Chapter 151 The police officers Old Sun brought...
The police officers watched Mingxi and his group warily.
Don't be fooled by the fact that this group of people, including both young and old, men and women, and carrying large and small bags, looks like they're out for a market. You never know, they might just be robbers.
After all, the robbers couldn't possibly be those few blood-soaked gourds lying on the ground, all bound and gagged.
Just as the police officers were looking tense, several middle-aged women moved. Aunt He took the lead and rushed in front of the police officers, slapping her thigh and bursting into tears.
“Officers, you’ve finally arrived! You have no idea how wicked these bastards are. We were just leaving the market, and these bastards cornered us. They stopped us, demanded money, and even said they were going to sell us to some remote mountain village. Not only are they robbing us, they’re also human traffickers! These bastards are utterly despicable, their hearts are completely rotten…”
Grandma He clung to the police officer's leg and started wailing. The officer, who had been tense, was rendered speechless by her wailing and said helplessly, "Grandma, please let go. What's going on?"
Aunt He didn't let go until she saw Aunt Ma give her a look, then she released her grip on the police officer's leg.
Aunt Ma stepped forward and said, "Let me explain, officer. It's like this..."
She recounted the events in detail. At this point, many people who had come to watch the commotion because of the arrival of the police officers gathered around. When they heard Aunt Ma say that the three people on the ground were robbers, everyone started pointing and whispering.
This is because the people who gathered here were either there to go to the market or had worked hard to set up their stalls.
Earning money is hard for everyone, and the thought of these three robbers taking their money made everyone want to kill them.
Some of the more excited ones even wanted to go up and kick each of the three men.
The police officers quickly pulled them away. The three people on the ground were already badly beaten. If they were kicked a few more times, not to mention whether they would be taken back to the police station for trial, the police station would have to pay for their medical expenses first.
After much persuasion, the police officers managed to rescue the barely alive robber from the clutches of a concerned citizen.
The senior police officer in charge waved his hand and took the robbers and Mingxi's group back to the police station.
Mingxi and the others obediently followed the other party back to the police station to give statements. She was honest and compliant, and she answered whatever the police asked. So when the police officers learned that the three robbers were beaten so badly mainly because of her efforts, they were shocked and their mouths dropped open.
What the hell? You're saying this young, well-behaved girl in front of you took down three robbers single-handedly?
Are you kidding me?
Seeing the police officer's reaction, Mingxi could only add, "I'm naturally stronger, and no man can beat me. If you don't believe me, we can have a contest."
As she spoke, she stretched out her arm, revealing a section of her fair and slender wrist.
The police officer swallowed hard and said, "No need."
It wasn't that he was afraid to compare himself to Mingxi, but rather that he knew Mingxi wouldn't lie about something like this.
So she really was the one who subdued the robber?!
Just as the police officer taking Mingxi's statement was surprised, there was a knock on the door. Another junior police officer whispered a few words to him. Mingxi couldn't hear clearly, but he could vaguely make out that the other person said something like, "His testicles are broken, he's in so much pain he's passed out, and he needs to be taken to the hospital."
Then, the police officer taking Mingxi's statement looked up at Mingxi with a complicated expression and said to the newly arrived junior officer, "Take her to the hospital."
The statements of Mingxi and the others were taken quickly, and in principle, they could go home directly, but Mingxi was curious.
She sensed that the three robbers had come prepared and had been watching them since they first entered the market.
With so many people at the market, why did they specifically target a few of them? And to do it in broad daylight, not far from the market, weren't they afraid of being seen?
Mingxi felt something was wrong, so she stayed and wanted to wait until the police finished their interrogation to find out what had happened.
The others, hearing Mingxi's words, also sensed something was amiss and were willing to stay with her to wait for an answer.
The two stronger robbers had better mental fortitude. Even after being beaten black and blue and taken to the police station, they still stubbornly insisted that it was all a misunderstanding and that they weren't robbing anyone. The skinny one, however, didn't have such good mental fortitude.
He had just been severely beaten by Aunt Liu's daughter-in-law and fainted from the pain. He was woken up by the police officers at the police station. When he opened his eyes, he found himself being taken from outside to the police station, with uniformed police officers standing in front of him. On the wall opposite him was written "Confess and you will be treated leniently; resist and you will be punished severely." He was so scared that he wet himself. He stammered and confessed everything.
The skinny young man confessed that he was a local from Beicheng, from a family of modest means, and that he was lazy and unwilling to work hard, only wanting to get something for nothing. That's why he conceived the idea of robbery. Two months ago, he snatched an elderly woman's bag in a small park, and she called the police. Fearing arrest, he hid in a dilapidated temple in the western suburbs of the city.
