By the time all the villagers had finished giving their statements, it was completely dark.
Li Jin told Li Kang, Li Xiangdong, and Zhao Shuangxi to wait at the police station, while the others went home first.
As the commune members gradually left, Li Kang and Li Jin discussed, "Brother, this policeman surnamed Hao is clearly biased towards Niu Guang. Now he's fixated on the fact that we beat someone up. What should we do?"
Li Jin went in to give a statement, and Officer Hao's questions were quite aggressive, but he didn't back down and gave them a piece of his mind.
What's there to be afraid of!
He himself wasn't afraid, but he was very worried about Li Xiangdong. Although Li Xiangdong had recently shown some cleverness, he was still just a fourteen-year-old boy, and he didn't know what would happen if he faced questioning from two policemen alone.
Li Xiangdong had none of Li Jin's worries. In his previous life, he had run a factory and dealt with people from both the underworld and the legitimate world. Besides, people who run factories and companies are bound to have a couple of lawsuits every year!
He understands the legal provisions, as well as the rules and regulations for trials and sentencing!
Li Xiangdong sat in a chair, a bright incandescent light shining directly above his head. Opposite him were two stern, dark faces: one that of Officer Hao, and the other that of Officer Zhang. Behind their faces were eight large characters: "Confess and you will be treated leniently; resist and you will be punished severely."
Ha!
Is this person treating themselves like a criminal suspect?
Officer Hao routinely asked Li Xiangdong for his name, age, home address, and so on. Then, without saying anything else, he took off his peaked cap, leaned back in his chair, took a sip of strong tea, and spat it out with a "pui" sound.
"Tell me about it!"
Without asking anything, they just stare at you with that knowing look in their eyes and then say something!
If you're timid, you'll be terrified and your mind will be in complete chaos, so you'll believe whatever others say.
But it's clear that Li Xiangdong is not a coward.
"What are you saying, Officer Hao?" Li Xiangdong smiled slightly, his face calm and relaxed, as if he were chatting idly on the kang (heated brick bed) at home, not at the police station.
"Tell me what you know!" Officer Hao added.
“I know so much! Climbing trees to catch birds, going down to the river to catch fish, helping with farm work at home, what are you referring to?” Li Xiangdong asked in return.
"Stop rambling! Who wants to listen to your nonsense!" Officer Hao snapped.
Officer Zhang glanced at Officer Hao, signaling that that was enough; this kid was clearly different from the others and couldn't be intimidated.
"Your name is Li Xiangdong, right? Tell me what happened today. How did you find out that Liu Baobao and Niu Guang raped Ning Ruoruo?"
“Officer Zhang, I was helping my family feed the pigs around 3 p.m. this afternoon when I heard someone shouting for help. I saw Niu Guang and Liu Baobao committing violence. After I asked my sister-in-law to call for help, I rushed out and stopped their violence.”
Li Xiangdong succinctly described the ins and outs of the matter once again.
"Oh? What a coincidence that you ran into them?" Officer Hao raised an eyebrow and said with amusement.
"Perhaps God couldn't stand it anymore and just happened to let me run into this. Otherwise, what's that old saying? Oh, nothing is more coincidental than a story!" Li Xiangdong finished speaking and gave the two of them a slight smile.
Officer Hao's words had no effect on Li Xiangdong whatsoever; they were merely empty words.
"No coincidence, no story? I don't think there are any coincidences in this world. Too many so-called coincidences are man-made. I heard you used to fight with Niu Guang?"
Officer Hao, who had been relaxed, stared intently at Li Xiangdong.
"Yes, we've fought. It wasn't just us who fought. Which kid in the village doesn't fight and play around? They fight today and make up tomorrow."
"I heard you told others before that Niu Guang's family relies on their relatives in the province for support and looks down on the people in the village. They even look down on your father, the brigade leader. Sooner or later, they'll put him in jail!"
"You've taken that out of context. I didn't say that last part. If I remember correctly, it was Niu Guang's grandmother who said he'd end up in jail sooner or later."
Officer Hao choked, "You remember it quite clearly."
"I don't have any other strengths, except that I have a good memory."
"Stop talking nonsense. Niu Guang and Liu Baobao just said that you deliberately set up a honey trap with Ning Ruoruo, an orphan girl, to frame Niu Guang and Liu Baobao in order to get revenge on Niu Guang for hitting you before!"
Finally, the truth was revealed, and Li Xiangdong breathed a sigh of relief. This Officer Hao's skills were lacking!
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangdong did not show the fear and anger that Officer Zhang and Officer Hao had predicted, nor did he rush to explain. Instead, Li Xiangdong gave a mocking laugh and said, "Oh? Is that so!"
Officer Hao was enraged. "What do you mean, 'this and that'? Be honest, did you deliberately set up this, and even instigate your father to carry out private torture, whipping Niu Guang and Liu Baobao?"
"No, of course I didn't deliberately set up this or instigate the beating. Why would Ning Ruoruo use her innocent reputation to help me frame Niu Guang and Liu Baobao?" Li Xiangdong said with an innocent look.
"Really? Do you know what the consequences are for lying at the police station?" Officer Hao slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup jump twice.
"Officer Hao, do you know what the consequences are for dereliction of duty, bending the law for personal gain, protecting criminals, and fabricating wrongful convictions?" Li Xiangdong's eyes were bright and piercing as he stared at Officer Hao and said, word by word.
Officer Hao was actually a little short of breath and felt guilty after Li Xiangdong said that.
Officer Zhang tried to smooth things over, saying, "Alright, alright, that's enough now that we've got the facts cleared up!" He then had Li Xiangdong sign and put his fingerprint on the statement.
Li Xiangdong did not take the pen from Officer Zhang's hand, but instead carefully looked at the transcript.
"That's not right, Officer Zhang. None of the questions Officer Hao asked me were written down!"
Officer Hao got impatient. "Why are you talking so much nonsense? Sign up and get out of here! Otherwise, I'll arrest you and put you in jail!"
"Who are you telling me to get out?!"
A stern voice rang out, startling Officer Hao. Officer Zhang quickly stood up and saluted, "Chief Chen!"
It's finally here!
Li Xiangdong looked at Officer Hao, who was scrambling to stand up and salute, and smiled innocently.
A middle-aged man, over 1.8 meters tall, with broad shoulders, a square face, thick eyebrows, and piercing eyes, walked in, followed by Ning Ruoruo and Li Jin.
Chief Chen, dressed in a crisp dark blue uniform, stormed to where Officer Hao had been sitting, picked up the statement, glanced at it, and then gave the two men a stern look. "Don't you know the rules for taking statements?"
"Yes, yes," the two said, trembling.
"I heard how powerful you were just now! Why aren't you so skillful when you interrogate prisoners? And why didn't you write down the questions you asked?" Chief Chen slammed the record on the table.
Hao and Zhang remained silent, not daring to speak.
Li Xiangdong spoke up, "Chief Chen, I want to report Officer Hao for protecting criminals and framing me and Ning Ruoruo!"
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