Ma Ronghua returned to his dormitory, a room shared by more than a dozen people.

It's dirty and messy. Every time I come in, I feel like throwing up. But if I stay for ten minutes, my nose gets used to it and I don't feel nauseous anymore.

He sat on his bed, carefully considering Wang Peng's words. After a long while, he couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

"Laugh at your mother!" A middle-aged man kicked him, knocking him off the bed.

Bang! Ma Ronghua's forehead hit the washbasin, the pain making him see stars, and he lay on the ground unable to get up.

“Old Sun, he’s so old, he doesn’t have many years left to live, why are you bullying him?” another middle-aged man said.

"That old bastard is a piece of trash. I only found out today that he's the owner of Ronghua. Last year, my mother bought a rice cooker from his store, and it exploded, almost killing her. That old bastard!"

The burly man pointed at Ma Ronghua and said, "I took my mother to find him, but he refused to pay a single penny. Do you think I should beat him up?"

Upon hearing this, the air suddenly fell silent, and even the burly man who had spoken up for Ma Ronghua earlier shut his mouth.

There were fifteen people in the room, but no one helped Ma Ronghua up. After a long while, he got up from the ground, rubbed his forehead, and sat on the bed.

Next, he felt ostracized. Everyone was ostracizing him, and everyone looked at him with disdain.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "If Wang Peng comes in, he definitely won't get beaten up for selling counterfeit and shoddy goods... No, he won't get beaten up, he'll only beat people up."

As night fell, he couldn't sleep, and tears gradually blurred his vision.

He hated himself for being blinded by jealousy, for being so foolish as to hire someone to commit arson, when he could have been enjoying his old age with an endless amount of money.

I hate myself for being so stubborn and refusing to accept Ma Yonghong's advice.

If we followed Wang Peng's example like Ma Yonghong and resolutely refused to sell counterfeit or substandard goods, even if we didn't pay our workers high wages, we wouldn't have lost most of our business to our brother supermarket.

It's hateful. If Wang Peng had extended an olive branch like Ma Yonghong when he was down on his luck, he certainly wouldn't have been driven to such a desperate situation by his brother.

However, regret will be overwhelming, and reality will be of no use, because there are no "what ifs" in reality.

A few days later, the procuratorate formally filed a criminal lawsuit with the People's Court of the Provincial Capital College District.

A few days later, he sat in the defendant's seat with Zhao Jinzhu and met Wang Peng, who was sitting in the plaintiff's seat.

From the time he was arrested until his trial, his three sons didn't visit him once, completely disregarding his life or death.

Zhang Jinzhu was very cooperative in court, answering all the prosecutor's questions, from his motive to the process of the crime and his escape.

He told everything in detail, down to the smallest detail.

After several days of torment, Ma Ronghua's heart was completely broken, and he confessed all his crimes.

The prosecutor asked, "Ma Ronghua, in your statement you said that Wang Cheng, the president of Huihuang Supermarket, suggested that you befriend Zhang Jinzhu?"

Ma Ronghua nodded. "He told me at the time that there was a locksmith named Zhang Jinzhu on Xueyuan Road who could make keys and repair locks, and that the keys he made could unlock my heart."

“At first I didn’t understand what was going on, but later I learned that he resented Wang Peng because of Zhou Shun, so he decided to pay Zhou Shun to do something,” Ma Ronghua added.

"What does it mean to handle affairs?" the judge asked.

“We paid him to burn down Wang Peng’s brother’s supermarket,” Ma Ronghua said.

Wang Peng's lawyer immediately said, "Your Honor, Wang Cheng is suspected of instigating the defendant to hire someone to commit arson."

The presiding judge shook his head. "This court accepts the evidence presented by the public security authorities. Wang Cheng's words and actions do not constitute the crime of instigation, and he is not an accomplice in this case."

Upon hearing this, Wang Peng secretly lamented that Wang Cheng was indeed cunning; his greatest skill was staying out of things, just as he had in his previous life.

Ultimately, the judge pronounced his sentence in court: Zhang Jinzhu was guilty of arson, causing significant economic losses, and was sentenced to death with immediate execution and deprivation of his political rights for life.

Ma Ronghua was sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of his political rights for life.

The court did not support the plaintiff's civil claim of 500,000 yuan, cutting it to only 250,000 yuan, 50,000 yuan for Zhang Jinzhu, and 200,000 yuan for Ma Ronghua.

"No! I refuse to accept this!" Zhang Jinzhu suddenly broke down, shouting at the top of his lungs in court.

Several prison guards restrained him, and he shouted, "I'm not satisfied! I'm going to appeal! Wang Peng, you lied to me! You said you wouldn't make me pay compensation..."

Wang Peng smiled slightly, "I only speak of integrity to people who are honest. Sorry."

Zhang Jinzhu was furious. "We agreed that I would implicate Ma Ronghua and you wouldn't ask for any financial compensation."

"Boss, ignore him." The lawyer put his arm around Wang Peng's shoulder and walked out of the courtroom.

Zhang Jinzhu's real reason for setting the fire was to leave his son 50,000 yuan, but now he has to pay it all back. Isn't that all for nothing?

If he doesn't pay compensation, the old houses in the family compound will be auctioned off by the court.

Ma Ronghua also felt the compensation was too high, and filed an appeal the next day. He didn't want to pay a single penny and would rather spend his life in jail than pay money.

Ten days later, the provincial capital's intermediate people's court held a hearing.

Because the burning of the Brothers Supermarket caused such a huge uproar, the provincial capital and the province attached great importance to it, and the case was filed and the trial was held very quickly.

The second instance upheld the original verdict, and Zhang Jinzhu lost the spirit he had in the first instance, his spirits suddenly becoming dejected.

Wang Peng laughed and said, "Old Zhang, didn't you invite me to the execution ground to watch you be shot? Don't worry, I'll grant your invitation."

"You'll die a horrible death, Wang Peng! You're a despicable and shameless scoundrel..." Zhang Jinzhu cursed Wang Peng as he was dragged out of the courtroom by bailiffs.

“Wang Peng, I underestimated you. You are not a gentleman. Wang Cheng cannot defeat you.” After saying this, Ma Ronghua was also led out of the courtroom by the bailiffs.

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