Chapter 6

Why are the villagers causing trouble?

Under a fallen nest, how can there be an unbroken egg?

Li Yifeng's whole body trembled, and as he was about to ponder the two sentences that Bao Guoqiang "left" for him, his gaze swept over Bao Feiyang standing to the side.

"Who is this?" Li Yifeng's gaze, sharp as a blade, turned to Yan Hongfa.

"Uncle Li, don't you remember me? I'm Feiyang. During the New Year, we met in my uncle's study."

Before Yan Hongfa could introduce him, Bao Feiyang smiled and said.

In the previous life, Bao Feiyang and Li Yifeng were not familiar at this time. It was only after Bao Guoqiang got into trouble that Li Yifeng helped the Bao family by running errands and smoothing things over, gradually becoming familiar with Bao Feiyang.

"Oh, Bao Feiyang. Professor Bao's second son." After Bao Feiyang mentioned this, Li Yifeng also remembered. "Why are you here?"

As Li Yifeng spoke, he glanced at Yan Hongfa, meaning that even if Bao Feiyang was not an outsider, Yan Hongfa should not let Bao Feiyang hear such an important message from the mayor. A young man still in school wouldn't know the gravity of the situation, and if he blurted out the mayor's message, it could cause a lot of trouble!

With Bao Feiyang's experience from two lifetimes, how could he not understand the meaning in Li Yifeng's gaze? So he gave Li Yifeng the simplest and most informative answer: "My uncle sent me."

Li Yifeng's brows, sharp as a knife, furrowed as he pondered the meaning of Bao Feiyang's words. Given the mayor's steady style, if he sent Bao Feiyang at this critical moment, it must be for something very important. Recalling that Yan Hongfa did not avoid Bao Feiyang when relaying Bao Guoqiang's "message," could it be that Bao Guoqiang sent Bao Feiyang because of the Yizhong Petrochemical incident?

Li Yifeng frowned, not speaking, but Bao Feiyang couldn't let him think too much. Time was pressing, and he needed to bring Li Yifeng in.

"Uncle Li, what do you think about what my uncle said?"

Li Yifeng didn't expect Bao Feiyang to ask him instead of Yan Hongfa. It seemed his earlier guess was correct; Bao Feiyang indeed knew something. Otherwise, Bao Guoqiang wouldn't have involved him. Although Li Yifeng thought Bao Feiyang was too young to be involved in such an important matter, he trusted Bao Guoqiang's judgment and decision-making ability. If Bao Guoqiang decided to involve Bao Feiyang, there was no problem! Poor Li Yifeng had no idea that Bao Guoqiang was completely unaware of what was happening, and everything was being orchestrated by Bao Feiyang, using Bao Guoqiang's name.

"Do I need to say?" Li Yifeng glanced at Bao Feiyang with disdain. "If I weren't on the mayor's side, why would I come here at this time?"

Before Li Yifeng gave this affirmative answer, Yan Hongfa's heart was always on edge. Although Bao Feiyang had assured him, he still couldn't believe that Li Yifeng would choose to stand with the fallen Bao Guoqiang and oppose the currently powerful Lu Zhongcheng.

"Director Li, no wonder the mayor always praises you for your firm stance. In critical moments, you are the most reliable!"

When he said this, Yan Hongfa saw Bao Feiyang looking at him with a smile, as if mocking him for using Bao Guoqiang's name to pull strings. He couldn't help but smirk, knowing that these words weren't fabricated. The mayor had indeed praised Li Yifeng before, and he was merely repeating them now.

"Alright, this isn't the time to talk about this, and this isn't the place to talk." Li Yifeng waved his hand, interrupting Yan Hongfa. "Let's find a place to talk."

For Li Yifeng, his decision to stand with Bao Guoqiang was not a momentary impulse but a well-considered choice. First, given Li Yifeng's hatred of evil, he despised people like Lu Zhongcheng, who only knew how to plot and scheme, and would stop at nothing for their interests. He couldn't tolerate working under such a leader, as it would mean abandoning his principles. If Li Yifeng could abandon his principles, he wouldn't be the Li Yifeng he is. Second, a new emperor brings new ministers. Even if Li Yifeng could shamelessly flatter Lu Zhongcheng, he wouldn't gain favor with him. At best, he would only humiliate himself. If Lu Zhongcheng became mayor, he would have a large group of loyal subordinates to promote, and there would be no way he would heavily rely on Li Yifeng, a key figure in the Bao faction. No matter how hard Li Yifeng tried, he would still bear the "Bao" label for a long time. Third, and most importantly, Li Yifeng had already thoroughly offended Lu Weiguo during the Wen Mubai rape case. This was an irreconcilable enmity. As long as Bao Guoqiang was in power, with his protection, Lu Weiguo couldn't do anything to Li Yifeng. But if Bao Guoqiang fell and Lu Zhongcheng became mayor, Lu Weiguo would seize every opportunity to take revenge on Li Yifeng.

Li Yifeng had already pondered these issues countless times. He knew that in this major political upheaval in Yizhong, he either had to stand with Bao Guoqiang and help him find a way to turn the tide, or wait for Lu Zhongcheng to take power and settle accounts. Even if he wanted to stay out of it, Lu Weiguo wouldn't give him any chance. That's why he rushed back from Eerhote, had his driver wait for him at the train station, and immediately headed to the airport to discuss strategies with Bao Guoqiang.

