Chapter 160: The Contamination Issue!

Damn you, Guo Wei...

Listening to Guo Wei’s declaration of stance, a blaze of anger ignited in Gong Hongyang's eyes.

You are the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission for Xiashuishui Town! How could you capitulate and turn traitor under pressure so quickly?

Guo Wei's stance was far too thorough. Not only did he promise to support the work of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission's task force, but he also took charge of arranging their meals. It was a complete surrender on every single front.

The subtext of his words was crystal clear: the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission's task force would have zero worries or troubles while stationed in Xiashuishui Town.

Yet you are a member of the Xiashuishui Town Party Committee and the Secretary of the Town Discipline Inspection Commission...

By acting like this, how are the rest of us on the Town Party Committee supposed to carry out our work?

Jin Hamin's expression also turned icy, and he subtly shifted his position two steps away from Guo Wei.

Guo Wei knew that Gong Hongyang and Jin Hamin were undoubtedly furious with him, but he had no choice left.

The Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission was an absolute behemoth, and their task force had arrived cloaked in an aura of formidable authority.

Especially this young man named Yang Dong right before their eyes, who had spent the past month or so in the city wielding the imperial sword of justice and executing officials right and left without blinking.

Though stationed at the grassroots level, Guo Wei had been closely monitoring the political currents in the municipal government.

The Tian Guanghan case, the Gu Santong case, and on top of that, the Zhao Pengcheng case—altogether, they involved more than a hundred cadres, with over seventy facing severe disciplinary actions, and more than fifty percent receiving official Party disciplinary penalties.

One could say that Yang Dong single-handedly crushed all the cadres tied to these three cases in the city, wiping them out completely and leaving not a single armor plate intact.

Such a terrifying figure had now set foot in Xiashuishui Town.

How could he, Guo Wei, possibly resist? How would he ever dare to resist?

Moreover, he had connections within the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission, through which he had caught wind of a heavily guarded secret: Yang Dong was likely to become the personal secretary of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission's Secretary, Guan Mushan.

On top of that, Yang Dong was still technically a seconded official, with his permanent personnel file remaining firmly in the municipal government office.

What did this indicate? It meant Yang Dong had a safe retreat, a reliable way out!

Therefore, he had made his choice.

That being the case, the attitudes of Gong Hongyang and Jin Hamin no longer mattered.

The atmosphere in the courtyard grew somewhat heavy, and for a moment, nobody knew what to say.

It wasn't until Yang Dong's mother, Du Yuxiang, emerged from the house wearing an apron and announced that lunch was ready that the tension eased slightly.

"My eldest son, why are there so many people at home? Are they all your colleagues?"

Du Yuxiang looked in pleasant surprise at the people standing in the yard, then turned to ask Yang Dong.

Yang Dong looked toward the town leaders like Gong Hongyang and Jin Hamin, and smiled warmly. "A man is made of steel, and meals are his fuel; since it's already lunchtime, if you don't mind our humble family fare, why don't a few of you leaders stay for a bite?"

"Yes, yes, leaders, my wife is a wonderful cook, please stay for lunch," Yang Jianwen chimed in to support his son, warmly inviting Gong Hongyang and the others.

However, his invitation was merely a genuine, folksy hospitality extended to visiting officials.

In contrast, Yang Dong's invitation was a direct test forcing the town leaders of Xiashuishui to make a choice.

The Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission's task force was about to conduct its investigation in Xiashuishui Town—were they going to cooperate or not?

Gong Hongyang and Jin Hamin exchanged a glance, then both looked toward Qi Shan, the Deputy Secretary.

Qi Shan smiled and said, "It has been a long time since I last had a meal in a village. Since we have such a wonderful opportunity today, I must certainly taste the local cooking."

"Indeed. Since Director Yang has extended the invitation, the rest of us won't pretend to be overly modest. We'll stay for lunch."

Seeing that Qi Shan had spoken, Gong Hongyang nodded in agreement.

Jin Hamin's expression, however, turned somewhat complicated as he said, "Director Yang, I won't be staying for lunch. I have to head back to the town government office; there's a meeting scheduled for this afternoon, and I'm afraid of delaying official business."

