Chapter 47 The New Mule and the New Wife
"He likes female reporters interviewing him? What a lecherous old man!" Zhou Chuanxi came over carrying a pile of clothes and threw them on the office floor, instantly making the office smell bad.
"Could it be lice?" Shen Zhenzhu rested her hands on the table, trying to appear professional and not bothered by the dirt, but her mouth betrayed her first.
Gu Yanzheng didn't mind at all. He squatted down next to the clothes and picked through them, saying, "Maybe there really are some. You guys stay away. These are all good things that Team Leader Ding has collected over the years."
Just then, Captain Ding walked in, pinching his nose and saying, "Stop talking about me behind my back. This was donated by the family of a missing person. They just happened to be here, so take a look."
Shen Zhenzhu was still wondering what was interesting when a refined-looking man entered. His cheeks were sunken and his eyes shone with hope. After entering, he looked around, wiped away his tears, and walked to Gu Yanzheng, who was squatting down.
Before Gu Yanzheng could stand up, the man suddenly knelt down, startling Gu Yanzheng so much that his knees almost buckled and he had to bow to him.
"Hey, what are you doing? Get up quickly." Gu Yanzheng couldn't get up unless he did, so he half-squatted and supported the man's arm.
Zhao Qiqi, being a clueless greenhorn, didn't know what to do when a shadow swept past him, grabbed the man under the armpits, and with a clever lift, pulled him up and sat him on a wooden chair next to him.
Zhao Qiqi had no idea how Shen Zhenzhu flew over from the other side of the table; she had already pinned her down on the wooden chair.
Gu Yanzheng got up and sat down in the chair, pressing down on Ding's knees to sit facing him: "Comrade, don't get agitated, let's talk things out slowly." Although he said this, he still glared fiercely at Captain Ding.
Team Leader Ding was at a loss; Comrade Song Qibang had been searching for his missing wife for six months. She was the editor-in-chief of a social newspaper who had disappeared while on an interview assignment in Anfeng City.
During the past six months, Song Qibang quit his job at the book printing company, stayed in Anfeng City to search for his wife, and became a frequent visitor to the criminal investigation team.
Recently, he also noticed something suspicious about the homeless people on the street and planned to infiltrate the area alone. However, he was spotted by Team Ding's men and brought over. The clothes came in handy.
“I had lost all hope. If she died, I would die with her.”
Although Song Qibang was crying, he couldn't shed any more tears. He held Gu Yanzheng's hand tightly and said, "Team Leader Ding said that it would be impossible for me to find her on my own, and he also told me that she might not be inside. But this time I really had a feeling that she was a qualified reporter. Wherever there is a need to expose the evils of society, she will be there."
Gu Yanzheng is a qualified criminal investigation team leader, but he is always somewhat helpless when faced with crying and sobbing old men.
"Let me do it." Shen Zhenzhu walked over, handed Song Qibang a cup of hot tea, and said to Gu Yanzheng, "Brother Zheng, you continue preparing."
Song Qibang looked at her and said, "Are you going to be involved in the case too?"
Shen Zhenzhu said, "I'm sorry, I can't reveal that."
Song Qibang nodded: "It's good not to reveal anything. I'll stay at the hotel across the street for the next two days and not go anywhere or see anyone. I'll just wait for your good news."
Shen Zhenzhu asked him some more questions. After looking at the photo of Song Qibang's missing wife, He Liana, she handed it to Gu Yanzheng for a quick glance before returning it to Song Qibang.
"Alright, stop wasting time. We need to act quickly in this case. If you have any leads, you can let us know. If not, just go back and wait for news."
Team Leader Ding patted Song Qibang on the shoulder and sighed, saying, "You know why we stopped you this time. They couldn't alert the enemy, otherwise the people from the Red Factory would be moved to a more secluded place. Not to mention Comrade He who might be inside, the other victims would be in danger."
"I know I was wrong. I will patiently wait for good news from the police officers." Song Qibang clenched his fists tightly, as if he were holding his wife's lifeline, the last straw he could grasp.
Gu Yanzheng picked out a beggar's outfit that didn't smell too bad. When he came back from the bathroom, Shen Zhenzhu saw that he had shaved his short hair close to his scalp, leaving only what looked like newly grown hair roots.
He suffered multiple abrasions from the explosion. He deliberately exposed some of his wounds and even hunched over to untie the gauze on his arm and wash away the iodine residue.
