Chapter 38: We Shall See

After finishing his morning tasks, Qin Feng returned with Li Dejun in a van.

Upon entering his office, Qin Feng asked Lin Xiaoyan directly, "Has all the money been distributed?"

"It has. Just as you predicted, Chang Yong came storming over, ordering us to stop the payouts and demanding we claw back the money already given out. He ended up being surrounded by the angry crowd; fortunately, he stopped talking, or he might have been beaten," Lin Xiaoyan said, unable to suppress a laugh.

"What did you tell him about why we were distributing the money today?"

"I said the distribution schedule was set long ago and that everyone had been notified to collect their payments today, not decided on a whim."

"Brilliant!" Qin Feng chuckled and gave Lin Xiaoyan a thumbs-up.

"Chang Yong wants you to go to his office immediately after you return. He looked like he wanted to devour you whole. I advise you not to go," Lin Xiaoyan warned.

"I have to go. Besides, with his physique, could he really swallow me?" Qin Feng laughed heartily. "Go and tell everyone that I’m treating them to a meal at the Bishan Hotel at noon. But tell them to keep it quiet—we need to keep this low-profile."

Qin Feng turned and headed upstairs, walking straight toward Chang Yong's office. He knocked on the door.

"Who is it? Come in!" Chang Yong roared from inside; it was clear he was in a foul mood.

Chang Yong was responsible for all the engineering projects in Bishan Township, and a certain Boss Xu was his regular contractor. Wang Yunfei would hand projects to Chang Yong, who would then pass them all to Boss Xu. The potential for kickbacks between these three was obvious.

Early last year, Wang Yunfei suddenly decided to renovate the government office building—repainting the exterior, remodeling the courtyard, and redecorating several leadership offices—with a total budget of one million yuan. For an impoverished township like Bishan, a million was a massive sum. After the project was completed, the treasury was empty. Wang Yunfei and Chang Yong had to scramble to pull funds from every corner just to pay Boss Xu six or seven hundred thousand yuan.

Recently, a sum of money arrived in the Civil Affairs Office account. Chang Yong reported this to Wang Yunfei, and the two set their sights on those funds. They thought it was a sure thing—after all, with Wang Yunfei personally involved, would Qin Feng dare to refuse? Nobody expected Qin Feng to pull a stunt like this.

Just moments ago, in Wang Yunfei's office, Chang Yong had been viciously berated. Although the money was in the Civil Affairs account, Wang Yunfei could have found a way to intercept it even if Qin Feng disagreed. But Qin Feng had acted faster, effectively slapping Wang Yunfei in the face. Naturally, Wang Yunfei was furious and took it all out on Chang Yong. Meanwhile, Boss Xu kept calling to demand his money. While Boss Xu was the one doing the work, the lion's share of the profits went elsewhere, and now he couldn't even recover his costs. Would he let Chang Yong off the hook?

It had been the most miserable morning of Chang Yong's career, and the culprit was Qin Feng. He now harbored deep-seated hatred for him. As Chang Yong looked up, he saw Qin Feng walking in with a beaming smile.

"You still dare to show your face here?" Chang Yong said coldly.

"Township Head Chang, I’m here to offer my self-criticism."

"I’d like to see how you justify this," Chang Yong said through gritted teeth.

"The money arrived several days ago. The day it arrived, I had them coordinate and set this morning for the distribution."

"Last night, I intended to call and tell them to suspend the distribution, but... as you know, I drank too much last night. I wasn't clear-headed, I completely forgot about it, and I went straight to sleep when I got home."

"This morning, I was called away early by Township Head Li to visit the anti-Japanese war veterans in Huangshi Village, and it completely slipped my mind. When I just returned, they told me the money had all been handed out. That’s when I realized I had messed up."

"I'm sorry, Township Head Chang. This is all due to my failure to follow through on my work," Qin Feng said, putting on a show of contrition.

As he listened, Chang Yong sneered. Everyone present was an old fox; who didn't know what the other was thinking? Chang Yong knew perfectly well whether the facts were as Qin Feng claimed.

"Qin Feng, you know the truth, I know the truth, and the Township Head knows it even better," Chang Yong said coldly. "Do you think that just because Xu Guoli gave you the position of Director of the Civil Affairs Office, you can act without restraint? You're too naive, kid. You haven't just slapped my face this time; you've slapped Township Head Wang's as well."

"I'll remember today's events. We'll see how this plays out... Heh heh..."

Qin Feng had anticipated Chang Yong's attitude. As he walked out of the office, he dropped his humble facade and sneered as well. When he decided to act last night, he had already prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Qin Feng headed downstairs and went straight to the Bishan Hotel.

Just as Qin Feng emerged from the office, Hong Haifeng happened to walk by the stairs and saw him. After a moment of thought, Hong turned around and went up to Xu Guoli's office.

"Secretary Xu, there's something I think I should report to you," Hong said, hesitating.

"Don't be wishy-washy. If you have something to say, say it."

"I just saw Qin Feng leaving Chang Yong's office."

"What's so surprising about that?"

"The main thing is that after work yesterday evening, Qin Feng got into Wang Yunfei's car," Hong reminded him.

"Oh?" Xu Guoli didn't care much about Chang Yong, but once Wang Yunfei was involved, he had to take it seriously—especially hearing that Wang had personally sent a car to pick up Qin Feng.

"I asked the owner of the Bishan Hotel. Last night, Wang Yunfei treated Qin Feng to dinner there. There were no outsiders—just Wang Yunfei, Chang Yong, and that contractor surnamed Xu. The contractor paid the bill, and they drank quite a lot," Hong continued.

Xu Guoli frowned. Wang Yunfei inviting Qin Feng to dinner and sending a car to fetch him—the implications were self-evident.