Tea Red Star felt something had to do with the bureau chief... to dig it out? Wang Kang actually came knocking on his door to question him. Randomly firing at people? This is a huge problem. You see, Wang Kang now controls both the top and second-in-command of the local government, his rank is the same as the bureau chief's. He has far more power than this deputy bureau chief.

If they keep pressing them, even the Forestry Bureau can't handle it. After all, the district head is their superior!

He'd also heard that some villages in the countryside still kept air rifles for hunting. That would be a good way to entertain higher-ups or for leisure. He'd like to see them for himself. He'd have Wang Kang treat everyone another day!

As Teng Hongxing left his office, most of the people passing by in the bureau greeted him respectfully, "Director Teng!"

He walked to the General Affairs Section. Section Chief Liao Yuan was inside. Upon seeing that it was Teng Hongxing coming to inspect, he immediately stood up.

"Director Fujii, welcome to the General Affairs Section to guide our work."

Several of the staff members in the department greeted him, and it was indeed a pleasant feeling to be treated with such respect.

Teng Hongxing smiled slightly and waved her hand, saying, "Go back to work, everyone. I just came by for a casual look around. Your department's work attitude is generally quite good."

If your boss occasionally finds fault with your work and you're not working diligently or making a mess of things, it definitely won't leave a good impression.

But you can only discern and listen to part of what the leader says. Liao Yuan, as a section chief, is a department head, no less. What does "generally good" mean? It means the leader is still somewhat dissatisfied.

"Where's Xiao Kai from your department? Where did he go during work hours?" Sure enough, Teng Hongxing called him out directly, and Section Chief Liao suddenly realized. So, this guy was dissatisfied with Xiao Kai?

In general, within a department, the top leader and the second-in-command are often not on the same page. Therefore, Xiao Kai's relationship with Liao Yuan isn't very good. Besides, Xiao Kai's character and interpersonal relationships aren't very good.

"Director Teng, Deputy Section Chief Xiao was summoned by Deputy Director Cheng yesterday afternoon. He was said to be going to Zhangba Township to inspect forestry work." Liao Yuan was delighted and answered truthfully, "I don't know the specifics!"

Sure enough, Teng Hongxing sneered inwardly. "You, Cheng Keqiang, are acting unethically. Sending people to Zhangba Township for investigation without even informing Wang Kang—no wonder Xiao Kai got beaten up; he deserved it!"

Wang Kang was no ordinary young man; he was involved in both local party and government affairs, a far cry from his previous status. Moreover, he was already extraordinary when he served as District Chief Luo's personal secretary.

Now let's see how you solve this.

Teng Hongxing nodded slightly, praised the General Affairs Section and Liao Yuan a few times, and then returned to his office.

As soon as I got back, I received a call from Director Xing Dawei, asking me to attend a Party Committee meeting.

Party committee meetings aren't held casually; they're usually announced in advance. A sudden party committee meeting means something significant has happened. Did higher-level leaders unexpectedly come down for an inspection? Or what other major event has occurred?

When they arrived at the meeting room, the five Party Committee members were already there. Cheng Keqiang, unlike his usual composed demeanor, had a gloomy expression. Teng Hongxing immediately guessed that it might be related to Xiao Kai's matter. The Executive Deputy Director, Sui Yunshang, was a woman, forty years old, but looked like she was thirty, and was indifferently drinking water.

Although this woman was relegated to third place by Cheng Keqiang, it doesn't mean she's incompetent. On the contrary, she's not that simple. When Cheng Keqiang appointed her as deputy secretary of the Party Committee, Sui Yunshang hadn't yet taken office.

And now, it's rumored that he's gotten involved with Xiang Chunyan, the executive deputy district head. Even Teng Hongxing is incredibly envious. Xiang Chunyan is currently the fourth-ranked member of the district's standing committee, only below Secretary Lin, District Head Luo, and Zhang Jing, the deputy secretary in charge of organization and personnel. Moreover, she's only thirty-four years old, much younger than the top three. The youngest, District Head Luo, is already forty-one.

Deputy Director Zhou Tielin, puffing on a cigarette, nodded slightly and then shook his head slightly as Teng Hongxing entered. The two seemed to have a good relationship.

Seeing this, it meant that Zhou Tielin didn't know what kind of meeting the bureau chief was going to hold. However, judging from the situation, it should be related to Cheng Keqiang. Anyone could see that.

Guo Yue, the office director in his forties and with a refined demeanor, was a newly appointed member of the Party Committee, and he was the last of the seven. However, he was the director's man, so no one dared to underestimate him.

The other is Chen Fu, the deputy secretary of the Party Committee, who is over fifty years old, but now he doesn't interfere in the bureau's affairs, only managing Party affairs. This makes things much easier for both the bureau director/Party secretary and Cheng Keqiang/deputy secretary. Therefore, they are highly respected by everyone. They are older comrades, not vying for power or personal gain, and they work diligently without complaint.

Teng Hongxing sat on the left, above Zhou Tielin, making him the fifth-ranking official in the bureau.

Everyone had arrived, and about three minutes later, the tall and imposing Bureau Chief Jin Youwei strode in. His powerful gait revealed him to be a straightforward person, but certainly not a fool.

Jin Youwei was transferred from the military to civilian life. Before the transfer, he was a full regimental commander. After returning to civilian life, he was demoted by half a rank.

"Everyone's here? Good. Let's start the meeting!" Jin Youwei announced loudly before even sitting down. "No need for a secretary today. Lao Guo, you'll take charge."

Guo Yue showed no displeasure. Ji nodded.

"Deputy Director Cheng, tell me what happened!" Jin Youwei directly addressed Cheng Keqiang by name. Clearly, the two had already communicated beforehand.

