Chapter 80

Chapter 36: Resistance Will Be Dealt with Strictly, Return Home for the New Year

With Li Dongxing's words, Deputy Mayor Cheng no longer dared to speak up to stop the situation. To do so would be to ignore his superiors. However, he inwardly cursed Sun Yu, thinking to himself, "Didn't I send someone to inform you solemnly, telling you to do everything in your power to pacify the Fang family? How did it come to this—actually having the Fang family file a complaint with the county magistrate?"

Of course, he hated the Fang family even more. Looking at Fang Bin and Fang Mingyuan, a faint trace of murderous intent could be seen in his eyes. This time, Deputy Mayor Cheng had lost face in front of his colleagues—not only had he failed to subdue the Fang family, but he had also suffered at their hands. If this were to spread, his authority in the town government would surely be damaged, and he might even become a laughingstock among his colleagues! However, he also understood that he couldn't do anything to the Fang family for the time being. With Li Dongxing's backing, any retaliation against the Fang family would have to be handled with extreme caution to avoid giving them any leverage.

He was equally furious with Zhao Guirong. "You, a respected deputy mayor, if you have a connection with the Fang family, why didn't you say so? I would have given you some face and been more lenient with the Fang family. What kind of person secretly sets traps?"

Deputy Mayor Cheng blamed everyone but himself. If he hadn't intended to help Guo Datou take over the Fang family's restaurant, how could he have ended up in such an awkward situation?

Sun Yu timidly entered the private room, his heart racing as he saw the various leaders' gazes, each with different implications. Especially Cheng Gong's eyes, filled with anger, made him too afraid to look. On the way up, he had already heard that the Fang family had filed a complaint against him with the new county magistrate. Now, his legs were trembling with fear.

Wu Jiang glanced at Li Dongxing, who nodded slightly.

"Are you Sun Yu, the head of the health inspection department of Hai Zhuang Town Government?" Wu Jiang asked, holding the rectification notice that had already been reviewed by everyone.

"Yes... it's me!" Sun Yu's voice trembled. He forced a smile, but the fat on his face made it look more like a grimace, which was unappealing at first glance.

"Can you tell me which health department regulations this rectification notice for the Fang family's restaurant is based on?" Wu Jiang's voice was not loud, but to Sun Yu, it sounded like thunder.

"This... this..." Sun Yu now dared not repeat the lie about the latest health inspection regulations. Such a lie might fool those unfamiliar with the government's internal mechanisms, but everyone present, except for Fang Bin and Fang Mingyuan, were his superiors. This lie would only hasten his downfall.

"What do you mean by 'this and that'? County Magistrate Li and Secretary Wu are busy, yet they still had to take time to inquire about your disgraceful actions. You're still stammering here! Just tell the truth! Are you trying to extort more money from the Fang family's thriving business?" Cheng Gong slammed the table and scolded him with a fierce look.

Before Sun Yu could answer, Zhao Guirong, dissatisfied, said, "Deputy Mayor Cheng, although the health inspection department is under your jurisdiction, with County Magistrate Li and Secretary Wu here, even Secretary Ji hasn't spoken. How can you interject?" Zhao Guirong had already noticed that County Magistrate Li seemed to be favoring Fang Mingyuan. Since their relationship was now exposed, he decided to openly support Fang Mingyuan. With the county magistrate's backing, Cheng Gong wouldn't dare to do anything to him.

Cheng Gong was seething. He understood the situation, but seeing Sun Yu's fearful appearance, he feared that if he didn't scold him, Sun Yu might crack under pressure and reveal everything. Although his suppression of the Fang family was not a secret in town, as long as it wasn't exposed in an official setting, there would still be room for remediation. If Sun Yu revealed everything in front of so many people, even if the new county magistrate wanted to protect him, he would have to take action. Moreover, the new county magistrate's stance was still unclear, and Cheng Gong had no confidence that he would protect him.

Wu Jiang gave Cheng Gong a cold glance. After so many years in the system, if he couldn't see that Cheng Gong was behind this, how could he have become the county secretary? Cheng Gong was acting too recklessly, interrupting when Wu Jiang was asking questions. If the new county magistrate understood, he would know that Cheng Gong was trying to cover up his mistakes by threatening and bribing Sun Yu before he could be questioned. If the new county magistrate didn't understand, he might think that Wu Jiang lacked authority in the county and couldn't control the subordinates. This guy had been too arrogant, treating the county secretary with disrespect.

Cheng Gong's heart trembled, and he lowered his head, saying no more. He had seen Secretary Wu before, but he had never been treated with such a cold gaze. Clearly, his interruption had made Secretary Wu very unhappy.

"Sun Yu, I am County Magistrate Li Dongxing. I will only tell you a few things: confess and be lenient, resist and be dealt with strictly! Don't think others are fools, and don't think your actions are flawless. There is no such thing as a completely sealed wall!" Li Dongxing suddenly said.

Sun Yu involuntarily shivered, and the fat on his body rippled. He looked at the stern-faced Li Dongxing and Wu Jiang, the purple-faced Secretary Ji, the hostile Cheng Gong, and the others present. His mind was in turmoil. Deputy Mayor Cheng clearly wanted him to take all the blame and not implicate him. But County Magistrate Li had made it clear that if he tried to cover up for others, the punishment would be even more severe. This was a county magistrate speaking!

Even if he was willing to take all the responsibility for Cheng Gong, could this already well-known incident in Hai Zhuang Town be hidden? What would happen when the county magistrate found out? He might even end up in jail. Was it worth taking such a risk for Cheng Gong?

Fang Mingyuan suddenly laughed and said, "Uncle Li, you might not know, but there's another saying in the folk: confess and be lenient, sit in jail; resist and be dealt with strictly, return home for the New Year! Isn't that right, Director Sun? That's what you once said."

"I never said that!" Sun Yu was terrified and quickly denied it.

Li Dongxing's eyebrows shot up, and his eyes flashed with a hint of menace. "Confess and be lenient, sit in jail; resist and be dealt with strictly, return home for the New Year! Sun Yu, I see you are stubborn! Secretary Ji, where is Deputy Director Zhu Dajun of your town? Hand this matter over to him. This will be his last task before his transfer. He must thoroughly investigate and clear up this matter!"

"County Magistrate Li, I'll talk, I'll say everything!" Sun Yu's legs gave out, and he fell to the floor, wailing.

---

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