Please, mature women, have some self-respect. I just want a raise and a promotion.

"And then?" Lin Zheng pressed.

"Then he'll bring people in to take pictures and use those pictures to threaten you."

Li Qiuping wiped away her tears, her voice choked with emotion.

"Manager Lin, I know I was wrong, but I really had no other choice."

"If I refuse, he will not only publish those photos, but also kick me out of the village."

"I'm raising my child alone. If I lose my job, how will we survive?"

"Lin Zheng, please help me. Help me get rid of this old man. I don't want to live like this anymore."

Lin Zheng was silent for a moment, then handed her a tissue.

"Don't cry, I'll find a way to help you get rid of him."

"Really?" Li Qiuping looked up, her eyes full of surprise.

Lin Zheng nodded: "Really."

"But you have to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"Liu Shanhai has been with you for so many years, you must know some of his secrets."

"Tell me all the bad things he did."

Li Qiuping hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Okay, I'll tell you."

She took a deep breath and began to recount Liu Shanhai's actions over the years.

Embezzling land expropriation funds, misappropriating poverty alleviation funds, forcing village-run enterprises to distribute profits to him, and abusing his power to oppress villagers...

As Lin Zheng listened to each and every incident, he clenched his fists.

"Do you have any evidence for what you're saying?" Lin Zheng asked.

"have."

Li Qiuping nodded: "I secretly made a copy of Liu Shanhai's accounts over the years and hid it in my house."

"I also secretly saved photos of him with those women."

"Where are those things now?" Lin Zheng asked.

"In a metal box under my bed."

"Go back now and bring those things to me."

Li Qiuping hesitated for a moment: "What about Liu Shanhai? He's still waiting outside."

"Go out the back door now, and I'll have a colleague meet you," Lin Zheng said.

Li Qiuping nodded, put on her clothes, and quietly left the room.

Lin Zheng lay in bed, sent a message to Chen Li, then closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

A dozen minutes later, the door was pushed open, and Liu Shanhai walked in with two men.

"Manager Lin, Manager Lin..."

Liu Shanhai called out twice, but Lin Zheng did not respond.

"Secretary Liu, he seems to be asleep," a man said.

Liu Shanhai frowned, walked over and nudged Lin Zheng.

Lin Zheng pretended to be startled awake and opened his eyes groggily.

"Secretary Liu... what's wrong?"

"It's alright, I had someone make some hangover soup and brought it over to you."

"Secretary Liu, where is Director Li?"

She had to leave early.

gone?

Liu Shanhai gritted his teeth, wondering what was wrong with Li Qiuping.

The plan failed, and Liu Shanhai felt somewhat resentful, but he didn't show it.

He personally escorted Lin Zheng downstairs.

Only after watching Lin Zheng get into the taxi did he turn back.

Lin Zheng returned to the hotel, where Chen Li was already waiting for him in the room.

"How is it?" Chen Li asked.

"Did you get the items?"

"Got it."

Chen Li opened a file folder, which was full of Liu Shanhai's accounts and photos from over the years.

Lin Zheng flipped through the materials, becoming increasingly alarmed with each reading.

Over the years, Liu Shanhai has embezzled at least one million yuan in Zhuangdong Village.

A village committee secretary could be so corrupt; it's utterly lawless.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket; it was a message from Li Qiuping.

"Manager Lin, I've given everything to Chen Li."

When are you free? I'd like to meet up with you.

Lin Zheng thought for a moment and replied, "I'll treat you to dinner at Wangjiang Tower tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay, thank you."

The next afternoon, Lin Zheng arrived at Wangjiang Tower ahead of time and reserved a small private room.

At exactly 2:00, Li Qiuping appeared on time.

She was dressed very simply today, in a white T-shirt and jeans, with her hair tied in a ponytail, and no makeup.

She was completely different from the alluring woman she was last night.

"Sit down," Lin Zheng said, pointing to the seat opposite him.

Li Qiuping sat down, feeling somewhat uneasy.

"Manager Lin, I...you won't tell anyone about what I told you last night, will you?"

"No." Lin Zheng poured her a cup of tea. "Don't worry, I won't betray you."

Li Qiuping breathed a sigh of relief, picked up her teacup, and took a sip.

"Director Li, could you tell me more details about your relationship with Liu Shanhai?" Lin Zheng asked.

Li Qiuping remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Three years ago, my husband died in a car accident. I was raising my child alone, and life was very difficult."

"Liu Shanhai had just become the Party Secretary at that time, and he said he would help solve the living problems of impoverished households in the village."

"He approached me and said he would arrange a job for me, making me the women's director in the village."

"I thought he was a good person, so I agreed."

"Later, he would contact me frequently, claiming to care about my life, but actually... he just wanted to take advantage of me."

As Li Qiuping spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again.

"One time he got drunk, came to my house, and forced...forced me to have sex."

"I tried to resist, but he was too strong, and I couldn't break free at all."

"Afterwards, he told me that as long as I behaved well, he would take care of me, give me a job, and give me money."

"I had no choice; for the sake of the child, I had to agree."

After hearing this, Lin Zheng clenched his fist.

"How long has he been treating you like this?"

"It's been three years."

Li Qiuping wiped away her tears. "In these three years, he would come to see me every few days, sometimes at my house, sometimes in a hotel."

"He would take photos every time, saying it was to keep as a souvenir, but actually he just wanted to use these photos to blackmail me."

"If I don't listen to him, he will publish the photos and make me lose face in the village."

"He also said that if I didn't obey, he would kick me out of the village and leave me and my children homeless."

Lin Zheng took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Besides you, does Liu Shanhai have any other women?"

"have."

Li Qiuping nodded: "He also has several lovers in the village, all of whom are women left behind by their husbands who work away from home."

"He also frequently went to the town's bathhouse and slept around with the prostitutes there."

"Everyone in the village knows about these things, but no one dares to say anything because he is powerful and influential, and those who offend him never have a good ending."

Lin Zheng kept every word Li Qiuping said in mind.

While these cannot serve as direct evidence, they at least demonstrate that Liu Shanhai is morally corrupt and has an improper conduct.

"Are all the accounts you mentioned accurate?"

"It's all true."

Li Qiuping nodded and said, "I am in charge of the Women's Federation work in the village committee, so I usually have access to some accounts."

"Every time Liu Shanhai embezzled money, he would ask me to help him falsify the accounts."

"I was careful and secretly made a copy of the original accounts and hid it at home."

"Does he know?" Lin Zheng asked.

"have no idea."

Li Qiuping shook her head: "He trusted me a lot, thinking that I was completely under his control and would never betray him."

"He didn't know that I had had enough and had been looking for a chance to get rid of him."

Lin Zheng looked at Li Qiuping, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

Although this woman was a victim, she did indeed do many wrong things.

Helping her might get you into trouble.

I can't bear not to help her.

"Director Li, do you want to get rid of Liu Shanhai completely?"

"think."

Li Qiuping nodded without hesitation, "I'll do anything to get rid of him."

"Okay, then do me a favor."