Lin Chuan was stunned for a moment and then burst into laughter, "Indeed, a good secretary."

"Absolutely," the security guard nodded excitedly, "Secretary Tang being in Jiangbei City is truly our blessing."

"Yes!" Lin Chuan nodded and then said, "Secretary Tang is indeed our blessing. I hope the people of Jiangbei City can truly cherish Secretary Tang and not maliciously slander her."

Tang Yumeng indeed wished to establish a positive image among the people and genuinely wanted to spread a good impression; however, she did not realize that sometimes things can be overdone. Although Tang Yumeng intended to do good deeds, these actions could lead to speculation and scrutiny. Eventually, these speculations, conjectures, and rumors would become the source of harm to Tang Yumeng.

Indeed, on the afternoon of New Year's Day, a post titled "Jiangbei City Secretary Tang Yumeng's Two-Faced Nature" appeared on a major forum in the country.

The post, written from the perspective of a victim, described certain situations in Jiangbei City, focusing on a specific impoverished township where Tang Yumeng and her team visited the poor households and gave each five thousand yuan as New Year money. However, right after Tang Yumeng left, the money was immediately taken back by the township officials, rendering the so-called New Year money nothing more than a mere formality. Hence, the person in the post angrily denounced and cursed.

Soon, the post was pinned by the moderator of the Tianya Forum, attracting a vast readership. In today's society, where people are already filled with pent-up anger, such an exposure immediately became the target of public criticism.

Within just one hour, the post received over three thousand comments, and its click rate exceeded one hundred thousand within an hour and a half. This post quickly became a subject of widespread coverage by major online portals.

..................

At three in the afternoon, Tang Yumeng was exhausted.

She returned to Jiangbei City with Xiao Xue, several assistants, and staff members.

A phone call abruptly awakened Tang Yumeng.

"What?" Tang Yumeng was taken aback, and she exclaimed in anger, "What's going on? Xiao Li, immediately investigate this matter thoroughly, and also contact the person who posted it to clarify the details. What exactly happened? Why did this occur? Moreover, bring the relevant responsible persons to account. Who took the New Year money from those impoverished households?"

"Yes!" The person on the other end immediately responded.

Jiangbei City also has its own internet monitoring office. Director Li, who was in charge of online supervision and public opinion monitoring, was a trusted associate of Tang Yumeng. Her job was to supervise online public opinion and news. If any adverse news or opinions were found, they must be regulated immediately.

This time, Director Li habitually checked various major online portals and found a piece of news on the Sohu homepage. Hence, he immediately traced it to the Tianya Forum and discovered the problematic post.

Director Li quickly realized the gravity of the situation and immediately called Tang Yumeng. Following her instructions, he commenced action at once. He first collected evidence from the post and then used his account to impersonate a reporter to get in touch with the poster.

After connecting with the poster, Director Li hurried to Hengshan Town and found the person involved in Wuluo Village. The person was a young man working away from home. He had a perm and wore a blue down jacket. The young man, who had been working outside for years, was quite curious about Director Li's visit.

Initially, he thought Director Li was indeed a journalist.

"Comrade Journalist, you've come at the right time," the young man exclaimed excitedly, "You must help me expose this issue. These people are truly terrible and disgraceful."

"Please explain the situation first," Director Li nodded hastily.

Subsequently, the young man, filled with righteous indignation, recounted the entire incident to Director Li. On the 28th of the lunar month, Secretary Tang visited the village to see a few poor households and distributed five thousand yuan of New Year's money per household. However, before the money even got warm, on the 29th, people from the township came and took all the five thousand yuan back. There are more than twenty households in Hengshan Town, totaling over one hundred thousand yuan, which was entirely taken away by the township officials.

This incident left those impoverished households angry but silent.

"If that's the case, why didn't they report it?" Director Li asked puzzled.

"Report?" The young man sneered, "They're all subsistence allowance households, relying on hundreds of yuan of subsidies each month. Anyone who dares to report might not even receive those hundreds of yuan each month. Compared to the five thousand yuan, they'd rather continue to live on the subsistence allowance."

Director Li was instantly rendered speechless by the young man's words.

"Won't anyone take action on this matter?" Director Li asked curiously.

