24: Chapter 24 Liu Qiang, Administrative Demotion

Sanjiang Hotel.

In a certain room, smoke filled the air. Township Head Liu Qiang and several others were playing mahjong, and the stakes were high; the table and nearby chairs were covered in stacks upon stacks of hundred-yuan bills.

Motherf***er, my luck is actually this rotten!

Township Head Liu Qiang cursed under his breath.

After playing for less than two hours, Township Head Liu Qiang had lost over a hundred thousand yuan. He had prepared two hundred thousand in cash this time, and less than a third of it remained.

"Change seats, I have to change seats!"

After losing another round, Township Head Liu Qiang clamored to change seats.

Wang Jun had won quite a bit and laughed heartily. "Old Liu, it's fine to change seats, but I think even if you do, it won't help. You've just been off these past few days!"

"Who says I'm off?" Township Head Liu Qiang stubbornly refused to admit he was on a losing streak, insisted on changing seats, and started again.

After several consecutive rounds, he was still losing more than winning, and another ten or twenty thousand yuan was gone. Township Head Liu Qiang's face was dark.

Suddenly, there seemed to be movement outside the door, but the room was very noisy with the clattering of mahjong tiles and Township Head Liu Qiang's cursing, so it went unheard.

With a click, the door was opened, and a large group of police officers rushed in. The leader was none other than the Director of the Sanjiang County Public Security Bureau, Luo Bing.

"Don't move!"

"Handcuff them all!!!"

Township Head Liu Qiang was pale with fright. He played mahjong every few days, with stakes ranging from tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand yuan, but he had never encountered such a situation.

He was a bit dazed!

How did the police know they were playing mahjong here? Furthermore, it was Director Luo Bing of the Sanjiang County Public Security Bureau himself leading the team, with a dozen police officers arriving all at once.

After reacting, Township Head Liu Qiang forced a smile and said some pleasantries, "Director Luo, why is it you guys? Is there some misunderstanding? We're just playing a little mahjong for entertainment."

Township Head Liu Qiang and Director Luo Bing naturally knew each other and were quite familiar.

Director Luo Bing was also slightly taken aback. Among these people was actually Township Head Liu Qiang from Dahe Township; this made things interesting.

Why had he personally led the team to raid the gambling? Because he had received a phone call from Secretary and Director Xu Ping, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission and Director of the Public Security Bureau of Dongzhou City.

Secretary Xu had called him directly, saying that people were gathered for gambling in a certain room of the Sanjiang Hotel and requiring him to personally lead a team to check it out.

Since his direct superior had called personally, how could Director Luo Bing dare to be negligent? He acted very quickly, not even having time to report to the county leadership.

Under normal circumstances, if he found it was Township Head Liu Qiang gambling, he would have let it slide, but not this time; Secretary Xu was still waiting for his phone report.

He completely ignored Township Head Liu Qiang, and Director Luo Bing waved his hand. "Take them all back to the bureau."

Thus, several people, including Township Head Liu Qiang and Wang Jun, were taken back to the County Public Security Bureau, along with nearly a million yuan in gambling funds—all in cash!

The tip-off call was made by Qin Chuan.

Originally, he just wanted to make the report as an "ordinary citizen," but he knew that if he did it that way, it would at most just give Township Head Liu Qiang and the others a hard time.

Township Head Liu Qiang had some connections and background in Sanjiang County; he was also one of County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang's men. Even if he were caught, he would at most get a verbal warning and be released soon.

If that happened, wouldn't it be letting him off too easily?

Qin Chuan's heart stirred; this was a rare opportunity, and he couldn't let him off so cheaply. So, he made a call to his father's secretary.

The First Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee held great power. He immediately called Secretary and Director Xu Ping, a member of the Dongzhou Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee and the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission and Public Security Bureau Director. This led to Director Luo Bing's personally led raid.

Secretary and Director Xu Ping couldn't understand why the First Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee would call him about such a thing, and with such accurate information, even including the room number.

The less he understood, the more he felt this matter was not simple. Therefore, he took it very seriously, not only requiring Director Luo Bing to personally lead the raid but also requiring him to report the results.

Soon, County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang also learned about the matter.

Director Luo Bing reported it to him over the phone.

After hearing the report, County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang was also very angry. A dignified township head gathering people to gamble was a slap in the face to him, Cao Zhengwang. If word got out, it would be a disgrace to him.

"Director Luo, I'm aware of the situation. Handle it simply and be mindful of the impact."

The meaning was clear: give a verbal warning, release them immediately, and let the matter pass quickly without it spreading like wildfire.

Little did he know, Director Luo Bing said with a troubled face, "Secretary Cao, I'm afraid that won't work. Secretary Xu personally called me to lead the raid..."

He briefly explained the situation.

What!

It was actually Secretary Xu Ping who called personally? He was all the way in Dongzhou City; how did he know people were gambling in a room at the Sanjiang Hotel?

County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang was very surprised. Once he realized what was happening, he knew the matter was quite serious, and it wouldn't be possible to handle it quietly.

Dammit, Township Head Liu Qiang, that useless waste, has really screwed me over. It's possible that the Main leaders of the Municipal Party Committee will inquire about this.

Sure enough, less than an hour after the incident, even though it was already past ten at night, the Main leaders of the Municipal Party Committee called to inquire, expressed their dissatisfaction, and demanded that it be handled strictly.

County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang had still wanted to protect Township Head Liu Qiang, but now he knew it was absolutely impossible because the Main leaders of the Municipal Party Committee were personally looking into it.

Qin Chuan didn't know the matter had blown up so much. He had a good night's sleep, and when he woke up the next day, he first checked the system's message refresh.

There were two messages in total. The first one was nothing and could be ignored, but the second one contained a lot of information.

2. Township Head Liu Qiang, due to gathering people for gambling, was given an administrative demotion, from township head to the lowest-ranking Deputy Township Head. The notice of the punishment will be sent to Dahe Township this morning.

After reading this message, Qin Chuan was delighted, feeling that his mood would be wonderful for the entire day.

He had originally thought it would be a warning at most, or even just a verbal warning. Who would have thought it would be an administrative demotion?

This is very nice!

In officialdom, one still needs a background. One phone call directly resulted in Township Head Liu Qiang receiving an administrative demotion. Isn't that satisfying?

Qin Chuan was in a good mood. After washing up, he went for a run of about three to five kilometers. Since his physical fitness had improved to the peak of human potential, Qin Chuan had fallen in love with morning runs. Running three to five kilometers felt very comfortable.

"Secretary Qin, morning!"

"Secretary Qin, out for a run?"

Along the way, many people who knew Qin Chuan took the initiative to greet him. Especially when he passed the entrance of the Central School, several teachers on their way to work specifically stopped to warmly and proactively greet Qin Chuan.

It was evident that Qin Chuan's prestige was gradually rising.

After finishing his run and eating breakfast at the cafeteria, at around 8:40 AM, Qin Chuan sat in his office and began his day's work.

Around 9:30 AM, Director Hu Qibin came over and reported, "Secretary, Township Head Liu's office door is tightly shut. It looks like he hasn't come to work again."

Qin Chuan smiled. "Him? He should still be locked up at the County Public Security Bureau right now. He might be detained for a few days."

What!

What's going on?

In the entire Dahe Township, basically no one knew about Township Head Liu Qiang being caught gambling last night. Director Hu Qibin's shocked expression was perfectly normal.