Reborn as Zhao Ruilong of Handong, I will defy fate.

Chapter 225 Thinking you're too clever for your own good and asking around recklessly, you can&

drop drop~

The sudden honking of the car horn startled the bewildered He Zhiqiang.

Turning his head, he saw his wife, who was driving, waving at him repeatedly.

He Zhiqiang quickly opened the door and got into the car.

He had barely closed the car door when he hurriedly said:

"Get out of here! Get out of here!"

"what happened?"

"Why are you spouting so much nonsense? I'm telling you to hurry up and drive away!"

"Did I... take the wrong medicine? Buckle up quickly, or we'll get pulled over by the traffic cops again!"

He Zhiqiang was quite frightened and immediately fastened his seatbelt.

Then, looking around nervously.

Before leaving, Lü Liang's words were truly a wake-up call, making He Zhiqiang realize the truth.

I understand that the reason my son was stopped and found to be driving under the influence today, despite drinking last night, was because he was deliberately targeted.

And what level is the son?

He was just a lowly section chief at Jingzhou Urban Construction Group.

Why go to such lengths to target him?

Therefore, He Zhiqiang knew that the other party was clearly targeting him.

Just as Lü Liang reminded us.

Detaining the son for drunk driving is just the beginning.

There will definitely be other actions to come.

and so……

He Zhiqiang looked around.

Even though no unusual vehicles or pedestrians were seen.

But I always felt that someone was watching me in the dark.

His behavior naturally surprised his wife.

"Old He, what are you doing? Looking for someone?"

"I'm checking to see if someone is following me."

"Stalking you? Why?"

"Haven't you realized yet? Someone's after us. Our son being caught driving under the influence is just the beginning..."

He Zhiqiang quickly recounted his and Lü Liang's deductions.

After hearing this, the wife was naturally terrified.

She finally understood why her husband wasn't answering the phone and was just standing there motionless on the roadside.

I initially thought it was just my son's bad luck; he had drunk too much and hadn't rested enough, and happened to run into a DUI checkpoint.

Now that I've been enlightened, I suddenly realize that this was not an 'accident' at all.

He turned the car around and then pulled over to the side of the road.

His wife couldn't resist her curiosity and peeked around curiously.

Vehicles approaching from behind, pedestrians passing by...

It seems like everyone is a suspect.

But as they walked past the car, nothing unusual happened.

After a while, no one stopped to watch them.

"It seems like no one is following us!"

"That's hard to say. It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. They can hide far away in the shadows!"

Upon hearing this, the wife became anxious.

"Then what do you suggest we do? We can't just abandon our car and walk home, can we?"

"Of course I want the car!"

After casually replying, He Zhiqiang suddenly widened his eyes.

"You...you actually drove!!"

"My God, are you furious or scared out of your wits? We came together to deliver something to our son, but only one of us could go in, so you told me to wait in the car. I saw you come out with Chief Prosecutor Lü..."

"Alright, alright!"

He Zhiqiang interrupted his wife, saying irritably:

"Damn it, I never thought there was anything wrong with it before, but I realized today that having a car at home is a hassle, especially an imported car, it's too damn eye-catching."

"What exactly happened, Lao He? Can you explain yourself clearly?!"

His wife was extremely anxious.

I have a feeling that something terrible is about to happen, but I don't know what it is. I'm as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

He Zhiqiang gave a heavy, cold snort.

"You never believed me when I said you were stupid, but now you still don't understand the situation, do you?"

“Someone is going to take us down. My son being caught driving under the influence is just the beginning. Next, they will definitely investigate our house, car, and savings, including you.”

"With the meager legal income of my son and me, after deducting daily expenses, we can't save much money at the end of the year. How could we afford an imported car worth over 300,000 yuan?"

"Anyone with eyes can see there's something wrong here. It's one thing if we don't investigate properly before, but now that we're being targeted, they'll definitely investigate us thoroughly and find out there's something wrong with our money!"

The wife, her face flushed, said urgently, "There are plenty of problems, it's not just our family!"

"Leaving aside the big picture, just look at the whole of Jingzhou, or rather, your unit. Aren't there plenty of people making money through investments and projects with relatives and friends? Even your dean makes money that way, doesn't he?"

"He understands the law and is afraid of getting into trouble, so he still has some principles. He only associates with bosses who are not involved in judicial fairness, favoritism, or organized crime. But the benefits and dividends he receives each year must be at least several million, right?"

"Otherwise, with their meager salaries and bonuses, how could they afford to send their son and daughter to study abroad? Each child's tuition and living expenses amount to tens of thousands of US dollars per year, and it's said they've also bought cars and houses, living a very carefree life!"

He Zhiqiang asked coldly, "Who told you that?"

The wife curled her lip indifferently.

