Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 917 Relationships

Li Xing nodded and said, "There were two criminal cases last night. The chef was stabbed twice and is still in critical condition. When the chef was stabbed, he knocked over the table, and it seems that some food spilled on these people."

Last night, these people vandalized the restaurant and assaulted the night watchman. Afterwards, they went to the workers' hospital and threatened the doctors and the victim, preventing them from being hospitalized. They also threatened the police officers present, brandishing a knife—this one.

Li Xing pointed to the butcher knife covered in a plastic bag on the table. Qiao Wei glanced at it and asked, "Besides the night watchman, did anyone else get hurt?"

Li Xing shook his head: "No, the boss came all the way from Fengtian overnight."

Qiao Wei asked, "Who were the people who smashed up the shop?"

Li Xing pointed to the captain's hand: "The police station's report lists five people: Sun Hongbao, Du Su, Jin Jian, Geng Mingjun, and Sui Bo. Du Su's father is the deputy director of the heavy machinery factory, and Jin Jian's father is the deputy secretary of the heavy machinery factory and the union's head. Except for Sun Hongbao and Sui Bo, they are all children of heavy machinery workers. Geng Mingjun's family is also a cadre in the factory. They are usually quite arrogant."

He paused for a moment and said, "When I went to the police station to pick someone up just now, I ran into Director Du. He was there with a few people. It seems the police station didn't approve my request to pick him up. He's probably gone to find someone now. I estimate he'll be here in a bit."

Qiao Wei thought for a moment and said to the captain, "Separate the locations and organize the interrogation immediately. Have someone take the statements from those locations. Do you have photos of the scene and the victim? I'll report right away. If anyone comes, stall them for a bit."

The captain agreed, and Qiao Wei hurriedly went upstairs again to Director Li's office.

"Director Li, it's the car of the owner of Jubinge Restaurant." How could Director Li have forgotten that he accompanied the mayor to the opening of Jubinge Restaurant?

Director Li was taken aback for a moment: "What are you here for?"

Qiao Wei said, "Jubinge was vandalized last night." He then recounted the incident.

Director Li put down the documents, thought for a moment, and said, "Have the deputy director of that police station come over. You keep an eye on things from here on out." Qiao Wei nodded, turned, and left. Director Li picked up the phone and dialed: "Hello, Secretary Cui, is the mayor busy?"

I reported the matter to Mayor Liu, who said, "Organize the police to investigate immediately. Arrest the person who caused the injury. You don't need to worry about this. If anything happens, just tell me. Aren't the people over there with you? Go and meet them. Be polite and see how they treat you. The police are here to serve the people and must satisfy them."

Director Li agreed, and Mayor Liu hung up the phone.

Director Li got up, grabbed his hat, and went downstairs, while Mayor Liu made a phone call to Old Chen.

"Old Chen, I'm a little embarrassed about this. Yesterday, Xiao Hui's restaurant was vandalized, and the people involved have been arrested and are being interrogated. I just wanted to let you know."

"Did anyone get hurt?" Old Chen asked.

"The cook and the night watchman are injured and in the hospital. Xiao Hui and the others are in Fengtian. They came here last night after hearing the news and are at the Municipal Bureau right now. I'll go check on them in a bit. Don't worry, they're fine."

Old Chen said, "Well, I'm sorry to trouble you. I'm in a meeting in Kyoto, so please take care of things. The children are older now, and I respect their opinions. You can ask Xiao Wei for specifics; that child is reliable."

Mayor Liu put down the phone, thought for a moment, and said, "Xiao Cui, go to the Municipal Bureau and postpone other things for now."

Secretary Cui said, "You and the Party Secretary will have a meeting in a little while."

Mayor Liu thought for a moment, then turned around, picked up the phone, and dialed: "Old Su, let's cancel today's meeting. The restaurant owned by Director Chen's child at Northeast Electric Power was vandalized last night, and someone was injured. I'll go handle it. Hmm, Old Chen is fine; I just called him. Okay, I'll report back immediately if there's any news." He hung up and said, "Let's go."

They didn't ask for a car; Mayor Liu and Secretary Cui walked from the government building across the street to the Municipal Bureau. They also took the opportunity to organize their thoughts.

Liu Huasheng received a call from Qiao Wei and drove to the Municipal Bureau, bringing bad news: the chef, Xiao Zhang, had not made it and had died.

Director Li came down from the main building to the backyard and glanced at the two military vehicles, mainly because they were too conspicuous.

Before he could even enter the building, several cars drove up and parked by the wall. A deputy director of the People's Congress surnamed Hao, Liu Zhuxi of the Municipal Federation of Trade Unions, Yan Xiaobo, the vice mayor in charge of industry, Wang Weiwen, the director of the Municipal Enterprise Management Office, Du Yefu, Huang Xingsi, Jin Jian's father, the director of the district branch bureau, and a whole bunch of people came down.

Director Li squinted his eyes and simply stood by the roadside waiting for them to come over.

As they approached, Director Li symbolically stepped forward a few paces and extended his right hand: "Welcome, welcome to all the leaders for your guidance."

Several people shook hands in order of rank, exchanging a few perfunctory compliments. Du Yefu was a company executive; although he was of high rank, he didn't actually have much say here, and since it was a family matter, he spoke first.

"Director Li, my son has caused you trouble again. To be honest, I'm too ashamed to face you. But I can't just ignore it. This time, sigh. I really have no face left, so I'm asking these brothers to save face for me."

Director Li raised an eyebrow and looked them over. "What's wrong? What's the matter? I just came downstairs."

The group of people were taken aback, their expressions varying. Although the police chief was just a bureau chief, due to the special nature of his work, he held a relatively high position and had a lot of influence. Therefore, even though these people were of higher rank than Director Li, they did not dare to easily offend him.

Du Yefu looked at Jin Jian's father and said to Director Li, "Last night, a few young men drank too much and someone splashed soup on them. Young people like that can't control their tempers, so they started causing trouble in the restaurant and even hit the night watchman a few times. That's how they ended up here."

Director Li was taken aback: "You've slapped the night watchman? Aren't night watchmen supposed to only start work after the shop closes for the day? How come you've put them together with the night watchman?"

Du Yefu gave an awkward laugh and glanced at Jin Zhuxi. The vice mayor in charge of industry beside him said, "Oh, it's nothing serious. A few slaps won't hurt much, will they? If something's broken, Du, you should compensate the person, apologize, and it's easier to resolve a feud than to create one. There's no deep-seated hatred between them. Where is he?"

Jin Zhuxi nodded and said, "Yes, yes, we apologize. We'll compensate you."

Director Li said, "Since the leaders are all here, let's come inside and take a look together. We can talk about it later, okay? Qiao Wei, come on, are there any cases of fights at restaurants today?"

Qiao Wei, who had been peeking through the door, ran up to Director Li and said, "Yes, I just overheard it. The chef died; he didn't make it. Then, around 11 p.m. last night, they smashed up the whole restaurant. The night watchman got a severe concussion; his head is so swollen he's unrecognizable. I heard they wouldn't let him be hospitalized; they chased him to the hospital and continued beating him, even threatening the doctors and police with a knife."

Director Li nodded: "Has the person involved arrived yet?"

Qiao Wei said, "They're here. Two bosses from Fengtian. They came overnight. After arranging for the night watchman to be hospitalized, they came here to keep watch, wanting justice. Oh, Director, these two cars are the ones they drove here."

(End of this chapter)