Restarting life by going to the countryside to support medical work

Chapter 591 Worry
While Li Yancheng and Ningning were chatting about martial arts novels—one in the hallway outside and the other inside the window—the guy who was arrested and taken to the Municipal Criminal Investigation Department, strapped to a special interrogation chair and unable to move, and gagged, still had no idea what had happened.

He is the Xiao Dong who talked to Chen Laosan during the day; his full name is Jiang Xiao Dong.

He simply couldn't understand why there were police officers guarding the area outside Liao Xiaomei's house.

What's even more incomprehensible is why the police officers who arrested him reacted so quickly, as if they knew something in advance. They grabbed him, pinched his mouth, and then tore off his collar.

Those three police officers seemed to have guessed he would commit suicide, and they had taken precautions against that move in advance.

But... how did they know that he would definitely commit suicide, and how did they know that he hid the poison in his collar?

More importantly, why did they wait outside Liao Xiaomei's house, hoping she would walk right into their trap? The situation was very clear: the police knew someone would harm the woman, so they were lying in wait.

Only he and Chen Laosan knew about what was going to be done about Liao Xiaomei. He hadn't told anyone else. Could it be that Chen Laosan had leaked the news?
The thought had barely crossed his mind when he immediately banished it. It was simply impossible; Chen Laosan was not the kind of person who would be secretive and would never tell anyone such a thing.

That means it's possible that the woman took the initiative to tell the police something, or that the police have already been keeping an eye on Chen Laosan, know about his relationship with the woman, and have already learned some things from her.

Ugh……

Jiang Xiaodong sighed deeply in his heart.

If this operation was personally arranged and deployed by Deputy Director Li, then the reason why the police were so careful to prevent his suicide becomes quite clear.

The deputy director, Li, came from the Social Affairs Bureau and had always dealt with undercover agents. He had heard that some of them would choose suicide when they were desperate in order to avoid being caught and suffering.

Suicide by poisoning is a good option.

It's inconvenient to keep the poison in your pocket, and hiding it in your mouth beforehand is even more ridiculous. The collar of your clothes, which you can almost bite when you bend down, becomes the perfect place to hide the poison.

He chose to do this because he learned it from movies, but he didn't expect that others would anticipate his prediction.

Jiang Xiaodong knew very well that he was in big trouble this time. It was no longer a question of whether he could withstand the interrogation. He had heard Chen Laosan talk about the methods of that Deputy Director Li. Now that he was in Li's hands, it was impossible for him not to confess.

The Chen family will definitely do everything they can to protect Chen Xiangyang, but he...

Although he grew up in the Chen family, he doesn't actually have the surname Chen. Moreover, not to mention what he did before, just the things he did with those mute brothers in the early hours of yesterday morning were so bad that even if he had nine heads, he wouldn't be able to get chopped off this time.

Thinking about my short thirty years of life, it seems I have never lived for myself. It seems that my fate was already sealed the moment I stepped into the Chen family.

The people I feel most sorry for are my wife and children.

Thinking of his wife and five-year-old child, he couldn't help but feel a deep sadness, and a few tears streamed down his face.

On the other side, Chen Laosan, who had waited all night without receiving any news, stood outside looking at the sun that had already risen in the east. He had to admit that something must have happened.

Over the years, Jiang Xiaodong has almost never delayed doing what he decided to do overnight. Even if he couldn't do it for various reasons, he would come and tell me.

But now?

Chen Laosan threw the cigarette butt on the ground, turned around, and went into the house.

After entering the room, he went to the table, picked up the telephone, and used the index finger of his other hand to dial a few digits on the landline.

"Hey, bro, it's me, Lao San."

"Third brother? What's up with calling me so early?" the male voice on the other end of the phone asked, sounding somewhat puzzled.

"Brother, something might have happened to Xiao Dong."

"What's up with him?"

"He..." Chen Laosan was about to speak when he suddenly realized that it was not appropriate to say what he wanted to say over the phone, so he changed his mind and said, "How about this, brother, I'll come to your place now and we can talk in person."

The man on the other end of the phone immediately realized that the problem must be serious, otherwise his brother would not have asked to meet and talk.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Where are you now?"

"I'm in the west side of the city."

"Is it the courtyard house you bought?"

"Yes"

"Then don't run away, I'll come over, you just wait for me there."

"Okay bro."

"Okay, that's all for now. See you in a bit."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Laosan stood at the table for a while, then reached for the phone again. Just as he was about to dial, he suddenly seemed to remember something, turned his head and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was not yet seven o'clock.

After checking the time, he put the telephone receiver back on the landline.

He originally wanted to call the First Hospital of Chengdong District to find out if Liao Xiaomei had started work yet, but she definitely hadn't gone there yet at this time, so he wouldn't be able to get any information.

After putting the receiver back on the landline, he paced back and forth in the room, somewhat agitated.

Jiang Xiaodong didn't reply to him all night, which made him feel extremely uneasy.

