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

After Secretary Bai finished speaking, the walkie-talkie fell silent.

Sha Ruijin didn't move. He stood with his feet together, his back ramrod straight, firmly rooted to the spot under the surveillance camera.

Sunlight streamed down through the bare branches of the plane tree.

The wind in early winter was a bit harsh, but the midday sun was scorching, so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

Li Dakang huddled by the Santana car door, unsure whether to go in or back.

"Secretary Sha, are you really planning to just keep stalling like this?"

Li Dakang wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, lowered his voice, and spoke with a pleading tone.

"If this gets out, the Hantong Provincial Committee will lose all face!"

Sha Ruijin didn't even blink, coldly uttering a sentence.

"Do we even have any shame?"

This sentence left Li Dakang speechless.

Time passed by, second by second.

Half an hour. An hour.

The asphalt road was scorching hot from the sun, and the air smelled of tar.

Sha Ruijin's expensive black trench coat was soaked through on the back and clung tightly to his body.

Li Dakang's legs were trembling.

I'm used to sitting in soft chairs during meetings and having someone hold an umbrella for me when I go out. I've never experienced this kind of foreign torture before.

The road in front of the manor was usually quite quiet.

But today, logistics in Jingzhou are paralyzed, and vegetable prices are soaring.

Many elderly people who couldn't buy vegetables are wandering around the streets looking for affordable supermarkets.

A food delivery guy wearing a yellow windbreaker rode by on a beat-up electric scooter.

He slammed on the brakes, and the electric scooter emitted a sharp screeching sound.

The delivery guy stared at the two people at the gate, his mouth agape in an "O" shape, and his delivery box almost tilted to one side.

"Holy crap...aren't those Secretary Sha and Mayor Li who's on TV every day?"

The delivery guy's shout immediately attracted all the middle-aged women passing by.

A dozen or so people carrying empty vegetable baskets stood on the other side of the road, pointing and gesturing.

"Oh my, it really is Li Dakang! Why is he standing there like a schoolboy being punished?"

"Of course! Serves you right!"

An older woman with curly hair spat.

"He's the one who drove away the God of Wealth, so now I can't even afford a potato!"

The older women don't care about official authority; for them, the hatred of being hungry is greater than anything else.

Click!Click!

A dozen smartphones were raised in unison, their flashes blindingly bright even in daylight.

One young man with dyed yellow hair even started a short video live stream.

"Hey guys, listen up! Double tap 666!"

"The top two leaders of Handong are begging for food at the entrance of Lingxiao Manor!"

Li Dakang's face turned purplish-red as he listened to these harsh comments, as if blood was about to drip from it.

His political dignity, which he was so proud of, was being relentlessly rubbed against by this group of onlookers on the asphalt road.

"I'm not standing anymore! This is an utter disgrace!"

Li Dakang suddenly turned around, yanked open the car door, and tried to climb inside.

"Who does Yan Qingfeng think he is? Why should we be treated like monkeys and watched like this!"

A large hand, like an iron clamp, pressed firmly against the car door.

Sha Ruijin was covered in sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot, like a wolf driven to the brink of despair.

"Li Dakang, if you dare to step into this car today..."

Sha Ruijin gritted his teeth, his voice almost squeezed out of his lungs.

"I will immediately, in the name of the Provincial Party Committee, remove you from your post as Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee!"

Li Dakang froze.

He stared wide-eyed at Sha Ruijin, his lips trembling, as if he didn't recognize his old leader.

"It's your fault! You've ruined the livelihoods of everyone in the province!"

Sha Ruijin grabbed Li Dakang's tie tightly and yanked him back under the surveillance camera.

"Even if you have to kneel today, you'd better kneel and get results!"

The two of them stood there for another hour.

Two full hours.

More and more people gathered around, blocking the entire road.

Even the traffic police didn't dare to come and clear the area, firstly because there were too many people to punish, and secondly because the police car was out of gas.

Just as Li Dakang was about to collapse from exhaustion...

"Creak—"

The inconspicuous little side door next to the brass gate was finally pushed open.

The old butler, Afu, dressed in a well-fitting tailcoat, slowly stepped out of the threshold with his hands folded.

The crowd fell silent instantly, countless eyes fixed on the old man.

Sha Ruijin breathed a sigh of relief, a smile that looked more like a grimace tugging at his stiff face.

He dragged his leaden legs forward a step, just about to start a conversation.

Afu simply stood on the steps, looking down at these two at the pinnacle of power in Handong.

"Secretary Sha, Mayor Li, we've kept you waiting."

Ah Fu's smile was flawless, but the words that came out of his mouth were like a bucket of ice water.

"President Yan just finished watering the flowers and feels a little tired."

"He's already back in his bedroom taking a nap, and he's told no one to disturb him."

Sha Ruijin's smile froze completely on his face.

He stood there for two hours, only to be met not with the door opened to welcome him, but with the most contemptuous order to leave!

"He...he's asleep?"

Li Dakang was so angry that he trembled all over, his nails digging into the flesh of his palms.

"Yes." Afu bowed slightly, showing perfect manners.

"Young Master is a light sleeper. If your noise disturbs him, no one can bear the consequences."

Afu raised his hand and made an elegant gesture to see the guest off.

"So, you two should leave now."

The surrounding crowd erupted in laughter and whistles.

Sha Ruijin suffered the greatest humiliation of his political career, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug bloody marks, but he forced himself to swallow the blood back down.

"Walk!"

Sha Ruijin turned around, climbed into the beat-up Santana, and slammed the door shut.

The car fled in disarray amidst the jeers and flashing lights of the crowd, spewing black smoke from its exhaust pipe.

The carriage was deathly still. Li Dakang slumped in the back seat, as if his soul had been drained away.

Secretary Bai sat in the passenger seat, staring at her phone screen, her face ashen.

"Secretary Sha..." Secretary Bai swallowed hard, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

Sha Ruijin slumped in the driver's seat with his eyes closed, too exhausted to even drive, feeling only a tightness and pain in his chest.

"What's wrong now? Even if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up."

Secretary Bai flipped her phone screen over, revealing a series of high-definition photos of Sha Ruijin and Li Dakang being punished by standing in the corner.

"The photos from earlier have gone viral online, and public opinion is completely out of control."

Secretary Bai held up her phone, trembling, cold sweat pouring down her face.

"Old Qi from the Beijing investigation team was frantically trying to contact you. He said on the phone..."

"What did you say!" Sha Ruijin suddenly opened his eyes.

"He said..." Secretary Bai took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, "He said that since you can't even get through the main gate, then the capital will directly release the recording of Mayor Li forcing donations back then, and use your provincial party committee position to appease public anger!"