3: Chapter 3 Gathering Evidence

The two sides parted on bad terms.

Returning to his office, Qin Chuan frowned slightly.

Things were getting quite tricky.

An arm cannot twist a thigh—if Township Head Zhao Yijiang and his cronies really pinned this mess on him, he wouldn't have much power to resist.

But he certainly wasn't willing to just surrender without a fight.

It seemed he could only take things one step at a time, hoping to resolve this crisis by relying on his extensive experience in officialdom and the newly acquired system.

For instance, he had to have some evidence in his hands.

Everything that had just happened, including the conversation with Director Liu Wei, had been recorded. Qin Chuan connected his phone to the computer, copied the recording, saved one copy on the computer with encryption, and saved another on a USB flash drive.

This wasn't enough!

The system information indicated that tonight, Township Head Zhao Yijiang and Liu Yan would meet privately in Room 1208 of the Four Seasons Hotel in the county seat. If he could film their secret rendezvous, that would be perfect.

How could he manage to film it...

Time quickly reached noon.

Zhang Anxiang took the initiative to invite him, "Qin Chuan, let's go eat together. My treat."

Qin Chuan smiled and said, "Brother Zhang, is there some happy occasion?"

"Not really, I just felt like eating at Old Liu's."

The "Old Liu's" he referred to was "Liu's Restaurant" across from the Township Government. It was a mom-and-pop shop run by Old Liu, and because the food tasted good, business was always booming.

The two found a table by the window, sat down, ordered a few dishes, and started chatting while they ate.

Gradually, the conversation drifted to the collapse of the Xiushui River Bridge.

Zhang Anxiang said, "Brother, the collapse of the Xiushui River Bridge has definitely put the township in a passive position, especially Township Head Zhao. However, based on my years of understanding him, he will likely find someone to be the scapegoat, and there's an eighty percent chance it will be someone from our Urban Construction Office."

Qin Chuan gave a bitter smile and shook his head lightly, "Brother Zhang, to tell you the truth, Township Head Zhao intends for me to be the scapegoat, and he has already approached me."

What!

Zhang Anxiang looked astonished, then said worriedly, "Brother, that's terrible. If you take the fall, they will push all the responsibility onto you. I've worked in Jinzhu Township for over ten years; I know their style all too well."

"But if you refuse, you will completely offend Township Head Zhao, and your career will basically be over. Sigh, how did you end up in such a situation?"

He shook his head gently as he spoke.

This matter was truly tricky.

He was in a dilemma; no matter what he did, there would be no good outcome.

After chatting for a while, Qin Chuan changed the subject and asked, "Brother Zhang, I heard your younger brother is a manager at the Four Seasons Hotel. Is that true?"

"Right, he's doing better than me. He's now the Housekeeping Manager at the Four Seasons Hotel. Why, do you need something from him?"

"I actually do have a small matter. Could you help me make an introduction?"

"That's a piece of cake." Zhang Anxiang agreed immediately and made a call right there in front of him, "Qin Chuan, you can just go directly to see him."

"Thank you, Brother Zhang."

After finishing the meal and returning to the office, the afternoon shift began shortly after, as everyone only had one hour for lunch and rest.

Seeing that Director Liu Wei was already at work, Qin Chuan took the initiative to go over and walked into his office.

Seeing Qin Chuan come over voluntarily, Director Liu Wei was delighted, "Xiao Qin, have you thought it through? Are you willing to step up and take responsibility?"

"You should have done this sooner. With Township Head Zhao around, what are you worried about? Don't worry, nothing will happen; it's just a formality."

Damn it, if that's the case, why don't you take all the responsibility yourself instead of trying to push everything onto an unrelated person like me?

Although he thought this in his heart, he didn't show it on his face. Qin Chuan said, "Director Liu, my mind is in a mess right now. I want to be alone and think quietly. Can I take a half-day leave this afternoon?"

After hesitating for a moment, Director Liu Wei agreed, "Alright, I'll approve your half-day leave. Think it over carefully by yourself; don't let me down."

With a half-day leave, he had enough time.

After leaving the Township Government compound, Qin Chuan immediately took a car to Dongzhou City. It wasn't far, and everything was still in time.

He bought a set of pinhole camera equipment in the city, then returned to Qinghe County and found Zhang Anxiang's younger brother, Zhang Feixiang.

He smoothly rented a room for two hours—the room was 1208. Within those two hours, he installed the pinhole camera equipment, aiming the lens at the room's large bed; the angle was perfect.

There was no other way; he was just a small fry right now and had to resort to such a desperate measure.

After installing everything and checking that there were no issues—the camera was very well hidden and impossible to be discovered—Qin Chuan finally felt relieved and checked into another hotel nearby.

In the evening, Qin Chuan received a call from Zhang Anxiang.

"Qin Chuan, I heard you took leave this afternoon."

"Yes, I took a half-day leave. I'll be back to work as usual at nine tomorrow morning."

Zhang Anxiang said, "The county investigation team arrived at our Jinzhu Township at 3:00 PM and started their investigation. There's a rumor that you bear the most responsibility for the bridge collapse, claiming that you participated in and were directly responsible for the bidding and the entire construction supervision process."

Heh.

As expected, regardless of whether he agreed to take the fall, Township Head Zhao Yijiang and his group still pinned the blame on him.

If nothing unexpected happened, the investigation team would call him in for a talk as soon as work started tomorrow morning.

"Brother Zhang, thank you for the information."

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Anxiang added, "Qin Chuan, I just saw your girlfriend get into Township Head Zhao's car, chatting and laughing. It looks like they're heading to the county."

"Brother Zhang, I understand. This woman has most likely cheated on me. I will break up with her soon; a woman like that is not worth keeping."

After hanging up the phone, Qin Chuan thought to himself that everything was proceeding according to the system's information. It looked like Township Head Zhao Yijiang and Liu Yan would definitely be hooking up in Room 1208 tonight.

The next morning.

The first thing he did upon waking up was to check for system updates.

There were two messages in total.

1. The head of the county investigation team, Sun Youcai, has a close relationship with Township Head Zhao Yijiang. They have already reached a private agreement to push all the responsibility onto you.

2. Deputy Township Head and Police Station Chief Lu Zhengping is one of Township Head Zhao Yijiang's men. He will arrest you this afternoon.

Although there were only two messages, the information was very significant.

He hadn't expected the investigation team leader to be in cahoots with Township Head Zhao Yijiang. If he submitted the evidence he had to the investigation team, he would be done for.

He knew Lu Zhengping—arrogant, overbearing, and brutal in his methods. A few months ago, someone died in the Police Station due to torture during interrogation, but under Township Head Zhao Yijiang's interference and manipulation, the serious matter was downplayed, and it was settled with a little money.

After a quick breakfast, Qin Chuan arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel.

He found Zhang Feixiang, asked a couple of simple questions, and learned that Township Head Zhao Yijiang had already checked out and left. Making up an excuse, Qin Chuan went back into Room 1208.