Yan Zhao had been focusing his efforts recently on tracking down the hit-and-run driver in the case of Teacher Huang's son.
The investigation of Chief Xiong from the Criminal Investigation Department was being handled by the newly appointed Deputy Chief Ma Bo.
They interrogated coal bosses one by one, inspected trucks, and interviewed truck drivers.
Although Chief Xiong Xiangdang admired Yan Zhao for his heroic battlefield achievements, he was inevitably a bit displeased about Yan Zhao interfering in his department's case.
Coincidentally, Deputy Bureau Chief Ma was also unhappy. Although he put on a humble front, he secretly engaged in underhanded dealings and did nothing productive. While he didn't openly take bribes, he did so covertly. Many of the newly emerging coal bosses were paying him respects.
Xiong Xiangdang looked down on Deputy Bureau Chief Ma in his heart, but because he was even more annoyed with Yan Zhao, he found common ground with Deputy Bureau Chief Ma. Today, Deputy Bureau Chief Ma had invited him over, so he wanted to have a good chat.
However, just as he entered the deputy bureau chief's office, Yan Zhao also entered the bureau chief's office.
"Chief Sun, the case has been cracked," his voice was low but penetrating. Although he was closing the door as he spoke, Xiong Xiangdang and Deputy Bureau Chief Ma could still hear the next sentence: "This matter is of great importance and involves so many people, we must report to the headquarters?"
"So you're saying the vehicle wasn't even from our district?"
"That's right, which is why we couldn't find the person all this time."
The voices on the other side were getting lower and harder to hear. Deputy Bureau Chief Ma pricked up his ears, and Xiong Xiangdang was also listening. Suddenly, they heard Sun Nutao's voice rise: "It was actually him? Don't alert them yet, let's go report the situation to the city bureau immediately?"
With that, the two of them left together.
Xiong Xiangdang, hearing that Yan Zhao had made a breakthrough without informing him, became even angrier. Just as he was about to pour out his grievances to Deputy Bureau Chief Ma, the latter suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oh, I just remembered I have something to take care of. Chief Xiong, please have a seat, I'll be right back."
Xiong Xiangdang was so angry he could burst, feeling frustrated with no one to vent to.
Meanwhile, Deputy Bureau Chief Ma, after leaving the police station, deliberately walked past two blocks. After making sure no one was around, he made a phone call. After finishing the call, he quietly slipped away while no one was paying attention.
However, not long after he left, Yan Zhao and Sun Nutao arrived.
All it took was pressing the redial button, and the other end had already picked up: "Hello?"
Yan Zhao hung up the phone with a click.
"This phone has a display, note down the number and have the technical department trace the owner directly," said Sun Nutao.
In fact, they hadn't really found out who the other person was, but the investigation work was complete. The vehicle wasn't from their district, and the only effective information was that the vehicle was from another district, and someone had helped cover it up.
Among those currently in office who could help a hit-and-run driver cover things up at the district level, apart from Deputy Bureau Chief Ma, there was only Xiong Xiangdang. After all, only these two had handled criminal cases. They were merely using a ruse since the two happened to be together just now.
Deputy Bureau Chief Ma had taken the bait.
"I recognized that person's voice, I know who he is," said Yan Zhao.
Deputy Bureau Chief Ma had specifically gone out to make a phone call, surely to tip off the perpetrator.
Theoretically, they could trace the phone owner through the technical department.
But this voice, although Yan Zhao had only heard it once, was too familiar. It was Chen Ping.
The Chen Ping who had coaxed his son into eating fifty skewers of meat, nearly bursting the child's stomach.
A fateful encounter.
...
The case was quickly cleared up.
That night, Chen Ping was driving himself, drunk. After hitting and killing someone, he didn't even flee the scene, and he didn't even repair the car. Early the next morning, he even went back to the scene of the accident.
He discovered that the victim was a 15 or 16-year-old boy, and even Yan Bin, the deputy director who was usually too lazy to care about anything and only knew how to idle away his days, was seriously investigating the culprit. Only then did he start pulling strings and trying to cover up the incident.
The vehicle was still there, and it was still being used for transportation, carrying sand and cement.
