"What? Guodong got arrested? And he even assaulted someone? Damn, what happened?" Fatty was incredulous after receiving Xiao Ye's call. He knew Zhang Guodong's personality; he never provoked anyone. Someone must have been causing him trouble.
Xiao Ye's promotion to deputy captain of the criminal investigation team was largely due to Fatty's favor. Fatty had mentioned Xiao Ye beforehand, and Jiang Lihan naturally had to give face to Brother Wang, now District Chief Luo's personal secretary and one of the district's favorites.
With the fat man's connection, Director Jiang is now considered one of District Chief Luo's men, and has truly gained control of one of the most crucial departments in the district government: the Public Security Bureau.
Sometimes, however, Jiang Lihan didn't need to personally handle matters, so Xiao Ye became Fatty's most diligent informant. Here's what happened: Zhang Guodong dragged the shrewish woman out of the store. The police arrived to stop them and question her, but the woman claimed he attempted rape. This infuriated Zhang Guodong. Fine, you say it was indecent assault, you say it was violence, then let's add that, shall we?
Zhang Guodong slapped the woman, leaving five bright red finger marks, demonstrating the force of the slap. The woman remained silent for a long time after the slap, seemingly stunned.
Naturally, the police wouldn't stand for that.
With him standing right there, Zhang Guodong still dared to make a move. With so many people watching, how could he, as a policeman, save face? So he and his colleague took Zhang Guodong and the woman to the station.
But when the young policeman tried to take Zhang Guodong away, the people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau objected. They argued that they had to complete their task for the day. Their superiors had said that if Green Treasure Pavilion wasn't closed down, the section chief was incompetent.
Section Chief Zhou stepped forward to mediate, suggesting that the industry and commerce department investigate first, and then hand the case over to the public security bureau.
But the patrol officer had already consulted his superior, and the answer was to bring the shop owner back to the station unharmed. This superior was none other than Xiao Ye, who was in charge of this area, and Zhang Guodong knew about it.
Upon hearing the name "Green Treasure Pavilion," Xiao Ye immediately felt a headache coming on and scolded, "Nonsense! The owner of Green Treasure Pavilion is an honest person. How could he possibly commit rape? But since the matter isn't clear yet, politely invite him over, understand?"
With a hint from their direct superior, the subordinate knew what to do and said, "Squad Leader Ye, Boss Zhang slapped that woman in public. It wouldn't be right not to bring him back. But we will investigate this matter thoroughly! There's another matter we need to ask for instructions on. Section Chief Zhou from the Industry and Commerce Bureau is leading a team to investigate Green Treasure Pavilion, saying it's on the orders of Director Liu from the Industry and Commerce Bureau. What do you think we should do about this?"
Upon hearing that the officials from the Industry and Commerce Bureau were also present, Xiao Ye immediately became suspicious. What a coincidence! Perhaps this matter wasn't simple. He first refused the Industry and Commerce Bureau's request, then called Fatty.
"You'll handle this personally. If Guodong is even slightly injured, I'll hold you accountable!" the fat man declared after hearing this.
Xiao Ye smiled wryly, but the fat man was in a leadership position, and even the directors and ministers of various departments treated him with great respect, so he had no choice but to comply.
This is Zhang Guodong's second time being imprisoned.
Xiao Ye arrived immediately, dismissed his men, invited Zhang Guodong to sit down, served him tea, and said with a wry smile, "Brother Zhang, what's going on this time?"
Xiao Ye was trying to get closer to them, of course, out of consideration for Fatty and Lin Yue. Xiao Ye knew the relationships between these people well, so getting in touch with Zhang Guodong was equivalent to strengthening ties with Fatty and the others. Besides, Zhang Guodong had even sent them gifts before, all high-quality items that ordinary people couldn't afford.
Xiao Ye politely offered Zhang Guodong a cigarette, but Zhang Guodong nodded and didn't smoke it.
He wasn't a heavy smoker; he only smoked occasionally, purely for fun.
