69novels Page 295
Page 295
After figuring out Yan Chen's move, Qiu Tu quickly came up with a countermeasure.
Now that Yan Chen has confirmed he won't take the initiative, the best way for Qiu Tu to gain the most benefit from this situation is to claim the credit himself beforehand.
In this way, he would not only gain this huge credit, but also give Liu Xiongyuan an excuse to make a fuss.
Moreover, it can ensure that Liu Xiongyuan's inspection of 16 cities will not encounter any problems, maximizing his influence.
Liu Xiongyuan is now Qiu Tu's backer. The greater Liu Xiongyuan's influence in Dongye Prefecture and the more power he has in the council, the more comfortable Qiu Tu will be.
More importantly... don't forget, Yan Chen "backed down" and "yielded" when facing the Joint Special Forces.
He believes the New Territories City cannot resolve this issue on its own, and therefore needs state assistance.
Although that was his excuse.
But...who cares?
After all, one Tier 3 Cataclysm, four Tier 2 Cataclysms, and fifteen Tier 1 Cataclysms are indeed not something New Territories City can currently contend with.
So... as long as Qiu Tu can accomplish this when Qiu Tu "doesn't think it's a good idea," that's enough!
What Yan Chen couldn't accomplish, Qiu Tu can!
Yan Chen wanted to demote Qiu Tu, but the shelter promoted Qiu Tu instead!
In addition, Liu Xiongyuan is about to come to inspect the area, which will help to create momentum for Qiu Tu.
Qiu Tu believes that the entire investigation department will be completely transformed!
At that time, many department heads may reconsider Duodu's choice to betray Yanchen and side with them... or at least remain neutral.
However, after figuring out his next plan, Qiu Tu immediately discovered a flaw in it.
That is... Yan Chen, as the director of the Investigation Bureau, is Qiu Tu's direct superior.
If Qiu Tu were to act without authorization, given Yan Chen's order for him to remain still, it would be a violation of the rules.
Therefore... Qiu Tu needs to bring in a third party to "take the blame".
After much deliberation, Qiu Tu felt that no one was more suitable to take the blame than the security department led by Qin Shuman.
After all... this time, taking the blame isn't a real scapegoat; "taking the blame" is just a pretext. The real purpose is to share the credit.
Giving it to someone like Qin Shuman, who is one of their own, would certainly be the best option. Moreover... Dai Yukang would probably be even more satisfied with Qiu Tu.
As for Bai Ru...
That was actually an unexpected accident.
Bai Ru was the fourth woman Qiu Tu came into contact with after he came into this world.
Her husband is Qian Dafu, a transportation company that partners with the Qin family, and her father is Bai Yongdong, the deputy director of the Civil Affairs Department and the right-hand man of Qin Heng, the head of the Qin family.
Both men were arrested in connection with the Qin family case. Bai Yongdong was executed, and Qian Dafu was sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently detained in New Territories Prison.
Only Bai Ru, who was not involved in the case at all, remained the head of the Household Registration Section of the Civil Affairs Department.
During this time, Qiu Tu would occasionally chat with her via communicator.
At first, Bai Ru might have had a grudge and didn't pay much attention to Qiu Tu. But gradually, she would start replying a few times.
From her recent situation, Qiu Tu learned that she was not doing well: her husband and father's affairs had caused her to be ostracized at the city hall.
In other words, the household registration class was in a small classroom, so nobody cared. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't even have had her seat taken away.
At this time, Qiu Tu naturally expressed his concern and used Jiang's secretary, Tao Yaoyao, to resolve a few minor issues for Bai Ru.
This made their relationship even more harmonious.
Today, when Qiu Tu thought about contacting Qin Shuman in his capacity as an "inspector," Bai Ru's image immediately came to mind.
After all... Qiu Tu had witnessed Qin Shuman's abilities firsthand: they were quite impressive.
Moreover, he has an exceptional talent for intelligence gathering.
Even though Qiu Tu and Qin Shuman are currently in their honeymoon period, Qin Shuman must be very familiar with the information about the people around Qiu Tu.
