The new County Party Secretary was the beautiful woman from this morning?

Qin Shou was dumbfounded, as if he'd been struck by lightning.

Although the stunning beauty was standing right in front of him, Qin Shou still couldn't believe it.

He'd gotten drunk and slept with the County Party Secretary, and damn it, it was her first time! Wouldn't she hate him to death? Wouldn't she want to tear him to pieces?

Damn it, how was he supposed to get by now?

Yang Wenqing clenched her small fists, her eyes burning with rage as she asked, "You're Qin Shou?"

"Yes! I'm Qin Shou!"

"You're a real beast!"

"Yes! I'm Qin Shou."

"I mean 'beast'! As in, an animal!"

Only then did Qin Shou realize the woman was cursing him.

But he didn't dare curse back. First, she was his superior. Second, he had just slept with her. So, he had to be deferential and not add fuel to the fire.

"Secretary Yang, I'm very sorry about last night, but it was truly a misunderstanding!"

"Shut up! Don't you ever mention last night again! Just go be the Station Chief at the Jigong River Hydroelectric Station! And never appear before me again!"

"Yes, Secretary Yang!"

Facing his beautiful, angry superior, Qin Shou felt like he was looking at a tigress. He was instinctively afraid, so how could he dare bring up his resignation?

Anyway, even if Secretary Yang agreed to this transfer order, it would still have to go through the proper procedures, which would take at least a few days.

He'd wait a couple of days for her anger to cool down, then try to coax her and see if he could get her to rescind the order.

Coming out of the secretary's office, Qin Shou found that Ruan Xiangyu hadn't left yet.

That woman was standing at the top of the stairs with her arms crossed, waiting to gloat over his misfortune.

"Station Chief Qin, congratulations!"

The word that came from Ruan Xiangyu's mouth was "congratulations," but her tone was dripping with sarcasm and even schadenfreude.

Even though Qin Shou had been married to her daughter for a year and a half, they had always slept in separate beds, and he had never even touched a single hair on her head. But he was, after all, her daughter's ex-husband, and Young Master Chen still held a grudge.

So, she had to send Qin Shou to prison, to let him rot in a cell.

Only then would Young Master Chen's resentment be completely eliminated. Only then could her daughter smoothly marry into the Chen family, marry the Deputy Mayor's son!

She wasn't doing this because she had a venomous heart and wanted Qin Shou dead.

This was all for her daughter's happiness!

Qin Shou stuck his hands in his pockets, glanced at Ruan Xiangyu, and said coldly, "Director Ruan, you're the one who should be congratulated. Your treacherous plot has succeeded, and I've successfully become the Station Chief of the Jigong River Hydroelectric Station.

"This way, not only can I be the scapegoat and go to prison, but a flood can also wash away all the evidence of corruption and bribery for you bunch of corrupt officials!

"Your open conspiracy is truly a brilliant plan, a masterstroke that kills two birds with one stone! But do you think I'll just surrender without a fight and wait for my doom? Even if I go to prison, I'll drag you down with me, Director Ruan!"

With that, Qin Shou left.

After hearing Qin Shou's threat, Ruan Xiangyu felt a pang of fear.

That bastard Qin Shou knows too much. He can't be allowed to live! I have to get rid of him as soon as possible, before more complications arise!

Immediately, Ruan Xiangyu's mind started racing, hatching a new plan.

Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind.

Ruan Xiangyu had a plan!

The plan had changed; she needed to coordinate with Wang Rende.

So, Ruan Xiangyu walked into the County Mayor's office.

Seeing Ruan Xiangyu enter, Wang Rende quickly took out the high-grade Longjing tea reserved for distinguished guests and personally brewed her a cup.

Although Ruan Xiangyu was the Director of the County Committee Office, a lower rank than his, she was Deputy Mayor Chen's mistress.

What's more, her daughter, Su Jing, was about to marry Chen Feiying.

The mother and daughter—one was the father's mistress, the other was the son's wife.

Whether as the Deputy Mayor's mistress or his future in-law, she had to be treated as an honored guest.

After all, Wang Rende was an ambitious man. He didn't want his political career to end at the position of County Mayor of Changle County.

He had to try his best to get a promotion to the municipal level.

"Director Ruan, please have some tea! This is Longjing tea a friend from the army gave me. Pre-Qingming Longjing. He said it's the kind of good tea money can't buy. Please, try it."

Ruan Xiangyu lifted the cup, took a small sip, and praised, "Excellent tea! Truly top-grade!"

Wang Rende picked up a Chunghwa cigarette from his desk and asked, "Director Ruan, do you mind if I smoke?"

Ruan Xiangyu nodded in permission. "You're too polite, County Mayor Wang. Please, go ahead!"

After taking a drag from his cigarette, Wang Rende asked, "Director Ruan, what can I do for you today?"

"County Mayor Wang, what are your thoughts on the Jigong River Hydroelectric Station?" Ruan Xiangyu asked probingly.

"The Jigong River Hydroelectric Station is a key project for our county, with an investment of 2.3 billion yuan. Compared to those massive hydroelectric stations with investments in the tens or hundreds of billions, our investment is small potatoes.

"However, Changle County is an impoverished county. Of this 2.3 billion, part of it was allocated by the province, part we raised ourselves, and part is from bank loans."

Seeing Wang Rende beating around the bush, Ruan Xiangyu asked directly, "County Mayor Wang, there are several towns downstream from the Jigong River Hydroelectric Station. If the dam were to break, flooding those towns and killing people, would using Qin Shou, the station chief, as a scapegoat be enough? Could he take all the blame?"

Wang Rende knew, of course, that it wouldn't be enough. If the dam were to break, he, the County Mayor, would definitely not be able to escape responsibility. So, this had been a constant worry for him.

Now that Ruan Xiangyu had brought it up, Wang Rende took the opportunity to ask, "Director Ruan, do you have a better idea?"

"County Mayor Wang, as long as the dam doesn't break and there are no casualties, there won't be any major repercussions. Even if the Jigong River Hydroelectric Station's dam is leaking and has some quality flaws, those are all minor issues.

"At worst, it's a matter of the relevant personnel being involved in corruption and bribery. As long as we arrest the corrupt ones, the problem is solved, and everyone is safe."

"Director Ruan, please elaborate."

"The dam at the Jigong River Hydroelectric Station is leaking. If we store water for power generation and encounter a flood peak, it's possible the dam will break. As long as we don't store water and keep the sluice gates open, the dam will be fine!"

"We've built a hydroelectric station but aren't storing water or generating power. How do we explain that to our superiors?"

"We'll use Qin Shou to explain it! Sun Changsheng committed suicide by jumping off a building; he bears the primary responsibility. Qin Shou was his secretary, so he bears the secondary responsibility.

"So, we just need to fabricate enough evidence to pin the blame for the Jigong River Hydroelectric Station being a shoddy project on Sun Changsheng and Qin Shou.

"Since it's a shoddy project, it naturally can't be used to store water and generate power. After we bring the corrupt official Qin Shou to justice, we can then apply to our superiors for funds to repair the Jigong River Hydroelectric Station.

"After the repairs, even if the station can't generate power at its originally designed capacity, operating at one-third capacity shouldn't be a problem. It has three generator units; we'll just run one!

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"Even though it's a hydroelectric station, it's just like the sidewalks and roads in the county—they break down! They need to be patched up every year! We can use it while we maintain it. That is the long-term solution!"

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Proofreader: Peter Pan