Chapter 25

At the Standing Committee meeting, as Zhou Dalong had expected, the five Standing Committee members led by Zhang Daxian strongly demanded that the relevant responsible persons be held accountable and that the county party office staff who accompanied the business recruitment be dealt with severely. They also insisted on holding the county party office responsible for Jameson's unauthorized outing.

Zhang Daxian proposed that Jameson must be punished according to public security regulations. He said that it was not the Qing Dynasty anymore, and the Chinese people had already stood up. Foreigners who broke the law in China should also be punished and not be ignored for the sake of business recruitment. Otherwise, the leadership of Wuhe County would be criticized by the people as weak and easily bullied, turning into "second-rate devils" at the sight of foreigners.

The situation itself was unreasonable for the county party office. After all, the staff responsible for taking care of Luo Lun and Jameson were from the county party office. Jameson's late-night outing, which the county party office was unaware of, led to his arrest. Even Chen Yuan, the director of the county party office, could not find a reason to defend the situation.

Under the pressure of the situation, Zhou Dalong had to swallow his anger. He was already at a disadvantage and could not pursue the deputy head of the public security team, Wang Biao, who had strictly enforced the public security regulations at the meeting. In the end, he could only prioritize business recruitment and propose a low-key handling of Jameson's prostitution incident.

To support the county's business recruitment work, the public security punishment for Jameson could be reduced at his discretion, avoiding his detention. However, Jameson must be fined, and the fine could be set at the minimum standard of 100 yuan. Fortunately, Zhou Dalong could still control the Standing Committee, and his proposal was passed by a show of hands.

After the Standing Committee meeting, Zhou Dalong threw a cup in his office. Jameson had left the Wuhe Hotel alone, and no one in the hotel had noticed. Moreover, the police had found the salon where Jameson was and caught him red-handed, indicating that this was a premeditated action.

Who in Wuhe County could command the Wuhe Hotel and the Public Security Bureau Chief Luo Song? It was obvious that it was Zhang Daxian. No one else would take such action at this critical moment.

Fortunately, Jimmy had gone to Wuhe Township with Yang Jie, and Luo Lun was sleeping, so the incident involving Jameson had not yet escalated. There was still a chance to salvage the situation. Considering that Yang Jie had established a good personal relationship with Jimmy and was fluent in English, he could have a friendly conversation with Jameson.

Therefore, Zhou Dalong asked Chen Yuan to quickly go to Wuhe Township to bring Yang Jie back to the county to handle the matter.

The Santana drove quickly, and by the time Chen Yuan had finished explaining the details of the incident, the car had already entered the county town.

"Secretary Zhou and Secretary Lei are waiting for you in the county party office. They can't handle this matter directly, so we'll go see the secretaries first and then take you to the public security team later," Chen Yuan said, seeing that the Santana had already entered the county party compound, and he looked at the thoughtful Yang Jie.

"Indeed, the secretaries can't handle this matter directly. Actually, no county party leader can handle it, as it is such a disgraceful incident that Jameson wouldn't want everyone to know about it," Yang Jie nodded in understanding. It was a wise move for the county not to send a leader to the public security team.

In the secretary's office on the fifth floor of the county party building, Zhou Dalong and Lei Shuping were sitting in the office, frowning and smoking, filling the room with smoke. The ashtray was already full of cigarette butts, indicating how bad their mood was.

"Secretary, Yang Jie is here!" Chen Yuan knocked on the door, pushed it open, and ignored the smoke in the office.

"Bring him in quickly!" Zhou Dalong's spirits lifted when he heard this. He extinguished the cigarette in his hand, got up, and opened the window to let the smoke out.

Yang Jie followed Chen Yuan into the office and looked at the spacious and simply decorated secretary's office. Apart from a row of bookshelves, a large desk, a boss's chair, a set of guest sofas, a coffee table, and two armchairs, there was nothing else.

Zhou Dalong's home, Yang Jie had visited a few times, but his office was the first time. Seeing Zhou Dalong and Lei Shuping sitting on the sofa, he said, "Secretary, Secretary Lei, Yang Jie is here to report!"

