80: Chapter 80 Qin Chuan is anonymously reported

County Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Secretary Zeng Xiguang sat in his office, holding that anonymous whistleblower letter and reading it for a long time.

Someone had filed an anonymous report alleging that Qin Chuan of the Dahe Township Party Committee was involved in a kickback scheme with Hongtai Supermarket, claiming that Qin Chuan took a kickback of 0.2 yuan per jin for the yellow peaches acquired by Hongtai Supermarket from Dahe Township.

The details in the report were very specific; it was obvious at a glance that it had been filed by someone inside Dahe Township, as no one else could possibly know such details.

Should they investigate?

What if it were true?

Secretary Zeng Xiguang believed that the report was likely true.

Because he had also heard that Hongtai Supermarket was acquiring at least over a thousand tons of yellow peaches from Dahe Township every day, which was about two to three million jin, at an acquisition price of 2.5 yuan per jin.

The whistleblower letter stated that the yellow peaches from Dahe Township were of premium quality, top-tier, and the acquisition price of 2.5 yuan was clearly too low, because in Hongtai Supermarket stores, the retail price was 9.8 yuan, or even 10.8 yuan.

Secretary Zeng Xiguang thought to himself, with such massive capital flow—two to three million jin every day—it was highly probable that kickbacks were being taken in Dahe Township.

If it were him, he would do the same; he wouldn't let such a good opportunity pass by.

What needed to be determined was whether the kickbacks went into Qin Chuan's personal pocket or into the public account of Dahe Township.

If it went into the public account, the nature of the issue would be slightly better; if it went into Qin Chuan's personal pocket, the situation would be severe.

Collecting a kickback of 0.2 yuan per jin meant that after this batch of yellow peaches was acquired, Qin Chuan would have at least 10 to 20 million yuan in his pocket.

No, this matter must be thoroughly investigated.

But he was also a bit hesitant.

He remembered the last incident, where Township Head Liu Qiang and others set a trap to frame Qin Chuan, resulting in Township Head Liu Qiang going to jail, and Secretary Tang Xingwei, the Deputy Secretary of the County Commission for Discipline Inspection who handled the case at the time, also went to jail.

This time, they had to be cautious; it couldn't be like last time.

While he was considering these matters, Liu Feng, the Deputy Secretary of the County Commission for Discipline Inspection and concurrently the Director of the Inspection Office, knocked and entered.

"Secretary Zeng, the matters you tasked me with have all been verified."

"Oh, tell me about it."

Liu Feng said, "The content in the whistleblower letter is true: the retail price of Dahe Township's yellow peaches at Hongtai Supermarket is indeed 9.8 yuan, or even 10.8 yuan. Even at such a high price, they are still being snatched up at various stores; they sell out shortly after being stocked."

"Additionally, it is rumored everywhere in Dahe Township that Qin Chuan has a conflict of interest with Hongtai Supermarket and is taking a kickback of 0.2 yuan per jin of yellow peaches..."

He briefly recounted the situation he had learned.

After listening, Secretary Zeng Xiguang's expression became grave.

Could it be that what was reported in the letter was actually true?

Liu Feng said, "Secretary Zeng, I think the content of this letter is mostly true. I suggest we investigate Qin Chuan immediately, or even place him under 'Shuanggui'!"

Secretary Zeng Xiguang was still somewhat apprehensive; Secretary Tang Xingwei was a warning from the past.

After thinking for a moment, Secretary Zeng Xiguang said, "We must be very cautious about this matter. I will go report to Secretary Cao first. Wait for my news."

Carrying this whistleblower letter, Secretary Zeng Xiguang went to County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang's office.

"Secretary Cao, we received an anonymous whistleblower letter regarding Qin Chuan. Please take a look."

"Oh, there's such a thing?" County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang frowned slightly.

He took the whistleblower letter and read it with a grave expression. After finishing, he said slowly, "These are all baseless descriptions. I don't think they are credible."

