Chapter 244 Being Threatened
Xia Mi and Shen Zhihui met up at the train station.
Fortunately, it was the off-season and there were still many tickets left, so the three of them bought seats together.
There weren't many people on the train, and the seats were not full. Because of the small number of people, the air on the train was unusually fresh.
Not only Xia Mi breathed a sigh of relief, but also the other two.
The two had discussed on the way here that if the train was still crowded, they would have to make a way for Xia Mi.
The seat opposite was empty, so the three of them chose not to squeeze together.
Shen Zhihui and Liu Xian sat opposite each other, and the space became much more spacious.
Three hours later, with a long sigh of relief, the train stopped and the announcer's voice sounded.
Xia Mi and the others got off the car.
On the way, Xia Mi had already explained the situation to Shen Zhihui.
The couple learned that the driver, surnamed Zhou, was probably not a bad person and only agreed to help because his son was sick and in urgent need of money.
She was worried that Shen Zhihui and Liu Xian’s attitude would be too aggressive and would scare people away.
Shen Zhihui reassured Xia Mi, "My temper is only directed at that bastard Cheng Quan. I am still very friendly to other people."
"Sister-in-law, don't worry too much. I didn't get to where I am today by relying on my fists."
Xia Mi asked Liu Xian in advance, "Will someone like him be convicted?"
"It's hard to say. He's considered an accomplice, but considering the circumstances, he should be given a lighter sentence. He won't be in jail for too long, maybe two or three years."
When Xia Mi heard that it might take two or three years, her expression changed.
Liu Xian noticed her changes and asked her, "Is one or two years too little?"
"No, I wanted to ask him for help, but I didn't expect to stay in jail for so long." Xia Mi came back to her senses and hurriedly explained.
After six months of contact with Xia Mi, Shen Zhihui guessed that she wanted the driver to join her logistics company.
"Captain Liu, if we agree to a settlement, can he avoid jail? The primary responsibility lies with Cheng Quan, and he's the one who should pay the price."
Captain Liu didn't understand what the two were thinking.
But he still acted impartially, "but without his help, Cheng Quan would not have been able to complete this crime."
The two fell silent for a moment.
Captain Liu was accustomed to this kind of thing and told the two men, "This is not the age of ignorance. He knew it was illegal, but he did it anyway. The punishment is too light. If the public knows about this, more people will commit crimes in the future."
Every word he said makes sense.
The three of them followed the information and traveled for two hours before they finally found Zhou Youzhang who was working on the construction site.
Liu Xian greeted the foreman and took the person away smoothly.
When Zhou Youzhang heard that Liu Xian was the captain of the Qingcheng Public Security Bureau, he was so scared that he couldn't speak clearly.
He was wearing a coat with several patches on it, and he had almost no helmet, just a straw hat. He was covered in dust and looked dirty, and his lips were chapped and cracked due to lack of water for a long time.
After all, drivers have a golden rice bowl nowadays, and their lives are much better than those of most people.
But now there is no trace of that glory in Zhou Youzhang at all.
He looked cautiously, not daring to look directly at the three people. He just kept his head down, staring at the tip of his shoes, and answered each question.
"Zhou Youzhang, you used to be the team leader of the second fleet in the transportation department of the state-owned factory. How come you ended up working at a construction site in Huai City?"
Zhou Youzhang has traveled all over the country over the years and knows a lot.
He knew that if someone came to his house, it meant that they had solid evidence, otherwise how could they find him.
It was a hot summer day with the temperature approaching 30 degrees Celsius, but he felt cold all over and his throat was dry.
"Because I did something wrong."
At this point, he dared not cover up the truth anymore, as it might directly affect his future.
Before Liu Xian could continue asking questions, Zhou Youzhang suddenly knelt down, raised his hand and started slapping himself.
"Captain Liu, I was possessed by evil spirits and was greedy for the two hundred yuan. But I only realized it was a theft after I went there. I wanted to leave, but they threatened me with my son's life, so I really didn't dare to leave!"
A middle-aged man who was nearly 1.8 meters tall knelt down in public and slapped himself in the face.
It soon attracted the attention of other people on the construction site.
The others didn't know the truth and thought that Liu Xian and the other two were bullying Zhou Youzhang. A group of people put down what they were doing and rushed over to surround the three of them.
Someone went to help Zhou Youzhang, "Old Zhou, what are you doing? Get up quickly."
"What do you do? How can you bully others like this?"
"For a little money, are you willing to force someone to death?"
A barrage of questions flooded the three of them.
