0014 17 "Director Zhou, do you need any help?"

Steam rose from the teacup in front of me, which sat on a reddish-brown solid wood table.

Five people sat in a row in the meeting room. The person at the head of the group was talking eloquently. Ling Xingzhi noticed that the person's saliva sprayed onto the table and subconsciously frowned.

"Secretary Ling... that's the situation. If there's anything you don't understand, let me explain it again."

The speaker was Sun Xiangrui, the property manager of the residential area where the development project was located in Mentougou. When he saw Ling Xingzhi frowning, he assumed that there was something wrong with him.

“I understand what you mean. The Mentougou government approved the demolition of your community and contracted it out to a developer. The government and the developer colluded to cheat you. Not only was the money they gave you insufficient, but the community you were relocated to was also different from what was originally promised.”

Sun Xiangrui nodded in agreement. “There’s a family here who are really stubborn. I heard their child is studying abroad. With the normal compensation for the demolition, they could buy a house and wouldn’t have to worry about their child studying abroad. But the money they’re getting now isn’t enough to buy a house. Their child is still abroad, and the old couple has nowhere to live.”

Ling Xingzhi took a sip of tea, hummed in agreement, and listened attentively.

"The couple became holdouts. The day before yesterday, the developer and his men got into a fight with them and then buried them alive."

Upon hearing this, Ling Xingzhi's face turned extremely ugly. "Buried alive?"

"Yes, they were buried alive! Government officials were right there watching, we saw it ourselves, and someone even recorded a video. Take a look!"

The person behind Sun Xiangrui was gesturing wildly and talking, then took out his phone and handed it to Ling Xingzhi. Ling Xingzhi took the phone and looked at the video inside; the video's sound was exceptionally loud in the conference room.

"Secretary Ling, you must help us! We're at our wits' end. We went to the police station to report the crime, but the police and the government are in cahoots, so we can't get justice. We have no choice but to come to the city..."

Ling Xingzhi turned off the video. "Did you rescue the person, or is he already dead?"

The group exchanged glances. Ling Xingzhi, observing their expressions, pursed his lips and asked, "The person is dead, but is the body still there?"

Sun Xiangrui shook his head, "I don't know about that..."

"Besides this video, what other evidence is there?"

“Our property management staff can all testify that it was the developer’s people who committed the murder… They also pressured us, refusing to sign the contract, and either vandalized our cars or harassed us at our workplaces…”

After Ling Xingzhi roughly understood the situation, he asked Li Qingshan, who was standing nearby, to go and check the burial site. If there was a body, the police would be dispatched; otherwise, they would return.

"Secretary Ling, you must help us!"

Ling Xingzhi held Sun Xiangrui's hand and said, "I will definitely find out the truth. If there really is such a government that is so inactive, especially in Beijing, it will definitely be severely punished. Don't worry, I will give you an explanation."

As he escorted the group to the elevator, he specifically instructed them, "I'll have people protect you these next few days, so be careful when you go out."

"well……"

After the person left, Ling Xingzhi returned to his office and looked at the videos and joint petitions on his phone. These petitions were signed by local property management personnel accusing the Mentougou government and developers.

"Find out which developer it is," Ling Xingzhi instructed Chen Ran. Then he picked up the phone and called the Municipal Public Security Bureau. "Something has happened in Mentougou. We need your cooperation. Just send officers to the scene."

Soon after, Chen Ran found the developer's name: "Jingran Mingchen Co., Ltd., Haidian District, Beijing. This company mainly develops real estate and also has business in other places."

Ling Xingzhi picked up the documents and started looking through them.

“It will be tomorrow morning…”

Zhou Xiye looked at the business card. The name on it belonged to a developer she was very familiar with. The boss was named Cui Haoran, with a fleshy face, a round belly, a leather jacket, and expensive leather shoes that were covered in dirt.

"Director Zhou, I heard that Xiangtan has a new director of its Beijing office, so I've come to pay a visit..."

Zhou Xiye asked Li Xiaocen to pour him some tea. Cui Haoran smelled the aroma, looked up at Zhou Xiye, and said, "Director Zhou, do you have any pre-Qingming Longjing tea? This tea doesn't smell fresh."

The visitor seemed ill-intentioned. Zhou Xiye smiled and said, "No, you don't have to drink it if you don't like it."

Cui Haoran also laughed, "When I came here before, the director of the Beijing office served me top-grade Tieguanyin tea..." After saying that, he looked at Zhou Xiye and shook his head.

Zhou Xiye nodded in sudden realization, "No wonder he couldn't hold onto this position."

Cui Haoran paused, his displeasure vanishing instantly. "The director of the Beijing Liaison Office is a good position... lucrative, a position for networking and connections. I heard about your appointment and came here specifically to visit you."

Zhou Xiye tapped his fingers on the table absently, his dark hair tied in a low ponytail blowing over his shoulders, and his frameless glasses gave off an inexplicable sense of pressure.

"I know you. The convention and exhibition center in Xiangtan City was developed by your company. It's very famous."

Cui Haoran nodded with his mouth agape. He felt that the director in front of him was unyielding and that it would be difficult to smooth things over.

But that's normal. New officials are all like that. She'll know whether it's good or bad after a while.

After a few pleasantries, Cui Haoran couldn't wait to get to the point, "Director Zhou, isn't the military parade coming up soon? I heard that many provincial leaders are coming back, you..."

