Nothing could proceed according to Wu Guozheng's wishes, for these were matters to be decided by Na Qianlai.
The moment Jia Zhengqing submitted his meticulously compiled materials and left, Wu Guozheng tossed them into the trash.
Seeing Jia Zhengqing treated this way, Liu Sandao felt a surge of indignation, wishing he could wring Wu Guozheng's head off. But Fu Ruhai held him back, leaving him no choice but to comply.
This was the way of the human world, letting mortals handle their own affairs – a consistent principle for the gods.
On the surface, Wu Guozheng had temporarily suppressed Jia Zhengqing's investigative intentions, but Na Qianlai employed a trick.
Na Qianlai was no old fuddy-duddy like Fu Ruhai; rules were meant to be followed, but it depended on who was following them. Su Dan Novel Network.
Though Wu Guozheng had thrown the materials away, he seemed to recall something and picked them up again. Then, he strode towards the shredder on his desk. Only by shredding it could he ensure that no one else would see the material.
Even if Jia Zhengqing were to gather more, it would still take time.
This time difference would be ample for Jia Shuqing to maneuver and for him to pull strings, striving to downplay the incident, to make mountains out of molehills.
But if things were that simple, what would Na Qianlai gain?
And so, the very instant Wu Guozheng fed the materials into the shredder, the machine jammed! This was a minor spell cast by Na Qianlai.
He used magic to perform a switcheroo, spirit-transporting the original materials away and replacing them with another set of materials of the same thickness.
The materials were all printed. If one didn't scrutinize the content, it would be hard to tell if it was the original document meant for shredding.
Coupled with Wu Guozheng's eagerness to shred, as soon as the shredder resumed, he fed the replacement materials in without even looking.
Watching the scraps of paper, predominantly white with a scattering of black, fall into the trash bin, he displayed a sinister smile.
The materials, spirited away by Na Qianlai's magic, landed on the doorstep of a siheyuan. An old man, pushing his bicycle home from work, saw it as he was about to lift his bike over the threshold.
The old man first carried his bicycle inside, then returned to retrieve the document.
"Oh my, who could have dropped a document here? It must be that careless daughter of mine, leaving her school revision materials scattered about!"
The old man muttered to himself, picking up the materials and returning indoors.
"Nizi, come here!"
He called out loudly as soon as he entered.
"Coming, Dad. What is it?"
"What is it? Look at what you've done. When will you ever change this forgetful habit?"
The old man feigned anger, his tone stern yet tinged with affection.
"Let me see what this is!"
The girl snatched the materials, which read:
Investigation Report on the Black Forces of Sanshui Village.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, good heavens. I never imagined this was real, or is it fiction!"
The girl mumbled as she read.
"What fiction? Wasn't this your study material left at the door?"
Hearing her mumble about fiction rather than studies, the old man inquired.
"What are you talking about? My study materials are all inside. When did I leave anything at the door? Hey, Dad, look, this is all about San Dong City!"
The girl said as she showed it to her father.
Upon seeing the cover, the old man immediately grasped the gravity of the situation. He snatched the report back, saying,
"Alright, alright. This is not something you should get involved in. It seems someone intentionally sent this document. How about this, I'll handle this matter. You go back to your room and study!"
"Dad, you can't be like this. As soon as anything interesting comes up, I'm excluded. All day long you push me to study, don't you consider how tiring studying is?"
The girl deliberately pouted.
Unable to argue with his daughter, the old man patted her hand. "Alright, alright, you take a break. But this is a matter of national importance. You are not allowed to participate. Go do what you should be doing. Understand?"
"Hmph!" The young girl huffed and went back inside.
After sending his daughter away, the old man immediately began to read the report with serious attention. It seemed to reflect the very matter Jia Zhengqing had been investigating. Indeed, the document was signed at the end: Jia Zhengqing.
This action did not comply with regulations. What was Jia Zhengqing trying to achieve? Was it to evade Wu Guozheng? If so, why didn't he come to him directly?
Something was amiss, and he had to pick up the phone.
"Hello, this is Ding Chunqiu. Arrange for a visit to Huaihua Street tomorrow morning... Yes, be waiting for me at the office at that time!"
...
In the morning, Ding Chunqiu instructed the driver to drive directly into the Huaihua Subdistrict Office.
Although there were many administrative departments here, he first proceeded to the Investigation Bureau's office. Jia Zhengqing was busy organizing documents for a meeting when someone knocked on the door.
"Please come in!"
Upon seeing the visitor, Jia Zhengqing hastily stood up.
"Mayor Ding, why are you here?" Jia Zhengqing never imagined the Vice Mayor would visit, nor had the subdistrict received any notification.
"Hahaha, what? Am I not allowed to come here?" Ding Chunqiu asked with a smile.
"You can, you can, of course you can. We welcome leaders to inspect at any time!" Jia Zhengqing said, quickly busying himself with pouring tea.
Some department leaders who had met Mayor Ding were now rushing to inform the subdistrict's superior officials. Instantly, the corridor filled with people.
Initially, they were all coming to see the leader, but Ding Chunqiu had already instructed his secretary to detain them outside for the time being.
Ding Chunqiu engaged in some casual conversation before smoothly inquiring about work, particularly the investigation. However, he did not mention the matter of Huaihua Village at all.
Jia Zhengqing reported on his investigation and the submission of materials to Director Wu, but he did not mention submitting materials to anyone else.
Ding Chunqiu even deliberately probed whether he had submitted materials to higher authorities or other departments. But Jia Zhengqing appeared completely oblivious, which greatly puzzled Ding Chunqiu.
Who, then, had delivered the materials to him? Jia Zhengqing was part of the system, a veteran at that, and would not be ignorant of the implications.
However, since someone wanted him to know about this matter, and it fell within his purview, he could not fail to investigate.
Ding Chunqiu's visit gave Jia Zhengqing confidence in his investigation. Although there were indeed some deficiencies, fortunately, apart from Wang Guihua's household, others had not yet changed their minds. Of course, if the matter could not be resolved promptly, the consequences would be unimaginable.
No one would have imagined that it was precisely this casual visit by Ding Chunqiu that placed the entire Shangdong District under high alert regarding the Huaihua Village incident, something Wu Guozheng had not foreseen.
Attempting to cause trouble under such intense scrutiny would undoubtedly be walking into a trap.
But for Jia Shuqing, she was a cornered beast, fighting a desperate battle for survival.