235: Chapter 235 Pei Yuantao

Secretary Pei Yuantao's expression darkened instantly.

"I do not have a son like that, and I certainly will not go to see him. Handle the matter however you see fit. As I said just now, I have no personal objections."

After saying this, he stood up and left.

The others had no choice but to stand up and follow him.

Ling Yun was getting a little anxious. He had always wanted to cling to a powerful figure but never had the chance. Now that the man was leaving, he couldn't let this opportunity slip away.

He shouted out loud, "Secretary Pei, it's almost five in the afternoon. Why don't you stay for dinner before you go?"

Secretary Pei Yuantao stopped in his tracks and looked at him.

The others all looked at Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin.

Some even thought to themselves, "This is interesting. The County Party Secretary and the County Mayor haven't said anything, yet you have the audacity to try to keep him."

Seeing Secretary Pei Yuantao looking at him, Ling Yun felt a bit nervous, but he didn't forget to quickly add, "Secretary Pei, I am Ling Yun, the head of the Wanshun County Committee Organization Department, and I am Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin's best friend in Wanshun County."

At Secretary Pei Yuantao's level, how could he not understand what this meant? This was clearly telling him that this was the first ally to lean toward Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin.

But so what? If a father has already given up on his son, what does a mere ally amount to? Besides, it was obvious that he was just trying to cling to a powerful figure.

After just one glance, without paying him any further attention, Secretary Pei Yuantao continued walking out.

Qin Chuan and County Mayor Sheng Huaian exchanged a glance, communicating through their eyes, and both nodded slightly. They both understood clearly that Ling Yun was desperate to cling to a powerful figure.

Ling Yun thought to himself, "Damn it, I was too eager just now. I hope Qin Chuan and the others didn't notice."

The group walked out of the County Party Committee Office building, and the cars were already parked in front. Before getting into his car, Secretary Pei Yuantao actually gripped Qin Chuan's hand tightly, his attitude very courteous.

"Comrade Qin Chuan, I've troubled you and disrupted your normal work. There is no need to see me off, really, no need."

Since that was the case, Qin Chuan really didn't see them off. He watched them get into the cars and waved as they left.

Secretary Pei Yuantao left and returned to the provincial capital.

But many people's minds had not yet settled. They couldn't understand at all what play Secretary Pei Yuantao was putting on; even Zhang Qun was just as confused.

Among so many people, it was estimated that only his assistant, Secretary Zhao Jun, understood why the leader had done this.

This morning, he had finally found out about Qin Chuan's family background. He had been shocked at first, and then he thought to himself, "This explains it. This is why Qin Chuan dared to move against Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin, and why he was able to emerge unscathed despite the massive amount of negative reports on the internet."

It turned out he had connections that reached the heavens.

He was the son of Provincial Party Secretary Qin Zhendong of Handong Province and the only male descendant of the third generation of the Qin Family, a top-tier aristocratic family in the capital. His grandfather was still alive, in robust health, a pillar of stability within the system, with students and subordinates spread across the entire country.

After confirming there was no mistake, Secretary Zhao Jun reported it to Secretary Pei Yuantao immediately.

At the time, Secretary Pei Yuantao had also been greatly shocked, then remained silent for a long time, and finally let out a sigh.

Facing such a behemoth as the Qin Family, even though he was a member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, he felt a sense of powerlessness rising from the depths of his heart.

He no longer had any thoughts of revenge, settling scores later, or dealing with Qin Chuan. Instead, he was thinking about how to curry favor with Qin Chuan to protect his own position.

As a member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, he couldn't just call Qin Chuan and say, "I was wrong, please let me off." He could only use the pretext of an inspection and research visit to go to Wanshun County to show his attitude, praising and affirming Qin Chuan, hoping the other party would understand what he meant.

Sitting in the car back to the provincial capital, Secretary Pei Yuantao closed his eyes to rest, thinking to himself, "He should be able to understand."

His assistant, Secretary Zhao Jun, saw his boss's expression in the rearview mirror and couldn't help but interject, "Boss, how about I help you make a call to Qin Chuan?"

His boss's rank was too high, and some things were inconvenient for him to say, but he could do it. He could even be a bit more explicit.

After hesitating for a moment, Secretary Pei Yuantao said two words: "You may."

Having received his boss's permission, Secretary Zhao Jun took out his phone and dialed Qin Chuan's number.

At this time, Qin Chuan was eating, accompanied by County Mayor Sheng Huaian, Director Hu Bing, and several other core members.

Everyone was chatting about Secretary Pei Yuantao's inspection trip while they ate.

County Mayor Sheng Huaian said, "Secretary, I still feel a bit uneasy. I'm worried that Secretary Pei Yuantao might come back later to settle scores."

Qin Chuan looked relaxed. "Don't worry, he won't."

By this time, Qin Chuan had also guessed Secretary Pei Yuantao's intentions; he had most likely found out about his family background and had come specifically to curry favor.

Otherwise, why would he have praised and affirmed him multiple times in front of so many people, made his attitude clear, and not even gone to take a look at Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin?

Soon, the phone rang.

Qin Chuan took it out and saw it was an unknown number. Without hesitation, he answered it.

"Hello, Secretary Qin Chuan. I am Secretary Pei's assistant, Secretary Zhao Jun."

"Oh, so it's Director Zhao. Hello."

"Secretary Qin Chuan, thank you for your accompaniment. On behalf of my boss, I would like to express my gratitude to you. In addition, my boss is currently very self-reproachful. He didn't expect that because he was too busy with work, he had neglected discipline, allowing Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin to be so arrogant and domineering. My boss has spent these past two days in self-reproach..."

On the phone, Secretary Zhao Jun said a great deal.

Qin Chuan understood completely. Secretary Pei Yuantao's visit was nominally an inspection and research trip, but in reality, it was a plea for mercy—asking him not to use the Qin Family's power to target him.

Sure enough, after Secretary Zhao Jun had spoken at length, apologizing and admitting his faults, he said quite clearly, "Secretary Qin, Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin is Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin, and my boss is my boss. I implore you not to vent your anger on my boss."

A member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee begging for mercy in front of a County Party Secretary—would you believe it?

Since the other party had lowered his stance so much and there was no conflict of interest, Qin Chuan naturally wouldn't hold onto this matter. He laughed and said, "Secretary Zhao Jun, please convey to Secretary Pei Yuantao that I am not an unreasonable person. Rest assured, the matter ends here."

"Thank you, Secretary Qin Chuan, thank you." Secretary Zhao Jun expressed his thanks repeatedly on the phone before hanging up.

After finishing the call, seeing everyone looking at him, Qin Chuan smiled relaxedly. "It was a call from Secretary Pei Yuantao's assistant, praising our county's work. The leadership is very satisfied."

Of course, he couldn't say that the other party was begging for mercy or asking to be let off, otherwise, it would be too shocking, so he had to find such an excuse.

County Mayor Sheng Huaian asked tentatively, "In that case, we are all fine, and Secretary Pei Yuantao won't come back later to settle scores?"

Qin Chuan answered affirmatively, "He won't. Everyone can rest assured. Secretary Pei Yuantao still understands propriety and is reasonable; he won't do anything to us."

Hearing this, everyone felt much more at ease.

"Come, come, let's drink!"