Chen Fang hurriedly left Baihua Town.

When he arrived at Ding Yuan's home, it was already 10 p.m.

After he relayed the details of the incident, Ding Yuan was quite shocked.

Chen Fang knew Qian You quite well, having dealt with him for many years, yet he hadn't expected a problem to arise at such a critical moment.

"Do you think that behind this incident, it's Ding Mengxiang pulling the strings?"

Ding Yuan asked, furrowing his brows.

Chen Fang nodded and said, "A person's character can't change so swiftly. With your recent promotion to county head, it should have been a good thing for Qian You as well, given that a rising tide lifts all boats. A problem arising at this moment must mean someone is inciting it from behind."

Ding Yuan sighed deeply.

He said, "Ah Fang, handle this matter however you need to. Don't worry about its impact on me, I can even stop being the county head if it comes to that."

"It's not about whether you remain the county head or not. With Ding Mengxiang being dismissed, his revenge won't stop just because you step down as county head. Without a doubt, he will make sure you end up just like him."

Chen Fang said with a heavy heart.

Ding Yuan chuckled and said, "Then you don't need to worry. Whatever has been done before, I've sorted it out. Even though Qian You is informed, he doesn't have any evidence. I wasn't involved in the matter of the village, so at most it can be said that my governance was lax, which won't lead to serious consequences."

"What if Qian You claims that you orchestrated everything? What if he pins all the responsibility on you?"

Chen Fang asked.

Ding Yuan laughed heartily and said, "That won't happen. I believe you if you say he is confused, but you telling me he would harm me—that's impossible. I know my own people."

Chen Fang sighed deeply and said, "The fear is that he has no other choice. If that's the case, it really would be bad."

"So what should we do?"

Ding Yuan asked.

Chen Fang got up and paced.

Turning around, he said, "His move is clever—if I investigate, then I would be the one to bring you down. If I don't, then he could turn around and accuse me of failing to report what I know, leading us both to downfall. So, I am forced between a rock and a hard place; I have no choice but to investigate."

What's this called?

This is called being caught between a rock and a hard place.

The last thing government officials want is infighting among colleagues. The previous incident of bringing down Pan Youde had already caused displeasure among the staff at the county committee and government.

If Ding Yuan's issues are also unearthed and he is taken down, Chen Fang would no longer have a footing in Jinde County.

But not investigating wasn't an option either.

After all, he already knew about the incident.

Aside from failing to report what he knew, the people of the village would also be disappointed in him.

In other words, investigation would make enemies on all sides, not investigating would lose public support.

Either step forward or step back, they were both dead ends for Chen Fang.

It truly was a harsh move from Ding Mengxiang, never striking unless it was a devastating blow.

The next morning at 9:30.

Three cars drove into the government compound of Baihua Town.

As the cars entered,

In Xue He's office,

Yu Xiaohua was sitting on Xue He's lap.

Xue He's hand was also wandering inside Yu Xiaohua's skirt.

After several fondlings, Yu Xiaohua's face was flushed and her breathing was hurried.

"Look, you're becoming a waterfall already. You really are naughty," Xue He said sleazily.

Nestled against Xue He, Yu Xiaohua cooed, "It's all your fault for teasing me, making me all itchy inside. If it weren't for being in the office, I would definitely vent on you…"

"We can do it in the office too. Without my command, no one dares to come in," Xue He said.

Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaohua flirtatiously asked, "Shall I draw the curtains then?"

"Go ahead," Xue He could hardly bear it any longer.

He slapped Yu Xiaohua's buttocks and had just unbuckled his belt when Yu Xiaohua stopped at the window.

"Weren't you going to vent? Come over here quickly!" Xue He said.

Yu Xiaohua pointed downstairs with her finger and said, "Leader, three county cars have arrived, and the person in the front seems... it seems to be Deputy County Chief Chen Fang..."

Chen Fang?

Xue He was startled.

He muttered, "That's really a mood killer."

