In recent years, with the rapid development of the national economy and the improvement of people's living standards, the number of tourists in tourist areas has been increasing. Deng Qingfu began to arrange for prostitutes to provide sexual services in bathhouses and several resorts, and also opened casinos and sold drugs; he also gathered more thugs to guard the venues, kidnapped and extorted gamblers who owed debts, and violently beat up tourists who occasionally expressed dissatisfaction.
Because of his strict management, powerful backers, and the villagers of Jingniang Village testifying on his behalf—some even willing to take the blame and go to jail for him after committing crimes—Deng Qingfu was practically a local tyrant. Those who obeyed him lived well, while those who disobeyed could forget about a peaceful life.
Although he was the village chief in Jingniang Village, his word was law, and no one dared to contradict him. Even the township officials treated him with utmost respect.
They have money, power, and fearless desperados willing to risk their lives for them.
Who can do anything to him?
The villagers of Jingniang Village blocking the Jingniang Lake Police Station this time was actually a coincidence of two events.
However, Chen Chaojiang's assault incident gave Deng Qingfu and Jiang Yuhe an opportunity, which led to the villagers besieging the police station.
The goal was to find a way to oust Liang Hui, the deputy director who had been transferred less than three months prior. Of course, the prerequisite was to work with the director, Jiang Yuhe, to find a plausible excuse to create a scene, forcing Liang Hui to take responsibility and, unable to bear the pressure, be transferred. The reason for wanting to remove Liang Hui was that since taking office, he seemed disobedient, constantly investigating the gambling activities at several resorts and two large bathhouses in Jingniang Village.
Deng Qingfu had privately arranged for someone to subtly speak to Liang Hui, asking him to turn a blind eye so that everyone could make money.
However, in the eyes of Deng Qingfu and Jiang Yuhe, Liang Hui was somewhat foolish, narrow-minded, and stubborn. Liang Hui steadfastly adhered to his duties and beliefs as a people's police officer, ignoring the subtle hints and continuing to do what he believed he should do. Unfortunately, his investigation was not going smoothly. On the one hand, it was due to the obstruction of the police station chief, and the vast majority of the police officers and auxiliary police officers were not very obedient; on the other hand, the villagers of Jingniang Village, young and old, all spoke highly of Deng Qingfu, perhaps sincerely, and of course, some were afraid of Deng Qingfu's power and dared not say anything bad.
Jiang Yuhe had previously reported some of Liang Hui's problems to his superiors, such as improper work, disputes and conflicts with local villagers, and disagreements with colleagues at the police station.
Today, after the Chen Chaojiang assault incident, while the family of the injured young man was outraged, Deng Qingfu and Jiang Yuhe calmly saw an opportunity. They planned to incite the villagers to make a scene, escalate the situation, and then blame the incident on Deputy Director Liang Hui's mishandling of the situation.
Without Deng Qingfu giving any explicit instructions, just a slight hint, the family members of the young people understood immediately. With some of Deng Qingfu's men instigating them, more than a hundred people from Jingniang Village gathered at the entrance of the police station and caused trouble.
Therefore, the main target of this incident was Liang Hui. Deng Qingfu was thinking that while dealing with Liang Hui, he could also take advantage of the situation to teach the assailant and his companions a lesson and extort some money. Anyway, judging from the fact that the four young people, two women and two men, were driving nice cars, they must be children from wealthy families.
Deng Qingfu and Jiang Yuhe didn't take Chen Chaojiang and his group seriously at all.
But no one expected that these four young men were quite influential.
Now, this young man, Xu Zhengyang, arrived shortly after. Enraged, he stormed into the police station and violently assaulted the officers. His actions demonstrated to Jiang Yuhe and Deng Qingfu that he was even more arrogant, domineering, and fearless than they had imagined.
And in front of everyone, he said, "The deputy director is more suitable to be the director than you."
This is a blatant slap in the face!
Jiang Yuhe was embarrassed, but then he thought that this young man might be related to Pang Zhong, the director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and judging from his tone, it seemed... that he might have an even bigger background? Was the director of the Municipal Bureau just speaking up for someone else? Jiang Yuhe, with a straight face, didn't know what to say for a moment.
“Young man, today’s matter is purely a misunderstanding.” Deng Qingfu spoke slowly and calmly, “Young people are bound to make mistakes, be hot-tempered, and do outrageous things. Didn’t your friend also act impulsively and hit someone hard? Hmm, this brother is very skilled and admirable.”
When Deng Qingfu spoke, his pace was slow and steady, giving the impression of composure. However, a menacing glint occasionally flashed in his narrowed eyes.