"Your eyes are too sharp." Song Qibang suddenly spoke up, and Shen Zhenzhu then realized that he hadn't left yet.
Gu Yanzheng also felt that his eyesight was likely to give him away. Chen Zhenzhu looked around, took out a pair of non-prescription glasses she bought at the night market from her small cloth bag, held them up in front of Gu Yanzheng, threw them on the ground, stomped on them, and handed them to him: "Try them."
The temples of his perfectly good glasses were crooked and the lenses were cracked. Gu Yanzheng didn't even wipe them clean, just put them on, looked in the mirror, and said, "Section Chief Shen is still the most meticulous."
He turned his head, his sharp gaze hidden behind his broken glasses, making him look much more disheveled and fitting the image of a disguise.
Wu Zhongguo took out a plastic bag with the Liancheng Food Factory logo from his bag. He had prepared it for himself to use on the way when he got carsick, and now he could give it to Gu Yanzheng.
A hunched, disoriented, and seemingly lost man from the neighboring city appeared before everyone. Gu Yanzheng stuffed the few cigarette butts he had prepared in the ashtray and the half-empty bottle of mineral water into a bag, strolled around the office for a while, dissatisfied, and then walked around the corridor.
"What are you doing! This is no place for you!" A policeman pointed at Gu Yanzheng and said, "Stop!"
Team Leader Ding waved for the other party to leave, then applauded Gu Yanzheng: "A true movie star!"
Gu Yanzheng rubbed his hands against the white wall a few times, wiped his hair, and then reached out to rub the corner of Captain Ding's clothes: "You're welcome."
Team Leader Ding patted the five-finger mark on the corner of his clothes: "I won't say anything else. I'll give you a new one when you come back safely."
After Gu Yanzheng finished dressing, Chen Zhenzhu also changed into a suit and skirt and came out, holding a batch of work certificates forged by front-line criminal investigation team members in Anfeng City, including "Press Card", "Interview Permit" and "Vehicle Pass".
It may be fake, but it is guaranteed to be genuine.
Since Song Qibang's wife was a female reporter, Chen Zhenzhu circled around in front of him and asked, "How is it? Where does it need to be changed?"
Song Qibang said, "Everything else is fine, except that my wife's suit is a bit loose on you, but that's understandable since you're always on the go."
Shen Zhenzhu looked down at her empty chest and thought, "What a load of crap."
Despite the ridicule from all sides, she returned to her seat without uttering a word.
Zhao Qiqi came over and said, "Vice Captain, do you want me to help you pack? My parents are both tailors, I know a little bit."
That would be exactly what I wanted.
“Let’s change them. Clothes are just material possessions.” Song Qibang said, “I’m willing to do anything as long as I can find her.”
Chen Zhenzhu changed her clothes and handed them to Zhao Qiqi. Zhao Qiqi sat down, unstitched the seams, and tightened the waist with swift movements. The way a man sewed didn't make him look feminine; instead, it added a lot of delicacy.
"The communication is complete, let's get ready to go." Gu Yanzheng put his arm around Team Leader Ding's shoulder and walked downstairs, still trying to brainwash him: "I'll handle the internal affairs, you handle the external affairs. This time, let's work together and show the others what we're made of."
Team Leader Ding said bluntly, "Team Leader Gu, don't worry. My men are already armed and ready to cooperate with you. They won't abandon you. You should be careful though, you're bound to get a beating." He couldn't help but laugh as he said this.
Gu Yanzheng smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern."
Shen Zhenzhu didn't change into a suit first, and accompanied Gu Yanzheng to Anfeng City Railway Station, a place frequented by homeless beggars.
Homeless beggars frequent this place, so the other party must have also taken people from here before. To avoid being discovered, everyone was dressed in plainclothes and remained silent in the car.
Upon arriving at their destination, Gu Yanzheng ate something and drank some water in the car, then learned some sign language and said, "Let's go."
Last time, when she was undercover with Chen Zhenzhu and Gu Yanzheng, she didn't think much of it. But today, sitting in the car and watching Gu Yanzheng wander towards the train station, she felt a little more worried.
Knowing that with his skills and abilities, he could turn danger into safety, my heart still jumped into my throat. As the old saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry.
At 10:00 AM, at the north exit of Anfeng Railway Station, people getting off the train rushed out.
