holding a sign to air grievances at the Township Government gate.

He felt a bit worried, but not much.

He did not believe Qin Chuan would help a rural couple and take action against him, the Director of the Party and Government Office. Although he was close to Township Head Liu Qiang, he was the Director of the Party and Government Office and served Qin Chuan directly; Qin Chuan needed him.

The next day.

The first thing he did upon waking up was to habitually check the information refreshed by the system.

There were two pieces of information in total.

1. Township Head Liu Qiang, Wang Jun, and others would be gambling tonight in Room 608 of the Sanjiang Hotel, with large sums of money changing hands.

2. Teachers at the Central School were very dissatisfied with the wage arrears, and a few teachers were organizing in secret, preparing to go to the gates of the Dongzhou Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government tomorrow to stage a sit-in.

After reading these two messages, Qin Chuan's expression changed slightly.

The teachers from the Central School were actually going to stage a sit-in protest; this must not happen. It was imperative to get the overdue wages paid out as soon as possible.

As for the first piece of information, Qin Chuan felt he could also manipulate it. He would make an anonymous tip-off call as an ordinary citizen and see what the outcome would be.

After eating breakfast, Qin Chuan arrived at the office about ten minutes early.

He sat down, picked up the phone on his desk, and called Director Li Youfu directly.

"Director Li Youfu, have you started work yet? Come to my office for a moment."

Director Li Youfu had already started work. After what happened yesterday afternoon, he was somewhat worried and planned to come to Qin Chuan's office to explain things as soon as he started work.

Upon receiving the call, he habitually assumed that Qin Chuan was calling him over because of what happened yesterday afternoon.

Seizing a little bit of homestead land shouldn't be a big problem. He had already decided that at most, he would pay a little money to compensate them—just to make a gesture.

Originally, he hadn't wanted to pay a cent, but since Qin Chuan might look into it, he would give Qin Chuan some face.

In fact, he was wrong.

Completely wrong.

Qin Chuan called him over because he planned to convene a Party Committee meeting this morning. Besides the issue of the teachers' wage arrears, he also intended to take down Director Li Youfu.