After a long period of careful consideration, Aunt Zhou finally made her choice.
“Officer Zhou, although we are divorced, we were once husband and wife. Death is the greatest honor, and I am willing to collect his body.”
"Okay! We respect your choice. Please sign this document."
Officer Li nodded and then handed over the document.
"Aunt Zhou, let me tell you first. There are some other fees involved, including the hearse transportation fee, cremation fee, urn fee, bullet fee... It will cost a total of 21.63 yuan. Please pay it in a bit."
Upon hearing about the exorbitant fees, Aunt Zhou simply nodded mechanically and then began pressing her fingerprints.
After affixing his fingerprints, Officer Li put away the documents, collected the due fees, and left the Zhou family.
...
On the other side.
Lin Wencui, who works at a steel rolling mill, also received a call from the local street office.
Over the phone, the neighborhood committee informed her that she must organize the residents of the courtyard to attend the public trial on the weekend.
Only in this way can it have a deterrent effect, making people afraid to commit crimes.
...
As evening fell, Sun Zhengguo had just returned home from work when he heard his grandfather talking about this.
"Zhengguo, this weekend, a public trial is going to be held on South Street. I heard that Yi Zhonghai will be executed."
“Grandpa, this was all expected. Why keep someone like this around for the New Year?” Sun Zhengguo put down his briefcase and said casually.
But that's not what Grandpa meant at all.
“Zhengguo, I know you’ve always been very opinionated, but Grandpa still has to remind you, lust is a dangerous thing, so you must keep your lower body in check…”
Alright! So Grandpa was waiting for him here! But Sun Zhengguo just smiled and wasn't angry at all.
As one's position in the organization grows higher and higher, having someone around to constantly remind one of these responsibilities can be a form of encouragement.
The worst thing is when you're trying to avoid pitfalls on your path to progress, but your family is digging them for you from behind—then there's no hope.
...
Time flies, and the weekend is here in the blink of an eye.
Today is the day of Yi Zhonghai's public trial, but Sun Zhengguo didn't plan to go watch the spectacle. Instead, he took his wife and children to his mother-in-law's house.
Meanwhile, a number of people had already gathered in the front yard of the courtyard. Except for those who needed to stay for special reasons, everyone else was there.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Lin Wencui did not step forward to speak, because she had already handed the opportunity over to Liu Haizhong, leaving him in full charge.
As expected, Liu Haizhong walked to the front with his feet turned outwards, then raised his voice and began to establish the rules.
"Dear neighbors, I'm sure you all know what day it is today, so I won't go into details. I just want to emphasize a few points:"
First, this task was assigned by the subdistrict office, so we hope everyone will take it seriously. We need to be vigilant at all times and not follow in the footsteps of Yi Zhonghai.
Secondly, I hope everyone will pay attention to the discipline of the meeting. Do not make loud noises, do not joke or play around. When the leaders speak on the stage, applaud in time and do not stand there like a wooden statue.
Third, there will definitely be slogans during the meeting later, and I hope everyone will shout them out and not hide in silence.
Fourth, I hope that some of the people here won't take the wrong side and sympathize with the criminals, and even more so, they won't…
Liu Haizhong continued speaking, and Lin Wencui was very considerate today, not stopping him, but patiently listening.
Only when he ran out of things to say and felt completely at ease did he wave his hand and say, "Let's go."
The neighbors, who had been dozing off just moments before, instantly perked up upon hearing the word "departure," and filed out one after another, heading towards South Street...
The venue on South Street Square had been set up, and when the people from the courtyard arrived, quite a few people had already come.
Liu Haizhong was fairly reliable; he found everyone a good spot near the front, and then we waited patiently for the conference to begin.
Gradually, as time went on, the number of people watching on site increased.
At around 9 a.m., the leadership team, consisting of the district public security bureau chief, the procurator general, and the court president, began to enter the meeting venue.
Then, seven or eight large trucks drove up from a short distance away, carrying prisoners who were tied up and soldiers who were armed.
As trucks drove by one by one, some people in the courtyard formation spotted Yi Zhonghai.
"Look everyone, Yi Zhonghai is in the sixth car."
Upon hearing the shout, everyone's eyes turned to the sixth car.
However, when they saw Yi Zhonghai again, they could hardly believe their eyes.
At this time, Yi Zhonghai had a vacant look in his eyes, was emaciated, and had a full head of white hair, making him look extremely old.
It's almost unbelievable. Where did that once-impressive Grade 8 worker go?
"My God! Is this really Yi Zhonghai? How come he looks so old?"
"I guess he's worried! He's going to be executed. If you were in his shoes, you wouldn't be much better off."
"Get lost, can't you say something nice?"
...
At this moment, Yi Zhonghai seemed to sense something and also looked in this direction.
When he saw his wife and his two adorable children again, tears blurred his vision.
The siblings Zhou Xiaofang and Zhou Xiaobao, who were standing below, still had some conscience. Seeing their father like this, they both lowered their heads and choked up.
Unfortunately, they couldn't go forward to speak, and could only watch helplessly as the car passed by.
With the prisoners entering, the public trial officially began.
First, several leaders gave speeches at the conference, which were, of course, the same old things.
In short, the message is to discourage crime and remind people that if they reach out, they will be caught.
After the leaders finish speaking, the next thing the onlookers really want to see is the show.
One could see prisoners, bound hand and foot, standing in a row in the center of the field.
Then the court president would call out their names one by one, announcing their crimes and sentences.
After each criminal was announced, the soldiers behind would kick that criminal to their knees in the square, and then shout slogans like, "Down with so-and-so..."
Today's public trial was not actually held for Yi Zhonghai alone, but for many prisoners together.
The crimes committed by these prisoners are ranked from minor to serious, with those appearing last being of higher status.
For example, Yi Zhonghai is such a big shot.
When Yi Zhonghai arrived, the remaining people were all death row inmates.
At this point, Yi Zhonghai was brought to the front of the court, and the court president began to read from the prepared script.
"The criminal Yi Zhonghai was convicted of intentional homicide. After investigation by the public security authorities, the crime was found to be conclusive, and with the approval of the procuratorate, he was formally arrested."
According to Article 232 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, the court hereby sentences Yi Zhonghai, the murderer, to death, with deprivation of political rights for life. He shall be immediately taken to the execution ground and executed on his own!
The moment the verdict was announced, two soldiers did the same thing, kicking Yi Zhonghai to his knees in the square, forcing him to apologize to the people.
Then the slogans rang out: "Down with murderer Yi Zhonghai!"
Immediately afterward, the crowd below also joined in the shouting.
Down with murderer Yi Zhonghai!
After the trials of these prisoners were completed, those with minor offenses were returned to the detention center.
The remaining three death row inmates were put into a car and driven to a secluded place only a few miles away, where they were to be executed.
Because of the bicycle, Xu Damao pulled Liu Guangfu along all the way to the execution ground.
I witnessed Yi Zhonghai's execution firsthand!
"Bang!"
With a gunshot, Yi Zhonghai's life came to an end.
...
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