fictionpage Chapter 95 Lin Chen: I disagree
Chapter 95 Lin Chen: I disagree
Chapter 94 Lin Chen: I disagree
The rescue operation has come to an end.
Nobody's made of iron. After working for a whole day and night, anyone would be exhausted, with drooping eyelids and aching bones. If you keep pushing yourself, you might just collapse in the meeting room.
Once the order at the scene was stabilized, the leaders left early, leaving a pile of cleanup work for their subordinates.
At two in the morning, Lin Chen dragged his leaden legs home. A hot shower washed away the mud, but it couldn't dispel the suffocating feeling in his chest.
Tang Xin's flimsy statistical report treated the accident like a joke. Zeng Huihuang's ability to control the situation was becoming more and more refined. As soon as he arrived at the scene, Song Jiehui became a mere decoration, unable to even get a decent word in.
I finally had time to check my phone, and Tang Yuwei's messages filled the screen.
He casually replied, but to his surprise, the girl was still awake in the middle of the night and immediately made a video call, chatting until they were completely naked.
Tang Yuwei was quite surprised when she heard Lin Chen say that the accident was so serious, because the news she heard in the province was that the water station had only a small hole and that there were not many casualties. It was as if they were two different worlds.
The next day, news reports flooded the media. Someone even posted photos of the Wushan water station breach online, and the comments unanimously agreed that it was a shoddy construction project and demanded a thorough investigation.
Chairman Tang of the provincial company mentioned the accident at the Wushan water station at the company's meeting today, attaching great importance to it and giving important instructions on the spot: "We must find out the truth about the accident and give the people an explanation."
At 10:00 a.m., Zeng Huihuang received a phone call and, extremely anxious, convened another all-staff meeting at the Suicheng Company to immediately analyze the cause and characterize the accident.
When Zeng Huihuang entered today, he appeared extremely serious, completely unlike his relaxed demeanor yesterday. He first scanned everyone before coldly saying, "Today is an internal meeting. No need for notes, recordings, or photos. Everyone, put your phones on the table."
"What the hell? They even want to put their phones on the table? What's going on?" Lin Chen had never heard such a strange request before, but starting with Song Jiehui, everyone obediently placed their phones on the table one by one.
Zeng Huihuang waited until everyone had put all the phones on the table before continuing, "This morning, I received a call from Chairman Hu of the provincial company. He seriously criticized us for not being politically sensitive enough. He said that when such a thing happened, we couldn't find out the truth of the accident in time, we didn't have a unified story, and we even leaked the photos of the scene. Now all sorts of rumors are flying around, saying all sorts of things. This is a serious mistake."
Song Jiehui quickly apologized: "President Zeng, this is my fault, but I really did my best. I blocked all news channels immediately, and I don't know how this photo was leaked."
Zeng Huihuang slammed his fist on the table, cursing loudly. His gaze swept across the room like a knife, finally fixing on Zhang Junmin's face: "Leaked? How else could it leak out! There's a traitor in the company! Such high-definition photos of the scene, if it wasn't taken by an insider, who could have taken them? I should have thrown all your crappy phones into the reservoir yesterday!"
I went and swore.
Zhang Junmin shuddered in fright, his face turning pale instantly—he had been caught red-handed by Zeng Huihuang while taking photos of the scene yesterday.
He waved his hands, his face contorted with grief, his voice trembling, "It really wasn't me, Mr. Zeng, I absolutely wouldn't have dared to do that!"
Zeng Huihuang completely ignored him: "Now that this has happened, I'm not saying I'm going to hold anyone responsible. I need you to understand the sensitivity and seriousness of this matter. We are all part of Xinhai Group Water Company. We are all a collective, in the same boat. I have always had this principle: our own people should manage themselves, and our own family matters should be resolved by ourselves. Now, rumors are spreading everywhere, saying things like shoddy construction, corruption, and divine retribution. These are not true. It is obvious that someone is taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble. So, our top priority now is to give the outside world an explanation and a clear answer."
Goodness, after all that buildup, we've finally gotten to the point.
Lin Chen was truly exhausted from listening.
Zeng Huihuang then asked, "Has Ma Boyang from Wushan Water Station arrived yet? You're the person at the scene. Get up and tell us properly how the accident happened."