The line of people waiting to have their tickets checked stretched as far as the eye could see, and everyone hoped that the person who was supposed to pick them up would appear right in front of them.
Attention passengers, train T555 from Lingji City to this city has arrived. Those picking up passengers, please proceed...
A father in a hurry was walking with his son when they were accidentally blocked by a homeless man who was reaching out for money by the railing. The father cursed under his breath and pushed the homeless man, who crashed into the railing with a screeching sound.
Even if he fell, no one would help him up. He gripped the railing and stood up shakily, as if afraid of being beaten. He walked to a corner, then squatted down and put a cigarette butt he had picked up in his mouth. His broken glasses were useless, so he squinted, hoping that a matchbox would fall from the sky.
"A true movie star," Captain Ding said again from the bottom of his heart.
He sat in the driver's seat of the taxi, while Chen Zhenzhu and Lu Ye, pretending to be passengers, stood on the waiting platform, carrying bags and queuing for a taxi.
About half an hour later, they got into Ding's taxi and drove around the train station, pretending to be passengers waiting for their trains as they headed to the waiting room. Passing by the spot where Gu Yanzheng had been stationed, Lu Ye even spat on the ground in disgust.
Shen Zhenzhu felt that Lu Ye still deserved a beating, so she secretly pinched his arm.
Lu Ye said in a low voice, "What's wrong? Did I not act convincingly?"
Shen Zhenzhu also lowered her voice and said, "It's like you're itching for a beating and need someone to teach you a lesson."
After a full day of surveillance at the train station, nothing was found. Shen Zhenzhu returned to the criminal investigation team's office to prepare for the interview.
Mr. Zheng has given many interviews, so you have to be careful not to give anything away during the interviews.
Shen Zhenzhu wrote the article herself and stood by the telephone, waiting for someone to "pick up" Gu Yanzheng's article so she could immediately contact the Red Brick Factory for an interview.
But for three days in a row, there was no word from Gu Yanzheng. He endured the wind and sun, sleeping in the corners of the train station, and his body became increasingly hunched.
Shen Zhenzhu would occasionally go to the train station to keep watch. Once, she couldn't even distinguish Gu Yanzheng and simply mixed him up with the homeless people she remembered.
Ring ring,
Ring ring—
At 3 a.m., the phone rang in the criminal investigation team's office.
Having just returned from surveillance, Chen Zhenzhu picked up the phone and heard Captain Ding say, "Old Gu has been picked up. Be prepared."
***
Plastic bags from the Liancheng Food Factory were thrown into a drainage ditch, and the man driving the car was called Lao Wu.
He said to the fourth brother in the passenger seat next to him, "We really got a good deal on this deaf guy. I've been watching him for two days. Luckily I acted quickly. Look at his build, he probably just came from somewhere. One ran away and two died. At least we have a new mule to replace him, otherwise the boss definitely wouldn't have let me off the hook."
"It's your fault for playing with the 'Goddess of Fertility.' I told you not to touch them. If you do it again, I'll send you to the 'pigsty.' My brother's temper is unpredictable, so be careful not to do anything wrong."
"Okay, I know, you're making my ears feel like they're going to get blocked."
......
Gu Yanzheng lay in the spacious trunk. Some of the things inside were familiar to him, such as rain boots for rainy days, the entrenching tool he used to dig the grave last time, and the replacement tire that had been patched once...
That's right, those bastards are really something, they actually stole his car.
No wonder I can't find them anywhere on the streets. Perfectly fine Cherokees have been repainted and given fake license plates. They must have been parked in their old haunts before.
If the van hadn't been checked once, they probably wouldn't have been able to drive the Cherokee out so quickly.
Gu Yanzheng spat out the steamed bun he hadn't completely swallowed. Half an hour earlier, Lao Wu had appeared in front of him with a kind face, handing him a steamed bun with a King of Kings filling inside, and even opening a bottle of mineral water for him to drink.
Gu Yanzheng wolfed down his food, but choked because he was in such a hurry. He gulped down several mouthfuls of mineral water and then vomited it all up to Lao Wu's feet.
The fifth brother suppressed his nausea, wiped his trouser legs clean, and looked up to find that the other man had finished the remaining steamed buns and water. Only then did he show a satisfied smile.
Do you remember where you came from?
"What's your name? How old are you? Do you have family?"
Can you hear me?
