The story has developed to this point, and we must mention the political landscape prior to Chen Fang's arrival in Guyang City.

The last mayor, Ma Huai, ruled over a city divided amongst three factions.

The first faction was led by the Municipal Party Secretary, Xu Jianfeng.

Xu Jianfeng was a student of Wulan City's Deputy Party Secretary, Zhao Yiping.

His success today was all due to Zhao Yiping's support.

Backed by Zhao Yiping and as the top leader, Xu Jianfeng's faction was not weak.

The second faction was headed by Mayor Ma Huai.

His main general was Deputy Mayor Meng Zheqing.

Meng Zheqing was the secretary of Lin Duangxiong, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Congress. Lin Duangxiong had also served as Wulan City's Party Secretary, so with such a background, the strength of Ma Huai's faction was undeniable.

Following that was another group outside the three main forces, led by the then Minister of Organization, Xue Bo.

In such a situation, Xue Bo's power was undoubtedly the weakest.

But did you think Xue Bo had no one behind him?

No, he did.

It was Wulan City's Party Committee member, Standing Committee member, Deputy Party Secretary, and Mayor Ji Yu.

Before Chen Fang arrived, Qin Ye had told him that the political situation in Guyang Province was much more complex than that of the province itself, with entangled interests and mutual checks amongst various factions.

And the reason for this chaotic situation can be summed up in just one word: "interests."

The political situation in Guyang City was not originally as complicated; the main reason for it was the Economic Development Zone.

The Economic Development Zone was proposed by Zhao Yiping, Deputy Party Secretary of Wulan City, intended to become the center of politics, economy, culture, finance, and trade in Guyang City.

It was anticipated that over 2500 various enterprises, including more than 1200 industrial ones, would settle there.

The planned Economic Development Zone had clear industrial features, with specialized parks for machinery and equipment, new energy and materials, biomedicine, and a provincial high-tech business incubator, providing various professional services to investors.

It was expected to generate a GDP of 20 billion yuan, achieve industrial sales revenue of 50 billion yuan, and secure fiscal revenue of 2 billion yuan in the future.

Not to speak of other aspects.

Just with these 1200+ industrial enterprises averaging an investment of 1 billion yuan each, the scale was quite staggering.

Such a large Economic Development Zone involved countless interests.

Whichever faction gained control would be akin to holding a gold mine, securing an endless stream of wealth.

Indeed, it was for this reason.

Lin Duangxiong quickly entered the fray, deploying his secretary Meng Zheqing to Guyang City, rapidly securing the position of Party Secretary for the Economic Development Zone.

At the same time, Lin Duangxiong personally made moves, drawing in the then mayor Ma Huai, and formed a countervailing force against Xu Jianfeng.

Although Lin Duangxiong was quick to act,

nobody expected a turn of events at the crucial moment.

Ma Huai was diagnosed with cancer.

At this time, Mayor Ji Yu made his move.

It was openly known that Lin Duangxiong had clashed with Zhao Yiping while he was the top official in Wulan City.

She knew that at such a critical moment, Zhao Yiping would never let Lin Duangxiong take the mayor position of Guyang City.

Thus, she joined forces with Zhao Yiping and propelled the Minister of Organization, Xue Bo, into the mayor's seat.

What Zhao Yiping did not realize at that time was that Ji Yu also had her eye on the prosperous Economic Development Zone, and Xue Bo had long been brought into her fold.

That was how Guyang City's tripartite balance of power officially formed.

Xu Jianfeng had Zhao Yiping above him.

Xue Bo had Ji Yu above him.

Ironically, Lin Duangxiong's secretary, Meng Zheqing, became the weakest faction.

Some might argue that Meng Zheqing had the support of provincial leaders, being at a clearly higher level, so why would he be the weakest?

Don't forget, local officials wield the real power.

And what's more, Lin Duangxiong's position was in the People's Congress, where his authority carried little weight.

