Trouble Came on the Heels of Trouble! (5th Update)

"Manager Lin, Manager Xie has been waiting at the coffee shop for quite a while."

Huang Minyu asked, "Shall we go over there now?"

"Um."

Lin Qingying nodded, took my arm, and led me over.

In the coffee shop, a young man who looked to be around 30 years old with slicked-back hair hurriedly stood up and said respectfully, "Manager Lin, are you alright? I'm so sorry you were frightened. Today's events were due to our poor planning; we didn't expect there to be bad people among the crowd."

"Those people may not be the general public; Manager Xie don't jump to conclusions so hastily."

Lin Qingying's casual remark left Xie Jinghong stunned.

"Please sit down."

Lin Qingying pulled me to sit down, ordered three coffees, and then looked at Xie Jinghong.

Xie Jinghong appeared somewhat restrained under Lin Qingying's gaze, and said, "Upon learning that Manager Lin had encountered trouble at the press conference, we actively utilized our connections in LN City and were willing to use the group's reputation to bail Manager Lin out. However, we didn't expect the Municipal Bureau to insist on their decision and refuse to release him..."

"The matter with the Municipal Public Security Bureau is over."

Lin Qingying said, "Manager Xie, the only thing I want to know for sure right now is whether the emissions from our Yue Ning Energy's several large factories in LN City exceed the national standards. I need the truth, so please answer carefully."

"No, really no, I guarantee it!"

Xie Jinghong said, "At least the report I received is definitely in line with national standards. Of course, the person in charge of the actual sewage discharge is not me, but the factory Dong Lixin, Dong Lixin. Old Dong has been the factory manager for more than 20 years, and he knows more about the relevant matters than I do. He lives nearby. Would you like to meet him, Manager Lin?"

"Call him right now and tell him to come over."

"Good!"

A short while later, a man with slightly graying hair walked in. He wore thick glasses and simple clothes, and looked like an old intellectual who was dedicated to studying technology.

"Old Dong, this is Manager Lin," Xie Jinghong said.

"Hello Manager Lin..."

Dong Lixin was very nervous and said, "Whatever Manager Lin wants to know, I will definitely tell you everything I know!"

So Lin Qingying asked about the sewage discharge standards.

Dong Lixin insisted that Yue Ning Energy's sewage system fully complies with national standards and that there is absolutely no possibility of any problems, let alone a serious environmental pollution incident such as lead poisoning among nearby residents.

And that is indeed the case. Yue Ning Energy has always pursued clean production, energy structure optimization, and end-of-pipe treatment of pollutants. The amount of money spent on purchasing sewage filtration machines alone is astronomical.

"So, why did the river water sample collected downstream by that internet celebrity Zhan Chen have such severe pollution levels?" Lin Qingying asked.

"I don't know, I really don't know."

Dong Lixin frowned. "Manager Lin, could it be that someone framed Yuening?"

That's fine.

Lin Qingying said, "Dong Lixin, starting tomorrow, you need to thoroughly inspect our machines to see if there are any oversights and make sure it's not a problem on our part."

"Yes, Manager Lin, I will certainly comply."

"That's all for now, everyone go and rest."

After everyone left, Lin Qingying upstairs. Our rooms were on the same floor, and since we were out of town and Xiao Ai wasn't with us, I was a little worried, so I escorted her to her room.

Standing by the window, looking at the cityscape of LN City, she suddenly felt a little tired.

"Why don't you go to bed early?"

I looked at the scenery outside and said, "Tomorrow morning, I'll go with you to the downstream of the factory. We'll take a field look, collect more river water samples, and test them to see if the pollution levels are too high. Once the results are in, we'll know whether Zhan Chen was just making things up."

"Um!"

She nodded vigorously. "Then go to sleep early, and we'll get there sooner."

The night Wu Yan.

The next morning, I woke up early, washed up, and went to Lin Qingying's room.

She was ready, wearing a beige trench coat, her long hair flowing, looking stunningly beautiful. Everything about her was perfect, except she looked a little haggard. The Longnan incident had taken a toll on her, leaving her physically and mentally exhausted.

Around five o'clock, it was just getting light.

After having something to eat at a breakfast shop on the street, the two drove to the river.

"Record the entire process to preserve evidence."

Upon arriving at the river, I took out a bunch of small vials I had previously used to store samples from the Land of Revival, along with some numbered seals, from my storage space. I said, "Xiao Ying, you should appear on camera. You look better; I don't photograph well."

"Good!"

She nodded, and I immediately took out my phone and started recording.

Lin Qingying naturally knew what I was going to do. Holding the small bottle, she first explained the time and place, and then began collecting samples. She collected more than a dozen water samples from upstream to midstream and then to downstream, labeled and numbered them, and affixed seals.

In the morning, we arrived at one of the most qualified pollutant testing agencies in LN City.

I recorded the entire process, and after paying, I confirmed the sample number and the integrity of the seal before handing it over to the staff.

