Chapter 65 Plucking the Fruits of Victory

"Secretary Li, you have rich experience in grassroots work. Let's make it quick and decisive then," Zhang Donglai said, finally making the decision.

"County Magistrate Zhang, I'll handle it right away. Please wait here for a moment, and leave the rest of the work to me," Li Haotian said with great confidence.

Soon, accompanied by Liang Kun, he led Wang Shaojie, Cheng Rui, and others straight toward the villagers.

With his hands on his hips, Li Haotian, towering and robust, radiated an air of arrogance, followed closely by a number of police officers.

The villagers noticed the approaching group. They had already agreed with Lu Hao to leave first with the deceased, but now they were intimidated by the aggressive momentum of Li Haotian and his cohort.

They raised the bricks and clubs in their hands, as if holding weapons was the only way to muster the courage to resist. This scene startled both Lu Hao and Hong Haifeng.

"Town Mayor Hong, you said ideological work was the way to go. Is it of any use now?" Li Haotian's sarcastic voice rang out right on cue.

Hong Haifeng was momentarily speechless, having failed to notice Wang Shaojie's instigation.

Lu Hao, however, had noticed it and couldn't help smiling. "Secretary Li, we were about to successfully persuade the villagers, but now that so many people have rushed over like this, of course they are frightened."

"Lu Hao, what do you mean by that? Are you accusing Secretary Li of bringing people to interfere with your work? It's clearly your failure to do the job right, yet you still try to shift the blame. You are a leading cadre now, so watch your tone," Wang Shaojie stepped forward and immediately rebuked him.

"You know very well what you've done," Lu Hao said, showing Wang Shaojie no courtesy at all.

Such despicable behavior of backstabbing was truly sickening.

"I haven't done anything. Don't cast false accusations," Wang Shaojie's eyes flickered, but he maintained a righteous expression.

"All right, stop arguing. Lu Hao, your and Town Mayor Hong's approach is not working now. Step aside and rest; County Magistrate Zhang has put me in full charge," Li Haotian waved his hand impatiently.

After all, he was the Party Committee Secretary, and having invoked County Magistrate Zhang, Hong Haifeng found it difficult to continue objecting. He could only cast a deep look at the villagers and let out a helpless sigh.

Seeing this, Lu Hao had no choice but to drop the matter, though instead of leaving, he stood to the side. He wanted to see how Li Haotian intended to handle this.

Li Haotian cast a glance at Cheng Rui, who immediately stepped to the front and sternly intimidated the crowd, "In accordance with the requirements of the Town Party Committee, everyone is to disperse immediately. Once someone is dead, they should be sent to the funeral parlor to be buried in peace as soon as possible. As for other compensation issues, they can be discussed later. Any attempt to take advantage of death, injury, or illness to extort money is illegal. Do you understand?"

As Cheng Rui spoke, numerous police officers lined up behind him to back him up. Dressed in police uniforms, their stern and tough attitude clearly intimidated the villagers.

After all, ordinary folks belonged to the grassroots, and each had different thoughts.

They all recalled what Lu Hao had said earlier; making trouble now wouldn't change the outcome anyway.

What if they were arrested or beaten by the police? The police certainly wouldn't compensate them; they would simply have to swallow their grievances in silence.

Taking advantage of the villagers' hesitation, Li Haotian flicked his wristwatch and said coldly, "Remove the body first. Anyone who dares to block us will be arrested immediately."

The next instant, several police officers marched straight forward, followed by funeral parlor stretchers—it was clear Li Haotian had prepared for every contingency.

This time, there were only cries of grief; no one dared to resist.

Very soon, the deceased was carried away, leaving behind only some villagers and the family of the deceased.

Cheng Rui spoke once more, "A minor explosion occurred at the chemical plant today, and they are temporarily suspending operations for rectification. Everyone is ordered to leave here within five minutes and stop causing trouble."

Realizing that the matter was a settled fact, Lu Hao and Hong Haifeng joined in to urge the villagers to leave quickly, assuring them that other matters would be addressed later.

As the villagers gradually dispersed, Li Haotian reported with great satisfaction, "County Magistrate Zhang, I've resolved it. As long as these people leave this place, subsequent matters will be easy to manage. Rest assured, we can smooth over the compensation at the town level. You can go ahead and report to the leaders of the county committee and county government without worry."

In just a few words, Li Haotian claimed all the credit for himself.

In truth, had Lu Hao and Hong Haifeng not previously soothed the villagers' emotions and analyzed the current situation, the villagers' emotions would surely have flared up in the face of suppression, leading to resistance, and Li Haotian could never have resolved the matter so smoothly.

Yet now, someone else brazenly plucked the final fruits of victory. Hong Haifeng's expression was exceedingly ugly.

"Secretary Li, what thunderous methods! In dealing with complex grassroots conflicts, you truly do a splendid job. I will be sure to report today's situation favorably to the two primary leaders above. I'll be leaving first," Zhang Donglai patted Li Haotian on the shoulder and praised him with a smile.

However, after taking just a few steps, he turned back to look at Hong Haifeng, saying with a stern face, "Town Mayor Hong, some of Secretary Li's working methods are still quite commendable."

Then, glancing at Lu Hao, he smiled, "Lu Hao, you can afford to be brash and reckless when putting out fires because you're young, but you still lack experience in grassroots work. Learn more from Secretary Li in the future."

Zhang Donglai's remarks undoubtedly made Li Haotian immensely smug, and seeing the frustrated expressions of Hong Haifeng and Lu Hao made him grin from ear to ear.

"Indeed, Secretary Li is truly worth learning from," Hong Haifeng feigned a smile in agreement.

Even if he disagreed with Zhang Donglai's admonition, he had no choice but to swallow it. After all, the man was a superior.

"Town Mayor Hong is actually not bad either. Having transferred from the military, he still has quite unique insights when dealing with complex issues," Li Haotian added, exchanging diplomatic pleasantries.

Lu Hao remained silent amidst this mutual flattery among leaders; having spent time in the county committee previously, he was long accustomed to it.

Yet through this incident, Lu Hao had truly witnessed Li Haotian's methods and routines: rushing to the scene first, making advance arrangements with the police substation, and throughout the entire process, knowing precisely what outcome the leaders desired and pursuing it recklessly.

As long as the leaders were satisfied, what did anything else matter?

Whichever villagers in Fangshui Town dared to riot, he dared to suppress.

Such thunderous means indeed proved that he was no pushover.