After calling 120, Chen Meilan still had to page Yan Zhao.
She had just taken Fan Xiang's business, and Little Wang and Yuanyuan were still attending Dongfang School. Those two loved running around everywhere, even selling cassette tapes at the coal yard.
Given Fan Xiang's ruthlessness, he might instruct someone to deliberately hit them with a car one day.
As Yan Xishan said, stepping on the gas could be a catastrophic disaster for a family.
...
On New Year's Day, it was the busiest time for the public security system, especially the traffic police department, which was practically a disaster area for accidents.
The entire police station was on duty, with phones ringing non-stop. People were being handcuffed and brought in from time to time. The first-floor hall was filled with drunk individuals, those arguing, and even some singing. Even when handcuffed, they weren't behaving, and everyone wanted to fight.
In the morning meeting, logically, Yan Zhao, as the leader of the investigation team, should have been assigning work tasks.
However, the newly appointed deputy director, Zhao Lei, spoke at length for half an hour and even had the technical department take many photos of him, clearly intending to submit them to the internal publication.
The Jindong Branch Bureau had been named advanced among several branch bureaus in Xiping City this year. Everyone knew who had achieved this advancement, so how could they genuinely respect Zhao Lei?
Especially Ma Bo and Xiong Xiangdang, along with other military-transferred cadres, were dissatisfied, applauding halfheartedly.
By the time Yan Zhao took the stage, there was no time left to speak. He looked around and could only say, "Everyone return to your posts and focus on work."
The older police officers dispersed leisurely, while the group led by Ma Bo, who had retired from the military, applauded thunderously and left without any consideration for face.
Zhao Lei was said to have connections in the provincial department. Recently, Sun Nutao had been in poor health and was recuperating. Zhao Lei was now the acting director, with ambitions stirring, wanting to remove the word "acting" and be promoted to full director.
Seeing Ma Bo and others' unfavorable attitude, he wanted to speak with Yan Zhao: "Captain Yan, do the others have some issues with me? If there are issues, you should raise them. I'm the leader, but I advocate for a democratic style and especially welcome everyone's opinions."
Yan Zhao stopped and said, "You're overthinking it. The entire bureau looks up to you, especially me."
That's what he said, but the current situation at the Jindong Branch Bureau was that the old group of lazy, day-killing officers were being driven to work by the newly transferred, mule-like vigorous ex-military personnel. Everyone was complaining bitterly, with some transferring posts and others leaving for private business, nearly all gone.
The newcomers were all soldiers Yan Zhao had led before, still thinking they were in the military and hardly taking Zhao Lei seriously. How could he carry out his work if this continued?
But never mind, let's talk about work first. Zhao Lei said, "Today, leaders from the city bureau are coming down for an inspection. You should stay at the bureau, right? Shall we meet the leaders together?" Yan Zhao had great influence, and Zhao Lei feared that if he met with superiors alone, the military transfers below wouldn't be satisfied and might have opinions about him, possibly even filing complaints over his head.
"No need, I'm going out on duty. You receive the city bureau leaders," Yan Zhao said.
Zhao Lei said, "Then the subordinates will say I'm stealing your credit. It's not easy being a leader."
"They won't. They only focus on the task at hand," Yan Zhao said as he turned to leave.
Zhao Lei watched Yan Zhao from afar, both nodding and shaking his head, feeling both regret and satisfaction.
His definition of Yan Zhao was that he was like a mule - capable, not fighting for credit, and a good gun that shoots where it's pointed. With such a good subordinate, leadership work became so much easier.
The city bureau leaders, especially Fan Zhenhua, used to like asking what Yan Zhao was doing and how his work was going. Now when they called him for a talk, they didn't even bother asking what Yan Zhao was up to.
This kind of mule, everyone now understood, would only work himself to death at his post.
So Zhao Lei smiled and said, "Then Captain Yan, go ahead and do field work for us. I'll hold down the fort here."
He would grab the credit and take the limelight.
Just then, Yan Zhao received Chen Meilan's page. Ma Bo asked from behind, "Is sister-in-law wishing you a happy new year? Don't call back, hurry and go. The coal yard reported that someone isn't taking a break for the new year and is secretly transporting coal. They're seriously overloaded, the tires are all flattened, and they're speeding."
But Yan Zhao went to his office instead: "I must call back. Wait for me a moment."
Chen Meilan never called Yan Zhao during work hours.
If she was calling, there must be something important.
