Chapter 2851: Nodding and Admitting Fault

Xu Min looked embarrassed, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, nodding repeatedly as he admitted his fault, "I know, I know..."

"Knowing the law and breaking it, the crime is doubled!" The captain slammed the table with a 'slap', looking extremely furious. "As a grassroots cadre, you should set a model and leading example for other police comrades in the station! Is this how you, as a station chief, lead? Do you know what the key work of our bureau is this year? Yellow, gambling, and drugs. You are openly violating organizational discipline and blatantly challenging the work arrangements from above! Xu Min, oh Xu Min! As a grassroots cadre, how could you mess around with a woman in the office, and during work hours at that? How could you do such an absurd thing! Do you know that the impact of doing this is very bad! You have a problem with your lifestyle, and this is a serious violation of the organizational discipline that a Communist Party member should have!"

As the saying goes, 'with reason, one can travel the world; without reason, one cannot move an inch.' Xu Min had suffered a disaster today. Caught in the act by the leader of the supervision brigade, he couldn't argue against the captain's stern criticism. With an embarrassed face and lowered head, he looked fawning and couldn't say a single word to defend himself.

The supervision captain pointed at Xu Min and continued to criticize him sternly: "Xu Min, oh Xu Min, you are still a police station chief. Messing around with a woman in the office during work hours, making it a foul atmosphere—the impact is too bad. Look at the eight characters in front of the station gate: what is called 'serving the party for the public, governing for the people'? As a grassroots police cadre, you actually mess around in the office during work hours. You are simply disregarding organizational discipline; it's too absurd!"

Xu Min stood there like a wooden chicken, humbly receiving the supervision captain's stern criticism. After being criticized and blamed by the supervision captain for more than half an hour, the captain looked at him with a feigned look of disappointment, sighed, and said, "Xu Min, I am simply too disappointed in you!" As he spoke, he turned and left.

Xu Min stood there blankly. By the time he came to his senses, the supervision captain had already left. Seeing that several other police officers in the station were still standing outside the window on tiptoe, watching the excitement, the annoyed Xu Min shouted at them, "What are you looking at! Why don't you go back to work!"

With that roar, everyone scattered like birds and beasts.

That afternoon, Xu Min felt remorseful in his office for the entire afternoon and pondered for the entire afternoon. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he planned to visit the supervision captain in person that evening to resolve this matter. In the afternoon, he left the office early, went to withdraw 20,000 yuan before the bank closed, packed it up, returned to the station, took two cartons of good cigarettes that others had given him from the drawer, left the station sneakily, and headed straight for the supervision captain's home.

Arriving downstairs at the supervision captain's home, Xu Min made a phone call. When the call connected, Captain Tan asked coldly from inside, "Xu Min, what is it?"

"Captain Tan, I've come to visit you. I'm downstairs at your place now, just letting you know." Xu Min accompanied his words with a smile, explaining the intention of his call.

Captain Tan said, "I'm still at the unit; the branch bureau is about to hold a meeting. What do you want with me?"

Xu Min accompanied him with a smile and said tactfully, "It's... it's nothing, just wanted to come by and visit you, Captain Tan. When will you be home? I'll wait for you downstairs."

Captain Tan said in an icy tone, "Xu Min, you don't need to wait for me. The branch bureau meeting tonight is very important; I don't know when it will end. If you have anything, we'll talk when I'm free." Captain Tan tactfully rejected Xu Min's idea of visiting.

Xu Min smiled awkwardly, took a step back, and said, "Then... then how about I come back tomorrow?"

Captain Tan replied perfunctorily, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. Alright, the meeting is about to start, I won't talk to you anymore." With that, Captain Tan hung up the phone.

Xu Min failed to visit Captain Tan that day, so he pinned his hopes on the following evening. However, before the next evening arrived, the next morning, the branch bureau's discipline inspection department issued a written circular criticizing Xu Min for his lifestyle problems and temporarily suspended him for reflection. The branch bureau's discipline inspection commission also began an investigation starting from Xu Min's lifestyle problems. Starting from the lifestyle problems, it was like triggering a chain reaction. Within a few days, a series of illegal and disciplinary issues, including economic problems, were investigated and dealt with. In Xu Min's office, several boxes of high-end Moutai and dozens of cartons of expensive cigarettes, as well as countless various precious gifts, were confiscated.

Half a month later, the higher-ups finally decided to remove Xu Min from his post.

After hearing Xu Min's account, Zhao De's heartstrings tightened. If the truth was as Xu Min said—that they had been betrayed by the officer who had inspected the rooms with him and found Sun Changsheng soliciting prostitutes—then Sun Changsheng would have no fear of him at all, because there were simply no videos or photos to threaten him. "Damn it! Grandma's! No wonder that old thing Sun Changsheng wasn't afraid at all when I said I would make those photos public. It turns out he was absolutely certain I didn't have those things in my hands!" Zhao De slammed his fist on the table and said with a deep frown.