Therefore... Qiu Tu felt that if he wanted to conceal his identity, he had to use someone Qin Shuman didn't know.
So... he found Bai Ru. And then they talked about this.
Now, judging from the results, everything has indeed gone as Qiu Tu predicted...
Thinking this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but look at Bai Ru.
Although both are young women, compared to the fiery and unrestrained Tan Huimin and the free-spirited Liu Fuping, the timid Bai Ru is more gentle and intellectual.
This also aligns more closely with Qiu Tu's impression of a young woman.
Seeing that Bai Ru had completed the task he had assigned, Qiu Tu nodded gently to her and said, "Thank you, Section Chief Bai."
"Thank you so much for your help this time."
Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Bai Ru lowered her head to her full, rounded breasts and whispered, "It's okay. As long as I can help Minister Qiu... Minister Qiu, that's good enough."
Perhaps because she had mispronounced Qiu Tu's title, she added quietly, "Minister Qiu's promotion was too fast."
"I remember you were the section chief just yesterday, and now you're the head of the political department."
Qiu Tu smiled upon hearing this.
He wanted to joke, saying, "It's all thanks to your husband and father." But he was afraid it would be too cruel.
So he simply nodded slightly and said, "It was all a coincidence."
Bai Ru knew, of course, that this was Qiu Tu's excuse. So she smiled gently and said, "However, it's quite a surprise that Minister Qiu entrusted me with such an important matter."
"After all, we haven't known each other for very long."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu smiled and said, "Because I have a way to ensure that you will never leak the secret."
"Furthermore... I also want to have a closer and deeper collaboration with Section Chief Bai."
"After all... the city hall is the heart of the city. I need some of my own people..."
Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Bai Ru was taken aback, and was just about to ask him what he meant by those words...
Just then, Qiu Tu's communicator suddenly rang.
Seeing this, Qiu Tu quickly gestured for silence, then reached into his pocket and took out his communicator.
Sure enough, Qin Shuman's name was displayed on the communicator screen.
Qiu Tu pressed the answer button, and Qin Shuman's pleasant voice came from the other end of the line, "What are you doing, Minister Qiu~~~?"
"Do you have time tonight? Let's meet up."
I'm starting to miss you.
Although she was promoted to head of the security department, Qin Shuman seemed to have remained unchanged in her attitude towards Qiu Tu...
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Two chapters, 10,000 words each, please vote with monthly tickets!
Chapter 316 (10,000 words, please vote!)
Qiu Tu asked Bai Ru to make this call because of Qin Shuman's invitation tonight.
So when he heard Qin Shuman's words, he readily agreed without any hesitation, "No problem."
"Perfect timing... I also have something I'd like to discuss with you."
Qin Shuman wasn't surprised. She glanced at the clock in her office and set a time, "8 PM tonight. Same place as always?"
Qiu Tu: "No problem."
And just like that, a simple phone call set the date for tonight.
Like Qin Shuman, Qiu Tu was clearly looking forward to their date tonight. So he smiled, hung up the phone, put it aside, and prepared to chat with Bai Ru for a few more minutes before leaving.
As a result... when he looked up, he saw Bai Ru secretly watching him with a very strange look in her eyes.
Upon seeing this, Qiu Tu coughed and immediately stopped smiling.
Bai Ru noticed that Qiu Tu had noticed her gaze, so she quickly turned her head slightly to avoid eye contact. Then, with a slightly embarrassed tone, she jokingly remarked, "Minister Qiu and Director Yu Die's relationship is really complicated..."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but reply, "Isn't our relationship complicated?"
Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Bai Ru was taken aback. Her mind involuntarily drifted to the past few days and the conflicts she had had with Qiu Tu. A wave of melancholy washed over her, and she let out a soft sigh.
Actually... her feelings for Qiu Tu were very complicated.
She approached Qiu Tu because her husband had been arrested, and she wanted to bribe Qiu Tu to let him go.
Unexpectedly, she walked right into the lion's den... Qiu Tu wasn't after money, only people and credit. This not only allowed Qiu Tu to take full advantage of her, but also enabled him to follow the clues she inadvertently leaked, ultimately solving the entire case.
