"You still have the nerve to complain about being wronged? Do you think you're right to hit someone?"
Faced with Chu Tonghai's accusations, Luo Shicheng responded with resounding force.
"Chu Jianguo instigated me to beat my wife, so why can't I cry foul?"
Chu Tonghai was so startled that he jumped up from the sofa.
“Luo Shicheng, I’m warning you, don’t spout nonsense and go further down the wrong path. You’re ruining your future by doing this.”
Luo Shicheng didn't even bother to look at him.
“I was indeed wrong this time. My mistake was that I shouldn’t have tried to resolve it privately. I should have reported it to the relevant departments and asked the leaders to investigate it thoroughly.”
“Sit down and talk…” Sun Bailing said.
Luo Shicheng sat back down in his chair, and Chu Tonghai took a deep breath and sat down as well.
Yang Daocheng placed a cup of tea in front of Chu Tonghai and said in a low voice, "Have some tea to calm down."
Chu Tonghai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and suddenly asked Yang Daocheng.
"I heard that Battalion Commander Luo and his wife are getting a divorce?"
Yang Daocheng was embarrassed when Chu Tonghai suddenly asked him such a pointed question.
"Yes, but the divorce didn't go through. I've already returned the divorce application."
Who could not understand the meaning behind Chu Tonghai's words? But even if they were getting a divorce, it was not a reason for you to instigate them to beat their wives, Sun Bailing said.
"It seems we need to invite all the parties involved over."
With things having escalated to this point, Chu Jianguo and Liu Jingqiu could no longer remain uninvolved, and their invitation to reveal the truth was not something they could refuse.
In just half a month, Liu Jingqiu was invited to Sun Bailing's office twice. The first time, she was well prepared, but this time she was not so easily fooled.
When Liu Jingqiu entered, he saw not only Sun Bailing, but also Chu Tonghai and Yang Daocheng, and politely greeted them one by one.
After Liu Jingqiu sat down, Sun Bailing said.
"The reason I called you here today is to ask you to recount the events of that day when Luo Shicheng beat Chu Jianguo."
Liu Jingqiu knew perfectly well that if she told the truth, it wouldn't make sense for her to simply block Luo Shicheng's way and drive away Hua Li.
"This is all in the past. I've written an apology letter, made amends, and returned the job to Hua Li. What more do you want from me? Why bring up the past again?"
As for Luo Shicheng hitting my elder brother, I didn't see them go into the woods at the time, so what am I supposed to say?
Sun Bailing would not be led astray by Liu Jingqiu and made an unquestionable demand of Liu Jingqiu.
"Battalion Commander Luo was ordered by Deputy Chief of Staff Chu to be confined for ten days because he assaulted your elder brother Chu Jianguo. Now I need you to truthfully recount the events of that day without any personal bias, so that we can judge whether the punishment of Battalion Commander Luo is fair. I hope you can cooperate."
In the next room, Hong Junyi sat behind his desk and questioned Chu Jianguo.
Xu Baojuan, as an observer, exuded an imposing aura, putting pressure not only on Chu Jianguo but also on Hong Junyi.
Under the supervision of his senior, Xu Baojuan, Hong Junyi repeatedly questioned Chu Jianguo and had the recorder take notes on everything.
Afterwards, the two sides exchanged testimonies for comparison and quickly reached a conclusion.
Chu Jianguo did indeed instigate discord between Luo Shicheng and his wife, and should bear primary responsibility.
Because his wife misunderstood him and Chu Jianguo hinted that he should teach his wife a lesson to vent Liu Jingqiu's anger, Luo Shicheng impulsively hit Chu Jianguo. This was entirely justified, and he should not have been confined for so long, let alone for ten days.
Liu Jingqiu and Chu Jianguo were summoned for questioning at the last minute, and had no chance to exchange their statements.