Ma Boyang stood up in a panic and said, "President Zeng, this... to be honest, I'm not really sure either. That night, we were actually on night patrol, reinforcing the dam at the water station, when suddenly there was a loud bang, and a section of the dam collapsed like a hollow. We immediately reported it and started the rescue and relief work."
Zeng Huihuang directly criticized: "Ma Boyang, as a station chief, you were unaware of the dam's condition, failed to report potential hazards in a timely manner, and did not carry out emergency repairs. This is a serious dereliction of duty."
Ma Boyang sighed: "No, Mr. Zeng, this dam is actually..."
"Alright, stop explaining." Zeng Huihuang interrupted Ma Boyang and said, "Ma Boyang, you don't need to explain. I promoted you to station chief myself. I know your character. However, this accident is too serious. Although it was a natural disaster, an accident, and caused by force majeure, you must take responsibility for what you should take. I will remove you from your position as station chief now. You should have no objection, right?"
Good heavens, Zeng Huihuang just grabbed a knife and started stabbing people. So swift and decisive, like a used tool discarded cleanly. Ma Boyang's face turned ashen, his lips trembling. In the end, he lowered his head, not daring to utter a single word.
Everyone, including Ma Boyang himself, agreed with Zeng Huihuang's approach, which seemed reasonable and appropriate.
But Lin Chen was different from the others because he heard a word he didn't want to hear.
That's right, it was an accident.
Zeng Huihuang immediately defined the incident as an accident, setting the tone from the very beginning.
Lin Chen could not tolerate it, nor did he want to tolerate it anymore.
I disagree.
The three words, though small, exploded like a thunderclap in the deathly silent conference room.
All eyes immediately turned to Lin Chen in the corner. Song Jiehui frowned sharply and quickly gave him a meaningful look, his eyes filled with a warning: "Don't be impulsive." Lin Chen ignored him, slowly stood up, and looked directly at Zeng Huihuang.
Zeng Huihuang's face instantly darkened, his eyes turning icy cold: "When did it become your place to speak here? What business is it of yours?" He had a bad feeling; why was it this guy again?
Lin Chen remained calm: "President Zeng, I have no objection to your punishment of Station Chief Ma Boyang, but I disagree with your statement that this incident was a natural disaster, an accident, and an act of force majeure."
Zeng Huihuang's gaze sharpened: "Oh? Then tell me, what's your opinion?"
Lin Chen looked around at the faces, some filled with fear, others with numbness, and said, word by word, "My opinion is that this accident is most likely a human error, a major safety incident caused by dereliction of duty!"
After he finished speaking, the conference room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Tang Xin, standing behind Zeng Huihuang, had no expression on her face, but her fingers tightened around the folder.
Sitting in the corner, Chen Ya's breasts trembled violently. "Are you crazy? Do you know what you're saying? These are things that no one dares to say."
Before Zeng Huihuang could even speak, Tan Huasheng jumped out impatiently, looking every bit the sycophant. He pointed at Lin Chen and shouted, "Lin Chen, what nonsense are you spouting? You dare to spout such lies without any evidence? Are you trying to ruin the company?"
Lin Chen didn't even lift his eyelids, looking directly at Zeng Huihuang. "There's no conclusive evidence yet, but I'm not just making things up; I have good reasons for saying this. First, when the accident happened, the water level was 7 meters, which can be verified on-site. According to the design, the danger level for the Wushan Water Station is 10 meters. A 7-meter water level wouldn't pose any danger at all. So why was the dam destroyed? The Wushan Water Station is our benchmark project, and its acceptance was absolutely rigorously reviewed and strictly controlled by experts. Now that this problem has occurred, is it because the initial acceptance failed, or is there a problem with the later maintenance? Or did someone deliberately damage the dam? These are all things we need to further investigate."
Lin Chen finished speaking in one breath, and then noticed that everyone was staring at him as if he were a ghost. But when Lin Chen looked at them, they hurriedly looked away.
Lin Chen knew what they were afraid of, but Lin Chen wasn't afraid at all. He had once been glorious, not some demon or monster, much less a flood or a beast. The only thing he could control was his own job.