He wasn't worried about Jiang Xiaodong's safety; what made him uneasy was that Xiaodong knew too many of his secrets.

Xiao Dong knew everything he had done over the years, even how many women he had been with, what each woman did for a living, and where they lived.

Even his family knows how old he was when he started seeing women, not to mention the illegal and criminal things he did.

With so many of his secrets in Jiang Xiaodong's possession, it wouldn't matter if he died. He would only lament the loss of a capable assistant, and perhaps grieve for a couple of days because they had grown up together. That would be all.

But what if you get caught by the police?
As soon as he thought of this, he couldn't help but shiver.

If they really get arrested by the police, they're doomed, not just Jiang Xiaodong, but himself as well.

No, no, no!

He quickly banished the thought from his mind; he couldn't believe it was such a coincidence.

What is the reason?

He desperately wanted to tell himself if Xiao Dong had been delayed by something else last night and therefore hadn't gone to see Liao Xiaomei.

At the same time, he was also very clear that if it was really delayed by other things, even if Xiao Dong couldn't come in person, he would have his wife come and say hello.

Now that a whole night has passed and there's still no sound, then something must have happened.

He just hopes that anything can happen to Xiao Dong, but he absolutely cannot be arrested by the police.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Xiangyang's brother, Chen Xiangtian, arrived.

Chen Xiangtian is 42 years old this year, ten years older than his younger brother. He works in the Planning Commission, which is known as the "Little That Institute," as a deputy director.

"What exactly happened? What happened to Xiaodong? Did you do something unreliable again and make Xiaodong clean up your mess?"

Chen Xiangtian knew his younger brother well and knew that the kid never did anything good, so he asked with a serious expression as soon as he came in.

"Uh..." Chen Xiangyang was still quite afraid of this older brother.

When he was a child, his parents were both busy with work, so his older brother practically raised him and his sister, who was three years older than him. When he was a child, he was naughty and disobedient, and his brother would actually hit him.

He was so badly beaten that he developed a psychological aversion to seeing his older brother.

Actually, if Chen Xiangtian had continued to manage things, Chen Xiangyang might not have turned out the way he is now. The problem was that their mother retired early due to health reasons.

When she retired, Chen Xiangyang was already fourteen years old, right in the middle of his rebellious phase. At that time, Chen Xiangtian's work also became very busy, and he also started dating. Since his mother was at home, he didn't pay much attention to his younger siblings. After retiring and returning to the family, the old lady felt that she had neglected her children because of her work, and she spoiled her daughter Chen Xiangyue and her youngest son Chen Xiangyang rotten.

Because her daughter Chen Xiangyue was already seventeen at the time, her worldview and so on had basically taken shape, so even though the old lady doted on her, she didn't go astray. But Chen Xiangyang was different.

Without his brother's strict discipline, he was like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins. In addition, his father had just been promoted, and there were many little brats in the compound who were willing to follow him around. Amidst the compliments, he gradually lost himself.

From that time on, his life, like the crooked tree on the top of Coal Hill, went further and further astray.

Although the things he did in the past were outrageous, they were at most fighting and brawling, and he didn't hit anyone too hard, not even enough to cause minor injuries. Even if he went to the police station, he would only be detained for public order offenses.

But ever since 1977, for some reason, this guy suddenly became obsessed with making money.

People from families with similar backgrounds to him make money by using their parents' or relatives' connections to get some notes and smuggle scarce goods, or like Zhu Yongyang, they gather some followers, control a few black markets, and make money by trading various receipts.

No, he thought that whether it was dealing in scarce industrial materials or dealing in receipts, the money came too slowly, and getting receipts required favors.

He chose the wrong path: theft!

What were they stealing? Food! It was a scarce resource.

After all, nowadays every household eats rationed grain. If the ration in the grain book is not enough, then you have to go to the ghost market to buy grain coupons.

Is the rationed food supply enough?
The current ration is definitely more than it was in the early 1960s, but because meat is scarce and people don't have much oil in their stomachs, the rationed grain in the ration book is barely enough. If a family has several young boys, it's definitely not enough to eat.

After much deliberation, Chen Xiangyang finally decided to get his hands on cooking oil.

And so his wicked business began.

Because of collusion within the grain depot, and because the oil they produced was initially exported to other regions, various problems arose before. Both Lao Song and Jiang Xiaodong had their hands stained with blood in order to clear away the obstacles that prevented them from making money.

As Chen Xiangyang earned more and more money, he became increasingly greedy. At first, he would only take a dozen or twenty tons of raw materials at a time, but later he started taking dozens of tons at a time.

His small oil pressing workshop was also operating day and night, with more and more edible oil being transferred to other places through it, and a steady stream of money flowing into his hands.

In the two years I've been working on this, although there have been quite a few problems along the way, things have been going relatively smoothly until now.

