After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

As dawn broke, the Qingyuan County Party Committee and County Government building welcomed a peaceful morning.

The hometown association gathering ended unpleasantly, and the atmosphere in the compound remained tense ever since. When the cadres bumped into each other in the corridor, they would glance at each other and quickly look away, no one speaking.

Ma Changsheng's office door was tightly closed.

Chen Pingfang acted as if nothing had happened, arriving at the office on time and starting to process the documents on his desk one by one, appearing very calm.

Around nine o'clock in the morning, things suddenly became unsettled in front of the county government building.

Several construction vehicles were parked by the roadside, covered in mud. Some men in work clothes jumped out of the vehicles, their faces grim. They gathered in twos and threes at the entrance, not doing anything immediately, but glancing into the government building from time to time, as if waiting for some signal.

Soon, more and more people arrived.

There were contractors, material suppliers, and some small business owners. They all had contracts and IOUs in their hands, and the crowd grew larger and larger, soon completely blocking the entrance to the county government building.

When the news reached the building, chaos immediately ensued.

"What happened?"

"Looks like they've come to collect a debt..."

Just as everyone was discussing it, the situation suddenly changed.

"Pay back the money! Qingyuan County Government, pay back your debts!"

Within the crowd, several leaders raised their arms and shouted, instantly igniting the crowd's emotions. Dozens of debt collectors, as if receiving a command, surged towards the main entrance. The security guards barely intervened, and they stormed into the county government's first-floor lobby.

"Pay back your debts!"

"If you don't give us money, we'll take our things!"

They chanted slogans and waved yellowed IOUs with large sums of money on them. Chaos erupted in the lobby. Phones rang incessantly, female clerks screamed, and people cursed angrily—their voices mingled together.

This was the debt minefield that Ma Changsheng had planned. He wanted to use a financial crisis to bring down the young Chen Pingfang.

The officials in the building were stunned. Many of them had worked in Qingyuan County their entire lives and had never seen anything like it. Looking at the IOUs totaling hundreds of millions of yuan, everyone had the same thought in their minds—it's over, the new county head is finished this time.

Just then, Zhao An, the director of the Finance Bureau, appeared in the lobby.

He looked anxious, spread his arms, and pretended to block the doorway to Chen Pingfang's office. He shouted to the other cadres who rushed over to see what was happening, "It's over! It's over! The county's accounts are almost empty; they can't even pay next month's salaries. Where will they get the money to pay these old debts? The sky is falling!"

As Zhao An shouted, he glanced at Chen Pingfang's office out of the corner of his eye, diverting all the questions there and implying that the new county head had escalated the situation as soon as he arrived, leading to the current predicament.

In the chaotic scene, everyone's gaze was unconsciously drawn to the closed office door. The debt collector was angry, the subordinates were panicked, and some colleagues were watching the commotion. Chen Ping had become the center of all the events.

In the county party secretary's office, Ma Changsheng leisurely sipped his tea, listening to Li Wei's excited report on the phone, a cold smile playing on his lips. He waited to see Chen Pingfang overwhelmed, helpless, and ultimately resign in disgrace.

"Squeak—"

The office door opened.

To everyone's surprise, Chen Pingfang, who came out from inside, had a very calm expression on his face.

Chen Ping calmly walked through the crowd and went directly to the few debt collectors who were the most agitated and shouting the loudest.

"Fellow villagers, please quiet down."

Chen Ping's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear and powerful, immediately silencing the noisy hall.

"The IOUs you have are owed by the government, and I acknowledge them."

Chen Pingfang's gaze swept across the entire room. He was very calm, and everyone quieted down a bit.

"I am Chen Pingfang, the newly appointed county magistrate. I am here today to give everyone an explanation."

The debt collector was stunned, and so were the officials watching.

They hadn't expected this young county magistrate to step forward at such a time, admitting fault right away. In Ma Changsheng's mind, Chen Pingfang should have been terrified and unsure what to do, and should have tried to shirk responsibility, rather than confronting the problem directly.

Chen Ping ignored everyone's surprise. He looked at the representatives in the crowd who were holding the largest IOUs and gestured for them to sit down: "Gentlemen, please have a seat."

Chen Ping personally brought over several chairs and invited them to sit down in front of everyone. He then went to the water dispenser and poured a glass of water for each person.

"Tell me what happened."

Chen Ping listened attentively to their story, asking briefly about the details of each account. Throughout the process, he neither interrupted nor argued, displaying a sincere attitude and clear thinking.

As a result, the debt collector's anger subsided considerably, and his hostility decreased significantly. The tense atmosphere at the scene began to ease gradually.

After listening to all the representatives speak, Chen Ping slowly stood up.

He took a document out of his briefcase.

Chen Ping turned around and held the document high in front of everyone in the hall and outside the door who were waiting to see the results.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the government really doesn't have any money."

One sentence made the atmosphere tense again, which had just eased.

But Chen Ping's next words left everyone stunned.

"But Qingyuan County has money! It's just that our money was stolen by a small group of people!"

Chen Ping unfolded the document, and the first line of bold text read: "Qingyuan County Sand and Gravel Resource Integration and Reform Plan".

The entire audience was stunned.

No one expected Chen Pingfang to produce something like this. Finance Bureau Chief Zhao An's face turned pale instantly; he had a bad feeling and felt a chill run down his spine. Meanwhile, those who were collecting debts, who had just felt hopeless, now saw a glimmer of hope again.

An official handed over a megaphone, and Chen Ping's voice was amplified throughout the hall and the square outside, so that everyone could hear it clearly.

"Illegal sand mining on the Qingyi River steals hundreds of millions of yuan worth of state-owned assets from our county every year! This is the real reason for our financial difficulties and unpaid debts!"

His eyes were bright as he scanned the crowd and said loudly:

"If you want money, come with me to the riverbank!"

"As long as all those illegal sand pits that have been privately occupied are nationalized and turned into money for all the people of our county, I, Chen Pingfang, guarantee that your debts will be fully repaid within three months, not a single penny less!"

When these words were spoken, the entire room fell silent.

Then, a response immediately erupted.

Hope returned to the debt collectors' eyes. They held up their IOUs, their expressions no longer angry, but excited. They were no longer just there to collect debts; they had suddenly become the most steadfast supporters of this reform.

The news quickly reached the county party secretary's office.

Ma Changsheng was leisurely sipping his freshly brewed Da Hong Pao tea when he heard Li Wei's trembling voice reporting over the phone, and his hand suddenly shook.

"Snapped!"

His favorite purple clay teacup fell to the ground and shattered.

For the first time, fear appeared in Ma Changsheng's bloodshot eyes.

The scheme he set up was turned into a rally by Chen Ping in front of the entire county, a rally directly targeting his core interests.