Chapter 5

Pao Feiyang reached into his back pocket and pulled out a half-pack of crumpled soft Zhonghua cigarettes. These were the ones he had found in Bao Guoqiang's study during the May Day holiday. Although Pao Feiyang had kept them in his pocket, he had never really smoked them. At this moment, he took them out, which seemed to have a flavor of "taking from the people and using it for the people."

"Come, have a cigarette." Pao Feiyang extended his hand and offered one to Yan Hongfa, then took another for himself and carefully put the crumpled pack back into his pocket.

Yan Hongfa, though young, was a standard old smoker. He had been so worried about Bao Guoqiang's situation that he had temporarily forgotten to smoke. Seeing Pao Feiyang offer him a cigarette, it immediately triggered his craving. He snatched the cigarette from Pao Feiyang, lit it with a lighter, and took a deep drag, almost burning half the cigarette. He held his breath for a long time, then leaned back in his chair and exhaled a long stream of smoke.

Pao Feiyang's nicotine addiction was not as severe; he smoked mostly for fun. He held the cigarette and slowly puffed, saying nothing. After Yan Hongfa finished the entire cigarette, Pao Feiyang suddenly spoke: "Brother Yan, tell me the truth, how has my uncle treated you?"

Hearing Pao Feiyang call him "Brother Yan" for the first time with such seriousness, Yan Hongfa also became solemn: "The mayor has been a great benefactor to me. Without the mayor, I would have either been killed or imprisoned."

Pao Feiyang had heard about Yan Hongfa's situation from his parents' casual conversations. He knew that Yan Hongfa was not just flattering him but speaking the truth.

At that time, both Bao Guoqiang and Lu Zhongcheng were vice mayors in Zhongtian City. The only difference was that Bao Guoqiang was the executive vice mayor and a member of the city's Party committee, while Lu Zhongcheng was just an ordinary vice mayor. Yan Hongfa was originally a driver for the city government's car pool.

Yan Hongfa had a younger sister named Yan Xiaolei, who was very beautiful. One day, the wall of their family's courtyard in their hometown collapsed, and his father asked Yan Xiaolei to go to the city government's car pool office to get money from Yan Hongfa to repair the wall. Unfortunately, Yan Hongfa was out on a job, so Yan Xiaolei waited in the car pool office for him to return.

By around 8 PM, Yan Hongfa still hadn't returned, and all the drivers in the car pool office had left, leaving only Yan Xiaolei waiting. At this moment, Lu Weiguo, drunk, came to the city government and somehow ended up at the car pool duty room. He was immediately attracted by Yan Xiaolei's beauty and approached her, trying to molest her. Yan Xiaolei screamed and tried to run out, but Lu Weiguo grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

Just as Yan Xiaolei was about to be violated, Yan Hongfa returned from his job. He heard Yan Xiaolei's screams before he even reached the car pool office. He rushed in and saw Lu Weiguo about to force a kiss on Yan Xiaolei. Enraged, Yan Hongfa lunged forward and beat Lu Weiguo, who screamed in pain. The security guards arrived just in time to save Lu Weiguo from Yan Hongfa's fists.

Lu Weiguo, having suffered a great deal, refused to let it go. He falsely accused Yan Xiaolei of being a thief, claiming he caught her stealing in the car pool. He said he was trying to catch her in the act when he was attacked by Yan Hongfa, her accomplice. He demanded that the security department severely punish the thief Yan Xiaolei and the accomplice and attacker Yan Hongfa.

Although the security department knew Lu Weiguo was making a fuss, they could not ignore the fact that his father was a vice mayor. Yan Hongfa was just an ordinary driver. It would be a loss to offend the son of a vice mayor over an ordinary driver. So, they had to detain Yan Hongfa and Yan Xiaolei. It was then that Yan Hongfa realized he had beaten the son of Vice Mayor Lu Zhongcheng, causing a major disaster. He didn't care about his own punishment, but he was worried that his innocent sister would be ruined if she was sent to the police as a thief.

So, Yan Hongfa told the security department that he would take all the blame if they would release his sister. A sympathetic security officer advised Yan Hongfa to seek help from Executive Vice Mayor Bao Guoqiang. After hearing Yan Hongfa's story, Bao Guoqiang sent someone to verify the situation and confirmed that Yan Hongfa's account was true. He then instructed the security department to release Yan Xiaolei and drop the charges.

