Handong: Sha Li wants political achievements? I'll shut down the entire province.

Yan Qingfeng ignored the question.

He loosened his grip on the cigar slightly, and the pure gold windproof lighter slipped from his hand.

"Clatter".

The sound of metal striking a rosewood tabletop was jarringly crisp in the deathly silent office.

Gao Yuliang's heart clenched suddenly.

Two skinny legs shuddered, the trousers rubbing against the dry, shriveled leg hair, causing excruciating discomfort.

Yan Qingfeng turned around and strode to the golden nanmu tea tray in the corner.

The black clay teapot with red patterns is steaming.

The kettle spout emitted a gurgling sound of boiling water, which made people inexplicably uneasy.

He picked up the heavy copper kettle.

Boiling water was poured directly onto the Da Hong Pao tea in the purple clay cup.

The intense and powerful aroma of the tea explodes instantly.

It forcefully suppressed the biting cold air and cigar smell in the room, and the cold wind went straight into Gao Yuliang's nostrils.

As Gao Yuliang smelled the familiar aroma of tea, his stomach clenched violently once again.

In the past, when he held seminars at the provincial party committee, the best specially supplied tea was always placed in front of him.

But now, the smell is like a farewell drink for someone about to be beheaded.

"Professor Gao, your stomach ulcer hasn't fully healed yet, has it?"

Yan Qingfeng didn't even turn his head, his slender fingers holding the small purple clay cup.

"The spoiled cabbage in Qincheng upset my stomach, so I'll warm it up with some hot tea."

Gao Yuliang's throat felt as dry as if it were stuffed with coarse yellow sand.

When I swallowed, my Adam's apple scraped painfully against the loose skin of my neck.

He tried to speak, but could only let out a rough gasp, like a broken bellows leaking air.

Yan Qingfeng carried the cup of tea, which was still steaming hot, back to the mahogany table.

The bottom of the cup tapped on the table with a soft "ding".

He pushed the teacup forward with his fingers, and it stopped right next to Gao Yuliang's withered hand.

"Drink it, you can't buy this tea anywhere else."

Yan Qingfeng leaned back in his large leather chair, his eyes cold and indifferent, as if he were looking at a worthless piece of junk.

Zhou Yuan, who was curled up on the sofa next to him, was clipping dead skin with nail clippers.

The shredded pieces scattered on the carpet.

"Old man, drink it while it's hot. Master Yan is personally pouring tea for you; your ancestors' graves must be emitting auspicious smoke."

Zhou Yuan blew on his fingernails and cursed gruffly.

"If it weren't for Master Yan sparing your life, you'd still be in jail fighting with Tian Guofu over half a moldy bun!"

These harsh words were like a resounding slap across Gao Yuliang's face.

His face flushed, and the feeling of humiliation turned into a sour feeling that rose to his throat.

But he dared not get angry.

The hand, covered in age spots, reached out tremblingly.

My fingertip just touched the wall of the purple clay cup.

The scalding heat instantly penetrated through the thin skin and seeped into the bone crevices.

The heat made him jerk his fingers.

But he stubbornly clenched his back teeth, tasting a metallic rust in his mouth, and didn't dare to completely pull his hand back.

"You taught me in the Department of Political Science and Law for four years, and all you talked about was checks and balances and the bottom line of legal principles."

Yan Qingfeng scoffed, his eyes revealing undisguised mockery.

"In retrospect, it was all just the self-pity of impoverished intellectuals."

"The rule of law is the cornerstone of a nation's operation!"

Gao Yuliang panicked, and the flesh on his cheeks twitched violently.

"You're using grain prices and water and electricity prices to hold ordinary people by the throat, depriving them of their right to choose!"

His voice grew hoarseer as he spoke, and spittle flew into the cold air.

"Are you trying to turn the entire Handong region into your personal prison, Yan Qingfeng!"

"A private prison?"

Yan Qingfeng stood up, his leather shoes making no sound on the carpet.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and ripped open the smart blackout curtains.

The blinding sunlight shone directly in, making Gao Yuliang's eyes sting.

"Look outside."

Yan Qingfeng pointed to the street below, which was teeming with people like ants, his voice carrying a chill.

"I didn't send assassins to kill Sha Ruijin, and I didn't let the common people shed a single drop of blood."

Yan Qingfeng turned his head and stared at Gao Yuliang as if he were watching a joke.