Gu Yanzheng gestured wildly, but Lao Wu, unable to understand sign language or distinguish between genuine and fake, patiently waited as Gu Yanzheng's expression grew increasingly dazed. Finally, when the deaf man lay motionless on the ground, Lao Wu called a car and stuffed him into the trunk. As he had done many times before, he didn't take the deaf man seriously at all.
“We’ve practically ransacked the city; there aren’t any men or women left. I think he came from Liancheng. Let’s go there and hunt a dozen or twenty back. Big Brother will definitely be happy.”
The fifth brother knew that the newly captured mule was both deaf and stupid, and spoke without restraint. He kept talking the whole way, unaware that the deaf man had made a hole in the trunk where the taillight was, leaving coal ash as a signal while observing the route.
Although Gu Yanzheng was brave and resourceful, he was also afraid of being taken to another factory to be treated like livestock.
The Cherokee was bumpy, seemingly navigating a dirt road. When it encountered old train tracks and puddles, Lao Wu floored the accelerator, yelling, "Damn, this car's powerful!"
Gu Yanzheng, with his eyes closed, was being hit from behind, completely oblivious to the danger, thinking to himself, "Just wait, the driver will be even more aggressive."
Gu Yanzheng was first taken to a reservoir and stayed near the reservoir for two days. Lao Wu and the others found that no one was looking for him at the train station. Then they tied the deaf man up and put him in the car. This time they headed towards the red brick factory.
The Red Brick Factory is divided into two factory areas, front and back, which look exactly the same, but the main production is actually carried out in the back factory area.
The workers in the front of the factory went home on a regular schedule, occasionally working overtime. During holidays, they distributed canned goods, coal briquettes, and other supplies, just like other brick factories.
The rear factory area appears to have been abandoned for some time and used as a brick warehouse, but its hidden area is twice as large as the front factory, producing bricks of better quality, in greater quantity, and at a lower price.
Gu Yanzheng was locked in a large dormitory room. The others were nowhere to be seen. Only a madman was squatting in the corner of the dormitory room, his body occasionally twitching.
The guard came in briefly, threw Gu Yanzheng a hardened steamed bun, and didn't even give him water. After the guard left, the madman in the corner rushed over frantically, drooling as he tried to snatch Gu Yanzheng's steamed bun.
Gu Yanzheng refused to give it to him, and in the midst of their struggle, Gu Yanzheng heard someone laughing at their ugly behavior from the doorway.
Gu Yanzheng was stronger than the madman and kicked him. The madman rolled on the ground several times, revealing a dense array of cigarette burn marks under his dirty clothes.
Gu Yanzheng lowered his eyes, taking big bites of the steamed bun. Seeing the madman trying to snatch it again, he grabbed a stick from the ground and was about to hit him on the head.
Just then, the fifth brother, who was standing at the door, shouted at him: "Damn it, you dare to hit someone right under my nose?! Stop eating and get to work now! If you don't do a good job, I'll send you to the pigsty!"
When the madman saw Lao Wu approaching, he scrambled back to the corner and squatted down. Gu Yanzheng was stuffing a steamed bun into his mouth, but before he could swallow it, Lao Wu snatched it back, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it.
Gu Yanzheng struggled to stay away, only managing to make muffled noises.
The fifth brother pulled out the triangular iron from his lower back and slammed it down hard on the deaf man. Instantly, the deaf man stopped struggling and curled up on the ground, rolling around in pain.
The fifth brother kicked him and said, "I don't know where you came from, but let me tell you, your little injuries are nothing here!"
“He’s deaf, why are you talking so much to him? Let’s go, the older brother said a beautiful female reporter wants to interview him, and he asked us to tidy up the front.”
The fifth brother wanted to say something more, but this time he swallowed his words, as if it were a taboo topic that couldn't be mentioned.
Gu Yanzheng lay on the ground for a short while when another unfamiliar old man came and pulled him up, saying, "From now on, you're following me. You'd better be obedient. If you can't hear people, you have to be observant to survive. Work as hard as you can, as long as you don't die. Come with me, I'll give you an easy job."
Gu Yanzheng followed him meekly into the brick kiln, commonly known as the "steamed bun kiln".
He saw four or five people inside, expressionless, taking turns stacking dry bricks into the kiln, leaving fire channels. Once the kiln was full, coal was lit at the kiln opening, and the fire spread along the fire channels. It was easy to get burned, but they didn't care.
