Handong: Sha Li wants political achievements? I'll shut down the entire province.

The old man's shout was full of energy.

It was like a broken gong exploding in the farmers' market, drowning out even the sizzling sound of fried dough sticks being made on the street.

"What's wrong, Lao Li? Did you run into a scammer or something?"

The bald, fat man selling meat on the right was the first to rush over.

The cleaver in his hand was still dripping bloody bits of meat, and the back of his hand was covered in slippery lard.

Several vendors selling breakfast and seafood on the left also gathered around.

Clutching a rolling pin and a fishing net, he stared menacingly at Tian Guofu, who was surrounded in the middle.

A dozen or so burly commoners blocked the road like a wall of flesh.

The air was instantly filled with the smell of raw meat, the stench of fish, and the pungent fumes of fried dough sticks.

Tian Guofu felt his calves going weak and spinning uncontrollably.

Cold sweat trickled down his scalp from his forehead.

It dripped into my eyelashes, stinging my eyes so badly that I could only blink frantically.

He frantically backed away.

My heel stepped into the puddle, and mud splattered onto half of my trouser leg.

"What...what are you doing! You're a mob!"

Tian Guofu forced himself to straighten his hunched back, and that rigid, cadre-like demeanor came back to him.

He held up one finger, the tip trembling slightly, and gestured towards the crowd.

"I'm warning you, I'm from the provincial government... I'm a former member of the Discipline Inspection Commission..."

The words hadn't even landed.

The bald, fat man's palm, as big as a fan, reached out directly.

He grabbed Tian Guofu's gray jacket by the collar, his hand veins bulging.

The lard and meaty smell from the fat man's hands instantly smeared all over Tian Guofu's neck, making him feel sticky and nauseous.

The collar was tightly constricting his trachea.

Tian Guofu's face turned blue and purple, and he gripped the fat man's thick arm tightly with both hands.

My toes involuntarily rose up onto the ground.

"You...you let go first! Cough cough...let's talk this out!"

He gasped for breath, his nostrils flaring, the rest of his words stuck in his throat.

"The Discipline Inspection Commission? What kind of worthless thing is the Discipline Inspection Commission!"

The fat man exhaled a hot, heavy breath, spitting all over Tian Guofu's face.

"Back when you guys were all high and mighty on stage, the city management officers would come and wreck my stall every other day!"

The fat man tapped the wooden chopping board next to him with the back of his cleaver.

Two loud "bangs" echoed, sending splinters of wood flying everywhere.

"I dropped half a carcass of pork in the mud, and you haven't paid me a single penny in compensation?"

He stared with his bull-like eyes, his pupils bloodshot.

"Now that Master Yan has waived the stall fees, giving us all a way to make a living, why are you, an old codger, here investigating him?"

"I really am from the provincial capital... You guys have been brainwashed!"

Tian Guofu's throat was dry, and he shouted in a hoarse, broken voice.

"Yan Qingfeng is monopolizing! He's controlling your finances, and what will happen in the future..."

"Brainwashing? You motherfucker!"

A man wearing black rubber boots and an apron covered in fish scales squeezed in.

Holding a half-dead grass carp in his hand, the fish's tail splashed mud and water all over Tian Guofu's trouser leg.

"I've been selling fish for ten years. Before, after paying all sorts of fees, I'd have to give the market manager two grass carp as a gift for cigarettes during holidays!"

The fishmonger pointed a fish head covered in slime at Tian Guofu's nose.

The fishy smell was overwhelming, making Tian Guofu feel nauseous.

"Points are credited instantly now, with no transaction fees whatsoever. You're telling me this is a monopoly?"

The older brother spat a mouthful of phlegm-like saliva onto the ground.

"I love being monopolized by Master Yan! What's it to you!"

The crowd erupted in chaos.

"Exactly! They're just bored and have nothing better to do than come looking for trouble with Master Yan!"

An older woman frying dough sticks wiped her flour-covered hands on her apron.

He was wielding a rolling pin, and his clothes reeked of cooking oil.

"Hey everyone, wait a minute, don't rush to do it."

