Chapter 89 The Spark: Silence is Indulgence
Jiang Ling looked at Wen Xiufen.
Wen Xiufen stood beside Jiang Ling, her whole body tense with worry for Xiao Yu's condition. Noticing Jiang Ling's gaze, Wen Xiufen turned her head to meet Jiang Ling's eyes.
Jiang Ling blinked at her and nodded very slightly, almost imperceptibly, toward the door.
This was a silent yet exceptionally clear instruction: Now, go in!
Wen Xiufen instantly understood what Jiang Ling meant.
She wasn't a bold person, and it had already taken all her courage to ask the police for help, but at this moment, her worry for her child overcame everything.
Wen Xiufen's body suddenly burst forth with astonishing power and speed, slamming into the edge of the gap between Jiang Ling and Zhang Minghui's confrontation.
Her target was very clear: not Zhang Minghui, but the old wooden door leading into the house that was blocked by Zhang Minghui's body.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Zhang Minghui was caught off guard and stumbled from the impact. He instinctively reached out to grab her, but Wen Xiufen had already nimbly slipped into the house.
Enraged, Zhang Minghui turned to chase after him.
But Jiang Ling and Li Zhenliang stepped forward at the same time. Li Zhenliang reached out and blocked Zhang Minghui, saying, "Comrade Zhang Minghui, please calm down."
Jiang Ling cleverly blocked Zhang Minghui's path of pursuit with her body, staring at him coldly: "The child is asleep, what's wrong with letting the neighbors take a look? Why are you so nervous?"
Those few seconds of chaos and obstruction were enough.
From the inner room came Wen Xiufen's urgent cry: "Xiaoyu! My God, Xiaoyu..."
Zhang Minghui's face turned ashen.
Immediately afterward, Wen Xiufen rushed out of the house, tightly holding a small, thin body in her arms, tears streaming down her face: "Quick, save the child."
Jiang Ling quickly stepped forward and took the child from Wen Xiufen's arms.
Xiao Yu was shirtless, his face was deathly pale, his lips were purple, and his eyes were tightly closed. His body trembled uncontrollably in Jiang Ling's arms, like a withered leaf about to fall in the cold wind.
He was clearly seven years old, but he was incredibly thin, looking only five or six. His back and chest were covered with crisscrossing, old and new scars, including purplish pinch marks, swollen marks from being hit with sticks, and even several suspicious, round burns with charred edges.
There was a fresh, bleeding bruise on his forehead, clearly from a recent heavy blow.
Jiang Ling quickly checked Xiao Yu's pupil response and pulse.
The situation is very bad; the child is on the verge of shock and urgently needs medical attention.
Jiang Ling suppressed her surging anger, looked up at Zhang Minghui who was being blocked at the door by Li Zhenliang, and said in a voice as cold as the biting winter wind: "Zhang Minghui, is this what you call 'asleep'?"
Hearing Jiang Ling's question, Zhang Minghui was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered. He wanted to rush to his child's side and continue to play the role of a father who couldn't help but hit his unruly child, but then regretted it afterward.
But Jiang Ling's order came even faster.
"David, take the suspect into custody."
"Haoran, call 120 immediately and notify the police station and branch office."
"Ryoko, cordon off the scene and secure the evidence!"
At Jiang Ling's command, Zhou Wei restrained Zhang Minghui's hands behind his back: "Behave yourself!"
Wei Changfeng arrived with Li Qiuyun and Wu Jianbin to help Zhou Wei firmly control Zhang Minghui and put him in handcuffs.
Jiang Ling picked up an old shirt from the living room sofa and gently draped it over Xiao Yu, covering his wounds.
The commotion at Zhang Minghui's house was so loud that the apartment building was packed with neighbors who came to watch.
The corridor was packed with onlookers.
Someone notified the security department, and the department head and two security guards ran up, wiping the sweat from their foreheads as they greeted Wei Changfeng and kept explaining.