Cheng Keqiang's face was grim. He took a deep breath and said, "Gentlemen, yesterday the bureau sent the deputy head of the Comprehensive Section to Zhangba Township to inspect forestry work, but I just received news that our staff member was seriously injured and is currently lying in the hospital."

The last sentence was almost squeezed out.

Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, Teng Hongxing chuckled inwardly. "Cheng Keqiang, you sent this out, didn't you? You actually said it was sent by the bureau? Why don't we know about it?"

Jin Youwei frowned slightly.

I don't know if the frown was because Cheng Keqiang's words were exaggerated, or because the forestry bureau comrade was beaten.

The others remained silent. They were clearly surprised by this.

Teng Hongxing coughed lightly and said, "Deputy Director Cheng, I know a little about this matter, but what I heard was not like that. Instead, Comrade Wang Kang, the Party Secretary and Mayor of Zhangba Township, called to protest that our comrades indiscriminately fired at the local villagers, which led to the beating!"

His words caused a huge uproar: a gun?!

Jin Youwei's face immediately darkened. He said, "What's going on? Old Teng, please continue!"

Intuitively, Teng Hongxing's words seemed more credible. This seasoned veteran, he didn't even tell himself the truth. The word "gun" is so sensitive, yet he dared to conceal it?!

Teng Hongxing and Cheng Keqiang were singing opposite each other. This was nothing new. And this was another opportunity to befriend Wang Kang, which he was determined to seize.

Ignoring Cheng Keqiang's anger, Teng Hongxing continued, "Just before you notified us of the meeting, Director, I received a call from Secretary Wang of Zhangba Township. I've met him a few times. During the call, he expressed great dissatisfaction with our bureau, saying that we didn't inform the township before going on inspections, and who would be responsible if something went wrong? Furthermore, some of our comrades went hunting in the mountains while on duty. They encountered another group and actually shot at them to steal their prey, causing such a big incident. Comrade Xiao Kai is usually lazy in his work style, doesn't get along well with his colleagues, and is said to be a big spender, frequently visiting high-end establishments. I think the responsibility for this is probably with us!"

"Furthermore, I just went to the General Affairs Section. Section Chief Liao Yuan was sent out by Deputy Director Cheng, but I don't know what Xiao Kai is doing there. I didn't know we had a working group sent down to Zhangba Township before, and I believe the other comrades are the same, right?"

That's a harsh retort! A direct confrontation.

Although Cheng Keqiang was furious, he was also alarmed. Could there really be another hidden story? Xiao Kai had essentially sided with him. If, as Teng Hongxing said, he really did fire on the local villagers, he would be implicated as well.

He dared not give a random answer to Jin Youwei's questioning.

He could only say, "That's the information I received. However, our bureau won't let anyone who neglects their duties get away with it. We also can't wrong an innocent comrade. I suggest that we temporarily suspend the investigation into the work of Xiao Kai and Liu Liang, a staff member of the Comprehensive Section!"

He would have taken on any ordinary matter. But this was far too sensitive! Guns, after all, were not a matter of food and drink. In official circles, the word "gun" was extremely taboo.

"I agree!" Sui Yunshang was the first to second the agreement.

Teng Hongxing and Zhou Tielin exchanged a glance and also voted in favor. Office Director Guo Yue also voted in favor, mainly because Bureau Chief Jin Youwei was dissatisfied with the matter, while full-time Deputy Party Secretary Chen Fu abstained.

Jin Youwei immediately made a decision: "Immediately suspend Xiao Kai and Liu Liang from their duties pending investigation! In addition, this matter will be investigated by Deputy Secretary Chen. We must clarify the situation as quickly as possible and limit the impact of this matter to the bureau and Zhangba Township as much as possible!"

"The experienced man will stay."

Xin Youwei seems very angry about this, while others are somewhat gloating. This also serves as a wake-up call; he can't let his guard down when managing his subordinates. Otherwise, he could bring serious problems upon himself at any time.

After everyone left, Jin Youwei gave Cheng Keqiang a severe dressing-down. Cheng Keqiang, however, didn't show any anger whatsoever. Instead, he humbly accepted the scolding. If Director Jin had a strong opinion of you, he wouldn't have scolded you at all.

To resolve this matter, Jin Youwei must step in; otherwise, he will bear a heavy responsibility.

At his age, being scolded to his face must have been a painful experience. Back in his office, Cheng Keqiang called Xiao Kai and gave him a good scolding.

Xiao Kai, lying on a hospital bed in the township hospital, was still plotting revenge against Zhang Guodong. Upon hearing Cheng Keqiang's curses, he was stunned. Had he taken the beating for nothing?

"Director Cheng, I couldn't refuse their kind invitation. The village secretary and head of the village below insisted that I investigate the tourism resources in the mountains, so I went into the mountains with the village officials. But we only hunted pheasants and rabbits, not any protected animals. They can vouch for me. On the contrary, that so-called executive deputy village head of Jixing Village not only shot at me, almost hitting me in the head, but if I hadn't dodged in time, I wouldn't be here today! They even claimed that the forests in the mountains belonged to their village. I said, 'These forest resources belong to the state, not individuals.' And that guy actually attacked Xiao Liu and me, knocking us to the ground. I didn't even fight back!" Xiao Kai cried pitifully. "Director Cheng, you must give me justice!" Cheng Keqiang was also furious. Hearing this, and hearing that there seemed to be more to the story, he immediately cursed, "What executive deputy village head? Does he even have that position? I think you've lost your mind!"

“That’s right. Li Genbao, the deputy village chief of Xia Village, said that Jixing Village has a new executive deputy village chief, who is in his twenties and was appointed by the township!” Xiao Kai said, surprised.

"Oh? Tell me in detail, honestly. Don't hide anything!" Cheng Keqiang was slightly taken aback, then frowned and said.