Chapter 1389: The culprit is found
Noon.
In the hospital corridor.
The young staff who was present during the incident thought that Secretary Zhou and Mr. Sun had misled Mayor Li and Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g. He hurriedly described the situation at that time again. His sharp eyes captured scenes such as Dong Xuebing being almost pushed to the ground by two police officers, the collision between the county officials, and Secretary Zhou using another official as a scapegoat to block falling objects. He truthfully recounted all these scenes to them.
"Did you see it?" The police officers asked him.
The young staff said, "Everyone saw it."
However, an old staff member also present during the incident quickly pulled him aside and gave him a secret signal, telling him not to speak recklessly.
Feeling frustrated, the young clerk said, "Brother Zhang…"
Li Zhixin also turned his head, looking at an official, "Is what he said true?"
The official, who had gone to the new County Party Committee building with Zhou Wei, immediately shook his head without thinking, "I didn"t see clearly. It shouldn"t be true."
Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g added, "I know Secretary Zhou. He wouldn"t do such a thing. Young man, the wind and sand were so strong. Maybe you saw it wrong."
The young staff member fell silent.
At this point, he couldn"t see the situation anymore. He would be a fool if he still couldn"t figure it out.
Watching Mayor Li and Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g walking ahead, the young staff suddenly felt his hands and feet turning cold. Sensing the intentions of the two leaders, he felt chilled in his heart. He hadn"t expected that Mayor Li and Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g would disregard the facts and only listen to one-sided words to s.h.i.+ft blame and divert attention. Even when he spoke the truth, no one listened. It"s not that they didn"t want to listen, but they only wanted to hear what they wanted. What kind of officials were these? What kind of party members were they? The young staff, who was stubborn, suddenly felt a little scared. With such lawless County Leaders in charge, what would Cheng Gang County become in the future? He dared not think about it.
They then went downstairs to visit the patients in the ward.
Under the conscious guidance of Li Zhixin and Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g, several injured officials also insisted that the incident was not accidental. Someone might have planned it. Two individuals even claimed that after the incident, Dong Xuebing had pushed them intentionally, causing their injuries. However, the young staff and those at the scene saw that Mayor Dong had been b.u.mped into once, and the other person had stumbled in their haste to push people, accidentally tripping over themselves. But they insisted that Dong Xuebing had pushed them for some unknown reason. This resulted in them being permanently disabled. They even accused Dong Xuebing of intentionally pus.h.i.+ng them, claiming that it was to save his own life. However, if Mayor Dong had wanted to save his life, he would have escaped long ago. He had risked his life to rescue several people from the area covered by falling objects. The young staff felt extremely angry. This was simply utter nonsense. Mayor Dong did b.u.mp into someone, but not into them. They tripped over themselves while trying to push Dong Xuebing. Instead of acknowledging Mayor Dong"s life-saving grace, they accused him and turned against him.
This was too ruthless.
Not to mention, the young staff had a strong sense of justice.
Even the nearby old staff member and an official frowned upon hearing this.
Wasn"t this blatant falsehood and framing?
But Li Zhixin and Deputy Mayor w.a.n.g had already set the tone. None of them had revealed anything. Some officials at the scene at that time had not seen clearly due to the strong wind and sand. Most of the local people arrived later and were unaware. Therefore, these disabled officials also knew that since everyone around them at that time was their people, as long as they firmly accused Dong Xuebing, no one would testify against them. They had no way to return to their positions in the future. Naturally, they had to find a way out for themselves. If their actions during the incident were known to others, it would undoubtedly cause trouble and affect their future welfare benefits. At this moment, with a scapegoat emerging, they naturally seized the opportunity.
People who didn"t know the situation thought these disabled officials were pitiable. However, those who knew the truth and witnessed the scene were somewhat disgusted.
What kind of world was this?
The young staff knew that this incident was too coincidental. Dong Xuebing"s wife had just encountered an accident, and the same scene happened again two or three hours later. He wasn"t entirely sure if there was anything fishy going on, but judging from the att.i.tudes of Zhou Wei, Mr. Sun, and these disabled officials, the young staff even felt that even if Mayor Dong had premeditated this incident, Zhou Wei, Mr. Sun, and the others deserved their disabilities. You almost killed Dong Mayor"s wife and child. If he wanted to harm you, he had every reason to do so. However, even in that situation, Mayor Dong still managed to rescue you. Instead of being grateful, you turned around and accused him.
You knocked down a pregnant woman.
You destroyed evidence.
Now, you"re s.h.i.+fting all the blame to others.
You"re fabricating groundless accusations against others.
What kind of officials are you? You can"t even be considered human.
However, Li Zhixin nodded in agreement, his face stern, instructing the police to record everything.
After the police finished recording, they asked, "Mayor Li, things are almost clear. Should we extract Dong Xuebing"s fingerprints and footprints?"
Li Zhixin said, "Yes, go ahead."
The police asked, "Do you have any other instructions?"
"Thoroughly search the evidence left in the new County Party Committee building courtyard again, extract fingerprints and footprints for comparison, and quickly investigate the matter," Li Zhixin said. He knew that things might not be as straightforward as they seemed, but with the testimonies in hand, it would be easier to handle. He didn"t necessarily have to get Dong Xuebing out. He was also aware that this incident might be a genuine accident. Still, with the testimonies, the best result was to s.h.i.+ft the focus away. As the overall commander of this project, Li Zhixin naturally didn"t want to take responsibility for this incident.
The tone was set.
People dispersed.
Seeing this, the old staff member pulled the young staff to a place downstairs where no one was around. "You, why are you so straightforward? Listen more, observe more, and speak less."
The young staff complained, "Brother Zhang, but the situation is clear."
"Do you think you"re the only smart one with good eyesight? Everyone knows what"s going on. If you speak out, it will only cause trouble. Just listen to my advice."
The young staff took a deep breath. "I can"t stand it anymore."
"Then you have to endure it. Look at me. I"m no different." Brother Zhang shook his head helplessly. Suddenly, he looked around to ensure there was no one nearby. Then he whispered to the young staff, "I"ll tell you something. Do you know who pushed Mayor Xie to the ground? I was in the car and saw it from the right angle as the sandstorm pa.s.sed. Mayor Li pushed her."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Otherwise, why do you think Zhou Secretary and the others insist that Mayor Xie slipped and fell? They dare not speak up."