The older woman squinted, looking Tian Guofu up and down at his old leather shoes.

"This old man was acting suspiciously. He came up to me and immediately asked about the commission, and he even used a tattered notebook to keep accounts."

The woman slapped her thigh, suddenly realizing what had happened.

"Look at his shifty eyes, he's probably one of those out-of-town supermarkets that went out of business!"

"Didn't they broadcast it on TV the other day, saying that Wall Street is envious of our Handong?"

The woman pointed at Tian Guofu's nose, raising her voice eight octaves.

"He must be a corporate spy sent by foreign capital to cause sabotage!"

"Bullshit! I'm just a veteran Party member...cough cough...how did I become a spy!"

Tian Guofu was so anxious that he choked on his saliva, coughed so hard he bent over, and even coughed up tears.

"You're all foolish! You've been sold out and you're still helping them count the money!"

"Ignorance my ass!"

The moment the word "spy" was uttered, the stall owners' eyes turned red.

This is a blood feud that has destroyed their livelihood and cut off their source of income.

"Stop wasting your breath talking to him! Hold him down! Don't let that old bastard go back and report to us!"

The fat man suddenly exerted force and slammed it down hard.

Tian Guofu slipped and fell with a "thud".

He lost his balance and fell straight forward.

Before he could even get up, two burly men selling vegetables pounced on him.

They twisted his arms hard behind his back, one on the left and one on the right.

The joints and bones were making a cracking sound.

"Ouch... my arm! The bone, the bone is going to break!"

Tian Guofu was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat and screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

"Let go... This is assaulting a police officer... no, assaulting a cadre! You'll go to jail!"

He spoke with a lisp, his gums hitting his tongue, and his mouth tasted bloody from the pain.

Nobody listened to his nonsense.

The fat man stretched out his big leather shoe and stepped on Tian Guofu's back, grinding it down hard.

A former core member of the provincial party committee.

He was treated like a pig thief and shoved face down into the muddy water.

His nose slammed heavily against the rough gravel.

With a crisp "crack," blood mixed with muddy water flowed into his mouth.

The rusty smell mixed with the sour, rancid odor of half a rotten vegetable leaf assaulted my senses.

He gagged and spat out a mouthful of acidic liquid.

"Old Li, go to the back and get the rope you used to tie up the pigs!" the fat man roared without turning his head.

A moment later, a rough hemp rope stained with pig's blood and black mud was thrown over.

It reeked of the stench of a pigsty and wrapped itself around Tian Guofu's neck and arms several times.

Several rough, large hands hurriedly tied a knot.

The rope dug into his flesh, causing him so much pain that his eyes rolled back and he struggled to breathe.

"Be gentle... I have a heart condition... I have coronary artery disease..."

Tian Guofu whimpered and begged for mercy, his voice weak and trembling.

"Sick my foot! When you came to smash up Master Yan's pot, didn't you think you were sick yourself?"

The fishmonger went up and kicked him squarely in the groin.

"Let's go! Take this old bastard to the police station!"

The bald, fat man pulled on one end of the rope as if he were carrying a chick.

Tian Guofu's gray jacket rubbed against the rough asphalt road, tearing the fabric.

The gravel was digging painfully into his stomach, and he was being dragged and pulled like a tattered sack.

A long trail of mud and water was left on the ground.

The elderly people buying groceries nearby not only didn't stop them, but instead applauded and cheered, spitting as they spoke.

A cold wind blew in through my collar.

Tian Guofu's mind was buzzing, and his vision went black.

All he could hear were the men dragging him shouting loudly above him.

"Fatty, slow down. He's already lost one of his worn-out shoes. Is it even safe to take him to the Changming Road Police Station?"

"What if he really is a high-ranking official from the province?"

"High-ranking officials? Bah! With Lord Yan here, even the Heavenly King himself is nothing!"

The fat man tightened the rope in his hand, causing Tian Guofu to cough up blood.

"We've arrested commercial spies who are causing sabotage!"

"When we get inside, find Director Zhao. Everyone, stick to your story. I want to see if this spy who went to the station today will leave unscathed!"