Coincidentally, because Chen Ping had moved to Jindong District, the truck was hidden in his newly rented coal yard.
After hearing Ma Bo's full report, Xiong Xiangdang was finally convinced. No wonder it was said that he could be directly transferred to the capital, personally appointed by the higher-ups to come to Jindong District. This case wasn't an ordinary criminal case; they really couldn't handle it on their own.
"Let's proceed with the arrest," said Sun Nutao.
Just as Xiong Xiangdang was about to leave, Yan Zhao said, "Go to Deputy Bureau Chief Ma's house immediately. He should be burning documents. Arrest him right away."
A deputy bureau chief, arrested without evidence?
"Arrest him," Sun Nutao said.
As for Chen Ping, Yan Zhao said he wanted to go personally. Sun Nutao felt this might not be a good idea. Since 1983, due to heavy sentences in police cases, incidents of harm to police officers during investigations had decreased, but it was still too risky for him to go alone.
"Take a few people with you. Those nouveau riche fight with steel pipes and knives in private, and they don't discriminate," Sun Nutao added.
"Let Ma Bo lead some people to follow as backup. Lv Liang has probably turned on us too," Yan Zhao said, scanning the room.
He had already left as he turned around.
Sun Nutao asked, "Where's Lv Liang?"
"He was just here," someone said.
Sun Nutao sighed at Yan Zhao's foresight. Lv Liang was the former deputy squadron leader, a local snake. He had been expelled from the party and dismissed from his position for visiting prostitutes. He had a gun, and if he had also taken bribes, it would be troublesome if he, as a police officer, obstructed the investigation.
"Ma Bo, hurry and go support Captain Yan," he quickly said.
Little Liu drove, silent all the way, not because he was afraid of the coal boss, but because he was saddened by Little Xiang's death.
Anyone who heard about such a thing would feel sad.
"Let's put on some music. Cantonese songs seem to be popular lately, how about one?" Yan Zhao's voice was very gentle as he suddenly said.
Captain Yan had an artistic side and loved listening to music, and Little Liu was well prepared.
He turned on the music. This was also a song Little Liu currently enjoyed listening to, in Min Nan dialect. Although he couldn't understand it, once it started playing, even his bones wanted to dance along.
Little Liu didn't make a sound, but he hummed along silently with the tune: "Ji xi xi ji en mian wan tan, ji xi ge pie en mian dan han... ai piao jia ai ya."
The place wasn't far, and Little Liu drove very fast. In the blink of an eye, they were about to arrive. Yan Zhao suddenly asked, "Why does loving to visit prostitutes lead to winning?"
Little Liu was dumbfounded.
Yan Zhao got out of the car, slammed the door shut, and threw back a sentence: "From now on, this kind of song is not allowed in the car."
...
Yan Zhao went to Chen Ping's home, which was the apartment Hu Xiaomei had bought for rent.
His wife was still in the countryside, to put it bluntly, she wouldn't even use a bar of soap. On the rare occasions she came to the city, the dirt scrubbed off during a bath could clog the toilet. Their daughters were even worse, snotty and noisy.
Chen Ping himself knew how to enjoy life in the city, with sofas, TV, water heaters, everything. But he wouldn't let his wife and daughters come to the city. He would rather hire a housekeeper than let his wife and daughters live in such a house. Rural women, not to mention being unfit to sit on sofas, would embarrass him just by entering the city.
At this moment, he had just instructed the housekeeper to make a phone call to summon his countryside wife to come and take care of their son. He then went to his son's bedroom and gave him a good talking to, telling him not to cause trouble at school, especially not to bully Yan Xiaowang anymore.
"What are you talking about, Dad? I haven't bullied him recently, but there are people at school who know his mom and call her a slut. What does that have to do with me?" the chubby boy raised his eyebrows and said.
Chen Ping stroked his son's head: "Dad has to go on a long trip. You must study hard, and in the future, don't lie or always shirk responsibility. When you encounter problems, don't learn from Dad!" All of the child's bad habits were actually learned from him.
Lv Liang was waiting at the door with two police officers. As soon as Chen Ping came out, they immediately went downstairs.
