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

Chen Ping picked up the car keys on the table, his expression unchanged.

"What's the panic?"

He uttered three words, and the office fell silent instantly. The deputy director stared at Chen Pingfang, mouth agape, unsure what to say.

"Director Chen...then we..."

"You all stay in the office and continue organizing the materials, making sure the information for each household is as detailed as possible," Chen Ping said as he walked out. "I'm going out for a bit."

Chen Ping didn't say where he was going or what he was going to do.

He walked out of the command post building and got into the Santana. People inside watched him from the windows, thinking that Chen Pingfang was going to face those hundreds of villagers alone.

……

Entrance to the Jinshuiwan project construction site.

The dirt road was packed with people, blocking the intersection. Several construction vehicles that were about to enter were stopped outside, and the drivers didn't even dare to get out of their cars.

The villagers were very excited and made a lot of noise.

"It's been three days, and not a single official has come forward to explain!"

"I think it's a scam; they're trying to trick us out of our land!"

An elderly man in an old T-shirt, the village secretary, was shouting through a megaphone: "Everyone, calm down, don't act rashly! I've already called higher authorities, and they said they'll send someone to resolve this!"

"Solve it? How do we solve it? Where's the money?!" a young man shouted indignantly.

"Exactly! Without the money, nobody's getting an inch of land!"

The scene was a bit chaotic.

Just then, a black Santana drove up and stopped less than 20 meters away from the crowd.

The car door opened, and Chen Ping got out of the car alone.

Chen Pingfang was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, and his leather shoes were very clean, which didn't quite match the messy construction site.

Everyone looked at him.

"He's the head of that command post! His surname is Chen!" Someone in the crowd recognized him.

"So young?"

"No matter how big he is, make him pay!"

The villagers became excited again, and dozens of them immediately surrounded the area.

Seeing the situation was getting out of hand, the village party secretary quickly led several village officials to push forward and block Chen Ping, shouting anxiously, "Don't do anything rash! Let him speak!"

Chen Ping ignored the excited young people and instead looked at the village secretary, nodding in approval.

"Old Party Secretary, you've worked hard." His voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.

The village party secretary was taken aback, not expecting this to be the young leader's first question. He composed himself and asked in a deep voice, "Director Chen, we don't mean to cause trouble. But what exactly happened with the demolition compensation? The village is in a state of panic; everyone's saying the project has fallen through and the government is abandoning us."

Chen Ping didn't rush to answer, but took out a stack of documents from his briefcase.

He unfolded the top document and held it high.

The red title and red stamp at the top of the document are very eye-catching.

"Fellow villagers, this is an official document from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission!" Chen Pingfang raised his voice. "It's the 'Notice on Designating the Jinshuiwan Project in Yunzhou City as a Provincial-Level Economic Transformation Demonstration Pilot Project'! It's in black and white, and the province has stamped it! Tell me, how could a project like this fail?"

For ordinary people, official documents are like heaven and earth.

The crowd, which had been making a racket just moments before, suddenly quieted down.

Chen Ping didn't stop; he pulled out a second document.

"This is the command center's funding application, bearing the handwritten signatures of Secretary Zhou of the Municipal Party Committee and Mayor Xiao of the Municipal Government. It's a total of 120 million yuan in demolition compensation, not a penny less! Our command center signed the documents and submitted the application three days ago!"

Chen Ping handed the copies of the two documents directly to the village party secretary in front of him.

"Old Party Secretary, you have a lot of prestige in the village. Look at this, the official seal and signature—can it be faked?"

The village party secretary took the document with slightly trembling hands, leaned closer to examine it carefully, and several village representatives beside him also craned their necks to look. They didn't recognize the signature, but they recognized the red official seals.

"The money was approved a long time ago. The command headquarters has also signed it off." Chen Pingfang looked at everyone and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Now the money is stuck in one place—the Municipal Finance Bureau!"

"Why is it stalled? Because Director Liu Dezhi of the Finance Bureau said our documents are incomplete and need to be reviewed again. Our staff worked overtime for three days to review them, but where is Director Liu?"

At this point, Chen Ping took out his phone in front of everyone.

He found Liu Dezhi's number, pressed the dial button, and then immediately turned on speakerphone.

"Beep...beep..."

Hundreds of people fell silent, held their breath, and listened to the dial tone coming from the phone.

"Hello, the number you dialed is currently switched off."

The mechanical female voice was clearly transmitted to everyone's ears via hands-free.

The crowd immediately erupted in chaos!

"Turn it off? He dares to turn it off at a time like this?"

"Holy shit! He did it on purpose!"

"It's that bastard surnamed Liu who's withholding our money!"

The villagers' anger was all directed at one person: Liu Dezhi.

The village party secretary's face turned bright red; he gripped the document, his hands trembling with anger.

Chen Ping put away his phone, his expression unchanged, but his eyes were cold.

Just then, his phone vibrated; it was a text message.

He unlocked his phone without making a sound and glanced at it. It was a message from Huang Qianshu, and the message was very short:

[Qingfeng Villa, Courtyard No. 3, Secretary Zhang is playing mahjong with Secretary Zhou.]

Chen Ping's lips twitched slightly.

He raised his head, looked at the villagers and the village party secretary in front of him, and said in a steady voice:

"Fellow villagers, I understand how you feel. Just blocking the way here won't solve the problem. Director Liu isn't answering his phone; he's probably in a very important meeting, and we can't disturb his work."

"But meetings always come to an end. We can't just sit here and wait."

Chen Ping looked at the village party secretary and several village representatives, and said, word by word:

"Old Party Secretary, please select a few trustworthy representatives."

"We'll go to where Director Liu is holding the meeting now. We won't cause any trouble or cause any disturbances; we'll just wait quietly at the entrance."

"After Director Liu's meeting, I'll personally take you all to ask him face-to-face when the life-saving funds for hundreds of households in Yunzhou will finally be approved!"

As soon as Chen Pingfang said that, the villagers' emotions immediately rose.

"Let's wait for him at the meeting place!"

"Yes! Ask him for the money face-to-face!"

"Walk!"

The villagers' emotions were instantly ignited, transforming from aimless wandering into a determined and furious outburst.

"Fellow villagers, listen to me!" Chen Ping raised his hand and pressed it down, exuding a convincing aura. "We're here to raise issues, but if too many people go, things will only get more complicated."

His gaze shifted to the village Party secretary: "Old Party Secretary, you have prestige, you lead the team. Select four more representatives who are clear-headed and articulate. The rest of you, go back to the village and wait for news. I promise, I'll give everyone an explanation today!"

The old Party Secretary looked at the young man before him, feeling both surprised and impressed. He nodded vigorously and quickly selected four villagers who looked clever to represent them.

Chen Ping turned and walked towards the Santana. Before getting in, he glanced out of the crowd. A young man wearing a baseball cap and carrying a camera bag nodded to him from outside the crowd, then quietly got into a taxi.

That was the city newspaper reporter he had just contacted, a young man who had recently graduated and had some ideas but had been suppressed.

Chen Ping didn't let him follow in his car; some things shouldn't be made too obvious.