Chapter 50: The Initial Confrontation

As soon as Ye Ziyiyi finished speaking, Li Zhen’s face darkened instantly.

The others exchanged surprised glances, yet no one dared to utter a sound. Ordinarily, a newly appointed County Party Secretary would refrain from contradicting the local County Mayor on inconsequential matters.

To everyone's astonishment, however, this newly arrived Secretary Ye had immediately contested Li Zhen’s proposal, leaving the latter entirely devoid of saving face.

Suppressing his mounting anger, Li Zhen narrowed his eyes and forced a smile. "Secretary Ye, a fire has occurred, and Lu Hao, as the primary person in charge, showed inadequate fire prevention and lax patrols. He must be held accountable all the same. We cannot overlook the responsibilities he ought to shoulder simply because he performed meritorious service in extinguishing the fire. Wouldn't you agree?"

He had assumed that the new secretary would afford him some courtesy and follow his lead. Instead, she was turning the tables to commend Lu Hao—a clear ploy to establish her authority right out of the gate and demonstrate to everyone who truly held the reins of power.

Secretary Ye let out a cold laugh, her tone pregnant with meaning. "County Mayor Li makes a valid point. Someone indeed needs to take responsibility for this incident, but it does not necessarily have to be Lu Hao. You all must have seen the news reports: water bottles filled with gasoline were discovered at the scene, and the villagers suspect arson. Therefore, the County Public Security Bureau must swiftly form a joint investigation team. Whether it involves lifting fingerprints or conducting interviews, the cause of the forest fire in Fangshui Township must be thoroughly and promptly investigated."

"I warn you, there is zero room for negligence in this matter. We must seek truth from facts, produce irrefutable evidence, unmask the real culprit, and report any progress to me immediately."

Secretary Ye then fixed her gaze intently upon the Director of the Public Security Bureau. "If this was arson, whoever caused the fire must be punished without leniency. If it was a natural wildfire, then it rests upon the heavens. Comrade Lu Hao discovered it immediately and rendered meritorious service in fighting the blaze; how can we possibly hold him accountable? Doing so would only chill the hearts of our grassroots cadres and ordinary citizens."

"County Mayor Li, what are your thoughts?" she asked abruptly, turning her gaze toward him.

Li Zhen’s expression had grown intensely grim, yet he managed to maintain a smile as he replied, "Since Secretary Ye feels this way, we shall proceed according to your wishes. However, as for appointing Lu Hao as Deputy Township Head, I believe that can be postponed. After all, personnel adjustments within the county are imminent, and we might have him serve as acting Deputy Township Head first. If he performs well, a formal appointment later on would not be too late."

Despite his deep resentment, Li Zhen knew that with the Municipal Organization Department having already commended Lu Hao, he could no longer find a rational pretext to object. Going along with the current was the wiser strategy; besides, he had no intention of making Lu Hao's promotion to vice-ranked cadre an easy path.

When the county convened its Standing Committee meeting for personnel adjustments down the line, as long as Secretary Ye wished to officially appoint Lu Hao as Deputy Township Head, he could seize the opportunity to plant his own people in alternative positions. It was a standard political bargain.

Having served as County Mayor for so many years, Li Zhen invariably sought out opportunities to maximize his own interests in any given situation.

"Very well, let Lu Hao serve as acting Deputy Township Head first. Do any other comrades have dissenting opinions?" Secretary Ye asked with a faint smile.

In this arena, since Li Zhen had granted her face, she needed to return the courtesy.

In every administration, the top two leaders invariably engaged in mutual compromise on all matters, seeking a delicate equilibrium and securing the greatest benefits for themselves.

With the top two officials reaching a consensus, the rest naturally raised no further objections.

"By the way, after the adjournment, I would ask County Mayor Li to arrange for a delegation of county leaders to visit Comrade Lu Hao in the hospital on behalf of the County Party Committee and the County Government. Consider it the county's public response regarding Comrade Lu Hao's firefighting efforts."

"I also request the Publicity Department to handle the outreach proactively, promoting this matter and organizing Party members and cadres throughout the county to study Comrade Lu Hao's spirit. Let the municipal leaders and the common people alike witness our attitude; this is precisely the kind of exceptional grassroots cadre our Party requires."

Before dismissing the meeting, Secretary Ye issued a few brief operational instructions.

Since Li Zhen had already given his assent, he naturally raised no further objections to these tactical details.

Once the meeting adjourned, he exchanged a sharp glance with the Director of the Public Security Bureau and strode out of the conference room.

...

The County Hospital.

Lu Hao was having a rather busy day; visitors had been trickling in since morning.

On the very first day of his hospitalization, apart from Lin Xiyue, Tang Chunyan and Niu Dashan had also come to check on him. Later, Hong Haifeng had dropped by to offer words of comfort, and today Hong Haifeng and his companions had returned bearing gifts.

This touched Lu Hao deeply. After all, he was currently suspended and faced imminent disciplinary action; the fact that these three had visited him twice in succession proved their genuine friendship.

After chatting for a while, the three of them left together to return to their duties.

No sooner had they departed than Zhao剛 and Deng Song walked into the hospital room. This caught Lu Hao quite off guard, as he never imagined that someone like Zhao Gang—given that Lu Hao was currently a suspended cadre—would personally visit him in the hospital. He quickly collected himself and greeted them, "Secretary Zhao, I didn't expect you and Director Deng to come as well."

"Don't move, don't move. You're the patient, just stay lying down. Ah, Lu Hao, my apologies. I should have come to see you much earlier, but as you know, the fire in Fangshui Township placed a massive burden of responsibility on my shoulders, and I simply couldn't get away. So the moment I had a free moment today, I came straight here," Zhao Gang said warmly, seating himself beside the hospital bed.

Hearing this exchange from the side, Fang Jing could not help but freeze in surprise.

She had already figured out Zhao Gang's identity, so why hadn't he come in the past two days, only to show up today?

It felt altogether too sudden. Could it be that seeing other subordinates visiting had made him feel his absence was too conspicuous to maintain face?

While feeling somewhat flattered, she immediately concluded that this must be the case.

"Thank you for your concern, Secretary Zhao." Though Lu Hao found Zhao Gang's sudden warmth difficult to stomach, he managed to wear a touched expression on his face.

"Regarding your suspension and the potential disciplinary actions you may face next, I've put in a good word for you with County Mayor Li on several occasions. But you know how it is—I'm merely a township Party secretary with limited authority, and I can't guarantee my words carried any weight. Still, I've done my absolute best, so you'll just have to wait and see the outcome," Zhao Gang sighed, his expression a masterclass of helplessness tinged with a hint of indignation, pitching his emotions to absolute perfection.

Had Lu Hao not overheard Zhao Gang pressing Deng Song to discipline him back in the pantry the other day, he genuinely might have been moved by Zhao Gang's performance. Instead, he merely played along, saying, "Secretary Zhao, I understand completely. I share some of the blame for this incident anyway. In any case, I'm truly grateful to you for speaking on my behalf."

"Rest assured, I will continue to push for this. In my view, your merits in fighting the fire far outweigh your faults; you deserve commendation, not punishment. I'll go back to the county headquarters to see the leadership later and ensure you get the justice you deserve," Zhao Gang declared, striking a posture of righteous fury and unyielding integrity.

"Secretary Zhao, thank you so much! For Lu Hao to have a leader like you is truly a blessing cultivated over a past life," Fang Jing exclaimed, overjoyed by what she heard.

She figured that as long as all the leaders spoke up for Lu Hao, there was a strong chance he might not lose his official position.

"And this is?" Zhao Gang's gaze finally shifted toward Fang Jing.