After that... her father was sentenced to death and her husband to life imprisonment.
To be honest, at that time, Bai Ru really wanted to die together with Qiu Tu and kill this "murderer who killed her whole family".
However... although Bai Yongdong made many mistakes himself, he still did a good job educating Bai Ru.
Therefore, Bai Ru knew that Qiu Tu had not done anything wrong; it was her father and husband who had done wrong.
Moreover... Qiu Tu is the head of the Political Department, and her duty is to expose bad apples like her own father and husband.
Therefore... she simply couldn't bring herself to hate Qiu Tu from the bottom of her heart.
All she could do was stay away from Qiu Tu and never have anything to do with him again.
But... who knew that even though she wanted to stay away from Qiu Tu, Qiu Tu never "let her go".
Qiu Tu consistently sent text messages and made phone calls to Bai Ru under the guise of "concern for the wrongly arrested suspect."
Bai Ru ignored him, and he didn't care. He would still ask her a couple of questions whenever he had a spare moment.
Bai Ru's good upbringing made it impossible for her to keep ignoring Qiu Tu. In addition, apart from occasional inquiries and expressions of concern, Qiu Tu did not harass or bother her as he did when handling cases.
So, gradually, she also started replying to Qiu Tu with some text messages.
And so, over time, the two gradually became acquainted.
The turning point came when she was harassed by her superior, the deputy director of the Civil Affairs Department.
At that time, Qiu Tu was already the deputy minister of the political department.
After learning about this from Bai Ru, Qiu Tu didn't say anything, but instead made a phone call to Committee Member Jiang's secretary, Tao Yaoyao.
Tao Yaoyao didn't do anything special, except that when she passed by the Civil Affairs Bureau, she made a special trip to see Bai Ru and then conveyed Qiu Tu's greetings to her.
The personal concern from the secretary of the First Committee Member of the City Hall, along with the support from the Deputy Minister of the Political Department, was enough to change Bai Ru's awkward situation in the Civil Affairs Department. Therefore... the difficulties posed by her superiors were easily resolved.
As a woman with a conservative mindset, Bai Ru is weak-willed and naturally prefers to rely on the strong.
So, seeing how easily Qiu Tu solved her problem, Bai Ru, even without realizing it, couldn't help but feel a little closer to him...
Later, whenever Bai Ru encountered difficulties that she couldn't solve, she would always think of Qiu Tu.
Although she didn't tell Qiu Tu everything, she only asked him for help twice.
But Qiu Tu arranged for people to perfectly resolve both difficulties. This improved their relationship, and they finally overcame the barriers between them.
Even now... she can even handle such a secretive matter as Qiu Tu making a phone call to Qin Shuman.
After thinking it over, Bai Ru couldn't help but feel that her relationship with Qiu Tu was indeed more complicated than that with Yu Die.
Thinking of this, Bai Ru gradually came back to her senses.
She adjusted her skirt, brought her rounded calves together, lifted them, and placed them on the sofa, sitting sideways in an elegant posture. Then she said gently to Qiu Tu, "What the minister said is true; things do seem quite complicated between us."
"It's like... I still don't understand, how can you guarantee I won't leak anything?"
As she spoke, she brushed a stray strand of hair from her cheek, revealing her beautiful swan neck.
Her small, fair face, no bigger than the palm of a hand, was gentle and charming, appearing delicate and alluring under the light...
She clearly possessed the gentleness and figure of a fully mature young woman, yet her skin resembled that of an 18-year-old girl—white as jade and so tender it seemed like it could be squeezed for water.
Qiu Tu's appreciative gaze fell on Bai Ru, he smiled, and said nothing.
Then he took out a light yellow, round, translucent stone from his pocket, which looked like orpiment.
"Forgetful Stone: One of the precious materials for disaster relief. It has the effect of erasing short-term memories."
"It can be used directly, or it can be forged into cataclysmic artifacts such as the 'Echoes of the Past Pottery Jar' and the 'Letter from Beyond the Stars' through forging techniques."