Chapter 3: Qianrou, Not So Gentle
Meng City, as a second-tier city in the country, had developed rapidly in recent years. Especially the High-Tech Industrial Park, introduced ten years ago by the former mayor, was now flourishing, gradually becoming a crucial engine driving Meng City’s economy.
While other cities of similar size were still heavily invested in the real estate industry, the former mayor, with foresight, had planned ahead, resulting in Meng City’s current economic outperformance within the province.
Mayor Xu, due to the success of the High-Tech Industrial Park, had been smoothly promoted to the provincial level. Although Mayor Xu had moved on, many people in Meng City continued to enjoy the benefits of the Industrial Park, from the managing leaders to related industries; there were numerous beneficiaries.
If the Industrial Park was the shining representative of Meng City’s economy, Dongsheng Group was undoubtedly the most dazzling diamond, the kind that blinded the eyes. Back when Mayor Xu was lobbying everywhere and vigorously attracting investment, Dongsheng Group, without hesitation, responded to the call, relocating entirely from a first-tier city and settling down without moving again.
With this main engine in place, downstream enterprises followed suit, quickly injecting vitality into the newly established Industrial Park, much to Mayor Xu’s delight.
Similarly, Dongsheng Group received generous returns. Several major banks in the city jointly provided unlimited credit, essentially lending them a large sum of money at the lowest cost. Previously, in Hai City, there were too many companies similar to Dongsheng Group; they had never experienced such preferential treatment.
It was truly a win-win situation.
For many years, Meng City’s media coverage of Dongsheng Group had been predominantly positive. Occasional negative news mostly concerned insignificant matters. Recently, however, Meng City Television Station received an anonymous tip-off, alleging that Dongsheng Group was involved in selling the latest technology patents to foreign countries.
This morning, the “Today’s Meng City” program team was at loggerheads in the conference room. This was the station’s highest-rated current affairs documentary program, specializing in in-depth investigative reports on current hot topics. It often revealed shocking truths, without deliberately glossing over problems or sensationalizing topics for attention. The neutral, objective, rational, and in-depth style of the program was deeply loved by the Meng City audience, especially the program’s special reporter, Qin Qianrou, who left a particularly strong impression.
But today, Qin Qianrou’s face was grim. Even colleagues who had worked together for a long time inevitably had disagreements during project meetings, but today’s disagreement was particularly intense.
“The information in this anonymous letter is too limited, and it doesn’t provide any key evidence. To investigate Dongsheng Group based on just a few words is a bit too risky.” The speaker was the deputy team leader, a middle-aged man in his forties, a representative of the conservative faction.
Qin Qianrou remained silent with a cold expression. She sat with her arms crossed on the left side of the conference table. Including her, there were only two people on her side. Opposite her sat eight people.
According to the unwritten rule of the team, before the project meeting, everyone received an email about the topic and formed their own opinions beforehand. When taking their seats, they would choose a position aligned with their views.
They usually had arguments and disagreements during project meetings, which was a good thing, proving that everyone had the ability and right to think independently. However, such a one-sided situation like today was rare.
The deputy team leader’s opinion represented the thoughts of most members on his side, but seeing Qin Qianrou’s reaction, the others didn’t dare to voice too much agreement. After all, Qin Qianrou was not gentle at all.
The team leader had gone out with the station’s management, so today’s meeting was chaired by the deputy team leader. Qin Qianrou hadn’t expected so much opposition this time.
“Qianrou, I know we’ve encountered a bottleneck in selecting topics recently, but we can’t just rashly touch upon sensitive areas just because we’re anxious to find exciting points.”
Qin Qianrou, who had been silent, couldn’t help but snort at the deputy team leader’s words, “Sensitive areas? It’s precisely because there are suspicious points that it’s worth investigating and finding results, to give the public an explanation. As for whether it’s truly sensitive, shouldn’t that be determined after the investigation?”
He had already guessed that Qin Qianrou wouldn’t give up easily. The deputy team leader was known for his conciliatory approach, and even when confronted like this, he didn’t lose his temper, though the smile in his eyes diminished considerably.
“Xiao Qin, you know all the current evidence, and by ‘evidence,’ I mean that anonymous letter, which is the only thing that seems remotely credible. All those other messy so-called rumors can’t withstand scrutiny. I admire your diligence, but you must first have correct judgment.”
