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

The brass-carved gate slid open slowly to both sides, the sound of gears turning sounding particularly muffled in the rainy night.

The old butler, Afu, slowly walked out of the door, holding a large black umbrella.

He didn't offer the two people outside the door an umbrella; he simply stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.

"Secretary Sha, Mayor Li, please come in."

Afu's voice was flat and steady, without the slightest hint of warmth or enthusiasm.

Sha Ruijin let out a long breath and forced himself to step through the door.

Li Dakang followed closely behind, his lips, which were blue from the cold, trembling uncontrollably.

After passing through a long corridor filled with precious black roses, the two were led into an antique-style tea room.

The room was filled with the warmth of fine silver charcoal, and the subtle fragrance of sandalwood wafted through the air.

Sha Ruijin's black trench coat was still dripping with mud.

In this luxurious and spotless tea room, the two high-ranking officials seemed completely out of place.

Behind the rosewood tea table, Yan Qingfeng was dressed in a pure black silk loungewear.

He held a smooth, white chess piece in his hand, staring at the chessboard in front of him, playing chess against himself.

"Secretary Sha is here. Please have a seat."

Yan Qingfeng didn't even look up; his gaze was fixed on the crisscrossing chessboard.

Sha Ruijin had no desire to sit.

The Persian carpet beneath his feet had become soaked with a dark water stain.

"President Yan, the lives of ordinary people and officials are now entirely in your hands."

Sha Ruijin lowered his stance, his voice dry and strained with embarrassment.

"I've swallowed my pride and come here to beg Lingxiao Medical to be lenient and remove the seals from the cold storage."

"Smack."

Yan Qingfeng slightly lowered his wrist, and the white piece landed steadily on the star point of the chessboard.

He picked up the Jianzhan teacup next to him and blew away the tea foam on the surface.

"Secretary Sha, you're exaggerating. I sent someone to issue a notice during the day saying that the cold chain equipment needs routine maintenance."

Yan Qingfeng took a sip of hot tea, his eyes remaining completely calm.

"The technology was sealed off according to regulations, so how did it become, in your mouth, that I was holding people's lives in my hands?"

Li Dakang was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet, and cold sweat mixed with rainwater streamed down his forehead.

"President Yan, let's not beat around the bush!"

He took half a step forward, his voice hoarse like sandpaper.

"Several high-ranking officials' family members are currently waiting in special wards for your special medicine to save their lives!"

"If you don't give in soon, and the higher-ups blame us, the entire Handong Provincial Committee will be implicated!"

Yan Qingfeng slowly put down his teacup, finally raised his eyelids, and glanced at the two drenched chickens.

His eyes were as cold as an ice cave in the dead of winter.

"The lives of the top officials in Beijing are precious, but the lives of the 300,000 laid-off workers in Handong are not?"

He leaned back in his armchair, his fingers tapping out a crisp rhythm on the armrest.

"When you cut off their jobs a few days ago for the sake of your political achievements, why didn't you think about whether or not you should blame them?"

Yan Qingfeng twitched the corners of his mouth, a smile that sent chills down one's spine.

"Treating the sick and saving lives is also a business. My Lingxiao Consortium is not a charity run by government officials."

Sha Ruijin gritted his teeth, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged out one by one.

He knew that without paying a hefty price today, he wouldn't be able to step out of that door.

"Mr. Yan, please state your terms."

Sha Ruijin closed his eyes, deciding to completely abandon any remaining airs of officialdom.

"As long as the medicine can be supplied immediately, the provincial party committee will do its utmost to meet your needs."

"readily."

Yan Qingfeng took out a black chess piece from the chess box and played with it between his fingers.

"First, since it's expedited medicine supply, the cost will naturally increase."

He stared into Sha Ruijin's eyes, his tone as indifferent as if he were buying cabbage at the market.

"The imported special-effect drugs in the special needs wards are sold at ten times the original price, and the cost is covered by the special pooling account of the provincial medical insurance."

"ten times?!"

Li Dakang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his legs went weak, and he grabbed the door frame next to him for support.

"President Yan, this is an astronomical price! It's draining the medical insurance fund!"

"If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to buy it."

Yan Qingfeng retorted casually.

"That's the price of ventilator filters on Wall Street. I didn't charge you a single penny more than the toll."

Sha Ruijin swallowed hard, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Okay, ten times it is. I'll sign the approval form."

"Don't rush, this is just a bonus."

Yan Qingfeng placed his piece with a "snap," and the black piece instantly captured a large group of white pieces.

"Secondly, there are the administrative approvals and environmental restrictions imposed by the province on Lingxiao's infrastructure construction, both overtly and covertly."

He tapped the table with his finger, his eyes sharp as knives.

"I want to see them all turn into waste paper before dawn tomorrow."

Sha Ruijin took a deep breath and nodded heavily.

"I personally ordered all departments to completely lift the restrictions."

