#477 - Chapter 477: The birds are gone, the good bows are hidden

Only a day had passed. On November 5th, multiple survival bases across the country simultaneously raised objections to the Huatong Chamber of Commerce, protesting the discriminatory treatment.

The implication was that they also wanted to obtain nomination rights.

At this point, Niu Xingwang had already realized that something was wrong. The Qi Jingshan rape case might not have been accidental but rather a premeditated frame-up.

"Mr. Dongfang, I believe this matter is too coincidental. The Qi Jingshan incident had just occurred when the local security team arrived. Furthermore, the attitude of the Civil Affairs Department clearly shows bias. I suspect someone is pulling strings behind the scenes," Niu Xingwang reported to Dongfang Chen.

"Then what do you think their main purpose is?" Dongfang Chen asked.

"As the old saying goes, when the birds are gone, the good bow is stored away. I believe someone has planned this to reap the benefits," Niu Xingwang replied.

"What is your suggestion?" Dongfang Chen asked.

"It depends on what you think, Mr. Dongfang. As long as you give the order, my life is yours!" Niu Xingwang said implicitly, but his meaning was clear.

"Brother Niu, your thinking is dangerous. Don't say such things again in the future. Moreover, it's not yet determined whether this is a peach or a landmine. If they want to reap it, let them have it!" Dongfang Chen said.

"Mr. Dongfang, are you saying that the crisis is not over yet?" Niu Xingwang was taken aback.

"It's not that it's not over yet; I feel that the real crisis hasn't even arrived. This matter is not as simple as you think. Someone is waiting for us to make the wrong move," Dongfang Chen revealed his thoughts.

"Who exactly are you referring to?" Niu Xingwang asked in surprise.

"I'm not sure. However, I know that their ultimate goal is not just to reap the benefits. It's even possible that we are not their final target," Dongfang Chen replied.

"I roughly understand," Niu Xingwang had already picked up on some unspoken meaning.

Behind this matter, there might be a group of immortals fighting.

"Then what should we do next?" Niu Xingwang continued to ask.

"Entangling with them will not only yield no results but will also get us into trouble. I think we should retreat as a form of advance," Dongfang Chen said.

"Wouldn't that be too cheap for them? We have put in so much to build these bases!" Niu Xingwang was somewhat reluctant.

"The bases aren't going anywhere; what are you afraid of? Don't you know: the praying mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?" Dongfang Chen asked.

"I understand!" Niu Xingwang sighed.

"Brother Niu, there's no need to be attached. You must know that staying out of it is the best way to protect yourself. Sometimes, being unwilling to let go often results in getting nothing in the end," Dongfang Chen comforted.

"Alright, I'll listen to you. Tell me, what should we do next?" Niu Xingwang asked.

"Arrange for planes to transport all the family members from the main base to the Wulan base first," Dongfang Chen said.

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away," Niu Xingwang responded.

"Brother Niu, handle this personally. I'll arrange for Brother Dai to go back and cooperate with you," Dongfang Chen said.

"Understood!" Niu Xingwang nodded.

Due to special historical reasons, the personnel structure of the Huatong Chamber of Commerce headquarters was very complex. Most of the staff came from the recommendations of the original resettlement camps, so confidentiality was naturally very poor. It was impossible to tell who had problems and who didn't.

Just as Niu Xingwang was arranging for the evacuation of family members, something else happened at the Huangyashan Survival Base.

The people in the base staged a collective protest, believing that the Huatong Chamber of Commerce's commodity prices were too high and demanding lower prices.

Many even raised anti-Chamber of Commerce slogans such as "black-hearted capitalists" and "abuse of market dominance."

The order within the base was temporarily plunged into chaos.

In order to appease public anger, in the following week, the Finance Department took the lead, jointly with the Legal Department and the Civil Affairs Department, to conduct another investigation into the Huatong Chamber of Commerce.

The focus of this investigation was to conduct cost accounting for 65 commodities produced by the Huatong Chamber of Commerce that were related to the national economy and the people's livelihood, in order to assess the relative value and sales profit margin of the commodities.

Immediately following this, one wave subsided, and another rose.

Someone reported that Hou Zhongxiang, the head of the Hanwang Underground Survival Base in Longnan City, Gansu Province, under the jurisdiction of the Northwest Military Region, had obtained the cooperation rights of the Chamber of Commerce branch in advance through improper means.

The report revealed that Hou Zhongxiang had reached a number of preferential rights with the Huatong Chamber of Commerce by selling state-owned assets at low prices, in a disguised form of selling the public interests of the people.

Once the news broke, the Supervision Department urgently established an investigation team to go to Longnan City to investigate.

Unfortunately, Hou Zhongxiang, the mayor of Longnan City, knowing that he had no face to face his fellow villagers, directly hanged himself before the investigation team arrived.

Similar incidents were repeatedly staged throughout the country, and various negative news flew everywhere.

People's perception of the Huatong Chamber of Commerce took a sharp turn for the worse within a week.

Due to the adverse effects of a series of events, before the investigation team completed the accounting, the Parliament requested Niu Xingwang to go to Kyoto immediately to report on his work.

As mentioned earlier, Niu Xingwang is now a special advisor to the Civil Affairs Department, and it is a reasonable request to go to Kyoto to report on his work.