...
After hearing what Chen Meilan said about Fan Xiang, Yan Zhao paused for a moment and said, "Don't worry, I'll handle it properly."
Chen Meilan still had to mention Yan Xishan's concerns. Local tyrants like Fan Xiang should have been dealt with long ago, but she didn't want anything to happen to Yan Zhao, nor to her family or children.
"Lan... don't worry. Whatever I do, my first consideration is always the family. Nothing will happen to you."
The voice on the phone sounded very gentle. Why couldn't he speak like this in person?
The ambulance arrived before Third Sister-in-law Huang and her husband had finished packing. They got into the 120 ambulance, and Teacher Huang also called Sister-in-law Mao to help, and they went to the hospital together.
Chen Meilan was packing the baby's swaddling clothes, wraps, bottles, and milk powder – things prepared for the birth – to bring to the hospital later.
It was New Year's Day, and by the time Chen Meilan took a motorized tricycle to the hospital, Third Sister-in-law Huang had already been admitted to the inpatient department. The doctor was listening to the fetal heartbeat and conducting examinations.
"Shall we do an ultrasound first?" the on-duty doctor said. "You're an older mother, so the chief must perform the surgery. But the chief is off today. It's the New Year, and unless it's extremely urgent, we shouldn't notify him. What do you think?"
Today was the first day of the New Year, and most of the hospital staff were on holiday. Each department only had on-duty doctors.
However, in a large hospital like the Provincial Hospital, the ultrasound department always had someone on duty.
Speaking of which, Fan Xiang's eldest daughter-in-law was the director of the ultrasound department. Chen Meilan had wanted to meet her in person.
But on New Year's Day, she was certainly on holiday, resting.
When they reached the ultrasound department, Chen Meilan couldn't help but think of Hu Xiaomei again.
Actually, now the government had introduced relevant policies to severely crack down on ultrasound doctors who used their authority to privately inform pregnant women about fetal information or sell fetal information. If someone reported it and it was verified, the reward was ten thousand yuan.
If Hu Xiaomei really needed money, she could have reported Fan Xiang's daughter-in-law and earned some money.
But that's how the world is. Some people just like to take the crooked path and stick to it till the end.
The female doctor in the ultrasound room was very young, but quite responsible. She personally helped Third Sister-in-law Huang onto the examination bed. As soon as she put the probe on, she picked up the phone: "Hello, Chief, there's a pregnant woman here with the umbilical cord wrapped twice around the fetus's neck. The baby is already suffering from hypoxia. The mother is of advanced maternal age, 42 years old. Please come to the hospital as soon as possible."
The phone was on speaker, and you could hear the lively sound of a drinking game in the background.
The voice on the other end immediately responded without hesitation: "Have the on-duty doctor and nurses prepare everything. I'll be there right away."
Hospitals are strange places. There are people like Fan Zhenhua's wife who, using her position as the director of the ultrasound department and the ability of ultrasound to detect the sex of a fetus, engage in large-scale profiteering.
But almost all surgeons, in any era, pick up the scalpel with the mission of saving lives and healing the wounded.
Just like the obstetrics chief, a chubby middle-aged man who was always smiling, was said to be particularly good at performing surgeries. The cesarean section scars he stitched were famously beautiful throughout Shaanxi Province.
Hearing that the chief was coming to perform the surgery, Third Sister-in-law Huang felt relieved: "I hope it's a girl this time. I really want a daughter."
Teacher Huang was restless, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead: "Boy or girl doesn't matter, as long as the baby is healthy and safe."
About half an hour later, the obstetrics chief came running in hurriedly, asking as soon as he entered: "Is the mother 42 years old, 38 weeks pregnant, with the umbilical cord wrapped twice around the fetus's neck, and an amniotic fluid index of 6?"
Clearly, the chief was thoroughly familiar with the condition of all pregnant women. The on-duty doctor nodded, holding the medical record: "She's already in the operating room. The patient's family has signed the consent form, and the anesthesiologist is ready. We're just waiting for you."
As the chief was about to enter the operating room, he turned back to Teacher Huang and said, "Don't worry. Today is New Year's Day, it's an auspicious day. We'll do our utmost best."
Teacher Huang nodded repeatedly, expressing endless gratitude, almost wanting to kneel and kowtow to the chief. Chen Meilan, holding the clothes, was on the verge of tears.
Hospitals are places that people both love and hate. It's the last place people want to go, but when they fall ill, hospitals are their only hope.
