Chapter 84: Unforgivable
Hu Jiao had this in mind when he asked the car to stop. Going to Tengliang at this time would be tantamount to courting trouble. Although his appointment as deputy mayor had not gone through the procedures of the Municipal People's Congress, he, as the deputy mayor in charge, had to have some performance within the organization.
"Let's go and see what tricks those murderers can come up with." After saying this, Hu Jiao's waist seemed to straighten a lot. Jiang Yifan couldn't help but shiver and hurriedly followed Hu Jiao.
The car started again. Apart from the roar of the engine and the whistling cold wind, Hu Jiao's heart quietly entered the dark night from the bustling city.
Some fragments flew into his mind, and Hu Jiao's breathing became heavier as he imagined those students still struggling on the line between life and death.
No matter what kind of leading cadre they are, they must never harm the following groups: first, students; second, farmers; third, soldiers; and finally, the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, women and children, collectively known as vulnerable groups.
It is 70 kilometers from Longtong to Tengliang, but the road conditions are extremely poor and there are many bends. It took three hours to enter Tengliang County.
Lao Li is an experienced driver. According to Hu Jiao's request, he went straight to the county hospital.
"Yifan, Director Tai Xingfu of the Health Bureau seemed to have been the county magistrate in Tengliang?"
Jiang Yifan was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly, "Director Tai has been the deputy county magistrate and county magistrate here."
"Oh, wait a minute you... um, never mind."
After thinking about it, Hu Jiao took out his mobile phone and planned to call the municipal party secretary directly. He estimated that the municipal party committee had already issued preliminary instructions, and it was inevitable to set up an investigation team and report to the provincial party committee.
"Secretary Zhao, I'm Hu Jiao. I just arrived in Tengliang County and am going to the hospital right now. You said..."
The car had already entered the hospital. At the guard post, Lao Li flashed his lights twice. The armed police on guard checked the license plate, waved and saluted, and let the car pass.
After parking the car, Lao Li and Jiang Yifan didn't dare to move. Hu Jiao had been talking on the phone with Zhao Mingfang, listening to the other party's instructions.
After a few minutes, the car door was opened.
Jiang Yifan ran forward a few steps, followed Hu Jiao and whispered, "Mayor Hu..."
Hu Jiao interrupted him and said, "Don't ask for now, let's go in and take a look first."
When he walked into the emergency department, he happened to run into Tai Xingfu and several white coats. Tai Xingfu saw Hu Jiao and hurriedly came over, "Mayor Hu is here. Let me report to you on the rescue situation. There are 47 poisoned students in total. The rescue efforts were ineffective and five have died. The other 42 have been out of danger one after another."
Hearing this, Hu Jiao heaved a sigh of relief. Five is not bad. If the situation continues to deteriorate and one or two more people die, it is likely that the leaders in charge of the municipal party committee will be implicated and held accountable.
However, even if there are five of them, it is enough to drink a pot.
"Have the preliminary results of the accident come out?"
Tai Xingfu nodded, "It's out. After testing, the main sources of poisoning are salt and pickled vegetables, and the ingredients are nitrite."
Hu Jiao stopped and said something similar to what Jiang Yifan said. He stared at Tai Xingfu and said, "I just talked to Secretary Zhao on the phone. The municipal party committee held an emergency meeting and set up an investigation team. Deputy Secretary Yao is the team leader, Deputy Mayor Wu, Deputy Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Director of the Supervision Bureau Cheng Xing are deputy team leaders, and you are also a member. Now, let's go see the students first."
Tai Xingfu couldn't help but glance at Jiang Yifan when he heard this. How could the investigation team be set up without the deputy mayor in charge of science, education, culture and health? Instead, the executive deputy mayor was appointed as the deputy team leader?
Then he thought again, Hu Jiao just arrived yesterday, and he probably hasn't taken over the work yet, so the Municipal Party Committee would not let him show up.