"Stop with the nonsense." Xu Zhengyang shook his head, leaned back in his chair, and said with a sneer, "One of those two girls today is my own sister... Tell me, what should we do?"
Deng Qingfu's heart skipped a beat.
From Xu Zhengyang's very first words, Deng Qingfu had already discerned that this young man's background was likely more powerful than they had imagined. Now, Xu Zhengyang had revealed that one of the two girls who were bullied earlier was his younger sister—this was a serious problem. The young man who had previously taken down seven people was probably just a bodyguard for those two girls. What kind of person could a girl who could afford to travel with bodyguards be?
Deng Qingfu cursed his son and nephew inwardly. With their family's wealth, were they lacking women? Why did they have to harass strange girls in the tourist area… They'd gotten themselves into big trouble. Deng Qingfu knew very well that although he could be considered a local tyrant in the Jingniang Lake tourist area, and no one dared to offend him, his domain was small, so small that some people wouldn't even acknowledge him.
Once someone offends the wrong person, their wrath can be unleashed in an instant, destroying the power and territory he has painstakingly built and plunging him into utter ruin.
That's why Deng Qingfu personally came to see Xu Zhengyang, hoping to resolve the matter properly. Even though Xu Zhengyang was merely a relative of the city bureau chief, he was someone Deng Qingfu couldn't afford to offend. Because Deng Qingfu had too many stains on his record; he could never wash them away and couldn't withstand scrutiny.
However, Xu Zhengyang asked domineeringly, "Tell me, what should we do?"
This infuriated Deng Qingfu, who felt embarrassed. He had originally planned to exchange some polite words to save face, accept the loss, and not pursue the medical expenses of the injured party, thus settling the matter even.
But now, listening to Xu Zhengyang's words, it's as if they suffered a huge loss, without considering that seven people were beaten and two of them are currently undergoing surgery in the hospital.
Therefore, in the eyes of Deng Qingfu and Jiang Yuhe, this was a typical example of a spoiled brat from a wealthy and powerful family who was unforgiving and bullied others.
The room fell silent for a moment, a silence that made many people feel stifled.
Jiang Yuhe finally remembered his current role, at least as a mediator of "civil disputes," so he coughed twice and said, "Misunderstandings and conflicts can be resolved amicably. With mutual understanding, we in the police force don't want you to end up in court..." He paused, realizing his mistake halfway through his sentence.
Xu Zhengyang said with a sneer, "Fine, let's settle it. What do you suggest?"
"Young man, name your terms." Deng Qingfu's face showed a hint of anger and resentment.
When the two men said those two sentences, neither of them looked at Jiang Yuhe, as if they didn't take him, the police station chief, seriously at all.
And that is indeed the case.
Xu Zhengyang leaned back in his chair, took out an ordinary Yuxi cigarette, put one in his mouth, then took out a very ordinary lighter, held it between his thumb and middle finger, lit it with his index finger, and smoked it calmly without saying a word, only looking at Deng Qingfu with some disdain.
Deng Qingfu was watching his every move, observing his strange and unique way of lighting cigarettes.
Deng Qingfu was over fifty years old. He possessed the violent temperament one would expect, and he had long since developed the composure and shrewdness required for such a time. Therefore, he quickly made a decision in his mind. He nodded, completely ignoring the indignant and puzzled expressions of the villagers sitting next to him. He widened his narrowed eyes and said very seriously, "One hundred thousand."
Xu Zhengyang kept his head down, smoking a cigarette, and didn't say anything.
"Young man, you can't go too far."
Xu Zhengyang smiled and looked up, saying, "Two hundred thousand."
"Okay." Deng Qingfu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the conditions were put forward, it would be fine.
Before arriving, Deng Qingfu had already made preparations, so he had a check in his bag. He smiled, filled out the check, then took out a business card and pushed it across the table along with the check, saying, "We've become friends through this little misunderstanding. My name is Deng Qingfu, chairman of Jingniang Lake Tourism Company. If you ever come to Jingniang Lake, feel free to contact me anytime..."
"You're too kind." Xu Zhengyang picked up the check, flicked it, handed it to Chen Chaojiang, then stuffed his business card into his shirt pocket. With a satisfied look, he stood up and said, "Director Jiang, can we go now?"
Jiang Yuhe's face was ashen, but he forced a smile and said, "Okay."
Where are my sister and the others?
"It's downstairs, I'll take you there." Jiang Yuhe got up and walked out first, his heart filled with the urge to pull out a pistol and shoot Xu Zhengyang.
Xu Zhengyang and Chen Chaojiang then walked out as well, without even glancing at Deng Qingfu and the others.