However, the customs of each era cannot be abandoned. When the director wasn't looking, she quietly slipped a 200 yuan red envelope into his pocket. Regardless of whether he would accept it or not, once the red envelope was given, the patient's family felt at ease.
Only twenty minutes passed, just twenty minutes, and the green light at the operating room door lit up. The nurse came out holding the baby, wrapped in Chen Meilan's small swaddling cloth. She said with a smile, "Is Huang Zhengde here? Six pounds seven ounces, a big chubby boy. You can only look for a moment though, as he needs to be transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit due to some oxygen deprivation."
The baby was born already, and it was another son?
Teacher Huang reached out to support Chen Meilan but missed, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.
The nurse was still smiling as she said, "Don't be too excited, new dad. Go pay the additional hospitalization fee quickly. The mother also needs to be observed in intensive care, but don't worry, the director says her condition is very good overall."
Huang Zhengde had prepared the money, a full 3,000 yuan in a thick wad. He walked unsteadily, slowly floating, to pay the hospital fee.
The baby was also taken away by the nurse.
The child was delivered naturally, and both mother and son were safe. Chen Meilan had left her other children at home to come to the hospital, so of course, she needed to hurry back home now. Although the possibility was extremely slim, a thought occurred to Chen Meilan, and she worried about the unlikely event that Qi Dongmei and Hu Xiaomei might actually come to the hospital to steal the baby. In the extremely unlikely scenario, during the New Year period when there weren't many babies in the hospital, and considering that Teacher Huang and Qi Dongmei's couple were familiar with each other, what if they took advantage of Teacher Huang being busy alone and came to steal his child?
But there was no need to worry. In the obstetrics department of the provincial hospital, there was a doctor named Su Chunxia, who was the cousin of Su Chuncao from the Fifth Team, and also a student of Huang Zhengde.
Earlier, when Chen Meilan passed by the obstetrics department, she saw her on duty and went over to greet her, asking her to keep an eye on Teacher Huang's situation while she was on duty.
"Meilan? Why are you here?" Su Chunxia was seeing patients, but there weren't many people on New Year's Day, so she was reading a newspaper. She put down the paper and asked.
Chen Meilan didn't want to directly mention that Qi Dongmei and Hu Xiaomei wanted to steal the baby, so she just said she had recently heard about people stealing babies from hospitals and asked her to help watch over Teacher Huang's newborn baby.
"You're right about that. There was an incident of someone trying to steal a baby from the hospital not long ago. But don't worry, now the hospital, especially the obstetrics department, is on high alert. It wasn't easy for Teacher Huang to have a child, so I'll personally keep an eye on things in a bit," Su Chunxia put down the newspaper and surprisingly reached out to hold Chen Meilan's waist. "Beautiful, lie down on the bed, let me feel you for a moment."
"Why are you touching me, Chunxia? We're proper people," Chen Meilan saw that her hands were actually about to lift her clothes and thought to herself that Chunxia had some strange hobbies, trying to take advantage of her.
"I'm going to check your breasts for you. Hurry up and lie down," Su Chunxia said.
"Isn't it not right to do a check-up without registering?" Chen Meilan said.
But she immediately took off her coat and started to pull up her sweater. It's not bad to take advantage of the hospital if you don't have to pay.
Women's breasts should indeed be checked regularly. In her previous life, Yuanyuan always told Meilan to self-examine her breasts, and to do it monthly, all the time.
Chen Meilan had lived alone for a long time and didn't pay much attention to her own body, so she didn't have the mindset to check and had never done it before.
"Oh my goodness, lace underwear, who bought this for you?" Su Chunxia suddenly exclaimed.
"Yan Zhao bought it, what's wrong?" Chen Meilan asked with a smile.
Su Chunxia also knew that Chen Meilan had married Yan Zhao, but what Chen Meilan didn't know was that Yan Zhao was actually her cousin, and a close cousin at that.
Yan Zhao's mother was Chunxia's aunt.
It was normal to be related in the same brigade, with various family connections.
"Yan Zhao? You mean my cousin? He would do this kind of thing?"
"He's your first cousin?" Chen Meilan was very surprised.
Su Chunxia pouted, "My uncle has a stubborn personality, and he's had a poor relationship with my aunt for years. My aunt has also passed away, so I don't know many relatives, but he is indeed my first cousin."
"Your aunt, have I met her?" Chen Meilan asked again.