"Officer Wei, what brings you here?"
"It's a family matter, just a family matter. Why did it involve so many officers from your police station?"
"Let's talk this out calmly, there's no need to put handcuffs on us."
Upon seeing someone speak up for him, Zhang Minghui, who was filled with fear after being handcuffed by the police for the first time, immediately perked up and forced a smile to defend himself.
“Officer, I was just disciplining my own child, why did you arrest me? My child is young and doesn't know any better. I'm usually busy with work and have no time to supervise him. I never expected him to go astray and steal things! Yes, I hit him, but if he steals a needle when he's young, he'll steal gold when he grows up. If I don't control him now, I won't be able to control him in the future, don't you think?”
The bystanders, unaware of the facts, began to discuss what Zhang Minghui had said.
"Yes, you have to discipline kids properly when they misbehave."
"The police station dispatched one, two, three... wow, seven officers at once! That's quite a show of force. It's just a father hitting his son, why do they need to intervene?"
“Zhang Minghui is an educated man and a key technical worker in the factory. He must have been furious to have acted like that. A little education would have been enough. There was no need to handcuff him, was there?”
Wen Xiufen, her face streaked with tears, clung tightly to Jiang Ling's side, her gaze never leaving Xiaoyu. Hearing the neighbors' protective comments, she was furious and shouted, "Are you blind? Didn't you see Xiaoyu being knocked unconscious by Zhang Minghui? Even if it's a father disciplining his son, you can't be so cruel!"
As soon as Wen Xiufen spoke, the neighbors suddenly fell silent.
The silence lasted only two seconds before the murmurs grew louder.
A group of people supported Wen Xiufen.
"Tsk tsk, that was too harsh. They should be arrested!"
"I never would have guessed that Zhang Minghui could be so cruel as to harm his own son."
Another group of people felt that Wen Xiufen was meddling in other people's business.
"What does it have to do with Wen Xiufen if they beat their child behind closed doors?"
"She called the police last time and was criticized by the factory, but she still didn't learn her lesson and brought the police to our door again. Zhang Minghui has been arrested, so a case will definitely be filed. It looks like we won't be able to win the factory's safety and civility award this year. It's really despicable. We'll lose another ten yuan in year-end bonuses."
The head of the security department glared fiercely at Wen Xiufen.
Wen Xiufen shrank back behind Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling carefully protected the child and slowly walked downstairs, afraid that any sudden movements would aggravate the wound and cause the child further pain.
The ambulance finally arrived.
In the open space in front of the tenement building, the piercing siren of an ambulance rang out, and its rotating blue light flashed.
The medical staff carefully lifted Xiaoyu, who was still unconscious and trembling, onto the stretcher.
Zhang Minghui was dejected and was forced into the car by Zhou Wei.
At this moment, the narrow open space downstairs and the surrounding windows were crowded with residents peeking out.
There were elderly people wearing vests and fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans, women holding children and looking surprised, laid-off workers who had just put down their rice bowls and were smoking cheap cigarettes, and several children who were playing nearby and were frightened.
A complex mix of emotions filled the air: curiosity, fear, indifference, and a long-standing, tacit numbness at the "movement" at Zhang Minghui's house. Whispers buzzed like mosquitoes.
"Oh dear, they really arrested him?"
"I knew something was wrong with that kid. He always had his head down and his eyes were blank and unfocused."
"Tsk, Wen Xiufen has really stirred up a hornet's nest this time. We'll be seeing each other all the time from now on..."
"What can the police do even if they come? Even an upright official can't settle family disputes."
These discussions carried a sense of worldly wisdom, a timid wait-and-see attitude, and even a hint of reproach.
Jiang Ling stood beside the ambulance, her slender figure standing out remarkably tall amidst the chaos.
She had just witnessed Xiaoyu's tragic state, heard the neighbors' discussions, seen Wen Xiufen's anger and helplessness, and felt the difficult situation she would face after calling the police.