Red bricks need to be fired for three days and three nights. Normally, workers need to take turns feeding coal and watching the fire 24 hours a day. However, this kiln is only managed by six people in one shift. Even if their skin is burned by the steam when the kiln is sealed, and they are in so much pain that they roll on the ground, they cannot go far.
This was the easy job that old man gave him.
However, the workers here were more alert than he had imagined. Although they didn't speak and he couldn't hear a single word all day, they worked in an orderly manner, and no one dared to slack off.
Gu Yanzheng was unable to provide any information inside. When the bricks came out of the kiln and needed to be unloaded, he finally saw more male disabled people.
They carried everything on their shoulders and by hand, undeterred by physical injuries, like silent mules carrying cooled, freshly baked red bricks to the warehouse.
In order to get the bricks out as soon as possible, the temperature hadn't dissipated when they entered the kiln, and many people's bare upper bodies, thighs, and soles of their feet were burned. When the scrap rate was too high, the foreman would come over, grab the "foreman" of the brick kiln, and beat him to death. The whole team would also be left without food or water.
Over the past few days, Gu Yanzheng has figured out the structure of the factory area and gained a general understanding of the number of disabled people imprisoned and working there.
But as Chen Zhenzhu said, there were no homeless women in the city, so why weren't there any here either? Could it be related to the "Goddess of Fertility" that Lao Wu mentioned?
What exactly does "Goddess of Fertility" mean?
Gu Yanzheng stayed here for ten days. While carrying bricks, he deliberately got into a fight with another idiot and broke dozens of red bricks.
"Get them all into the 'pigsty'!" Without saying a word, the foreman took out a half-smoked cigarette butt and tried to poke it into Gu Yanzheng's arm. Gu Yanzheng pretended to lose his balance and fell to the ground to dodge it. The other one was not so "lucky" and was burned hard by the cigarette butt. Even so, he bit his lip until it bled, but he didn't make a sound.
"I'll be glad you held back. If you make a sound again, I'll cut your tongue out." The fat foreman pointed at Gu Yanzheng and said, "I don't care if you can hear me or not, or if you can't speak. If you cause me any more trouble, I'll cut your ears and tongue out first!"
Gu Yanzheng was much thinner than when he first came in. If it weren't for his strong and muscular physique that kept him going, he would have lost all his energy by now.
The "pigsty" that Lao Wu had mentioned before turned out to be a water dungeon when Gu Yanzheng went inside.
The water level is controlled at chest level, making it difficult to breathe and preventing the person from sitting or lying down. Over time, this can lead to muscle spasms and permanent joint damage.
The water was mixed with rotting matter, excrement, and leeches. Fortunately, Gu Yanzheng's wounds had almost healed, otherwise they would have burrowed into the wounds. Even so, it would have been worse than death.
He didn't know how long he had been locked up there, but the guy across from him had obviously been locked up even longer. After the foreman and the others left, he asked weakly, "What day is it today?"
Gu Yanzheng, true to his timid and cowardly nature, did not answer him at first. Only after the footsteps in the distance sounded again and finally disappeared did he say in a hoarse voice, "April 15th."
The other man was in higher water than Gu Yanzheng. He tilted his head back to avoid inhaling the dirty water. After hearing Gu Yanzheng's reply, he muttered to himself, "Twenty-two days..."
Gu Yanzheng's heart skipped a beat. "Chen Zhenzhu, hurry up and save your brother Zheng! If you don't come soon, your deputy captain position will be promoted to full captain."
Just when Gu Yanzheng thought he would be tortured for twenty-two days before he could leave, the water dungeon opened and released water that afternoon.
The fifth brother came in, pinching his nose, and shouted, "Hurry up and clean up all the trash! The reporter is coming, and Big Brother will definitely take her on a tour! This water is connected to the pond in front, so clean it up quickly! Change the water to clean water, and put in goldfish and fresh flowers!"
Gu Yanzheng was lifted up by two people, closed his eyes and relaxed his whole body as they dragged him away.
"This useless piece of trash, how come he fainted as soon as he came in? Could there be something wrong with him?"
What's wrong with you? Gu Yanzheng thought to himself, is it wrong to want to save some energy so I can kill you all?
***
This year, the TV series "Stories from the Editorial Department" starring actress Lü Liping became a hit, and the padded-shoulder suits, plaid shirts, and straight-leg jeans featured in the show became popular all over the country.
Miss Zhu, disguised as Reporter Zhu, carries a canvas bag, wears a neat ponytail, and has pearl earrings.