Chen Meilan had seen quite a few old ladies in the village since she had been married there for seven or eight years, but she couldn't match them up specifically.
When people get old, they are abandoned by this world. They have no names, no one pays attention to them, and they are uniformly called: the elderly.
"You've actually met my aunt before. She was the one who used to sunbathe in front of the health clinic. She was still so beautiful in her sixties, which is rare, but unfortunately, she had a poor relationship with my uncle all her life. My uncle wasn't even by her side when she died. She and my aunt had a very good relationship when they were young, but because of the death of my little cousin, they never saw each other again, dead or alive. It's too pitiful. As a result, my uncle doesn't like my third cousin either. Chen Meilan, you must treat my cousin well," Su Chunxia said.
Chen Meilan had married into Yanguan Village in 1980 and had never been to the First Team, but she used to go to the Fifth Team often. She had once seen an old lady who was indeed particularly beautiful, but her mental state wasn't very good, a bit senile, and she often sat in front of the health clinic to sunbathe.
If Chen Meilan passed by, she would always call Chen Meilan "daughter" or "Xingxing."
Chen Meilan had given the old lady steamed noodle rolls that she had made herself. Although she didn't know her, she had chatted with the old lady quite a bit.
Yan Zhao and Yan Peiheng had a very poor relationship, and according to Yan Zhao's tone, Yan Peiheng and Su Wen's relationship was also very bad.
Leaving other things aside, at that time, the old lady had once mentioned to Chen Meilan a particularly heartbreaking past event, which happened to be about the death of her little daughter.
The old lady was confused and thought Meilan was her daughter when she told her this.
According to the old lady, because of her little daughter's death, her heart had died along with her. At that time, the old lady even smiled and told Chen Meilan that she was especially looking forward to dying soon, because that way, she could be reunited with her daughter.
Could it be that Yan Zhao really had a little sister, and the reason why Yan Peiheng and his wife turned against each other when they were young was because of the death of that little sister?
If that's really the case, Chen Meilan dared to say that probably no one in the world except her knew the inside story.
Coincidentally, she didn't know Su Wen at that time, but she and Su Wen had actually met seven or eight years ago.
Reaching out her hand, Su Chunxia said again, "You're 26 this year, right? You've taken such good care of yourself. This skin, it feels so nice to touch... so elastic. How is your waist still so thin? Did Yuanyuan really come out of your belly?"
Chen Meilan hadn't particularly taken care of her skin, but her skin had indeed improved a lot in the past six months.
"To be honest, is my cousin taking good care of you?" Su Chunxia was doing the examination when she suddenly pinched a certain spot on Chen Meilan. "This elasticity..."
"Be gentler, it hurts so much. Even Yan Zhao's rough hands are gentler than yours," Chen Meilan immediately let out a sharp cry from the pain of the pinch.
Su Chunxia raised her hand, "Alright, it's very good, very healthy, no problems at all."
After putting her clothes back on, Chen Meilan imitated Su Chunxia's hand gesture and asked, "Is that it? Should I check once a month?" She was getting into it now: "Why don't you lie down, and I'll check you?"
"Yes, even if you feel a small lump the size of a soybean, you should come to the hospital for a check-up. Breast issues can't be ignored," Su Chunxia pushed Meilan away. "That's enough from you, I check myself every day."
Chen Meilan was still reaching out her hand: "Come on, I've never touched another person's breasts before..."
Su Chunxia also pinched Meilan: "I see you haven't been disciplined enough by men. You dare to touch me? Watch out, or I'll..."
She turned around laughing and suddenly saw Yan Zhao standing at the door of the ward, looking up at the promotional poster on the wall.
"Cou...cousin?" Su Chunxia suddenly looked up and saw Yan Zhao standing outside, immediately letting go of Meilan.
Yan Zhao asked instead, "Who are you?"
Su Chunxia was only 27 this year, a year younger than Yan Zhao. She used to call him cousin every day when she was little, how could he not recognize her?
"Your cousin, Chunxia," Su Chunxia said angrily.
Then, she said to Meilan: "He's blind. When we were little, as long as Yan Xing called him 'Third Brother', he would immediately turn into a donkey for her to ride. The rest of us were just air in his eyes!"
This cousin Yan Zhao was always blind. When he was young, he only had eyes for his little sister Yan Xing, and now he only had eyes for Meilan.
