Chapter 60: An Explosion Occurs

Over the Saturday and Sunday, Fang Jing accompanied Lu Hao to buy clothes, browse shopping malls, and go out for dining and movies. Naturally, there was also a touch of intimacy between a man and a woman, and Lu Hao went all out, taking Fang Jing several times.

However, when they parted ways on Sunday evening, Fang Jing urged him again to buy an apartment and pressured him to send gifts to Li Haotian.

Deep down, Lu Hao strongly disliked this bureaucratic mindset, but true to his usual approach, he did not argue with Fang Jing. In any romantic relationship, someone always has to make a few concessions; otherwise, given Fang Jing's temperament, it would undoubtedly lead to a quarrel.

On Monday morning, Lu Hao drove early toward Fangshui Township.

There was a rather good steamed bun shop near the township government compound. Since there was still plenty of time, he figured he could grab breakfast before heading to work.

When Lu Hao arrived, several villagers were already eating. Unfussy as ever, he ordered two bamboo baskets of mini steamed buns and a bowl of congee.

The steamed buns had paper-thin wrappers and generous fillings, offering exceptional value for money. Dipped in vinegar and chili oil, they tasted divine, and Lu Hao quickly stuffed them into his mouth one by one, devouring the entire meal.

Just as he was finishing his congee, his cell phone rang. It was a call from Tang Chunyan.

"Chunyan, why are you calling me so early?" Lu Hao asked after answering the phone.

Every Monday, Li Haotian would organize a township meeting to deploy work tasks, usually scheduled for nine o'clock. But it was not even eight o'clock yet. Could the meeting have been brought forward, and was Tang Chunyan calling to rush him?

He had already informed everyone at the Poverty Alleviation Office that he would be coming to work today, and he had also reported it to Acting Township Head Hong Haifang.

A couple of days prior, he had even sent a WeChat message to Li Haotian. Since Li Haotian was now the top leader, Lu Hao naturally had to give advance notice upon returning to work. He had to show proper respect to the chief executive; Lu Hao certainly did not want to give Li Haotian any excuse to pick on him.

"Director Lu, where are you?" Tang Chunyan's voice sounded clearly anxious.

"I'm eating at the steamed bun shop. Have you eaten yet? I can bring some steamed buns for you," Lu Hao replied casually.

"Something major has happened! A small-scale explosion occurred at one of the workshops in the chemical plant, and people have reportedly died. Township Head Hong asked me to notify you to hurry over. We need to go to the scene," Tang Chunyan said anxiously, completely ignoring Lu Hao's offer.

An explosion? Dead people?

A dull roar echoed in Lu Hao's ears.

Only yesterday, he had told Ye Ziyi that the chemical plant's safety measures were inadequate, lacking proper protection and alarm systems, and that a safety accident could happen at any time. He never expected it to happen so soon, and on his very first day back at work after recovering from his injuries.

"I'm on my way right now!"

After hanging up the phone, Lu Hao drove toward the township government with a grave and anxious expression.

By now, several government cadres had already gathered in front of the small township government building.

Lu Hao did not see Li Haotian, but he spotted Hong Haifang making a phone call in the lobby, along with Tian Wei, the head of the Fangshui Township Work Safety Supervision Station.

Tian Wei was around Lu Hao's age. Aside from a few temporary workers, most staff members in the safety supervision station held institutional establishment posts and were directly managed by the township government.

The head of the safety supervision station and positions similar to the director of the township office were not high-ranking deputy section-level posts, but within a township, they counted as middle-ranking cadres. Their main responsibilities included safety monitoring and inspection in Fangshui Township, as well as proposing rectifications for potential safety hazards. Places like chemical plants, in particular, were the absolute top priority for supervision and inspection by the safety station.

At that moment, having just hung up the phone, Hong Haifang did not spare Tian Wei any face at all, and rebuked him sharply: "How on earth have you been conducting your inspections? How many times have I told you about the safety issues at the chemical plant? I told you to step up patrols and urge them to carry out rectifications, yet an explosion still happened! It has already been confirmed that a young worker has died, and several others are injured. Exactly what kind of job are you doing as the head of the safety station?"

Tian Wei looked thoroughly anxious as well. "Township Head Hong, during this period, I frequently led inspection teams personally..."

"Inspections my ass! Judging by your work, you must have been inspecting hotels and restaurants instead. It would be fine if nothing usually happened, but now people have actually died! How do you expect me to explain this to superiors?" Hong Haifang's face turned flushed with anger, and he cursed loudly.

Safety work fell under his direct portfolio, and the safety supervision station had always reported to him. However, relying on his personal connection with Li Haotian, Tian Wei had paid lip service to Hong's instructions while acting contrary behind his back. He even drank privately with people from the chemical plant, completely failing to fulfill his safety supervision responsibilities.

Because of this, Hong Haifang had previously reported Tian Wei to Li Haotian, but although Li Haotian promised to talk to Tian Wei, he simply swept the matter aside the moment he turned around.

Fearing that Hong Haifang might start cursing Li Haotian directly if he continued, Lu Hao quickly stepped forward and said, "Township Head Hong, I think we should head to the scene first. Only by arriving at the scene can we truly grasp the situation and solve the problem."

Originally, Hong Haifang had wanted to wait for Li Haotian, the party secretary, to arrive before heading to the scene. However, Li Haotian had still not shown up, and his phone was unreachable. Checking the time, Hong Haifang realized he could no longer afford to wait.

"Let's go! We leave right now!"

Hong Haifang's official car was parked right at the entrance. He beckoned Lu Hao and Tian Wei to get in together, and the vehicle sped rapidly toward the chemical plant.

Several experienced cadres piled into another car and followed right behind them, driving straight to the chemical plant.

Having just chewed out Tian Wei, Hong Haifang sat silently in the car, deep in thought about how to handle the situation upon arrival. After all, a life had been lost; the victim's family would undoubtedly cause a scene, and the county government would surely hold people accountable.

He had never expected that just as he became acting township head and was on the verge of receiving his official appointment, such a massive crisis would erupt. The thought filled Hong Haifang with a bellyful of rage, prompting him to cast another fierce glare at Tian Wei.

After boarding the car, Lu Hao thought carefully before finally speaking up: "Station Chief Tian, have you reported this to the County Work Safety Supervision Bureau? And has the cause of the chemical plant explosion been figured out yet? Could it be due to inadequate safety alarms or protective measures at the chemical plant?"

A few days earlier, Hong Haifang had called him to discuss his upcoming portfolio, mentioning that the township had not yet finalized his specific division of responsibilities, but advising Lu Hao to actively familiarize himself with all aspects of township government work. He suggested that Lu Hao immerse himself in grassroots operations as much as possible so that he could adapt quickly once the leadership team assignments were officially decided. Therefore, Lu Hao paid extra attention to this incident and wanted to gather as much background information as possible.

Glancing at Lu Hao, Tian Wei replied with a trace of resentment: "The phone at the supervision bureau office wasn't answered, and the bureau director's phone wouldn't go through, so I didn't bother calling again. As for the cause of the chemical plant explosion, how am I supposed to know? You should ask the chemical plant." Having been chewed out publicly in front of so many people, Tian Wei, who was petty and overly concerned with his pride, wore an expression of intense displeasure.

Hearing this, Hong Haifang felt the anger he had managed to suppress flare up all over again. "What kind of talk is that? People have died! If the bureau director's phone doesn't go through, couldn't you call the deputy director? And what do you mean by saying we should ask the chemical plant? When an explosion happens, it is your duty to promptly understand the situation from the chemical plant and report to the leadership. If the leadership has to go around asking the chemical plant directly, what use does the government have for you?"