Now that he was asking his brother for help, Chen Xiangyang dared not hide anything and told him everything he had done in the past two years in a clear and detailed manner.

And what about Chen Xiangtian?
Luckily, he's still young, otherwise he would have been so angry at his younger brother that he would have exploded on the spot.

"Snapped"

"boom"

Before Chen Xiangyang could finish speaking, Chen Xiangtian couldn't hold back any longer and swung his right arm to slap his younger brother across the face.

One slap wasn't enough, so she raised her foot and kicked him hard in the stomach.

The slap and kick sent Chen Xiangyang sprawling to the ground.

But he couldn't care less about the pain on his face and stomach. He turned over and knelt down in front of his brother, tears streaming down his face.

"Brother, you have to save me this time no matter what."

"I'll save you my ass."

Enraged, Chen Xiangtian kicked Chen Xiangyang again, sending him sprawling on his back.

But he seemed to feel no pain at all, and with a flip, he knelt down again.

"Brother, if it makes you feel better, you can hit me a few more times. If you still don't feel better, you can break my arms and legs. Please, you have to save me."

He cried so pitifully, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

The slap and two kicks left Chen Xiangtian, who sat in an office all year round and never exercised, exhausted. He stood there panting heavily, one hand on his waist, the other pointing at his younger brother kneeling there crying. His lips trembled a few times, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He didn't know what to say.

He never expected that his younger brother would turn out like this in the past few years, completely disregarding the law.

Should I scold him? Or beat him up again?
The key point is that no amount of scolding or beating will solve anything.

After his breathing calmed down a bit, Chen Xiangtian pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Who is this Liao Xiaomei you just mentioned? Why did Xiao Dong want to get rid of her?"

Seeing that his brother was willing to talk to him properly, Chen Xiangyang quickly raised his arm to wipe away his tears, knelt down and took a few steps forward before speaking.

"Liao Xiaomei is mine...mine...the reason I want to get rid of her is because she was sleeping in the inner room when Lao Song was talking to me here the night before last."

Xiao Dong was worried that she might have overheard something, so he said that…

"You guys are too bold, Third Brother. I really can't understand how you've become like this over the past few years. It's shocking."

Chen Xiangtian rested his right elbow on the armrest of the chair, gently rubbed his forehead, closed his eyes slightly, and said with a slight headache.

"Third brother, do you think that Dad and I are omnipotent and can handle everything, which is why you are so reckless?"

You even dare to steal and tamper with grain that's meant to be stored up. You have absolutely no respect for life. What's wrong with you? What are you trying to do?

"I... Brother, at first I just wanted to make some money. You know, I have so many brothers following me, I can't just look after myself and ignore them, can I?"

"Ha...you still have the nerve to say you have so many brothers?" Chen Xiangtian laughed as if he had heard a joke.

"How many years has Old Song followed you? As far as I know, at least ten years, right? He even served three years of re-education through labor for you. Where is he now? Where are his wife and children? Where is his mother? Where are his other two brothers? Where are their families?"

Chen Xiangtian grew angrier as he spoke, and his voice unconsciously rose in volume.

In the end, he realized he couldn't raise his voice any further, lest someone outside hear him. So he forced his voice down again, and asked the last question through gritted teeth in a low voice.

Chen Xiangyang lowered his head, but he quickly raised it again and explained, "Brother, it's not that I'm heartless and want to hurt Lao Song and the others, I just had no choice."

The things they did in Mengou were so blatantly flawed that the police would find them within days.

"Then you could have just made them leave Beijing, why... How did you manage to give that order? How old is Old Song's youngest son?"
"If I were to become your obstacle one day, would you not hesitate to get rid of me too?"

"Brother, you must be joking. You're my brother, no matter what, I would never lay a hand on you."

"Hehe," Chen Xiangtian sneered and shook his head: "I don't think so. You're so ruthless, you'd do so many despicable things for money. What else wouldn't you dare to do?"

"Brother, I..."

"Alright, stop explaining. I don't want to hear your explanations." Chen Xiangtian waved his hand dismissively, interrupting Chen Xiangyang before he could finish speaking.

"I'm asking you, why do you think something happened to Xiaodong?"

"Because in the past, no matter what he did, whether he succeeded or not, Xiaodong would come back to report to me as soon as possible. He would never easily change his plans unless there were any uncontrollable external factors."

But I haven't seen him come over yet, nor has his wife come to say anything to me. That can only mean one thing: something must have happened.

What do you think might happen to him?

"I... although I don't want to believe it, to be honest, I think he's probably already been arrested by the police."

"Why was he arrested by the police? Was he caught by accident last night when he went to deal with that Liao woman, or... did that Liao woman really hear your conversation with Lao Song the night before last? She was scared, so she went to the police station yesterday to report you, and the police sent people to protect her. When Xiao Dong went there last night, he just ran into their hands."

"Brother, this is the only explanation that makes sense right now. I really can't think of any other reason."

(End of this chapter)