At the stairwell, the group's footsteps faltered.
Opposite them was a man with a crew cut, dressed in a police uniform, his long legs spread wide, hands in his pockets, head slightly lowered, looking at Lv Liang.
"Lv Liang, are you heading out?" Yan Zhao asked.
Lv Liang put one hand on his waist and smiled, "Captain Yan, there's an urgent case at the city bureau that requires our cooperation in the investigation. We're here to take someone in."
The two police officers behind him were fake. Yan Zhao had seen the files of all the police officers in the city, and their faces weren't among them.
"I'm taking Chen Ping away. Go tell the city bureau that we have a case here that requires his presence," saying this, Yan Zhao took out his handcuffs and with a click, they were already on.
Lv Liang quickly drew his gun, which might be a rare occurrence in the history of Hua Country. However, in this era, gun control was not strict, and with many violent crimes, police officers carried guns when on duty. But now it was 7 PM, in a residential area, and two officers drawing their guns was still quite unusual.
Little Liu in the car was nearly scared out of his wits.
"Captain Yan, aren't you overstepping your authority?" Lv Liang shouted, ordering those behind him: "What are you waiting for? Grab the person!"
Little Liu in the car grew even more frightened, as Lv Liang's gun was now pressed against Captain Yan's forehead.
If there was a bang, Lv Liang would go to prison, and Captain Yan would lose his life instantly.
But in the blink of an eye, Yan Zhao merely made a backhand motion, and from the magazine to the gun itself, everything clattered to the ground, the gun becoming a pile of parts on the floor.
Just then, Ma Bo arrived with his team in the bureau's van.
"Ma Bo, arrest those two fake policemen. Lv Liang obstructed justice and threatened a superior with a gun. Arrest him too," Yan Zhao said tersely.
Real police arresting fake police, and a fellow officer too?
Yan Zhao only arrested Chen Ping, got in the car, and immediately ordered Little Liu to drive.
In the interrogation room, it was narrow with a faint smell of soap. Four walls, a small table, and a lamp hanging very low - this was the police interrogation room. It was completely different from what Chen Ping had imagined: small, oppressive, uncomfortable. Yet it strangely reminded him of the cheap plywood-decorated bedrooms of prostitutes he had visited. About the same size.
But while those places were smelly heavens, this place, though clean-smelling, was hell.
Chen Ping certainly knew the gravity of the situation, but when Deputy Bureau Chief Ma had called, he had instructed that even if arrested, there was no need to worry as long as he was willing to take the fall for everything.
His son - Deputy Bureau Chief Ma would arrange for someone to look after him until he graduated from university, and even secure a job for him.
Deputy Bureau Chief Ma was quite loyal. He had a mistress, reportedly a middle school classmate of his. She was quite ugly, fat, with dark skin, but he had always stood by her, supposedly because she had done him a favor in the past.
Because of this, Chen Ping was willing to trust Deputy Bureau Chief Ma, to believe that he would provide for his son until he graduated from university.
Before Yan Zhao began the interrogation, Chen Ping had already decided how to confess, how to take responsibility, and how to keep Deputy Bureau Chief Ma and those who had helped him handle the situation out of it.
But as soon as Yan Zhao opened his mouth, Chen Ping was stunned.
"Tell me about the time you and Zhou Xueqin drank together. What happened at that dinner table?" Yan Zhao asked unexpectedly.
Chen Ping was taken aback, then replied, "She seduced me first." He thought this man wanted to know about his lonely ex-wife's romantic affairs.
It seemed that, as a man, he couldn't avoid being jealous.
Even this grim reaper was no exception.
If there wasn't anything real to confess, he'd have to make something up.
But Yan Zhao frowned: "That's not what I'm talking about. I'm referring to when you tricked my son into eating fifty skewers of meat, and he threw up all night."
This statement felt like a judgment from hell.
"Money, I'll give you the money, I'll give it to you right now." Handcuffed, it wasn't convenient to reach into his pockets, but Chen Ping really wanted to. What was once just a meaningless joke now, facing Yan Zhao's truly terrifying face, made Chen Ping wish he could go back to that moment.
