From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor

Xu Chunliang took out a pack of cigarettes and handed it to him. Li Chengbo politely accepted, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and asked, "What leaders are coming today?"

Xu Chunliang said, "Not sure, but I’ve heard a big shot is coming."

Li Chengbo’s expression turned serious. Since he started working at the local police station, the highest-ranking official he had met was Secretary Zhou, who came for the establishment of a national holiday resort.

In fact, Li Chengbo didn’t think much of today’s groundbreaking ceremony, assuming at most that only the leaders of Weishan County would attend. He didn’t expect such high-level attendance.

Li Chengbo said, "Doesn’t that mean someone from the city bureau should come too?"

Xu Chunliang shook his head. The main guest hadn’t been announced to him yet, and he wasn’t sure if Dong Changhao knew.

Dong Changhao was not far away, on the phone. After he finished, he heard Xu Chunliang calling him and waved his hand, indicating he had to take another call.

Once Dong Changhao was done, he walked over and greeted Li Chengbo. Last time, when he was beaten on Weishan Island, it was Li Chengbo who handled his case, and at that time, the primary suspect he provided was Xu Chunliang.

The world is unpredictable; your enemy yesterday might be your friend today. Of course, Dong Changhao and Xu Chunliang were definitely not friends, at most colleagues for the time being.

Dong Changhao inherently didn’t like Xu Chunliang, but he couldn’t deny Xu Chunliang’s capabilities. He was very aware that he couldn’t do without Xu Chunliang on Weishan Island; even Tang Jinglun shared the same understanding.

Li Chengbo asked, "President Dong, is a high-ranking leader coming today?"

Dong Changhao replied, "It was just confirmed..."

##

Qiao Yuanjiang temporarily changed his schedule for the day, partly due to Mei Ru Xue’s advice. As a member of Pinghai’s leadership, his every move attracted attention from all over the province. It was unwise to come out and support the Huayuan Group at such a time.

Another reason was that Secretary Zhou declined to attend the Weishan Island Healthy Elderly Care Hospital’s groundbreaking ceremony, citing health reasons.

After mingling in the system for so many years, Qiao Yuanjiang was politically savvy. Even though he had some ties with Tang Jinglun, public affairs were separate from private matters, and he had to differentiate them clearly.

Although his political career had no upward mobility, he had to consider the potential impact his actions might have on the Qiao family.

Qiao Yuanjiang went to Weishan Island, but his destination had changed to laying a wreath at the Railway Heroes Memorial.

Things didn’t go as planned. Tang Jinglun was caught off guard by Qiao Yuanjiang’s feint. Everything was ready, just lacking the final push, but the wind changed direction unexpectedly. Tang Jinglun knew he couldn’t alter Qiao Yuanjiang’s decision.

With Qiao Yuanjiang and Secretary Zhou not coming, other officials who had confirmed their attendance began to back out.

By 9:30 that morning, the highest-ranking official confirmed to attend was Deputy Director Wu Zhongyi from the Health Bureau.

Zhao Feiyang and Gao Xinhua were among the first guests to arrive on Weishan Island. They had already heard about the primary guests not being able to attend en route. Far from being disappointed, Zhao Feiyang was pleased. Tang Jinglun had intended to turn the groundbreaking ceremony into a grand affair to amplify its presence in the news. But now it was clear that this event would make little impact.

The cruise from Xianhong Farm was responsible for transporting guests today, and the Huayuan Group funded its full-day rental.

Xu Chunliang specifically came to welcome them. Zhao Feiyang and Gao Xinhua got into an Audi Q7, and Xu Chunliang turned from the front passenger seat, asking, "Dean Zhao, Secretary Gao, have you prepared your speeches?"

Zhao Feiyang was prepared, but Gao Xinhua wasn’t scheduled to speak. However, due to the absence of several key guests, the schedule was altered to include his speech.

Gao Xinhua shook his head, saying, "I won’t speak. Let Dong Changhao do it, or ask leaders from Hu Shan Town to speak."

Xu Chunliang smiled, "They’ve all gone to receive high-ranking leaders and have headed to the Railway Heroes Memorial. Our highest-ranking official here is Deputy Director Wu Zhongyi from the Health Bureau."

Zhao Feiyang said, "How could he be the highest-ranking? He’s deputy director level, and Secretary Gao is a full director!"

Gao Xinhua laughed, "Dean Zhao, don’t involve me in this; you’ve been a full director for a while now."

Zhao Feiyang sighed, "I’m just a senior worker right now."

Upon arriving at the ceremony venue, Gao Xinhua couldn’t help but marvel at the extravagant setup.

Xu Chunliang saw Li Chengbo leading officers to clear the area. When he asked, he learned they had received instructions from the county to handle security at the Railway Heroes Memorial, as important leaders were coming.

