Chapter 2860 Ding Wenbo Ran Away

Chen Guohua vaguely sensed that something was amiss, mainly because Qin Feng's attitude was off. Logically speaking, it was perfectly normal for a deputy mayor to take a few days off. Although strictly according to procedure, Qin Feng's approval was required for him to leave, in reality, who would care so much about such a thing?

However, Qin Feng's reaction to Ding Wenbo's request for leave today was too strong, which is abnormal.

"Mayor, has something happened?" Chen Guohua asked.

"Don't ask so many questions yet. Let's call him back first. We absolutely cannot let him leave Shazhou at this time," Qin Feng said anxiously.

Chen Guohua nodded and quickly turned to leave.

Just then, the phone on Qin Feng's desk rang.

Although the city leaders don't have red telephones on their desks like the provincial leaders, they do have two telephones, one of which is for internal use, and the one ringing now is that internal telephone.

"Hello, who is this?" Qin Feng answered the phone himself.

"Comrade Qin Feng, this is Jiang Longjun." Jiang Longjun's "amiable" voice came from the other end.

"Secretary Jiang, hello there, what instructions do you have?"

"It's not really an instruction, Comrade Qin Feng. When are you free? I'd like to talk to you in person about these projects and exchange opinions," Jiang Longjun said amiably.

"Okay, Secretary Jiang, I'll be right there." Qin Feng said and hung up the phone.

Qin Feng wasn't surprised at all that Jiang Longjun would make the call and ask him to come to his office. After hearing Chen Guohua say that Yang Guoqiang had personally visited Jiang Longjun last night, Qin Feng guessed that Jiang Longjun was likely to come to him today.

If Jiang Longjun comes to see him today, that would be the worst-case scenario in Qin Feng's opinion, because it would mean that Yang Guoqiang and Jiang Longjun have definitely reached some kind of deal. Jiang Longjun's request for Qin Feng to come over today is most likely to put pressure on Qin Feng and force him to make concessions to the Yang family.

Qin Feng didn't sit down; instead, he leaned against the table, lit a cigarette, and pondered the matter carefully.

After a while, he called Zhang Xinming in: "I need to go to the Municipal Party Committee. Have the driver wait downstairs."

"Okay." Zhang Xinming quickly went to arrange for a driver.

After Qin Feng finished his cigarette, Chen Guohua hurriedly entered Qin Feng's office again: "I asked around, and Ding Wenbo's secretary didn't go with him this time. It was Ding Wenbo's wife who accompanied him. I called Ding Wenbo, but his phone was off, and I couldn't reach him."

"Where's the plane? Has it taken off? Which flight?" Qin Feng frowned.

"I just had someone check, the plane doesn't take off for another half hour. This is the earliest flight to Xidu today. He has to transfer in Xidu to get to Shanghai," Chen Guohua reported.

"Are you sure he's going to Shanghai?" Qin Feng questioned.

"Huh?" Chen Guohua didn't understand Qin Feng's meaning.

Qin Feng didn't answer Chen Guohua's question. He picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number: "Jiang Yunpeng? This is Qin Feng. I'm giving you an urgent mission. Immediately notify Shazhou Airport to suspend the earliest flight to Xidu. You can come up with the reason yourself. At the same time, send someone to the airport to bring Ding Wenbo back to me. He must not be allowed to leave Shazhou."

"It's nothing serious. He hasn't committed any crime yet, but we just can't let him leave Shazhou. You don't need to take responsibility. Comrade Guohua will go too. Your men just need to follow Comrade Guohua's orders."

After hanging up the phone, Qin Feng said to Chen Guohua, "Go to the airport immediately and make sure to stop Ding Wenbo and keep an eye on him."

"Mayor, a reason? Without a reason..."

"The reason is that I have important work to discuss with him, and he has to come back; it's an order. After bringing him back to the municipal government, I'll have him wait for me. I'll talk to him after I return from the municipal party committee," Qin Feng said after thinking for a moment.

"Well... okay, that makes sense too."

"Be careful. He's still the deputy mayor, not a criminal. I'm just asking him not to leave for now, to come back and discuss important work. Understand?" Qin Feng instructed Chen Guohua again.

"Understood, I know what to do." Chen Guohua said, then turned and hurriedly left.

Qin Feng walked around the room again, then picked up his phone and went to the window to call Yang Yuxin.

"Why did you think of calling me at this time? I'm in class." The phone rang for a long time before Yang Yuxin answered.

Yang Yuxin was in class with her phone on vibrate. If she hadn't seen that it was Qin Feng calling, she wouldn't have answered it no matter who else had answered it.

"There's something I'd like to ask you about. Is now a convenient time to talk?"

"I'm in the hallway outside the classroom now. Just tell me what you need," Yang Yuxin replied.

"You told me yesterday that Shao Hongli went to see your dad and even knelt down before him, right?" Qin Feng asked.

"Correct."

"Did your father do anything else after that?" Qin Feng asked.

"I don't know, I didn't ask. What's wrong? What happened?" Yang Yuxin asked.

“I received news that your father personally went to see Jiang Longjun last night, and Jiang Longjun just called me and asked me to come over to discuss some business. I have a bad feeling; your father and Jiang Longjun may have reached some kind of deal. More importantly, Ding Wenbo is preparing to run away early this morning.” Qin Feng explained the situation to Yang Yuxin.

"Run away? Are you talking about the vice mayor who came to see you last night?" Yang Yuxin asked, somewhat surprised.

"What's the connection between these things?" Yang Yuxin continued to ask. She couldn't connect the dots right away; no matter how smart she was, she wasn't a government official.

"Yuxin, I have to go see Jiang Longjun now, so I don't have time to explain all this to you right now. I'm calling you because I want you to help me figure out something: what exactly did your dad and Shao Hongli talk about yesterday, and why did your dad save Shao Hongli?" Qin Feng asked.

"Do you have any doubts about this?" Yang Yuxin asked.

"Yes, on the surface, saving Shao Hongli would definitely benefit your Yang family, but the prerequisite is that we don't have to pay too high a price to save him."

"If the cost far outweighs the benefits, it's not a worthwhile deal."

"Saving Shao Hongli at this time would require too much sacrifice. Either the person in the province or Jiang Longjun would have to step in. And whether it's the person in the province or Jiang Longjun, it's impossible without offering them an attractive reward."

"The problem is, is Shao Hongli worth this price now? Even if we keep Shao Hongli, he will just be a figurehead. He will no longer have any say in the municipal government. In this situation, keeping Shao Hongli would be a huge loss."

“Yang Zhijie may have acted impulsively, but your father is shrewd and calculating. He couldn’t possibly be unaware of this. What I want to know now is why your father went to such great lengths to save Shao Hongli. Is there some kind of conspiracy involved?” Qin Feng asked.