Official Career Storm

Chapter 1605

The location was set by Song Guanchao, right here, and he asked Huang Ronghua to drive over.

Although he felt that Huang Ronghua couldn’t possibly be involved in such corruption, he still needed to stay vigilant.

After finishing the call, he asked Lin Wanqiu and the others to drive away first.

He waited at the spot for about fifteen minutes before a taxi pulled up.

A man, around fifty years old, stepped out of the car.

The man maintained his physique well, had thick hair, and wore a suit.

Song Guanchao had seen his photo before and recognized him, waving him over: "Mr. Huang, this way."

As Huang Ronghua walked over, he quickly scrutinized his surroundings, and upon arrival, said, "Speak up."

Song Guanchao briefly explained the situation, initially thinking Huang Ronghua would be surprised, but he wasn’t.

Not only was he not surprised, but he was also exceptionally calm.

"Mr. Huang doesn’t seem surprised?"

"Just a bit of a hunch," Huang Ronghua replied. "Typically, after a watchdog group settles in, there will be a surge of reports in the short term. No matter how good the public security is or how economically advanced the city is, it’s always the case. But in Pinghai City, this hasn’t happened, which is peculiar in itself, right?"

Based on this, he deduced that there might be problems in Pinghai City.

Of course, he didn’t expect it to be the type of large-scale corruption that Song Guanchao described.

He was indeed shocked internally, just without overtly showing it.

As a leader, having a poker face is a basic quality.

Huang Ronghua asked, "You’re telling me this because you want me to do something?"

Song Guanchao said, "Someone inside the watchdog group is colluding with the officials in Pinghai City."

Huang Ronghua frowned slightly, still not quite surprised.

Since Pinghai City has such widespread corruption, it’s expected that there would be corruption within the watchdog group and official collusion.

"I’m contacting you, Mr. Huang, just to notify you in advance to avoid any unpleasant surprises if we arrest someone later."

He didn’t need Huang Ronghua to do anything.

The power of the watchdog group can be considered big or small.

They can gather information on Pinghai City’s issues and submit it up the ranks, allowing higher authorities to decide how to handle it.

There is a process in between.

In other words, Huang Ronghua himself cannot punish the officials in Pinghai City.

In another city, local officials might be worried about being reported.

Pinghai City doesn’t have this concern, as power is too centralized here.

The watchdog group is being monitored closely, and any informants are taken away before stepping through the door.

No one reports, making the watchdog group’s power equivalent to a blank paper.

For instance, even though Huang Ronghua learned from Song Guanchao about the corruption in Pinghai City, he had no evidence.

Without evidence, merely reporting through calls wouldn’t necessarily convince the higher-ups.

Furthermore, without seeing evidence himself, Huang Ronghua couldn’t easily believe it.

After all, such severe levels of corruption are extremely serious, and what if Song Guanchao was deceiving him?

Thus, from the start, Song Guanchao never expected the watchdog group to assist him.

As he said, he just wanted to let Huang Ronghua know that someone within the watchdog group was corrupted, so he’d be cautious.

To avoid conflicts if later arrests of watchdog group members occurred.

"Can you share your plan?" Huang Ronghua asked.

Song Guanchao shook his head: "Just like you don’t trust me, Mr. Huang, I don’t trust you either. Hope you can understand."

Huang Ronghua smiled and said, "I understand, feel free to ask if you need my help."

"Certainly."

The conversation went relatively well.

After Huang Ronghua left, Lin Wanqiu drove back.

Inside the car, Song Guanchao checked the time, still some time left before dinner.

At 11:10, Lu Feng returned with the items Song Guanchao asked him to prepare.

...

11:40.

Song Guanchao, wearing a trench coat, stepped out of the taxi.

At the end of October, the temperature had dropped significantly.

He entered the restaurant, and guided by the waiter, went to the second floor.

Just as he reached the top of the stairs, Song Guanchao saw men standing at intervals in the hallway.

Their waistlines appeared bulging.

Clearly, they were the police stationed there.

Song Guanchao seemed unperturbed, following the waiter to the private room door.

Knock, knock.

The waiter gently knocked on the door before opening it.

In the private room’s lounge area, he saw Wu Qiangwei and others.

Everyone was there.

Aside from them, Mayor Fang and Director Chen were also present.

But Secretary Xue wasn’t seen.

Upon Song Guanchao’s arrival, Wu Qiangwei and the others showed a slight happiness on their faces, followed by some tension and urgency.

She had asked Song Guanchao not to come, knowing he wouldn’t listen, but seeing him truly appear made Wu Qiangwei secretly delighted.

"Mayor Fang, Director Chen."

Song Guanchao smiled and shook hands with them.

Director Chen cheerfully poured him a cup of tea: "Director Song, please sit."

Once he was seated, Mayor Fang and Director Chen focused their gaze on Wu Qiangwei.

Mayor Fang: "Mayor Wu, let’s have a conversation."

Wu Qiangwei asked: "What does Mayor Fang want to talk about?"

Mayor Fang leaned back, crossed his legs, and casually snapped his fingers.

Director Chen promptly took out stacks of documents from his briefcase and placed them in front of her.

"Sign this contract and we’ll be friends," Mayor Fang said.

Wu Qiangwei picked up the document, and a few minutes later, her expression turned sour: "I won’t sign."

Mayor Fang regretfully shook his head: "Mayor Wu, you’re a smart person. You should understand that signing the contract means mutual benefit. If not, it will put both Secretary Xue and me in a difficult position."

He then swept his gaze over Fu Ying, Jiang Yiren, and several other women with an insinuating tone: "Jiangzhou City’s political scene sure has plenty of beauties."

Wu Qiangwei’s heart tightened, realizing he was threatening her using the women.

If she didn’t sign, he might not harm her directly, but Jiang Yiren and others wouldn’t be as fortunate.

"Let me take a look."

Song Guanchao suddenly took the document, swiftly skimmed through it, and smiled: "Mayor Fang, how generous, gifting the company shares to Mayor Wu."

As he expected, Mayor Fang wanted Wu Qiangwei to be involved in corruption to hold leverage over her.

In truth, the sentiment is: If you don’t accept, how can I? If I don’t, how can Special Envoy Geng?

He intended to use benefits to link everyone together.

Song Guanchao tossed the document away, suddenly stood up: "There’s no such thing as a free lunch; this contract indeed cannot be signed. Mayor Wu, let’s leave."

Wu Qiangwei and the others looked at him puzzled.

In this situation, how could Mayor Fang possibly let them leave?

After a brief moment of confusion, the women immediately stood up.

Others might not understand him, but they did.

If he dared to come, he must have been prepared.

If he dared to suggest leaving, he must be confident.

"Did I say you could leave?" Mayor Fang lazily leaned against the sofa, lighting a cigarette, and exhaled in Wu Qiangwei’s direction.

He tapped the contract on the coffee table: "Mayor Wu, don’t make it difficult for me; sign the contract. If not, I won’t be kind to these beauties. Oh, perhaps you don’t care about their fates, but Mayor Wu is quite a beauty herself, and I wouldn’t mind creating some wonderful memories with you."

As soon as he finished, everyone saw Song Guanchao stride over, raise his hand, and slap Mayor Fang across the face.

A crisp "slap" echoed.

Mayor Fang’s face was turned sideways, the cigarette dangling from his mouth was smacked flying.