Chapter 1390: Settling the old and new scores
Afternoon.
Yesterday"s wind brought up too much dust, so today, the air isn"t great, and the sky is shrouded in a gray haze, blocking the sunlight.
Hotel.
In the suite.
Ring, ring, ring, ring…
Dong Xuebing was lying on the bed, lost in thought when the phone rang.
It was Liao Yimin calling. "h.e.l.lo, Mayor Dong. We"ve arrived in Fen Zhou City."
"Good, everything okay on the way?" Dong Xuebing asked.
"No problem. Mayor Xie is doing well. We went straight to the hospital after arriving. Mayor Xie said she was not at ease about the child, so he went to the hospital for another check-up and X-ray." Liao Yimin said.
"Okay, thank you all."
"No problem. Oh, there"s one more thing."
"Yeah, what is it?"
Liao Yimin hesitated momentarily and said, "I just received a call. It seems to be from a government official in Cheng Gang County. I don"t know who exactly, he didn"t say, but he secretly told me that Cheng Gang County wants to s.h.i.+ft all the blame for the accident onto you. The testimony of the injured claims that you were pulling and dragging them at that time, which led to them not being able to escape and getting hit. They even suspect this incident was not an accident. They suspect you tampered with the construction materials and want a thorough investigation." Dong Xuebing didn"t say a word after hearing this, so Liao Yimin continued, "Also, the person who called me just now told me that Mayor Xie was pushed by Li Zhixin yesterday. Some people from Cheng Gang County witnessed it."
Dong Xuebing said with a cold face, "Are you sure?"
"He said it with great certainty, but I"m unsure." Liao Yimin said, "Considering that Zhou Wei and the others insist that Mayor Xie slipped on his own, it"s highly probable."
"Alright, I got it."
"Mayor Dong, be careful."
"Huh, they should be careful."
"Yeah. What about Mayor Xie?"
"Let her rest and recover first. Don"t tell her about this matter for now."
"Got it, I understand."
After hanging up the phone, Dong Xuebing coldly threw it on the bed, his eyes filled with a hint of coldness. Li Zhixin was indeed a despicable person. He almost harmed Huilan. Dong Xuebing didn"t know who had informed Liao Yimin or why they had told him about this matter. He wasn"t sure if it was out of a sense of justice or for some political purpose or if it was someone who held a grudge against Li Zhixin. However, Dong Xuebing was certain that Li Zhixin was the most likely mastermind. Dong Xuebing had already identified Li Zhixin.
All eight accomplices were disabled.
Now, it was time to deal with the real mastermind.
With this thought, Dong Xuebing no longer hesitated. He exited the bed, walked to the window, and looked at the new County Party Committee building courtyard. A fierce look filled his eyes.
But it wasn"t urgent right now.
The timing hadn"t arrived yet.
Dong Xuebing took a deep breath, sat, and lit a cigarette. He also thought about what Liao Yimin had mentioned earlier. Cheng Gang County was trying to s.h.i.+ft the blame onto him, making him a scapegoat and distracting the public and superiors to numb them.
Suddenly, there seemed to be some noises downstairs.
Dong Xuebing went to the window and looked down. Several police cars were parked outside the cordon of the new County Party Committee building courtyard, and many police officers got out. There was also a government car and a familiar figure walked out when the door opened. It was Mayor Li Zhixin. Li Zhixin started directing the public security bureau"s staff when he got out of the car, and some people entered the courtyard to investigate and search. Soon, Li Zhixin made a call at the entrance.
Speak of the devil, and he appears.
Dong Xuebing couldn"t read lips but could make out some simple words. Coupled with Li Zhixin"s slightly serious expression, his first few words should be " Mayor Hua."
Hua Li.
The Deputy Mayor is in charge of education and investment.
When Huilan had an accident, the Deputy Mayor, Hua Li, didn"t bother to inquire. He directly defined the matter, clearly stating that he understood but pretended to be ignorant. He favored Cheng Gang County, and Dong Xuebing had argued with him at that time. Watching Li Zhixin and Hua Li communicate on the phone with slightly conspiratorial expressions, he wasn"t sure what they were discussing, but it was related to him. They had teamed up to deal with him. Dong Xuebing now added this Hua person to his blacklist, feeling extremely annoyed. If he had caused trouble first, he wouldn"t say anything, and it would be reasonable for them to deal with him. But now, Cheng Gang County"s people had almost harmed his wife and child. Instead of feeling remorseful, they repeatedly confronted Dong Xuebing and Huilan. They were too arrogant.
Knock, knock, knock…
The heavy knocking on the door echoed.
Dong Xuebing frowned. "Who"s knocking, and who are you?"
"Police," a stern voice from outside said, "Open the door."
Dong Xuebing ignored them, walked back to the sofa, and sat comfortably with his legs crossed.
The knocking continued for a while. Finally, there was a sound of keys outside, a click, and the hotel staff opened the door. Their hotel"s facilities didn"t include critical cards.