He met two other, stronger robbers here. After getting to know them, he learned that they were escapees. They had robbed and injured people in their hometown and were afraid of being arrested by the police, so they fled to the north of the city.
The three of them, upon discovering that they were in the same industry, decided to work together.
The two robberies that happened near the machinery factory a while ago were committed by the three of them together. The skinny young man was in charge of keeping watch, while the other two carried out the robberies.
The skinny young man was a local; he had scoured all the alleys in the northern part of the city. With him acting as lookout and directing the escape, they weren't caught during either robbery. Plus, they hid well, and the police didn't find any clues.
They had originally planned to hit and run, and after robbing Mingxi and her group, they would move on to the next city, knowing the police would never catch them.
Unexpectedly, it was Mingxi's order that ran into problems.
As for why it was Mingxi and a few others?
According to the skinny young man, it wasn't them who targeted Mingxi first; rather, someone approached him wanting him to act out a scene of a robbery and hero rescuing a damsel in distress.
According to him, a while ago, when he and two accomplices were scouting the area, they were stopped by an old man with a wrinkled face that looked like an orange peel. The old man grabbed the three of them, saying "okay," and then took out money, saying he wanted the three of them to help him put on a show. He called it a show, but actually, he wanted the three of them to pretend to be robbers and rob an old woman, and then the old man would jump out and play the hero to save the damsel in distress.
The three men laughed when they heard the old man's request. They were already robbing people, why would they need to pretend to be robbers?
Without much hesitation, they accepted the job. The old man gave them a 20 yuan deposit and a photo of the old woman they were going to steal, saying that he would give them another 20 yuan after the job was done.
The three robbers weren't after the forty yuan; they were planning to make the act real and rob the old man of the orange peel.
If this person can rob someone for forty dollars, he can definitely get more money out of them.
They sent someone to secretly follow the old man to scout the location, but the day after the scout, the old man suddenly said that someone in the courtyard had discovered them, and the plan was canceled. He didn't want the deposit they had originally received, but he also forfeited the promised balance.
This infuriated the three men, so they beat the old man up and took all his money to live a life of debauchery.
When their money ran out and they were short of cash, they set their sights on the woman in the old man's photo, Aunt Li. They happened to catch Aunt Li with Mingxi and the others at the market. At the market, they witnessed Aunt Li and her friends spending money lavishly, concluding they were easy targets. They figured these women were either old or female, and the only man seemed like a pretty boy who couldn't fight back, which was why they ambushed Mingxi and her friends as they were leaving.
The skinny young man never expected that Mingxi and his gang were not pushovers. Before they had even managed to steal a single penny, they were given a sound beating.
Facing the police interrogation, he cried his heart out, snot and tears streaming down his face: "Police officers, you have to do justice for me! Although I robbed someone and I'm not a good person, those women aren't good people either. They were incredibly ruthless. I'm a perfectly healthy young man, not even married yet. What if they ruin my life and I can't have children?"
The police officer looked disgusted. "He's an armed robber thinking about getting married and having children? Dream on!"
"Forget about getting married and having children. Someone like you will spend the rest of your life in a labor camp."
Upon hearing this, the skinny young man, whether from fear or pain, suddenly fainted.
Although the police officers didn't want to deal with such criminals, they couldn't ignore him since he had fainted, so they had to organize people to take him to the hospital.
With the skinny young man's confession, it was easy to get the other two burly robbers to talk. The police officers didn't have much trouble getting them to tell the truth, and the events were indeed pretty much as the skinny young man had described.
What the skinny young man didn't know was that these two men weren't just robbing and injuring people in their hometown; they had actually stabbed someone and were on the run for murder. Their original plan to conspire with the skinny young man was merely to use him as a lookout and guide, intending to kill him once they reached the next city.
These words sent chills down the spines of the police officers. These two men had murders on their hands, killing without blinking an eye; they were definitely desperate criminals. It was only because they were caught today that they were apprehended; otherwise, who knows how many more people they would have harmed.
Because of this, when the police officers came out and saw Mingxi and the others, their expressions were incredibly kind and friendly.
Is this still an ordinary comrade?
no!
This is a great help in catching heinous criminals!
Police officer: "Thank you, Comrade Ming, thank you so much! We've investigated and found out that all three robbers have criminal records, two of them even have prior convictions and are wanted fugitives. You've done us a huge favor this time!"
"the wanted?!"
Mingxi and the others spoke in unison.