“I often play mahjong with his wife, right? She let it slip herself. When we were talking about how we would live after retirement, she said that none of their children were coming back to China, and that she and her husband were also planning to go abroad in the future.”

"Xiao Wen asked her where they would live after they went abroad, and she casually said that the house and car had already been arranged, and that they would come back to pay respects to their ancestors every year during the Qingming Festival, since it's so convenient to travel by plane these days..."

He Zhiqiang sneered and laughed coldly.

Since ancient times, wealth has been a powerful motivator!

How many people in this world can resist the allure of money?

Who wouldn't want to eat well, live well, and enjoy a more affluent and high-quality life?

Especially when you see those bosses and businessmen, eating, drinking, having fun, and living a life of luxury.

Despite wielding real power, he lived a simple and frugal life.

Forget about big houses and private cars, we don't even dare to eat and drink casually when we go out to eat.

Given such a stark contrast, how many people could resist being tempted?

Those who have hope of making progress are more likely to be patient, but what about those who have little hope of making progress?

I won't mention other organizations.

Regarding the Intermediate People's Court of the city where He Zhiqiang works.

Although some people tried their best to hide it, he had already seen through it long ago.

I am not the only one who has lost his ideals and beliefs and betrayed his original aspirations and mission.

It's not just oneself who violates laws and regulations by accepting bribes, affecting judicial fairness, and making unfair judgments.

Some people just do it more discreetly.

For example, instead of meeting at the workplace, they would meet privately with the relatives of the parties involved in the case, revealing details of the case, introducing lawyers, and offering advice.

How could the parties involved and their families not be grateful and offer generous rewards for helping them receive lenient sentences or even be acquitted for serious crimes?

He Zhiqiang knew of many other similar methods of 'abusing power for personal gain'.

Having worked for many years, he can tell at a glance whether there's anything fishy about certain case files.

of course.

The most common method, of course, is to become a secret shareholder.

Without spending a single penny, they became shareholders in certain companies simply by leveraging their power.

Simply exert influence in certain matters, and you can earn substantial dividends every year.

There are many other ways to distribute dividends.

Depositing cash directly into a bank account or sending it in a large box to someone's home would be incredibly foolish.

They themselves work in the legal profession, how could they be so stupid?

The more high-end ones are like the dean.

My children are all abroad, so I use the dividends to buy them cars, houses, and for their overseas education.

Since the money doesn't even pass through his hands, it's all perfectly clean and can withstand scrutiny.

A lower-end approach involves using the names of relatives and friends to buy houses, cars, and save money.

As long as everyone benefits, they will all have a good life, and the probability of them defaulting and absconding with the money is not high.

Like He Zhiqiang himself.

He doesn't quite trust relatives, classmates, or friends.

Therefore, he chose to divorce his wife early on.

But they are divorced but still live together as a family.

Thus.

Since his wife held no official position, she could naturally start a company and do business.

The company's outstanding performance, with annual revenue of tens of millions, is also due to his wife's skillful management.

But in reality, she's hardly a business genius.

Their business thrived entirely because the father and son held power.

This simple and easy-to-use gameplay is enough to fool the average person.

But if the discipline inspection and supervision departments are serious and want to investigate thoroughly, they shouldn't try to get away with it.

Therefore, He Zhiqiang has always been very clear about this.

The reason we don't investigate isn't because we've done anything particularly clean.

If you really want to investigate, your clever little tricks are completely useless.

"Alright, alright, stop talking about how others are greedy and bad."

"What anti-corruption talk? That's just an excuse for power struggles."

"Whether we are greedy or not is not important. What is important is that this power struggle is coming on strong, and we must quickly find a way to protect ourselves!"

As soon as He Zhiqiang finished speaking, his wife said with a beaming smile:

"Aren't you quite familiar with Lü Liang? He..."

"You're still bringing him up?"

He Zhiqiang turned his head and glanced in the direction of the detention center.

"He's always the one who gets punished. Otherwise, why would his wife be detained for fifteen days and fined two thousand yuan for swearing and spitting in the street?"

"Uh...that's true, but his rank is already quite high. If he's going to be dealt with, then this power struggle is a bit too ruthless, isn't it?"

"The fact that the Guangming District Branch can carry out such a large-scale operation indicates that it has at least the support of the city, or even the province, behind it."

"What can we do? We can't just run away, can we? Our son won't be released from detention for another ten days!"

"Run? Where to run? Is it too late for you to transfer your assets and apply for a visa now?"

"What can we do then? If we don't run, we'll be investigated; if we run, we can't escape. Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?"

He Zhiqiang took out a cigarette, lit it, and started smoking.

After taking several puffs of his cigarette, he muttered to himself:

"Let's not discuss how to protect ourselves or escape right now."

