Chapter Twenty: Amidst the Vast and Endless Prairie

  "Fan Heng'an!"

  Wen Cheng looked at her with a bit of surprise, as a native of Qingzhou, you may not know the mayor and secretary, but there are two people who are known to everyone. One is Gu Shi Tong of Qinghe Group, and the other is Fan Heng An.

  In the early 1980s, Gu Shi Tong resigned as a lecturer at Qingzhou Normal University and went south to ride the first wave of reform and opening-up. In just five years, he accumulated hundreds of millions in wealth and then returned strongly, taking Qingzhou as his base to operate throughout the province. Within ten years, he developed into a giant, with his Qinghe Group covering multiple industries such as catering, real estate, clothing, hotels, daily chemicals, and machinery manufacturing. It became the largest private enterprise and taxpayer in Qingzhou, playing a crucial role in the regional economy of Jiangdong Province. As a provincial People's Congress representative and CPPCC member, Gu Shi Tong's network extended to various fields in Jiangdong, making him almost unshakeable. Whenever people in Qingzhou mention Gu Shi Tong, whether they admire, worship, envy, or despise him, they have to admit that he is a genius who creates miracles!

  But Fan Hengan was fundamentally different. His original name was Fan Hongxing, and he graduated from elementary school with a background of being a hooligan and a thug. He had been involved in over a dozen cases of suspected rape, robbery, and gang fights, although none of them resulted in actual convictions. However, his reputation in the streets of Qingzhou was enough to make children cry, maidens lose their innocence, and widows remarry. In 1983, during the nationwide crackdown, he fled Qingzhou to avoid trouble for a few years. He made a fortune smuggling goods across the Sino-Russian border and returned to Qingzhou at the end of the 80s, changing his name to Fan Hengan. With astonishing speed, he became a respected member of Qingzhou society, and his rags-to-riches story would surely be a bestseller if written into a book.

  Qingzhou has a population of over 60 million, and there are only two people like this, and it's hard to know who they are.

  "Fan Heng'an?" Wen Xian was surprised, not by the man's identity, but by how a merchant like him could have such a deep grudge against Zuo Yu Xi that it had reached a life-and-death point. Since ancient times, ordinary people did not fight with officials. In the eyes of someone as highly placed as Zuo Jing, Fan Heng'an was nothing more than a mere commoner. How did he have the audacity to do such a thing?

  "He was able to quickly gain a foothold in Qingzhou because of Fang Mingtang..."

  It's unbelievable that Fan Heng'an, with his humble background, could rise to his current position in just a few years. Qingzhou has no nobility or aristocracy, and for someone like Fan Heng'an, a notorious rogue, to emerge from the grassroots without the backing of powerful figures is ten times more difficult than it was for Gu Shi Tong.

  As the mayor of Qingzhou, Fang Ming Tang was in a fierce struggle with Left Jing Zheng, who was then the secretary of the municipal party committee. The principle that the party leads everything made him inherently insufficient in the overall situation, so he had to build his own circle from the periphery, cultivate his power, plant his confidants, buy people's hearts, and Fan Heng An was introduced to Fang Ming Tang under this circumstance and quickly became his confidant. In the previous year's election, Left Jing and Fang Ming Tang fought fiercely for the position of Lingyang, stirring up a huge wave in both the province and the city. As Fang Ming Tang's economic pillar, Fan Heng An naturally suffered from Left Jing's ruthless blow, with more than a dozen subsidiaries being ordered to suspend production and rectify under the name of tax evasion, resulting in direct losses of tens of millions of yuan and indirect losses of hundreds of millions of yuan, almost breaking the company's capital chain, and 15 years of hard work was almost lost.

  If it weren't for the later clear war situation, Zuo Jing's victory was in his grasp and he let him go, Fan Heng'an, a multi-billion dollar high-end figure, might have turned back into that little-known mixed-blooded Fan Hongxing.

  "Not bad! This hatred is indeed great!"

  In a flash of insight, Wen Xiang suddenly understood the cause and effect of this matter. As a child growing up in the municipal party committee compound, even if he was still naive, he had an extraordinary understanding of these things within the circle. Moreover, now that he had lived two lifetimes, it was easy for him to grasp the truth by combining past and present.

