Chapter 739: Chapter 739: Zhang Chaoping Panics

Walking to the car, Ji Yang saw everyone anxiously looking in this direction.

“Mayor Ji, are you alright?” the secretary asked with concern.

“It was too cold in there; I didn’t dare to go any deeper.”

Since the car was parked out of sight of the cave entrance, Ji Yang casually made an excuse.

Just then, a villager said, “Yes, none of us dare to go near it. I heard that people who approached it in the past never survived. You don’t know, even those who came out alive died soon after returning home.”

Ji Yang thought to himself that without True Yuan to protect their bodies, few could withstand the invasion of the cold.

“Let’s go back.”

The car arrived at the village.

Now without any village officials, Ji Yang thought for a moment and then simply gathered the villagers, representing the organization and having them elect new village leaders.

Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures!

Ji Yang had no choice, with the village in such a mess and not knowing what to do; the villagers had to elect their own officials.

Fortunately, the deterrent power of Mayor Ji was still effective, and the villagers took things seriously this time. After Ji Yang spoke a few words, the election commenced.

The whole process was somewhat simplistic, and if it were mentioned outside, it might attract criticism, but Ji Yang didn’t care about that.

As long as all the procedures were completed, the election would still be valid.

As expected, Yi Dashi was elected as the village secretary, and then some other villagers were chosen whom the people deemed fit for the positions.

After putting Yi Dashi in charge of managing the village, Ji Yang then left Tufang Village.

The moment the car entered the county committee compound, Ji Yang saw Zhang Chaoping’s car parked there.

“Secretary Zhang, you’ve arrived?” Ji Yang walked up to Zhang Chaoping and shook hands to greet him.

Zhang Chaoping looked at Ji Yang with a complicated expression, knowing that his own secretary was involved in the affairs of Xiashan County, and that Ji Yang had reported it to the higher-ups.

For this matter, Zhang Chaoping really couldn’t find any fault; after all, Ji Yang’s report was a normal procedure. However, this resulted in him being quite passive.

“Mayor Ji, I don’t know much about what my secretary did!”

Ji Yang said, “I suspect it was a personal act.”

“Yes, it should be a personal act. I’ve already expressed this to Secretary Yan and asked them to investigate thoroughly. Regardless of who’s involved, they must be severely dealt with.”

“It’s really hot today; let’s go inside to talk.”

“Alright, alright.”

Zhang Chaoping’s presence was almost diminished now, uncertain of how the situation in Xiashan County would unfold after his secretary’s involvement came to light.

“Mayor Ji, how is the situation in the county?” Zhang Chaoping asked after sitting down.

“It’s not very good. The county is remote and impoverished and hasn’t seen much development. The most serious issue is that some leaders are involved in human trafficking. It’s become a market, and some leaders are even keeping a number of women…”

Ji Yang explained the situation he had discovered to Zhang Chaoping.

Zhang Chaoping’s expression grew even grimmer upon hearing this. The fact that such things happened in the county was alarming. Not only had he failed to detect them, but his secretary was also implicated in the vested interests; this was a serious problem.

Looking at Ji Yang, although he was one of the main people responsible, he was the one who had uncovered the situation, and at least, he wasn’t directly culpable.

What should he do? This was the most pressing question for Zhang Chaoping.

Zhang Chaoping even recalled how his secretary had arranged for women to please him secretly. He had been very satisfied with the arrangement back then, believing no one would find out. But now, he realized the seriousness of the situation—if his secretary spoke out, it would mean his own downfall.

No, he had to ensure his secretary kept silent.

Ji Yang, observing Zhang Chaoping’s demeanor, sensed the issue with his acute Divine Sense. He wondered if there was a problem with him, and if so, how significant it was.

Of course, Ji Yang did not want to probe too much into the other’s affairs.

“Mayor Ji, what’s your opinion on this matter?”

“We’ll have to wait for the Discipline Inspection Commission’s inspection results. A work team from the province has also been dispatched, and they will arrive soon. We can’t make any rash statements right now.”

“You’re right; we need the higher authorities to conduct the investigation.”

Zhang Chaoping grew increasingly restless, not expecting provincial personnel to be involved and wondering why Secretary Yan hadn’t informed him.

Suddenly, Zhang Chaoping felt that trouble was brewing for him.

While they were talking, the leader of the land department called to say that a business was looking to acquire a large area of land for development and asked how to proceed.

Ji Yang said, “Just follow the policies. The principles of openness, fairness, and justice must be upheld.”

Those officials, of course, were eager to demonstrate their achievements and immediately got busy with their tasks.

“Secretary Zhang, now that you’re here, you can take charge of the work. I still have to visit two other counties.”

Intending to leave, Ji Yang passed the responsibilities to Zhang Chaoping, curious to see how he would handle things.

Zhang Chaoping hadn’t expected this, and a trace of gratitude appeared in his eyes. With Ji Yang gone, he had room to maneuver.