"Brother Deng..."
Finally, someone couldn't help but raise their doubts.
Deng Qingfu waved his hand to stop the questioning, gave a wry smile, shook his head, and said, "Let's just say it's better to lose money to avoid disaster."
The crowd seemed to understand something.
What they didn't know was that the money Deng Qingfu lost couldn't avert disaster at all.
It was already past 3 p.m. when I came out of the police station.
When Xu Rouyue and her friends came here for sightseeing, Chen Chaojiang was driving a Cherokee, but since Chen Chaojiang had an arm injury, Diao Yishi was driving instead. Xu Rouyue and Ouyang Ying got into the Audi A4 driven by Xu Zhengyang.
The five people drove to a nearby restaurant that looked decent and had a meal before leaving Jingniang Lake Scenic Area and heading back to Fuhe City.
After leaving the police station, Xu Rouyue and Ouyang Ying remained mostly silent, feeling somewhat guilty. They both thought Xu Zhengyang was a very busy man, and today's incident had taken up too much of his time. Along with guilt, Xu Rouyue also felt a sense of happiness, pride, and satisfaction. "Look how powerful my brother is," she thought, "He injured seven people in Chao Jiang's gang, and what happened? We were able to leave the police station that same day, without any responsibility, and they even had to pay us money and apologize." Ouyang Ying, on the other hand, was filled with admiration. Her existing respect and affection for Xu Zhengyang intensified. Someone from an extremely ordinary background had risen so high within a year, becoming what he was today—wealthy, powerful, decisive, loyal, and responsible…
Although his appearance, background, and education are definitely not what you'd call a prince charming, his character makes him a true man!
Unfortunately, Xu Zhengyang, driving the car, was secretly thinking with a sly grin: No wonder so many people knowingly break the law and still get involved in organized crime; it turns out that extortion is a really quick way to make money! Hmm, today I've extorted a sum from Deng Qingfu—200,000 yuan a day, that's 6 million a month, and a year… more money than anything else! Should I wait a while, extort more money from Deng Qingfu, and then get rid of him? Anyway, I took 200,000 yuan from him today, and I didn't agree to anything else, so that's the end of it.
No, one should be kind and honest!
Xu Zhengyang silently blamed himself, then mentally instructed Su Peng to immediately lead three ghost messengers to set up an office in Jingniang Village to handle all violations of the City God's regulations and laws in the Jingniang Lake Scenic Area.
After returning to Fuhe City, Xu Zhengyang called Pang Zhong to let him know he was safe and sincerely invited him to dinner.
Pang Zhong declined with a wry smile, but Xu Zhengyang said very seriously, "Director Pang, let's have a meal together. I have some things I need to report to you in person."
"You little rascal, I knew you'd think of treating me to dinner. Alright, let's talk on the phone, no need for all that formality."
"Director Pang, is something really wrong? Let's go out for a meal." Xu Zhengyang's tone was sincere, earnest, and serious.
Pang Zhong hesitated for a moment, then smiled and agreed.
Xu Zhengyang certainly wanted to have a serious talk with Pang Zhong about Deng Qingfu's problem. Did they really expect a few ghost messengers to strike with lightning speed and make Deng Qingfu and his gang of criminals jump into Jingniang Lake to commit suicide? Damn, what a spectacular scene that would create! Even if one person died every day, it would still be very strange and eye-catching. Moreover, it's better to get rid of this social cancer sooner rather than later. The sooner they eradicate it, the fewer people will be poisoned by them.
Therefore, it is necessary to rely on the police to do this kind of thing that they are familiar with.
They didn't go to any fancy or luxurious hotel for dinner, but instead chose the Yunlai Hotel, which is not far from the antique market. Xu Zhengyang booked a table in a private room on the second floor.
At 7:30 p.m., Pang Zhong arrived with his secretary.
Xu Zhengyang first expressed his apologies and gratitude, and then chatted with Pang Zhongdong about various things while slowly sipping his wine.
Finally, when Pang Zhong couldn't help but ask what he had to say, Xu Zhengyang slowly began to recount the problems at the Jingniang Lake Tourism Company's resort and bathhouse: Led by Deng Qingfu, the Jingniang Lake Tourism Company had committed numerous crimes in the area, including organizing prostitution and obscene performances, providing venues for debauchery, selling drugs, and operating casinos. Furthermore, they had gathered a group of unemployed individuals and ex-convicts to act as thugs, illegally kidnapping, extorting, and detaining tourists and gamblers, engaging in numerous gang fights, committing armed assaults, and being involved in several unknown murder cases…
It sounded almost unbelievable to Pang Zhong. Well, Deng Qingfu's travel company had done all sorts of bad things.