  Zuo Yuxi knew he understood as soon as he heard the words, and his heart was shocked. He could see through everything from just one sentence, and Wen Chen did not disappoint him. She slammed the steering wheel and said, "Cutting grass without removing its roots will only leave future troubles!"

  Wen Cheng had never regarded Zuo Yu Xi as a naive and innocent little girl, nor did he think that beautiful women should be weak. Especially from the way she handled the pork waist incident, it was clear that this woman was resolute, decisive, and ruthless in her methods. Yet, he was still startled by her expression at this moment.

  He hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice: "This is not Secretary Zuo's fault! Since Fang Mingtang did not step down but went to the People's Congress, it shows that those above are also unwilling to make excessive moves. Moreover, letting Zhou Yuanting take over as mayor of Qingzhou City is a clear attempt to comfort and balance things out. Now that Secretary Zuo has taken office, he cannot cling to this matter in Qingzhou, otherwise people will think he is narrow-minded and using public power for personal revenge..."

  "I understand!" Zuo Yu Xi took a deep breath, his fingers subconsciously tapping on the steering wheel, "The key now is..."

  "The key is that night, whether Zhou Yuanting was unintentional or intentional?"

  That's exactly where the problem lies!

  That night's social gathering was originally a working dinner after Zhou Yutian's inspection of Qingyi Middle School, and it was also the first time Zuo Yuxi got drunk. Zhou Yutian, contrary to his usual practice, did not stop the people below from toasting Zuo Yuxi with wine, and although he mentioned sending someone to see him off afterwards, he did not insist after being refused by Zuo Yuxi. If it weren't for the pig waist incident, Zuo Yuxi would naturally understand that this was just a way of paying back his pride over the past few years. But now, who dares to say that Zhou Yutian is unintentional?

  There is still a Fang Ming Tang behind Zhou Yuan Ting! Although Fang Ming Tang's political future has been put to an end, the roots he planted in Qingzhou are still deeply buried in this land. Especially when it comes to sacrificing him, there is no guilt, and sometimes his words are even more effective than when he was mayor.

  This is a complete deadlock!

  If it were just Fan Heng'an alone, he would really be courting death. Don't look at the surface where everything seems smooth and his social circle is vast, but if Zuo Jing truly wants to put him to death with a single-minded determination, Fan Heng'an wouldn't even have a chance to struggle. But what if there's Zhou Yuanting and Fang Mingtang?

  No matter how you look at it, Zuo Jing couldn't bear to make things difficult for Fang Ming Tang again. Once he left an impression on his superiors that he didn't know when to advance or retreat and was overly aggressive, it would be a fatal blow to his future development. But since the other party had resorted to such vicious tactics, if he didn't counterattack now, what was the point of having power, what was the point of running a business?

  But all of this is still speculation, Fan Heng'an was a small-time hoodlum, and it's not surprising that he would do something like this after the net is broken, but would Fang Ming-tang agree to this or even instruct him to do so?

  No one dares to be certain!

  Wen Cheng knew what Zuo Yu Xi was hesitating about, what he was afraid of! But this matter was too important, one careless move would result in a tragic end of death and destruction, he furrowed his brow, not speaking rashly.

  "I'm still hiding it from my father..."

  Wen Qian was truly stunned this time. No matter how decisive Left Rain Creek's personality is, she is still a woman after all. After experiencing the most terrible thing that women fear, when midnight strikes, who knows how much fear and terror she might feel? Yet she still endured it all by herself, unwilling to put Left Jing in a dangerous situation for her own safety. This kind of thinking is truly admirable, yet also makes one sigh with emotion.

  Above the heights, under the name of power, how much glory is there, how much wandering?

  Zuo Yu Xi suddenly slumped back, as if her spirit had left her body in an instant. Her whole person became dull and the usual liveliness and charm disappeared, leaving only a pale face, slightly red lips, and that winding curve in front of Wen Yan's eyes.

  "This bureau can actually be broken..."

  Zuo Yuxi suddenly sat up, the surprise on his face seemed to be flying out from between his eyebrows, and he grabbed Wen Qing's arm, saying: "Do you have a way?"

  Wen Qian thought, it's not that difficult. Fang Ming Tang, Zhou Yuan Ting, and Fan Heng An are one body but not one mind. As long as they can find a powerful ally in Qingzhou, with Zuo Jing's power, the situation in Qingzhou can be settled in an instant!