Secretary Zeng Xiguang said, "Secretary Cao, we have already conducted a preliminary investigation and inquiry. The retail price of Dahe Township's yellow peaches at Hongtai Supermarket is indeed 9.8 yuan, or even 10.8 yuan, while the acquisition price is only 2.5 yuan. I think..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted.

County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang waved his hand and said, "An acquisition price of 2.5 yuan per jin is already very high. I heard that the price from those previous buyers was only 0.4 or 0.5 yuan."

"But it is rumored all over Dahe Township, and the trend is intensifying, that Qin Chuan is taking kickbacks of 0.2 yuan per jin."

County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang thought for a moment and said, "I have confidence in Comrade Qin Chuan. How about this: you go and investigate. If Comrade Qin Chuan is being wrongly accused, you must restore his reputation and find the person behind the scenes who is reporting and smearing him."

Having received permission to investigate Qin Chuan, Secretary Zeng Xiguang felt a weight lift from his heart.

He prepared to leave to immediately launch the investigation into Qin Chuan, but just as he stood up and hadn't taken two steps, he was called back.

County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang said with a stern face, "You must pay attention to your methods during the investigation. How about this: you go to Dahe Township yourself, talk to Comrade Qin Chuan, seek his opinion, and then proceed with a specific investigation."

Secretary Zeng Xiguang was stunned.

He actually had to talk to the subject of the investigation first and seek their opinion? He had worked in the Discipline Inspection Commission for so many years and had never encountered such a situation.

But County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang was the top leader.

The authority of the top leader could not be defied, so Secretary Zeng Xiguang could only nod, "Understood. We will definitely follow Secretary Cao's instructions and pay attention to our methods."

...

Dahe Township.

The matter was fermenting more and more intensely, as if someone was fanning the flames behind the scenes. Many people were chatting and spreading rumors.

Even the square outside the Township Government gate was no exception.

"I really couldn't tell. Secretary Qin looks so refined and upright, yet he's actually skimming money, taking a 0.2 yuan kickback for every jin of yellow peaches."

"In this day and age, which official isn't corrupt? True clean officials went extinct long ago!"

"How can you say that about Secretary Qin? He put in a huge amount of effort to contact Hongtai Supermarket. Saying such things about him will only chill his heart."

"Exactly, exactly. Even if the rumors are true and Secretary Qin took a 0.2 yuan kickback, I'd be happy with it. At least my yellow peaches can be sold for 2.5 yuan."

"Look, look, you're so happy about 2.5 yuan. You are truly short-sighted. Do you know how much they sell for at Hongtai Supermarket? They sell for 9.8 yuan, or even 10.8 yuan."

"They really sell for that much? Then wouldn't Hongtai Supermarket be making a fortune?"

"Heh, don't they have to pay for transportation and management fees?"

"..."

From the discussions, it was clear that there were two distinct factions. A small minority were unhappy with Qin Chuan, believing he took kickbacks and was a corrupt official skimming money.

The majority still supported Qin Chuan, defending him and even thinking that as long as their yellow peaches could be sold for 2.5 yuan, taking a little kickback didn't matter.

Township Head Chen Qunfeng had been on leave for the past two days after his head was smashed.

On the surface, he was on leave, but behind the scenes, he had been doing plenty of shady things. He was the one who spread the rumors, and he was the one who wrote the whistleblower letter.

Although he was staying at home, he kept inquiring about the situation in Dahe Township. Knowing that the rumors were spreading more and more intensely, he felt an inexplicable joy.

Additionally, he learned that the County Commission for Discipline Inspection had received his anonymous whistleblower letter and was preparing to launch an investigation into Qin Chuan.

He began to look forward to it.

He was basically certain that Qin Chuan must have benefited from this yellow peach acquisition. Although he had no evidence, he firmly believed that there was no cat that didn't like fish, and there was no reason not to take a bite of the fat meat right in front of him.

As long as the Discipline Inspection Commission investigated, Qin Chuan would soon be exposed.

Thinking about these things, his mood was unprecedentedly good, and he was even happily humming a tune.

Just as he was in a wonderful mood, his phone rang.