Liu Xian didn't expect things to turn out like this. He wanted to explain, but his coworkers didn't give him a chance.
Shen Zhihui protected Xia Mi behind him, shouting at the top of his voice that it was a misunderstanding and asking everyone to be quiet.
The fellow workers didn't listen at all and just kept questioning them, trying to drive the three people away from the construction site.
Fortunately, the foreman noticed the situation here and was so scared that he ran over quickly.
The foreman roared angrily, "Shut up, everyone!"
His voice was deep, powerful and oppressive.
The restless workers finally calmed down.
The foreman yelled angrily, "Don't you want to do the work? If you don't want to do it, someone else will. Now get out of here!"
The workers wanted to say something, but the foreman glared at them and they were silenced.
"I don't care if you're bullying or not. I'm just asking you, do you still want to work? If you do, shut up!"
The foreman had a fierce attitude and would not tolerate any rebuttal of his words.
After the workers dispersed, the foreman glanced at Zhou Youzhang, who was kneeling on the ground. He coughed and said in a gentle tone, "Old Zhou, get up first. Kneeling won't solve the problem."
Zhou Youzhang hung his head and was unwilling to get up, as if kneeling was the only way to alleviate the guilt he felt.
"Comrade Zhou, please stand up first. As long as you cooperate with us, you won't be punished too severely."
Liu Xian didn't expect that there was a hidden story behind this.
The foreman bent down and helped the man up. "The public security comrades are willing to give you a chance to redeem yourself from your crime and make meritorious contributions. Don't be so foolish again."
Zhou Youzhang was in a panic because his secret was exposed.
Fortunately, the foreman's words woke people up.
"Okay, I will definitely cooperate with the work. What do you want to ask?"
Zhou Youzhang then raised his head and looked at the person.
He looks much older than his teens and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes are proof of his worry about his family.
"Let's find a place to talk. It's not a problem to stand here all the time." Shen Zhihui suggested.
He was frightened by the group of workers just now. More than a dozen strong men rushed up to him, as if they were ready to punch him if they disagreed with him.
The foreman agreed and took them to the office.
The foreman's office was very simple, just a makeshift iron shed with a camp bed, a desk, a washbasin and a kettle, nothing else.
There are only four benches in the office and no extra chairs.
The foreman voluntarily gave up his bench, and he found an excuse to leave.
Before leaving, the foreman said, "Captain Liu, I apologize to you on their behalf. I scared you just now. My fellow workers are united at best, but impulsive at worst. But I can guarantee that we have no bad intentions."
The three looked at the foreman with surprise. They thought he would be a very fierce foreman, but they didn't expect him to be cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
Liu Xian didn't take it to heart. "I'm not a duck, how can I be scared to death? It's just a small matter, there's no need to apologize."
The foreman smiled and left the office.
After the person left, the people in the room spoke frankly.
Liu Xian was professional in interrogating prisoners, and Xia Mi and Shen Zhihui were listening on the side.
They learned the whole process from Zhou Youzhang.
Cheng Quan's aunt is the supervisor of the workshop. She was promoted some time ago and became the second-in-command of the workshop. Her words carry weight.
His family and most of the factory knew that his son was sick and in urgent need of money, so he had advanced half a year's salary to the factory. All of this was made public.
Cheng Quan's aunt came to the house and only said that she wanted to transport some contraband, but did not specify what it was.
When he arrived at the destination, he realized something was wrong. When he wanted to leave, it was too late. Cheng Quan said that he had taken private work and was going to report him to the factory to cause him to lose his job. In addition, he promised to send his son to a big hospital for treatment. After using both soft and hard tactics, he agreed.
After agreeing, he helped move the goods, but in the end he couldn't find a place to store the things, so he had to drive the car back to the factory.
As a result, the factory suddenly had an extra batch of goods that needed to be delivered urgently.
According to the original plan, the goods in his car would not be delivered to Cheng Quan until three days later, but the sudden arrival of this batch of goods completely disrupted their plans.
The factory soon discovered that he was taking private jobs, and also found that the goods in the car were the parts that Shen Zhihui had lost.
The factory leaders were furious.
But because his son had not been sent to the hospital yet, Zhou Youzhang did not dare to drag Cheng Quan's aunt into the matter, so he had to take the blame alone.
What Zhou Youzhang never expected was that the Cheng family agreed to send their son to a big hospital for treatment as agreed. They had previously agreed to pay all the money, but later it became one-third.
He couldn't afford the remaining medical expenses, so he followed the Cheng family's arrangements and came to Huai City to work.
