The Republic of China: I, Xiangzi, a Hero in a Chaotic Era

Liu Siye was immersed in immense anger and heartache when he heard this and suddenly froze, raising his bloodshot eyes to stare at Hu Niu.

"What do you mean? It's not just him who wants it. Who else could it be?"

Tiger Girl took a deep breath and leaned forward again, almost touching the cold tabletop.

"Chief Liu has inquired carefully. This Hai Gouzi, an outsider, was able to set up a business so quickly in the Xisi North area, and even got involved with Zhao San to submit the complaint directly to the police station... He has connections with the bigwigs in the police department."

She looked at her father's suddenly contracting pupils and continued.

"The Republic of China was different from the previous dynasty. It also valued the rule of law and fairness. The officials in power didn't dare to make money too openly, for fear of getting into trouble and giving others leverage against them. So... they found another way."

Master Liu wasn't stupid; after hearing this much, he understood everything.

A deeper chill shot up from the soles of his feet, instantly extinguishing his anger and leaving only a bone-chilling cold.

The sea dog was just a pawn placed on the stage, a knife to be used to stab him.

Those who actually wield the knife are the unseen bigwigs in the police department.

Zhao San's lawsuit, Hai Gouzi's manipulation, the police station's arrest... it was all part of a well-designed chain, and Liu Siye was the fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered at the end of the chain.

"That sea lion,"

Tiger Girl's voice carried a numb resignation.

"He's just a gofer. The ones who really need the money are the people behind him."

Liu Siye leaned back in the hard chair, as if all his strength had been drained away.

He gazed at the meager sunlight streaming through the small window above him, and the anger on his face was gradually replaced by a deep weariness and helplessness.

After a long silence, Master Liu asked in a hoarse voice:

"So... what else did Director Liu say? Besides the three thousand yuan that Hai Gouzi wanted, were there any other arrangements?"

Tiger Girl nodded, her face clouded with worry.

"Director Liu said that in addition to the three thousand silver dollars that the sea dog wanted, we need to prepare an extra one thousand silver dollars."

"In the police station, you have to bribe everyone from the officer in charge to the higher-ups."

"Otherwise, even if Hai Gouzi takes the money and is willing to drop the case, the police station officials haven't gotten any benefits, so this matter... isn't over yet."

"If they can arrest you once, they can arrest you a second time. At that point, it probably won't be as simple a charge as hiring someone to commit assault or human trafficking."

Four thousand silver dollars.

This number was like a huge boulder, crashing down on Liu Siye's heart, making him dizzy and almost unable to breathe.

As Liu Siye sat there, his face changed from black to green, then from green to white, finally settling on a deathly ashen blue.

His lips trembled; he wanted to curse, but no sound came out; he wanted to shout, but something blocked his throat.

After a long while, he finally let out a long, heavy sigh from deep within his chest, a sigh filled with endless exhaustion and resignation.

"Look at this world..."

Liu Siye's voice was hoarse, carrying an almost self-mocking sadness.

"Those rickshaw pullers in the depot all say behind my back that I, Liu Sihei, am ruthless and cruel. But compared to these officials... what am I?"

He shook his head, and for the first time, a look of near despair appeared in his cloudy old eyes.

"At least I gave them food to eat and a place to shelter them from the wind and rain."

"These officials... they just bleed people with knives, and they even chew up and swallow the bone fragments."

As Tiger Girl watched her father's back hunch over and his ashen face, her heart felt like it was filled with a lump of cotton soaked in ice water, cold and heavy.

"Old man, let's not talk about this now."

"What should we do? Should we give them the money or not? We're still waiting for a reply from Director Liu."

Old Master Liu raised his head, looked at his daughter's terrified and helpless face, and sighed deeply. That sigh seemed to have exhausted the last bit of strength she had left to struggle.

"Give it... how can I not give it to you?"

His voice was dry, each word sounding as if it had been ground out on sandpaper.

"They've got a knife to your throat, all gleaming. If you don't give it to them... you're dead."

He paused, a hint of the old hand's final calculation and decision flashing in his eyes.

"As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood. As long as people come out and the factory is still there, there will always be a day when we can turn things around."

Master Liu leaned forward again, lowering his voice to an extremely low hue, almost to the point of mouthing the words, to ensure that only Tiger Girl across from him could hear:

"Tiger Girl, listen carefully. In my room, the main room, the seventh floor tile on the right as you enter."

"That brick is movable; there's a hidden compartment underneath."

His eyes were fixed on Tiger Girl.

"Lift up that floor tile, and you'll find an oil paper package inside. Inside the package is a silver note for five thousand silver dollars."

Five thousand yuan.

Tiger Girl's heart skipped a beat. This was a thousand yuan more than the four thousand yuan Liu Jiaxiang had mentioned.

My father had indeed hidden even more of his wealth.

After Liu Siye finished speaking, he seemed uneasy again. His eyes flickered, and he deliberately emphasized his words, with a habitual, almost instinctive defensiveness:

"Remember, it's the seventh one. Count to the right as you enter. Don't count wrong. If you search through everything, you absolutely won't find what I've hidden."

These words were like a fine needle, unexpectedly piercing the most sensitive and vulnerable part of Tiger Girl's heart.

She was stunned at first, then a long-suppressed sense of grievance, anger, and coldness instantly overwhelmed the dam of fear.

"Even at a time like this... you're still wary of me, aren't you?"

Her eyes instantly reddened, and tears welled up in them.

"I am your own daughter. I was the one who ran around for you while you were locked up here, I was the one who begged Director Liu, I was the one who was scolded and frightened... And you, with the money you've been hiding, still try to play these tricks on me."

Liu Siye was taken aback by his daughter's sudden and intense reaction. When he saw Hu Niu's red eyes and pale face, he realized that his habitual words had hurt her.

A rare look of panic and regret flashed across his face. He quickly waved his hand, his voice softening as he offered an urgent explanation:

"Tiger Girl, Tiger Girl, don't worry, that's not what Daddy meant."

"You're my only daughter, so all my money will be yours sooner or later."

He tried to make his expression look more genuine.

"Your father is worried about you. You're a young lady carrying so much money. What if someone targets you on the street, cheats you, or robs you? I'm afraid something will happen to you."

To Tiger Girl, this explanation sounded weak and unconvincing, even more like a cover-up.

All the memories from the past years flooded back to her—her father's frequent regret that she was a girl, his indifference to her marriage, and his treating her only as a helper in managing the car factory and doing housework.

Those sighs of "If only you were a man," those schemes that pinned their hopes for the car factory's future on the vague idea of ​​a son-in-law... all the grievances and dissatisfactions converged and erupted at this moment.