Chapter 155: A Clever Plan That Backfired

"Hello, this is Jin Hemin."

Jin Hemin answered the phone with a look of undisguised irritation.

He was in a thoroughly foul mood lately. Ever since the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection classified him as an official linked to the Zhao Pengcheng case, nothing had been going his way.

Yesterday, he went to the county seat to accompany guests at a banquet. While he did plenty of drinking, he completely missed the opportunity to have a proper conversation with Yang Dong.

A perfectly good luncheon had been completely ruined by County Magistrate Cheng Dayong.

Of course, he didn't dare to point fingers at the county magistrate, let alone harbor any resentment toward him.

His only hope now was that Yang Dong wouldn't stir up trouble and would spare him out of consideration for the fact that they came from the same township.

"Township Head, it's bad! Something has happened at the Administration for Industry and Commerce Enforcement Station!"

The caller was the director of the township government office.

The director's words made Jin Hemin's face instantly drain of color.

It had been less than five minutes since the meeting ended—how could something have gone wrong already?

"What happened at the enforcement station?" Jin Hemin asked hurriedly.

Standing nearby, Gong Hongyang pricked up his ears at this, his expression sinking.

Lately, whenever he heard the words "something happened," his mood invariably plummeted.

"Township Head, didn't the enforcement station act on the township's instructions to drive away all the illegal peddlers roaming the streets?"

"Well, a rural woman who peddles fish on the streets was caught by the comrades at the enforcement station. Her bicycle was confiscated, her fish were confiscated, and now she's making a huge scene inside the station."

"One of the female officers at the station lost her temper and slapped her."

Hearing the office director report up to this point, Jin Hemin still didn't quite grasp the gravity of the situation.

Was this even considered a big deal?

Surely not. Wasn't this kind of incident completely normal?

Since their township had to handle inspections led by Yang Dong, the head of the municipal discipline inspection working group, overreactions were bound to happen. Such friction was entirely par for the course.

Even if it was unreasonable and unlawful, it had to be done.

Stability trumps everything!

Any behavior detrimental to unity must be firmly resisted.

"What did we say during the meeting? We must enforce strict management and absolutely not let any problems arise."

"Have the comrades from the enforcement station step forward to warn that rural woman not to cause trouble. As long as she cooperates obediently, we'll let her go after today!"

"Intimidate her a bit as well. If she continues to make a scene, use the excuse of picking quarrels and provoking trouble to throw her into the police station!"

"Let's see if she still dares to make trouble after that."

"So what if she got slapped? Would our comrades have hit her if she had cooperated?"

Standing to the side, Gong Hongyang frowned in displeasure upon hearing Jin Hemin give such instructions to his subordinates.

Yet he didn't say much. The township head's approach was aimed at maintaining stability in Xiashui Township, and resorting to such desperate measures was truly a matter of last resort.

"No, Township Head, please listen to me," the office director stammered, unable to break in earlier, and now seized the moment to speak again.

"This rural woman who sells fish is from Xiaoyang Village. She said her son is Yang Dong."

The director of the township government office had finally gotten to the crucial point.

At that exact moment, Jin Hemin froze completely like a sculpture. His eyes bulged, his mouth hung open, and though he held his phone tightly in his hand, he couldn't utter a single word.

He was utterly dumbfounded, his mind blank.

"What did he say?"

Gong Hongyang stared wide-eyed from the side. He hadn't heard clearly, but he had caught fragments like "Xiaoyang Village" and something about "Yang Dong."

Prompted by Gong Hongyang's question, Jin Hemin snapped back to reality, realizing belatedly that his back was drenched in cold sweat.

"H-He said that the rural woman caught selling fish seems to be Yang Dong's mother," Jin Hemin replied instinctively.

Hearing this, Gong Hongyang's fury flared up. Standing at the third-floor stairwell, he cursed aloud.

"What in the hell are you people eating for brains?"

"Can't they even handle such a trivial matter at the enforcement station?"

"And they dared to hit someone? Who gave them the authority? Huh?!"

"Jin Hemin, relieve the director of the enforcement station of their post immediately!"