"I suspect someone's causing trouble!" Zhang Guodong scratched his head and said. Yi Ye breathed a sigh of relief; clearly, he believed Zhang Guodong wasn't in any serious trouble, at most he'd just slapped that woman. "I'm not worried about that. A regular customer reminded me, that's why we installed the camera. Everything's clear!"
"It's good that there's a camera. How about this, let's take a quick statement first, and then I'll have Xiao Sun accompany you to pick it up!" Xiao Ye said excitedly.
Even if Zhang Guodong is in the wrong, how big of a deal is this? Besides, if he is in the right and has solid evidence, then it should be handled officially.
But Zhang Guodong wasn't thinking about that; instead, he was trying to lure the snake out of its hole. So he said to Xiao Ye, "Don't spread the word beforehand that you can find out who's behind this dirty trick."
Xiao Ye suddenly realized and quickly nodded in agreement.
On the other side, the Industry and Commerce Bureau.
Section Chief Zhou returned nervously after his mission failed, and reported the situation to Deputy Director Liu.
The matter was botched, and Section Chief Zhou was helpless. The other party consulted their superiors, and he explained that it was a task 'assigned' by Director Liu, but they still wouldn't give him face and took Zhang Guodong and the woman away. Liu Wenjun frowned and said, "Find out which 'leader' it was?"
With just that one sentence, Section Chief Zhou knew that Deputy Director Liu was angry.
The matter was soon clarified.
"A deputy squadron leader? I thought he was some kind of deity. It seems some people need a better education. They can't learn to respect their superiors. I'd like to ask Jiang Lihan how he trained his subordinates!" Liu Wenjun said with a dark face and a sneer.
Section Chief Zhou quickly stood up straight.
This Deputy Director Liu is not someone to be trifled with. Jiang Lihan is a newly promoted director, while Liu Wenjun is only the executive deputy director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, and is half a rank lower than Director Jiang, but he has a lot of nerve.
"Director Jiang, hello, this is Liu Wenjun from the Industry and Commerce Bureau!" Section Chief Zhou was still there, so Deputy Director Liu made the call from his office. Office phone numbers are usually displayed between departments.
This is an internal number.
Jiang Lihan was surprised to receive a call from Liu Wenjun. He knew of this Deputy Director Liu, but they had no contact and no friendship. Why did he call him today?
But upon hearing this, he immediately frowned. This Deputy Director Liu's tone was unfriendly.
"Deputy Director Liu, hello. Is there anything I can help you with today?" Jiang Lihan said with a smile.
"I'd like to ask, do you have a deputy squadron leader named Ye Hui under your command? He's quite arrogant, isn't he? Even though Secretary Gu personally called me to give me instructions, Deputy Squadron Leader Ye didn't even give me, the executive deputy director, any face!" Liu Wenjun immediately launched into a accusation, bringing up Secretary Gu from the very beginning.
Who is this old Party Secretary Gu? He was the former district party secretary, who had retired more than ten years ago, but was promoted half a rank before retirement and retired to live out his retirement as a full-fledged department-level official.
But that's not the most important thing.
The key point is that Secretary Gu is an upright and somewhat stubborn old man, which earned him a lot of respect. Most importantly, Secretary Gu has three sons and one daughter. His eldest son currently works in the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China as an assistant minister—a high-ranking official at the vice-ministerial level. His second son is currently the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, a senior official at the provincial level.
The third son is in business, and although he is not as prominent as his eldest and second eldest brothers, who would dare to underestimate the remaining son and daughter of the Gu family? Moreover, the daughter is married to an ally of a political family, who is also quite influential.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Lihan was immediately taken aback, and only after asking did he learn what had happened.
However, we can't just take one side of the story, and since the matter involves Green Treasure Pavilion and Zhang Guodong, it's a bit troublesome.
“I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If I am at fault, I will apologize to Secretary Gu!” Jiang Lihan said immediately.
After ending the call, Jiang Lihan called Ye Hui and immediately scolded him: "What happened? How did you get into a conflict with the people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau?"