—The state-owned factory awards prizes annually based on various indicators, with the Safety and Civility Award being a very important one. If an employee commits a crime and is investigated, the factory will not receive this award. Consequently, the security department will be penalized, and all employees will receive a reduction in their year-end bonuses.
Wen Xiufen reported the incident to the police, which affected the interests of all employees.
That's just how reality is.
Jiang Ling surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sharp and intense, sweeping over every face—whether numb, curious, or evasive. Behind the dilapidated windows of the tenement building, the flickering shadows seemed to have nowhere to hide under his gaze.
Jiang Ling took a deep breath, and her clear and penetrating voice suddenly rang out, drowning out the ambulance siren and all the whispers, echoing clearly in the cramped space of the tenement building.
"Listen up, everyone!"
All eyes instantly focused on her.
Jiang Ling's voice was not loud, but every word was powerful, carrying a dignified and righteous air.
"If you encounter injustice or someone wantonly harms others, especially vulnerable children, the elderly, or women, call the police immediately to stop the harm! This is not meddling in other people's business. It is not causing trouble for your neighbors."
She paused for a moment, her gaze landing precisely on Wen Xiufen, who had stopped in her tracks and was now teary-eyed because of her voice. Her voice suddenly rose, filled with encouragement and affirmation.
"This is called acting bravely for a just cause! It's something that every person with a conscience and a sense of justice should do."
"Comrade Wen Xiufen did the right thing today. It was she who heard something was wrong and chose to call the police; it was she who rushed in without regard for her own safety and pulled the child out; it was she who saved Xiaoyu's life. She is truly admirable!"
His resounding words exploded like thunder in the crowd.
The whispers behind the window came to an abrupt halt.
The old man, who was fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, froze.
The woman holding the child instinctively hugged the child tighter, her eyes filled with mixed emotions.
The man with the cigarette in his mouth forgot to flick the ash, which fell in a flurry.
The bewildered children stared wide-eyed at the imposing policewoman.
Wen Xiufen herself was shocked and looked at Jiang Ling in disbelief.
Since calling the police last time, she has been criticized by her superiors and subjected to subtle glances and condemnations from her neighbors for being "meddlesome," which made her feel really wronged. But now, all the grievances have turned into relief.
Her lips trembled, and tears welled up again, but this time, they were no longer the sadness and anger of seeing the weak being hurt, but a feeling of excitement and power as if a grievance had been redressed.
Jiang Ling scanned the room again: "Neighbors should help each other. Silence when witnessing wrongdoing is tantamount to condoning it. Today, Wen Xiufen stood up and saved Xiaoyu. Tomorrow, it may be you, or your family, who need help. The emergency number is right there. Pick up the phone, stop crime, and protect the vulnerable. This is the responsibility of every citizen."
Her words were like a heavy hammer, striking those numb hearts.
Among the crowd, some lowered their heads, some showed shame, and some seemed lost in thought.
An older woman who was leaning against the wall and who usually had a good relationship with Wen Xiufen finally couldn't hold back her tears and shouted, "Xiufen, well done!"
The sound was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating small ripples.
More and more people are casting admiring glances at Wen Xiufen, offering heartfelt praise and awakening to her potential.
"Wen Xiufen did the right thing; she should have called the police!"
"Even if it's a conflict within the family, if there is any intentional act of harm, the police should be notified."
"If the couple upstairs is fighting, can I call the police?"
The ambulance siren blared again as it drove out of the family compound.
Jiang Ling said no more. She took one last deep look at Wen Xiufen, got into the car, and left.
After a brief silence, the residents of the dyeing and printing factory's residential compound were met with even more complex discussions than before.
This time, however, the focus of the discussion was no longer Zhang Minghui's fate, nor Wen Xiufen's "meddling," but rather Jiang Ling's resounding words.
Acts of bravery and righteousness.
Help and support each other.
Silence is tantamount to condoning.
...
These words, like sparks, quietly sow seeds in people's hearts.
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