Chapter 1770
On the way back, Song Guanchao concealed some information and described the situation to Hu Yaling in speculative terms.
"Do you have a grudge against Su Rong?"
"You could say that." He recounted the events that happened in Pinghai City once more.
Hu Yaling frowned deeply, probably not expecting that Su Rong, just for something like this, would retaliate against Song Guanchao so fiercely.
As a woman herself, she couldn’t understand.
A married woman sneaking around with another man behind her husband’s back was one thing, but risking her future for this man was another.
If Su Rong were in her teens or twenties, she could understand.
Young, naive, without a fully developed worldview, and acting without considering consequences.
But Su Rong was already thirty, a considerably mature age, yet was acting impulsively like a young girl inexperienced with the world.
"What do you plan to do?" Hu Yaling asked.
If Su Rong were arrested for arson, Leader Hong, as the team leader, would be directly affected.
That’s not a good option.
"We’ll see."
Hu Yaling stared at his face for two seconds, seeing his calm expression, she guessed he must have already made a decision.
She knew well the kind of person Song Guanchao was; once he made a decision, it was difficult for outsiders to sway him, so she stopped talking.
Upon arriving at the municipal bureau, Song Guanchao let them go inside first, then called Wu Qiangwei to explain the situation of the night.
Wu Qiangwei was startled, but once she knew the fire was extinguished, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where are you now?"
"At the municipal bureau."
"How will you handle it?" Wu Qiangwei, like Hu Yaling, shared the same concern.
"Don’t worry, I won’t make it hard for Leader Hong." Song Guanchao hid little from Wu Qiangwei: "Based on the current situation, the arsonist isn’t Su Rong, but Lin He."
Wu Qiangwei was surprised: "You plan to arrest Lin He?"
"Whether to arrest him depends on his behavior." Song Guanchao said with a smile: "Such a great opportunity shouldn’t be missed."
Wu Qiangwei replied: "Be careful not to get burned yourself."
"Don’t worry, I have a handle on it."
After chatting a bit, Song Guanchao hung up and walked into the municipal bureau.
He entered Director Ma’s office: "First detain Su Rong, don’t interrogate her yet."
"Alright."
"When Lin He wakes up, detain him too, without interrogation for now."
"Okay." Director Ma was curious about how he planned to handle things, but since Song Guanchao didn’t say, he didn’t ask.
Glancing at his watch, it was already late. Song Guanchao said, "I’m heading back now. Finish up and get some rest. It’s been a tiring period."
"Let’s not talk about that." Director Ma shook his head; compared to his own busyness, Song Guanchao not only was busy but also faced various crises.
Even one thing randomly handed to Director Ma might not be handled well, but Song Guanchao managed them effortlessly.
Sometimes Director Ma couldn’t help but marvel at how Song Guanchao rose so quickly at such a young age, a feat not achieved just by luck and backing.
...
Lin He sustained a blow to the back of his head, resulting in a mild concussion, and had inhaled a lot of smoke, showing signs of poisoning. He was currently lying on a hospital bed receiving fluids.
Looking at the police officer sitting by the bedside, Lin He was filled with confusion.
His memory stopped inside the room, seeing that woman.
Then he opened his eyes and was in a hospital.
No matter how he asked, the police officer only said one thing: you are currently in detention.
He was confused, not understanding why he was detained.
Obviously, he had been struck!
He tried to leverage his identity to pressure the officer, but they paid no attention.
Lin He couldn’t be bothered to ask more questions and decided to rest for now.
...
The next morning.
Song Guanchao arrived at the office, made himself a cup of tea, and pulled out his phone to call Director Ma.
Suddenly someone knocked on the door.
Shu Xue pushed the door open, saying: "Director Song, the Mayor wants to see you."
"Oh, okay."
Song Guanchao had to put down his cup and temporarily set aside contacting Director Ma, following Shu Xue upstairs.
Upon entering the office, he saw an old man with half-white hair.
Song Guanchao recognized him somewhat, thinking this might be Director Huang from the Judicial Bureau?
It seemed that Wu Qiangwei was looking for him not about the hotel arson, but another matter.
He pulled out a chair and sat down, as Wu Qiangwei said: "The project is now under Director Song’s responsibility, Director Huang, go ahead and explain."
The matter was about a project? Song Guanchao looked at Director Huang.
Director Huang’s face was unpleasant, his expression containing suppressed anger.
"Here’s the situation, Yanghe Petrochemical’s company account has been unfrozen."
"Unfrozen?" Song Guanchao’s gaze was sharp as a knife, staring into Director Huang’s eyes: "Who unfroze it?"
Director Huang said: "An office junior clerk."
Song Guanchao chuckled: "Is this junior clerk a deity descended to earth? Does he have the authority to unfreeze a frozen company account at will?"
Director Huang explained: "Someone forged the Judicial Bureau’s seal and sent the documents to the office."
Song Guanchao stared at him for a few seconds, asking: "When was it unfrozen?"
"Yesterday."
"How much money is left in the company account?"
"Nothing." Director Huang sighed: "Although the documents were forged, as the director, I have an inescapable responsibility. As for the clerk, they were just following procedures..."
"Director Huang, you should head back." Song Guanchao said.
Director Huang looked at Wu Qiangwei, who replied: "You should go now."
Director Huang knew this issue wouldn’t just blow over. He was already prepared for dismissal.
After all, he had gained considerable benefits from this, even if he were dismissed or even fired, it wouldn’t be entirely at a loss.
Once he left, Song Guanchao said: "It’s likely Director Huang who unfroze it."
Wu Qiangwei nodded, she thought the same.
It was clear Director Huang was taking them for fools, using such a feeble excuse to try and fool them?
"Looks like he received a lot of benefits." Song Guanchao sneered, saying: "I’ll handle this, you needn’t worry about it."
If it were that easy for Director Huang to brush it off, Wu Qiangwei’s authority as mayor would be utterly diminished if word got out.
Indeed, using Director Huang as an example could establish authority and serve as a warning to others.
He left the office, and Director Ma called.
"Lin He has been brought back to the municipal bureau."
"I’m coming over right now."
Song Guanchao picked up his car keys and headed to the municipal bureau.
As he got out of the car, he saw Wen Ru emerging from the building.
"Political Commissioner Wen, going out?"
"The hotel burned down last night?"
"The fire’s been put out."
"I heard it was aimed at you?"
Song Guanchao asked: "Did you specifically wait here for me?"
Wen Ru snorted lightly: "Answer the question!"
Song Guanchao smiled and said: "Don’t worry, I can handle it."
"Who’s worried about you!" Wen Ru denied her concern for him, finding a flawless excuse: "I’m worried Jiangzhou will be implicated because of you."
"Then there’s even less need to worry, this won’t happen again in the future."
Song Guanchao noticed Liang Jianfeng appearing at the municipal bureau entrance, whispering: "I have to go over now."
He walked over and said: "Mr. Liang."
Liang Jianfeng looked stern, having heard about last night’s events too.
"Can it be resolved?"
"Yes!"
"Do you need me to step in?"
"Not for the moment."
"Then resolve it completely, don’t leave any loose ends."
Song Guanchao was taken aback, somewhat disbelieving the words came from Liang Jianfeng.
He regained his composure and nodded, saying: "Understood."