However, when Lu Weiguo learned that the security department had released Yan Xiaolei and her brother, he was not satisfied. But upon hearing that it was Executive Vice Mayor Bao Guoqiang's order, he backed off.

Not long after, Bao Guoqiang's driver, Old Feng, retired, and Bao Guoqiang personally appointed Yan Hongfa as his new driver. Given his past experience, Yan Hongfa was naturally loyal to Bao Guoqiang. Combined with his good work ability, he became one of Bao Guoqiang's trusted confidants, along with Secretary Zhou Shugang.

"… The mayor not only saved me but also saved my sister!"

Pao Feiyang nodded and looked at Yan Hongfa, saying, "Brother Yan, have you ever thought about what would happen if Lu Zhongcheng became the mayor?"

Yan Hongfa's heart trembled. This was a question he had been unwilling to consider. He had been pretending to be ignorant, hoping that Lu Zhongcheng would fail in the upcoming election due to his poor character. Now that Pao Feiyang had brought it up, he could not avoid thinking about it seriously.

"Ah, what could happen?" Yan Hongfa sighed, "If I can't avoid it, I'll just follow the mayor and try to stay out of the Lu family's sight."

"But what if even my uncle can't protect himself, what will you do?"

"Mayor Bao can't protect himself? Impossible!" Yan Hongfa widened his eyes, "Even if Lu Zhongcheng becomes the mayor, Mayor Bao can still serve as a member of the city's Party committee if he can't stay in the city government. Besides, Lu Zhongcheng is only a half-level above Mayor Bao. It would be hard for him to do anything to Mayor Bao, right?"

"You're being too naive," Pao Feiyang shook his head, "If a tiger doesn't intend to harm a person, the person might still be harmed by the tiger! My uncle, as a long-serving member of the city's Party committee and acting mayor, has a higher rank and seniority than Lu Zhongcheng. Yet, he was mysteriously dragged into the mud and lost his candidacy for mayor. Now, the situation is about to reverse, and Lu Zhongcheng is likely to become the mayor in a few days, surpassing my uncle. If Lu Zhongcheng is determined to harm my uncle, the outcome is obvious, isn't it?"

"You're right!" Once Pao Feiyang pointed it out, Yan Hongfa couldn't help but shudder, "Lu Zhongcheng is vengeful and cunning. With the mayor's straightforward character, if Lu Zhongcheng really targets him, he will suffer greatly."

"What do you mean 'if Lu Zhongcheng really targets him'?" Pao Feiyang sneered, "Lu Zhongcheng has already made his move! Brother Yan, I ask you, as soon as my uncle lost his candidacy, Lu Zhongcheng appeared. Do you believe that the Zhongtian Petrochemical incident was not orchestrated by Lu Zhongcheng? Since Lu Zhongcheng has already shown his true colors, he will definitely continue to target my uncle after he becomes the mayor, and he won't stop."

"You're right!" Yan Hongfa suddenly remembered, "Feiyang, is the matter Mayor Bao asked you to investigate related to Zhongtian Petrochemical? Has the mayor also noticed something? Have you already found out that Lu Zhongcheng is behind it?"

"If it is Lu Zhongcheng behind it, what do you think we should do?" Pao Feiyang did not answer Yan Hongfa's question but asked a counter-question.

"What should we do? We should find a way to expose Lu Zhongcheng's plot!" Yan Hongfa clenched his fist.

"Brother Yan, you need to think carefully. If we fail in our fight against Lu Zhongcheng, the consequences will be severe," Lin Yuanfang deliberately said with a stern face.

"Damn!" Yan Hongfa punched Pao Feiyang in the chest, "You're trying to provoke me, aren't you? I understand this better than you. Even if I don't fight Lu Zhongcheng, once Mayor Bao is brought down, my fate will be just as bad. If the skin is gone, where will the hair attach?"

Yan Hongfa quoted a proverb and then continued, "I, Yan Hongfa, am a man. Regardless of anything else, for the sake of Mayor Bao saving my sister, I will risk my life to help expose Lu Zhongcheng's plot!"

