Chapter 2831 Do you have the right to oppose me?

"Qin Feng, since we've come this far, I'll be frank with you." Shao Hongli said to Qin Feng, his face ashen with anger, somewhat embarrassed and embarrassed.

“Indeed, I admit that I was the one who came up with the idea in the first place, and I was involved in it, but I was not able to do it alone, so I found Yang Zhijie and asked him to help me.”

"Don't blame me. You attacked me first. Everyone knows what your purpose was. You attacked me, so I couldn't just stand there and let you hit me without fighting back."

"My goal is to force you to let these projects go. As long as you stop investigating these projects, the matter will end here. Yang Zhijie is just someone I invited to help me."

"But to my surprise, Yang Zhijie took the initiative and controlled the matter. The suspension of the other three projects today was not my idea, nor was it with my consent at all."

“It’s quite clear that Yang Zhijie’s goal is different from mine. He probably wants you to relocate the No. 1 Middle School to Xinyang City before he will stop.”

"As you can see, Yang Zhijie and I have a conflict on this point. He is not afraid to make things bigger, or rather, he hopes to make things bigger and bigger, while I must keep things under control."

"Qin Feng, no matter how big the conflict is between us, our interests are aligned in this matter. We must stop Yang Zhijie's subsequent actions, otherwise... neither of us will have a good ending, and only Yang Zhijie will benefit."

Shao Hongli had never spoken to Qin Feng so sincerely before.

When Qin Feng heard Shao Hongli say that he wanted to stand with him against Yang Zhijie, he found it both funny and awkward.

But even if he wanted to laugh, he had to hold it in. Looking at Shao Hongli across from him, Qin Feng thought for a moment and then said, "Just tell me, what are you thinking?"

“I’ll cooperate with you on the assessment; I’ll admit defeat. But you must stop investigating these projects. As long as you stop investigating them, I’ll cooperate to get them back to work and stop Yang Zhijie’s conspiracy,” Shao Hongli said bluntly.

This time, Qin Feng genuinely burst out laughing, because he simply couldn't hold it in.

"What are you laughing at?" Shao Hongli was genuinely angry.

“Shao Hongli, I need to correct you on one point first. I don’t need your cooperation on the assessment. That work is basically finished, and the Discipline Inspection Commission will get involved next.”

"As for your suggestion to cooperate with me to resume work and production on these projects... to be honest, I don't think you have that ability," Qin Feng said bluntly.

"Qin Feng, don't go too far..." Shao Hongli's face flushed red from Qin Feng's ridicule.

"Am I not telling the truth? If you had any control over this matter, why would you need to come here to see me? Shao Hongli, you and I both know that you want to kill me even more than Yang Zhijie. Can you honestly say that you didn't start out with the same goal as Yang Zhijie—to kill me? I just didn't expect Sun Yuanwei's investigation to be so quick and effective, uncovering so much evidence all at once. Am I right?"

“Now that Sun Yuanwei has found so much evidence, if you continue to make a big fuss as you planned, take it to the provincial level, and remove me from my position as mayor, you will not benefit at all. In fact, you will be worse off than me. I will only be demoted, lose my position, and leave Shazhou, while you may very well spend the rest of your life in prison.”

The last bit of arrogance that Shao Hongli had before was extinguished by Qin Feng's words, because Qin Feng had seen through his little scheme.

“You must have gone to Yang Zhijie, trying to get him to put on the brakes and reach an agreement with me. That way, you could both protect the project’s interests and avoid having your illegal and unethical behavior exposed.”

"But Yang Zhijie doesn't listen to you at all, and he doesn't care whether you live or die. That's why you went to Jiang Longjun yesterday hoping for a truce, but this morning Yang Zhijie ordered the other three projects to stop as well, which directly exacerbated the conflict with me."

"You had no other choice but to come to me and beg for my life, hoping to persuade me to stop investigating the project so you can catch your breath, right?" Qin Feng smiled as he looked at Shao Hongli, as if he were a fool.

Shao Hongli blushed again; Qin Feng had ruthlessly torn away his last shred of decency.

"Shao Hongli, it's not that we can't cooperate, but first you have to tell me, do you really have the ability to stop Yang Zhijie's actions? If you want to cooperate with me, you have to prove that you have the strength to cooperate with me. Otherwise, just talking about useful or useless things is just being a liar." Qin Feng said as he lit another cigarette.

When had Shao Hongli ever been insulted like this? But at this moment, he felt no anger at all, because he knew that Qin Feng was right.

“I admit that Lixin Group has a stronger control over these projects than I do, but I naturally have influence over these projects as well, especially in the sports center project and the sewage pipe renovation project.”

"Moreover... Qin Feng, as long as you don't continue investigating these projects this time, I will never oppose you again. Isn't that what you've always been pursuing?" Shao Hongli said after thinking for a long time.

"Haha..." Qin Feng couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Shao Hongli, do you really have nothing else to offer me in this deal?"

“It’s getting late, and I have a lot of things to do. So I’ll just be frank with you. You’re right. I don’t want things to escalate. If these projects can really resume work and production immediately, and the migrant workers stop causing trouble, I can stop investigating these projects. The investigation will end here.”

"Remember, this is the end, not a 'let bygones be bygones' approach. The problems and people identified must be dealt with in accordance with the law and regulations."

"But all of this is only possible if all projects resume work and production immediately and the emotions of all migrant workers are appeased before I will stop the investigation."

“Shao Hongli, since you’re here, I’ll give you some face. Tomorrow morning, all projects must proceed as normal. If all projects proceed as normal tomorrow morning, I will suspend the investigation. However, if any projects are still suspended tomorrow morning, I will submit the evidence of violations of laws and regulations that I have already uncovered to the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, requesting that they file a case and form a joint investigation team with us to conduct a more comprehensive review of the projects.”

"As for what you said about not opposing me anymore, I don't care at all. If you had said that to me politely a few months ago, I would have been happy to accept it, but now... do you think you still have the right to oppose me?" Qin Feng said indifferently, his eyes full of contempt.

Now that things have developed to this point, regardless of the final outcome, Shao Hongli will be nothing more than a figurehead, and Qin Feng will no longer give him any real power.