Sun Bailing and Hong Junyi were both known for their impartiality, and since they questioned each other separately, there was no bias towards either side. Chu Tonghai had nothing to say and stood up to formally apologize to Luo Shicheng.
While Liu Jingqiu and Chu Jianguo were being questioned, Luo Shicheng indulged in hugging his daughter in Chen Yuanshan's lounge, showing no interest in Chu Tonghai's apology.
Chu Tonghai held a high position, so an apology was acceptable, but a formal announcement was definitely not. Furthermore, to prevent anyone from pleading for Luo Shicheng, Chu Tonghai had secretly detained Luo Shicheng. Now that he has been released, the matter is over.
Sun Bailing said, “Old Chu, although it was your child who was beaten, the one who was really wrong was not Luo Shicheng who hit him. On the contrary, the only one who should be punished in this matter is Luo Shicheng. As a leader and a senior, shouldn’t you set an example?”
An apology is appropriate, but a simple "sorry" cannot erase the undeserved misfortune suffered by Luo Shicheng.
Apologizing to the younger generation and being implied to pay compensation by Sun Bailing, Chu Tonghai had never been so humiliated. He suppressed his anger and said...
"It was wrong of me to put Battalion Commander Luo in solitary confinement without investigating the matter thoroughly, but the one who is most at fault is Chu Jianguo, who can't distinguish right from wrong. I think Chu Jianguo should compensate Battalion Commander Luo five hundred as a warning, to see if he dares to interfere in other people's family affairs again."
This served as a lesson for Chu Jianguo, while also saving Chu Tonghai's precarious reputation—a win-win situation.
Not only was he beaten, but he also had to pay Luo Shicheng a huge sum of five hundred yuan out of his own pocket. Chu Jianguo was so disgusted that he deliberately handed the money to Luo Shicheng in public to see if Luo Shicheng would have the face to accept it.
Luo Shicheng never thought of compensation, especially in front of his old leader. How could he possibly accept Chu Jianguo's money? But before he could even speak, two small hands reached out and took the money from Chu Jianguo's hands.
"Money! Money!"
Luo Yan smiled and hugged the money to her chest, wrapping it around her little arms, spitting out bubbles and muttering to herself.
"Mommy, so pretty..."
In an era where the average wage is only a few dozen yuan, five hundred yuan is a huge sum of money. It's enough to buy so many beautiful clothes for my mom. Only a fool would refuse it.
Luo Shicheng fell silent after being looked down upon by his daughter.
Thinking of the hardships his wife and daughter had endured due to poverty, Luo Shicheng couldn't bring himself to refuse, thus implicitly agreeing to Luo Yan's actions.
Chu Jianguo knew that Luo Shicheng disregarded money due to family reasons, so he publicly compensated Luo Shicheng, certain that Luo Shicheng would refuse. Who knew that a greedy little kid would suddenly appear and take away his five hundred yuan? He couldn't even get it back by moral blackmail, and his heart ached terribly.
With the matter settled, Chen Yuanshan, at Sun Bailing's instruction, saw Liu Jingqiu and Chu Jianguo off with the orderly, and then closed the door.
Chu Tonghai, who was about to take his leave, was stopped by Sun Bailing.
Sun Bailing took out a stack of documents from his desk drawer.
"Old Chu, these are some things I've recently investigated. I hope you'll remain calm after reading them."
As he spoke, Sun Bailing took out another stack of documents and handed them to Luo Shicheng, who was holding Luo Yan, "And you, take a look too."
Luo Shicheng took it, held Luo Yan, and sat down on the sofa by the window to look through it.
Luo Yan watched along, becoming more and more surprised, her little mouth agape in an "O" shape.
Previously, when Sun Bailing questioned Liu Jingqiu, Liu Jingqiu said that she had used all the money Luo Shicheng had given her to people who needed it more.
However, the documents Sun Bailing presented showed that the sponsor was not Liu Jingqiu, but a person named Xiang Yu...
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