Xu Min frowned, sighed, blinked his eyes, and said with a regretful face, "Hey! Brother, facing the pressure from Sun Changsheng and Bureau Chief Zhang, I didn't betray you, but I didn't expect it—I was betrayed by a police officer in the station. Truly, the human heart is unpredictable." After Xu Min was removed from his post, he realized that in the officialdom, competition is everywhere. Open spears are easy to block, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. The officer who betrayed Xu Min was the one Xu Min valued and appreciated the most among the dozen or so people in the station, and the young man often called Xu Min 'Brother Xu' to his face. He didn't expect that in the end, he would be betrayed by the person he trusted most in the station.

Seeing Xu Min's stubbly and haggard appearance, Zhao De suddenly felt a bit sorry for him. He knew Xu Min was a very loyal person, but he didn't expect Xu Min to lose even his small official position for the sake of loyalty. This made Zhao De feel a bit guilty toward him. Without a word, he poured a full glass of liquor into a two-tael glass, raised the glass, and said to the dejected Xu Min with an apologetic face, "Brother Xu, brother has let you down. Because of brother, you even lost this position. I'm truly sorry. Brother will apologize to you with this glass of wine." As he spoke, Zhao De tilted his neck, raised the glass in his hand, and poured the full glass of wine into his stomach.

Xu Min said with a melancholy face, "Xiao Zhao, it's not entirely your fault. If it weren't for me being too lecherous and messing around with Xiao Chan in the office, the bureau's discipline inspection commission wouldn't have investigated me. I can only say I'm unlucky."

Zhao De frowned and said indignantly for Xu Min, "If we talk about economic problems, among all those who are officials, who dares to pat their chest and say they haven't taken any benefits from others? All crows under heaven are black. Grandma's, they are all birds of a feather. If we talk about corruption, there is only the difference between taking more or less; there is no one who doesn't take. Brother Xu, you can only say you were harmed by treacherous people. I think this matter definitely has something to do with Sun Changsheng!"

Xu Min nodded noncommittally and said, "Sun Changsheng hit a wall when he came to find me. After he left, Zhang Biao came to the station that afternoon under the pretext of inspecting work. Usually, an official as big as him can't come once in a year or a half. How could it be such a coincidence that he came that day? And later he also pressured me, telling me not to go against Sun Changsheng. The two of them must have colluded. And I think that Xiao Li in the station had the guts to betray me; he must have been instructed by someone, otherwise, he wouldn't have had the guts."

Zhao De, while pouring wine into their glasses, said, "It must be that guy Zhang Biao backing him up. Zhang Biao and Sun Changsheng have a very good private relationship. If he doesn't get you, Brother Xu, down, Zhang Biao will feel he has lost face in front of Sun Changsheng."

Xu Min felt that what Zhao De said was very right. He knitted his brows, a 'chuan' character formed on his forehead, smacked his lips, sighed helplessly, and said, "Guard against day and night, but it's hard to guard against the thief within. I valued Xiao Li so much; I didn't expect that in the end, he would stab me in the back."

Zhao De said, "If he didn't betray you, Brother Xu, and didn't get you down, how could he possibly get promoted?"

Xu Min nodded and advised Zhao De with his own personal experience, "Xiao Zhao, when mixing in the officialdom, you must be careful. Brother was so careful and still got set up. Xiao Zhao, you are so young and have so little experience, so you must be even more careful."

Xu Min had fallen to this point and still didn't forget to advise Zhao De with these words. This made Zhao De feel a bit moved, so he raised his glass and said gratefully, "Brother Xu, come, I'll toast you. Let's brothers have a good drink today."

Since being removed from his post, Xu Min had been drinking every day to pass the time. He smiled bitterly, raised his glass, and said, "Brother just happened to be worried about having no one to drink with. Since we brothers are sitting together today, let's have a good drink."

"Brother Xu, just drink to your heart's content. Let's drink until we're drunk!" Zhao De said with a heroic face, gently clinked glasses, and downed it in one gulp.

Putting down the glass, Xu Min wiped his mouth and said with some embarrassment, "Brother, look, I took the benefit money from Boss Ren, but now the matter has failed. What do you think I should do?"

"Brother Xu, you don't need to worry about this. Boss Ren doesn't care about that little money. Aren't we doing this to help her get the land? Right? No one wants to mess things up, especially since you, Brother Xu, were implicated and even removed from your post." Zhao De comforted Xu Min, refilled the glasses, and then greeted Xu Min, saying, "Brother Xu, eat some food. Let's eat and drink."

Xu Min picked up a peanut and put it in his mouth. While eating, he asked Zhao De, "Brother, then how will you explain it to Boss Ren? And our double act was also exposed by Sun Changsheng. You must be mentally prepared; that old fox will definitely find a way to cause you trouble."

Zhao De seemed to have a plan in mind and sneered, saying, "It's not that easy for Sun Changsheng to cause me trouble." In Zhao De's view, Sun Changsheng arranging for that underworld figure to come and make peace with him meant he didn't want to tear his face off. Moreover, Sun Changsheng also knew that his relationship with Secretary Jin's daughter, Jin Lulu, was extraordinary. If he let Jin Lulu blow some wind in Secretary Jin's ear, Sun Changsheng's position wouldn't be stable either. Therefore, Zhao De felt that Sun Changsheng wouldn't dare to do anything to him, not to mention that behind him, there was a big figure, Su Qing, backing him up.