"Who dares?" the young man scoffed, "Everyone is just angry but silent. I think it is probably just a performance by the City Secretary. The money wasn't even warm before it was taken back. If they didn't intend to give it, why put on such a show? To boost her political achievements or dupe the people of Jiangbei City?"

Director Li frowned and said, "Don't talk about Secretary Tang like that, I can assure you, it's definitely not a show; otherwise, Secretary Tang wouldn't have sent me to investigate thoroughly."

"What do you mean?" The young man stared at Director Li with a frown.

"I'm Li Zhongshan from the Internet Supervision Bureau," Director Li looked at him seriously and said, "Not a reporter."

"You lied to me?" The young man frowned, "You're not here to arrest me, are you?"

"Rest assured, that's not the case." Director Li shook his head and said, "I'm not here to arrest you, but rather to verify the situation. If the situation is as you say, I'll report it to Secretary Tang and investigate who took the money and whose pockets it ended up in."

"Haha, you just talk nicely," the young man clearly didn't believe Director Li's words.

"Certainly not," Director Li shook his head, "let's visit those impoverished households now."

"Why don't you go by yourself? Why drag me along?" the young man scoffed.

"I thought having a local with me could gain more trust from others, wouldn't you agree?" Director Li smiled, "Plus, if this matter gets resolved, I'll apply for a one-thousand-yuan reward from the City Committee for you, how about that?"

"Really?" the young man asked.

"Of course, it's true," Director Li immediately said, "I guarantee it with my honor!"

"Alright!" the young man nodded immediately.

Subsequently, under the young man's lead, Director Li quickly visited almost all the impoverished households. However, the village was only so big. During the festival, a stranger suddenly visiting and conducting interviews quickly attracted some attention.

Just as Director Li was visiting villagers in Wuluo Village,

suddenly, a dozen robust big men blocked their path. The leader cursed fiercely, "Damn, what do you two want to do? Hell, dare to disrupt things here; believe it or not, we'll skin you alive!"

"Who are you?" Director Li glanced at several people and said, "We are investigating the matter; don't interfere, otherwise..."

"Otherwise, what?!" the tough guy crossed his arms and said coldly, "In Wuluo Village, do you dare to mess with me? Out with it, who sent you, and what's your purpose?"

"We are here to investigate the subsidy given by Secretary Tang to the impoverished households," Director Li stated frankly, "to find out who took the poor households' money."

"Who took the money is none of your damn business," the tough guy sneered, "Is this something you can investigate? I'm telling you, you'd better stay out of this, or I'll break your limbs and put you in a vase to make you a vase girl."

"Uh..." Director Li immediately hesitated and said, "What do you mean?"

"Kid, I'm telling you, the water here is very deep, so you'd better not meddle," the tough guy sneered, "I'm afraid this water is deep enough to drown you. What will you do when no one can save you?"

"Is it deeper than the City Committee building?" Director Li smirked. If he were just a minor officer, he naturally had no authority and dared not investigate such matters. However, this matter was authorized by Secretary Tang herself, which was equivalent to holding an imperial sword. Who would dare touch him?

"Haha..." the tough guy burst into laughter, "Don't be too self-righteous."

"What if I insist on continuing the investigation?" Director Li was unyielding. Next to him, the young man suddenly thought this man named Li Zhongshan became quite admirable. He hurriedly nudged Li Zhongshan with his elbow and said, "These guys are thugs from Hengshan Town, feared by the people in every village. So, you'd better not confront them directly."

Director Li scoffed, "If I chicken out today, I'd be unfit to be this Internet Monitoring Division Chief."

"So you're determined not to yield," the tough guy sneered, "Come on, tie this guy up and take him back."

"Yes!" The dozen or so tough guys immediately surrounded them.

Director Li frowned, gritting his teeth, "Run!"

After saying this, he took off running. Unfortunately, he clearly wasn't as familiar with the terrain as the others. However, the young man, familiar with the terrain, quickly made his escape. Li Zhongshan shouted, "Go to the city and get help, find someone to save me!"

Bam!

A tough guy swung a fist, cursing angrily, "You brat, shut up, I'll teach you a harsh lesson."

Afterward, several men quickly lifted Li Zhongshan into a car, and the vehicle sped away.

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