"The third condition."

Yan Qingfeng stood up, walked to Sha Ruijin, and looked down at the high-ranking official.

"Zhong Xiaoai abused her power in Beijing and sent an investigation team to Handong to cause me trouble."

He narrowed his eyes, a murderous aura surging within them.

"I don't care what reasons or excuses your provincial party committee uses."

"Within twelve hours, I want all the informants and influence members in Handong who are running errands for the Zhong family to pack their bags and get out of here overnight."

Upon hearing this, the temperature in the tea room seemed to drop by another ten degrees.

Sha Ruijin felt a sudden chill run down his back, and cold sweat trickled down his spine.

Yan Qingfeng wasn't just setting conditions; he was clearly forcing the Hantong Provincial Committee and the Zhong family of Beijing to completely break off relations!

If we comply, it would be tantamount to completely offending the Zhong family.

"President Yan, this...this involves connections in the capital, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain to the higher-ups."

Li Dakang, trembling, chimed in from the side.

"Is it hard to explain?"

Yan Qingfeng put his hands in his pockets and let out a cold laugh.

"Then you should go back and give a proper explanation to the families in the VIP ward."

He turned around, his back to the two of them, and directly told them to leave.

"Uncle Fu, see the guest out."

"etc!"

Sha Ruijin suddenly raised his head, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes like that of a trapped beast.

No matter how powerful the Zhong family is, they can't outweigh the calls for medicine that could crush him at any moment.

"I agree!"

Sha Ruijin gritted his teeth and made a decision, word by word.

"By eight o'clock tomorrow morning, there will be absolutely no one from the Zhong family left in Handong!"

When faced with life and death, political allies are as fragile as a piece of toilet paper soaked in water.

Sha Ruijin sold Zhong Xiaoai out without hesitation.

Yan Qingfeng turned his head and smiled with satisfaction.

"Uncle Fu, call Bai Zhi and unseal the cold storage."

Half an hour later, at Handong Second Prison.

The rain was still falling outside, and the damp corridor had a lingering musty smell.

Prison guard Xiao Wang, carrying an aluminum lunchbox, strolled to the door of the special detention cell and tapped the iron bars with his baton.

"Teacher Gao, time for a midnight snack."

Gao Yuliang was wearing his faded prison uniform, sitting cross-legged on the hard bed with his eyes closed, trying to rest.

He opened his eyes and slowly walked over to take the lunchbox.

"Hey Xiao Wang, why are you giving me extra food in the middle of the night? Is something interesting happening outside again?"

Gao Yuliang lifted the lid of the lunchbox, revealing a steaming bowl of braised pork rice.

Xiao Wang looked around, then approached the iron railing and lowered his voice.

"Professor Gao, you are truly a genius. Secretary Sha just issued a direct order overnight."

He smacked his lips, his face full of excited anticipation.

"They found excuses to suspend several department heads in the province who had connections to the Chung family!"

Xiao Wang gave a thumbs-up and pointed outside.

"Several trading companies in which the Zhong family holds shares in Jingzhou were just raided and sealed off by the tax bureau."

Gao Yuliang picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly.

A fox-like smile gradually appeared on his wrinkled old face.

"Sha Ruijin has been forced into this situation."

Gao Yuliang, holding a lunchbox, leaned against the cold wall, his tone revealing a profound understanding of everything.

"Using the Zhong family's flesh to fill Yan Qingfeng's stomach. That's a ruthless move, like a gecko shedding its tail."

"you do not say!"

Xiao Wang chuckled and chimed in.

"I heard that Secretary Sha and Mayor Li had to bow and scrape at Lingxiao Manor to get medicine for the special needs ward."

Gao Yuliang ate two mouthfuls of white rice, then slowed down his chewing.

He looked up at the deep night outside the iron bars, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

The waters of Handong had long been turned into a man-eating whirlpool by his former student who dropped out of school.

Whoever controls the channels of birth, aging, sickness, and death is the god of this land.

"Teacher Gao, do you think this matter is settled?"

Xiao Wang leaned against the iron fence, curiously craning his neck.

"Master Yan has even driven out the forces in the capital. Doesn't that mean he'll be the sole ruler of Handong from now on?"

Gao Yuliang put down his chopsticks and wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

He gave a cold laugh and shook his head.

"That's it? Sha Ruijin cut off the Zhong family's flesh to feed the wolves. Do you think those high-ranking officials in Beijing, who are used to eating alone, can swallow this insult?"

Gao Yuliang pointed to the dark rain curtain outside.

Xiao Wang swallowed hard, his eyes wide open.

"Then...who will Master Yan deal with next? Can the capital still send someone?"

Gao Yuliang pushed the lunchbox back to the small window, a meaningful smile curving his lips.

"Just you wait and see. What kind of skill is it to overthrow a few municipal party secretaries?"

"The real crushing defeat is just the warm-up."