"Brother Yan, you're a good man. I didn't misjudge you," Pao Feiyang rubbed his sore chest and laughed.

"Don't give me this flattery," Yan Hongfa snorted, "Tell me, how can we help the mayor? The mayor is going to Japan for half a month, and we can't contact him now... Should we wait for him to come back in half a month? By then, it might be too late!"

"Being unable to contact my uncle doesn't mean we can't do anything," Pao Feiyang handed Yan Hongfa a cigarette, "From the intelligence I have, the engineering accident at Zhongtian Petrochemical and the Ninghai Railway incident are closely linked, and it's almost certain that Lu Weiguo, Lu Zhongcheng's son, is behind them. What we need to do is find solid evidence before the two sessions and submit it, to take back the mayor's candidacy that Lu Zhongcheng obtained through deceit!"

"That makes sense," Yan Hongfa smoked and smiled bitterly, "But there are only six days left until the two sessions. With just the two of us, even if we know Lu Weiguo is behind it, where can we find the evidence?"

"Who said it's just the two of us?" Pao Feiyang laughed and pointed at Yan Hongfa's Motorola digital display, "Didn't Director Li say he would be here soon?"

"You mean we should seek help from Director Li?" Yan Hongfa's eyes brightened, then dimmed, "With Director Li's position, how can we command him?"

"Although we can't command him, my uncle can!" Pao Feiyang said.

"But Mayor Bao is on the plane to Japan..."

Before he finished, Yan Hongfa suddenly stopped and looked at Pao Feiyang, "You're not asking me to falsely claim an order from the mayor, are you?"

"What false order? I was late and didn't have time to report to my uncle. If my uncle heard my report, he would definitely leave a message for Director Li to investigate."

"Will Director Li not act?" Yan Hongfa thought for a moment and said.

"You know Director Li better than I do. What do you think?" Pao Feiyang asked.

"Well, I'm not sure..." Yan Hongfa hesitated, "I'm just a driver. The worst that can happen is losing my administrative position. But Director Li is the deputy director of the city's public security bureau and the head of the criminal investigation team. Without a direct order from Mayor Bao, can he make the decision?"

"Ha! I can clearly tell you, he can, he can!" Pao Feiyang laughed, "Do you remember the major case at the Red Tea Dance Hall two years ago?"

"I remember!"

"The main culprit, Wen Mubai, who was sentenced to death, is Lu Weiguo's brother-in-law."

"Ah, there's that connection?" Yan Hongfa was surprised.

"Yes!" Pao Feiyang said, "This case was personally supervised by Director Li. He withstood pressure from all sides and made it an ironclad case. It was Director Li who sent Wen Mubai to the executioner. If my uncle falls this time and Lu Zhongcheng becomes the mayor, do you understand what will happen?"

"Director Li will definitely be held accountable!" Yan Hongfa scratched his head and asked Pao Feiyang, "Aren't you always studying at the university? Where did you get this information? I'm quite familiar with Director Li, but he never mentioned it to me."

Pao Feiyang smiled mysteriously and did not answer Yan Hongfa's question.

In fact, he knew about this from his past life. In his past life, shortly after his uncle was framed and imprisoned, Li Yifeng was also removed from his position as deputy director of the public security bureau and was sent to be the deputy director of the Zhongtian City Fisheries Bureau. Before Pao Feiyang went to Yu Dong, he visited Li Yifeng at the Fisheries Bureau. Li Yifeng told him about this secret, sighing deeply.

As they were talking, a white Santana police car approached. Yan Hongfa, with his sharp eyes, recognized the license plate.

"It's Director Li's car, he's here." He got out of the car.

"Brother Yan." Pao Feiyang grabbed Yan Hongfa and whispered in his ear, "When you see Director Li, tell him that my uncle only left two messages for him. The first is, why did the villagers suddenly cause trouble? The second is, when the nest is overturned, can any eggs remain unbroken? After that, I will speak!"

"Got it! I understand!"

Yan Hongfa nodded and got out of the car with Pao Feiyang, waving to the Santana police car.

The Santana police car stopped, and a lean, middle-aged police officer jumped out, immediately asking Yan Hongfa, "Yan, where's the mayor