Chapter Fifty Political Exchange

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  Xie Yan had never seen anyone, like Yang Jie, wolfing down the noodles she made, as if they were some kind of delicacy, not only did he finish all the noodles, but also drank all the soup.

  Looking at Yang Jie's satisfied face, Xie Yan's small face showed a happy smile.

  Xie Yan had been up since the crack of dawn making breakfast and was busy all morning, so she naturally wanted to hear some kind words. However, Yang Jie's actions were more pleasing to her than any verbal praise.

  As he walked into the county party committee compound, Yang Jie saw that many people were pointing and whispering about him. He knew it was definitely because of what happened at the Chengguan police station yesterday afternoon, which had already been spread around. Having just started working, he became the focus of attention in the county party committee compound. He had thought that one should keep a low profile, but reality gave Yang Jie applause and cheers instead, leaving him feeling overwhelmed.

  As soon as he entered the office, Guo Ziqiang took a big stride to Yang Jie's front, looking him up and down like an alien, "Director Yang, this is too much! Five standing committee members came out just to give you face, even Liao Secretary's only son was caught."

  Leng Ao was like Liu Fei, also staring at Yang Jie with a curious face. There were several different versions of the rumors about the Chengguan Police Station yesterday afternoon. Some said that the county magistrate had instructed someone to frame Yang Jie and take him into custody, which made Secretary Zhou furious and led him to rescue Yang Jie with five other committee members.

  There are also rumors that Yang Jie and Liao Kai, the son of Secretary Liao, got into a fierce fight over a beautiful woman, which led to this conflict involving factions within the county party leadership.

  It is also said that because Luo Song was double-regulated, the director of the Chengguan police station, Wen Peng, took the opportunity to take in Yang Jie, a meritorious businessman, in order to avenge Luo Song. However, this move backfired and instead of taking down Yang Jie, he ended up getting himself taken away.

  Rumors are rife and gossip is spreading like wildfire. Apart from those directly involved, only a handful of people know the truth, which is why everyone else is left guessing.

  "Don't spout nonsense! What's this about sticking up for me? No such thing!" Yang Jie vehemently denied Guo Ziqiang's words. "Secretary Zhou and the others went to the Chengguan Police Station for a work inspection, not because of some individual, got it? It's working hours now, don't wag your tongue randomly, a grown man, how can you be more gossipy than Liu Fei?"

  "Director Yang, don't deny it anymore, the county committee office has spread it all over. Although there are many versions of the story circulating in the county committee office, if you don't tell us what really happened, we promise not to leak it out." Guo Ziqing heard this and chuckled, not taking Yang Jie's words seriously.

  Looking at Guo Ziqing's curious face, seeing that he wanted to break the pot and ask for the bottom line, Yang Jie frowned and said: "Just started working, put aside work and didn't do it, spent all day here listening to rumors, do you think the work of the Foreign Affairs Office is very leisurely? Give me a rundown of all the information about overseas Chinese in the county, I'll check it this afternoon!

  Kuo Tzu-ch'ing heard this and stopped, continuing to follow Yang Chieh's footsteps, his face showing an expression of dissatisfaction. Smiling, he said as he walked towards the file cabinet, "Director Yang, I heard that the county bureau arrested over a dozen people last night, and this morning the Discipline Inspection Commission has taken action, the Audit Bureau has also arranged for someone to go to the Agricultural Machinery Bureau and the Ch'ü-ho Hotel to audit the accounts of these years."

  The speaker was unintentional, but the listener had a purpose. Yang Jie learned from Xiao Wu that last night she told Yang Hua about some things arranged by Liao Guojin and Guo Xin, which is why the county bureau was able to arrest those who were loyal to Liao Keshan overnight.

  The Discipline Inspection Commission and the Audit Bureau have both come out, it seems that Yang Hua made some progress in last night's sudden audit and reported to Secretary Zhou. That's why the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Audit Bureau went to these two units to audit relevant accounts. By doing so, they want to directly cut off Liao Guojin's lucky thoughts.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, in the afternoon as soon as work started, news spread from the county committee office that Liao Guojin, Secretary, had submitted a report to Zhou, Secretary, requesting to retire to the second line due to physical discomfort.

  Liao Guojin is only around fifty years old, and at his age, he can still work for another term. At this time, applying to retire from the second line is equivalent to using his own political future to exchange for Zhou Secretary's leniency in Liao Ke's case, as well as his other disciplinary offenses.

  Successive news came out that Zhou Secretary accepted Liao Secretary's application to retire from the second line and agreed that before the superior organization approved, Liao Secretary would temporarily stop all work and stay at home for recuperation.

  The auditors stationed at the county agricultural machinery bureau and the Luohe Hotel withdrew from these two units after Secretary Liao applied to retire to the second line.