Zhou Xiye smiled and said, "I am from Xiangtan City. I am not responsible for receiving provincial leaders."

Cui Haoran sighed and nodded, somewhat impatiently, "I was thinking, could you play matchmaker and we could have a meal together to get to know each other better?"

“You may not know, but there are cameras in the office,” Zhou Xiye glanced up, then pushed the card back onto the table. “I don’t know how the former director of the Beijing office treated you. He had his rules, and so do I.”

"Now that I am the director of the Beijing Liaison Office, you must abide by my rules. The old ways won't work, or you'll end up in jail sooner or later."

Cui Haoran's expression changed upon hearing this. He cursed inwardly, "You whore who's been ridden by ten thousand men, you must have slept your way up here. I'll get rid of you sooner or later when it's my path to wealth."

Zhou Xiye smiled without saying a word, saw Cui Haoran off, and had only been sitting in her office for a few minutes when her phone rang. It was a message from her mother: "Xiaoye, we've arrived in Beijing."

She wanted to throw her phone away, and only replied with one sentence: "Wait for me at the Orange Hotel next to the Beijing Liaison Office."

After work, Zhou Xiye walked to the Orange Hotel. The lobby manager already recognized her. After all, hotels next to the Beijing liaison office are usually for visiting officials, so everyone would know if the director changed, especially the hotel receptionists.

"Director, your parents are in room 303. Please come with me."

Zhou Xiye followed the waiter to the third floor. When the door opened, there were two people sitting inside and one person standing.

Her father and brother were sitting, and her mother was standing.

The door wasn't closed properly, and Zhou Xiye walked straight to the chair next to the bed, sat down, crossed her legs, and kept a distance from the other three people.

The three of them gathered around, and Zhou Xiye unscrewed a bottle of water and took a small sip.

"Tell me, what's the deal with marriage, and what's the deal with work?"

The mother paused, then opened her mouth and said, "Your brother's wedding cost 141,300 yuan for the bride price, 100,000 yuan for the wedding, and there wasn't even any money for renovations..."

Zhou Xiye put down the bottle and looked at her younger brother, "You bought him a house?"

The younger brother nodded, “150 square meters, down payment of 1.2 million.”

Zhou Xiye casually tossed the bottle away. The uncapped bottle splashed liquid as it flew, and the bottle landed on his younger brother's shoulder.

The father and mother protected the younger brother, saying, "He's your brother, how could you bear to hit him!"

Zhou Xiye sneered, "A down payment of 1.2 million? How much money do you have? You earn 5,000 a month now. After paying the mortgage, do you even have enough to live on? You still want to get married? You're as stupid as a pig."

After saying that, she glanced at her younger brother with utter contempt.

"How is that stupid? Everyone has their difficulties. What's wrong with borrowing some money? Aren't you his sister? You're thirty years old and still not married. Can't you give some money to your brother? Do you expect him to spend it on your cheap little brother?"

The mother said, protecting her younger brother.

Zhou Xiye was already used to this kind of talk. "No dowry, no renovation money, no wedding money? Zhou Xipeng, let me ask you, I paid for this wedding, but who did I marry? Is it your wife or mine? How are you going to pay me back? Twenty years, or thirty years?"

"Marriage is a big deal. If you don't get married, the Zhou family will still need to have an heir. Your younger brother is the root of our family."

Zhou Xiye picked up another bottle of water and threw it over, "The roots of the Zhou family? I think they're just trash. They're not satisfied with sucking your blood, they want to suck mine too."

Her father raised his hand to hit Zhou Xiye, but she turned her head and looked at him aggressively, "Go ahead and hit me. If this slap comes down, I'll make your son beg for food at Beijing West Railway Station."

"How could I have given birth to such an ungrateful child? You bully people now that you have power," her mother cursed. "No wonder you can't get married. Who would want a woman like you? You can just cling to power and live your life on your own."

Zhou Xiye seemed to have heard the most interesting joke in the world, and laughed heartily until his stomach hurt a little.

"What would I need power for if I didn't bully others?" Zhou Xiye wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, stood up, and looked at the three people huddled together. "I have power so that I can bully you cowards who prey on the weak."

At this moment, the younger brother took out a voice recorder and said, "If you don't give me money, I'll expose you online, saying that you are unfilial, abuse the elderly, and humiliate your younger brother."

Zhou Xiye's smile vanished instantly, replaced by murderous intent. But after a few more seconds, she looked at her younger brother with amusement, like a hunter eyeing its dying prey. "My dear brother, you may not know, but power is a wonderful thing. Its beauty lies in the fact that I can do whatever I want."

“You can release the recording if you want,” Zhou Xiye said, taking out his phone. “I’ll send your boss a message saying you don’t want to work here anymore, no need…”

The younger brother stood up, snatched the phone, and smashed it on the ground.

Zhou Xiye flew into a rage, grabbed his younger brother by the collar, slapped him twice, and then pushed him to the ground.

"What are you, that you dare to smash my phone?"

The father got angry and was about to hit Zhou Xiye with a stool, but before he could strike, applause rang out from the doorway.

The four people looked towards the door, which was slightly ajar. The door was slowly pushed open, and Ling Xingzhi leaned lazily against the doorframe. "Director Zhou, do you need any help?"