Chapter 2661: Doubt

"There's still something I can't figure out." Hou Guanghai said thoughtfully: "Zhou Andong and Wen Sanmao couldn't possibly have such a connection—why would he target Wen Sanmao?"

"Could it be because of Hong Jinyan?" Du Changhe frowned tighter: "Zhou Andong wants to move against Hong Jinyan, and Wen Sanmao is undoubtedly the best entry point."

Hou Guanghai nodded: "Maybe there's some truth to that, but I feel the situation isn't that simple—there must be something we don't know going on behind the scenes."

Du Changhe slowly raised his cigarette-holding hand, brought it to his lips, and took a slow drag: "Last time, Wen Sanmao got into a conflict with someone, and it was handled by Fang Hongbin of the Donghuamen Police Station—maybe he knows something. You should go see him yourself."

Hou Guanghai hesitated: "Going myself isn't a problem, but I'm afraid Fang Hongbin won't tell the truth."

Du Changhe felt a headache coming on—Fang Hongbin wouldn't give him the time of day, and he truly had no recourse. Because Fang Hongbin is related to Fang Jianshe, head of the Political Department, if he moves against Fang Hongbin, he'd have to prepare to break completely with Fang Jianshe.

"Go find Xie Xiaomin, the instructor at Donghuamen Police Station—if there's really something going on, he couldn't possibly not know."

"Alright, I'm going now." Hou Guanghai turned and walked out.

……………………

Donghuamen Police Station!

Xie Xiaomin sat in his office drinking tea, with a young officer standing opposite him: "How's it going—has Wen Sanmao confessed yet?"

"No!" The young officer shook his head, then quickly added: "But yesterday we deliberately let him see Hong Jinyan—his psychological defenses won't hold much longer."

Xie Xiaomin set down his teacup, stood up, and slowly turned to look out the window: "Our operation to apprehend Wen Sanmao can't stay hidden for long. Go back and tell the station chief—even if we have to use unconventional methods, we need to get Wen Sanmao to talk as soon as possible."

"Yes!" The young officer replied: "Also, yesterday the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of Jiangzhou Liquor Factory, with Supervision Office Director Tian Hongwei, went to Hong Jinyan's home and met her husband, Chen Dahai."

"Oh?" Xie Xiaomin immediately turned and asked: "What happened?"

The young officer smiled: "Chen Dahai produced a lot of evidence of Hong Jinyan's illegal and disciplinary violations, then he was taken to the interrogation point—but they didn't let him see Hong Jinyan right away. Instead, they took his statement and asked for details..."

After a moment of deep thought, Xie Xiaomin finally snapped back: "This move is brilliant—Hong Jinyan isn't just corrupt; she also has serious personal conduct issues, something no man could tolerate. I'd bet Chen Dahai hates her guts by now."

Xie Xiaomin turned back to look out the window, then saw his eyebrow twitch, his gaze fixed on the gate— a police car slowly drove into the station compound, and Hou Guanghai stepped out.

Xie Xiaomin narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly: "Xiao Liu, don't leave yet—go back to the office and rest for a bit."

"Yes!" Xiao Liu saluted: "I'll head back to the office then."

"Go on!" Xie Xiaomin didn't turn around, eyes fixed on the window until Hou Guanghai's figure disappeared from view, then he turned and sat down.

Soon, there was a knock on his office door. Xie Xiaomin shouted: "Come in!"

Hou Guanghai pushed the door open and entered. Xie Xiaomin wore a look of "surprise," quickly stood up, walked around the desk to greet him, and warmly extended his hand: "Director Hou, what wind blew you in today?"

Hou Guanghai smiled and shook his hand: "Today it's the wind from all directions—I was forced here, swept in by a tornado."

Xie Xiaomin's eyes narrowed, then his smile grew even brighter: "So it was Heaven itself that sent you here—today you're not leaving. After I get off work, let's find a place and have a few drinks."

Hou Guanghai waved his hand, looking helpless: "Drinking's fine, but not today."

Xie Xiaomin said regretfully: "I was hoping—since you're here today and I've got nothing else planned—I could get you to drink until you can't stand."

"No way." Hou Guanghai sighed: "Too many things weighing on me—I'd love to drink with you until we fall over, but I just can't get away."

Xie Xiaomin poured Hou Guanghai a cup of tea: "This is tea I bought yesterday at Zhang Yiyuan—taste is pretty good. Try it."

Hou Guanghai really wasn't in the mood for tea, but Xie Xiaomin was so enthusiastic he felt pressured, so he took the cup: "Old Xie, I came this time to ask you about something."

"If you just want to ask something, you could've called—no need to make the trip." Xie Xiaomin pulled out a cigarette and personally lit one for Hou Guanghai: "Go ahead—tell me what it is. If I know it, I'll tell you everything."

Hou Guanghai was anxious and didn't have the energy to play games: "Last time, Wen Sanmao got into a fight with someone, and it was handled by Chief Fang. I want to know—who was it that clashed with Wen Sanmao?"

Xie Xiaomin's eyes flickered—he wanted to say he didn't know, but even a fool wouldn't believe that. As the station instructor, he knew Wen Sanmao had clashed with someone, and there were one or two hundred onlookers—big or small, it was noticeable. How could he possibly know nothing?

"Director Hou, I'm saying I don't really know—do you believe me?"

Hou Guanghai laughed and stared at Xie Xiaomin: "You tell me."

Xie Xiaomin also laughed: "Director Hou, I truly don't know much about this—because the case was handled by Chief Fang's office, I just asked a few casual questions and didn't dig deeper."

Just as Hou Guanghai's face began to darken, Xie Xiaomin shifted tone: "But I can go pull the case file—you have some tea, and I'll be back soon."

Hou Guanghai's expression instantly cleared—Xie Xiaomin going to check the file showed he genuinely didn't know.

Xie Xiaomin stood up and walked out, then entered a large office—aside from Xiao Liu, who was sitting by the window smoking, the room was empty.

"Instructor!" Seeing Xie Xiaomin enter, Xiao Liu quickly stood up.

"Have a seat!" Xie Xiaomin waved him off, then grabbed the phone on the desk and quickly dialed a number.

Soon, the receiver crackled with Zhou Andong's voice: "Hello, I'm Zhou Andong—who is this?"

"Factory Manager Zhou!" Xie Xiaomin said in a lowered voice: "I am Xie Xiaomin, the instructor of the Donghua Police Station."

Xie Xiaomin explained Hou Guanghai's purpose: "I didn't know how to answer him, so I called you instead."

Xie Xiaomin briefly explained Hou Guanghai's purpose for coming: "I didn't know how to answer him, so I called you."