Now the child is still in the hospital with a fever, and the high fever has not subsided for several days. As a father, he really wants to go back to be with his wife and child, but he can't.
At the end of his speech, Zhou Youzhang covered his face with his hands, his voice choked, and tears flowed through his fingers.
A forty-year-old man was crying helplessly like a child.
The atmosphere in the office suddenly became heavy, and the three people who knew the truth didn't know how to comfort Zhou Youzhang.
At the same time, the three were angry about what the Cheng family had done, and calling them worse than pigs and dogs was an insult to pigs and dogs.
"I understand your situation. Go back and pack up, and follow us back to Qingcheng tonight. Based on the actual situation, I will help you get the lightest punishment possible."
Zhou Youzhang knew that he had no choice but to go back now.
"Captain Liu, if I go to jail, how long will it take? I'm afraid my children won't be able to wait for me that long..."
Zhou Youzhang spoke incoherently, his eyes were red, tears and snot mixed together. Although he looked embarrassed, it was obvious that he regretted helping Cheng Quan.
Liu Xian shook his head, not daring to give people unnecessary fantasies.
"This is not my decision, but as long as what you said is true and not too serious, don't worry."
Xia Mi turned her eyes away and let out a breath.
Immediately afterwards, Zhou Youzhang returned to the company dormitory to pack his things, while Xia Mi and the other two were waiting in the office.
"Why aren't you talking? I just saw you were silent." Liu Xian smiled, trying to ease the atmosphere.
Shen Zhihui spoke up, "I'm afraid of scaring people by speaking. Cheng Quan is really a beast. This kind of social pest should be dealt with as soon as possible."
"Captain Liu, I'd like to ask, what's the minimum sentence for people like Cheng Quan and Cheng Quan's aunt?"
Liu Xian was also angry when he heard this. It was really cruel to use a child's life to threaten people to do something.
"It's hard to say, but at least five years. The amount involved is too large, but this guy has some background, so I'm not sure."
Shen Zhihui's face was very ugly, "It's already so bad, can his background still save him?"
Liu Xian knew that Shen Zhihui was angry. After a brief understanding, he knew that Shen Zhihui was a man of temperament. If he encountered such a thing, he would definitely be indignant.
But this is his daily life, and he has seen too much injustice.
"I can't save him, but I'll make his life less difficult."
Liu Xian explained the situation, "This is more of a moral issue. The law doesn't have too many constraints. You can't sentence someone to death just because they didn't fully keep a promise. Besides, they did send the child to the hospital."
"Then what does it mean that he is committing a crime by threatening Zhou Youzhang with the lives of his relatives?"
After hearing what Xia Mi said, Liu Xian paused and realized that he could make a fuss about this to clear himself of or minimize Zhou Youzhang's mistakes.
"We can't just listen to Zhou Youzhang's one-sided account; we need to look at the actual situation."
Chen Zhihui didn't understand. "If Zhou Youzhang isn't telling the truth, how can we expect to hear the truth from Cheng Quan?"
"Let's talk about it when we get back." Liu Xian didn't pay attention to Shen Zhihui's words, "But I have a question. What is your purpose in helping Zhou Youzhang clear his suspicion so actively?"
You can't be here to stand up for Zhou Youzhang.
Shen Zhihui and Xia Mi were speechless.
This concerns Xia Mi's career, and Shen Zhihui dared not say it without her consent.
"Actually, I came here this time for selfish reasons. I want to set up a fleet and I'm in need of drivers. I want Zhou Youzhang to come work for me."
Before, Xia Mi had no good feelings towards this person and even thought of him as a criminal.
This person not only committed a crime, but also fled for fear of punishment. She had a very bad first impression of Zhou Youzhang.
Her opinion had only begun to change since yesterday. She had followed him to Huai City to see if this man was as honest as the couple said yesterday.
Just now, the foreman rushed up to protect him, and Xia Mi knew that this person was not a bad person.
Otherwise, how could he get along so well with these people after just a short period of time in Huai City?
When his son became seriously ill and became a burden to the family, he did not choose to give up and actively saved money for his child. From the perspective of family affection, he is also a responsible and good father.
When looking for employees, the most important thing is a sense of responsibility.
These words shocked Liu Xian countless times. Xia Mi, a pregnant woman, wanted to start a freight company?
He knew that Huo Jingchen's family was rich and powerful, but he wondered if setting up a freight company would be too ostentatious. He had heard that Minister Huo was a low-key person who did not like to show off.
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