Seeing Yan Zhao's face as cold as the King of Hell, Su Chunxia felt a bit regretful. She should have pinched Meilan harder earlier to hurt her.
The two of them walked in the corridor, with all the doors on both sides closed. Even in broad daylight, it was gloomy, and Yan Zhao's face was even darker.
"Was I too rough earlier?" Yan Zhao suddenly asked.
"No, it was fine," Chen Meilan said.
In truth, his touch could be extremely gentle, like caressing a precious treasure. But Chen Meilan could always sense his forcefully suppressed urge to bite and tear. If she asked him to be any gentler, he might explode from the restraint.
"Do you need to check your breasts every month?" Yan Zhao asked again.
Chen Meilan held out her hands. "I can check them myself. I've learned how to do it."
"Let me check for you from now on. I'll do it every day. I just saw the information poster on the wall - breast health issues really shouldn't be ignored," Yan Zhao said seriously.
But Chen Meilan detected an undertone, as if he was using the pretext of a health check to cop a feel.
"Thank you, Third Brother," Chen Meilan blurted out, as if possessed.
Yan Zhao suddenly stopped and looked at Chen Meilan in disbelief. "Have you heard about Yan Xing from Chunxia?" Nobody except Yan Xing ever called Yan Zhao "Third Brother."
Yan Xing was Yan Zhao's little sister who died at age five. Chen Meilan had heard about her from the old lady Su Wen, whose memory was already confused.
People generally don't mention children who died young. Yan Zhao was taciturn and not good at talking, and since this incident was truly his mother's fault, he almost never mentioned it.
Yan Peiheng only had one daughter, Yan Xing, whom he loved dearly.
Yan Xing died in Yanguan Village under Su Wen's care.
Ever since his daughter's death, Yan Peiheng's relationship with his wife became strained.
Su Wen also blamed herself for the girl's death and lived with guilt for half her life.
At the time, after Zhou Xueqin went to the capital, there must have been many misunderstandings between Yan Zhao, Su Wen, and Yan Peiheng. But because Yan Peiheng and Su Wen cut off all contact, and he was very cold towards Yan Zhao, they never explained things to each other. This caused the misunderstandings to grow, to the point where Yan Peiheng didn't even come when Su Wen died.
Even now, Yan Peiheng and Yan Zhao only exchanged phone calls on holidays and New Year's, never discussing anything else.
But now that Chen Meilan knew, she was certain. It was Su Wen's choice not to mention it, but regarding Yan Xing's death, Chen Meilan was determined to bring it up the next time Yan Zhao called Yan Peiheng.
She wanted to resolve the conflict between father and son at the very least.
Moreover, she didn't believe Yan Xing's death was Su Wen's fault, and she needed to explain this to Yan Peiheng.
Her deceased mother-in-law had actually lived a life of injustice.
As these thoughts ran through her mind, Chen Meilan was suddenly pinned against the hospital hallway wall by Yan Zhao.
Nurses and doctors could pass by at any moment. What was he trying to do, act indecently in public?
"You can call me that more often. I love hearing it," Yan Zhao said. Just then, Ma Bo hurried by, saw Yan Zhao and Chen Meilan embracing in the hallway, tapped his own head with his clipboard, and turned around to leave.
Call him what?
"Third Brother"?
Wouldn't he find that embarrassing?
...
As for why Yan Zhao came to the hospital, it went like this:
Today was the first day of the lunar month. When Third Sister-in-law Huang was admitted to the hospital, a middle-aged woman had sneaked in, following her suspiciously. But after Third Sister-in-law Huang came out of surgery, she and her baby went straight to the ICU, which most people can't enter.
The middle-aged woman kept wandering around the maternity ward.
Nowadays, everyone is on high alert for baby theft. The doctors, nurses, and patients' families didn't recognize her, so they quietly warned each other about her presence.
About an hour and a half ago, on the stairs, a new mother's mother-in-law was returning after lunch when she saw the middle-aged woman carrying a baby and sneaking down the stairs. The swaddling cloth was identical to the one she had made herself. The woman looked panicked and was moving quickly, not even soothing the crying baby.
Newborns all wear hospital wristbands that aren't removed until they leave the hospital.
Given the frequent occurrence of kidnapping cases these days, the grandmother grabbed the middle-aged woman as they passed each other and checked the baby's wrist. To her horror, she discovered it was her own grandson, a chubby little boy.
Just like that, a baby theft was caught in the act.
