477: Chapter 477: The birds are gone, the good bows are hidden

Just one day later, on November 5th, multiple survival bases across the country simultaneously raised objections to the Huatong Chamber of Commerce, opposing discriminatory treatment.

This meant they also wanted to obtain nomination rights.

Niu Xingwang now realized something was wrong; Qi Jingshan's rape of a young girl might not have been an accidental incident, but a premeditated frame-up.

"Mr. Dongfang, I think this matter is too coincidental. As soon as Qi Jingshan's incident occurred, the local Security Team arrived. Furthermore, the Civil Affairs Department's attitude clearly showed favoritism. I suspect someone is behind this," Niu Xingwang reported to Oriental Chen.

"Then what do you think their main goal is?" Oriental Chen asked.

"As the old saying goes, 'When the birds are gone, the good bow is put away.' I believe someone has planned this, intending to reap the benefits," Niu Xingwang replied.

"Do you have any suggestions?" Oriental Chen asked.

"That depends on your thoughts, Mr. Dongfang. As long as you give the order, my life is yours!" Niu Xingwang spoke subtly, but his meaning was clear.

"Brother Niu, your thoughts are very dangerous. Don't say such things again. Moreover, it's not yet decided whether this is a peach or a landmine. If they want to pick it, let them have it!" Oriental Chen said.

"Mr. Dongfang, do you mean the crisis isn't over yet?" Niu Xingwang was startled.

"It's not that it's not over; I feel the real crisis hasn't even begun. This matter is not as simple as you think; someone is waiting for us to make the wrong move," Oriental Chen expressed his thoughts.

"Who exactly are you referring to?" Niu Xingwang asked in surprise.

"I'm not sure. But I know their ultimate goal is not just to reap the benefits, and it's even possible that their final target isn't us," Oriental Chen replied.

"I roughly understand," Niu Xingwang had already caught a hint of the underlying meaning.

Behind this matter, there might be a group of powerful figures clashing.

"So what do we do next?" Niu Xingwang continued to ask.

"Getting entangled with them will not only yield no results but will also cause a lot of trouble. My idea is to retreat to advance," Oriental Chen said.

"Won't that be too easy for them? We've put in so much effort to build these bases!" Niu Xingwang was somewhat reluctant.

"The bases aren't going anywhere, what are you afraid of? Don't you know: 'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it'?" Oriental Chen asked.

"I understand!" Niu Xingwang sighed and said.

"Brother Niu, there's no need to be attached. You should know that staying out of it is the best way to protect yourself. Sometimes, being unwilling to let go often results in losing everything in the end," Oriental Chen comforted him.

"Alright, I'll listen to you. What do you say we do next?" Niu Xingwang asked.

"Arrange a plane to transport all the family members from the main base to the Ulan base first," Oriental Chen said.

"Okay, I'll go do it now," Niu Xingwang replied.

"Brother Niu, handle this matter personally. I'll arrange for Brother Dai to return and assist you," Oriental Chen said.

"Understood!" Niu Xingwang nodded.

Due to special historical reasons, the personnel structure of the Huatong Chamber of Commerce headquarters was extremely complex. Most of the staff came from recommendations by various original Settlements, so confidentiality was naturally very poor. It was impossible to distinguish who had problems and who didn't.

While Niu Xingwang was arranging the evacuation of family members, another incident occurred at the Huangyashan Survival Base.

The Citizens in the base held a collective protest, believing that the Huatong Chamber of Commerce's product pricing was too high and demanding a reduction in prices.

Many people even raised anti-Chamber of Commerce slogans such as "black-hearted capitalists" and "abuse of market dominant position."

Order within the base temporarily fell into chaos.

To quell public anger, in the following week, the Finance Department took the lead, in conjunction with the Legal Department and the Civil Affairs Department, to conduct another audit of the Huatong Chamber of Commerce.

The focus of this audit was to calculate the costs of 65 types of products produced by the Huatong Chamber of Commerce that were related to the national economy and people's livelihoods, in order to assess their relative value and sales profit margins.

Immediately after, one wave had not settled before another rose.

Someone reported that within the jurisdiction of the Northwest Military Region, in Gansu Province, Longnan City, the head of the Hanwang Underground Survival Base, former Mayor Hou Zhongxiang of Longnan City, had obtained cooperation rights for a Chamber of Commerce branch through improper means in advance.

The report revealed that Mayor Hou Zhongxiang had reached several priority agreements with the Huatong Chamber of Commerce by selling state-owned assets at low prices, effectively betraying the public interest of the Citizens.

As soon as the news broke, the Supervisory Department immediately formed an investigation team and went to Longnan City to investigate.

Unfortunately, Mayor Hou Zhongxiang of Longnan City, knowing he had no face to meet his fellow villagers, directly hanged himself before the investigation team arrived.

Similar incidents were repeatedly staged across the country, with various negative news flying everywhere.

People's perception of the Huatong Chamber of Commerce plummeted within a week.

Due to the adverse effects of a series of incidents, before the investigation team could complete its calculations, the council demanded that Niu Xingwang immediately go to the capital to report on his duties.

As mentioned earlier, Niu Xingwang is now a special advisor to the Civil Affairs Department, so going to the capital to report on his duties was a reasonable request.