To return those fifty yuan to Little Wang, who had been holding out his hand, pouting, asking for money.
"Tell me in detail," Yan Zhao said. "I don't want to miss a single detail. From the people involved at the time, what you all said, how my son looked, his expressions, if he cried, if he laughed, what he said - tell me everything."
This kind of interrogation was truly more cruel than torture.
So Chen Ping began to recount...
As he listened, Yan Zhao's face remained as still as a sculpture under the lamp, not moving at all, even after the story was finished.
His voice was still gentle: "What is a father? He's a mountain, the child's support. Without a father, a child has no support. You hit someone and fled the scene - that's punishable by immediate execution. How my son was back then is how your son will be in the future. Take care."
"I... I can confess. If it weren't for Deputy Bureau Chief Ma persuading me to pay to settle things, I wouldn't have run," Chen Ping wailed.
"It's too late!"
Yan Zhao stood up abruptly, the chair he pulled back echoing dully in the empty interrogation room.
With a clang, his neck hit the lampshade. With a crack, the bulb collided with the iron shade, and bits of glass from the bulb slipped down his collar. He reached back to brush it off, saw blood, wiped it away, and gestured for Ma Bo to come clean up.
As Yan Zhao left the room, Chen Ping's face slowly crumpled. His once meticulously slicked-back hair, more stylish than Chow Yun-fat's, now hung limply on both sides of his face like a collaborator in an anti-Japanese war drama. Tears streamed down his face.
At this moment, all Chen Ping could see were the images of Little Wang and Little Lang, images that chilled him to the bone.
Zhou Xueqin had been eating barbecue and drinking beer with him at a roadside stall in the suburbs. During the meal, Zhou Xueqin complained about Yan Zhao not coming back from the battlefield, complained that Yan Zhao didn't know how to make money, complained that Yan Zhao's monthly allowance was only 180 yuan.
Chen Ping had timely pointed at his own Pierre Cardin belt, saying, "This costs exactly 180 yuan."
Little Lang was tied to Little Wang's back, standing in front of the barbecue stall, wanting to urge Zhou Xueqin to go home quickly.
Because Little Lang had a fever, he wanted her to take his brother to see a doctor.
"Come on, Little Wang, Yan Zhao doesn't know how to make money, but you can. Eat one skewer of meat, and uncle will give you one yuan," he had said brazenly.
The little boy had snatched the skewer and eaten fifty in one go.
Everyone's child is the apple of their eye, his precious son conceived with three little girls.
In the future, he would become like Little Lang and Little Wang.
...
After the new phone was installed at home, Yuanyuan and Little Wang did their homework around the phone.
But since the phone had been installed, no one had called yet.
"Why doesn't this phone ring?" Little Wang gently picked it up and handed it to Yuanyuan. "Why don't you try making a call? Let's hear what it sounds like."
"It costs money, two mao per minute," Yuanyuan said. "We can't waste Dad and Mom's money."
"The money is all earned by your mom, not my dad. I can't make a call, but you can," Little Wang pouted.
Although his father was an impressive policeman, he didn't make much money, which made Little Wang feel both inferior and arrogant.
He would brag to Yuanyuan about how great he used to be, but now he wasn't great at all. He wanted to go out and make money, but he could only be stuck here studying.
Yuanyuan leaned forward, cupping her face in her hands, smiling like a sunflower: "That's different. They're husband and wife, the money belongs to both of them."
Recently, it had become popular to wear two pigtails, tied with red hair ties. Chen Meilan had bought Yuanyuan red hair ties and personally tied her hair into two pigtails. She wore a ruffled-collar jacket bought from the department store. The six-year-old girl, a first-grader, was very popular in her class because she could sing well. When she was on duty, a bunch of little snot-nosed kids would fight to help her carry the water bucket.
Little Wang couldn't resist pulling her hair.
"You're hitting me again, I'm going to tell... Dad," Yuanyuan said angrily, pinching Little Wang, still not quite able to say "I'm going to tell Mom."
Although pulling hair didn't make it fall out, it still hurt. She was really annoyed with this brother now.
Just then, the phone suddenly, without warning, rang. Once, then again, bringing with it a sense of modernity and trendiness. The two squabbling children were stunned into silence.
