In Director Li's office at the steel rolling mill, Xu Damao had sunken eyes and a pair of panda eyes.
His once slicked-back hair was now like weeds, and his unkempt beard made him stand blankly in front of Director Li's desk.
Zhu Ziming, the security officer standing next to him, also looked exhausted.
Yesterday, the two of them brought back a chubby boy who looked like Maitreya Buddha, with small, smiling eyes. However, he couldn't smile at the moment, as his hands were tied behind his back. It turned out to be Bai Daming.
He didn't know how he ended up being tied up here by the two of them. They had been sneaking around the whole way, and even when they entered the factory, they waited until the workers had finished their shift.
He doesn't know where he is right now because he's been blindfolded the whole way.
Li Huaide looked at the man in front of him. He appeared to be in his forties, with a fleshy face, but was not very tall.
His little mouse eyes darted around. He was clearly not a good person.
Yesterday, Zhu Ziming told me that he had brought back a leader of a sect, the very one that Wang Qiang and his gang had taken down, named Bai Daming.
He and Xu Damao, posing as movie projectionists, had a letter of introduction and approval from Li Huaide of the steel rolling mill. They traveled to more than a dozen villages in the area for nearly a month.
They had just found Bai Daming and quickly arrested him. To prevent any unforeseen complications, the two of them took Bai Daming back to Beijing overnight.
Bai Daming looked at Li Huaide in front of him. Judging from his clothes, he must be a high-ranking leader. He wanted to speak several times, but then he thought about how badly the two people beside him had treated him on the way.
So I simply kept quiet and waited to see what the other person would say.
Bai Daming was lost in thought, and he and Li Huaide stared at each other for three minutes.
Upon receiving Zhu Ziming's report, Li Huaide originally intended to interrogate Bai Daming overnight.
Last night, Bai Daming was locked in an abandoned house in the factory. To prevent him from escaping, they tied his ankles with two iron chains weighing about 100 pounds each.
This iron chain, produced by the steel mill, is of guaranteed quality and made of solid materials. For Bai Daming to open it would be an impossible task. He could only wait patiently.
Thinking they would give us something to eat, we didn't see a single grain of rice all night, let alone a cornbread.
This morning, I was dragged to this office early in the morning, blindfolded and gagged, and stayed there for who knows how long before someone came and removed the blindfold and gag.
Li Huaide glanced at Bai Daming; he didn't have a good impression of such a person.
He raised his head, his face serious: "Honestly confess your problems!"
Bai Daming feigned innocence. He had hidden himself so well, yet he had been discovered? A series of questions flooded his mind.
Zhu Ziming said expressionlessly, "This is your last chance. Confess and you will be treated leniently; resist and you will be punished severely. I'll give you three minutes to explain things clearly."
"Otherwise, let's find somewhere else to talk!"
Bai Daming still doesn't know who the other person is. If they are a policeman, they don't seem like one.
He asked cautiously, "Leaders, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. I will definitely answer them."
Li Huaide sneered: "The leader of the sect, are you still not going to admit it now?"
Xu Damao stepped forward and covered Bai Daming's mouth, while Zhu Ziming, holding a hammer, found a book and placed it under Bai Daming's chest.
Bai Daming was in so much pain that he couldn't even scream, and his face was covered in sweat.
Li Huaide laughed and said, "Bai Daming, don't you know Taoist magic? You can't even stand this little bit of pain?"
Bai Daming shook his head, his eyes filled with pleading.
Seeing that it was about time, Li Huaide signaled Zhu Ziming and Xu Damao to release Bai Daming.
"Bai Daming, you need to understand the situation. What time is it now? Even if you were killed, it would be a pointless death!"
Bai Daming stood before Li Huaide, his face contorted with grimaces, forcing a respectful smile as he asked.
"I don't know. Whatever the leader wants to know, I'll tell you."
Li Huaide softened his tone: "Bai Daming, last month, your Taoist altar lost two boxes of things. What were they?"
"As long as you tell the truth, your past misdeeds can be forgiven. But if you dare to utter even a single lie, you know the consequences!"
Bai Daming nodded repeatedly. The two people beside him had been taking care of themselves the whole way. They often couldn't even afford a single cornbread a day, and they had to beg the two of them for a long time if they wanted a drink of water.
"Leader, to be honest, we really messed up that time. The two boxes of things we had accumulated at the altar were all taken away, and the six holy maidens also disappeared."
"Please focus on what's in those two boxes."
"Yes, yes, a chest of silver dollars and a chest of gold!"
Li Huaide glanced at Xu Damao and thought to himself, "This kid wasn't lying back then."
It seems He Yuzhu and Wang Qiang did indeed have a problem. But why did their things disappear later?
Li Huaide never expected that Wang Qiang would actually use a trick to deceive him.
"Where are those two boxes now?"
"Tell me your whereabouts honestly, and I'll try to get you leniency. From now on, behave yourself, or else..."
Bai Daming's heart stirred.
It seems that the person who stole the items back then was not on the same side as this one.
Now that my own people are under my roof, I have no choice but to bow my head. That's fine; let them fight each other to vent my anger.
Bai Daming smiled obsequiously, "I don't know that person. He said he's from the steel rolling mill, a purchasing agent, and he's going to make some purchases. He'll be eating at our restaurant."
"A conflict ensued, and we couldn't beat him, so we ran away. Unexpectedly, he took all our things with him."
"Oh, right, there was one man and two women with him."
Hearing this, Li Huaide smiled meaningfully and said, "That kid Wang Qiang is quite good at pretending. I just remembered that Wang Qiang gave me 5,000 yuan."
"Hmph, you think you can get rid of me with this little bit of money? Not so easy."
Xu Damao, who was standing nearby, heard it clearly: "Director Li, you see, my report at the time was indeed true. This Wang Qiang is the one with the problem."
"And He Yuzhu, Qin Huairu, and Li Man, they must all know about it. Why don't we arrest them first?"
Li Huaide laughed irritably, "You make it sound so easy, kid. You can't just arrest people like that. You need to be careful with your methods. Let's find Li Man and Qin Huairu first. Just scare the two women a little."
"Xu Damao, go and find those two right now!"
"Zhu Ziming, keep an eye on this guy!"
Xu Damao turned and left Li Huaide's office, while Zhu Ziming gagged Bai Daming and tightened the rope binding his hands.
Watching Xu Damao leave, Li Huaide thought to himself: It seems Wang Qiang is no simple man. He managed to fool me completely.
Xu Damao went downstairs to the workshop to find Qin Huairu. After asking, he learned that Qin Huairu had taken the day off, saying that she was not feeling well and was resting at home.
Xu Damao then went to the finance office and found Li Man.
Li Man was somewhat surprised to hear that it was Director Li who was looking for her. She looked at her aunt, Sister Chen, who coughed twice and said to Xu Damao.
"Da Mao, Li Man has something she hasn't finished yet, wait a few minutes."
Xu Damao originally wanted to forcibly take Li Man away, but that would have too bad an impact, so he could only wait!
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