Yi Zuojun followed behind Lin Yao, sweat pouring down his forehead. He was completely unlike the image of a Heavenly-level expert, and kept apologizing to the crowds on both sides.
Having just advanced to the Heavenly Rank, Yi Zuojun was still not proficient in utilizing and controlling the energy of heaven and earth. He accidentally used too much force, turning what should have been a gentle, imperceptible push into a slightly aggressive strike, causing considerable suffering to the surrounding crowd. He kept nodding and apologizing, sweating profusely, but he felt no resentment towards Lin Yao for not helping him. He only blamed his own lack of skill and secretly resolved to thoroughly familiarize himself with the use of the energy of heaven and earth later.
While keeping an eye on Yi Zuojun's actions behind him and secretly treating the injuries of the victims, Lin Yao was also thinking about how to deal with the government's intervention later.
Lin Yao deliberately ignored the working group's calls, leaving government officials waiting for two days. Now, the government is pulling the rug out from under them, forcing Lin Yao to appear and give an explanation through this mass meeting of tens of thousands of people. Although the higher-ups have accepted the Minhong headquarters' attitude and are not forcing Minhong to issue a public announcement, Lin Yao's extremely uncooperative behavior still infuriates many people. If the problem in Shantang County is not resolved immediately, this trend will quickly spread nationwide, and then a real disaster will occur.
Faced with the power of the people, any force is a paper tiger!
The Central Committee is well aware of this principle. Our Party was originally built on the broadest foundation of the people, which is why such an incomprehensible tactic was unanimously approved. There is no time to play hide-and-seek with Lin Yao now. If Lin Yao does not show up and give an explanation this time, the Central Committee will have no choice but to take over the Minhong Group as a last resort. As for what consequences the takeover will cause, no one is willing to think about it deeply anymore.
Personnel from relevant departments have always been stationed at the Chengdu Minhong headquarters. Normally, these personnel don't offer any opinions on Minhong's production and sales; they only observe and report, and are otherwise virtually invisible. Unlike the government-appointed experts and scholars stationed at Minhong headquarters conducting research, these individuals only speak out at crucial moments. They can be considered, in a sense, government liaisons.
This time, Luo Jimin and Lin Hongmei were clearly informed that the poisoning incident in Shantang County could be overlooked, but in the future, relevant personnel must be involved in all matters of Minhong except production, including the distribution and sales policies of finished drugs, and even the revision of certain clauses of the membership system. Otherwise, it would be handled "officially," and all Minhong employees involved would be isolated and investigated.
Lin Yao didn't care much about "handling official business strictly," but the treatment of Minhong employees was equivalent to his own reputation. Even a person with an honest heart would feel uneasy when they entered the police station. Lin Yao didn't want his people to suffer such blame, and since the time was ripe, he readily agreed to his parents' request and stepped in to resolve the whole matter.
"Quiet down, everyone!"
County Magistrate Xiao Weiyan shouted into the microphone, silencing the commotion in the square. Realizing his tone was inappropriate, he quickly softened it and continued:
"The reason I've gathered everyone here is because the poisoning incident at Minhong Hospital has caused widespread panic. Certain companies and individuals have handled this matter very poorly, resulting in a shortage of medicines at Minhong Hospital in Shantang County. The existing medicine inventory cannot keep up with social demand, which has led to the situation developing to such a serious point and severely impacting the production and lives of people in Shantang County. This has brought extremely bad consequences to the people. On behalf of the Shantang County government, I would like to express my stance on this matter."
Xiao Weiyan's speech was powerful and resonant, a stark contrast to his trembling, obese appearance, and he spoke with great flair.
"Everyone must trust the government! The government will absolutely not let this situation go unchecked. We will do everything in our power to handle this matter and ensure that all the people of Shantang County are protected, leaving no one behind. You are all children of Shantang. If anyone falls ill because of the poor coordination work at Minhong Hospital, it will be the biggest dereliction of duty on our part. The government will never allow this to happen!"
"The central and provincial governments also attach great importance to this matter. After the incident, the central government and Sichuan Province immediately established special working groups. The people sitting behind me at this moment are members of the working groups from the central and provincial governments. They are here to help everyone. We extend a warm welcome and express our respect to them for their long journey and hard work!"
Xiao Weiyan paused, waiting for the enthusiastic applause from the square below, but nothing happened for a long time. His brilliant expression just now was starting to falter, and his brows gradually furrowed. He quickly glanced at the director of the publicity department in the front row below the stage, his gaze extremely stern.
