Power and Wealth
Chapter 1382 – The time is ripe
Hospital.
In the lobby.
It was after 4 am.
Watching the officials of Fen Zhou City and Cheng Gang County arguing again, Dong Xuebing’s expression remained indifferent and terrifyingly calm. Looking at him like this, the people from Fen Zhou City were somewhat stunned. Mayor Xie was still undergoing treatment, and these people from Cheng Gang County were speaking ill below, even taunting them. This was too much. Based on Fen Zhou City’s understanding of Dong Xuebing, how could he endure such things? What was at stake was not just anyone’s life. It was Dong Xuebing’s wife and child. He would take action after hearing this, as this had always been the modus operandi of the jinx. However, why didn’t he act?
What does it mean?
Why didn’t he act?
Is this still the God of Plagues?
Could he be considering the consequences and doesn’t want to act? But when has Mayor Dong ever cared about consequences? He always acted when it was time to act. This is strange. Today is bizarre.
After arguing with Secretary Zhou Wei for a few sentences, his face red and his neck thick, Liao Yimin turned to look at Dong Xuebing, noticing his unusual behavior.
Dong Xuebing finally spoke, “Secretary Zhou, right?”
Zhou Wei looked at him with the same provocative look, devoid of concern, and asked, “How is Mayor Xie?”
Ignoring Zhou Wei’s words, Dong Xuebing said, “I want the people who were with Huilan then to come with me to the new County Party Committee building. I want to see the scene.”
With a stern face, the burly Zhou Wei resisted again, “You also think it was someone from our county who knocked down Mayor Xie, right?”
Liao Yimin shouted, “What are you being arrogant about?”
An official from Fen Zhou City said angrily, “Who are you shouting at?”
Dong Xuebing is Mayor Xie’s husband, and he is yelled at. It was equivalent to Mayor Xie being yelled at. The people from Fen Zhou City naturally wouldn’t accept this.
But Zhou Wei was still defiant, “What’s wrong with shouting at you guys? This is groundless accusations.”
Several Cheng Gang County staff members who were not present at the scene also thought that the people from Fen Zhou City were too much. They naturally believed in their people. Moreover, Mayor Li was present at that time. How could it be possible that he didn’t point out if they pushed the pregnant woman away? So, when Secretary Zhou spoke, everyone united. They felt wronged and provoked, and Secretary Zhou’s anger was justified. You can’t wrong people even if you are Mayor Xie’s husband or subordinate.
Both sides began to argue again.
The people from Cheng Gang County indeed had a bad temper, and their voices were loud.
Dong Xuebing was too lazy to waste time with them. “I’ll repeat it. Let’s go to the new Party Committee building.”
One of the five Cheng Gang County officials said, “If you want to say that we knocked down Mayor Xie, you can. But if you do, bring out the evidence.”
Dong Xuebing said indifferently, “We are going there to find evidence.”
Zhou Wei seemed unafraid, “Fine, let’s go together.”
All five seemed to wear expressions of being wronged and followed along.
Liao Yimin and the others also wanted to follow Dong Xuebing, but Dong Xuebing stopped them. “Old Liao, you guys don’t need to go. Please take care of Huilan.”
“But…”
“Listen to me.”
“Well, alright.”
Liao Yimin and the others stayed behind to take care of Mayor Xie.
The other staff members from Cheng Gang County gradually left the hospital.
Dong Xuebing drove his Range Rover and parked in the open-air parking lot. Once inside the car, he lit a cigarette and smoked slowly. He glanced at the Cheng Gang County officials who got into their cars in front. Including Zhou Wei, two from the Planning Bureau, and two from the County Government Office, all five were present. Others were staff members from relevant departments, totaling about ten people. The seven people mentioned by Huilan were missing only the County Deputy Mayor, Li Zhixin, and the head of the construction company.
The leading car in front started, guiding the way.
Dong Xuebing flicked the cigarette butt, stepped on the gas, and followed.
Because Huilan was sent to the hospital by Liao Yimin and the others, the new county committee building was not far away. It took only a few minutes to arrive.
A newly built school was not far on the west side.
On the east side was the location where Xie Huilan had the accident.
It was a large courtyard with unpaved ground, all dirt roads. A crane and two trucks were inside, surrounded by many construction materials. In the center stood a six-story office building, almost completed, without paint yet. Only some final work was needed. The top floor seemed unfinished, and the construction debris that fell earlier came from the materials piled on the rooftop.
The wind hadn’t stopped but had weakened a bit.
A lot of dust was floating in the air, necessitating the protection of the eyes.
The car stopped, and the people from Cheng Gang County got out of the cars.
Dong Xuebing also opened the door and got out but didn’t cover his mouth and eyes like the others. Instead, he stood at the courtyard gate, seemingly unaware, looking inside.
A cordon tape surrounded the area.
A police car was parked outside, with two police officers guarding.
Dong Xuebing lifted the cordon, entering without lowering his head.
