316: Chapter 316 Zhao Zhijie and Cai Zhengguang Collude

The two were separated by nearly a thousand kilometers, one in the capital and one in Northwest Province, but they were in contact almost daily via phone calls or video chats.

As soon as the call connected, Zhu Qingxi's voice came through, joking, "Husband, which beauty are you chatting with? The line is always busy."

Qin Chuan briefly explained the situation.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qingxi felt a bit indignant, "Who is so wicked? Husband, you must find out who it is. It's possible this person isn't clean and is actually a big parasite."

In fact, Qin Chuan already had some suspicions. The person pulling these strings was either Zhao Zhijie or Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang, and the latter was highly likely.

Zhao Zhijie was already lying in a hospital bed with a fever and cold, so he probably didn't have the energy to pull such stunts; thus, the most likely culprit was Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang.

After chatting with his wife for a few minutes, Qin Chuan took out the printed documents regarding Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang's corruption to review them, planning to find a time to meet with Team Leader Xue Guanglin.

That wasn't possible right now, as Team Leader Xue Guanglin was not in the office; he had taken a few people out and it was unclear when he would return.

Regardless, this matter wasn't urgent; he would wait for him to return and discuss it when they met.

Old Liu was very efficient; within just a few hours, he had preliminary results and came to report to Qin Chuan immediately.

"Director Qin, it's basically been cleared up..."

He briefly reported the situation.

As expected, Qin Chuan's speculation was spot on; it was indeed related to Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang, with his secretary pulling strings behind the scenes.

They thought they were being very discreet, but they underestimated the power of the Central Inspection Team. Qin Chuan didn't even need to step in; Old Liu went to the Provincial Public Security Department, who didn't dare to delay and likely sought instructions and reported to the head of the Provincial Party Committee.

With instructions from Secretary Liu, the Provincial Public Security Department was highly efficient, tracing the source within two or three hours. It had been posted by someone with the WeChat name "Zhu Dada," and by following the clues, they discovered that "Zhu Dada" was someone's secondary account.

This person was also within the system but was just a minor figure. After being taken to the Provincial Public Security Department, he confessed everything after a little questioning. Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang's secretary had ordered him to do it, spreading information about Qin Chuan extensively in WeChat Moments and WeChat groups, and even publishing Qin Chuan's private and office phone numbers.

Heh, it really was Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang.

Qin Chuan gave a cold smile and then said, "Old Liu, thank you for your hard work."

Old Liu naturally didn't ask what the next step would be, because this matter seemed to involve Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang of the Northwest Province Provincial Party Committee.

He wondered to himself whether Director Qin would swallow his pride or take action against Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang, who was the number three figure in Northwest Province.

Perhaps Director Qin would actually dare to move against him. Thinking this, Old Liu felt a bit excited. After leaving Qin Chuan's office, he couldn't stop thinking that Director Qin was likely planning a major move.

...

Office of the Deputy Party Secretary.

Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang had just returned from Secretary Liu at the Provincial Party Committee, his expression somewhat dark. Just moments ago, Secretary Liu, acting as the head, had spoken quite sternly.

Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang naturally didn't admit it, claiming he was completely unaware and that his secretary had acted on his own initiative to cause such trouble, and that he would criticize him severely, and so on.

Returning to his office, the first thing he did was call his secretary over and criticize him severely, even calling him a bucket of rice and a loser for not being able to handle such a small matter.

After scolding his secretary, he sat alone in his office, racking his brain on how to continue targeting Qin Chuan.

Because he had already heard reports from subordinates that the Central Inspection Team was leading the effort, and personnel from several relevant departments in Northwest Province had already gone to the Paotaishan Copper Mine, preparing to seal and shut it down.

Damn it, he had to get rid of Qin Chuan.

Soon, a plan came to mind that he felt was highly operable and completely feasible, so he picked up the phone and called Zhao Zhijie.

He felt it wouldn't be appropriate for him, a dignified Deputy Party Secretary, to step in personally, and it wouldn't be suitable for his subordinates either; the most suitable person was Zhao Zhijie.

"General Manager Zhao, how have you been lately? Are you feeling any better?"

Zhao Zhijie's weak voice came over the phone, "Secretary Cai, I'm a little better, but I don't know how many days it will take to fully recover. I've never had such a severe cold in my entire life."

"General Manager Zhao, I originally wanted to come see you, but I've been so busy..."

After exchanging such hypocritical pleasantries, Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang got to the point, first briefly explaining that the Central Inspection Team was leading the effort and that personnel from several relevant departments in Northwest Province had already headed to the Paotaishan Copper Mine.

Then he said with extreme indignation, "This Qin Chuan is simply using a chicken feather as a token of authority. He didn't even give me face when I went there in person, insisting on a complete shutdown and even demanding that our Northwest Province restore the ecological appearance of the place. It's just too infuriating."

Mentioning this, Zhao Zhijie was also very angry. With no third party present, he stopped pretending, filled with nothing but hatred for Qin Chuan.

"That guy surnamed Qin is truly despicable. I really want to knife him."

"General Manager Zhao, we're on the same page. We must deal with that guy surnamed Qin."

"Secretary Cai, do you perhaps have a good plan?"

Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang said, "I do have a plan. You, General Manager Zhao, should step forward and invite that guy surnamed Qin to dinner, using the pretext of discussing the Paotaishan Copper Mine. He will definitely come. You should try to make it as lavish and extravagant as possible, then secretly film him wining and dining, and post it on the internet..."

Hearing Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang's plan, Zhao Zhijie hesitated slightly.

If he did this, he would be implicating himself, and it wasn't yet time to completely tear off the mask with Qin Chuan.

Seeing Zhao Zhijie's hesitation, Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang persuaded him, "General Manager Zhao, if Qin Chuan really investigates, you can just push someone out to take the fall, saying you were completely unaware and that it was done by your subordinates."

It seemed, perhaps, that it wasn't impossible.

After Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang's persuasion, Zhao Zhijie felt it was worth a try; he would invite Qin Chuan to dinner once his cold got a bit better, maybe tomorrow or the day after.

It didn't matter for him; he was a businessman by nature, so no amount of extravagance was excessive, but Qin Chuan was different.

As a Deputy Team Leader of the Central Inspection Team, wining and dining and spending hundreds of thousands on a single meal—once exposed on the internet, it would absolutely stir up a storm. Coupled with him secretly fanning the flames, even the Qin Family would find such a matter troublesome to handle.

Thus, Zhao Zhijie became determined. He would do it this way, ruin Qin Chuan's reputation, make it impossible for him to survive within the system, and completely destroy his name.

Zhao Zhijie and Deputy Party Secretary Cai Zhengguang chatted on the phone for at least ten minutes, colluding and preparing to take action against Qin Chuan.