“So, Deputy Team Leader, you mean Dongsheng Group definitely has no problems, and everything stated in the anonymous letter is pure fabrication?”
“This…” The deputy team leader stammered for a moment, uncomfortably pushing up his glasses with a less confident tone, “There shouldn’t be any problems. After all, it’s such a large company and a star enterprise in the city.”
“Large-scale, well-known companies don’t make mistakes? What’s the logic? Where’s the evidence?” Qin Qianrou’s tone remained calm, devoid of warmth, but not harsh.
However, faced with her questioning, the people sitting opposite her exchanged glances.
The air conditioning in the conference room today was particularly cold, and the chill emanating from Qin Qianrou made it even more apparent.
The deputy team leader’s face completely darkened. He usually didn’t have much direct interaction with Qin Qianrou. He was mainly responsible for coordination and communication. The details of investigations and interviews were primarily handled by the team leader himself, and Qin Qianrou was his capable assistant.
“Xiao Qin, since you insist on pursuing this topic and investigating Dongsheng Group, tell us, what’s your reasoning?” The deputy team leader, seeing Qin Qianrou’s unwavering determination to get an explanation, decided to take a step back.
Qin Qianrou unclasped her hands, opened the folder in front of her, and took out a few sheets of paper, handing them to the deputy team leader.
“This is the material I’ve compiled, organized according to the clues provided in the anonymous letter.”
The deputy team leader hesitantly glanced down, then couldn’t help but look again and again. The person sitting next to him also leaned in, and after a moment, let out a gasp of surprise.
“No way, these all seem like insignificant matters, but when you connect them like this, it does seem suspicious.” Someone muttered in the deputy team leader’s ear, attracting more people to gather around.
In no time, the deputy team leader was surrounded. Soon, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, either because he was blocked from the airflow and it was too hot, or because the content of the material had made him uneasy.
Qin Qianrou remained calm. Even when there was a clear disagreement with the deputy team leader, she maintained good control over her emotions. However, she wasn’t entirely confident. After all, investigating Dongsheng Group meant alarming many people.
From the day she became a reporter, she hadn’t been afraid of any obstacles. The process of seeking truth was often not simple or smooth, and it was precisely because of the difficult process that the truth became more meaningful.
She had given up opportunities in the financial and entertainment channels, insisting on staying in the news channel, because here she could encounter more topics that urgently needed the truth to be revealed.
“Where did you find all this?” The deputy team leader shooed the people around him back to their seats and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Most of it was found online. There are quite a few reports about Dongsheng Group online. Besides, the internet has a memory. As long as something has happened, it won’t be erased.”
“If this is all the evidence you have, I still can’t support this.”
Qin Qianrou was a little surprised. Couldn’t this even persuade him?
“The logical basis for connecting these trivial matters is that anonymous letter, but you can’t prove the authenticity of that letter. We don’t even know where it came from or who wrote it. What if someone is deliberately slandering, framing, or even just playing a prank on us?”
Such things had happened before, often resulting in wasted effort and offending many people. No one wanted to do thankless tasks, especially those in leadership positions.
Qin Qianrou seemed to remember something, her momentum weakening slightly, but she didn’t back down.
“Should we give up the chance to seek the truth just because we can’t determine its authenticity? If it turns out that this investigation is wrong, I’m willing to take full responsibility.”
“Qianrou!” The person who had been sitting next to Qin Qianrou finally spoke. She hadn’t wanted to get involved too early.
“Li Wan, since you’re sitting next to me, you should support my viewpoint, right?”
As colleagues and friends, they indeed had good rapport.
“I’ve always been on your side.” Li Wan placed her hand on Qin Qianrou’s forearm, making her stance clear.
“Since Xiao Wan is so supportive, let’s discuss this further.” The deputy team leader’s attitude softened slightly. After all, Li Wan was the daughter of the deputy mayor; her words carried weight.
Crucially, if he could find someone capable of taking the blame, he wouldn’t have to worry too much.
“Let’s end the meeting here today. Everyone, please go back and carefully study the related materials. We’ll have another meeting when the team leader returns.” Unwilling to take on the responsibility himself, the deputy team leader postponed it to the next meeting.
The corners of Qin Qianrou’s mouth curled up slightly. This was the outcome she wanted. Before the meeting, when the team leader was called away, she had a premonition that the project proposal wouldn’t go smoothly.
