Chapter 281: No way, you can't detain her

As for the matter, it wouldn't be of any use even if they went.

Hearing Ye Cheng say they shouldn't go, the Chen Brothers gave him grateful looks; frankly, they were still quite afraid of going to the police station.

Finally, Zhang Guafu changed into another set of clothes in the room and, accompanied by Ye Cheng, went to the police station together.

The police car had limited seating and couldn't fit everyone, so Ye Cheng could only follow on his motorcycle.

The night road was dark; following behind the police car, Ye Cheng kept thinking about how to resolve the matter.

If it were just crayfish, the probability of food poisoning would be low; it's more likely rhabdomyolysis, and as long as they get timely medical treatment, there should be no problem.

From Chief Liu's attitude today, it probably isn't a serious matter; if someone had died, his attitude wouldn't be like this.

After arriving at the police station, Zhang Guafu was taken inside; Ye Cheng originally wanted to follow in, but Chief Liu wouldn't allow it.

"Ye Cheng, this is the investigation stage; you're not a lawyer, so you can't go in for now—wait outside, and we'll call you if anything comes up."

Having said that, Chief Liu didn't pay any more attention to Ye Cheng and straightaway took Zhang Guafu inside.

Ye Cheng had originally wanted to help explain, but now it's fine—he can only sit there idly.

Ye Cheng didn't know the two officers on duty in the duty room; whatever he asked, they gave half-hearted answers, and there was nothing he could do.

Just as he was worrying, Ye Guowei called, and Ye Cheng answered.

"A Cheng, how are you? Are you okay?"

This time selling the crayfish, Jiang Yunxiang was also involved, and Ye Guowei was also worried something might happen.

"Brother, I'm at the police station; Aunt Zhang has been called inside, and I'm waiting outside."

"Did they say what's going on?"

"No, I don't know anyone here, so I can't get any information," Ye Cheng said helplessly.

"No, wait—I remember that Chen Shichao works at the police station in our village, though he might not be a formal employee; you could ask him."

After hanging up, Ye Cheng took out a pack of cigarettes and walked to the duty room.

"Brother, is Chen Shichao on duty today?"

The duty officer looked up at Ye Cheng, expressionless, and asked,

"Do you know him?"

"Yeah, we're from the same village."

Upon hearing they were from the same village, the duty officer accepted the cigarette and pointed to the back,

"He's in the back; I'll go get him—wait a moment."

"Sure, thanks for the trouble."

In a place like the police station, without connections, it's too hard to get anything done.

Originally I could have looked for Zhao Zhiming, but it's awkward to keep asking him for favors, and besides, this is the town police station—asking him might not help anyway.

Soon, Chen Shichao walked out from the back, looking weary, and waved at Ye Cheng.

"You're Lao Er of the Ye Family, right? What do you need from me?"

"Chen Brother, it's me." Ye Cheng stepped forward and offered him a cigarette.

Chen Shichao is of the same generation as Ye Cheng, though his age is close to Ye Guowei's; since he's usually in town, Ye Cheng doesn't see him often.

Chen Shichao took it, lit it, took a deep drag, and said, "What's up? What do you need?"

"Chen Brother, Aunt Zhang was taken in by Chief Liu for questioning; could you help me find out what's going on?"

"Aunt Zhang? Which Aunt Zhang?" Chen Shichao asked.

"It's Zhang Guafu."

"Oh, her—I know." Chen Shichao nodded.

Zhang Guafu is still well-known in the village, after all, she's the only widow.

"What charge brought her in?"

"They say it's food poisoning—just some stuff they took to town to sell, and then tonight they came to arrest people; we don't know the exact details, so I was hoping you could ask Chen Brother to find out."

Chen Shichao frowned, "Chief Liu is personally handling the interrogation, so I can't go in, but I can ask someone else for info—wait outside."

After saying that, Chen Shichao was about to go in, and Ye Cheng quickly shoved two packs of cigarettes into his hand, "Chen Brother, you'll need these to grease the palms."

Chen Shichao nodded slightly and walked to the back.

Ye Cheng waited patiently in the duty room; it's been half an hour since he went in, and he has no idea how Zhang Guafu's questioning is going.

Chen Shichao went in for ten minutes, then quickly came out, looked around, gestured to Ye Cheng, and headed outside.

Ye Cheng understood at once and followed him out.

The two found a secluded spot, and after Chen Shichao checked that no one was around, he began to speak.

"Well, Lao Er of the Ye Family, out of fellow-villager solidarity I'll give you a rough rundown, but you can't say it came from me—got it?"

"Brother, don't worry, I understand that."

Seeing Ye Cheng's quick-witted demeanor, Chen Shichao was somewhat satisfied and continued,

"This matter—apparently Chief Liu received a phone call this afternoon from the city, saying a resident reported food poisoning after eating crayfish and was hospitalized. That person knows someone at the municipal bureau, so the city authorities are taking it seriously; they looked into it, and that's basically the situation."

After Chen Shichao finished speaking, Ye Cheng nodded and asked, "Chen Brother, do you know how serious the hospitalization is?"

Chen Shichao shook his head, "I don't know the specifics, but it's definitely not serious; otherwise they'd have cuffed him this morning—it's just that the other party has connections."

"Don't worry, cases like this usually just mean you'll have to pay compensation and be done with it; however, since Chief Liu is personally overseeing this case, you might have to pay a bit more."

Hearing Chen Shichao say that, Ye Cheng felt much more at ease; he could accept paying compensation, but if Zhang Guafu ended up in jail, he'd feel terribly guilty.

After finishing his talk with Ye Cheng, Chen Shichao went inside to sleep; nowadays there are many cases, everyone reports everything to the police, and they're swamped.

Ye Cheng waited another half hour, and then Chief Liu finally came out, with Zhang Guafu following behind, looking terrified.

As soon as she saw Ye Cheng, Zhang Guafu instinctively moved to approach him for help, but the officer behind her stopped her, so she could only shout,

"A Cheng, they want to arrest me—help me think of a way out."

Chief Liu glanced at Ye Cheng, then said calmly, "You're still here, then let me tell you the situation."

"In that case, Zhang Xiuqin has already admitted that she sold crayfish that caused food poisoning for others; we need to detain her according to the law."

Chief Liu hadn't finished speaking when Ye Cheng rudely interrupted him,

"That's not allowed; you can't detain her."

Chief Liu had never been so directly offended before; for a moment he was a bit slow to react, and he stood stunned for a full three seconds.

When he reacted, he instantly flared up, shouting loudly at Ye Cheng,

"Ye Cheng, who do you think you are? We police needn't have you commenting on our case, and you say it's not allowed—do you think you're some superior leader? Listen, we're handling this according to the law; do you understand what 'according to the law' means?"

Ye Cheng's retort even startled Chen Shichao, who was following behind Chief Liu.

Just now I thought this guy was honest and straightforward, but he's actually so bold, openly confronting Chief Liu and saying we can't arrest her—does he really think this is a village?