Zhao Sulan immediately looked at Mingxi with lingering fear. She hadn't expected that those people had committed crimes before. She had actually let Mingxi deal with them all by herself. It was only because Mingxi caught them off guard that they were able to escape. If they had been prepared, then...
Mingxi felt her mother's grip on her hand tighten. Turning her head, she saw Zhao Sulan's eyebrows furrowed, her face filled with lingering fear.
She quickly patted Zhao Sulan's arm: "Mom, it's okay."
Isn't she perfectly fine here, without any problems?
Wei Ning also frowned, his usually smiling face unusually gloomy, which looked rather intimidating.
Aunt He and Aunt Liu, along with the others, patted their chests in lingering fear. Who would have thought that these three people had a life on their shoulders?
That was close!
The police officer didn't speak until the group had calmed down before looking at Aunt Li: "By the way, do you have any enemies? The three robbers just confessed that they were called here by a wrinkled old man who looked like an orange peel. At first, the old man wanted them to cooperate in a 'hero saves the beauty' act."
When the police officer relayed the robber's confession to the group, one name immediately popped into their minds—Old Sun.
After the police officers finished describing the physical characteristics of the three robbers, everyone became even more certain that the person they were talking about was indeed Old Sun.
Speaking of which, these past few days they've seen Old Sun coming and going with a face full of injuries. When asked, Old Sun just said he accidentally fell.
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Old Sun's injuries were from being beaten; he couldn't have gotten them from a fall. But Old Sun didn't want to talk about it, and no one dared to press him further.
Looking back now, the injuries on Old Sun's body must have been inflicted by the robbers, but he kept it a secret from everyone because it was something that couldn't be brought to light.
Aunt He gritted her teeth: "Damn it, this old man Sun, at his age, does nothing of substance, just messes around with all this disgusting nonsense. He even calls himself a hero saving a damsel in distress. I think he's just a coward."
If you think about it for a moment, you'll realize that Old Sun's heroic rescue was all for the purpose of getting back together with Aunt Li.
Aunt Li was already in a relationship with Teacher Hou, yet he still tried to use such despicable means to get back together with her, which ended up attracting real robbers and almost getting them killed. It's disgusting!
Aunt Ma and Aunt Liu didn't say anything, but they had the same thought in their hearts.
That old man Sun is like a stinky pile of dog poop; not only is he disgusting, but once you get stuck with him, you can't shake him off.
Police officer: "Who is this old man Sun?"
Aunt Li: "Old Sun is my ex-husband. We divorced three or four months ago. I started dating someone new recently, and he probably did this because he was unhappy about it."
The police officer, having learned a big surprise, didn't show any outward reaction, only saying, "Okay, we've noted this down."
Mingxi asked with concern, "If the investigation confirms the facts, will Grandpa Sun be arrested?"
"Well..." The police officer looked troubled and said, "Strictly speaking, no, he didn't participate in the robbery after all. It's just that his behavior disturbed the peace, so we need to criticize and educate him."
Aunt He: "How can you just criticize and educate him! That old bastard, ever since Lao Li wanted a divorce, he's been causing trouble non-stop. Now he's even bringing in wolves into the house, hiring a few robbers to play the hero and save the damsel in distress. Does he have a brain? These guys have murder charges against them! It's only because there were so many of us today that nothing happened. Otherwise, how many lives could he possibly have to pay for it? That bastard, that beastly dog, if you ask me, he should be arrested and locked up for a few months."
Mingxi tugged at Aunt He's sleeve, even though she also felt that Old Sun was wrong.
However, the police have clear regulations on how they punish Old Sun, and they can't just do whatever they want.
Moreover, Aunt Li was listening nearby. What if Aunt Li heard what she said and thought it would make her feel uneasy?
Aunt He received Mingxi's hint, glanced at Aunt Li, and found that the other woman's face was pale and her expression was not good, so she obediently shut her mouth.
Aunt Li looked apologetic: "I'm so sorry everyone, if it weren't for me, none of this would have happened today..."
Mingxi quickly said, "Aunt Li, don't overthink it, this isn't your fault."
Zhao Sulan patted Aunt Li's hand: "Don't think nonsense. This is Old Sun's fault, the robber's fault, no matter who you blame, it's not your fault."
Aunt He said in a carefree manner, "That's right, that's right. Old Li, don't think nonsense. If it's like you say, then you should blame me and Old Ma. If it weren't for Old Ma's suggestion, we wouldn't have come to the market today. If I hadn't invited you, you wouldn't have come to the market with us. If you keep blaming us like this, it will never end."
Hearing this, Aunt Li smiled slightly, but the guilt in her heart still lingered.