Ring ring, it rang again.
After picking up Little Lang, Chen Meilan had bought him a small backpack.
Actually, there weren't any textbooks for kindergarten yet, but some children would carry one to school.
Little Lang liked the backpack, so he stood behind a girl wearing a backpack and kept following her. If Chen Meilan didn't buy one, the little piglet who hadn't grown up yet would run off with someone else's little white cabbage.
Now Little Lang was also a little student, wearing a small backpack on both shoulders as he just entered the door. Seeing the phone ring, he reached out with his little paw and casually picked up the phone that everyone else treated like a treasure.
"This is Ma Xiaogang. Is Yan Wangqi there?" the person on the other end asked.
Little Wang grinned. It was actually his snotty classmate Ma calling. He was a little boy who could never wipe his nose clean. He sat next to Little Wang in class. Little Wang liked cleanliness and often helped him wipe his nose. The two boys had exchanged phone numbers.
He took the phone and said arrogantly into it: "Ma Xiaogang, it's me, Yan Wangqi."
The phone was then passed to an old lady who said cheerfully: "Yan Wangqi, let your mother come to the phone."
Chen Meilan answered the phone, hearing Mrs. Ma's voice on the other end: "Chen Meilan, our Qinchuan Company is planning to build an office building. Remember to submit a bid proposal. Also, please ask your Wangqi to take good care of my Xiaogang in the future. Xiaogang really likes your Wangqi."
The Qinchuan Group project was introduced by Yan Dawei, who had helped arrange the meeting. But there had been no news since then. Now, just because Little Wang had wiped the nose of a snotty classmate, she was given the opportunity to bid?
The canteen for Dongfang Group had already been built and paid for. She had invested 5,000 yuan and made 50,000 yuan, but Chen Meilan wasn't ruthless enough. She paid the migrant workers' wages for full days and even gave each of them an extra 20 yuan as a hardship allowance. The material costs were over 10,000 yuan for things like bamboo scaffolding, steel frames, screws, ropes, and cement buckets - all of which cost money.
She needed to keep some money for the final stages, so in total, she had made 30,000 yuan. In theory, she should split it equally with her older brother, but Chen Degong only wanted to take 10,000 yuan. He told Chen Meilan that he would deposit 9,000 in a fixed-term account and only report 1,000 to his wife.
After all, if Zhou's mother and her family knew that big brother had earned so much money, they would find ways to take it away.
Chen Meilan ended up with a clean 20,000 yuan.
This was indeed another huge sum. But in an era where installing a landline cost 3,800 yuan, a newly released pager cost 2,000 yuan with annual network fees of 600 yuan and service fees of 500 yuan, and a Pierre Cardin suit cost 800 yuan, that money wasn't really much.
Moreover, the workers were still willing to work for her. After all, the migrant workers had never seen a contractor like Chen Meilan who paid wages so promptly. They were already asking her when the next project would start.
"I'll prepare the bid proposal right away," Chen Meilan said.
She turned to leave, intending to visit Teacher Huang's house. She didn't know how to prepare a bid proposal herself, but Teacher Huang could help.
Little Wang was simply amazing!
However, as soon as she stepped out, she ran into Yan Zhao. There were also quite a few police officers in the village, surrounding Teacher Huang's house.
Before Chen Meilan could tell Yan Zhao about the great thing Little Wang had done for the family, Yan Zhao cut to the chase: "How about I grill some meat for you all today?"
"You know how to grill meat? Lamb?" Could it be that she had married an Uncle Afanti?
"Pheasant, snake, crocodile, bamboo rat, porcupine, deer - I can do those too," Yan Zhao recalled carefully. From his expression, it seemed he hadn't just grilled these meats, but had eaten them as well.
This wasn't Uncle Afanti, but a werewolf.
"Also, Yuanyuan and Little Lang should start sleeping on the kang bed from tonight," Yan Zhao added.
Chen Meilan wasn't stupid; she just hadn't expected Yan Zhao to be so ceremonial about it.
"What about the spring mattress?" she asked.
"I'll sleep on it," Yan Zhao said curtly.