Gong Hongyang felt his lungs were about to explode from anger. The very thing he feared most was the thing that happened.

The overreaction was originally meant as a precaution against Yang Dong.

And now look at this—it had completely backfired.

Not only had they locked up the man's mother, but the enforcement station personnel had actually beaten her as well.

What an absolute, goddamn mess.

"Secretary, let's hurry over to the enforcement station and take a look," Jin Hemin urged, having fully recovered his cognitive faculties.

"We need to give them an explanation; we can't let this matter blow up."

"If Yang Dong finds out about this, I'm afraid it won't end well."

Though the enforcement station was a secondary unit subordinate to the county bureau of commerce, it was also directly managed by the township government and subject to dual leadership.

Now that trouble had broken out at the station, as the township head, he couldn't possibly shirk responsibility.

Therefore, he needed to rope in a savior, dragging township party secretary Gong Hongyang along with him. If they had to weather Yang Dong's wrath, someone else had to share the burden.

How could Gong Hongyang not see through Jin Hemin's petty calculations? Yet he wasn't one to shrink from responsibility.

As the top leader of Xiashui Township, he had to take full accountability for any problems that arose here.

That was the basic literacy and fundamental principle of a Communist Party cadre—it could never change.

While enjoying the power of the top position, one must also shoulder and fulfill the obligations and responsibilities that came with it.

"Let's go."

Gong Hongyang nodded with a dark expression, then turned and strode downstairs.

Jin Hemin immediately scurried after him like a lapdog. As long as the township party secretary Gong Hongyang went along, he would have a backbone to rely on.

The two of them hopped onto a motorcycle and sped toward the enforcement station.

In a dink of a place like Xiashui Township, there was no need to drive a car.

On a motorcycle, it took barely two minutes to arrive.

Arriving at the entrance of the enforcement station on their motorcycle, Gong Hongyang and Jin Hemin inwardly cried out that it was bad.

Parked right outside the gates of the station was a car.

It was a vehicle they were all too familiar with.

And the young man sitting inside it was someone they knew even better...

It's over!

Jin Hemin's face turned several shades paler in an instant. Despite being a township head of substantive section chief rank, he was terrified.

Who wouldn't be terrified upon encountering the municipal discipline inspection working group?

"Comrade Yang Dong, this incident is entirely Xiashui Township's fault. We will handle this matter severely and give your mother justice!"

Gong Hongyang truly lived up to his role as the top leader of the township.

At this juncture, he did not panic; instead, he displayed the top leader's virtue of daring to assume responsibility.

He walked up to the Jetta, gazed at Yang Dong sitting in the front passenger seat, and sincerely and earnestly offered his apologies.

He was certain that Yang Dong must already know what had happened at the enforcement station.

Otherwise, Yang Dong wouldn't be sitting right here.

Therefore, facing this situation, taking the blow head-on and adopting a cooperative attitude would yield a much better outcome.

Seeing that both Gong Hongyang, the party secretary of Xiashui Township, and Jin Hemin, the township head, had arrived, Yang Dong pushed open the car door and stepped out.

Meanwhile, Village Party Secretary Yang Haomin, sitting in the back seat, was completely dumbfounded.

He stared wide-eyed at Gong Hongyang and Jin Hemin outside the car, finding it hard to believe his eyes.

Weren't these the township secretary and the township head?

Why had the two of them rushed over in person?

And why was Gong Hongyang, the township party secretary, personally apologizing to Yang Dong?

What on earth was going on here?

His mind went blank.

When had he ever witnessed such a scene?

The top leaders of a township usually acted like local emperors, accustomed to being arrogant and tyrannical overbearing.

Gong Hongyang, the party secretary of their Xiashui Township, was a prime example of this.

Yet right now, Gong Hongyang was actually lowering his head to apologize?

Wait...

He suddenly snapped to his senses.

Wasn't Yang Dong just a minor section staff member in the municipal government office?

Even if having a job in the municipal government carried some prestige, it shouldn't be enough to terrify a substantive section-rank township leader to this degree, right?

Could there be some hidden story behind all this that he, a mere village party secretary, knew nothing about?