Yang Dong's expression remained unchanged as he nodded at Jin Hamin. "Very well, then Town Mayor Jin should go ahead and attend to your duties."

"Town Mayor, I'll head back with you."

Hong Gang, the director of the Administration for Industry and Commerce enforcement station, saw that Jin Hamin was leaving, hastily spoke up, and immediately followed him.

He had enough self-awareness to know that Yang Dong certainly wouldn't welcome him at the dining table.

Therefore, since Jin Hamin was leaving, he had to tag along.

Besides, he was one of Jin Hamin's men; if his own superior was leaving, could he possibly remain behind to eat? Wouldn't that cause his leader to lose face?

Thus, he accompanied Jin Hamin and left Yang Dong's house.

The buzzing sounds of their two motorcycles gradually faded into the distance.

The township was poor, and official vehicles were scarce—there were only two, usually reserved for official trips to the county seat.

When traveling down to the villages, officials almost always chose to ride motorcycles.

It lacked prestige, but there was simply no alternative.

Just how poor Xiashuishui Town was could be seen clearly from the annual government fiscal revenue: in a small town with a population of thirty thousand, the government's fiscal revenue was a mere three million yuan.

That alone illustrated the extreme poverty of Xiashuishui Town.

There were no decent enterprises of any scale, nor any major corporate taxpayers.

The town relied entirely on two paper mills and a popcorn processing plant for tax revenue.

Although there were also two electroplating factories along the shores of Moon Lake in Xiashuishui Town, they paid their taxes directly to Kaiyang County.

Apart from collecting some utility fees for water and electricity, Xiashuishui Town gained absolutely nothing from them.

"These are fish from Moon Lake just behind the village. Three Secretaries, please have a taste."

The group sat down around the dining table.

Yang Dong took the seat of honor and gestured toward Gong Hongyang and the other two.

Moon Lake was located right behind Little Yang Village, and the villagers were permitted to fish in the lower reaches of the lake.

Living by the mountain, one lived off the mountain; living by the water, one lived off the water.

"Mmm, delicious. Fish raised in our own local waters simply tastes fragrant."

Gong Hongyang picked up a piece of garlic-braised fish with his chopsticks and gave a thumbs up.

"That is also thanks to the superb culinary skills of Director Yang's mother."

Deputy Secretary Qi Shan chimed in with a smile, praising Du Yuxiang's cooking.

Yang Jianwen sat at the table, right next to the village party branch secretary, Yang Haomin.

Both men appeared rather restrained and cautious.

Yang Jianwen's restraint stemmed purely from his identity as a farmer; sitting alongside these town leaders, he naturally felt a sense of inferiority.

Fortunately, his son had become a public servant holding an iron rice bowl, which gave him plenty of reason to feel proud.

Yang Haomin's caution, on the other hand, came from the fact that all three men were his superiors. He had to tread carefully to avoid displeasing them, while at the same time making sure not to overshadow Yang Dong.

One had to admit, being a village party secretary was no easy task.

"The wastewater discharged by the two electroplating factories along Moon Lake—does it meet environmental testing standards? Where is it being discharged?"

Yang Dong set down his chopsticks and asked Gong Hongyang.

Gong Hongyang paused mid-motion as he reached for more fish, then laid his chopsticks down as well. With a solemn expression, he looked at Yang Dong and said, "Director Yang—no, Brother Yang, let me be completely honest with you."

"Those two electroplating factories are indeed causing pollution in Moon Lake. They pipe their wastewater directly into the lake to save on treatment costs and avoid the trouble."

"A while back, I went to these two electroplating factories myself to address this issue. Both factory directors nodded and agreed readily, but more than a month has passed, and I haven't seen a single trace of rectification. The wastewater continues to be piped straight into Moon Lake."

"Yesterday at the county committee cafeteria, Brother Yang, you also brought this matter up, but there were some things I couldn't speak of directly in front of the county leaders."

"Now that we're sharing a private meal, I won't lie to you anymore."

"Previously, both the county and the town conducted water quality tests on Moon Lake, and the results all came back normal."

"However, suspecting there was still a problem, I secretly hired an independent testing agency on my own, and the results... were far from reassuring."

At this point, Gong Hongyang's expression darkened heavily.