Official Career Storm-Chapter 1303

However, the effect of these words was quite good.

The elderly finally stood up from the ground.

"Come, let's go inside."

"Director Xiao, go and prepare some tea."

Zhong Baofeng's commanding tone irritated Xiao Ting, but she couldn't show it in this scenario.

Just after they went inside, Mr. Cao and several other deputy district heads arrived.

Xiao Ting reported the recent situation to Mr. Cao.

After listening, Mr. Cao's eyebrows shot up, and he snorted coldly: "He knows how to put on a show."

He glanced in the direction of the meeting room but didn't go over, instead turning around and heading upstairs, saying without looking back: "Tell him to come to my office later."

"Okay."

Xiao Ting was satisfied.

Show off all you want, you're just a deputy district head, even if you're the executive one, you're still just a deputy.

This Nanhu District is controlled by Mr. Cao, when is it your turn to shine?

As for the demands expressed by those holding banners, that's even more out of the question.

The driver being fully responsible was the conclusion set by Mr. Cao.

Speaking in front of those families about overturning the conviction for their son's sake, aren't you just slapping Mr. Cao in the face?

You really don't know your place.

Zhong Baofeng communicated with the families for more than half an hour, making all sorts of promises, talking until his mouth was dry, and finally calming them down and telling them to go back and wait for news.

After sending off the families, Xiao Ting came over and said: "Mr. Cao wants you to go over."

"Mr. Cao is here?"

"Yes, Mr. Cao arrived even later than I did," Xiao Ting said sarcastically.

Zhong Baofeng acted as if he didn't hear, brushed past her, and went upstairs.

"Mr. Cao, you wanted to see me?"

"Sit down."

Mr. Cao tossed a cigarette over and asked, "Are those the family members of that driver?"

"Yes."

"I heard you want to overturn the driver's case?"

"Not overturn it, just want to investigate properly."

"There's nothing to investigate; it's already settled. The driver is fully responsible."

Zhong Baofeng asked, "Did the traffic police issue the accident liability report?"

"Yes, full responsibility."

"Then I'll go to the traffic police later to check the surveillance."

"I said full responsibility, what are you checking surveillance for?"

"Mr. Cao, this isn't in accordance with regulations. Besides, the families have already come to protest. If it continues like this, things might escalate beyond control."

Mr. Cao impatiently said, "I said full responsibility means full responsibility. If they come to protest again, have them all arrested!"

Zhong Baofeng also said sternly, "I have already promised the family of the driver that I will thoroughly investigate. If the driver is not responsible, things can't just go on like this!"

"Bang!" Mr. Cao slammed the table: "Zhong Baofeng, what do you mean? Are you confronting me or teaching me how to do my job?"

"Know your place; this is Nanhu District, and I'm the district head!"

"I know you're the district head, but as the executive deputy district head, I have the responsibility to supervise you!"

"Supervise me?"

Mr. Cao seemed to have heard a joke: "Zhong Baofeng, are you out of your mind, daring to speak to me like that?"

Zhong Baofeng stood up, saying: "I'm going to the traffic police station to get the surveillance."

After saying this, he turned and left.

"Zhong Baofeng, your courage has grown," Mr. Cao's voice echoed from behind.

Zhong Baofeng paused, hearing him continue: "If you still want to keep your position as deputy district head, you'd better sit tight in your office."

Zhong Baofeng didn't respond, he pushed the door open and left.

He returned to his office, lit a cigarette, and calmed himself down.

Today marked a complete fallout with Mr. Cao.

He had no way to retreat, he could only keep going forward.

He could only hope now on Song Guanchao, hoping his plans could truly bring Mr. Cao down.

Otherwise, there would be hard times ahead for him.

After finishing his cigarette, he left the office and called Song Guanchao from the car, explaining the situation in detail.

"Alright, I understand. Go to the traffic police station to get the surveillance footage. Follow the procedures. Leave the rest to me."

After hanging up, Song Guanchao turned to Jiang Yiren: "Let's begin."

"Mm."

Jiang Yiren picked up the phone and made a call.

...

At ten thirty in the morning.

A video appeared on several major short video platforms.

The video showed a group of elderly people holding children, kneeling with banners at the door of the district government.

The four large characters "Judicial Injustice" on the banner were very striking.

The text below the video generally described the specific situation.

At eleven, the video's popularity began to soar, quickly climbing onto trending lists and sparking discussions among netizens.

By eleven thirty, a second video appeared.

This video contained Zhong Baofeng's promise to the families.

The sentence "If the issue can't be resolved, I'll resign in disgrace" exploded on the internet, reaching the top of trending lists in less than ten minutes, receiving widespread dissemination.

Many news media started sharing it, with major online legal commentators offering sharp critiques.

By afternoon, it had already formed a significant public opinion wave.

It wasn't until two in the afternoon that the relevant departments learned about this matter.

In the City Propaganda Department, Minister Liu sat in his office, watching the videos on his phone, his face looking grim.

Pak!

He slammed the phone on the desk, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths.

The department head responsible for handling public opinion cautiously asked: "Minister Liu, should we suppress it?"

"It's blown up this much already, what is there to suppress now?"

Minister Liu opened his eyes, speaking calmly: "This Mr. Zhong handled it pretty well. Although the public opinion is vast, at least it's positive."

He picked up the landline and dialed the City Committee's number.

"This is Liu Peihua, connect me to Secretary Zhou."

"Hello, Secretary Zhou..."

He briefly reported the situation to Zhou Zheng.

"Alright, I'll make some calls."

After hanging up, he dialed Nanhu District Party Secretary Bao's phone next.

Secretary Bao was already aware of the situation and knew, once he received the call, that Minister Liu was calling to hold him accountable.

As expected, as soon as the call connected, Minister Liu started berating him.

Faced with an angry Minister Liu, he could only keep saying "yes" repeatedly, not daring to argue.

"Compile all the details of this car accident and send them to the city government and the City Committee promptly."

"Now, immediately respond to the online public opinion and prevent the situation from further escalation."

"Understood."

Secretary Bao wiped the sweat from his forehead and called Mr. Cao.

Mr. Cao had also seen the news, and he was in a panic at the moment.

The ringing phone startled him like a frightened bird.

Seeing it was Secretary Bao calling.

"Hello, Secretary Bao..."

"Mr. Cao, what's going on? You can't even handle such a small issue?"

"Secretary Bao, someone is trying to set me up!"

"Hmm? What's happening?"

"I can't explain it all at once, but someone's definitely plotting against me. This was just a regular protest with banners, and the issue was already resolved. Who knew someone at the scene would secretly film it."

He wasn't stupid; he realized when the video hit the trending lists that it was a carefully orchestrated setup.

But he was unsure if the opposing side wanted to amplify the issue to get a fair verdict for the driver.

Or if it was aimed at targeting him.

He felt the former was more likely.

But now he had to make Secretary Bao believe that this was a political persecution targeted at him by enemies.

Secretary Bao said: "I'm not concerned about whether someone is targeting you. The City Committee and Municipal Government are already aware of this. Minister Liu called me just now and gave me a severe reprimand. You need to immediately outline the details of this accident and send a copy to the City Committee, Municipal Government, and also to me."

"Yes, yes, no problem. In an hour... no, in half an hour, I'll have it sent to you."

At this moment, cold sweat was dripping from him too, knowing that if this issue wasn't handled properly, the leadership of the City Committee and Municipal Government would definitely discipline him.