It was at this juncture,

that a mysterious woman appeared.

This person was Sister Hua.

Of course, Sister Hua wasn't the one to act directly. She had an agent, who was Jiang Mingqing from the Mingqing Real Estate Group.

Jiang Mingqing was in the real estate business.

If he could get a slice of the pie with the establishment of the Economic Development Zone, the Mingqing Real Estate Group would rise swiftly.

He naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

The first person Jiang Mingqing approached was Meng Zheqing. But Meng Zheqing was arrogant and unwilling to cooperate with Jiang Mingqing. So, at Sister Hua's suggestion, Jiang Mingqing concocted a good play about catching an affair.

Zhao Yiping saw his chance.

This was the best opportunity to deal with Meng Zheqing.

So, he immediately used the incident to challenge Meng Zheqing.

Meng Zheqing was in a great deal of trouble.

Only then did Jiang Mingqing jump out and tell Meng Zheqing that he could help him solve the problem.

Only then did Chen Fang witness the spectacle of Sister Hua bribing the Disciplinary Committee Secretary Zhang Weiming.

To put it bluntly,

from the occurrence to the resolution, everything was orchestrated by Sister Hua.

By then,

Meng Zheqing had become Jiang Mingqing's man.

Next, Sister Hua's target fell on the Party Secretary Xu Jianfeng.

She figured out Xu Jianfeng's inherent flaws and had Jiang Mingqing deliver him money and women. Hence, even though Xu Jianfeng was officially Zhao Yiping's man, in reality, he was already under Sister Hua's "control".

By this point, these two factions had already been unified by Sister Hua.

It's just that the people from Xue Bo's camp didn't know yet.

The matter with Xie Liang.

It occurred after Ma Huai was diagnosed with cancer, and Ji Yu incited Xue Bo to fabricate it.

The purpose was to score points for the Organization Department.

This way, as the head of the Organization Department, Xue Bo would have the possibility of taking the second-in-command position.

They also believed that Zhao Yiping and Lin Duangxiong's factions had already fallen out, and no one would stab Xue Bo in the back at such a juncture. After all, if Xue Bo sided with either faction at this time, they could potentially crush the other side. Only a fool would do such a thing.

...

On the way to Baishui Village,

Su Jianren gave Chen Fang a detailed introduction to the person Tian Xinran.

Tian Xinran, 30 years old this year, her husband is Sun Congmin.

Sun Congmin is a painter and works away from home all year round.

It's unknown if it's because of his job as a painter, but even after many years of marriage, they haven't had any children.

And as for Tian Xinran, despite being a village woman, she is also known for her beauty in the surrounding villages.

Back in the day, the men who wanted to marry her were so many they practically broke down her doorstep. But in the end, she married honest and hardworking Sun Congmin, who was considered to have good standing in the village.

Hearing this,

Chen Fang grew suspicious.

He had already reviewed Xie Liang's profile. Xie Liang was just an ordinary civil affairs official with no involvement with Dashishi Town, let alone Baishui Village.

If they had to choose a village woman like Tian Xinran for a staged act of righteousness,

the two must at least be acquainted. Otherwise, how could they coordinate with each other?

"Comrade Jianren, does this Tian Xinran often go to the city?"

Chen Fang asked.

Su Jianren frowned and replied, "I'm not too clear on that, but I am also from Baishui Village. At least in my memory, Sister Tian rarely goes out. She keeps to herself and is polite to everyone she sees."

"So, does she usually stay at home by herself?"

Chen Fang continued to ask.

Su Jianren nodded and said, "Most of the time, she's by herself at home. Sun Congmin rarely comes back, only once or twice a year."

After saying this, he suddenly seemed to recall something and added, "Sun Congmin also has an older brother named Sun Congjun. He's over 40 years old and a bachelor. Their parents died early, and it was this elder brother who raised the younger one singlehandedly. His house is right beside Sun Congmin's…"

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