She is both relaxed and professional, pragmatic and independent, with a low-key yet cool demeanor.
She had originally planned to go to the brick factory with Zhou Chuanxi, but Boss Zheng refused to be interviewed. Reporter Zhu then spent a few days "touring" Anfeng City. After her colleague left, she received a call from Boss Zheng requesting an interview.
Because it was an impromptu interview, reporter Zhu had to carry a separate leather tote bag containing her notebook, recorder, camera, and other items. Her pretty, charming face was hidden behind intellectual-looking metal-rimmed glasses, and a mobile phone was clipped to her waist, exuding the air of a professional woman.
"Girls from the provincial capital are something else. When she first got off the bus, I thought she was a female celebrity from Hong Kong." Lao Wu stood on the second floor staring at reporter Zhu and said without any attempt to hide his feelings, "She's more attractive than the last one."
The tailored, padded-shoulder suit with a Hong Kong style, tucked with a lake-blue silk scarf, made the reporter, Zhu, who had come from afar to enter this hellhole, appear even more beautiful and charming.
"Where is Boss Zheng?" Chen Zhenzhu sat in the reception room of the front factory. Opposite her on the leather sofa was a high-end wine cabinet, which contained various foreign wines and cigars.
The fourth brother was more composed than the fifth brother. He poured tea for Chen Zhenzhu and pushed it in front of her, asking, "I heard that you've been staying here alone lately, Ms. Zhu? If so, our factory has a hotel specifically for our partners. Why don't you take your things there to save money?"
“I’d be more comfortable staying in my own room. Besides, what’s the point of saving money? It’s all public funds.” Reporter Zhu glanced at her watch, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, and she said with her chin held high, “If he’s not coming, I’ll ask you first. Surely some villagers have complained about environmental pollution at your factory, right? Do you have any pollution monitoring reports and environmental protection measures? If so, show them to me in advance.”
The fourth brother said with a forced smile, "I have the report, but the person in charge of these things isn't here today. Can I get it for you tomorrow?"
Shen Zhenzhu looked at him suspiciously: "Could it be that you're trying to shirk responsibility?"
The fourth brother paused, surprised by the young female reporter's sharp insight. He laughed and said, "What's there to shirk? Which household in the countryside doesn't produce smoke when cooking? Poor harvests and children coughing have nothing to do with us. Besides, environmental protection equipment is too expensive. If they install it on our bricks, the price will go up. Who would buy it? If no one buys it, we won't pay taxes. If the tax authorities come after us, we'll be wronged."
Seeing that reporter Zhu still had questions to ask, the fourth brother was extremely annoyed. Unlike his eldest brother, he didn't like roses with thorns.
"Have a seat for a while, I'll go find the boss right away." The fourth brother made an excuse and left.
Chen Zhenzhu sat alone in the reception room. There was an open door next to the reception room, which should lead to President Zheng's office.
Without looking up, Chen Zhenzhu took out her interview notebook from her bag and scribbled on it, seemingly preparing seriously for the interview later, occasionally glancing towards the window.
Observing Mr. Zheng through a peephole, who was quite obese, he was extremely satisfied: "It wasn't for nothing that I had someone keep an eye on him for so many days. He has both personality and a good physique—"
The fifth brother remarked from the side, "Looks like a virgin."
Boss Zheng swung his arm and slapped Lao Wu across the face, hitting him three or four times before stopping. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief from his suit pocket and said, "Look how many times I've taught you. We are businessmen, we can't be reckless with our words. We must learn to be superior and speak superiorly. We can't be rude to ladies."
"Big brother is right to teach us a lesson." The fifth brother lowered his head and stood to the side, not caring that blood was trickling from between his teeth.
After Boss Zheng had finished admiring the scene in secret, he went to see Reporter Zhu. Old Wu spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and said, "You fat pig with crooked ways."
On the other side, Chen Zhenzhu finally met Zheng Xiankai, the owner of the red brick factory and a well-known private entrepreneur in Anfeng City.
His bulky body squeezed through the widened doorway, and he greeted reporter Zhu with a gentle expression and slow, gentlemanly movements: "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, ma'am. A worker just slipped and fell, and I had someone take him to the hospital for a check-up in my car. Businesses have to have a conscience. Even if he's a temporary worker without a labor contract, I'm still willing to pay his medical expenses."
