Siheyuan: Start with a Truck Driver

Yan Jiecheng was roughly pushed into the interrogation room. The lights were dim, with only a chandelier hanging overhead, casting eerie shadows. Section Chief Chen sat behind the interrogation table, his expression as serious as an iceberg, his eyes staring at Yan Jiecheng as sharply as an eagle staring at its prey.

"Tell me, why did you come to the sawmill to steal meat?" Section Chief Chen's voice was low and majestic, echoing in the small interrogation room.

Yan Jiecheng was tied to a chair, and the pain in his body made him frown, but he still stiffened his neck and shouted loudly: "I didn't steal the meat! I said it all, I was tricked by that bastard Liu Haizhong, I am innocent!"

Section Chief Chen frowned, "Huh, you're still trying to quibble? Then why did he lie to you? Are you so easily fooled by him?"

A trace of panic flashed across Yan Jiecheng's eyes. "I... I didn't want to do it at first, but he said I could make money, and I was short of money, so I got tempted. But I really didn't plan to steal anything. You caught me as soon as I walked in."

Section Chief Chen slammed the table and said, "Do you think I will believe your lies? Since you are so stubborn, we have plenty of time to investigate slowly."

Yan Jiecheng was extremely scared. He knew that his current situation was very bad, but he didn't want to take the blame for no reason.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke: "Chief Chen, what I said is true. My family lives in a courtyard, and my father is the third uncle in the courtyard. My name is Yan Jiecheng, and everyone in our courtyard can vouch for me that I am not the kind of person who would steal things."

Section Chief Chen wrote down the information he said, but he did not completely believe it. In his opinion, Yan Jiecheng was most likely delaying time or making up lies to exonerate himself.

...

The early morning sunlight shines through the thin clouds and shines on every corner of the courtyard, giving the yard a light golden hue.

As usual, the third uncle got up early and prepared to have breakfast.

But he found that there was no movement in Yan Jiecheng's room. Although this kid usually likes to sleep in, it's time for him to get up and eat at this time.

The third uncle was puzzled. He walked slowly to the door of Yan Jiecheng's room and knocked gently: "Jiecheng, Jiecheng, are you in there?" There was no response from the room. He hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand and pushed open the door. The scene inside the room came into view. The quilt was folded crookedly, the room was a little messy, and Yan Jiecheng was nowhere to be seen.

Uncle Three frowned, feeling uneasy. He turned and walked towards Aunt Three who was busy in the yard and asked, "Do you think you have a solution? I don't know where the kid ran off to. There's no one in the house."

The third aunt stopped what she was doing, looked up, and answered in bewilderment: "I didn't see him. I thought he was sleeping in the house. Where could this child go so early in the morning?"

The third uncle frowned even more, and he paced back and forth in the yard, feeling a little worried. Although Yan Jiecheng was usually smart, he was also naughty. If he did something bad in a moment of confusion, it would be troublesome. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, and he kept muttering, "This kid, don't cause any trouble for me."

The third uncle was about to go out to work. As soon as he walked to the gate of the yard, he saw Liu Haizhong humming a little tune and walked in. The third uncle's eyes lit up. He remembered that someone said yesterday that they saw Liu Haizhong and Yan Jiecheng together. A glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in his heart, maybe Liu Haizhong knew where Yan Jiecheng went.

"Old Liu, wait a moment." The third uncle hurriedly called out to Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong stopped and looked at the third uncle with a puzzled look: "Old Yan, what's the matter? Why are you so anxious?"

The third uncle walked up and said anxiously, "Old Liu, I heard that you met my Jie Cheng yesterday. Do you know where he went? He disappeared early this morning. I'm really worried."

Liu Haizhong's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible panic, but he quickly regained his composure, with a surprised expression on his face: "Ah? Jie Cheng is missing? I met him yesterday, but we only exchanged a few words and then parted ways. I don't know where he went."

The third uncle frowned and stared at the eyes in his bangs, as if trying to read something from his eyes: "Really? You just said a few words? What did you say? This child usually doesn't go out so early. I'm worried that something might happen to him."

Liu Haizhong slightly avoided the Third Uncle's gaze, scratched his head and said, "We just chatted casually, nothing special. He didn't say where he was going, I thought he went home."