However, Lin Chen is already worth tens of millions, a top-tier author on a certain website, and his novel is about to be adapted into an anime, so he has no fear whatsoever.
Lin Chen and Zeng Huihuang are simply incompatible, perhaps because Zeng Huihuang suppressed Lin Chen too severely when he was in power.
Song Jiehui, sitting next to the main seat, paused, his hand holding the water glass. He looked at Lin Chen with a complicated expression, hoping that Lin Chen could tear off this veil of pretense, but also fearing that things would escalate and become uncontrollable.
Zeng Huihuang's expression changed, but he still tried to remain calm: "Comrade Lin Chen, I am very pleased that you were able to see this problem so keenly. It shows that you have a strong sense of responsibility. However, this water level alone cannot prove anything. The world is developing and the environment is constantly changing. When it was designed, it was said to be a 10-meter danger line, but after the passage of time, it may no longer be accurate. We cannot conclude that there is dereliction of duty or corruption based solely on this. That would be irresponsible to our employees."
Zeng Huihuang remained calm after listening to Lin Chen's words, which was truly impressive.
Lin Chen: "President Zeng, the Wushan Water Station has only been under construction for a few years, and the standards have changed so quickly? You must have forgotten how frightened you were when you inspected the Wushan Water Station last time, right? One or two times like this, doesn't that say something?"
Zeng Huihuang didn't want to bring up the grain matter and sternly said, "If you have any evidence, just show it. Don't cause trouble here, or you can get out of here."
Lin Chen remained completely calm, slowly pulling a transparent sealed bag from his pocket. Inside were several pieces of broken concrete and a rusty piece of steel bar, which he slammed onto the table with a "thud".
"These are the concrete and steel bars I brought from the Wushan water station." After saying that, Lin Chen picked up a piece of concrete, and with a slight force from his fingertips, it crumbled into powder. He then picked up a steel bar and gently broke it.
"Then I'd like to ask, wouldn't normal dam concrete crumble with a single touch? These steel bars are less than two-thirds the standard diameter, and they're even hollow inside. Can anyone tell me why?"
Lin Chen's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear and resounding.
The conference room was completely silent, with only the occasional sound of the wind coming from outside the window.
Chen Ya's hand, gripping the pen, was covered in sweat. Tang Xin's brows furrowed as well, her hands also soaked with sweat.
His once radiant face turned from white to green, then from green to purple, and his fingers gripping the pen turned white from the force.
For some reason, Tan Huasheng felt a little scared and stepped forward: "Lin Chen, that's enough, shut up."
But Lin Chen ignored him completely. He looked around the room and finally his gaze fell on Zeng Huihuang's ashen face: "President Zeng, I think the real cause of the accident was not the flood, but the shoddy construction quality and the lack of responsibility for inadequate supervision! This is definitely not an accident, but a man-made disaster."
Each word struck like a heavy hammer against people's hearts.
The entire conference room was deathly silent.
Song Jiehui sat in the middle, his expression complicated, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.
After a long silence, Zeng Huihuang turned to Song Jiehui: "Comrade Song Jiehui, what do you think?"
Song Jiehui nodded, glanced at Lin Chen, and finally said, "Although Comrade Lin Chen is a bit extreme, I feel that what he said makes some sense. There are quite a few problems with the Wushan water station. I suggest that we thoroughly investigate it to prevent future troubles. What do you think, President Zeng?"
Zeng Huihuang probably didn't expect Song Jiehui to protect Lin Chen. A spark seemed to fly in his eyes. After a while, he took a deep breath and said sternly, "Good, Comrade Lin Chen is right. I'll state my position first: if anyone was negligent in their duties in this accident, I will absolutely not let them off the hook. But whether it's a natural disaster or a man-made one, we must first give an explanation to the outside world and to the provincial company. At this critical moment, we must adhere to principles, discipline, and orders. I hope you understand. That's all for today. I'll go report to Chairman Hu first. Comrade Song Jiehui, you continue to chair the meeting and continue to investigate the truth of the accident."
Wow, that's awesome.
This guy is shameless; he still forcefully labeled the matter.
This hypocritical posturing is insulting to people's intelligence.