Just as they stepped out, they saw Zhou Xin and his group approaching them.

Seeing Song Guanchao and the others, Zhou Xin was also a bit anxious, worried about being outpaced by him.

He hurriedly greeted them and went into the office.

"Old Song, what do you think?" Cheng Xiang asked.

Chen Yirou and Jiang Yiren also looked at him.

If Song Guanchao decided to let it go, they wouldn't be surprised.

In this situation, it truly seemed impossible to intervene.

Song Guanchao said, "Though we haven't seen the surveillance, the driver is most likely not at fault. But this is just our conjecture; we still need to review the surveillance footage."

Cheng Xiang asked, "Do you plan to handle this matter?"

"Yes, I'll handle it."

Song Guanchao said, "If we can solve this, our contribution won't be small."

Cheng Xiang frowned, "It's not easy to solve."

He understood that Song Guanchao intended to handle it as if the driver was not at fault.

But if there's no fault, then there's no compensation.

Money is the most critical issue.

If they can't solve who's going to pay, they can't meddle, as the resistance is exceptionally large.

For these leaders, fairness isn't important, stability is what matters.

If the driver is deemed not at fault, the victims' families will definitely make a fuss.

Moreover, the incident will likely escalate.

But if the driver is held responsible, the insurance can pay out, and he can be apprehended, leaving only one person affected— the driver.

Then, by hiring a lawyer to wear him down, the driver might start doubting whether he really was responsible.

This way, everyone is happy.

But now, Song Guanchao intends to go against the grain.

The difficulty involved is imaginable.

Anyway, Cheng Xiang wasn't optimistic.

"It's quite solvable." Song Guanchao said.

"You have a solution?"

"Yes."

Song Guanchao said, "Let's talk in the parking lot; it's inconvenient here."

They moved to the parking lot, and Song Guanchao asked, "Where do you think the toughest part of this accident lies?"

"Money."

The three of them answered in unison.

Song Guanchao nodded, then shook his head, "Yes and no."

"Money is indeed tough, but it's not the main problem."

The three were puzzled; could there be an issue more important than compensation?

Song Guanchao said, "The main problem is that such accidents will keep happening."

Cheng Xiang realized, "You intend to address it at the root, to prevent similar accidents in the future?"

"Exactly."

"This…" Cheng Xiang found it unbelievable, "Isn't that impossible?"

Can you control everything, even determine when the bereaved decide to hold a funeral?

Forget about them; even if the City Secretary intervenes, it wouldn't work.

Traditionally, the deceased take precedence.

When people have scheduled a funeral, and you go and say, "Let's do it another day," see if they don't lash out at you.

"This is very simple," Song Guanchao said.

"Very simple?"

The three looked at each other in disbelief.

"Yes, very simple," Song Guanchao reiterated.

Cheng Xiang said, "If you can solve it, I think the compensation isn't a problem."

"We can use this to negotiate with Mr. Cao, have the district government pay compensation, and then we can address the root cause."

Song Guanchao shook his head, "Mr. Cao is not someone who gets things done."

"Besides, negotiating with him on this, would he believe it?"

"What if we solve the issue first, and then he refuses to acknowledge it?"

Cheng Xiang frowned, "That's also a problem."

Chen Yirou asked, "Have you thought of a solution?"

"Yes, I have."

"Then stop teasing us and tell us already."

Song Guanchao smiled and said, "You all saw Mr. Cao's attitude just now?"

"He wants to pin the full blame on the driver."

"This can't withstand scrutiny; if exposed, all the personnel involved will be implicated and punished."

"Think about it, who would be happiest if this issue gets exposed and Mr. Cao is affected?"

Cheng Xiang's eyes lit up, "I get it."

Chen Yirou and Jiang Yiren also understood what he meant.

Song Guanchao said, "Therefore, this issue shouldn't be taken to Mr. Cao; we should go to the other deputy district chiefs."

After a moment's pondering, Chen Yirou said, "These deputy district chiefs might not be willing to step in."

After all, even if solved through a deputy district chief, it wouldn't topple Mr. Cao.

Instead, it might make Mr. Cao bear a grudge against the deputy district chiefs, making their work difficult thereafter.

Song Guanchao said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch. Let's contact them first. If they're unwilling, we escalate the matter to become a public uproar online. Then the City Committee and Municipal Government will have to intervene."

They nodded, their opinions unified.

"Then Old Cheng, check out the contact details for the deputy district chiefs in Nanhu District; let's pay them a visit."

"Okay, leave it to me."

Cheng Xiang set to work immediately, making calls from the parking lot.

This incident couldn't be delayed, as delay brings changes.

They needed to meet the deputy district chiefs today.

After over half an hour of calling, Cheng Xiang finished.

"I looked into it, and in Nanhu District, there's an executive deputy district chief who's had conflicts with Mr. Cao. Let's just focus on him."

Song Guanchao remembered this person, having met him earlier in the morning— his name is Zhong Baofeng.

Cheng Xiang sent Zhong Baofeng's number to him.

Song Guanchao contacted him immediately.

"Hello, Mr. Zhong, I'm Song Guanchao."

Upon hearing Song Guanchao directly state his name, Cheng Xiang and the others wondered if he was being overly confident.

Sure, he was famous in Lingjiang, but he was only well-known in a small prefecture-level city.

This is the Provincial City.

Do you expect people there to know you?

But seeing Song Guanchao chatting with Zhong Baofeng, it was clear Zhong Baofeng had indeed heard of him.

"Alright, we'll head over now."

After hanging up, Song Guanchao said, "Mr. Zhong seems quite interested. Let's go meet him."

He opened the car door and got in, while the three curiously asked, "Aren't we going to the office building?"

"It's inconvenient at the office building; we'll meet outside."

Since Mr. Cao was still there, if they went to meet a deputy district chief like Zhong Baofeng, Mr. Cao would see them and eventually overthink.

They didn't go far, just to a nearby private dining restaurant.

This was arranged by Zhong Baofeng. When they arrived and spoke to the attendant, they were led to a private room.

When the tea was served, Zhong Baofeng also arrived.

Having met in the morning, Zhong Baofeng knew this District Chief Song had previously worked under Wu Qiangwei.

Moreover, it should've been the driver taking the wheel, yet for some reason, the driver didn't, and instead, Song Guanchao brought her to the accident scene.

This hinted that Wu Qiangwei and Song Guanchao's relationship had surpassed a standard boss-secretary dynamic, and so he naturally dared not neglect them.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.