194: Chapter 194 County Magistrate Zhao, it's your turn to make a move.

Zhao Yang looked at Zhao Liqun and nodded seriously.

"I am."

A flash of excitement crossed Zhao Liqun's eyes. "I heard your name when I was at the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. You really are something!"

Zhao Yang asked, puzzled, "Secretary Zhao, did you come here just to ask me that?"

Zhao Liqun's expression fell, and he sighed. "I know I shouldn't have come to you, but I felt it would be safer to talk to you."

Zhao Yang was completely confused by his cryptic behavior and couldn't help but knit his brows.

"Secretary Zhao, please tell me what is going on."

Zhao Liqun lowered his voice. "The pier of the Yunqijian Bridge has collapsed, and two construction workers are missing. This is a major accident."

Zhao Yang said, "Secretary Wang went to handle it personally. What are you worried about?"

"Oh, County Magistrate Zhao, please don't play dumb. The winning bidder for the project was decided by Secretary Wang personally."

"And the winning bidder, Tongan Construction Engineering Company, does not possess the qualifications for bridge construction."

"Don't you find it suspicious how Tongan Construction Engineering Company won the bid?"

Zhao Liqun finished saying this in one breath and slammed his fist onto the desk in anger.

"County Magistrate Zhao, you worked so hard to secure this project; you can't just let them mess it up like this!"

Zhao Yang smiled and said, "Did you come to me just to vent?"

Zhao Liqun said, "The Commission for Discipline Inspection at the same level operates under the leadership of the County Party Committee. How am I supposed to carry out supervision?"

"Then follow the procedures to report it, provide leads, and request supervision from the higher-level Commission for Discipline Inspection." Zhao Yang promptly offered sound advice.

Zhao Liqun shook his head. "County Magistrate Zhao, you might not know this, but Tongan City isn't large, yet the relationships are intricate. Secretary Wang and Mayor Tian are classmates. If we report it to the city, the Standing Committee might not approve it."

"Besides, Secretary Wang is a cadre managed by the province. If he is to be investigated, it should be the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection that takes action."

Zhao Yang lowered his voice. "Secretary Zhao, there is no evidence yet, so it is too early to draw conclusions. When it truly involves Secretary Wang, the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection will need to intervene, and I will help you contact them."

When it came to matters of principle, Zhao Yang would naturally not back down.

After so many years, Cangyun County finally saw hope. He absolutely could not let the future of Cangyun be buried in the hands of a few people.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Liqun stood up abruptly. "Good, County Magistrate Zhao, that is exactly what I needed to hear!"

Watching Zhao Liqun hurry away with swift, determined steps, a wave of emotion washed over Zhao Yang.

Although the cadres in Cangyun County were mediocre, fortunately, he was not fighting alone.

After leaving Zhao Yang's office, Zhao Liqun did not delay for a single moment.

He returned to the County Commission for Discipline Inspection, gathered his two most capable case-handling section chiefs, and held a short, closed-door meeting for half an hour.

That afternoon, the team split into two groups: one headed straight for the County Bidding Bureau, and the other went to the temporary office of Tongan Construction Engineering Company in Cangyun.

The Bidding Bureau Chief, Sun Decai, was in his early fifties, with his hair combed until it was slick and shiny, and he sat in his office drinking tea with his belly protruding.

Seeing the people from the Commission for Discipline Inspection enter, he almost dropped his teacup.

"Bureau Chief Sun, there are a few questions regarding the bidding process for Tongcang Road that we need you to clarify."

The case-handling section chief expressionlessly displayed his work ID.

Sun Decai's expression changed, but he quickly regained his composure.

He set his teacup on the table, leaned back, and crossed his legs. "I will cooperate, of course I will cooperate. However, this project is a key project for the county, and the bidding process was completely open and transparent. What questions do you have?"

"Tongan Construction Engineering Company does not possess the qualifications for bridge construction. How did it pass the qualification review?"

Sun Decai tapped his fingers on the armrest, rolled his eyes, and raised his voice slightly. "Well... Secretary Wang personally called to put in a word. When a leader gives instructions, what can a Bidding Bureau Chief like me do?"

The case-handling section chief remained unmoved. "What about the leader's written instructions? Are there any signed documents?"

