At the sa ti, in i He City Governnt, after Dong Xuebing hung up the phone, Deputy City Mayor Hua Li, sitting in his office, slamd the table, suppressed his anger, and imdiately called Cheng Gang County.
Ring, ring, ring
Li Zhixin's phone connected.
"Hello, Mayor Hua," Li Zhixin answered.
Hua Li's tone was soft as he spoke, "Are you still at the hospital, Old Li?"
"No, I left after making sure they were fine. I'm in the county now. Just had a brief eting with the secretary. I left my secretary and a few others at the hospital," Li Zhixin replied.
Hua Li said, "I just talked to Mayor Xie's husband. This Deputy Mayor from Zhen Shui County is fussing about nothing. It's just an accident, but he's making a big deal out of it. The quality of Zhen Shui County leaders is quite sothing. If his wife weren't injured now, I would have considered having the Disciplinary Committee investigate how he was appointed. It's outrageous."
Li Zhixin sneered, "We've seen his work style before. Last ti, he beat up twenty of our villagers, causing disfigurent and broken legs. Don't even ntion it." Even though it was Li Zhixin's people who intercepted and tried to rob the Zhen Shui County vehicles last ti, resorting to violence, Dong Xuebing was acting in self-defense. But now, with Li Zhixin's words, it seed like Zhen Shui County was entirely at fault.
Hua Li might also be aware of that incident but chose not to dwell on it. He did not respond and continued, "Be cautious. I think this Dong Xuebing wants to escalate the matter."
"I understand, Mayor Hua."
"Make sure to control the impact. Do you understand?" Hua Li advised.
Li Zhixin nodded. Mayor Hua's words set the tone, reassuring them. They didn't want this incident to escalate in Cheng Gang County or i He City. Li Zhixin stated, "I understand. It was indeed an accident. Nobody touched Mayor Xie. She tripped when she turned around to run."
Hua Li made a sound of agreent. "Handle it on your end."
Whether it was a trip or a collision, the nature of the incident was entirely different. However, Hua Li didn't care whether Xie Huilan was pushed or fell on her own. He only knew they couldn't let this incident tarnish their image. Moreover, Hua Li believed that considering the chaotic situation at the ti, so collision was inevitable. If Xie Huilan had suffered injuries or lost the child, it would be another matter. However, since the mother and child were safe, Hua Li naively thought the matter should end here. Therefore, seeing the emotional response of Xie Huilan's husband, Hua Li decided to make this call to remind Cheng Gang County.
Li Zhixin understood Hua Li's intentions.
On the other side, at the hospital.
Staircase.
Dong Xuebing returned the phone to the Fen Zhou Educational Bureau official. He knew it was Liao Yimin's phone. "Where is Director Liao?"
The person replied, "He's downstairs."
Dong Xuebing asked, "What are they doing downstairs?"
The response ca, "Just t people from Cheng Gang County."
Dong Xuebing squinted, "Where is their County Mayor, Li Zhixin?"
"He might have already gone back. I didn't see him," the person replied indignantly.
Dong Xuebing vividly rembered the situation when Huilan and the child were being rescued. He could recall that everyone else was standing, but Li Zhixin remained seated, unapologetic for knocking down Huilan. After the surgery, he casually checked and left. He found this attitude disdainful and arrogant.
The Fen Zhou City official, who had just guessed the content of Dong Xuebing's conversation with the city leaders, was outraged and slightly puzzled.
Why was Cheng Gang County so arrogant?
Why did the city show such favoritism toward Cheng Gang County?
Even if it was a leader from another city, Mayor Xie was still a Deputy City Mayor. She was treated so poorly here, and no one stood up to speak.
He didn't understand.
But Dong Xuebing did.
Although Fen Zhou City, where Dong Xuebing worked, wasn't wealthy, it was relatively better off. Fen Zhou was close to the capital, and its economic developnt and residents' living standards were decent. Even in poorer counties like Yan Tai, they weren't purely at the grassroots level. On the contrary, places like Fen Zhou, i He City, and Cheng Gang County were the real grassroots. The robust local character and impoverished life naturally determined the different work styles of leaders. They were resolute, harsh, and quick to shift responsibility and cover things up at the first sign of trouble. This was a common phenonon here.
Moreover, Dong Xuebing had conflicts with the city before, seizing back several million RMB for Zhen Shui County. Ultimately, he even took an additional one million from the city, which disgusted them. With Xie Huilan receiving such despicable treatnt this ti, nobody from the city spoke up. Even though Xie Huilan was a Deputy Mayor, the people's attitudes would certainly change a bit once they heard she was Dong Xuebing's wife. They were unaware of Huilan's background, perhaps thinking that an external Deputy City Mayor from a remote city wasn't as important as their people.
