Power and Wealth
Chapter 1626 – Crash
Not even a bit.
At the entrance of the office building.
Han Fei persisted, “Apologize to me.”
“I haven’t asked you to apologize to me yet,” Yang Zhen’s tone was icy.
“Do you still have any leadership demeanor left, Yang Zhen?” Han Fei was angry. “You hit my car, and I must apologize?”
Yang Zhen said, “Now you’re dragging it out.”
Someone from the General Office said, “Are you not done yet?”
Han Fei’s face turned red with anger. “You scratched my car and didn’t even have an attitude or an explanation. Yet you say I’m dragging it out? Is this how a leader sets an example?”
A civil servant from the General Office said, “It’s because you guys are being unreasonable.”
“What’s the big deal?” someone from the General Office said. “Why are you yelling? Just because someone has a loud voice doesn’t mean they’re right. It’s almost time for work. Don’t drag this out.”
Bickering.
Talking about the so-called reasoning.
The scene became increasingly chaotic, and the arguments grew louder.
None of the people from the Eighth Division’s Second Office and General Office were willing to back down.
However, there were more people from the General Office, including the cadres, their clerks were also twice as many as those from the Second Office. The General Office officials who rushed over to hear the news were naturally on the side of Deputy Director Yang. Seeing it was another dispute between old adversaries, they were not polite in their words, each chiming in. The Second Office was an execution department with fewer people. Suddenly, they were overwhelmed by the large volume of speech. Although Han Fei and He Zhou had louder voices, they couldn’t match the sheer number of the other side. Reasoning couldn’t win against them.
It was chaos.
This kind of scene was rare in the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
At this moment, a cadre from the Second Supervisory Office returned from lunch. Seeing the situation and perhaps being familiar with both sides, he intervened: “Director Yang Xiao Han, let’s calm down a bit, alright? It’s not a big deal. It’s almost time for work. Let’s all go back.”
Yang Zhen looked at the cadre and said, “Director Sun, I also want to let it go. But she refused. They keep picking on me here and even want me to apologize. Huh.”
Han Fei said angrily, “You hit my car. Shouldn’t you apologize?”
Yang Zhen said, “You must understand that you parked improperly first.”
Yang Zhen’s unreasonable words infuriated the people of the Second Office. Han Fei, the girl, was originally easygoing, although sometimes she was tough in her words; she was straightforward and never schemed against anyone and was entirely innocent. So when she heard Yang Zhen and the people from the General Office causing trouble, she felt so wronged that she almost wanted to hit someone. Wasn’t it too much to bully people like this?
The old cadre from the Second Office also spoke to Han Fei, “Xiao Han, give Uncle Sun some face. Let it go. It’s a small matter. It’s almost time for work. If the leaders see this, it won’t look good. When they investigate later, is it worth it?”
Seeing even people from the Second Office were helping Yang Zhen, Han Fei’s eyes turned red with anger.
But in the eyes of others, this matter wasn’t that big. It was unnecessary to escalate it to this level. And most importantly, Yang Zhen’s rank was much higher than Han Fei’s. In the hierarchical system, rank represented everything. Although they were not in the same department, Yang Zhen was Han Fei’s superior. If a leader scratched your car, then so be it. Could you expect the leader to apologize and compensate you?
Another cadre from the Fifth Office said, “Xiao Han, what Old Sun said is right. Let it go. The leaders might come over soon. Let’s all disperse quickly.”
Ordinary people wouldn’t meddle in this kind of situation. The people who could persuade and mediate were not of low rank or background. Hearing this, Han Fei was so angry that her hands trembled, but she didn’t dare to argue with them. On the one hand, they were much older than her, all elders, and on the other hand, their ranks were there for all to see.
The voices grew louder.
They were all advising Han Fei to let it go.
He Zhou and Sun Zhaobang and the people from Second Office clenched their fists and glared, feeling very dissatisfied.
Han Fei felt the same way, looking at Yang Zhen and the people from the General Office who seemed to be winning. She couldn’t swallow this insult, but now almost all the cadres advised her to calm down. Han Fei also felt a lot of pressure. It came down to their ranks.
They were leaders.
They were just junior staff.
In this conflict, they were also the passive side. The situation would be different if the scratched car belonged to Second Office’s Director Yin or Director Chen.
However, their Second Office’s Director Yin was out on business and wouldn’t be back. The second Office’s Deputy Director, Chen Dayou, had gone to supervise work in the morning and wouldn’t be here either. Now, the leader of Second Office, or the third-in-command, was Dong Xuebing. But they never had any expectations of Director Dong. He was too unsociable and barely spoke to subordinates, and Han Fei and the others didn’t expect Dong Xuebing to stand up for them. So, listening to everyone’s unanimous advice, Han Fei and the others couldn’t argue back and were frustrated.
It’s too much bullying.
Way too much.