"If we want to solve the problem, we must first figure out where the root of the problem lies."

His wife frowned and said, "Hasn't it already been figured out? It's that case with the Fulin Old Restaurant. The heavy punishment for a minor mistake caused public outrage, and now they're getting their comeuppance."

“I know that, but I have to find out who is using this incident to attack and punish us. Even someone as self-righteous as Lü Liang has been targeted.”

At this point, He Zhiqiang took out his phone and started looking through his contacts.

Whom do you want to ask?

"Of course it's Qi Tongwei!"

He Zhiqiang explained, "Although his father-in-law, Liang Qunfeng, has passed away, he still has a large network of connections, so Qi Tongwei must be very well-informed."

"Besides, last year one of his fellow villagers got into trouble while contracting a project, and the case came to me. I helped him out without taking a penny afterward, so shouldn't he repay me for that favor?"

As they were talking, He Zhiqiang made a phone call.

"Hey Tongwei, it's me, Lao He. Are you in Jingzhou? Hmm? You've been transferred to Luzhou? That's great! Gao Yuliang, the secretary of Luzhou City, is your mentor. With his support, you'll definitely have a smoother job..."

After a long, roundabout chat, He Zhiqiang finally brought up the storm in Jingzhou.

But he didn't mention that his son had been disciplined.

They were just casually asking who had caused such a commotion and made everyone panic.

But He Zhiqiang never dreamed that the person who caused such a commotion was none other than Zhao Ruilong.

And at this moment.

Qi Tongwei was at Gao Yuliang's home in the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee compound.

Zhao Ruilong, who had caused such a commotion, was chatting with Gao Yuliang.

The clever Qi Tongwei, of course, would not immediately answer He Zhiqiang.

"I've heard about it, but I'm not entirely sure who's behind it. I'll find out and call you back later, okay?"

"Okay, don't worry. A clear conscience fears no accusation. Lao He, you are honest and upright, always fair and just. No matter how big the storm, it won't affect you. Okay, talk to you later."

After hanging up the phone, Qi Tongwei quickly returned to the dining table.

Gao Yuliang put down his wine glass and glanced at Qi Tongwei with a smile.

"Has someone else come to you asking about you?"

Qi Tongwei glanced at Zhao Ruilong and said with a helpless wry smile:

"Yes, it was He Zhiqiang from the Third Civil Division of the Jingzhou Intermediate People's Court. He asked who caused such a commotion and made everyone panic."

Gao Yuliang gave a cold smile.

"What do you mean by people being panicked? They're clearly just feeling guilty!"

“If he is clean and has no problems, there is nothing to be afraid of.”

“There’s definitely something wrong with him. Someone like him should have turned himself in long ago. How dare he even ask around?”

Qi Tongwei nodded repeatedly and slowly sat down.

Sitting opposite him, Zhao Ruilong smiled calmly and said:

"He's so worried and fearful, he's probably embezzled a lot!"

"But you shouldn't drag it out. You should tell him directly that it was my father who stirred up this storm, the Hantong Provincial Committee!"

"If our Handong Province wants to develop a high-quality economy, we must make great efforts to purify the business environment and change the formalism and bureaucratic style."

"This storm is just an appetizer. Next, the province will officially issue eight regulations to improve work style. Anyone who still defies the rules and harbors any侥幸心理 (a sense of侥幸, or a belief that they can get away with it) will be asking for trouble!"

Qi Tongwei nodded again.

At this dining table, facing Gao Yuliang and Zhao Ruilong, how could he dare to utter a single word of dissent?

Besides, what does it matter to me whether He Zhiqiang and his group are dead or alive?

He picked up a cigarette and quickly offered one to Zhao Ruilong and one to Gao Yuliang.

Listening quietly, the two continued to discuss a series of major projects that were about to begin in Lüzhou.

In particular, the groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of the Yanhu High-speed Railway will be officially held in Jingzhou tomorrow.

At that time, all sections of the entire project will commence construction simultaneously.

Since the entire route is mostly flat, there are no towering mountains or steep ridges that require tunnels.

Therefore, with the projected three-year construction period, it is estimated that with multiple sections and units starting construction simultaneously, it could be completed in two years.

Once the high-speed railway is completed and opened to traffic, Lüzhou will be connected to Jingzhou in the west and reach Tianhai in the east.

Another large aircraft supporting project has been launched.

It's no wonder that Luzhou's economy is taking off.

Given such a favorable situation, how could Gao Yuliang, a mentor with considerable political insight, not make plans early on?

Qi Tongwei had already realized that Teacher Gao was no longer satisfied with his position in Lüzhou.

He wants to improve as quickly as possible!

As long as you can become the mayor of Jingzhou, why worry about not rising to the top?