"Aunt Deng, don't panic just yet," Chen Fei said indignantly, speaking his mind. "This isn't about me, Chen Fei, being ungrateful or refusing to lend you the money. I just don't think Brother Yi Shu did anything wrong. Why should he have to pay them 200,000?"

It was clearly the other party who defaulted on public funds first. Brother Yi Shu was just trying to get back the money his family rightfully deserved. But now, those people were shamelessly twisting the facts, conspiring with the hospital to issue fake injury reports to frame Brother Yi Shu for assault. They even had him locked up in the police station! This is outrageous, simply outrageous!

"But… but… you don't understand. Those police officers are in cahoots with them. Now they're insisting that Yi Shu assaulted someone and injured them badly. That's why they had to detain him, and they're demanding we pay 200,000 for his release!" Aunt Deng said helplessly, her eyes red.

That's 200,000! It's no small sum. All our money has already been used to pay the workers' wages, so there's no way we can raise such a huge amount of cash on short notice. We can only watch helplessly as our son is falsely accused and detained, completely powerless. Ugh...

"Those people are worse than beasts, utterly heartless. But they have the county's top official backing them. How can ordinary people like us possibly fight them?" the fashionable woman couldn't help but curse again.

"Sister Deng, don't worry for now. Even though Yi Shu is in trouble... I still believe we live in a society governed by the rule of law. It's impossible for people to just run wild and flout the nation's laws!" Seeing her old neighbor of over a decade looking so helpless and red-eyed, Lin Ling felt a pang of discomfort and quickly tried to console her.

As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't help turning to her son. "You rascal, do you have a way to help Sister Deng?" As his mother, she knew him best. If her son truly couldn't help, he wouldn't have refused to lend the money in the first place.

"Help? How can we help? The other party has connections! The top official in the county, understand? Even if your son has made a lot of money in the city, he doesn't have enough clout to make those high-and-mighty officials give him face, does he?" the fashionable woman scoffed. Though she had a big mouth, this time she truly believed that the Chen Fei and his mother were just making excuses.

Otherwise, how could a young man in his twenties possibly have enough sway to make the top official of a county with several hundred thousand people give him face? Just because he made a lot of money in the city? What a joke.

"Little Mei, stop talking nonsense! This is no time for you to be running your mouth!" When Aunt Deng saw her cousin spouting nonsense again, she stamped her foot in frustration. With tears in her eyes, she looked at Chen Fei and said, "Xiaofei, Aunt Deng knows you're successful and capable now. Do you really have a way to get our Yi Shu out?"

Seeing her cousin actually fall for the mother and son's "tall tale," the fashionable woman, Little Mei, rolled her eyes. However, she ultimately kept her mouth shut and turned her gaze toward Chen Fei.

Honestly, she didn't believe Chen Fei had enough influence to make the owner of Sheng'an Real Estate Company release Yi Shu. But the fact remained that she was just an ordinary person, while Chen Fei drove a luxury car worth over a million. He was a rich man. As the saying goes, money talks. Most people would give face to a wealthy person. So, what if he really could do it?

"Don't worry, Aunt Deng! I guarantee Brother Yi Shu will be absolutely fine. Let me make a phone call first," Chen Fei assured her with a solemn promise.

What a joke. If he, Chen Fei, really wanted to, he could turn all of Northern Mountain City upside down. He just couldn't be bothered with the hassle. So what pressure could a mere county town like Chengyang pose? If he couldn't even handle a "small matter" like this, he might as well find a block of tofu and smash his head against it.

Seeing Chen Fei speak so confidently, and recalling the luxury Mercedes he drove—worth over a million—Aunt Deng's eyes suddenly lit up with a spark of hope. "Xiaofei, are you serious? Do you really have a way to get our Yi Shu out?"

"Aunt Deng, just trust me. I promise you'll see Brother Yi Shu walking out of the police station very soon," Chen Fei said with a confident smile, pulling out his phone to call Huang Tao.

In his mind, Huang Tao was a Deputy Mayor, after all. And since Chengyang County was just a small county under Northern Mountain City's jurisdiction, he should be able to pull some strings, right?

When the fashionable woman saw Chen Fei actually take out his phone to make the call, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Um, young man, I didn't mean to look down on you just now, it's just..."

After all, if he had the guts to make a call like this, he must have some confidence. It certainly meant he wasn't just making excuses to avoid lending them money. Realizing she had misjudged him made her feel a little guilty.

"It's okay, Auntie. We're all neighbors here," Chen Fei said with a smile, waving his hand to interrupt her as he dialed Deputy Mayor Huang's number.

...

In the Mayor's office at the Northern Mountain City Government Building, the sun shone brightly.

Deputy Mayor Huang—oh, wait, it was Mayor Huang now—sat in his office chair, his face beaming with an irrepressible, joyous excitement.

Just fifteen minutes prior, he had officially received the appointment notice from the provincial government. The official document appointed him, Huang Tao, as the new second-in-command of Northern Mountain City and a member of the municipal committee, effective immediately! This was a meteoric rise.

RING! RING! RING!

Just then, the phone in Huang Tao's pocket began to ring. He took it out and saw the caller ID: Chen Fei.

"Mr. Chen?" Surprise flashed across Huang Tao's face. He remembered hearing just yesterday that Chen Fei was going back to his hometown to visit his mother. But despite his surprise, he didn't dare hesitate and immediately pressed the answer button.

This was no joke. At least thirty to forty percent of the credit for his rapid promotion belonged to this man. How could he possibly put on airs now?

"Hello, Mr. Chen! Your call came at the perfect time. I was just about to share some good news with you," Huang Tao boomed with a laugh as soon as the call connected.

"Good news? Uncle Huang, what is it?" Chen Fei asked, taken aback.

"Fifteen minutes ago, I received a notification from the provincial government. The vacant position in the city has been filled..." Huang Tao announced, his voice full of vigor.

Chen Fei was stunned for a moment before exclaiming in surprise, "Second-in-command?"

"Exactly!" Huang Tao laughed heartily. "I owe you a great deal of thanks for this. Anyway, enough about that. When you have time, Mr. Chen, please do me the honor of letting me treat you to a meal."

After a brief pause, Huang Tao asked, "Oh, by the way, did you call for a specific reason? I thought you were heading back to your hometown today."

"I am, but something's come up that I need your help with, Uncle Huang," Chen Fei replied, nodding.

"Then just tell me, Mr. Chen. Whatever you ask, I promise I'll find a way to get it done for you. You can rest assured," Huang Tao immediately stated, making his position perfectly clear.

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