In this way, Ethan Ray would find himself in an extremely awkward situation.

Just imagine, even the “literary advisor” of Governor Lei has switched sides—the psychological blow to the cadres aligned with Ethan Ray can only be imagined as unbearably heavy.

Mason Parker felt that he could no longer hesitate; it was necessary to make his stance clear.

On such a fundamental issue of right and wrong, one misstep would mean total defeat.

However, on the other end of the phone, George Rowe did not give him this opportunity.

“Comrade Mason, I’m very glad you have such a correct attitude. I hope you will keep up the good work. Alright, get back to your work, goodbye.”

He forcibly swallowed the words that Mason Parker was about to blurt out.

Staring at the beeping receiver, Mason Parker clearly felt that he was already standing at the edge of a cliff.

Chapter 6 Suspension for Reflection

Not long after, Mason Parker left the office and headed to the provincial capital.

Section Two secretary Henry Foster sat in the office, smoking, drinking tea, and reading the newspaper.

Other than that, he had nothing else to do.

Ever since returning from Secretary Parker, Henry Foster had suddenly become a “ticking time bomb.” All his colleagues in the office kept their distance; no one dared to say more than a word to him, and they even avoided making eye contact.

Of course, the position of the desks couldn’t be changed, and those who were supposed to sit next to Henry Foster couldn’t move elsewhere to work. But the attitude of “respectful distance” couldn’t have been more obvious. Colleagues who had been secretly glancing at him would immediately lower their heads the moment Henry Foster’s eyes shifted, unwilling to meet his gaze.

No one knew what had actually happened.

The only two people who really knew the inside story, Mason Parker and Andrew Clark, had gone to Hongzhou together. The remaining colleagues could only make wild guesses.

However, it was obvious that Henry Foster had caused a huge mess.

Otherwise, Secretary Parker, who always had the bearing of a great leader, wouldn’t have rushed off to the provincial capital.

But what kind of disaster could Henry Foster, a young and inexperienced junior, possibly have caused?

No one understood!

For now, no one had thought of tampering with the article.

Such a thing was almost unimaginable. Not only did ordinary people not have the guts, but more importantly, what benefit would there be in doing so? Only a fool would do something that carried risk with no reward.

Henry Foster was very bored.

Suddenly returning from the dazzling twenty-first century to more than twenty years ago, with so little entertainment, it was no wonder Officer Foster couldn’t adapt.

After sitting idly for a while, Henry Foster simply stood up and left the office.

As soon as Henry Foster left, there was a loud commotion in the office.

Everyone had been holding it in!

On the third day, there was an official organizational conclusion regarding Henry Foster’s issue—suspension for reflection.

On the third day, Mason Parker finally rushed back from the provincial capital.

Section Two chief Andrew Clark immediately summoned Henry Foster, put on a stern face, and announced the office’s decision regarding his handling.

However, Henry Foster’s suspension for reflection was a bit different from the usual. Normally, when other comrades were suspended for reflection, there would be a time limit, or the person being disciplined would be required to write a deep self-criticism, and then a decision would be made about whether they could return to work.

Henry Foster’s suspension for reflection was different.

There was no time limit, no requirement for a deep self-criticism, and as for where he should reflect, what rules he should follow during the suspension, or when he could return to work—none of this was specified.

After Andrew Clark formally and methodically announced the decision, he shut his mouth, didn’t even look directly at Henry Foster, and didn’t say a single extra word. It was as if Henry Foster had suddenly become invisible, and there was no such person in Section Two anymore.

Henry Foster didn’t say anything either. He smiled, then turned and left.

Henry Foster packed his things and returned to his hometown in Yuyang County that very day.

All of a sudden, he missed his parents more than ever before.

As the sun set, after two hours of bumping along on the long-distance bus, Henry Foster, carrying a simple shoulder bag, arrived in front of the Yuyang County Party Committee compound.

In fact, there were only a little over fifty kilometers between Yuyang County’s Chengguan Town and Yanhuashi. In later years, this distance would be at most an hour’s drive. But at that time, the condition of the county roads was truly terrible—practically a complete mess. Even though Henry Foster was physically strong, he felt sore all over after getting off the bus, very uncomfortable.

Henry Foster looked up at the old-style gatehouse of the county committee compound, picked up his bag, and walked straight in.

This place was both familiar and strange to Henry Foster.

More than twenty years ago, he had lived here for a short period. When William Foster was appointed deputy county magistrate of Yuyang County, Henry Foster had just started college and would only come back to stay for two or three months during winter and summer breaks each year. After graduating, he moved into the cadre dormitory of the Yanhuashi prefectural committee. A few months later, when Mason Parker left office, William Foster also had bad luck and was transferred to the regional sanitation bureau as deputy director, and Henry Foster never returned to the Yuyang County Party Committee compound. Even after he was later demoted to the Yuyang County Public Security Bureau’s criminal police team, he rarely came back here.

An ordinary junior police officer had little to do with the county committee compound.