The third uncle looked at Liu Haizhong and became even more suspicious, but he had no evidence and could only sigh helplessly: "What should we do? I hope this kid doesn't really cause any trouble."

Liu Haizhong pretended to comfort him, "Old Yan, don't worry too much. Maybe Jie Cheng just went out to do something and will be back soon." But he was secretly glad in his heart, thinking that his plan was flawless and the third uncle would not be able to find any flaws.

While the third uncle was talking to Liu Haizhong, Section Chief Chen of the timber factory came to the courtyard with several security officers. They stopped at the gate of the courtyard, and one of the security officers shouted into the courtyard: "Excuse me, is Yan Jiecheng's home here?"

This voice was particularly loud in the quiet courtyard. The third uncle was already upset because of Yan Jiecheng's disappearance. When he heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he was shocked. His face turned pale instantly, and an ominous premonition came to his mind. He was stunned for a moment, then hurried to the gate of the courtyard and asked in a trembling voice: "I am Yan Jiecheng's father, who are you...?"

Section Chief Chen looked the uncle up and down and said seriously, "We are from the security department of the timber factory. Your son Yan Jiecheng is suspected of stealing property from the timber factory. We are going to investigate him now."

The third uncle's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief: "Theft? This... this is impossible! Chief, are you mistaken? My son would never do such a thing!"

Section Chief Chen frowned and said, "We have evidence. We caught him climbing over the wall at the lumber mill last night, and he even tried to resist arrest. We caught him red-handed, how could we have made a mistake?"

The third uncle felt like the sky was falling, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, Liu Haizhong hurried forward to support the third uncle, saying, "Old Yan, don't worry, there may be a misunderstanding here." Then he looked at Section Chief Chen and said with a smile on his face, "Section Chief Chen, do you think there is any misunderstanding here? We all know this kid, although he is naughty sometimes, he is definitely not the kind of person who would steal things. Did you catch the wrong person?"

Section Chief Chen's face darkened and he said seriously, "Did you catch the wrong person? We saw him climb over the wall and enter the lumber mill with our own eyes. How could there be any misunderstanding? Moreover, he tried to resist after being caught. We were all watching him."

Liu Haizhong frowned, still unwilling to give up: "Chief Chen, is there any hidden reason behind this? For example, someone framed him? You know, this child is innocent, maybe he was taken advantage of without knowing it."

Section Chief Chen sneered, "Used? Humph, when we were interrogating him, he tried to argue at first, but later he mentioned that he was tricked by his neighbor Liu Haizhong, but we didn't see anyone else at the scene. Our factory has been losing a lot of people recently, and we finally caught him this time, how could we let him go so easily?"

His heart skipped a beat, but he pretended to be indignant. "He must be talking nonsense, trying to drag others into this. How could I do such a thing? Chief Chen, you have to be careful!"

The third uncle listened at the side, a glimmer of hope in his eyes: "Yes, Chief, my son must have been wronged, you must find out the truth!"

Section Chief Chen had a serious face and was not moved by the third uncle's pleas. He said firmly, "Old Yan, it's not that I don't give you face, but this matter must be handled according to the rules. As a relative of Yan Jiecheng, you must also follow our record."

When the third uncle heard this, he panicked. He knew that no matter what the final result of Yan Jiecheng's case was, his family's reputation in the factory would be completely ruined. How could he hold his head up in the future? He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. Suddenly, he thought of Xu Damao. Xu Damao was a leader in the factory, and maybe he could solve this problem.

The third uncle hurried to Xu Damao's house and said anxiously as soon as he entered the door: "Damo, you have to help me!"

Xu Damao was leisurely sitting in a chair drinking tea. Seeing the panicked look of the Third Uncle, he frowned and said, "Third Uncle, what's wrong? What happened?"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

The uncle wiped the sweat from his forehead and told him everything about how Yan Jiecheng was arrested by the security department of the timber factory and how he was being taken to take a statement. After that, he looked at Xu Damao eagerly and said, "Da Mao, you are the leader now, and your words carry weight. Go and talk to Section Chief Chen. This must be a misunderstanding!"

Xu Damao put down his teacup slowly and shook his head: "Uncle San, this is your family's business, I can't interfere. I just became a leader and don't want to cause trouble."