"Good! Xiao Jie, we've been waiting for you!" Zhou Dalong was satisfied with Yang Jie's calm and composed demeanor and nodded. After asking Yang Jie to sit down, he said in a serious tone, "I'm sure Director Chen has already told you about Jameson's incident?"

"Director Chen has already told me. Jameson's incident, in a way, is also my responsibility. Here, I apologize to the secretaries and the leaders for causing trouble," Yang Jie said, standing up and bowing deeply to Zhou Dalong and Lei Shuping.

Zhou Dalong was taken aback, looking at Yang Jie in front of him, and asked in confusion, "What do you mean by that?"

"Secretary, it's like this..." Seeing Zhou Dalong's confusion, Yang Jie immediately explained how he had made the blood pressure-lowering wine and the virility-enhancing wine and told Zhou Dalong that Jimmy had asked Secretary Lei's driver to deliver the wine to the county for Luo Lun and Jameson to try.

After listening to Yang Jie's story, Zhou Dalong, Lei Shuping, and Chen Yuan all felt a mix of amusement and bewilderment. Jameson's incident was actually related to Yang Jie and Jimmy. Jameson had gone out at night to find a prostitute because he had drunk the virility-enhancing wine made by Yang Jie.

Zhou Dalong looked at Yang Jie with a strange expression, speechless for a moment, and pointed at him a few times. "I wondered why a good man would suddenly go out of the hotel to find a prostitute. It turns out he drank the wine you made. Since this incident is your doing, you must take responsibility and resolve it.

The county's bottom line is that detention can be waived, but the fine must be imposed according to public security regulations, and it must not affect the county's business recruitment work. If Jameson causes any trouble in the upcoming project negotiations because of this incident, I will hold you accountable!"

"Yes! Yang Jie guarantees to complete the task assigned by the secretary in a reasonable, advantageous, and measured manner! I will not drag the county's business recruitment work behind!" Yang Jie stood up straight and looked at Zhou Dalong with a serious expression.

"No! There's something wrong with this!" Lei Shuping sat silently on the sofa, feeling something was off after listening to Yang Jie's story. "Only a few people knew about the virility-enhancing wine made by Yang Jie. How could they have set up the situation in advance when Jameson's outing was a last-minute decision?"

Zhou Dalong, a veteran soldier with rich combat experience, was stunned by Lei Shuping's words. "Xiao Jie, how many people knew about Jimmy giving the wine to Jameson?"

"Because it was a last-minute decision by Jimmy, not many people knew. Only me, my father, my uncle, Jimmy, and Secretary Lei's driver knew. Luo Lun probably knew after receiving the wine," Yang Jie, a very intelligent person, immediately thought of a possibility after hearing Lei Shuping's question.

Clearly, what Yang Jie thought of, Zhou Dalong, Lei Shuping, and Chen Yuan also thought of. Yang Jie, Yang Xinhua, Liu Daxing, and Jimmy could not have leaked the information to Zhang Daxian. Therefore, only Secretary Lei's driver had the opportunity and possibility to do so.

Lei Shuping's face was very grim. His driver had leaked such important information to Zhang Daxian, leading to this incident. How could he not be angry? A driver is a leader's confidant, and nothing is more disappointing and infuriating than a confidant's betrayal.

"Director Chen, notify the Administrative Affairs Bureau tomorrow to give me a new driver," Lei Shuping suppressed his anger, took a deep breath, and made this decision in front of Zhou Dalong.

"Old Lei, since the incident has already happened, getting angry won't help. Let's think about how to handle Jameson's matter next!" Zhou Dalong, seeing Lei Shuping's gloomy face, advised him and waved to Yang Jie, indicating that he should go handle Jameson's matter quickly.

Chen Yuan escorted Yang Jie out of the office and handed him an envelope. "This contains your work permit and 500 yuan. Jameson is still in the public security team, and the news has been suppressed. Go pay the fine and get him out first. We'll deal with the other matters after he's out."

Chen Yuan had already called the county bureau and the public security team, informing them that the county party office would send someone to pick up Jameson. Yang Jie, holding the work permit and 500 yuan for the fine that Chen Yuan had prepared, hurried out of Zhou Dalong's office.