"Hello, Mr. Zheng, since an accident has occurred, I can wait a while." Reporter Zhu ignored his excuse and peeled back the layers to get to the real issue: "However, what caused the safety accident? Has your company implemented adequate safety measures?"
Zheng Xiankai nodded kindly, his greasy gaze lingering on Shen Zhenzhu's face: "He violated work regulations by drinking at work. If the person in charge hadn't discovered it in time, he would have fallen into the firebox and turned to ashes without anyone knowing."
"Understood." Reporter Zhu opened his notebook and began formally: "Thank you, Mr. Zheng Xiankai, for agreeing to be interviewed by the Liaodong Business Daily. I discovered in other cities that some brick factories are secretly 'paying tribute' to certain department personnel, which is more than they pay in taxes. Is this an industry-wide unspoken rule?"
"Hahaha, as expected of a young person, the questions you asked were very tricky and sharp. If I answered directly, wouldn't I be falling into your trap?"
Zheng Xiankai is a shrewd man. He did not answer reporter Zhu's question directly, but instead rambled on with a bunch of righteous words, and then said: "There are some people we can't afford to offend or tame, but running a business is like being a person. Only by being legal and compliant can we go further in the long run."
At this moment, reporter Zhu's eyes revealed admiration, unlike his aggressive demeanor when he first arrived. He smiled faintly and said, "There's another question, which is not only mine but also that of many of my colleagues. For a long time, the red bricks produced by the red brick factory have been of high quality but extremely low price. Some people say that you don't pay your workers overtime, forcing them to work overtime voluntarily. Is this true?"
Zheng Xiankai's eyes were practically popping out of their sockets from laughing. It wasn't that he didn't pay overtime; he didn't pay any kind of allowance at all.
"It's a new method for controlling temperature difference that our factory's experts developed, which is based on a patented technology that I have kept secret. This has greatly reduced the failure rate of kiln exit, thus reducing costs and increasing efficiency."
Zheng Xiankai answered every question, even those that were uncomfortable for reporter Zhu, with sincerity.
After the first day of interviews concluded, he invited reporter Zhu to visit his office.
Shen Zhenzhu wasn't afraid; her pistol was tucked into her waistband, and Gu Yanzheng was still somewhere nearby. She tried to follow Zheng Xiankai into his office as naturally as possible.
Unlike the offices of ordinary entrepreneurs, Zheng Xiankai's office was decorated with tiger skins and hunting rifles, with deer antlers and yak horns facing each other, and an unmistakable smell of blood in the office.
She asked casually, "You've been handing in homemade guns for the past two years, aren't you afraid someone will check?"
Zheng Xiankai laughed and said, "If someone checks, I can just put it away. It's a small matter. But that's not a homemade gun, Miss Zhu. It's a homemade hunting rifle, and the barrel is definitely sturdy."
Shen Zhenzhu deliberately said "homemade gun" instead of "hunting gun" because she was afraid he would realize that she knew about this kind of thing.
"Ms. Zhu, please have a seat. I'll show you the corporate honors we've received over the years, as well as some interviews I've had with other reporters. I hope they'll be helpful to your work."
Reporter Zhu expressed his surprise, saying, "Mr. Zheng is much more considerate than many successful people I have interviewed."
Zheng Xiankai was pleased. He walked back to his desk, opened the drawer, and took out his honors, placing them on Yi Yi's desk.
Following his movements, Chen Zhenzhu saw a woman's photograph hanging on the wall behind the desk, and her pupils suddenly contracted—
Holina is missing!
"What's wrong?" Zheng Xiankai turned to look at the wall and noticed that a photo had caught Zhu's attention. He smiled nonchalantly and said, "Don't be offended, this is my ex-wife. She's having a disagreement with me. At first, I didn't agree to divorce her, but now that I've seen you, I've changed my mind."
Shen Zhenzhu frowned and asked, "What did you realize after seeing me?"
Zheng Xiankai lit a cigar and said slowly, "I don't mean anything by it, I just think that women still need freedom and shouldn't be confined to the shackles of marriage. I was wrong before, but after seeing you, I realize I was wrong. Who wouldn't want their wife to be as beautiful and charming as you, and also full of wisdom and vitality?"
Shen Zhenzhu tentatively asked, "Then may I meet your ex-wife?"
Zheng Xiankai put down his cigar and asked, "Do you need to interview her?"