"Written instructions?" Sun Decai was stunned for a moment, then gave a dry laugh. "Secretary Wang called personally, so where would there be written instructions? Since he spoke about it, could I really ask for a signature?"

The case-handling section chief paused his pen, looked up at him, and said, "Bureau Chief Sun, if you cannot produce any evidence, this is called slandering a leader, and the crime is compounded."

Sweat began to bead on Sun Decai's forehead.

The gaze of the case-handling section chief was like a nail driven into his face, and his relentless questioning kept pressing in on him.

After a standoff lasting nearly an hour, Sun Decai finally couldn't hold out any longer.

He slumped in his chair, his voice weak. "Wang Mancang, the boss of Tongan Construction Engineering Company, gave me two hundred thousand. He said he had also taken care of the Secretary, telling me not to worry, that building a bridge wasn't a big deal, and that his company had built many culverts and bridge tunnels without any issues. I... I believed him."

The case-handling section chief closed his notebook and stood up. "Bureau Chief Sun, please come with us."

The same afternoon that Sun Decai was taken away, Zhao Liqun personally issued a summons for Wang Mancang.

Wang Mancang was at the accident site of the Yunqijian Bridge, directing emergency rescue efforts. Two excavators were rumbling in the riverbed, clearing the landslide debris and rubble.

The two missing workers had not yet been found, and their families were weeping on the riverbank.

The car from the Commission for Discipline Inspection drove directly to the edge of the construction site.

When Wang Mancang was taken away, his face was ashen, but he said nothing.

He sat in the backseat of the car, eyes closed and silent, but his fingers were trembling incessantly on his knees.

The light in the interrogation room was blindingly white.

Wang Mancang sat in the chair, with a cup of cold tea on the table in front of him.

Opposite him sat two investigators from the Commission for Discipline Inspection. One asked questions, the other recorded them. They took turns, unhurried and calm, but every sentence was like an awl piercing into the critical points.

"What is your relationship with Wang Shoucheng?"

"I don't know him, I've never met him."

"How did Tongan Company obtain the reserve price for the Tongcang Road project?"

"Normal bidding, fair and just."

"Sun Decai has already confessed. Do you still need time to think about it?"

The corner of Wang Mancang's mouth twitched, but he quickly regained his composure. "What Sun Decai says has nothing to do with me. I did not offer any bribes."

The interrogation lasted from the afternoon of the first day until late into the night of the second day.

The two investigators worked in three shifts, and the tea in front of Wang Mancang was refilled countless times—poured out when cold, and refilled again.

His eyelids began to droop, and his thinking became sluggish, but he kept repeating the same words: No bribery, normal bidding.

In the early hours of the third day, just before dawn, the light in the interrogation room was still on.

The veteran investigator in charge of the questioning yawned, took a sip from his teacup, and said unhurriedly, "Wang Mancang, you have more than just this one project in Cangyun, don't you? Do you want us to investigate them one by one?"

Wang Mancang's pupils contracted.

A long silence followed.

When the sky outside began to turn a pale, fish-belly white, Wang Mancang finally spoke. "I will confess."

He confessed in great detail: he had bribed Wang Shoucheng a total of two million yuan in two installments. The first time was one million yuan before winning the bid to obtain the project's reserve price; the second time was one million yuan during the qualification review, after which Wang Shoucheng called the Bidding Bureau.

He stated everything clearly—the time, location, and amount of each payment, and even what kind of bag was used to carry the money.

By the time Zhao Liqun received the case file, it was already the morning of the third day.

He sat in his office and went through the materials twice from beginning to end.

Sun Decai's confession, Wang Mancang's statement, bank transfer records, and call logs—all the evidence was interlinked.

Like a chain, it extended all the way from Wang Mancang's hands to Wang Shoucheng's desk.

He closed the case file and let out a long sigh.

Then he picked up the phone and dialed Zhao Yang's number.

By the time Zhao Yang arrived at the Commission for Discipline Inspection, Zhao Liqun had already laid the case file out neatly on the desk.

It was a thick stack with labels on the cover, every page inside was numbered—clean and efficient, fully embodying the professional style of the Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Zhao Liqun pushed the case file forward and looked at Zhao Yang with burning intensity. "County Magistrate Zhao, it is time for you to act."