Chapter 30: Mayor, I Have Something to Report

Shen Yujie said dejectedly, "I took twenty-five screenshots from the video, printed them out, and sent them to Zhang Xing by regular mail from the post office. By the way, that was a couple of days ago, so the photos might not have reached Zhang Xing yet."

"Only twenty-five photos?" Du Long questioned.

Shen Yujie replied, "Yes, I took dozens of screenshots, but I only printed twenty-five and sent them all to Zhang Xing."

Du Long carefully observed Shen Yujie's expression and asked, "With the internet so advanced nowadays, why didn't you send all the photos and the video directly to Zhang Xing online?"

Shen Yujie smiled bitterly, "I used to work in technical surveillance. I know that sending emails can be traced, but sending them by mail from the post office can't be. I didn't plan to give Zhang Xing everything at once, so..."

"You really understand the principle of steady progress..." Du Long sneered, "Let's leave it at that for now. Keep your mouth shut. If I find out you're not being honest, I'll come back, hmpf."

Shen Bingqing, looking at his brother as he dejectedly saw Du Long out, asked curiously, "Brother, is something wrong? Why do you look so down? Du Long's pocket was bulging, did he take something?"

Shen Bingqing's observational skills were quite strong. Shen Yujie shook his head and sighed deeply, "Nothing, don't overthink it. The computer's hard drive was broken, so I had Du Long replace it for me."

"What!" Shen Bingqing almost jumped up, exclaiming, "Du Long took the hard drive away?"

Shen Yujie looked at his younger brother in surprise, "What's wrong? Was there anything important on the hard drive? I'll have him copy all the data to the new hard drive."

Shen Bingqing seemed to want to go out and retrieve the hard drive but thought better of it. Facing his brother's inquiry, he smiled bitterly, "It's not a big deal... Brother, who exactly is this Du Long?"

Shen Yujie slumped on the sofa, his anxiety evident, "He? A new police officer who hasn't even been regularized yet. But our criminal investigation team's captain thinks highly of him. If I hadn't managed to get you transferred to the criminal investigation team, that position would have been his. So... you might face some resistance in the team, but I believe in your abilities. The criminal investigation team values capability. As long as you perform well, everyone will soon forget about Du Long."

Shen Bingqing nodded in understanding, "I see, no wonder he seems to have some hidden hostility towards me... Brother, I told you not to worry about me. I can find a job on my own. Did you do something illegal to get me this position, and did he catch you? Big brother, that's not right, I don't want this job!"

Shen Yujie shook his head, "It's not your fault, really. This job is hard to come by, don't give it up easily."

Shen Bingqing wasn't easily convinced. Just as he was about to continue questioning, Liu Yu came out of the kitchen, clearly unhappy, and shouted, "The food is ready, why isn't anyone here to serve it?"

Shen Bingqing gave Liu Yu a displeased look. Liu Yu, who was used to bullying Shen Yujie, was somewhat afraid of her younger brother-in-law, who was several years younger than her. She was startled by Shen Bingqing's glare and quickly returned to the kitchen.

"Let's eat..." Shen Yujie clearly didn't want to continue the conversation. He stood up and went into the kitchen. Shen Bingqing, feeling helpless, followed. After putting aside his brother's issues, he began to worry about the files he had on his computer. If only he had known... Du Long, having obtained the hard drive, called Mayor Ma again. Ma Guangming was in his office, briefing Secretary Zhang on the afternoon's work when Du Long's call came in. Ma Guangming was now very familiar with Du Long's number; anyone who had been hung up on twice would remember it.

Ma Guangming glanced at the phone with a calm expression, neither answering nor hanging up, letting it ring. He continued to speak to Zhang Xing, "This afternoon, I have a standing committee meeting. Distribute these documents, especially the urgent one to the Wuxi County government. It must be delivered by tomorrow morning. The materials you collected about the Wuxi County Tieling mine, put them on my desk. I'll review them as soon as the meeting is over. That's all."

Zhang Xing nodded and picked up the thick stack of documents. He looked at the ringing phone and asked, "Mayor, aren't you going to answer it?"

Ma Guangming replied, "No, this guy hung up on me twice today."

Zhang Xing raised an eyebrow in surprise and laughed, "Someone dared to hang up on the mayor? It must be Little Nannan, right?"

Ma Guangming shook his head without explaining. He picked up the phone, but the ringing stopped just as he did. He thought to himself, "Is this phone broken? Why does it keep disconnecting?"

Ma Guangming began to suspect that his phone was broken. How could a small police officer keep hanging up on him?

Just as he was thinking this, the phone rang again. Zhang Xing had already left, so Ma Guangming answered, "Du Long? My phone might be broken; it keeps disconnecting automatically. I've already called and asked about your issue, so you can rest assured."

Du Long was taken aback. He didn't expect Mayor Ma to be so understanding, thinking his phone was broken after being hung up on twice? The four thieves' complaint against him had already been resolved? If so, was it necessary to use the evidence he had obtained to threaten him?

While Du Long was weighing the pros and cons, Ma Guangming thought the call had disconnected again and tried calling out, "Du Long? Du Long? Are you still there?"

Du Long felt a bit ashamed and replied, "Mayor Ma, I'm still here. Thank you for your concern. That issue isn't a big deal; the evidence is solid, and they can't bring charges against me. Mayor Ma..."

Ma Guangming laughed, "You are a hero who stands up against criminals. I wouldn't know about it if I hadn't been informed, but now that I know, I will definitely help. There are too few heroes in our society who dare to stand up against criminals!"

Du Long fell silent for a moment, then decided to tell Ma Guangming about the incident. Leaders like Ma Guangming, who are capable and broad-minded, are rare. Although he has some personal issues, they don't overshadow his virtues. Such a good official shouldn't be kept in the dark and ultimately be betrayed by a cunning secretary.

Making this decision, Du Long naturally had some selfish motives. Who can truly be completely selfless? At least Du Long couldn't, and most people can't.

Du Long said solemnly, "Mayor Ma, I have another matter to report to you. It's about the Ming Cui Garden, villa number 304."

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