He quickly put on his belt.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and his secretary came in to report that Deputy County Chief Chen Fang had arrived.

He leisurely opened the door and slowly made his way down the stairs.

As he was about to reach the bottom, he suddenly quickened his pace, hurried over, and even pretended to be out of breath as he asked, "Where is Deputy County Chief Chen? Where is Deputy County Chief Chen?"

At that time,

Chen Fang was surrounded by a group of leaders from the town.

Xue He pushed through the crowd, rushed up, and grabbed Chen Fang's hand, excitedly saying, "Deputy County Chief Chen, why didn't you call in advance when you came to our Baihua Town, so I could have come to the town entrance to meet you."

"Secretary Xue, sweating so much, were you busy just now?"

Chen Fang asked with a light smile.

Xue He hurriedly wiped the sweat off his forehead.

He said, "Oh, I've been busy with the reconstruction of Houtang Village these days. Hearing that Deputy County Chief Chen was coming, I was so happy that I rushed down hurriedly."

What sweat?

The water on Xue He's face was clearly the result of pouring mineral water on his face when he had just come downstairs, and Chen Fang was not fooled, seeing it immediately.

Seeing through but not pointing it out, he patted Xue He on the shoulder and said, "Secretary Xue truly is a good secretary of the people. After I return, I will definitely encourage all towns to learn from you."

"Alleviating worries for the people is our duty; there's nothing special to learn. Deputy County Chief Chen, you flatter me too much. Please, come inside, Deputy County Chief Chen."

After humbly finishing his words,

Xue He then invited Chen Fang into the reception room.

After everyone was seated,

Xue He asked, "Deputy County Chief Chen, may I know if there are any instructions you wish to announce on this visit to our Baihua Town?"

Chen Fang waved his hand and said, "It's nothing major. Secretary Xue also knows that I, Chen Fang, am leading the post-disaster reconstruction work of Houtang Village. It's been half a month since I last paid attention to this matter, so I decided to come and have a look."

"Oh, Deputy County Chief Chen, rest assured, it's a part of our duty in Baihua Town, and we definitely won't cause you any worry,"

Xue He said.

Chen Fang nodded and said, "With Secretary Xue overseeing the big picture, I, Chen Fang, naturally have nothing to worry about."

As soon as these words were spoken,

a young man rushed in with a document, whispering something into the ear of the Director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau who was sitting at the lower end of the table.

Seeing this, Chen Fang asked, "Director An, what are you whispering about?"

Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau Director An Zixing said, "Deputy County Chief Chen, it's nothing serious. During the inspection of our Jinde County Construction Company, several construction companies failed the audit and are to have their construction contracting qualifications revoked and be placed on the blacklist."

"Oh? Which company is it?"

Chen Fang asked.

An Zixing picked up the folder and said, "Jinde County Zhiyuan Construction Limited Company, the company's legal representative is Lin Zhiyuan."

Upon hearing this, Xue He's expression froze.

Chen Fang then muttered, "Zhiyuan Construction, I haven't heard of this name. Secretary Xue, have you heard of it?"

Xue He was momentarily at a loss for words.

He took a deep breath.

Xue He suddenly came to his senses.

Chen Fang's visit this time must have been about the matter of the subsidy funds.

Then, he couldn't quite comprehend.

Just last night, he had clearly become aware of the trickery involved with Qian You. So why come and pick a fight for no reason? Wasn't he afraid it would affect Ding Yuan?

Since it had come to this,

Xue He had nothing to fear anymore. He crossed his legs and said, "I've heard of it. This time, the reconstruction project of our Houtang Village was contracted to this construction company."

"Oh? Then I guess Secretary Xue must not have known that there were issues with this construction company. Otherwise, you definitely wouldn't have used them."

Chen Fang said with a smile.

Xue He chuckled coldly and said, "Whether there are issues or not, isn't it you, Deputy County Chief Chen, who gets the final say?"

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