This scene had already played out once in the previous life. However, at that time, Bao Guoqiang didn't leave any message before the plane took off. So when Yan Hongfa saw Li Yifeng rush over, he didn't know what to do. By the time Bao Guoqiang returned from Japan two weeks later, everything was already set, and they had no chance to counter.

But in this life, with Bao Feiyang's rebirth, everything changed. The two fabricated messages from Bao Guoqiang ignited Li Yifeng's fighting spirit—since the mayor had left instructions, he had to do everything in his power to fulfill the mayor's wishes and fight against Lu Zhongcheng to the end.

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Although in 1992, Yizhong City didn't have private clubs like in later years, as the deputy director of the provincial capital's public security bureau, it was very easy for Li Yifeng to find a convenient place to talk.

Half an hour later, Li Yifeng brought Bao Feiyang and Yan Hongfa to a privately contracted fish pond by the Yellow River. The owner of the fish pond brought out three bamboo chairs and placed them under a large willow tree by the pond, then brought three fishing rods and discreetly disappeared.

Bao Feiyang held a fishing rod and sat on a bamboo chair, his gaze sweeping around. He couldn't help but admit that Li Yifeng, with his decades of experience in criminal investigation, had chosen a safe and secluded place to talk. The two conspicuous official cars were parked far away in the reeds, and the fish pond was very open. They could see anyone approaching from any direction.

"Xiao Yan," Li Yifeng grabbed a worm and threaded it onto the hook, skillfully casting the line. "Tell me everything you know about the Yizhong Petrochemical incident, in as much detail as possible!"

On the way from the train station to the airport, Li Yifeng had already heard his driver recount the Yizhong Petrochemical incident. But at this moment, he still wanted to hear it from Yan Hongfa. Given Yan Hongfa's position and his central role in the incident, he must have a lot of details and information that others didn't know.

"On the morning of May 2nd, an accident occurred in the office building of the Yizhong Petrochemical 50,000-ton ethylene expansion project. The steel cable of the hoist basket broke, and it fell from the fifth floor. Five migrant workers in the basket, two died on the spot, and three were seriously injured."

"That afternoon, the families of the two deceased brought many people to the project command center to demand an explanation. The deputy director of the command center, Zhu Shanhe, ordered the security department to disperse the crowd and arrest the leaders..."

"What?" Li Yifeng couldn't help but frown. "What is Zhu Shanhe doing? How can he arrest people at this time? Isn't he just pouring oil on the fire and escalating the conflict?"

"Yes! Because of what Zhu Shanhe did, the situation spiraled out of control," Yan Hongfa said. "The next morning, over 2,000 villagers from Hongxing Village blocked the Ninghai railway, forcing the disaster relief train to stop. By this time, the mayor had already learned about the incident, but it was too late. The impact of the forced stop of the disaster relief train was significant, and it had already alarmed the central leadership..."

"The mayor questioned Zhu Shanhe, asking why he didn't report the incident and why he arrested the families of the deceased. Zhu Shanhe tearfully admitted his mistake to the mayor, saying that the election was about to start, and the ethylene expansion project was personally overseen by the mayor. He was worried that if the incident became public, it would affect the mayor's reputation and the election. So he tried to suppress it temporarily and deal with it after the election. He never expected that the villagers from Hongxing Village would block the Ninghai railway. He was well-intentioned but made a mistake!"

"Well-intentioned but made a mistake? I don't think it's that simple!" Li Yifeng snorted.

"You know what happened next. The Central Commission sent a special task force, and they received multiple anonymous letters accusing the mayor of corruption in the Yizhong Petrochemical ethylene expansion project. Some old cadres who had been refused projects by the mayor also took the opportunity to say many things against him. The situation quickly deteriorated. On May 8th, the provincial leadership called the mayor for a talk, saying that given the current special circumstances, to ensure the smooth conduct of the election and to protect the mayor himself, they decided to have him withdraw from the mayoral election. The mayor asked who would replace him as the candidate for mayor, and the provincial leadership said it would be Lu Zhongcheng..."

"The situation is clear; it must be Lu Zhongcheng's doing." After hearing Yan Hongfa's account, Li Yifeng said, "Zhu Shanhe can't escape responsibility either. If it weren't for his foolish actions, the villagers wouldn't have caused trouble."

At this point, he paused and looked at Yan Hongfa. "The mayor asked me to investigate why the villagers caused trouble, but he didn't mean to investigate Zhu Shanhe, did he?"

"Of course not." Bao Feiyang answered Li Yifeng. "As a deputy department-level official, an investigation of Zhu Shanhe would require the approval of the municipal party committee. Additionally, as the deputy director of the ethylene expansion project command center, Zhu Shanhe is a key focus of the Central Commission's special task force. Investigating him now would alert the special task force!"

Hearing Bao Feiyang's professional and experienced response, Li Yifeng couldn't help but look at him in surprise. This young man didn't seem like a college student at all but rather a seasoned official! Recalling Bao Feiyang's earlier statement that Bao Guoqiang had sent him, he couldn't help but ask, "Then what do you think the mayor's plan is?"