Official Career Storm

Chapter 1498 - 1498

Qian Guangchang's eyes darted around, just about to speak when Yang Jian sternly said, "Remember, don't hide anything! This matter is very serious. If your concealment leads me to make an incorrect judgment, you'll spend the rest of your days in prison!"

Qian Guangchang shivered and forced a smile, "It was the procurement's doing."

"Be specific."

"Ah Bing... that's the buyer, his name is Zuo Bing."

"Ah Bing's sister and I, we... are dating."

At this point, Qian Guangchang felt a bit uncomfortable.

Yang Jian, being experienced, immediately understood that Zuo Bing's sister was involved with Qian Guangchang.

It must have been because of this connection that Zuo Bing was able to be in charge of canteen procurement.

In a food company, the department with the most perks is undoubtedly procurement.

Profiting from price differences, pocketing kickbacks...

Just from the scale of a single school's canteen, skimming close to a hundred thousand every month is more than enough.

"Ah Bing bought some problematic ingredients this time."

The process was simple: to get kickbacks, Zuo Bing didn't care whether the ingredients were good or bad; he bought from whoever offered the most kickbacks.

Upon hearing this, Yang Jian's expression softened slightly.

"Are you sure you had no involvement in the procurement?"

"Absolutely none!"

"When did you find out?"

"Actually, I've known for a while. I turned a blind eye out of respect for his sister, couldn't be bothered to manage him. Besides, I earn quite a bit every month myself, sharing some with him wasn't a big deal. This is... what you taught me, didn't you? You told me not to overcorrect, it's normal for subordinates to take small advantages."

..." Yang Jian said darkly, "Did I tell you that food safety is the number one priority in school canteens?"

This bastard, with his selective memory.

Qian Guangchang replied with a bitter face, "Sister... Yang District Chief, I won't get in too much trouble, will I?"

"Humph!" Yang Jian said, "You should mentally prepare yourself. Imprisonment is unavoidable, but I'll arrange for a lawyer to minimize your sentence."

"Huh? I have to go to jail?" Qian Guangchang was afraid, "I..."

"Alright, spare me the nonsense."

"If you'd listened to my words, this wouldn't have happened."

"Stay in there and behave! Remember, no matter who asks you, answer like you did with me. The problem lies with procurement; although you're the legal representative, you're only partially responsible, and it won't be a long sentence."

"I, I understand."

Qian Guangchang had accepted the mental preparation of going to jail.

At the same time, he realized that this situation wasn't as easy to resolve as he had imagined.

Even Yang Jian, the district chief, seemed unable to suppress it.

But luckily, he only bore joint responsibility.

...

After leaving the police station, Yang Jian stood by his car, browsing his phone contacts, finally stopping at Zhang Yan's number.

He hesitated about whether or not to contact Zhang Yan.

He knew, Zhang Yan was no longer what she used to be; her influence within the city government had diminished, suppressed by the new Mayor Wu.

Moreover, she might not step in to mediate for him.

Even if she was willing to step in, whether Mayor Wu would give her the face was also uncertain.

Yet, if not looking for her and directly going to Wu Qiangwei, it might offend Zhang Yan if she found out.

Yang Jian was troubled, thinking it over, finally dialing Zhang Yan's number.

"Mayor Zhang..."

He quickly explained the situation.

However, Zhang Yan simply responded flatly, "Cooperate with Director Song's investigation."

Yang Jian sighed internally, though he had anticipated Zhang Yan wouldn't assist him, he was still disappointed.

Well, this is fine too.

I sought your help but you refused; now I can openly seek others for help.

So after hanging up, he immediately called Song Guanchao.

"Director Song, is it convenient to have a cup of tea?"

"No need for tea, Yang District Chief, just say what you need to."

Seeing his attitude, Yang Jian decided to speak straightforwardly, "Director Song, how do you plan to resolve the school's situation?"

Song Guanchao succinctly replied, "Find out the issues, arrest those who should be arrested, convict those who should be convicted."

Yang Jian said, "Arresting and convicting people is justified, but Director Song, what's the intention behind inviting reporters? We see each other every day; why make things so ugly?"

Song Guanchao replied with a question, "Are you blaming me, Yang District Chief?"

Yang Jian paused in his speech, "I just think it's unnecessary."

Song Guanchao said, "73 students were poisoned; do you think not reporting it means it didn't happen? Do you think by not reporting it, you won't be affected?"

"The moment it happened, if you'd arrested the person and let the school address the problem, it wouldn't have fallen to me to handle."

"Yang District Chief, this is your issue, don't blame it on me."

Yang Jian felt a bit stifled.

After the canteen incident, Qian Guangchang reported directly to him, and Principal Xu also informed him of the situation.

He merely handled it as he usually would, trying to suppress it.

But he didn't feel he did anything wrong; in his understanding, when such a serious incident occurs, the primary consideration should be the impact.

As for compensation, it was something to be addressed later.

This is how everyone handled things.

Yet he had to admit, Song Guanchao was right.

"Alright, I understand."

Yang Jian didn't say more and hung up, then drove directly to the district committee.

He didn't seek Wu Qiangwei, because he understood well that Song Guanchao's attitude reflected Wu Qiangwei's stance.

Approaching Song Guanchao was futile, so seeking Wu Qiangwei wouldn't be helpful either.

Under such circumstances, to minimize the incident's impact, there was only one solution.

That was to involve more people.

He went straight to the district secretary Ji Cheng's office.

Not waiting for the secretary to speak, he had already pushed the door open and entered, closing the door behind him.

The secretary was left stunned, hesitating for a couple of seconds, ultimately deciding not to follow him inside.

"Secretary Ji." Yang Jian sat down, quickly telling Ji Cheng the situation under his curious gaze.

Ji Cheng's expression immediately turned cold.

"Such a large issue, why am I only being informed today?"

Ji Cheng was very angry.

As the head of the district, such a severe incident occurred within his jurisdiction, yet he was the last to know.

Ji Cheng sneered, "The incident wasn't reported to me, now that it's out of control, you thought of finding me?"

Yang Jian was slightly embarrassed, "I didn't think it would escalate to this point."

After all, from the beginning, he managed it the usual way, but who expected someone to report it to the city government.

Ji Cheng snorted, aware of the problem's severity.

As the district committee secretary, even if he wasn't the one initially covering up the truth or sending police to arrest parents and teachers later.

But the incident occurred in his jurisdiction, and he's the one who must take responsibility.

This was Yang Jian's plan.

If he couldn't solve it, then involve Secretary Ji and let him find someone to negotiate with Mayor Wu to try and mitigate the impact.