Ye Hui had previously worried about not being able to explain things to his superiors, but now he wasn't afraid anymore. He was acting in accordance with the law and had the evidence in hand. No matter what tricks were used, there would always be a first-come, first-served order, right? Otherwise, where would the Public Security Bureau's reputation be?
“Director Jiang, our people arrived at Green Treasure Pavilion first; some witnesses can testify to that. The comrades from the Industry and Commerce Bureau arrived later. We only refused their request to inspect Green Treasure Pavilion first; there was no other conflict, and this is in accordance with the case-handling procedures—” Ye Hui hurriedly complained. “But they actually brought up Deputy Director Liu to pressure us, this—”
It seems there's nothing more to this matter; Ye Hui left a good impression on Jiang Lihan, who basically believed what he said.
"Hmm, not bad. As long as it follows the proper procedures, that's fine. We are law enforcement officers, and we must abide by basic principles!" Jiang Lihan praised, then continued, "What's the deal with Green Treasure Pavilion? How did Zhang Guodong get involved in the rape case?"
Speaking of this, Ye Hui scoffed: "Why would a woman of that appearance need a **? The matter is basically clear. That woman was extorting money; she was probably acting under someone's orders. We've already obtained the videotape from the Green Treasure Pavilion store, proving that the woman made a false accusation. Zhang Guodong is the victim in this matter!"
"Watch your words. Don't let subjective emotions influence your investigations; let the evidence speak for itself!" Jiang Lihan reprimanded. "Is the videotape genuine?"
"It's true, it's already been verified!" Ye Hui flattered, "Director Jiang, you should know that every female friend of Zhang Guodong is a beauty. This is simply a despicable tactic!"
Knowing that Director Jiang and Fatty had a good relationship, and that Ye Hui was honored to have dinner with District Chief Luo, Director Jiang, and Fatty at Green Treasure Pavilion, with Zhang Guodong personally cooking.
“Then let’s handle this officially, and demonstrate the law enforcement capabilities and impartiality of our police department!” Jiang Lihan began to speak in an official tone.
This matter seemed to have nothing to do with the Industry and Commerce Bureau, so Jiang Lihan remained neutral.
"What about the Industry and Commerce Bureau?"
“The Industry and Commerce Bureau investigates taxes, while we investigate illegal cases. There’s no conflict. Now that things are clear here, it’s fine to have the Industry and Commerce Bureau cooperate in investigating tax issues. Maybe the comrades from the Industry and Commerce Bureau can even provide evidence for the case! How about that?” Jiang Lihan said.
Illegal cases involve a much wider range of issues, such as tax evasion, which involves individuals and businesses. It would be very difficult to handle such cases without the involvement of the police.
Once the videotape from the store's security camera arrived, the case was immediately solved. The woman panicked and confessed, saying that she couldn't stand Zhang Guodong's attitude and decided to take revenge.
Is it really that simple?
Just then, the old leader called Luo Jianhui: "I'm retired now, so my words don't carry any weight. Some of your comrades in the Public Security Bureau are not transparent in their handling of cases. Are you planning to force people to confess?"
Somehow, this matter reached the ears of Secretary Gu, and the phone call ended up with Luo Jianhui.
Luo Jianhui was somewhat bewildered. Who had offended Secretary Gu? Why was he so angry? This was a very serious matter. Luo Jianhui called Jiang Lihan and learned the situation: there was factual evidence, and the police had handled the matter fairly.
Luo Jianhui pondered for a while before saying, "Since there's no loss, leaving it like this isn't quite right either!"
Jiang Lihan knew that District Chief Luo was under pressure, so he waved his hand and said that the matter would be handled through civil mediation.
Zhang Guodong was furious when he heard the news. He knew that the officialdom was very complicated and the relationships were intricate, but he did not expect it to turn out like this!
"Civil mediation? Dream on!" He stormed out of the police station, only to receive a call from a woman: "Mr. Zhang, someone's causing trouble for Green Treasure Pavilion. Want to know who it is? Who have you offended lately? Hehe!"
Why does that voice sound so familiar?
Sister Anita Mui?!
P.S.: First update!
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