Although a bit embarrassed, Li Chengbo had to follow orders.

Xu Chunliang urged him to go quickly. With major leaders not attending, their groundbreaking ceremony didn’t need much security. Zhang Haitao and a few security guards were enough.

Dong Changhao’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing as he stood by an excavator, anxiously making calls.

Over the phone, Tang Jinglun berated him, although it wasn’t Dong Changhao’s fault. It was Tang Jinglun who wanted to make the groundbreaking ceremony big and who was responsible for inviting the guests. At the last minute, the leaders stood him up, and what could Dong Changhao do?

Dong Changhao walked over with a gloomy face to greet Zhao Feiyang and Gao Xinhua, who had arrived.

Zhao Feiyang intentionally asked, "Old Dong, did something happen?"

Putting on a brave face, Dong Changhao replied, "Nothing’s wrong, the groundbreaking ceremony will proceed on schedule."

Just then, the news teams from Pinghai TV Station and Dongzhou TV Station arrived, and Dong Changhao quickly went to welcome them. Luckily, the news coverage was unchanged.

Gao Xinhua remarked, "It’s just a groundbreaking ceremony; why make such a fuss?"

Zhao Feiyang replied, "Promotion is necessary."

Gao Xinhua asked, "And who’s footing the bill? Isn’t it Changxing?"

Zhao Feiyang fell silent; he couldn’t argue with that.

Xu Chunliang unexpectedly saw Su Qing among the arriving reporters. She was looking around, actually searching for Xu Chunliang. With hundreds of people already present, finding Xu Chunliang was no easy task.

"Looking for me?"

Xu Chunliang’s voice sounded behind her. Su Qing turned, her face slightly red, "You startled me."

Xu Chunliang said, "Coming to Weishan Island without telling me in advance?"

Su Qing replied, "The reporter in charge got sick, and the boss asked me to fill in." She wasn’t entirely truthful; she volunteered to come when she learned about the groundbreaking ceremony for the Healthy Elderly Care Hospital, immediately thinking of Xu Chunliang.

They had only spoken a few words before Tan Haiyan came looking for Xu Chunliang. Su Qing let him go about his business as she prepared for the interview.

Tan Haiyan asked Xu Chunliang to make another trip to the pier to pick up Deputy Director Wu Zhongyi from the Health Bureau. Both he and Tang Jinglun arrived on the same ship.

Xu Chunliang and Zhang Haitao got into a car, heading straight to the pier.

As Zhang Haitao drove, he said to Xu Chunliang, "Dean Xu, this Wu Zhongyi is Zhang Haibin’s third uncle."

It had been a while since Xu Chunliang heard Zhang Haibin’s name. Zhang Haibin used to be the hospital director of Weishan Island Hospital. Later, he was ousted by Xu Chunliang for selfishly opposing Changxing Hospital and inciting the branch staff to protest.

The Huayuan Group saw his value and provided him with favorable conditions. Zhang Haibin briefly became an assistant director at Changxing, but soon lost his usefulness and resigned voluntarily.

Xu Chunliang asked, "What’s Zhang Haibin doing now?"

Zhang Haitao replied, "After resigning, he went to Xingyue Maternity Hospital and now serves as the deputy director there. Apparently, he got the job through his third uncle."

Xu Chunliang nodded. They had reached the pier in conversation, but the boat for picking them up hadn’t returned yet.

Xu Chunliang could imagine Tang Jinglun’s mood. He spent over a million, and none of the important guests showed up. Not only would outsiders have a laugh, but even within the Huayuan Group, this became a joke.

Xu Chunliang didn’t rush to get out of the car. A ferry had just docked, and hundreds of elderly people exited one by one. They gathered in the open area ahead of the pier and unfurled black and white banners.

Xu Chunliang was startled; these people seemed to be ready to protest. Could they be targeting them?

He quickly opened the door to get out and saw the unfolded banner mentioning Da Heng Group, a sigh of relief; it appeared their target was Da Heng Group.

Hundreds of elderly individuals, well-organized, unfurled their banners and set off in the direction of Hu Shan Town. Xu Chunliang signaled Zhang Haitao, who immediately understood and approached an elderly man smoking a cigarette. After giving him one, he soon found out what was happening.

The elders came today to protest, heading to the Railway Heroes Memorial. They heard many provincial and municipal leaders would be there today.

Xu Chunliang couldn’t help but wonder where these elderly people got their information. Judging by the scene, they were undoubtedly organized and prepared.

The news about Qiao Yuanjiang’s schedule change had been known only an hour prior. It’s impossible for these elders to organize and come from Dongzhou in just one hour unless they had prior information.

Xu Chunliang realized that Huayuan Group’s more than a million was certainly wasted. The groundbreaking ceremony couldn’t be a public focal point; this protest incident would surely steal their thunder.