At that time,
in the office of Zhu Hanmin, the Secretary of the Party Committee,
he was talking with someone from below.
Suddenly, the secretary Lin Xia hurried in.
She whispered something into Zhu Hanmin's ear.
Zhu Hanmin's expression was immediately shocked.
He waved his hand to end the conversation prematurely.
When there was no one else in the office, Zhu Hanmin asked, "Who initiated this? Was it Zhao Yiping?"
Lin Xia shook her head and said, "I heard from the municipal government that it was Chen Fang, the Secretary-General, who changed the schedule on the fly, arranging for Mayor Zhao to go to the Starlight Night Market."
"How is Chen Fang connected to the Starlight Night Market?"
Zhu Hanmin muttered to himself.
He frowned,
and said, "Go and call Minister Yuan here, and be quick about it."
After Lin Xia hurried out,
soon, a middle-aged woman opened the door of Zhu Hanmin's office.
"Secretary Zhu, you wanted to see me?"
This person was named Yuan Yunqiu, a member of the Wulan City Party Committee and the head of the Propaganda Department.
"Comrade Yunqiu, you take a few people and head to the Starlight Night Market right away,"
Zhu Hanmin said.
Yuan Yunqiu was taken aback.
She asked, "What's happening at the Starlight Night Market?"
Lin Xia, at the side, explained in detail the situation about Zhao Yiping, Chen Fang, and others visiting the Starlight Night Market for research.
Zhu Hanmin continued, "Zhu Kuang just went in. Whether it's Zhao Yiping or Chen Fang, they are definitely planning to take action at the Starlight Night Market. At this time, we cannot let the situation get out of hand, so there can't be any trouble there."
Yuan Yunqiu pondered for a moment.
She said, "Secretary Zhu, I understand what needs to be done. I'll head there right now."
After finishing, she immediately turned and left.
...
At the entrance of the Starlight Night Market,
the atmosphere was still lively and peaceful.
As the person in charge on-site,
Wang Gaoxing was obsequiously shaking hands with the leaders present.
Suddenly, his expression froze,
staring at Chen Fang in front of him with a sense of astonishment.
"Manager Wang, this is Comrade Chen Fang, the Secretary-General of our Wulan City government,"
at the side, Zhao Yiping's secretary Yang Shao introduced enthusiastically.
Wang Gaoxing frowned and said, "Secretary-General Chen, have we met somewhere before?"
Chen Fang laughed heartily and said, "Manager Wang's memory isn't that great, is it? Have you forgotten last night? You locked me in the office and fined me three thousand yuan. You even said you'd ruin me if I didn't pay. Don't you remember?"
As he said this,
the atmosphere on the scene was still very peaceful.
But as soon as he finished speaking,
the buzz of conversation abruptly stopped.
Everyone turned their heads to look at the smiling Chen Fang.
Wang Gaoxing, upon hearing this,
reacted as if he had been electrocuted,
jerked suddenly,
and upon taking a closer look at Chen Fang's face, began to sweat profusely on his forehead.
"Ah... it turns out to be Secretary-General Chen... It's a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding... If I had known your identity sooner, where would I dare to say that, Secretary-General Chen... I will definitely apologize to you later..."
Wang Gaoxing swallowed hard as he spoke.
At this moment, his heart was beating very vigorously.
"Comrade Chen Fang, what do you mean? A fine of three thousand, and threatening to ruin you? I didn't quite catch that,"
Zhao Yiping wouldn't miss this opportunity to stir the pot.
He leaned in and asked.
Chen Fang smiled faintly.
In front of the leaders present, he described in detail the ordeal he had experienced at the Starlight Night Market the previous night.
After listening,
Zhao Yiping was furious.
He said to Wang Gaoxing, "Manager Wang, don't you think you owe us an explanation for this?"
Wang Gaoxing was already sweating profusely.
His body even began to tremble a little.
Stuttering, he couldn't articulate a reason.
Zhao Yiping's face was stern.
He asked the Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau, Guo Pingsheng, "Director Guo, could this behavior constitute extortion?"
Guo Pingsheng also looked troubled.
He didn't know how best to assess the situation.
The Director of the City Supervision Bureau, Fan Jin, immediately stood up.
He said, "Mayor Zhao, this behavior is indeed quite reprehensible and must be dealt with seriously. However, I believe this was an individual act by Wang Gaoxing and should not be associated with the market."
This statement was actually a hint.
He was defining Wang Gaoxing's actions.
It also served as a reminder to Wang Gaoxing to take full responsibility for the matter.
And not to implicate the market.
Wang Gaoxing was a smart man.
Hearing this, although his heart cried out in sorrow,
he saw no other option for the moment.
He quickly stood up and said, "Yes, yes, yes, the fine was my own doing. It was out of greed to make some money, and it has nothing to do with the market. I, Wang Gaoxing, will bear any consequences alone."
A good move, sacrificing the pawn to save the king.
Chen Fang smiled.
He patted Wang Gaoxing on the shoulder.
He said, "Manager Wang, as far as I know, this isn't your first or second time extorting. Moreover, you've confined tourists, which already constitutes illegal detention. I've also heard that you've beaten people who didn't pay. So, I calculated it out for you: extortion, illegal detention, creating disturbances, intentional injury, plus organizing and leading a gang-style organization. With all these charges combined, you're likely to spend the second half of your life in prison. Director Guo, am I analyzing this correctly?"
If it were only about extortion,
the sentence would be less than three years.
With someone pulling strings, he might have been released within a year.
That would have been no big deal for Wang Gaoxing.
But now that Chen Fang had compiled so many charges against him,
any trace of courage in Wang Gaoxing instantly faded.
His gaze, pleading, turned towards Fan Jin, the Director of the City Supervision Bureau.
At that moment, Fan Jin was also scratching his head and cursing Wang Gaoxing for being a fool.
But in such a situation, his insignificant words couldn't change anything.
Just as he was unsure how to proceed,
suddenly, a voice rang out.
"Secretary Chen is absolutely right. We must not condone criminals. We should handle this according to the law to ensure a clean business environment in the market."
Everyone looked toward the source of the voice.
They saw another group approaching from the market's main entrance.
Leading them was a man and a woman.
The woman was none other than Yuan Yunqiu, the Propaganda Minister of Wulan City.
Accompanying her was a slightly overweight middle-aged man who looked quite imposing.
The statement had been made by this middle-aged man.
In the meantime,
he had approached Chen Fang.
He extended his hand,
and said, "Hello Secretary Chen, I am Xie Shanglin, the person in charge of the Starlight Night Market."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Xie,"
said Chen Fang as he shook his hand boldly.
Xie Shanglin laughed heartily.
He said, "What a bustling day it is today! It's indeed a day of honor for the Starlight Night Market. First, Minister Yuan came for an inspection, and then Mayor Zhao came for research. If I had known, I would have spruced things up a bit."
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