"Qi Tongwei dug up the ground for others in order to get promoted, and Hou Liangping was willing to rummage through garbage cans in the rain for a mere empty title."

He tapped the windowpane with his knuckles, making two muffled "thump-thump" sounds.

"Those students you are so proud of are all a bunch of mad dogs who only care about grabbing power for themselves."

"I'm different."

Yan Qingfeng raised a finger, a cruel smile curving his lips.

"I'm just trying to make one thing clear to the people."

"I can give them premium rice that costs 1.2 yuan per kilogram, so that they won't lack money for medical treatment on their medical records."

With each word he spoke, the oppressive atmosphere in the room grew heavier.

"But all I have to do is press the Enter key on the keyboard."

"It can also instantly cut off their hot water for showering, turn off the power for cooking, and make them disappear from the household registration."

These words are like rusty icicles.

It pierced Gao Yuliang's eardrums and penetrated deep into his brain, causing his brain to throb with pain.

The spasms in his stomach became more intense; he even felt as if his intestines were twisted together.

"You...you're using tyranny to coerce public opinion!"

Gao Yuliang's hand, which was holding the teacup, began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

The tea was swirling wildly in the cup.

A few drops of boiling water splashed out and landed on the cuff of his gray jacket.

"Your set of rules is used for corruption, bribery, and factional infighting."

Yan Qingfeng put his hands in his trouser pockets, his eyes looking down at people with disdain, like a tyrant looking down on mortals.

"Li Dakang can empty the treasury for the sake of political achievements, and you can turn black into white for the sake of weighing the pros and cons."

"That's what you call rules? That's like an old, ruthless latrine that eats people alive!"

Yan Qingfeng took a step closer.

His tall figure blocked the sunlight from the window, casting a dark shadow on Gao Yuliang's face.

It was characterized by absolute dictatorship and tyranny.

"Professor Gao, times have changed."

Yan Qingfeng spoke each word slowly and deliberately, each word landing with a resounding thud on the floor.

"Rules are meant to be broken. And I am the new rule of Handong."

"Splash!"

Gao Yuliang suddenly jerked his wrist.

The scalding hot tea spilled out, landing squarely on the back of his wrinkled hand.

It should have been excruciating pain.

But he remained frozen in place, like a lifeless wooden stake.

I watched helplessly as the skin on the back of my hand quickly turned red, and a large patch of purplish-red blisters instantly formed.

He didn't even frown; he just stared blankly at the bubbles.

His political and legal principles were those of a cunning schemer who spent his entire life advocating the rule of law and bottom lines.

Faced with Yan Qingfeng's absolute technological monopoly and capital dominance.

Just like the tea spilled on the mahogany table, it shattered into a puddle of astringent mud.

The acid in Gao Yuliang's stomach surged up into his throat.

He was hunched over, like a stray dog ​​whose spinal cord had been drained, panting heavily.

The deathly silence in the room made him feel suffocated.

"You pacified the country, using the people as your human shield..."

Gao Yuliang raised his head, his cloudy old eyes fixed on Yan Qingfeng.

"Do you really think you can control everything? Do you think those old-money families who've been in finance for centuries will just watch you grow bigger?"

He bit his chapped lips and swallowed the bitter liquid in his throat.

"If Wall Street and European capital join forces, they can cut off your overseas supply chain."

Gao Yuliang's voice trembled; this was the last dead end he, as a schemer from the old era, could imagine.

"Even if your plate in Handong were made of iron, it would still crumble!"

Yan Qingfeng remained silent.

He walked to the table, picked up the pure gold lighter again, and tossed it twice in his hand.

"Click".

Flames shot out as he bent down to reheat the half-burnt cigar in his hand.

The bluish-gray smoke dissipated again.

Yan Qingfeng stared coldly at Gao Yuliang, a chilling smile curving his lips.

"I was just worried that this pool in Handong was too small for me to use my skills. If those vampires don't come looking for me, I'll have to go looking for them."

Yan Qingfeng exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice carrying a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

"Teacher Gao, why don't you find a job sweeping the streets and keep these old eyes to see the world?"

Yan Qingfeng pointed his finger, which was holding a cigar, towards the door.

"Watch how I take our new rules from Handong to Europe."

"To squeeze every last drop of wealth from those old-money families, using their life savings to fill the national treasury of Handong?"