159: Chapter 158 Wang Jianjun, you've been arrested!

Zhang Dafu's finger pressed the side button of the voice recorder.

"Click."

The play button was pressed down.

The voice coming from the recorder wasn't loud, but everyone could hear every word clearly.

"I take ninety percent, you take ten. If you think that's too little, then get lost."

Wang Jianjun's voice.

Crystal clear, word for word.

The tone in the recording carried a condescending arrogance, making him seem like a completely different person from the sweating man currently kneeling in the mud.

The veins on Director Li's temples throbbed twice.

Wang Jianjun's head buzzed.

He couldn't hear anything anymore.

All that remained in his ears was his own heartbeat, like a drum, growing heavier with each beat.

How was this possible?

He had said those words in Zhang Dafu's office, and there were only the two of them at the time!

The door was closed!

He remembered it clearly!

"Give it to me! You actually dared to set me up!"

With bloodshot eyes, Wang Jianjun lunged forward, his hands clawing for the recorder, his nails nearly scratching Zhang Dafu's wrist.

He didn't touch it.

Two hands reached out from the sides, pinning his shoulders from left and right.

They were the two bodyguards Zhou Zhen had brought.

The one on the left raised his foot and kicked accurately into the back of Wang Jianjun's knee.

*Thud—*

Wang Jianjun collapsed forward, his knees crashing into the muddy water, the resulting splashes coating half his face in mud.

His glasses flew off, landing in a pile of broken bricks two steps away.

Without his glasses, Wang Jianjun squinted as he lay on the ground, his hands clawing blindly in the mud.

The front of his suit was covered in yellow mud and sewage; the Large Red Silk Flower had slipped under his armpit, its fabric stained with filth.

He tried to crawl up, but when he pushed off with his hand, he slipped.

He fell back down again.

The sharp pain from his knees made him grimace as he curled up on the ground.

Looking exactly like a mangy dog with its tail stepped on.

Zhang Dafu glanced at him but didn't stop.

He turned and walked to the van parked by the roadside.

He opened the trunk and pulled out a large black plastic bag.

It was bulging and quite heavy.

Carrying the bag, he walked back to the center of the crowd and dropped it with a "thwack" at Director Li's feet.

He tore open the seal of the plastic bag.

Inside were stacks upon stacks of neatly arranged hundred-yuan bills.

The bank seals were still intact, and the bills were so crisp they didn't have a single crease.

"Leaders."

Zhang Dafu's voice was a bit raspy, but he enunciated every word heavily.

"This is the money Wang Jianjun gave me. Two hundred thousand in total. Sequential serial numbers. I haven't touched a single bill."

He pointed at the pile of cash, his finger trembling.

"He told me to replace all the National Standard Seamless Steel Pipes with Galvanized Pipes, swap the top-tier brand wall tiles for off-brand ones from small workshops, and use the cheapest generic waterproof coating."

"The price difference saved—all that money was funneled back through a Shell Company he found."

As Zhang Dafu said this, his Adam's apple bobbed.

He turned to look at the crowd of onlookers, his eyes reddening.

"I reported it to him! More than once!"

"I said the quality of these materials was too poor, they wouldn't last, and something bad would happen."

"And what did he say?"

Zhang Dafu played another recording.

Wang Jianjun's voice rang out once more...

"The toilets built for those people—do they even know how to use them properly? They're all going to rot in the end anyway! Why are you worrying about this?"

When these words came from the recorder, the scene completely erupted.

"What did he say?!"

"He said they're going to rot?!"

"This is being built for us!"

An Elderly Man leaning on a cane trembled all over, his cane thumping loudly against the ground.

"Animal! I've lived for over seventy years and I've never seen such a wicked creature!"

"We've hoped for this project for so many years! And he has the nerve to treat us like suckers!"

"Beat him to death!"

"Exactly! People like him belong in prison!"

The crowd began to surge forward; several sturdy young villagers rolled up their sleeves, ready to charge.

They were blocked by the staff maintaining order, but the cursing rose in wave after wave.

Several elderly women had already begun to wipe away tears.

Director Li's face had turned extremely dark.

He walked to the pile of cash, bent down to pick up a stack, and checked the numbers on the seal.

"Come and take a look."

Two people standing behind him stepped forward.

These two hadn't said a word from start to finish; dressed in plain clothes, they were inconspicuous among the entourage.

But when Director Li called them, the backs of all the surrounding leaders straightened a bit.

The middle-aged man leading them crouched down and took a bank statement from his briefcase.

He compared it one by one with the numbers on the seals.

After making another phone call to confirm with the bank, he looked up.

"Confirmed. The serial numbers match perfectly. This is the first installment of the project funds allocated by the Qinsheng Group."

Hearing this, Zhang Dafu's legs went weak, and he slumped to the ground, wiping the sweat from his face with his sleeve.

"I've really put everything on the line this time."

His voice carried a hint of a sob.

"I won't take the fall for this. I, Zhang Dafu, have worked in construction my whole life and have never harmed anyone."

"Even if he's a leader, even if he threatened me, I couldn't bring myself to do such a thing."

"Those village elders and aunties came to the construction site every day to watch, as happy as if it were the New Year."

"Every time I saw that look in their eyes, I couldn't sleep at night."

Director Li took a deep breath.

He turned to face Wang Jianjun, who was still lying in the mud.

"Wang Jianjun."

Director Li's voice was very low, so low that only a few people around him could hear.

But the weight in those few words was heavier than any roar.

"You are a cadre trained by the Organization."

"You are there to serve everyone!"

"The people trusted you and placed the project in your hands—is this how you repay them?!"

"Cutting corners, embezzling funds, and playing with the lives of common people as if they were a game!"

"Who can you possibly face?!"

Lying in the muddy water, Wang Jianjun's lips trembled and his teeth chattered, clicking together.

He wanted to defend himself.

His mouth opened, but not a single word came out.

All his prepared excuses were stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down.

Irrefutable evidence.

The recordings, the cash, the serial numbers—it all matched.

His brain was spinning rapidly, but every thought it produced led to a dead end.

Where exactly did things go wrong?

Was the money given to Zhang Dafu too little?

No.

No, no.

He had been recording from the very beginning.

From the very start!

That meant Zhang Dafu never intended to cooperate with him at all.

From day one, this seemingly honest and simple Contractor had already been preparing a backup plan.

But... this shouldn't be.

A man like Zhang Dafu, subservient his whole life—how could he possibly have the guts?

Who gave him the courage?

Who was behind this...

"It's not my fault..."

Kneeling on the ground, Wang Jianjun's voice went out of tune, broken beyond recognition.

"It's not... listen to my explanation..."

No one listened to his explanation.

Several villagers nearby were still cursing.

"A ninety-ten split! He takes ninety percent! He's lost his conscience!"

"People like him should be shot!"

"My grandson plays near that toilet every day; what if it collapses and hits someone?!"

Listening to these words, Wang Jianjun's body trembled uncontrollably.

His Armani suit was covered in muddy water, and the Large Red Silk Flower had completely fallen off, crushed into the mud by his own knees.

When he looked in the mirror this morning, he felt like he was the center of the world.

Now, kneeling by the cesspool, even his breathing was trembling.

*Click.*

A pair of shiny handcuffs was brought over from behind.

The sound of metal clashing was exceptionally crisp amidst the noisy crowd.

The two plainclothes men, one on each side, hoisted up Wang Jianjun's limp arms.