“Then do you know who I am?”

Zhuo Weiping was no longer in charge of this case, replaced by others!

Zhuo Weiping was unwilling to accept this. Like an angry little bird, she promised Xia Xiaolan, “There must be a place for reason. I will handle this case!”

After Zhuo Weiping was replaced, the subsequent interrogation of Xia Xiaolan and the others became much more severe.

Xia Xiaolan was charged with “speculation and profiteering,” while Kang Wei and Shao Guangrong were charged with “gathering crowds to disturb social order” – these charges were vicious!

Xia Xiaolan could no longer remain calm. While speculation and profiteering were manageable, disturbing social order typically carried a sentence of several years – what would happen to Kang Wei and the others?

Worry filled her eyes. Uncle Liu Yong had mentioned that Zhou Cheng and Kang Wei had connections in Shangdu, but what kind of connections did they have? Would they be enough to weather this crisis? If only she hadn’t contacted Kang Wei, they wouldn’t have been implicated.

“Sister-in-law, don’t worry!”

Kang Wei still had the spirit to comfort others.

His record was clean, and he had acted as a “Good Samaritan.” Moreover, he was the orphan of a martyr.

As for Shao Guangrong, it went without saying – anyone else might get in trouble, but how could Uncle Shao let Shao Guangrong be convicted of hooliganism?

“You’re still joking around while you should be confessing your crimes!”

The interrogator this time was the seasoned officer who had earlier called Zhuo Weiping out to see Captain Guo.

His stern gaze carried a hint of malice.

When Kang Wei and Shao Guangrong refused to confess, and the driver remained silent, while Xia Xiaolan knew not to admit guilt, he turned his attention to Li Fengmei. Li Fengmei had never experienced such a situation before. As a common civilian brought to the police station and hearing such serious charges, she was terrified.

“Put her in a separate room!”

Wasn’t this just taking advantage of a rural woman’s inexperience, planning to intimidate her, or setting verbal traps to make Li Fengmei confess?

Kang Wei immediately stood up.

“If you have accusations, come at me! Let’s see if a few bad apples can control everything!”

The police station had been relatively polite to Kang Wei and his companions, not only because of fair officers like Zhuo Weiping but also because Kang Wei and Shao Guangrong spoke with authentic Beijing accents and had a private car. The car had been left on the street – given the chaotic situation, the police wouldn’t have let them drive to the station anyway… Though modest, the car’s license plate would tell knowledgeable people something about its owners.

Unfortunately, neither the security team members nor the police officers had looked carefully.

The driver kept extremely tight-lipped, and neither Shao Guangrong nor Kang Wei were in the habit of flaunting their family background. With Zhuo Weiping gone, her veteran colleague wasn’t so kind. When Kang Wei challenged his authority, he was immediately struck.

“Damn!” Shao Guangrong jumped up from his seat after a moment’s shock.

The driver, who hadn’t initially reacted, became very nervous when Kang Wei was hit.

“Kang Wei, are you alright?”

Xia Xiaolan also became anxious.

The veteran officer flew into a rage, “What are you trying to do? None of you are cooperating with the investigation, and this is still a police station! Take Li Fengmei away for questioning!”

Kang Wei felt a burning sensation on his back as if even his spine was in pain.

While Zhuo Weiping was still receiving instruction from her superiors, who would come to save them now? Watching Li Fengmei being taken away, Xia Xiaolan felt dizzy. She was intelligent, but at this moment, they weren’t interested in using reason… Xia Xiaolan suddenly had a sobering realization! This wasn’t her later life, and she wasn’t a multinational company executive with various connections.

This was the 1980s, and she hadn’t accumulated enough power yet. She was just a country girl without any foundation. She shouldn’t have acted so boldly.

What use was winning verbal arguments?

She was just a self-employed individual, the least respected type.

Without status, nobody would take her words seriously.

She had implicated her aunt Li Fengmei.

As Li Fengmei was “invited” away, she could barely stand straight.

“I’ll talk. It was all my idea. She just helped out and didn’t know anything!”

Xia Xiaolan clenched her fists, feeling powerless for the first time.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to confess honestly earlier?”

The veteran officer ignored Li Fengmei now, taking his pen to record Xia Xiaolan’s confession.

Ah, such a beautiful girl, who knew whom she had offended, wanting to destroy her completely. A few years in prison would ruin even the most beautiful person. A cold light gleamed in Xia Xiaolan’s eyes – Zheng Zhongfu’s connection must work, Ding Aizhen wouldn’t get away… The Zhu family, what started as a small conflict had escalated to a life-or-death situation, beyond Xia Xiaolan’s expectations.

She couldn’t blame herself for being careless.

Although she had achieved some success in her previous life, managing many people, it was through her abilities.

She excelled in business competition, and while she had her methods, they were mostly aboveboard “positive strategies.” But her opponents were all kinds of old hands, local snakes in Shangdu, who wouldn’t compete with her directly. If she were a major entrepreneur, the Zhu family naturally couldn’t touch her, but she was just a small business owner… In the Zhu family’s eyes, she was full of vulnerabilities.

Shao Guangrong’s head was also buzzing.

Fighting felt good at the moment, but in the end, everyone was suffering in this small police station.

This encounter also taught Shao Guangrong and Kang Wei a lesson – a tiger away from its mountain lair is bullied by dogs. They usually thought highly of themselves, but without relying on their family backgrounds, they were nothing.

What would Zhou Cheng do if he were here?

The thought made Kang Wei’s head hurt.

The driver thought about how Secretary Hou had said not to cause trouble outside using the leaders’ names. If he didn’t reveal their background now, wouldn’t this become an ironclad case?

Had the person he paid to deliver the message run off with the money without notifying Secretary Hou?

The driver belatedly broke out in a cold sweat.

“I need to make a phone call.”

The veteran officer looked up at him, and the driver said very seriously, word by word: “I need to make a phone call to Secretary Hou at the City Committee.”

“I know city leaders too, but they don’t know me! Who is Secretary Hou? Never heard of him!” The veteran officer sneered.

Secretary Hou was standing right outside the door.

He had arrived deliberately late, wanting to understand the whole situation. Having determined that Shao Guangrong and Kang Wei hadn’t committed any major offense – not murder or arson, but rather a conflict with some security team members – Secretary Hou’s brow relaxed.

“Chief Yang, what do you think of this situation?”

Chief Yang had been standing outside with Secretary Hou for quite a while, and now his face was ashen.

Secretary Hou wasn’t being kind – though it wasn’t Shao Guangrong who had been beaten, he had managed to endure and let Chief Yang see the situation inside clearly.

What could Chief Yang say? With an ashen face, he shot a fierce glare at the station chief behind him. Unable to contain himself any longer, he kicked the door open:

“Then do you know who I am?!”