Go up?

Go up your uncle!

I sure as hell don't want to get involved in this mess!

But, he's the mayor.

When such an accident happens, and he's on the scene, he has to step forward.

With a heavy heart, just as he was about to walk toward the stairway with Secretary Lu, suddenly, a flash of lights went off nearby.

Everyone looked over and saw a group of media reporters seeming to appear out of nowhere.

They aimed their long and short cameras at the scene, taking photos incessantly.

They took pictures of the people threatening to jump, the hundreds gathered below, and the leaders who had just arrived.

Secretary Lu's face was grim, looking like he could eat someone. He turned to Wu Qiangwei and asked, "Secretary Wu, what is the meaning of this?"

Zheng Bihui was equally angry: "Secretary Wu, leave some room for action!"

Wu Qiangwei frowned, knowing they thought she had called them here.

She didn't explain, and there was no need to explain.

They were opposing camps anyway, so a bit of dirty water didn't matter.

"Secretary Lu, you should hurry up and get those people calmed down."

"I don't need you to remind me!"

Secretary Lu turned and walked towards the building.

The police moved forward, parting the crowd and making a path for them.

Through the crowd, they reached the building, where Secretary Lu looked up before heading inside the stairway.

The police who arrived immediately set up a barricade, clearing space beneath the building.

Director Qin was in charge of commanding, while Secretary Zhang was on the phone, urging the fire brigade to come over.

Wu Qiangwei wasn't surprised looking at the group of media reporters.

These residents were threatening to jump just to make a big fuss.

Simply threatening to jump wouldn't work; they needed the matter to be publicized.

The journalists were obviously contacted in advance by them.

Song Guanchao said, "Secretary, we should go up too."

Wu Qiangwei hesitated a bit.

Logically, with Secretary Lu and Mayor Zheng there, they didn't need to go up.

But seeing the anxious look on Song Guanchao's face, she nodded, acknowledging, and walked over.

In the stairway.

Zheng Bihui grumbled: "Secretary Lu, what's the point of this? By pressing the price so low, you didn't provoke Secretary Wu to report it, but instead caused such a big mess. If anyone jumps today, you're the one responsible."

Secretary Lu suddenly laughed, his face no longer angry, but calm and indifferent.

"Today, no one will jump."

"This act was arranged by me."

Zheng Bihui didn't understand: "You arranged it?"

Secretary Lu said, "Lowering the price is to ensure the project's smooth landing. But to land safely, something big needs to happen. Otherwise, the pressure won't be enough."

"As for drawing in Secretary Wu... that was just a side effect. If she gets involved, great. If not, it can't be helped."

"After all, the price is indeed too low, and she's not a fool; she probably sensed something was off."

Zheng Bihui felt confused: "You..."

"Shh!" Secretary Lu raised his index finger, making a hush gesture in front of his lips.

Then, he pointed below and whispered, "Someone is coming up."

Zheng Bihui looked down, and indeed footsteps could be heard.

By this time, it could only be Wu Qiangwei catching up.

Soon, they reached the rooftop.

The residential buildings were all six floors high, about twenty meters or so, not too high.

With luck, jumping might not necessarily be fatal.

But gathered on the rooftop were mostly aged men and women, the youngest in their forties, many in their fifties and sixties.

At that age, jumping would have a high fatality rate.

"Don't act rashly, everyone!"

Secretary Lu spread his arms and said loudly, "I am the Lingjiang City Secretary, Lu Zhizhong."

"If anyone has encountered any problems, you can tell me."

"I promise to resolve it for everyone."

A middle-aged man said, "We don't want to relocate!"

At the same time, Song Guanchao and Wu Qiangwei also arrived.

They stood to the side without speaking.

Lu Zhizhong asked, "Why not relocate? Redeveloping the old city is a key city project. These houses are old, and getting compensation to buy new ones, isn't that good?"

Song Guanchao had a strange look; this old guy, could he really be unaware of the actual compensation price?

The middle-aged man said, "For a house worth ten thousand, the compensation is only two thousand, how is that good?"

Lu Zhizhong was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

"Why? Are you going to retaliate against me?"

"No, I just want to know if what you are saying is true, and whether you can take responsibility for your words."

"Then listen up, my name is Zhang Xiaoshuang!"

Secretary Lu nodded and said, "I just heard about this from you, I wasn't aware of it before."

"If what you say is true, as the City Secretary, I assure you this matter will be handled properly!"

"I guarantee it to everyone!"

Secretary Lu spoke earnestly, and his attitude was sincere.

The residents exchanged glances; they had initially thought this evening would be a tough fight, for the government certainly wouldn't compromise.

Yet, the city leader had such a good attitude.

Instead, it made it hard for them to vent their prepared anger.

"Is what Secretary Lu said true?"

"Of course!" Lu Zhizhong said, "I've been in charge of this project all along, and the compensation... I indeed overlooked that aspect, I didn't expect the people below to mess up like this. I must apologize to everyone, it's my fault for not managing the work effectively."

His humble attitude instead made everyone a bit embarrassed.

Since such a high-ranking official had admitted mistakes and apologized, and promised to make changes, what more could be said?

Soon, under Lu Zhizhong's persuasion, the crowd calmly went downstairs.

When the people came down from the building, the onlookers blocked them in the stairway, not letting them leave.

Secretary Lu said, "Everyone, please quiet down and listen to me for a moment!"

After the crowd quieted down, Secretary Lu first introduced his identity, then stated that the compensation issue would definitely be resolved.

He made phone calls to the Housing and Construction Bureau and several other departments on the spot, scolding their leaders in front of the crowd, which finally calmed down the crowd's emotions.

Then, together with Mayor Zheng, he went to another building to persuade the remaining people to come down.

A potential accident that could have led to dozens of deaths was thus calmly dissolved by Secretary Lu.

Song Guanchao watched silently amazed; whether Secretary Lu's words were genuine or just to temporarily stabilize the situation, it couldn't be denied that Secretary Lu had great ability to handle major issues.

His mindset was steady, and he didn't beat around the bush, directly addressing the problem.

Because he clearly understood the needs of these relocatees.

He didn't try to reason with them; they weren't looking for explanations, they wanted assurances.

Finally, after handling everything, Secretary Lu walked tiredly towards the exit of the community. As he passed by those reporters, he said in a deep voice, "Director Qin, go tell them not to release the videos recklessly."

When saying this, he deliberately glanced at Wu Qiangwei.

Wu Qiangwei ignored him completely and left the community with Song Guanchao.

During the weekend, Song Guanchao continuously followed the news.

The news about the collective jump in protest of the compensation wasn't leaked out.

Obviously, it had been suppressed.

On Monday.

Just as Song Guanchao sat down, the section chief of the secretary department came to notify him of a special meeting in the fifth-floor conference room at nine-thirty.

Song Guanchao knew that this meeting was to discuss the urban redevelopment project.

Its core issue was the compensation.

Not long ago, Song Guanchao was worried about the compensation issue.

Unexpectedly, in less than a month, it was now Secretary Lu's turn to deal with it.

What goes around comes around; heaven spares no one!

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