When the third uncle heard this, he was disappointed, but he still didn't give up. He thought for a moment and immediately put on a flattering smile on his face: "Da Mao, you can't say that. Everyone in our courtyard knows that you are a well-known figure! You see, although Sha Zhu is arrogant, he still has to listen to you in the factory. In this courtyard, you are the second most important person. Apart from the first uncle, you have the highest prestige. If you come forward, this matter will definitely be resolved. If this matter is resolved, I will definitely publicize your ability in the courtyard and let everyone know that you, Xu Damao, are very loyal!"

Xu Damao felt a little flattered after hearing the Third Uncle's flattery. He stroked his chin, as if considering whether to help.

Qin Jingru pulled Xu Damao into the inner room and said to him nervously and mysteriously, "Damo, you can't just agree to the Third Uncle so easily. Have you forgotten that Yan Jiecheng reported to you that Liu Haizhong and Sha Zhu stole things a while ago? Now he has been caught by the security department of the timber factory. There must be something fishy going on."

Xu Damao's eyes lit up. He had always suspected that Liu Haizhong and Sha Zhu had some improper dealings, but he had no evidence. He frowned and asked Qin Jingru, "What do you mean? Do you think this matter has something to do with them?"

Qin Jingru nodded and analyzed: "Think about it, Yan Jiecheng was arrested just a few days after he reported them. How could it be such a coincidence? Maybe Liu Haizhong and Sha Zhu set up a trap to deliberately frame Yan Jiecheng. They must want to take revenge on Yan Jiecheng and make him shut up."

Xu Damao slapped his thigh and said, "Hey! You're right, Jingru, you're really smart! Why didn't I think of that? If it's really like what you said, I can't just let it go. I have to make good use of this opportunity to dig out all the little things that happened between Liu Haizhong and Sha Zhu."

Qin Jingru smiled proudly: "That's right. Although I don't understand many things, I still understand this principle. If you can expose their conspiracy this time, your prestige in the hospital will be even higher. Let's see how they can fight you in the future."

"My wife is really smart. Let's go out and talk to Uncle Three. I'll take care of this matter!"

Xu Damao walked out of the inner room with a confident look on his face. He looked at the Third Uncle and said slowly, "Third Uncle, I can promise to help you with this matter, but I have a condition."

When the third uncle heard that there was a turn for the better, he hurriedly asked, "What are the conditions? Damao, as long as you can save him, I can consider any conditions."

Xu Damao raised the corners of his mouth slightly, with a hint of pride in his eyes: "Uncle San, from now on in this courtyard, you have to listen to me. No matter what happens, you have to stand on my side."

The third uncle's heart skipped a beat. He had always looked down on Xu Damao, thinking that he had become a leader only by being clever and flattering his superiors. Now he was asked to listen to Xu Damao from now on, which was more uncomfortable than swallowing a fly. But looking at the current situation, for Yan Jiecheng's sake, he had no other choice.

The third uncle gritted his teeth and said reluctantly, "Okay, Damao, I promise you. As long as you can save Jiecheng from this trouble, I will listen to you in the future."

Xu Damao nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, Third Uncle, just wait and see. I'll go talk to Section Chief Chen right away." After that, he strode towards the gate of the yard with his head held high, while Third Uncle followed behind with a bitter look on his face.
Xu Damao and the third uncle quickly came to the gate of the courtyard. When he saw Section Chief Chen, he immediately smiled and stepped forward and said, "Section Chief Chen, hello, I am Xu Damao, the workshop leader. There may be a misunderstanding about this matter. Can you make some adjustments?"

Section Chief Chen looked Xu Damao up and down with a cold expression, not trying to give him face at all: "Workshop leader? This is an internal matter of our timber factory. We will handle it according to the regulations. There is no room for compromise."

Xu Damao was frustrated, but he was not discouraged. He rolled his eyes and said, "Chief Chen, you may not know that I am a subordinate of Wang Weidong of the Lanhua Automobile Factory. You should have heard of Wang Weidong, right?"

When Section Chief Chen heard the name "Wang Weidong", his expression suddenly became serious. He knew that Wang Weidong was a well-known figure in the automobile factory and had considerable power. He frowned, re-examined Xu Damao, and softened his tone a little: "Are you really Wang Weidong's subordinate?" (End of this chapter)