The propaganda director in the audience felt a chill run down his spine, realizing he was in trouble. He couldn't add a "welcome everyone!" at this point, so he could only vigorously raise his arms and lead the applause, hoping to evoke enthusiastic applause from the crowd. But he overheard some not-so-quite-quick grumbling beside him:
"What's with the clapping! He's about to lose his life, are you happy clapping?"
The applause was sparse and scattered, mostly from the accompanying maintenance workers; there was no applause from the general public.
Xiao Weiyan's face darkened further. He felt he had lost face in front of his superiors, who might think he had a poor reputation among the people of Shantang County. He secretly resolved to launch several major campaigns after this incident to make everyone in Shantang County aware of his status and power, and to let everyone feel his strength.
The open-air meeting proceeded step by step, with Xiao Weiyan presiding enthusiastically. Leaders spoke, and various functional departments of the county government made statements, while also praising his past achievements. He couldn't resist showing off on such a large-scale opportunity to make a name for himself, but little did he know that it had already aroused strong resentment from the two working groups.
"Next up are Chen Hui, the captain of the security team at Minhong Hospital, and Chen Cheng, the deputy captain, who are also the highest-ranking officials of Minhong Hospital in Shantang County. Although they are outwardly victims of the poisoning incident, they cannot deny that there are very deep secrets behind the whole incident. Let's take a look at these two captains!"
Xiao Weiyan had fabricated a crime against Chen Hui and Chen Chengan. Although he used a hypothetical and skeptical tone, it served to reveal the truth at that moment. Just as he finished speaking and was feeling smug, he heard a low rebuke.
"Nonsense!"
The person who spoke out was Tan Deshan, the head of the central working group. He felt like his lungs were about to explode with anger. At this time, the county head of Shantang County was still engaging in formalism, and his speech was utterly unprofessional, long-winded and tedious, like an old woman's foot-binding cloth from the old society. The purpose of sending two Minhong security captains to the front was only to lure out Lin Yao, but he didn't expect this guy to randomly label him. Now, it would be difficult for him, the head of the working group, to carry out his work.
Xiao Weiyan shuddered, his fat face trembling. He fell silent, stepped down from the podium, and subtly gestured for the police officers to bring Chen Hui and Chen Cheng onto the stage.
"Wait!"
A stern, angry voice rang out, interrupting the police officers' actions.
The voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the square could hear it clearly. Everyone felt as if the speaker was right next to them, and the chilling sense of oppression swept over them, making the already cold square even colder.
"Don't let the two captains go on stage!" Lin Yao said bluntly. He was really angry at this moment. The security captains, with their heads hanging low and faces full of guilt, made him feel very sorry for them. They were already in a life-threatening situation, and now they had to be dragged onto the stage like prisoners for trial. This kind of thing could not be tolerated.
For the first time, Lin Yao regretted his previous plan. He thought he shouldn't have used Chen Hui and Chen Cheng's honors as bait. If he wanted to crack down on criminals, he should have just taken direct action. There was no need to be so petty and make such a big fuss. Making an example of them would have achieved the same goal in the most direct way.
Ignoring the agreement that martial arts practitioners should not display their abilities in front of ordinary people, Lin Yao leaped into the air and floated towards a platform more than ten meters away, causing a stir.
"Lin Yao, you've come at the right time..." Xiao Weiyan smiled slyly, about to reprimand Lin Yao, when he made a gesture with his hand behind his back, signaling the police officers behind him to prepare to control the situation.
Flying through the air like in the movies? What's the point? Can a martial artist stop bullets?
Xiao Weiyan was very confident, as if he had been given a reassurance. Now it was his turn to perform, and the outcome of his infiltration and control of Minhong was just around the corner.
"Get out of here!"
Before Xiao Weiyan could finish speaking, Lin Yao casually waved his hand, and the ball-like County Chief Xiao rolled like a ball to the edge of the platform, then smashed into the two police officers who were poised to strike. The two officers were so startled that they quickly pulled their hands away and dodged to the side to avoid accidentally firing their loaded pistols.
"Lin Yao! Mind your place! Where are you?"
Tan Deshan was not bothered by the blow to Xiao Weiyan, but he was bothered by the fact that this happened at this time and place, because Xiao Weiyan was representing the Shantang County government at this moment, and this humiliation was no longer just a personal matter for him.
Lin Yao is making the entire Shantang County government look bad!
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