Chapter 2825 I Can Afford to Lose

Qin Feng remained seated, slowly smoking.

"Say something! Do you have a solution? We're in a real crisis..." Yang Yuxin was extremely anxious looking at Qin Feng.

Qin Feng smiled and said, "I don't think your dad intends to get involved in this personally. However, it's possible that he and some people in the province want to take advantage of this to drive me out of Shazhou, just like Yang Zhijie had Liu Xiaonan slander me online last time. They were just going with the flow."

"However, no matter what, the situation is indeed very urgent and dangerous, but things have already come to this point, so there's no use in being anxious."

"Ever since you reminded me, I've made many preparations and thought of many ways to deal with it, but I can't say for sure that I can thwart their conspiracy, and I'm not sure if I can get through this." Qin Feng said calmly, speaking from the heart.

"The reason they didn't make that Wei Dawei jump off the building as planned today is not because their plan changed, but because I've taken him into custody. They just don't know the specifics yet."

Qin Feng glanced at the time on his phone as he said this: "By now, all the criminals involved in this operation should have been arrested by the Public Security Bureau, and the assessment work should be basically over. They can no longer make trouble for this matter."

"As for the project's suspension, that's a tricky issue and difficult to handle, but I believe I'll win in the end," Qin Feng smiled at Yang Yuxin.

"I need your help with something else," Qin Feng said.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Two things. First, tell Yang Zhijie that I want to meet with him to discuss the relocation of the No. 1 Middle School in the city," Qin Feng said.

Yang Yuxin sized up Qin Feng for a long time before asking, "What do you want to do? What is your purpose in seeing him?"

"I need a little more time to prepare; I need to lull them into a false sense of security," Qin Feng said.

"Are you trying to convey to Yang Zhijie that you're helpless and ready to surrender, in order to lull him into a false sense of security and prevent him from acting too aggressively at the beginning?" Yang Yuxin asked.

"That's about right. I also need to cover up some of my actions. The later they notice, the better, and the higher our chances of winning will be." Qin Feng nodded.

“But I don’t think Yang Zhijie will see you at this time, let alone talk to you about the No. 1 Middle School, because it’s pointless now. In his eyes, you’re about to step down and leave Shazhou,” Yang Yuxin said with a smile.

It doesn't matter whether he sees me or not, what's important is that he knows I'm begging him now.

“I understand what you mean. It just so happens that they asked me to handle the relocation of the No. 1 Middle School last time. Now that’s perfect, if Yang Zhijie doesn’t appear, I’ll have an excuse.”

"What's the second thing?" Yang Yuxin asked again.

"After telling Yang Zhijie that I wanted to meet with him to discuss the matter of the No. 1 Middle School, I told him that Shao Hongli had gone to Jiang Longjun, hoping that both sides could cease hostilities, and that I had already agreed to Shao Hongli's request," Qin Feng said slowly.

Yang Yuxin pondered Qin Feng's words carefully, trying to figure out his purpose in asking her to do this.

"Shao Hongli? He wants to negotiate with you?"

"Yes, that's right. Shao Hongli went to see Jiang Longjun today and asked Jiang Longjun to put pressure on me so that both sides would stop. I will no longer investigate these projects, and he will not allow the projects to continue to be suspended," Qin Feng said.

"What does he mean? Does he not want to continue?" Yang Yuxin asked, somewhat surprised.

"What he means is not important; what's important is what Yang Zhijie means." Qin Feng shook his head slightly.

"You mean this was Shao Hongli's own idea, not Yang Zhijie's?" Yang Yuxin suddenly realized.

You should know this better than I do.

“Yes, Yang Zhijie has been planning this for so long, and he has made it clear that he wants to drive you out of Shazhou. Now that Yang Guoqiang has personally intervened, how could he possibly give up halfway? If Shao Hongli really did go to you to seek peace as you say, then this must have been done by Shao Hongli behind Yang Zhijie's back. Yang Zhijie would never agree to do such a thing,” Yang Yuxin analyzed.

"That's why I asked you to tell Yang Zhijie this news."

"Are you planning to let them fight amongst themselves?" Yang Yuxin guessed Qin Feng's thoughts.

“I have analyzed this carefully. Yang Zhijie and Shao Hongli have huge differences in their interests in this matter. Yang Zhijie’s goal is naturally to kill me, or at least remove me from the position of mayor, which is what he has been saying: to drive me out of Shazhou.”

"Of course, this may also be Shao Hongli's demand, but it is not Shao Hongli's most urgent demand. Shao Hongli's most urgent goal is to protect these projects and his influence in the municipal government, so that I will not completely eliminate him."

"There's another point. Perhaps Shao Hongli didn't think it through at first. I've already uncovered a lot of evidence of illegal and disciplinary violations in these projects. So far, I've only found out the surface. If I continue to investigate, I'll definitely find him."

“If things really escalate to this extent according to Yang Zhijie’s plan, I will definitely have to take responsibility and step down in the end. However, these projects will definitely be investigated again from beginning to end, and Shao Hongli will end up in jail. So, for Shao Hongli, he just wants to settle things peacefully, keep these projects, and let things stop here.”

"Since Shao Hongli has already taken this step behind Yang Zhijie's back, it's enough to show that he's in a hurry."

"Although Shao Hongli is Yang Zhijie's puppet, we should not underestimate Shao Hongli's importance to Yang Zhijie. Without Shao Hongli's help, Yang Zhijie's influence in Shazhou politics would be reduced by more than half."

"Regardless of whether it works in the end, it's never a bad thing for me to let their conflict erupt early and create some minor friction," Qin Feng said with a smile.

"I never knew you had such a cunning side," Yang Yuxin laughed.

"It's not exactly insidious; at most, it'll just cause them some minor trouble, but it won't affect the overall situation," Qin Feng laughed.

"Qin Feng, I can see you're very relaxed. Tell me honestly, have you found a solution? How confident are you that you can get through this?" Yang Yuxin asked again, still worried.

"Fifty percent, at most fifty percent, but... I have no psychological burden. At worst, I'll just have to give up the mayorship. I don't care. That's why I can remain invincible, because I can afford to lose, but they can't," Qin Feng said with a smile.

……

The next morning, shortly after Qin Feng arrived at his office, Zhang Xinming came in to report: "The Secretary-General wants to come and report to you, and Director Jiang also called to report to you. In addition, we just received news that three more major projects have been suspended today, and many migrant workers are causing trouble. It is said that the projects owe them a lot of wages."