Three police officers rushed in.
Dong Xuebing looked at them. "Did I let you in?"
"You can"t stop us anyway," one police officer said sternly. "We are investigating a case, and we need your cooperation."
Dong Xuebing chuckled. "What case? Tell me."
The police officer said, "You don"t need to know that. Just cooperate."
After speaking, the three police officers showed their badges, and then one took Dong Xuebing"s shoes to collect shoeprints. Another went upstairs to grab Dong Xuebing"s arms.
Dong Xuebing laughed. "What"s the meaning of this?"
"We need to collect your fingerprints," the police officer said arrogantly.
"Do you have the proper legal procedures, an arrest warrant, or a search warrant?" Dong Xuebing looked at them. "If not, get lost."
"Watch your mouth!" the police officer snapped.
The other police officer went up to grab Dong Xuebing"s arms to take his fingerprints forcibly.
Dong Xuebing felt that the working style in Chenggang County was quite amusing. Everything seemed to be done forcefully, and they didn"t get along with anyone. Seeing this, Dong Xuebing, of course, wouldn"t be polite to them. He raised his hand, twisted it, and grabbed the other person"s arm quickly and forcefully. With a fierce press and twist, the police officer"s arm creaked.
"Ah!" The police officer screamed as his arm dislocated.
The other two were stunned, not expecting Dong Xuebing to take action. One of them reached for his gun but was stopped by another police officer. Both remained silent, probably having heard about Dong Xuebing"s combat abilities. In a previous incident in the suburbs of Cheng Gang County, Dong Xuebing, despite having multiple fractures, single-handedly defeated a group of about twenty villagers who were attacking him. Now that his injuries had healed, his combat capabilities were beyond their estimation. The police officers knew they were no match for him.
"You"re a.s.saulting a police officer!"
"What are you trying to do?" The police officer angrily questioned Dong Xuebing.
Dong Xuebing coldly said, "You can"t just take my fingerprints without authorization. Do you have approval from your superiors? If not, get lost."
"Our superiors have already approved."
"Which superiors? In Cheng Gang County?" Dong Xuebin chuckled. "You guys are amusing. Your police chief is on par with me, and I"m not even from Cheng Gang County. Not to mention, your Mayor Li Zhixin doesn"t have that authority either."
The police officer responded, "You are now suspected of a crime and injuring people in our county. We have the right to collect your fingerprints for the investigation."
"Where"s the evidence?" Dong Xuebing asked.
"We need to extract fingerprints for comparison."
"Without evidence, stop wasting my time," Dong Xuebing retorted.
"We have eyewitnesses. More than one person has pointed out that when the construction materials fell, you took the opportunity to retaliate against Secretary Zhou and our officers," the police officer argued.
Dong Xuebing suddenly understood why these police officers were so furious. It turned out that someone they knew was disabled in the incident. He squinted, "Your officers say so? But didn"t they say the opposite at that time? I was running ahead of them. How did they suddenly run ahead of me? I"ll tell you, those two officers of yours almost dragged me down from behind."
The police officer shouted, "You pulled them."
Dong Xuebing said, "Is there any evidence?"
"Secretary Zhou also said he saw it."
Dong Xuebing couldn"t help but burst into laughter out of anger. "I did collide with them, but it was chaotic during the escape, and everyone could not avoid it. However, they didn"t accidentally b.u.mp into me due to the chaos. They directly reached out and pulled me. Now, let me ask you, how would you handle this situation?"
The police officer looked at him. "Who witnessed it?"
"I did," Dong Xuebing replied.
"That"s not useful. Only you witnessed it, and your testimony alone isn"t substantial," the police officer said. "No one else saw someone pulling you and colliding with you."
Dong Xuebing sighed, "So, you imply that I have no way to reason with you. You mean that whatever I say is useless, and your people"s words are the final say, right?" Before the two police officers could respond, Dong Xuebing exploded. He stood up abruptly and exclaimed, "Get the h.e.l.l out!"
The two police officers hastily retreated a step, on guard.
Dong Xuebing took a step forward, and they took a step back.
The injured police officer, still holding his arm, also retreated to their side.
"Leave on your own, or shall I escort you?" Dong Xuebing stared at them.
The three police officers gritted their teeth but dared not confront Dong Xuebing directly. They certainly wouldn"t escalate the situation by using their guns, considering he was a Deputy County Mayor. Therefore, they had no choice but to leave first to seek their superiors" opinions.
As the people left, Dong Xuebing slammed the door shut.
The att.i.tude of Cheng Gang County had pushed Dong Xuebing"s anger to its limit. When my wife was injured, I asked your county officials to investigate. Still, they didn"t agree, saying it was an accident to protect themselves. They even sent people to destroy evidence. But the same thing happened again, and their att.i.tude completely changed. Not only are they conducting a thorough investigation, but they also want to file a case and blatantly lie, accusing me and s.h.i.+fting all the blame onto me.
Go to h.e.l.l.
Today, we settle both new and old scores.