But how do you, Xu Zhengyang, know all this so clearly?
Xu Zhengyang said with a slight embarrassment and apology, "I only heard about this from the locals when I went there today... They said Deng Qingfu has powerful connections. I was wondering if his backer is the director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, since he dared to do this?"
"You brat!" Pang Zhong scolded, both amused and exasperated, before his expression darkened. As the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire. If what Xu Zhengyang had heard was true, it would definitely be a major case!
“However, it’s probably true!” Xu Zhengyang said very seriously.
Pang Zhong nodded. "It's necessary to investigate!"
Volume 4, City God Chapter 188: The Well-Intentioned Lie is Exposed
The experience at Jingniang Lake Scenic Area left Ouyang Ying and Diao Yishi with a sense of burden and guilt.
Although the fault didn't lie with them, they were still guests, staying at Xu Zhengyang's house for a holiday; and it was the siblings who suggested the trip. And yet, they caused such a huge problem. Xu Rouyue was frightened, Xu Zhengyang, a very busy man, wasted time, and Chen Chaojiang was directly injured.
So the siblings hesitated, wondering whether they should return to the capital.
The reason for Ouyang Ying's hesitation was simply that she didn't want to go home. She really didn't want to be with either of her divorced parents. As for her hometown, she didn't want to go back either, because she had hardly had any contact with those so-called relatives since she was a child. Diao Yishi, on the other hand, just wanted to have fun here. If he went back to the capital, he would be strictly controlled by his father, so he would rather live a comfortable and carefree life outside. Moreover, he really wanted to be with people like Xu Zhengyang and Chen Chaojiang, thinking that one day he could be as "powerful" as the two of them.
Xu Zhengyang, of course, was unaware of the siblings' thoughts. He harbored absolutely no resentment or blame towards Ouyang Ying and Diao Yishi because of this incident. Similarly, he didn't consider that the two might feel burdened or guilty. In short, they could stay if they wanted, or return to the capital if they wanted. It was all irrelevant.
Fortunately, Xu Rouyue was very perceptive and noticed the hesitation and difficulty of the two siblings, so she gently persuaded them.
After learning about the situation from his sister, Xu Zhengyang took the initiative to talk to the two of them, telling them to let go of their burdens, not to feel guilty or embarrassed, and to just settle down and go wherever they wanted. He added that Chen Chaojiang was injured, and he would stay with them.
Regardless, Ouyang Ying is Xu Rouyue's best friend. Ever since Xu Rouyue started studying in the capital, she has received care and help from Ouyang Ying. Even if Xu Zhengyang doesn't consider Ouyang Ying and Diao Yishi's feelings, shouldn't he at least be considerate of his sister's feelings?
Xu Zhengyang's statement and sincerity put Ouyang Ying and Diao Yishi at ease, and at the same time, they felt even more grateful and admiring of Xu Zhengyang's character. However, this feeling greatly changed the siblings' impression of Xu Zhengyang, from an older brother figure to someone with a bit of an uncle-like demeanor.
Having just experienced such a turmoil, Ouyang Ying and Diao Yishi naturally lost their desire to go out and have fun, and stayed obediently in Shuanghe Village.
This saved Xu Zhengyang some trouble, as accompanying people on trips was a very tiring and boring thing for him.
However, he hasn't been going to the antique shop these past two days and has chosen to stay in the village. Because Chen Chaojiang was injured, Xu Zhengyang figured that the brothers would have less and less time together in the future, so he spends his mornings taking walks with Chen Chaojiang, and after meals they sit together to watch movies and chat about the logistics company, living a rather pleasant life.
In fact, Chen Chaojiang said that this minor injury was nothing to him and would not interfere with his other work.
Xu Zhengyang disagreed, insisting that the wound must be properly treated at home. It was a knife wound, requiring six stitches, and in the hot summer, it was prone to infection and ulceration, making it difficult to heal. He had to be very careful and couldn't be careless.
Chen Chaojiang's house already has air conditioning installed, which is quite out of place with the old house. The family is planning to renovate the house this fall, and they have already informed Xu Zhengyang's family that the whole family will temporarily move to Xu Zhengyang's old house when the house is renovated.
That morning, Xu Zhengyang and Diao Yishi went to Chen Chaojiang's house for a casual chat.
Before that, Diao Yishi went to Futou Town and bought a lot of gifts, which made Chen Chaojiang's mother very warm and polite: This child, how come you buy a lot of things when you come to our house?
Chen Chaojiang was aloof and already knew Diao Yishi's character, so he didn't stand on ceremony.