But such a ready-made scapegoat was easily let go. Could it be that the rumors that Hu Jiao had a strong background were true? Even the usually strong Zhao Mingfang was leaning towards him.
The emergency department is on the first floor. The corridors are filled with beds, which looks a bit messy. Many of the beds were moved in temporarily, and even the chairs were used.
Tai Xingfu pointed at the beds and said, "Mayor Hu, there are 31 students here, and the rest will be arranged in the internal medicine department."
"Have the students' families been notified? What's their reaction?"
Tai Xingfu was a little nervous. "After the incident, the county party secretary was in a meeting in the provincial capital, and the county head was out on an inspection trip. The only county leader at home was Deputy Secretary Zeng Lanfang. Well, although she is a female comrade, she is very careful in her work. She urgently mobilized the armed police squadron to maintain order in the hospital, and some of the students' families... were invited to the small auditorium of the county's No. 1 Middle School. Well, in an emergency, we took the necessary measures to ensure a smooth rescue."
No wonder the armed police are guarding the gate.
Hu Jiao remained calm, nodded, and visited the students who were out of danger one by one. There was a nurse guarding each student. Hu Jiao walked over, held their hands, and asked softly how they felt and if they were feeling any discomfort. He comforted them and told them to rest assured and recuperate, saying that their family members would be here soon and they don't have to worry about their studies, etc.
Jiang Yifan followed behind Hu Jiao and watched with his own eyes as he patiently had brief exchanges with each of his classmates in a soft, gentle and cordial voice.
Tai Xingfu probably received a phone call and left in a hurry after apologizing to Hu Jiao.
About an hour later, Yao Qisheng, Wu Jinshan and others arrived one after another. After exchanging information with Hu Jiao, they decided to visit the families of the five students who died first.
At this time, two main leaders of Tengliang County also arrived at the hospital, the county party secretary Peng Zhi and the county magistrate Liu Lei.
There were faint traces of sweat on the foreheads of the two men, which showed that their inner anxiety had reached the point of burning anger.
Seeing the two people coming, Yao Qisheng nodded, and the two lines on his mouth straightened, "Follow me, let's go meet the family first."
The two men nodded hurriedly. At this time, Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee Zeng Lanfang had already asked someone to bring the parents of the five students who had died to the small conference room of the hospital.
On the way, Zeng Lanfang deliberately slowed down Yao Qisheng's pace, "Secretary Yao, I have a new situation to report to you!"
Yao Qisheng stopped, turned sideways, looked around, and pointed at the people behind him, "You go down first."
The main members of the investigation team, three leaders of the Tengliang County Party Committee, and Hu Jiao were left behind.
Zeng Lanfang cleared her throat, still a little hoarse, "Among the five parents, two are teachers at No. 1 Middle School. They are very emotional. Well, they had conflicts with comrades before. In addition, one of the parents is the nephew of Vice Governor Mei, and his wife's younger brother works at the provincial Xinhua News Agency reporter station..."
Yao Qisheng's eyes suddenly became sharp, Zeng Lanfang's face turned pale, and she could no longer speak.
But she didn't need to say more.
Yao Qisheng's cell phone suddenly rang. Seeing the incoming call number, the lines around his mouth straightened again, "Governor Mei, this is Yao Qisheng."
Then, he began to report a series of arrangements made by the Municipal Party Committee and his upcoming meeting with the families of the deceased students.
After finally hanging up the phone, Yao Qisheng turned to Cheng Xing, deputy secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, and said, "The provincial leaders have instructed that the members of the cafeteria of No. 1 Middle School and the members of the school leadership team must be immediately controlled and kept under separate supervision, and they must not have any contact with outsiders. We must conduct a serious, in-depth, and detailed investigation of the entire incident, and deal with the relevant responsible persons strictly, severely, and quickly. Sorry for the trouble, Comrade Cheng Xing."