But just as the voices were all directed at Han Fei and the others, the horn of a Xia Li car sounded for the third time from behind, beep beep beep, beep beep beep, the sound was very loud.
Han Fei and the others turned to look.
Hmm, isn’t that Dong Xuebing’s car?
Yang Zhen also saw the Xia Li car and an image flashed in his mind. He remembered. This was the Xia Li he had overtaken in the morning.
Who’s this?
Everyone has left, and you’re still waiting here.
Why honk if things haven’t been resolved yet?
Yang Zhen was annoyed, mainly because Xia Li’s horn was piercing and less smooth. The noise made him even more displeased. He didn’t pay any attention to Xia Li; he just glanced at it and ignored it, showing no intention of moving the Audi A4 blocking the road.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
They say things happen in threes. The horn was honked three times, and Dong Xuebing’s expression also turned cold. He had been waiting here for more than ten minutes, looking at Yang Zhen and the people from the General Office, and his anger was already hard to contain.
You’re not moving, huh?
Not budging, huh?
Alright, you’re asking for it.
Then, let’s settle both old and new scores together.
Scold the people from the Second Office and obstructing my car?
Dong Xuebing smiled instead. Under everyone’s gaze, he slowly reversed the car, bit by bit, about a dozen meters back.
Even though Dong Xuebing had just taken office, there were no secrets in the office, and some people in the crowd recognized him.
“Huh.”
“Look.”
“Isn’t that Director Dong?”
“What, Director Dong?”
“Don’t you know? He’s the new Deputy Director of the Second Office in Eighth Division.”
“Oh, the twenty-five-year-old Division Chief level inspector, right? I’ve heard of him.”
“Really? Is that him? He looks so young.”
“But I heard this person is low-key and seems to have been on leave and late for work most of the time since taking office.”
“And this?”
“Well, he’s not very conspicuous.”
“That’s to be expected. After all, he’s too young. It’s not bad to keep a low profile.”
The crowd couldn’t help but whisper and discuss the Xiali car.
Yang Zhen was taken aback. He also heard everyone talking and realized that this broken Xiali, which he had ignored earlier this morning, belonged to someone holding a rank equivalent to his, a Division Chief-level leader. Moreover, the other person looked five or six years younger than him.
He’s a leader.
How can he drive an Xiali?
Yang Zhen was a bit puzzled but didn’t dwell on it. Although the General Office couldn’t match the Second Office in terms of absolute power, Yang Zhen was still a cadre in a substantive position. It was different from Dong Xuebing, who was a Division Chief-level inspector. Of course, this was just Yang Zhen’s psychological perspective. In terms of their job authority, the difference between the two wasn’t that significant. Regarding absolute power, Dong Xuebing, this Division Chief-level cadre, could manage more than Yang Zhen, a substantive cadre in the General Division. This was due to differences in departmental authority, which were unavoidable.
There was a moment of silence around.
Seeing Dong Xuebing, the cadres from other offices didn’t say anything further. Han Fei’s Second Office had a leader coming over, so everyone had to treat them fairly.
Sun Zhaobang, upon seeing Dong Xuebing, hurriedly said, “Director Dong is back.”
Han Fei gritted her teeth and withdrew her gaze from Yang Zhen’s face. “What’s the use of that?”
Sun Zhaobang sighed inwardly, thinking the same. Director Dong was usually unsociable, not even bothering to work. He had never done any serious work and always had an indifferent attitude. How could he stand up for Han Fei and the others? He was as low-key as they come.
As expected.
As a result, everyone saw Dong Xuebing’s Xiali backing away.
Yang Zhen shook his head and smiled, thinking this kind of leader was like that.
The cadres from other offices were also puzzled. They had just arrived, so why leave now? They thought Director Dong would say a few fair words to Han Fei and her subordinates. Who would’ve thought he’d go back after being called?
Only Han Fei and He Zhou weren’t surprised. After a few days of interaction, they knew Dong Xuebing was the kind of person who never handled things.
Expect him to do something?
Impossible.
Han Fei and the others didn’t bother to look anymore, only hoping that Director Yin and Deputy Director Chen could come back soon to speak for them. Otherwise, if they left without investigating further, the reputation of the Second Office would be tarnished. After all, this matter was unjust on the other side’s part.
But suddenly, the Xiali stopped.
Just as the cadres from other offices and Yang Zhen from the General Division were about to say something to Han Fei and the others, the sound of the engine suddenly roared in their ears.
“Ah!”
“Not good!”
“Be careful!”
“Quick, move away!”
“Oh my god!”
Under everyone’s stunned gaze, the Xiali unexpectedly accelerated and rammed into Yang Zhen’s Audi A4.
A loud bang.
The scene fell silent for a moment.
Not until then did everyone realize Dong Xuebing’s backing away earlier wasn’t leaving but accelerating the car.