Chapter 217 Slingshot Under the Tree
"...It's even harder to say. The two of them haven't had children for so many years, what if they do? Isn't that right?" the confidant said.
Old Zhao shook his head and said, "The child is already so big. I can tell he's obviously not close to Secretary Zheng, and he even seems to hate him. Besides, who would want to raise someone else's son? His wife's family is rich and powerful. If they wanted to adopt, they would definitely choose a child from their relatives' side, at least someone related to his wife by blood. Don't you think what I'm saying makes sense?"
The confidant pondered for a moment, then nodded, persuaded.
He said, "This is really a difficult situation. If that's the case, then the only option left is to pay money to avoid trouble."
The two exchanged a glance.
Old Zhao asked, "So who's targeting Secretary Zheng at this crucial juncture?"
"How would I know?" The confidant shook his head.
On the other side, Zheng Huaixin returned to his office. He originally intended to take the tape inside, but just as he raised his hand to knock on the door, he remembered that there was no tape recorder in the leader's office, so he specially found one for him.
I took it to my office first to test the machine and see if it worked properly.
To everyone's surprise, when the tape was put in, there was first a rustling sound of wind and the sound of a car driving and honking, and then slowly the sound of a car door opening and voices coming out.
He was frowning, wondering where the car noise was coming from in the hotel room, when he realized that the voices in the tape recording weren't his and Aqin's.
It was between him and Li Banxia!
Zheng Huaixin felt a chill run down his spine and stared at the tape recorder in disbelief.
He thought he had everything under control and had Li Banxia completely outmaneuvered, but then he was slapped in the face.
This tape contains his words of coercion and enticement to force Li Banxia to retire due to illness!
Li Banxia even cut out the dialogue that shouldn't have appeared, keeping only the evidence that handing over this tape would ruin his career.
As the tape played to the end, Ah Qin's voice came from the tape recorder.
She said, "Zheng Huaixin, we'll buy out your relationship with Xiao Shitou for 50,000 yuan. Once we get the money, we'll leave and never appear in front of you again. This tape will also disappear when we leave. If you don't pay, we'll expose the tape, and you'll bear the consequences."
The sizzling sound ends here.
Zheng Huaixin stared at the tape recorder, feeling both hatred and fear.
This cassette tape...
When did Li Banxia record this?!
He deliberately drove people to a deserted riverbank before he dared to say those things!
How dare she?!
You bitch!
We should have listened to Lin Jiefang back then and nipped the problem in the bud.
It was wrong of me to be so soft-hearted as to think that threatening Li Banxia, who was retired due to illness, would solve the problem.
His arrogance stemming from wielding great power blinded him to the fact that even ordinary people dared to rebel.
Zheng Huaixin belatedly realized that Aqin was someone else's person.
He couldn't believe it, nor did he want to believe it—Li Banxia had actually tripped him up!
He had already provided the most reasonable solution, and Lin Jiefang went to jail and received the punishment he deserved, while his family suffered no loss whatsoever!
Why is she still so persistent and relentlessly pursuing this issue?!
Does she know that doing this will ruin him?!
Fortunately, he checked the machine and tested it. What would have happened if he had barged into the boss's office and let the boss hear these conversations?
He abused his power, disregarded criminal law, and knowingly broke the law...
Not only will he lose the deputy mayor position he's already secured, but he'll also lose his current secretary!
Zheng Huaixin broke out in a cold sweat and took a deep breath to calm himself down.
This matter cannot be delayed any longer; it must be resolved quickly.
The plan is to raise money quickly and send the person away within three days to prevent future trouble.
He took another breath and calmed himself down. Once he had completely composed himself, he wanted to call Li Banxia first. However, Li Banxia hadn't been to work for more than half a month. When he called the phone booth on the street where Li Banxia lived, the person who answered the caller hung up with a snap.
My calmed emotions instantly turned into agitation again.
Zheng Huaixin kicked the table leg, took a deep breath to calm himself, and this time, after carefully considering his words, he knocked on the door of the top leader's office.
The top leader looked at him, "...Is there anything else?"
“Boss, I just went to the hotel to talk to them. The woman admitted that she was a fake A-Yue. The real A-Yue is dead. She is A-Yue’s sister, A-Qin.”
"Sister?" The leader frowned. "So?"
Zheng Huaixin hurriedly said, "She asked me for 50,000 yuan, saying that if I gave her the money, she would take the child away and never appear in front of me again. I thought this was a possible solution. Does the leader think it's feasible?"
"You don't want the child anymore?"
Zheng Huaixin smiled bitterly, "If the child stays, what will happen to my wife? I don't want my wife to be sad. We are both still young, and we will have our own children eventually. That Aqin is Ayue's sister and the child's aunt. She will treat the child well. It's better for the child to stay with her than with me. The child doesn't feel safe with me."
"It's good that you've thought it through."
The top leader gave him a deep look, his eyes dark and unfathomable, and waved his hand, "Go and handle it, time is of the essence."
Zheng Huaixin breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that his leader hadn't gotten angry.
He further stated, "I was cultivated by the leaders, and I am their person. I will keep my integrity and will not allow similar things to happen again."
"Just remember who your mentor is, and go on." The leader glanced at him, smiling, but there was no real smile in his eyes.
Zheng Huaixin didn't notice, but was actually relieved by these words.
He was thinking of asking his wife for some money when he got home that night. He figured he could get the 50,000 yuan back in less than a year once he became the deputy mayor. He would have power and influence, and money would just be icing on the cake.
At that time, there will be plenty of people vying to give him gifts and begging him to spend money on them.
As he left the leader's office, he let out a long sigh and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
The confidant and Lao Zhao also returned from outside. They greeted him with smiles. The confidant glanced at the leader's office and asked Zheng Huaixin, "Secretary Zheng, where is the leader?"
“I’ve explained everything clearly, and the leader agrees that I should spend money to avoid trouble. I’ll go back and raise the money. You two keep an eye on things in the lobby and the hotel, and keep an eye on them to see if they’re associating with anyone else.”
The confidant nodded hurriedly and agreed. Old Zhao hesitated for a moment and said, "I still have some work to do here, and I really can't help. Secretary Zheng, I'll go and get back to work."
After saying that, he nodded slightly and quickly left.
The confidant sighed twice, "What's wrong with Old Zhao? He was just given an important task and he's already disrespecting Secretary Zheng like this."
Secretary Zheng's face was somewhat gloomy, and he sent his trusted confidant.
The confidant smiled and replied, "Secretary Zheng, remember to take me with you then. I'll follow you down here and learn a thing or two about subtlety and mannerisms."
"Don't worry, if you come with me, I will definitely teach you everything I know."
After Secretary Zheng finished drawing the picture of the seriously ill confidant, he went back to his office to calm down before riding his bicycle home.
He was just figuring out how to bring it up with his wife when he got home to find no one there.
The nanny said, "The lady received a phone call and went back to her parents' house. She hasn't come back yet."
Zheng Huaixin nodded and said he was going to pick up his wife and asked the nanny to call her family. But when he got there, he didn't even get inside.
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