The hospital immediately called the police. The reason Yan Zhao came was because Teacher Huang was also giving birth at this hospital, and he feared her child might have been stolen.
When he arrived, Yan Zhao gave a cold laugh.
The middle-aged woman turned out to be Qi Dongmei.
She had intended to steal Teacher Huang's son. As neighbors, they were familiar with each other, and Teacher Huang and her husband didn't have many relatives. Being older parents, it would be easy for them to get overwhelmed caring for a newborn.
However, the baby was taken to the ICU right after birth, foiling her plan. So she switched to trying to steal a baby already in the maternity ward, and was caught in the act.
Even in a hospital, it takes an inside thief to let in an outside one. Although Qi Dongmei insisted she had only decided to steal a baby on impulse, upon investigation, the police discovered she was not only familiar with the head of the ultrasound department but also frequently loitered around the ultrasound room.
Therefore, the police classified this case not as a simple impulsive baby theft, but as part of an organized child trafficking operation.
Both Hu Xiaomei and Qi Dongmei would be detained and investigated.
Fan Xiang's eldest daughter-in-law probably never imagined that on New Year's Day, after taking money to disclose fetal information to pregnant women hundreds if not thousands of times without incident and making a fortune, she would finally be exposed because of Qi Dongmei's attempted baby theft.
After hearing Yan Zhao's explanation, Chen Meilan could only think, "They got what they deserved."
When you take shortcuts for too long, you lose the desire to follow the right path. At first, it's just minor legal infractions. When you realize the law won't punish you, you start committing crimes. Once you start committing crimes, what awaits you is prison.
...
Chen Meilan left in the afternoon and didn't get home until nearly ten at night. She wondered how the children had managed to cook and eat dinner. She pushed open the courtyard gate, but it was locked from the inside. However, she could unlock it from the outside with her key.
The courtyard had been swept clean. When she opened the kitchen door, she smelled instant noodles.
Even with plenty of good food at home, when children have to cook for themselves, they always prefer instant noodles.
There were several eggshells in the kitchen trash can, showing that the children had added eggs to their instant noodles. However, the pots and dishes had been washed clean and neatly arranged.
Entering the bedroom, she found the three children sleeping with their heads huddled together. They hadn't even taken off their sweaters, just their coats.
As she separated the children, Little Wang frowned and made a small noise. Chen Meilan looked closely and saw two large blisters on the little one's hand, probably from boiling the instant noodles.
There was iodine at home. She needed to puncture the blisters, apply iodine, and wrap them in gauze, or the child would be in terrible pain tomorrow.
The phone kept ringing.
Little Wang opened his eyes, still groggy with sleep, and held out his hand, allowing Chen Meilan to treat the blisters.
Chen Meilan carefully punctured the blisters, applied bandages, and gently sniffed the little one's head, which smelled musty from not being washed for two days. Seeing him bite his lip shyly and bury his face in Little Wolf's chest, she went to the next room to answer the phone.
It was Yan Xishan, who immediately launched into an angry tirade: "Damn it, I had already saved up 15,000 yuan for Xiaomei, and damn it, she went and tried to steal Teacher Huang's child. Damn it, Meilan, tell me, does Hu Xiaomei have a heart? Does she have any conscience?"
Chen Meilan remained silent, smirking coldly.
If Fan Xiang was the devil, then Qi Dongmei and the mother-son pair of Hu Xiaomei were people who willingly sold themselves to the devil.
Yan Xishan was dreaming if he thought they would ever repent.
"But Meilan, are you out of your mind? Did you tell Yan Zhao about Fan Xiang ordering someone to kill that person in a hit-and-run?" When Chen Meilan grunted in affirmation, Yan Xishan's shouting nearly broke through the phone: "Either Yan Zhao will end up getting run over and killed, or it'll be you and Yuanyuan. Meilan, if Yan Zhao can take down Fan Xiang cleanly without any consequences, I'll eat shit - eight pounds of it!"
Chen Meilan was also worried about Yan Zhao. Could he really bring down the criminal underworld? Would she and the children be affected?
But for some reason, she wanted to trust Yan Zhao.
"The public toilet has no lid, and it's full. Go scoop it yourself with a bowl," Chen Meilan said, then hung up with a click.
The reason criminal organizations continue to thrive, apart from having protection from above, is because of lackeys like Yan Xishan - tamed lackeys who willingly do their bidding.
In the future, this behavior would come to be known as: Stockholm Syndrome!