Mingxi: "Aunt Li, from another perspective, you did a good deed today. If it weren't for you, the robbers wouldn't have come out to rob people, and we wouldn't have caught them and brought them to the police station. If they had been left out there, who knows how many more people they would have harmed."
Police officer: "Comrade Xiaoming is right. According to their confession, they originally planned to commit this crime and then flee to another city. If they really do flee, it will be very difficult for us to catch them, and there may be new victims."
Mingxi: "See, I was right, wasn't I?"
Hearing this, Aunt Li's guilt did indeed lessen considerably.
Mingxi and the others inquired further and confirmed that the three people had no other accomplices, which put everyone at ease.
And there was an unexpected surprise: it turned out that the skinny young man who led the group was the same robber who had snatched Aunt Li's bag.
The other person ran away quickly, and Aunt Li didn't get a good look at his face. She only remembered that he was a man with a pointed face and monkey-like features. In addition, it was cold today, and the other person was wearing a lot of clothes, so at first glance, she really couldn't recognize him as the same person.
It was only after the police officers, based on the statement given by the skinny young man, contacted the police station where Ms. Li had initially reported the crime, that they discovered the two robbers were actually the same person.
This can be considered as Aunt Li getting her revenge.
Even more unexpectedly, the police officers said that once the case was closed, they would send letters of thanks to the street office and the unit where Mingxi and Weining worked.
For the older women, the thank-you letter wasn't very effective.
In other words, going abroad is an honorable thing.
But for young comrades like Mingxi and Weining, a letter of thanks can be helpful in performance evaluations, housing allocation by the unit, and future career advancement.
Mingxi's eyes crinkled into crescents. Although it wasn't the first time she'd received a thank-you letter, she was still quite excited.
Having asked all the necessary questions, and with it getting late, everyone needed to take the bus back to the city, so they left the police station.
The police station caused a delay, and by the time everyone got home it was already past 3 p.m. Mingxi and the others had just reached the alley entrance when they saw Grandma He's husband, Grandpa Zheng, coming to greet them.
"Honey, why did you take so long? Didn't you say you'd be home by noon if you went to the early market? Why are you only coming back now? I was so worried that something had happened to you."
Aunt He said irritably, "Of course something happened! We were robbed today!"
Grandpa Zheng: "What?! A robbery?!"
Aunt He spoke quite loudly, and several people sunbathing at the entrance of the alley immediately gathered around.
"What happened? Lao He, did you encounter a robbery?"
"Is everything alright?"
Are you alright?
As soon as everyone gathered around, Aunt He immediately launched into a long story: "It's a long story, let me tell you slowly. We went to the market today, and just as we finished and were getting ready to take the bus home with our bags full, three men suddenly jumped out... Luckily, Mingxi was there, and she beat them up in no time... Later, the police came... The police told us that these three men had been hired by someone!"
Aunt He is a real gossip queen; she described today's events as incredibly dramatic, thrilling, and exciting.
The onlookers listened intently, and when they saw that Aunt He had stopped talking, they anxiously urged her to continue: "Old He, please continue! What exactly happened? Who hired those three robbers?"
"Yeah, who would do something so heartless and despicable?"
Aunt He looked grief-stricken: "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's that I'm afraid you won't believe me even after I tell you, because you all know this person!"
When Mingxi saw Aunt He like this, she knew that Aunt He was about to start her performance.
However, no one else knew this. When everyone heard this, they were all surprised to find that they recognized the person.
How could such a heartless and rotten person be right next to them?
Everyone looked warily at the people around them. At the very back of the crowd, Old Sun's expression froze when he heard this. He took two steps back guiltily, wanting to slip away early, but Aunt He wouldn't give him that chance.
Aunt He shouted loudly, "Yes, you all know the person looking for the robber, it's Old Sun from our courtyard!"
"Old Sun?!"
Everyone stared wide-eyed at Old Sun behind them.
Old Sun felt guilty for a second, but he reacted quickly. When he saw everyone looking over, he immediately retorted, "It wasn't me, I didn't do it! Old He, don't talk nonsense! What robber, what robbery? I have no idea what you're talking about!"
He spoke with a straight face and an air of authority, easily fooling those who were unaware of the situation. For a moment, the people present were quite confused.
Old Sun immediately became smug upon seeing this: "What evidence do you have for saying this? If you're just making things up without evidence, I'll have the police arrest you!"
Just as Old Sun finished speaking, two uniformed police officers and some street office staff walked over.
The officer from the neighborhood committee pointed at Old Sun: "Police officers, this is Sun Baomin, the man you're looking for."
Old Sun, who had been shouting just moments before, fell silent the moment he saw the police officers, like a rooster being choked.
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