As soon as he finished speaking, County Mayor Liu Lei fell to the ground with a bang, and white foam kept coming out of his mouth. The scene was in chaos. Fortunately, there were many doctors, and after a few minutes, the person was pushed into the emergency room.
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Isn't County Magistrate Liu too easily frightened?
Peng Zhi and Zeng Lanfang were also pale. The death of three students would be reported to the central government to determine the nature of the case and hold those responsible accountable. Unexpectedly, before the investigation was fully launched, the provincial government directly issued an order to handle the incident in the most brutal, strict, severe and prompt manner.
Peng Zhi felt bitter. Why did it have to be a relative of Vice Governor Mei who could die?
After seeing this, Hu Jiao had basically put his worries to rest and observed a moment of silence for the students who died. Fortunately, accidents do not discriminate based on identity or status.
The dead cannot be resurrected, this is the fact, and Hu Jiao began to think about the next steps.
With provincial leaders directly involved, no matter who is involved, they will probably be held accountable to the end, so there is no need for Hu Jiao to spend any more time focusing on cracking down on unscrupulous canteens.
Yao Qisheng personally pushed open the door of the small conference room. Several parents, including fathers and mothers, and several accompanying police officers were sitting quietly inside.
Seeing Yao Qisheng coming in, everyone stood up. County Party Secretary Peng Zhi took the lead to introduce, "Comrades, Deputy Secretary Yao of the Municipal Party Committee, Deputy Mayor Wu, and Deputy Mayor Hu are here to visit you."
Yao Qisheng was the first to reach out his hand and tightly grasped a student's parent, saying in a very sad tone, "Please accept my condolences! I am here on behalf of the Municipal Party Committee to express my condolences to you all! At the same time, we will investigate the causes and consequences of this incident. I promise you! We will definitely find out the truth and severely punish those involved."
A parent, with tears still stained in his eyes, asked hoarsely, "Secretary Yao, even if we execute them, can we get my son back? I have written complaints to the Education Bureau and the County Commission for Discipline Inspection many times, but no one has ever taken them seriously. If there were no bureaucrats, would the situation today be caused? If the leading cadres truly served the people, would such a ridiculous tragedy have happened? If the officials could act according to their conscience..."
Hu Jiao looked at the parent who was shocked in the silence, and thought that he should be one of the teachers of No. 1 Middle School. Every word he said was like a bayonet and a javelin, piercing into the hearts of the leading cadres present and making them bleed.
Yao Qisheng looked at Peng Zhi with a pale face, took a step back, and bowed deeply to the parent. "As a Communist Party member, I express my deepest apologies to you! We did not do our job well, and we did not supervise and manage the cadres below. I feel your grief. A big mistake has been made. Please allow us to remedy it later and strive to give everyone justice."
The parent bowed to Secretary Yao in return and said, "Justice is in the hearts of the people. These are the relevant materials I have recorded. Please check them one by one, Secretary Yao." After that, he took a black leather bag from the table, took out a letter and handed it to Yao Qisheng.
Yao Qisheng took it, but abruptly handed it to Hu Jiao.
No one present expected this, not even Wu Jinshan. All eyes were focused on Hu Jiao.
Hu Jiao took the letter but did not open it. He nodded with a serious expression.
After shaking hands with the parents one by one, comforting them and giving them assurances, and listening to their requests regarding the funeral arrangements for the deceased students, Yao Qisheng arranged for people to take care of them and instructed them to cooperate as much as possible to ensure their safety and prevent any accidents.
Only then did he leave with the group.
The County Party Committee Guesthouse, a two-story building specially used to receive distinguished guests, became the temporary residence of the investigation team.
Hu Jiao followed Yao Qisheng up to the second floor. Before Hu Jiao could speak, Yao Qisheng greeted him, "You go ahead and look. I'll wait for you."
Hu Jiao nodded, and the people from the county party committee office led Hu Jiao and Jiang Yifan into the room. "Mayor Hu, this is your lounge. Please call this number if you need anything. We have people on duty 24 hours a day."
