Official Career Storm

Chapter 1681: Chapter 1681

"Ten years?"

Song Guanchao thought for a moment and realized there was a problem.

A matter has existed for ten years without being resolved, which is a problem in itself.

"What does Mayor Sun mean?"

"He briefly told me about the situation. The problem might be serious, but we can’t just believe one side of the story."

"Got it, leave it to me. I’ll investigate and understand the full picture," Song Guanchao said.

Wu Qiangwei nodded. Suddenly, her phone rang, and Song Guanchao glanced at it to see the caller ID showed "Mayor Cai."

Clearly, Mayor Cai realized the seriousness of the issue and decided to come to a resolution.

Song Guanchao stayed, and Wu Qiangwei didn’t avoid him but picked up the phone: "Mayor Cai..."

A few minutes later, she hung up, but her brows furrowed slightly.

It seemed the conversation hadn’t gone smoothly.

"What did Mayor Cai say?"

"He agreed to cancel the contract with Lizhi Company and wants Chairman Qiao to go to Feng City personally."

"This sly dog still wants to play tricks?"

Song Guanchao felt Mayor Cai was treating them like fools.

On the surface, he seemed to agree to their request to cancel the contract with Chairman Qiao’s company.

In reality, he wanted to lure Chairman Qiao there.

Once Chairman Qiao arrived in Feng City, Mayor Cai would hold the power on whether to cancel the contract or not.

If he refused to cancel, what could Chairman Qiao do?

No doubt, if Chairman Qiao went there, he’d first be controlled, forced to cancel the contract with Jiangzhou.

Then they’d use Chairman Qiao against Wu Qiangwei to compel her to release Director Zhang.

This kind of scheme, even a three-year-old could see through.

"I’ll accompany Chairman Qiao there," Song Guanchao stood up. "There’s no time to lose, I’ll go today."

He had a lot on his plate, dealing with Feng City while still needing to host the inspection team arriving in the next two days.

And there was the issue of industrial park pollution just mentioned.

Wu Qiangwei worriedly said, "You’ll go alone..."

"One person is enough. If Mayor Cai dares to mess with me, I’ll have his head!"

"Don’t be so impulsive."

"I’m just saying it, wait for my good news."

Song Guanchao wasn’t just bluffing. If Mayor Cai didn’t know better, he’d have no qualms about escalating the issue.

A Prefecture-level City mayor being so arrogant, his record couldn’t be clean. If investigated, it might not be much better than the issues with Pinghai’s officials.

After leaving the office, he called Chairman Qiao.

To avoid startling Chairman Qiao, Song Guanchao only said it was to cancel the contract and he’d accompany them, not mentioning anything else.

After contacting Chairman Qiao, he called Lin Wanqiu.

"Do you have time this afternoon?"

"Why, are you in Beijing?"

"I’m heading to Feng City this afternoon..."

He explained the situation in detail and finally said, "I need you, a senior reporter from the Ministry of Propaganda, to back me up. Otherwise, I’m worried the Feng City officials might detain me."

"They wouldn’t dare." Others might not know, but she knew how influential Song Guanchao was.

Not just a third-tier city’s mayor, even a municipal leader couldn’t afford to offend him.

"I have an interview tonight, it ends around eight, and there seems to be no direct flight to Feng City..."

"It’s too late, don’t come then. If necessary, then the day after. I’ll stay a night and wait for you."

"Alright then, I should be able to get there by noon tomorrow."

After setting the time, Song Guanchao drove to the hotel downstairs.

After waiting a while, Chairman Qiao came down.

She was wearing a wine-red cashmere turtleneck sweater, black cotton stretchy pants, knee-high boots, and a black trench coat, simple yet stylish with flair.

"You haven’t eaten yet, have you, Chairman Qiao?"

"Not yet."

"Let’s grab something to eat before heading out."

"Okay, you decide, Director Song."

Song Guanchao led her to a noodle shop; as they walked in, Chairman Qiao seemed a bit dazed.

She didn’t expect Song Guanchao to be so casual. It’s not that she cared much about the restaurant’s level, just used to high-class places, suddenly being here felt a bit odd.

The noodles tasted surprisingly good.

After filling up, they arrived at the train station.

At 4 in the afternoon, they reached Feng City.

Song Guanchao took a taxi to the hotel and checked in, handing her the room card.

Qiao Zi looked at the card in her hand and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Are we staying here for the night?"

"I arranged for a friend to come tomorrow."

"Oh." Qiao Zi didn’t ask further.

In the elevator, Song Guanchao asked, "Is everything settled with the company?"

Qiao Zi replied, "The police have accepted the case and are processing it."

"Let me know if you need any help."

"Okay."

The elevator arrived, and they looked for their rooms, which happened to be next to each other.

Before entering, Song Guanchao asked, "Want to have dinner together tonight?"

"Sure." Qiao Zi nodded, accepting the invitation.

Back in his room, Song Guanchao took a shower and lay on the bed, texting Wu Qiangwei to let her know he’d arrived.

He then called Zhou Xingjian, asking him to sort out the industrial park’s situation so they could handle it once he returned from the trip.

He also asked him to welcome the inspection team members on his behalf tomorrow.

With work sorted out, Jiang Yiren’s call came through.

He sighed and picked up. freēwebnovel.com

"You’re not in the office?"

"I’m on a business trip to Feng City."

"What? Just set off?"

"Already arrived."

"So soon? When did you leave?"

"Left at noon."

Song Guanchao initially thought to say it’s none of your business but found it too hurtful.

"Oh, then carry on." Jiang Yiren sounded a bit down, thinking he didn’t even inform her about the trip.

Yet on the other hand, why should he have to?

She felt conflicted, unable to balance her emotions.

At 5:30, Song Guanchao messaged Qiao Zi next door, inviting her to dinner.

Unfamiliar with Feng City, they found a restaurant in the nearby mall for a simple meal.

After dinner, it was just after 6, still early. With nothing to do, they wandered around the mall.

Song Guanchao chatted with her about company matters, other companies from Pinghai investing in Jiangzhou, and some policy support from Jiangzhou.

Chairman Qiao listened intently, then suddenly asked, "Is Director Song single?"

Song Guanchao was taken aback, such a topic shift!

One moment discussing business, the next personal relationships.

He shook his head.

"Already married?"

He shook his head again.

Qiao Zi made an "Oh" gesture, suddenly stopping to gaze at a nearby beer restaurant, raising her brows at Song Guanchao: "Wanna have a drink?"

Considering her earlier topic shift and sudden beer invitation, Song Guanchao couldn’t help but suspect she might be interested in him.

Faced with someone as beautiful as Qiao Zi, if she genuinely wanted to make a move, he couldn’t think of a reason to refuse.

He nodded, following her into the beer restaurant.

The restaurant mainly offered beer along with some steaks and western snacks.

Seeing Qiao Zi skillfully order two beers he’d never heard of, he thought he might be overthinking. She probably just wanted to drink beer.

Once the beers arrived, even before the snacks came, Qiao Zi raised the massive one-liter beer mug, saying, "Cheers!"

Song Guanchao thought she was just being polite but watched her tilt back her head and down the entire mug of white beer in one go.

This impressive drinking ability almost made his eyes pop out.