Chapter 2773 The Slap Must Go On

“I told Peng Zhen that Mayor Qi had something to do the next day and needed to make temporary adjustments to the work schedule for the next day.”

"Peng Zhen got very angry on the phone, complaining that Mayor Qi was acting recklessly, and finally asked me what Mayor Qi had done wrong."

“I mentioned to Peng Zhen that Mayor Qi was going to Beijing early the next morning. Peng Zhen asked me what Mayor Qi was going to Beijing for, and I said I didn’t know. According to regulations, I also have to report Mayor Qi’s whereabouts to Peng Zhen.”

"Comrade Xinming and I have studied this carefully, and the only people who know that Mayor Qi is going to Beijing the next day are the driver and Peng Zhen."

"But the driver died the next day along with Mayor Qi, so it shouldn't have been the driver who leaked the information. The only possibility is Peng Zhen," Chen Guohua concluded.

"Don't draw conclusions so quickly. It's no secret that Peng Zhen is a member of the Yang family. Even if Peng Zhen knew that Qi Yaqiu was going to Beijing the next day, he wouldn't know why he was going to Beijing, so it's impossible for the Yang family to be so ruthless as to kill Comrade Qi Yaqiu."

"Comrade Xinming, the driver picked up Comrade Qi Yaqiu alone the next morning. You didn't go?" Qin Feng asked.

“From the first day I became Mayor Qi’s secretary, Mayor Qi forbade me from picking him up and dropping him off every day. He said it was bureaucracy and a complete waste of time. So unless it was for work, I didn’t pick up or drop off Mayor Qi. I came directly to work every day,” Zhang Xinming explained.

Because of Qi Yaqiu's incident, Zhang Xinming felt extremely guilty. He thought that if he had been like other secretaries, picking her up and dropping her off every day, it might have taken up some time, and the car accident might not have happened.

So after becoming Qin Feng's secretary again, Zhang Xinming insisted on picking him up and dropping him off every day, even though Qin Feng had told him not to. But Zhang Xinming was very insistent, so Qin Feng eventually stopped bothering to argue with him about it.

"Have you explained these situations to the investigation team or to your superiors?" Qin Feng asked.

“No, I specifically instructed Comrade Xinming not to say a word about the anonymous letter or Mayor Qi’s meeting with people that night. I told him to insist that he knew nothing about it.” Chen Guohua shook his head.

Qin Feng understood why Chen Guohua told Zhang Xinming not to speak. He was protecting Zhang Xinming. If Zhang Xinming really told everyone, it would be impossible to exonerate Qi Yaqiu. He would only get himself involved and might die an unexplained death.

"Mayor, I'm sorry, but I instructed Comrade Xinming not to tell anyone about these things, including you. It's not that I don't trust you, but I feel it's not the right time to talk about these things. Telling them too early might put you in danger, and it might also put Comrade Xinming in danger." Chen Guohua explained on Zhang Xinming's behalf, fearing that Qin Feng would blame Zhang Xinming, so Chen Guohua took all the responsibility upon himself.

"Then why did you tell me this today? Obviously, it's not the right time to tell me now, since it's not the right time to take action against the Yang family yet," Qin Feng asked Chen Guohua.

"When you called earlier, you mentioned that you asked the Municipal Public Security Bureau to lead a team to investigate the Lixin Hotel tonight. Mayor, Mayor Qi Yaqiu was murdered by the Yang family because of the Lixin Hotel. If you also take action against the Lixin Hotel now, the Yang family will definitely be driven to desperation."

"To be fair, if the Yang family really wants to disregard the consequences... there's nothing they can't do in Shazhou. Mayor, your safety is the top priority, no matter what. As for the Yang family's affairs, we can take it slowly and deal with them gradually," Chen Guohua advised Qin Feng.

Just then, Qin Feng's phone rang in Zhang Xinming's bag.

Zhang Xinming answered the phone: "Hello, Director Jiang, okay."

"Mayor, Director Jiang has something to report to you." Zhang Xinming covered his phone and whispered to Qin Feng.

Qin Feng extended his hand, and Zhang Xinming handed the phone to Qin Feng.

"Hello, this is Qin Feng."

"Mayor, this is Jiang Yunpeng."

"what's up?"

"I just received a report that several people have turned themselves in at the police station, admitting that they were the criminal suspects who threatened our police officers last night," Jiang Yunpeng reported.

"Is it confirmed? Are these people just scapegoats, or did they really do it?" Qin Feng asked.

"It's basically confirmed that they did it. I asked the parties involved for detailed questioning. If they hadn't done it, they wouldn't know so much about the details," Jiang Yunpeng replied.

"Since they have already handed over the person, we must keep our promise," Qin Feng said calmly.

"So, should we announce the cancellation of the operation now?" Qin Feng asked.

"Huh?" Jiang Yunpeng was puzzled. In Jiang Yunpeng's view, Qin Feng originally intended to warn and intimidate the Yang family. Now that the Yang family had admitted defeat and voluntarily handed over the person who threatened the police leaders, the matter was over, and naturally, the action against the Lixin Hotel had to be canceled.

"The order came from the municipal government, and your Public Security Bureau has also made arrangements. You, as the director, even held a meeting in person to express your stance."

"Such a big incident as the Cha Lixin Hotel must be unprecedented in Shazhou. I think your comrades in the Public Security Bureau must be paying close attention to this matter, and there must be quite a few objections, right?" Qin Feng asked with a smile.

"Uh...yes." Jiang Yunpeng said somewhat awkwardly.

"You said a lot of tough things to get this done, didn't you?" Qin Feng said again, taking a drag of his cigarette. "We set such a high bar, and then suddenly we back down. What will the police think of you? What will they think of the municipal government?"

“We raised our hands, and everyone was watching, but we didn’t dare to slap them. People would just think we were scared, and they would think we were clowns.”

"If you're afraid to hit, don't even raise your hand. If you do, you have to deliver the slap." Qin Feng's attitude was resolute.

"The only difference is whether the slap was light or heavy, but it's important and necessary to let others see that we slapped the Yang family hard across the face."

"No matter the cost, the authority of the municipal government must be upheld, and your prestige in the Public Security Bureau, Jiang Yunpeng, must also be maintained." Qin Feng threw his cigarette butt out the window, just as the car pulled up in front of his building.

"Mayor, please... please clarify." Jiang Yunpeng roughly understood Qin Feng's meaning, but he dared not speculate on such an important matter and could only ask Qin Feng to explain clearly.

"The Lixin Hotel must be investigated without exception, and the investigation must be carried out in a high-profile manner, with the news media involved and publicized extensively. We must find out the problems and severely punish the Lixin Hotel."

"However, you need to be careful not to bring things up again. If we do, we won't be able to clean up the mess or save face." Qin Feng made his point very clear this time.

"Mayor, I know what to do, but the problem is whether the Lixin Hotel will cooperate?" Jiang Yunpeng asked worriedly.