After saying that, he handed over an address book and Jiang Yifan took it.
This is a two-bedroom, one-living room layout, which looks like it should be an office and rest area exclusively for leaders. The small living room is fully equipped. Jiang Yifan found some hot water and took out Hu Jiao's special teacup from his briefcase.
Hu Jiao sat on the single sofa in the living room, holding a teacup, took out the letter pad first, and handed it to Jiang Yifan, "You are a lawyer, you know more about this than me."
Jiang Yifan took it and put it down first, "Do you want to take a bath?"
Hu Jiao shook his head. His mind was a little confused. He had no idea how to start the city-wide education rectification work, rectifying and reforming as he went along.
Rectify the unhealthy practices in the education industry, rectify the administrative system of the Education Commission, rectify the teacher assessment system, and rectify the academic and school styles.
Basically, it's mainly about playing pranks on people.
On this basis, if we do not get the support of the municipal party committee and government, nothing can be done.
If the municipal party committee and government want to make up their minds and relax restrictions to allow Hu Jiao to do whatever he wants, the poisoning incident in Tengliang County has already become the fuse, and Vice Governor Mei’s statement has added fuel to the fire. If they want to make it a drastic measure, what else is missing?
Jiang Yifan began to look through the materials. He opened the first page and couldn't help reading out loud, "On May 4th, Lu Cheng, a student in Class 71 of Grade 2, reported that several condoms were found in the cabbage and tofu soup in the school cafeteria... Ugh..."
Hu Jiao's eyes twitched and he raised his head in guilt. Jiang Yifan dry-heaved twice and handed the materials back to Hu Jiao.
"On May 9, a student and a cafeteria employee got into a fight because the student said he saw the employee spitting into the food... The school security department intervened and the student was detained overnight. The school gave him a demerit without any investigation."
One day, sanitary napkin residue was found in the stir-fried pork in the cafeteria...
Hu Jiao threw the letter in his hand away, panting heavily, and stood up, walking around the small living room and cursing, "Do these people have any conscience? What do the school leaders do for a living?"
Jiang Yifan picked up the letter pad, adjusted his mindset, and began to read it slowly. After all, he was a lawyer, so as long as he didn't put himself in the situation, he could basically maintain his emotions.
Hu Jiao went back and forth for about ten minutes, slowly calming down his anger. Jiang Yifan frowned and looked faster and faster.
The only sound in the living room was the rustling of documents he was flipping through. Hu Jiao sat down, half-closed his eyes, and began to think in his heart, if what was stated in the letter was true, if a certain relative of that parent was indeed a reporter stationed at the Southwest Station of Xinhua News Agency.
Will these things be reported?
Not likely!
Although Xinhua News Agency is a news agency directly under the central government, such articles must first be communicated and negotiated with the Southwest Provincial Party Committee.
Moreover, if these contents were disclosed, it would be tantamount to explosive news.
There is no need to make it public, as long as the provincial party committee can receive the relevant information.
Could it be that someone in the province already knew about this, which is why Vice Governor Mei acted so tough?
Considering Yao Qisheng's performance today, why didn't he just look at the information directly, but gave it to Hu Jiao, the deputy mayor who had not yet taken office?
Selling good things? Doing favors?
Hu Jiao shook his head, wondering if he himself possessed such great personal charm.
Take advantage of yourself?
Thinking of this, Hu Jiao's heart moved, and he vaguely understood something.
Taking advantage of the fact that he had just arrived in this place, was young and inexperienced and was eager to gain a foothold, he threw the information into Hu Jiao's hands, which was equivalent to throwing a gun, no, it should be a bomb.
Young, righteous, hot-blooded, and intolerant of any injustice. Is this Yao Qisheng's first impression of me?
Hu Jiao felt a little depressed. It turned out that there was no such thing as friendship in the officialdom.
