Song Guanchao asked, "What else?"
Chen Zixiang said, "I’ve heard that someone once made an official report, but nothing came of it."
"What was the report about?"
Chen Zixiang glanced at the door, lowered his voice, and said, "Defrauding farmer subsidies."
"I’m not sure, it’s just what I heard. But there are some things that I am certain of."
Chen Zixiang said, "The county finance department provides lunch subsidies for the schools in Panlong Town every year, and I have to sign off on those subsidies. To my knowledge, most of the educational subsidies for the town do not actually reach their intended targets."
"I’ve secretly visited the schools in the town. Do you know what those children are eating?"
Chen Zixiang suddenly became emotional, "Cabbage stewed with meat, and in a pot of vegetables, there are only a few slices of fat! These bastards are even skimming off the children’s meal subsidies!"
"Afterwards, I reported the issue upwards for half a year before they started to hold back a bit."
Song Guanchao nodded. There were indeed problems in Panlong Town.
Defrauding farmer subsidies was something Chen Zixiang had only heard about; it was hard to say whether it was true.
But he had seen the issues with the students’ meal subsidies, had reported it, and that was real.
And with Li Zhuang owning villas and luxury cars in the county, where was all that money coming from?
The guy was dirty, and a sure bet if investigated.
Song Guanchao had originally planned to use "missing project data" to get him.
This would be much easier, like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
The more Chen Zixiang talked, the more agitated he got, and with alcohol fueling him, he couldn’t stop ranting.
At first, he cursed Li Zhuang, then the leadership of the county.
To Song Guanchao’s amazement, Lu Feng also joined in the cursing.
Finally, after a difficult meal, Song Guanchao managed to calm him down and said, "Director Chen, go back and rest. The situation in An County will get better."
After sending Chen Zixiang off, Song Guanchao said, "Enough with the cursing. Let’s go find a place to sleep."
Both had been drinking, so driving was out of the question. They found a nearby hotel to stay in.
"Damn, squad leader, do you think all these officials have no humanity? The town is already poor, and they scrape off whatever little subsidies the country gives each year. Are these even human beings?"
Song Guanchao replied, "We’ll find an opportunity to beat him up."
"Alright!" Lu Feng’s eyes lit up.
"Go to sleep now; we’ll be busy tomorrow."
Song Guanchao lay down and sent a WeChat message to Zhou Qian, "Are you asleep?"
"Do you have time tomorrow?"
"I’ve got a story for an exclusive interview, but it’s a bit sensitive."
Song Guanchao explained the situation, and Zhou Qian didn’t hesitate, "I’ll come to find you in the morning."
After confirming with Zhou Qian, he reached out to Wu Qiangwei, "Secretary, I have something to report to you."
He quickly recounted the situation and finally said, "Secretary, I need coordination from both the Disciplinary Committee and the police. You have to talk to Secretary Wang and then send someone to come with me."
He added, "Make sure Secretary Wang keeps it quiet."
"For the police side, just contact Director Liang directly."
A few minutes later, Wu Qiangwei sent a text message, "You contact Wu Yun. I’ve also spoken to Director Liang; you can give him another call."
Song Guanchao called Wu Yun, "Secretary Wang told you, right?"
"Then come directly tomorrow morning. Call me when you arrive."
He continued to call Liang Jianfeng.
Liang Jianfeng asked, "What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing for now. I’ll first head to Panlong Town tomorrow to see the situation there."
He made this series of phone calls, first and foremost, for legitimacy.
Otherwise, if he conducted the investigation in private, even with evidence, any procedural issues in obtaining it could be easily exploited by those with ulterior motives.
Secondly, it was for his personal safety.
Li Zhuang was the Party Secretary of Panlong Town, the top authority there.
In ancient times, this would have been akin to the role of a county magistrate.
The smaller the place, the more concentrated the power, and thus, the darker it became.
His mission was to collect evidence of Li Zhuang’s criminal activities. Should Li Zhuang find out, there’s no telling what extreme actions he might take against Song Guanchao.
Ha, if that were useful, he wouldn’t have reached out to Director Liang.
The local police station only listened to its chief. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚫𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚫𝕟𝕖𝕥
And the chief answered only to Li Zhuang, the Party Secretary.
Trusting them, who were all in cahoots, would be like believing in the miraculous intervention of deities.
To Song Guanchao, tomorrow’s trip to Panlong Town seemed even more dangerous than accompanying Liu Lanzi to the village to meet Lu Xiaotian.
Hence, he had to consider all possible scenarios in advance.
Otherwise, if an accident did occur, it would be too late.
At half-past nine in the morning, Wu Yun arrived first.
When she saw Song Guanchao, her eyes were filled with a grievous accusation — Song Guanchao didn’t even dare to meet her gaze.
At ten o’clock, Zhou Qian arrived.
They had both driven there, and Song Guanchao simply had them park their cars at the hotel and join him in his car to Panlong Town.
Panlong Town was thirty kilometers from An County.
Leaving the county seat, the road became rough—potholed and bumpy, with large trucks moving back and forth everywhere, kicking up clouds of dust and polluting the air thoroughly.
Song Guanchao found the only primary school in the town and said, "Madman, you accompany the two of them."
"The squad leader isn’t going?"
"If I’m recognized as somewhat of a celebrity, what do we do if the school principal knows me?"
Lu Feng thought he was overthinking it—after all, he wasn’t some big movie star, who would recognize him?
He got out of the car and went with the two women into the school, primarily posing as philanthropists.
Song Guanchao waited in the car for over an hour before the three finally came out.
After getting in the car, Song Guanchao drove away.
Lu Feng, grumbling and cursing, said, "Director Chen really wasn’t lying— the school’s food is inedible, absolutely no oil or moisture."
"Didn’t they say it was improved?"
Song Guanchao turned to Zhou Qian, "Did you get it on camera?"
"I asked a few questions, but the principal said nothing. I didn’t dare to inquire further, afraid of raising suspicion."
The expressions on both women’s faces were grim; evidently, what they’d seen at the school had angered them.
Wu Yun asked, "Are we heading back?"
"No rush," said Song Guanchao. "Let’s take a stroll through the village; I want to ask about the farmers’ subsidies."
Li Zhuang’s hometown was a village called Huangni Village under Panlong Town’s jurisdiction. Lu Feng had previously sent someone to stay there for a while.
They drove over ten kilometers out of the town, then took a side road on the left. Another two or three kilometers down that road lay Huangni Village.
The road, actually quite nicely paved with concrete, was flanked by lush green mountainsides.
Lu Feng commented, "The villagers here can be quite fierce, especially the Lis."
"Fierce? What, they gonna stop cars in broad daylight and demand tolls?"
No sooner had he spoken than a chicken plummeted from the sky, slamming into the car window, giving Song Guanchao quite a fright.
Just as he hit the brakes, an old woman rushed from the side of the road, cursing at Song Guanchao who was behind the wheel, "You killed my chicken, pay up!"
"..." Song Guanchao was at a loss for words, as Lu Feng struggled to stifle his laughter.
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