“What are you doing? Come out!” The police officer was fierce. “Unauthorized personnel are not allowed inside!”
Zhou Wei and the people from Cheng Gang County walked over. “He is a family member of the injured and wants to see the scene.”
“Oh, Secretary Zhou.” The police officer’s harsh expression immediately changed when facing Dong Xuebing, adopting a respectful demeanor. “But it’s not safe inside. What if…”
“It’s okay.” After Zhou Wei finished speaking, he also bent down and entered.
The remaining officials from Cheng Gang County followed and entered the courtyard.
At the time of the incident, the falling materials were entirely due to the strong wind, an accident. The construction company should have handled the issue by now, and there shouldn’t be any danger. As expected, several people came out of the office building.
The one leading them was someone Dong Xuebing had seen at the hospital, the head of the construction company, and the eyewitness to the incident. Several workers wearing safety helmets followed him, obviously having just come down from the rooftop.
Zhou Wei asked, “Mr. Sun, have you found the cause of the accident?”
Sun nodded, “The rope binding the materials broke, and the wind blew down the materials. We’ve just fixed it, and everything is fine now.”
Dong Xuebing looked at them, “This is to investigate the cause of the accident. Where is the professional investigation team?”
Sun Zong glanced at him, “We are professionals and have already investigated and confirmed that it was an accident.”
Dong Xuebing chuckled, “When there’s a problem at a construction site, sending people from your own construction company to investigate and directly enter the scene to rearrange the materials is like having a person accused of murder investigate whether he killed someone. It’s ridiculous.”
But surprisingly, Dong Xuebing didn’t say anything and continued to walk inside.
The danger had been eliminated, and the people from Cheng Gang County followed without concern. The two police officers outside also joined them.
In the unfinished office building below.
Dong Xuebing looked up and lowered his head, “Where did my wife fall?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t have time to note that then, and we immediately sent her to the hospital,” Zhou Wei said.
Dong Xuebing looked at the two police officers who had followed, “Where is it?” Zhou Wei didn’t say, but the police must know.
The police officer frowned and pointed to the ground, “Right in front of you here.”
Dong Xuebing lowered his head again, but there was no trace of blood. “Where is the blood?”
“With such a strong wind and sand, the soil has covered everything, and it’s gone by now,” the police officer replied.
Dong Xuebing crouched down, used his hands to scrape away the sand from the designated area, and then found some sandy soil with traces of blood underneath, still moist and not completely dry.
His wife’s blood.
Touching it in his hands, Dong Xuebing felt a pang in his heart. He then looked around for the footprints. Footprints could reveal how Huilan was pushed away. However, he didn’t see a single footprint after searching for a long time. “Where are the footprints?”
“What footprints?”
“What are you talking about?”
The police officer frowned unhappily, seemingly disgusted with Dong Xuebing’s tone. “With such a strong wind, everything has been wiped out. How can there be any footprints?”
Dong Xuebing pointed to a nearby place, “Then tell me why there are still clear footprints over there, but there is not a trace here?”
“The sand has covered everything,” the police officer said.
Dong Xuebing said, “I don’t think the wind erased them. It’s probably someone deliberately erasing them.”
“What are you saying?” The other young police officer, annoyed, said, “Say it again.”
Mr. Sun said, “Mayor Dong, don’t make baseless accusations if you don’t understand the situation. With so much construction material in the yard, a random gust of wind can sweep everything away. Hence, it’s normal not to have footprints.”
It’s just a few square meters that are missing.
How could anyone be fooled?
Not to mention Dong Xuebing, even the Cheng Gang County staff members who were not at the scene at the time were taken aback, their eyes flickering.
Could it be that Mayor Li pushed Mayor Xie?
Otherwise, how could it be so coincidental that no footprints or bloodstains exist?
Their gazes kept shifting towards Zhou Wei and the other five. The few who had spoken up for Chief Li in the hospital now remained silent.
Zhou Wei noticed the strange expressions of the staff members, his face darkening, “What are you looking at? Go wait in the car.”
The staff members were eager to comply, answering affirmatively, and quickly went to the entrance and left.
The head of the construction company also didn’t want any unnecessary words to spread. He instructed his workers to leave as well.
Only the six people involved in the accident and the two police officers remained on the scene.
Dong Xuebing continued to search for evidence. He was waiting for an opportunity.
Evidence?
He didn’t need it at all.
“Mayor Dong, have you seen enough? You’ve been to the scene. It’s just an unexpected accident. If you want to find something we can’t help you with, you can find it yourself,” Zhou Wei said. “Let’s go.”
“Let’s go, everyone,” one person from the county government office said.
Suddenly, the wind rose, a gust of wind sweeping over.
The wind in their area was intermittent, sometimes intense, sometimes weak. So, the six people quickly covered their faces and turned their backs to the wind.
Dong Xuebing was waiting for this moment.
Leave? Today, none of you six will leave.
Dong Xuebing wanted to teach them a cruel lesson, making them pay tenfold for Huilan’s suffering.