Shen Zhenzhu said, "To have an outstanding entrepreneur like you as her husband, she must also be an outstanding woman, and she can understand you from the perspective of a wife."
“Oh, okay? How about tomorrow? After I show you around the factory tomorrow, you’ll have a chance to meet her,” Zheng Xiankai said with a strange smile.
After finishing her work, Shen Zhenzhu refused Zheng Xiankai's offer to stay, neither eating at the factory workers' canteen nor staying at the hotel he was working with.
After returning to the hotel from the brick factory, several people came out of the hotel room after the driver left.
Lu Ye, Zhou Chuanxi, Wu Zhongguo, and several of Ding's subordinates were all crammed into the small room, some sitting and some standing.
Lu Ye's eyes shone brightly in the darkness as he eagerly asked, "Have you seen the boss?"
Shen Zhenzhu shook her head: "I didn't see Brother Zheng, but I did find him."
She looked at Captain Ding and said, "I saw He Liana's photo in Zheng Xiankai's office. He also claimed that He Liana was his 'ex-wife' and said that I would have the opportunity to meet her when I visit the factory tomorrow."
Zhao Qiqi squeezed among a group of rough old men, looking over their heads towards the window. Shen Zhenzhu was like a splash of red among the green leaves. He heard Shen Zhenzhu's words but couldn't understand what Zheng Xiankai meant.
Not only him, but Lu Ye and others also said inexplicably, "He Liana is Song Qibang's wife, how could she be his ex-wife? Could it be that she had another marriage?"
Team Leader Ding said, "Impossible. I checked He Liana's household registration. She was only married to Song Qibang, and the marriage is still valid."
"It should be a one-sided address. I suspect he has antisocial personality tendencies, which are manifested in his boundary-crossing. Knowing that He Liana is someone else's wife, he deliberately used an intimate term, which is a deliberate provocation of social rules and a way of enjoying the crushing power."
Chen Zhenzhu sat on the corner of the bed, took out her interview notebook and said: "His words revealed a desire for control and aggression, as well as an undisguised display of cruelty in killing, which belongs to the antisocial personality traits that are extremely harmful to society."
Wu Zhongguo glanced at Shen Zhenzhu and said, "He said 'ex-wife' instead of 'wife'... Could it be that Zhu's arrival made him change his way of addressing her?"
Wu Zhongguo spoke euphemistically, but everyone present understood that Zheng Xiankai was very likely interested in Shen Zhenzhu, which was why he referred to He Liana as his ex-wife instead of his wife as soon as he saw her.
It was obvious that Shen Zhenzhu might face danger if she went there tomorrow. However, she understood this herself, and still held a meeting with everyone without changing her expression to arrange the manpower for the operation.
“You didn’t see the disabled person; they might be hiding in the shadows, working in the factory area behind.” Team Leader Ding pointed to the other side of the map and said, “Old Gu should be in there too.”
“That’s what I think too. The factory area behind us is our main target tomorrow,” Shen Zhenzhu said.
"Tomorrow is the last day we agreed on with Captain Gu. Whether he comes out or not, we have to carry out the cleanup." Captain Ding pulled back the curtain and looked outside. The driver who brought Shen Zhenzhu back was still loitering and keeping watch downstairs.
Shen Zhenzhu also moved over to look down, and was amused by Zheng Xiankai: "I'm a police officer being followed by a thief."
She sat down and handed the interview notebook to Team Leader Ding: "The factory area map has been drawn; you can give it to the brothers."
Lu Ye leaned over and said, "Old Shen, you're pretty good. You drew it very clearly."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Thank you Zheng Xiankai for keeping me waiting for forty minutes. I'll draw you a map of China, not just the factory area map."
Zhou Chuanxi, worried about what had just happened, said, "Since Captain Gu isn't here, we should listen to you, but I still suggest you don't go tomorrow. We've already got the map, so you can just come with us tomorrow."
Shen Zhenzhu understood his concerns, but said clearly, "We agreed that the two of us would work together with you from the inside. Even if it's raining knives, I'll go. I can't leave Brother Zheng in there alone."
Zhou Chuanxi smiled and said, "I misspoke."
Shen Zhenzhu smiled and said, "That's right, none of us are wrong."
-----------------------
Author's note: Old Gu said smugly: Did you all hear that? Everyone cares about whom.
*
See you tomorrow, there's a red envelope! Please, please, give me some nutrient solution! [Let me see]
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