In the afternoon, the testing agency called. Lin Qingying had spent a lot of money, so the agency was very efficient, saying they used all the most advanced testing equipment.

At 2:30, we received the test report, which showed that everything met the standards and there was no serious pollution.

I need to go to the Environmental Protection Bureau.

After the Longnan incident, the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau took samples immediately and is also waiting for the test results, but they may not be the results we want. Therefore, our test report is just as important.

Environmental Protection Bureau.

"I'm sorry, our Director Chen is not here."

A female employee who was secretly knitting at work said, "Moreover, our colleagues collected water samples from downstream yesterday and are currently waiting for the test results. The results of your privately collected samples are not valid."

Lin Qingying said, "Hello, I am Lin Qingying, Yue Ning Group CEO. I suspect that this pollution incident is a frame-up. Our sample test results are recorded on video throughout the process, and the report was issued by the best testing agency in LN City. I hope the Environmental Protection Bureau can consider keeping this sample test report for comparison."

"But our Director Chen..." the other party tried to evade the question.

I frowned and said, "Could you give me Director Chen's phone number? I'd like to speak to him directly."

"Our Director Chen is very busy, and he..."

"What the hell are you busy with?!"

I slammed my fist on the counter, which sizzled and the pen caps jumped high into the air. "If you're an official and you don't serve the people, you might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes! If you don't want to work here, then fucking get the hell out!"

She was shocked, Lin Qingying was shocked too.

The next moment, the female employee gave me Director Chen's number.

After I dialed the number and explained my purpose, the other party immediately started to evade the issue, saying that they were in a meeting out of town and could not handle the matter at the moment, and told me to go to a certain section chief, and if that didn't work, then go to another section chief.

A classic case of passing the buck.

After going around in circles, you're bound to come up with nothing.

As for the test results, it's hard to say; the environmental protection bureau's purview may not be entirely clean either.

After hanging up the phone, I asked with a laugh, "Is the director's office in the back?"

"Um."

The female employee nodded, then paused, startled. "What are you trying to do? Don't do anything reckless!"

I turned to Lin Qingying, "Wait a moment, I'm going to see this bureau chief."

"Okay, don't hit anyone, or we'll have to go to the city police station again."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!"

I went up and pushed open the door, entering the office building corridor.

"Where are you going? Come back!" several employees shouted in unison.

I strode briskly to the end of the corridor and saw the office sign for the director's office.

Whether the door is locked or not, there's no need to be polite to this kind of person.

"Boom!"

He kicked open the office door, knocking the lock off.

You guessed right, Director Chen was sitting in his chair playing on his phone.

"Director Chen, right?"

"Who... who are you? What do you want?"

I want to curse your ancestors for eighteen generations!

Suddenly, I slammed the test report and the USB Drive containing the video recordings of Lin Qingying and me collecting water samples onto the table. Looking him in the eyes, I said, word by word:

"These are the test results from samples collected downstream by Lin Qingying, Yue Ning Group CEO. The results show that the water quality has not been polluted, and there is no lead exceeding the standard. If you have taken bribes and dare to forge a false test report to frame Yuening, I swear to God I will dig up your ancestral graves!"

With that, he strode away, leaving Director Chen completely bewildered and terrified.

He didn't dare say a word, after all, my slap shattered the glass covering his desk.

"How's it going?"

Lin Qingying breathed a sigh of relief when she saw me return, and stepped forward to take my hand and ask.

"It went quite smoothly."

I nodded and said, "Director Chen is approachable and readily accepted our test report. He also said that the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau will definitely respect the facts and be impartial."

"So, there's no chance with the Environmental Protection Bureau?"

"Ahem, theoretically..."

The two went out and then received a call from Zhang Ruolin, who had arrived in LN City.

After providing the hotel address, proceed to the hotel to meet up.

Hotel, Lin Qingying's room.

Zhang Ruolin, looking travel-worn, plopped down on the bed and asked, "How did it go? Any progress?"

"Not much progress has been made."

Lin Qingying said, "It is said that BH City is going to send a special inspection team, which will probably be another protracted battle. This is very disadvantageous for Yuening. The longer this matter drags on, the more damage it will do to the reputation of Yue Ning Group."

That makes perfect sense.

Zhang Ruolin picked up her phone and said, "I have some big news here. That internet celebrity Zhan Chen has released a new video, and this time it's getting even more attention. Take a look, but don't be too angry."

So the three of them huddled together to watch the video.

In the video, Zhan Chen appeared unwell and somewhat listless. He claimed to have received death threats, saying that if the investigation continued, his life would be in danger, and even the safety of his family would be affected.

But Zhan Chen said he would never compromise. For the truth and for justice, he would not hesitate to lose his life and would never let the evil forces succeed!

Lin Qingying and I were both stunned. We never expected that Yuening would become the evil force in other people's mouths without our knowledge.