So, they chose not to address the issue.
They didn't even bother to understand the facts.
Their first reaction was to cover up the incident.
If it were soone else, dealing with such a situation might be challenging, especially on soone else's turf. But they encountered Dong Xuebing.
No injustice could escape Dong Xuebing's pursuit.
"Where are they?"
"Uh, who are you referring to?"
"The people who pushed Huilan aside at that ti."
"Downstairs. Director Liao and his people are having a dispute with those guys."
"I heard from Huilan that there were seven people."
"Except for their Mayor, who isn't here, everyone else is downstairs. Oh, by the way, the President of the construction company is also gone, so there are just five people."
Dong Xuebing responded with a nod and headed straight downstairs.
Sensing Dong Xuebing's agitation, the Fen Zhou City official knew County Mayor Dong was about to lose his temper.
Downstairs.
Before reaching the scene, Dong Xuebing in the corridor could hear the heated argunts, including Liao Yimin's voice, which he recognized imdiately.
Old Liao had been holding back his anger for too long today, from when Mayor Xie fell until now. Finally, he couldn't bear it any longer and clashed with the people from Cheng Gang County.
Others from Fen Zhou City were also involved.
"Say it again!"
"You pushed soone and still have the nerve!"
"Don't think we didn't see. Step forward and admit you had pushed Mayor Xie!"
"Don't expect to leave this matter unsettled today. You must give us an explanation!"
"What kind of people are you? Ignoring a pregnant woman and pushing her down to clear the way for yourself. Are you still human?"
A noisy confrontation ensued.
Several patients and doctors had gathered around.
A few nurses considered approaching to remind them they were in a hospital. Still, a head nurse held them back, probably recognizing that County officials were among them.
People from Cheng Gang County wore grim expressions.
The Mayor's secretary, a tall and robust figure Zhou Wei, stepped forward in front of the Fen Zhou City officials, saying, "Who pushed? I didn't see anything."
They were all part of the Project Command Center this ti, including two from the Planning Bureau and two from Cheng Gang County's governnt office.
"I didn't see it either."
"Are you accusing us??"
"Mayor Xie tripped on her own. Why are you blaming us?"
"This was an unexpected accident. No one wanted to see such a thing happen. Don't falsely accuse others. I'm telling you."
The people from Cheng Gang County seed to be easily agitated.
Liao Yimin and the Fen Zhou City officials were infuriated. They hadn't expected such an attitude. They had seen it then. Soone from inside had pushed or bumped into Mayor Xie. They believed that people from Cheng Gang County couldn't be unaware and must be fully aware of the truth. In their view, the other party should be feeling guilty and remorseful for what happened to Mayor Xie. However, they did not admit it and acted arrogantly, stubbornly insisting that Mayor Xie tripped. It was a complete distortion of reality.
Even Liao Yimin, an education official, couldn't help but want to resort to violence. He couldn't believe that these people standing before him were officials from Cheng Gang County.
Where would you find such officials?
Even the basic human decency seed to be lacking.
A Fen Zhou City official couldn't help but curse out loud.
The people from Cheng Gang County, led by Secretary Zhou Wei, glared at them with an air of righteousness. However, their true thoughts remained known only to themselves.
Seeing this scene, Dong Xuebing said nothing. He looked at Zhou Wei and the other four for a mont. These were five of the people who had nearly caused Huilan's death due to the unsafe storage of construction materials at the new County Party Committee compound. Dong Xuebing's expression showed no anger but rather a calm deanor. Since hanging up with Deputy Mayor Hua, Dong Xuebing has maintained this composed expression.
The Fen Zhou City people noticed Dong Xuebing's arrival.
"Mayor Dong."
"County Mayor Dong, co quickly."
"They won't admit it and are still staring at us."
Zhou Wei shouted, "Admit what? With the strong wind today, no one could have avoided it under those circumstances. Are you not done yet?" Even with Dong Xuebing's arrival, Zhou Wei didn't give him any face and continued yelling.
Mayor Xie had just escaped from a life-threatening situation, and according to expectations, even if they were from Cheng Gang County, they shouldn't have this kind of attitude. However, they were more arrogant than ever, as if they were angered by being wrongly accused. The more they acted this way, the more it exposed their guilt.
Dong Xuebing looked deeply at Zhou Wei. At this mont, he had already formulated a way to deal with them. When it ca to being ruthless, he never hesitated.
Evidence was no longer needed.
You don't need to admit it anymore.
Regardless of who pushed Huilan, the outco would be the sa.
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