  Yang Jie wasn't stupid, and after learning about these messages in the office, he quickly figured out that Liao Guojin was doing this to retreat to the second line, giving up his position as a Standing Committee member, in exchange for Secretary Zhou's in-depth investigation into Liao Kai.

  Such a political deal made Yang Jie very unhappy, but he was not Secretary Zhou, and even if he wanted to oppose it, there was no way.

  Before getting off work, Yang Jie received a call from Chen Yinglong.

  Chen Yinglong was the one who helped Yang Hua make an appointment with Yang Jie for dinner, and Chen Yinglong had already talked to Yang Jie about it yesterday, so Yang Jie didn't refuse and readily agreed.

  After getting off work on time, Yang Jie sat in the office for a while and waited for about ten minutes before leaving the office and walking out of the county committee building.

  Chen Yinglong, who was waiting outside the county committee's gate, drove up in a red Charade 7100 and said: "Brother Chen, I'm really sorry. There were still some things that weren't done earlier, so you had to wait for a long time."

  "Look at you, little brother, I've just arrived too. Hurry up and get in the car!" Chen Yinglong said as he opened the door of the Xiali car and let Yang Jie sit in the passenger seat before driving away from the county committee compound.

  "Brother Chen, how's the investigation into Liao Kai's case going?" Yang Jie asked with concern, looking at Chen Yinglong whose face was tired but eyes were still sharp.

  Chen Yinglong glanced at Yang Jie and said, "Last night, Director Yang received an anonymous call. The mysterious person revealed all the things Liao Kai had done over the years."

  Time, place and people were clearly stated. With that information, we interrogated Zheng Yuan and Fan Shaozheng separately, and soon broke through their psychological defenses. They confessed to all the crimes they had committed with Liao Kai over the years. To prevent them from retracting their confessions later, we also recorded videos as evidence.

  "So they can't escape the law's punishment?" Yang Jie asked calmly.

  Last night, the criminal police brigade arrested more than a dozen people who were originally in charge of handling the aftermath for Liao Kai, and obtained confessions from some of them. However, at that time they did a good job of handling the aftermath, and most of the cases had already been settled privately by the parties involved. Today we also found several victims, but they are not willing to come forward to identify Liao Kai.

  It's not easy to sentence Liao Kai, but Zheng Yuan and Fan Shaozheng are different. The two of them committed a robbery three years ago that left the victim disabled, plus other cases of theft and assault. If convicted, a sentence of over ten years would be lenient."

  Chen Yinglong did not tell Yang Jie that Secretary Zhou had already called to inform the county bureau that if no other malicious cases of Liao Kai were found, the county bureau could give Liao Kai a lighter punishment for his previous problems, which means that Liao Kai might be detained for a period of time before being released.

  "So Liao Kai won't be sentenced after all?" Yang Jie had already known this outcome in his heart, but he still wanted to get confirmation from Chen Yinglong.

  "The sentence shouldn't be too severe, but detention for half a year, reeducation through labor, and fines are unavoidable!" Chen Yinglong's words made Yang Jie feel slightly better.

  If just because Liao Guojin retired from the second line, Liao Kai could be exempt from punishment, then he would really not understand. Detention for half a year, reeducation through labor, and fines are all considered minor punishments. However, since Liao Guojin has retreated to the second line, Liao Kai no longer has a powerful backer, and in the future, even if he comes out, he will not be able to stir up any waves.

  "Causing so much trouble, yet only getting detained for half a year. What a good dad he has, this life is really different!" Yang Jie's words made Chen Yinglong shake his head and smile bitterly.

  "Little brother, that's just how it is in the official circles. If we can avoid doing something ruthless, then we won't do it. Leave a thread of life today and meet again tomorrow. After all these years of reform and opening up, there have been countless cases of corruption and bribery, but how many have actually been sentenced?"

  After the double regulation, how many cadres were finally handed over to the procuratorate? Most of them were removed from their leadership positions and exempted from criminal punishment. Secretary Zhou's handling of Liao Kai's case was also handled in accordance with official conventions. If he really wanted to severely punish Liao, who had voluntarily stepped down, Secretary Zhou's reputation within the system would be ruined." Chen Yinglong may not hold a high position, but he has seen many such cases.

  For so many years, Luhe County has caught dozens of corrupt officials, but how many have actually been prosecuted? Less than one-tenth. Many were dismissed from their posts and had the embezzled money confiscated, then escaped criminal punishment.

  Liao Kai and Liao Guojin's matter, since Secretary Zhou has already made a decision, then it can be considered as ended. Yang Jie didn't want to continue entangling with such an official unspoken rule either. Watching Chen Yinglong drive towards the direction outside the city, he asked: "Do you have to leave the city just to eat?"