Back in her office, Qin Qianrou opened her computer and continued gathering information, her eyes glued to the screen. Li Wan followed her in and closed the door behind her.
“What do you think of today’s meeting?” Li Wan sat down opposite her. Since it was just the two of them here, they could speak frankly.
“What’s there to think about? I already expected it.” Qin Qianrou wasn’t discouraged.
“The resistance has appeared this early. It seems that there really is something wrong with Dongsheng Group.” Li Wan played with the ends of her hair; she had just gotten a new haircut the day before yesterday.
Qin Qianrou had beautiful long, black, straight hair, which had been the envy of female students on campus during college. Li Wan had initially noticed Qin Qianrou because of this hair.
In a blink of an eye, it had been years since they first met in college and started fighting side by side.
“Thank you for just now.” Qin Qianrou looked away from her computer, her eyes finally showing a smile and warmth as she looked at her friend.
“What’s there to thank me for? You were clearly in the right. Besides, if the deputy team leader knew your real identity, he might not even need a meeting and would unconditionally support you.”
Li Wan seemed to have thought of something and started laughing.
Qin Qianrou looked at her helplessly, and after a while, said, “Don’t go around revealing my background. I came to Meng City to work precisely because I wanted an independent identity of my own.”
Li Wan laughed and promised, “Okay, okay, I promise I won’t say anything. I’m already the daughter of the deputy mayor. If they knew about your background, they’d probably make you the deputy station director immediately.”
“You’re still talking about it.”
Seeing that Qin Qianrou was about to become serious again, Li Wan quickly waved her hand, indicating that she would stop.
Just then, the landline on Qin Qianrou’s desk suddenly rang. This was the publicly announced hotline. Although she often received nuisance calls, more often than not, it allowed her to get first-hand information.
Qin Qianrou answered the phone without delay, “Hello, this is the ‘Today’s Meng City’ program team.”
The other end was silent for a moment, then a female voice spoke softly.
Qin Qianrou glanced at Li Wan; this call didn’t seem simple. She had been collecting information on Dongsheng Group recently, and after receiving the call, she immediately connected it to this matter.
Perhaps she was too eager to receive more relevant information, so when she heard such a hesitant voice, Qin Qianrou felt a flicker of excitement.
“Excuse me, is Reporter Qin Qianrou there?” The caller asked directly for her, making Qin Qianrou both excited and expectant.
Her voice, rarely animated, gained a slight lilt, becoming more lively, “This is Qin Qianrou. May I ask who’s calling?”
Qin Qianrou rarely acted like this, which piqued Li Wan’s curiosity. She stood up, walked to Qin Qianrou’s side, and listened attentively.
Qin Qianrou focused, waiting for the surprise from the other end of the line.
“Um, could you come to the City Central Hospital?”
Qin Qianrou paused, asking, “Why?”
“There’s a patient here who wants to see you.”
Qin Qianrou hesitated, but she felt that the patient’s status was sensitive. Could it be a related informant who had been threatened or harmed? Or someone who had narrowly escaped and decided to expose the truth?
Either scenario was very appealing to Qin Qianrou.
“What’s the patient’s name?”
“Shen Yiqiu. I’m her nurse.”
Shen Yiqiu? Qin Qianrou knew the name; the station had reported on it not long ago. But she didn’t know the person.
“Why does she want to see me?”
Although Qin Qianrou had some expectations, her time was precious. She wanted to make sure it wasn’t a prank or someone who just wanted to meet her; she had been tricked before.
The other end fell silent again, clearly considering the answer.
After a long pause, the voice became even lower, with a hint of helplessness, “I don’t know. She was unconscious before, and after waking up, she kept asking to see you.”
Qin Qianrou’s anticipation waned. She knew about Shen Yiqiu’s general situation and had learned some information about her from online reports. But without a convincing reason to see her, she didn’t want to waste her work time.
“Then please ask her to call me again when her condition improves.” Qin Qianrou politely declined.
The other party hung up the phone, not seeming to be the type to argue. Perhaps they had anticipated Qin Qianrou’s refusal and made the call out of desperation, so they weren’t disappointed by the answer.
Li Wan stepped back, the disappointment on her face more apparent than Qin Qianrou’s.
“Another nuisance call. You should just let a designated colleague handle the hotline.”
Qin Qianrou chuckled softly and said, “The program team’s hotline naturally has someone in charge. This one is the Qin Qianrou hotline.”
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