313: Chapter 313 Mr. Zhao, please take better care of your health in the future.

The commotion inside the private room was quite significant. After all, Qin Chuan had overturned the table, and to make matters worse, he hadn't closed the door when he walked in, leaving it wide open.

Many teachers dining nearby noticed the situation, freezing in their tracks, and it took a while for them to react.

"What is going on here!"

"Who is that? He actually flipped Principal Wang Xingbao and the others' table. He's got some nerve!"

"Shh, keep it down. That young man who flipped the table doesn't look like an ordinary person. Didn't you see how pale Principal Wang Xingbao and the others turned with fright?"

"..."

Some of the bolder ones curiously peeked into the private room, only to immediately pull their heads back.

Deputy Mayor Chen Yongshu hadn't had much time to talk yet, and it was estimated that it would take him some time to arrive, but the leaders of the district Education Bureau rushed over in a hurry.

Leading them was Director He of the district Education Bureau, drenched in sweat, apologizing the moment he walked in.

"Director Qin, I'm sorry, I am truly sorry. I didn't expect something like this to happen. We will rectify this immediately, right away..."

Qin Chuan let out a cold snort, not bothering to acknowledge him.

With such a serious problem, was rectification really enough? Shouldn't Principal Wang Xingbao and the others be dismissed on the spot, the Discipline Inspection Commission intervene, and an investigation begin immediately?

A while later, Deputy Mayor Chen Yongshu finally arrived.

"Director Qin, it is a dereliction of my duty. I didn't expect such a situation to occur..."

He apologized first, then asked, "Who is the principal of the No. 1 Middle School?"

Principal Wang Xingbao came out trembling, "Mayor... Mayor Chen, I am the principal."

Chen Yongshu waved his hand and said, "You are dismissed from your post. Where are the comrades from the Discipline Inspection Commission? Take him away and open an investigation!"

Principal Wang Xingbao shouted, "Mayor Chen, I've been wronged! I've been wronged!"

With the facts laid out before them, he still had the audacity to shamelessly claim he was wronged. Qin Chuan's expression darkened, while Mayor Chen glared at him in fury.

"Who is the vice principal? The director of academic affairs? Take all the school leaders of the No. 1 Middle School away for investigation!"

The scene was quite spectacular; the leadership of Xizhou City No. 1 Middle School was wiped out in one fell swoop, all of them escorted to vehicles and taken away.

Many students were watching. Seeing these people being taken away, the students clapped happily and cheered, and some of the watching teachers joined in the applause as well.

These teachers had likely long been fed up with Principal Wang Xingbao and the others, but had been afraid to speak out. Now, they could finally cheer and applaud.

Qin Chuan returned to his office with a dark expression.

In the afternoon, there was some good news: the demolition of the second phase of the Qinglong Bay Villa District was progressing smoothly. At this rate, it would be completely demolished in three to five days, followed by the restoration of the ecological landscape.

Around four or five in the afternoon, Deputy Mayor Chen Yongshu of Xizhou City came over, mainly to report on the handling and investigation results.

Although they were both at the deputy department level, Qin Chuan represented the Central Inspection Team, so Chen Yongshu kept a very low profile.

"Director Qin, our investigation found that Principal Wang Xingbao, Fu Huaquan, and others at Xizhou City No. 1 Middle School were colluding in corruption. Not only did they embezzle the students' meal money, but they also treated the school's printing room, canteen, and small shop as their own personal ATMs..."

After hearing the report, Qin Chuan demanded, "These scumbags must be severely punished to warn others."

"Yes, yes, we will definitely deal with them to the fullest extent of the law." Chen Yongshu quickly promised.

Qin Chuan said again, "Mayor Chen, next, conduct a thorough investigation across all of Xizhou City to see if other schools have similar situations. If any are found, they must be dealt with; do not be soft-handed."

Why did he say this?

Because the system had pushed a notification about the situation at No. 1 Middle School, Qin Chuan guessed it probably wasn't simple. If they investigated further, there might be unexpected gains.

"Yes, yes, definitely, definitely." Chen Yongshu nodded and agreed quickly.

Time flew by, and four or five days passed.

Indeed, many similar phenomena were discovered within Xizhou City. Many school leaders, and even some leaders involved in the Education Bureau, were dealt with one after another.

They even caught a big fish.

The Director of the Xizhou City Education Bureau had been embezzling, misappropriating, and corrupting students' meal subsidies for a long time, with the amount reaching over 30 million yuan.

As expected, the message pushed by the system had deep meaning; it actually implicated the Director of the provincial capital's Education Bureau.

...

Today, Zhao Zhijie fell ill.

He had a cold and fever and felt terrible all over. He called a doctor to take a look, took some medicine, and rested in the presidential suite for almost a day, but didn't feel any better.

Feeling truly miserable, he checked into the hospital's VIP ward.

High fever, headache.

He was currently lying on the hospital bed on an IV drip, and the doctor said it was just a cold.

When Qin Chuan heard the news, he couldn't help but smile. It seemed the chronic poison was taking effect. He really ought to find time to go take a look.

This guy had originally tried to poison him, but ended up lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet; he had drunk every last drop of the poisoned wine himself.

Heh.

He had to see what Zhao Zhijie looked like now, so Qin Chuan went to the hospital and saw Zhao Zhijie on the IV drip.

"Mr. Zhao, what happened to you? It looks like the situation is quite serious."

Even though he hated Qin Chuan to the bone, Zhao Zhijie still pretended to be like an old friend, "Brother Chuan, you're here."

"Sigh, I'm just unlucky. The doctor says it's a cold. I feel miserable all over, and I just hope to get better soon."

Qin Chuan shook his head slightly, "Mr. Zhao, you need to take better care of your health from now on. This won't do. Aside from checking on you, I came here to tell you one more thing: the matter of the Paotaishan Copper Mine—it will likely have to be shut down completely."

What!

Zhao Zhijie reacted strongly.

The scale of the Paotaishan Copper Mine was not small, and crucially, the country was short on copper, so it was very profitable—it was practically a goose that laid golden eggs.

On the surface, the copper mine had nothing to do with Zhao Zhijie, but in reality, he was the actual owner of the mine.

Qin Chuan had received a report stating that someone was illegally mining in the Paotaishan area, causing serious damage to the local ecology. That area was a restricted mining zone marked with a red line by the state.

After receiving such a report, the entire Central Inspection Team took it very seriously and immediately launched an investigation. The report was completely true, and they discovered that the actual controller behind the Paotaishan Copper Mine was Zhao Zhijie.

No wonder Zhao Zhijie had such a strong reaction.

"Brother Chuan, please show mercy. To be honest, this is my business, and it generates pretty good annual returns. Please do me a favor, how about it?"

Qin Chuan looked troubled, "I'm afraid that's not possible. That area is a restricted mining zone; no individual or entity is allowed to extract mineral resources there, including you."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhijie was so angry he nearly vomited blood.

He didn't want to tear off the mask of civility just yet. He was furious inside, yet he still had to keep a smile on his face. Who could understand such frustration?