Xinhe District, Chengguan Bone and Joint Hospital.
In a ward on the second floor of the inpatient building, Jing Yongli sat by his father's bedside. They had been transferred from the Xinqiao Health Center, where the medical conditions were relatively poor and not conducive to recovery.
Jing Zhengming had multiple fractures, his body wrapped in white gauze like a mummy, but he was still conscious.
"Dad, do you think I was wrong to follow Jian Ge in starting this factory? He's made too many enemies, and I can't handle it."
Jing Yongli had been blaming himself for the past two days, and he was also a little afraid that those people would come back for revenge. Since the road to the sandpit was dug up, they definitely wouldn't let it go.
Jing Zhengming tried to move but was in so much pain: "What nonsense are you talking about? Your Jian Ge trusts you and is helping you get rich. Otherwise, could you afford to buy a house in Chengguan now? Could you and your girlfriend drive a car worth over two hundred thousand yuan?
Look at Liu Yong and Liu Chao. They are also cousins. Did Er Jian give them the same treatment as you?
What's wrong with investing in businesses? How did your Jian Ge offend them? Aren't those hooligans just trying to get something for nothing? The sandpit opened at the worst possible time. As soon as you invested, it opened. Isn't this a setup?"
"But Jian Ge isn't here, and I can't deal with them."
"What are you afraid of? The more they act like this, the less you can indulge these hooligans. I don't believe the law can't handle them."
Jing Zhengming saw things clearly. He always believed that evil could not triumph over good, and even though he was beaten and hospitalized, he had no intention of compromising.
As the father and son were talking, Director Lan Tao from Xinqiao Town entered with two bags of fruit, followed by a young man.
Jing Yongli quickly stood up: "Director Lan, why are you here?"
"President Jing, I heard about what happened to your family. I'm here on behalf of the town government and the command center to visit you."
Lan Tao was the director of the command center specifically responsible for the Yaochi Garden project, and he usually dealt with Jing Yongli more.
"Thank you, Director. Please sit down."
Jing Yongli gave them the only two chairs available.
"President Jing, we're here today to discuss something. Would you like to discuss it outside?"
"No need, Director, please speak."
"President Jing, Xu Zheng's sandpit eventually needs to be dealt with, otherwise, it will affect your project progress. I suggest you both compromise and resolve the matter peacefully to avoid further disputes."
"Director Lan, I'm no longer in charge of this matter. Feng Wu is responsible now. Please talk to him."
Jing Yongli could tell that the young man with Lan Tao was likely someone from Xu Zheng or Shen Hua's side, so he passed the buck to Feng Wu to avoid them targeting his family again.
"President Jing, you are the legal representative of the company, so this matter must be decided by you. Feng Wu is just a security manager, how can he have the authority to handle this?"
"My family has suffered such a major incident, so I'm temporarily not handling company affairs. Feng Wu is my Jian Ge's cousin, and he can make decisions for the company."
"Then call him. I don't know him."
Lan Tao was on a mission and clearly couldn't return empty-handed.
There was no other way, as they represented the authorities, and he couldn't turn them away. Jing Yongli had no choice but to call Feng Wu in front of him and relay Lan Tao's words.
"How should it be resolved? This is a matter for the government departments. They created the conflict, so they should handle it."
Feng Wu's attitude was very firm. He was acting on Yang Jian's instructions not to bow to evil forces.
"Manager Feng, you can't say that. After all, the sandpit was opened before your company. Since you want to develop, you have to face this reality. The government departments can only coordinate."
"Alright, then how do you suggest we resolve it?"
"There are two options. First, their sandpit can continue to operate, and you must leave a road for access."
"Stop right there. This option is not up for discussion. There absolutely cannot be a sandpit within our project. Tell me the second option."
"The second option is that you provide some compensation, after all, they invested a large sum of money to open this sandpit."
Lan Tao explained patiently.
"How much compensation?"
"They are asking for three million yuan. I think it's a bit much. I told them if two million would be acceptable."
"Three million? They must be dreaming, Director Lan. Please tell them that we will offer a maximum of thirty thousand. If it's more than that, there's nothing to discuss. I'll accompany them whatever they want to do."
Feng Wu hung up the phone immediately, clearly leaving no room for negotiation.
Lan Tao felt a bit awkward. After a few polite words, he left.
After seeing them off, Jing Yongli sighed. He felt Feng Wu was too aggressive and that trouble would arise sooner or later.
Jing Zhengming, however, supported Feng Wu's stance: "Yongli, Feng Wu is right. This was a mess-up by the town government in the first place, and they should be the ones to handle it. Peng Chaoyang is playing a clever game, wanting our investment but not wanting to offend Xu Zheng and his ilk. That's too good to be true."
Jing Yongli didn't respond. He wanted to stay in the hospital to avoid trouble for a few days, leaving the Yaochi Garden matters to Feng Wu. His father also needed his care, and his mother had to look after his sister, who was in junior high school.
He stayed for a week. During this time, everything was calm, and no incidents occurred. Various projects of Yaochi Garden were proceeding normally, and Lan Tao hadn't contacted him.
"Yongli, come back quickly, something big has happened."
Just as he thought the town government had found a solution, Feng Wu called, making his mind go blank. It seemed trouble had finally found them.
"Brother Wu, what's wrong?"
"The factory workers started vomiting and having diarrhea right after lunch. It looks like food poisoning."
"Food poisoning? How is that possible? Did you call 120?"
"Yes, the town health center has arrived. Mayor Peng and the police are also here and asking you to come back quickly."
Jing Yongli was frantic. He greeted his father and rushed out of the ward. He drove downstairs and headed towards Xinqiao.
Along the way, he saw four ambulances speeding towards Xinqiao with sirens blaring, clearly also heading to the template factory.
What usually took forty minutes, Jing Yongli covered in twenty.
He saw a crowd gathered at the entrance. Doctors and nurses from the health center were continuously carrying out the poisoned workers and loading them onto ambulances.
"Yongli, you're finally back. Mayor Peng is furious."
Feng Wu appeared, grabbed him, and pulled him inside.
"Brother Wu, what exactly happened? How could it be food poisoning? How many people are poisoned?"
"We don't know how they got poisoned yet. We'll have to wait for medical tests. Over two hundred people in the company are poisoned. Don't worry too much, the symptoms don't seem particularly severe, and there's no risk to life. The district hospital has sent experts and medical staff to assist, and they should arrive soon."
"It's good that no one died."
Jing Yongli breathed a sigh of relief. If someone had died, he, as the company's legal representative, would have been held legally responsible.
The two squeezed through the crowd into the factory area and saw Peng Chaoyang personally directing government staff to help move the poisoned workers.
Just as Jing Yongli was about to greet him, Director Yu from the police station stopped him: "President Jing, there has been a collective poisoning incident at the factory. Please come back with us to assist with the investigation."
Before Jing Yongli could argue, two police officers had already taken out handcuffs, cuffed him, and pushed him into a police car.