Chapter 448

When the police officer heard this, his head began to ache; this matter was truly a bit troublesome, and he looked at Dai Xiaomin.

"Regardless of whether you are divorced or not, since there is a child involved, you two sides cannot become strangers, because blood ties are something that cannot be severed."

"So, although they were impulsive and did something wrong, you were family after all. Look, can you reconcile and let them compensate for the losses?"

This guy first thought of smoothing things over; as for the severe punishment Yao Jun mentioned, he just acted as if he hadn't heard it.

This was a family with connections; even if they were taken back, they would be out in a few days, so "severe punishment" was bullshit.

But what he didn't expect was that he gave Chen Lei a way out, but Chen Lei didn't appreciate it.

"Compensation?" Chen Lei sneered, "Comrade Police, are you drunk? I'd rather throw my money into the water to hear a splash than give it to this woman."

When the police officer heard this, his face sank: "Take them back."

"Wait!" Wu Xianping came down from the second floor, "Comrade Police, I am the owner of this restaurant. These few hooligans smashed my shop. The loss must be nearly ten thousand, but I do not accept mediation or compensation; let's follow the normal legal procedures."

The police officer looked Wu Xianping up and down: "Are you sure?"

Wu Xianping smiled: "Can the three Chen brothers really turn the world upside down?"

The police officer's eyelids twitched; he didn't say anything more, waved his hand, and turned to walk out the door.

Chen Lei looked at Wu Xianping and gave a sinister smile: "Wu Xianping, when I get out, I'll kill you."

Wu Xianping said coldly: "I'll be waiting for you."

Dai Xiaomin looked at the mess all over the floor and said with a choked voice: "Uncle, what should we do now?"

Wu Xianping said: "Close the shop for now; we'll reopen after we finish dealing with this and renovate it again."

Dai Xiaomin remained silent; this shop was her hope for the future, but it had only been open for a few days before it ended up like this.

It was fortunate that the snow was heavy today and there were no customers, otherwise the losses would have been even greater.

Zhou Andong walked down and looked at the few waitresses hiding on the side, scared and at a loss.

"You all take a break; your wages will still be paid. Come back to work after the restaurant is renovated."

The waitresses looked at Dai Xiaomin; paid leave was a good thing, but the boss had to say it herself.

Dai Xiaomin nodded: "You all clean up the kitchen, then go home. I'll notify you when we reopen."

The waitresses nodded, turned, and went into the kitchen to start cleaning.

"Let's go, let's go upstairs and continue drinking." Zhou Andong said: "Xiaomin, you come up and have a drink with us too."

The few of them went up to the second floor, and Zhou Andong said to Dai Xiaomin: "This little thing is nothing, don't look so miserable."

"Right, right, right!" Wu Xianping said: "With your Uncle Zhou here, what's a little wind and rain like this?"

Chen Weimin raised his glass and said: "Come, drink!"

Dai Xiaomin wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, picked up her glass, and said: "I toast everyone."

Zhou Andong waved his hand: "No need to toast, sit down and drink slowly."

This drinking session was chaotic; Dai Xiaomin was already unconscious and was carried to the car by Wu Xianping.

Chen Weimin left by taxi, and by the time Zhou Andong returned to the brewery, it was already past two in the morning.

Because the snow was too heavy, Zhou Andong didn't let Yao Jun go back, but had him stay the night in the dormitory.

December 28, 1992, Monday, the twelfth lunar month!

In Houtun Village, just as the sky was brightening, the phone in Chen Zhonghou's house rang.

"Who's calling so early." Chen Zhonghou muttered, wrapped in his quilt, and continued to sleep.

"Ring..."

"Ring..."

The phone rang over and over again, and Chen Zhonghou was so angry he cursed, "Damn it, calling so early in the morning."

"Go answer the phone quickly." Chen Zhonghou's wife, Wei Yuhong, kicked him with her foot.

Chen Zhonghou reluctantly got up from the warm quilt, then shivered from the cold air in the room, hurriedly picked up his cotton-padded jacket to drape over his shoulders, quickly jumped off the kang, ran to the cabinet, and picked up the phone.

"Hello, what's the matter calling so early?"

"Big brother, just now, the director of the township police station called me; something happened to Xiaolei." The caller was the second brother, Chen Zhongxue.

Chen Zhonghou frowned: "What could happen to him?"

Chen Zhongxue said: "Didn't you tell him to go find Dai Xiaomin and bring the child back? He went, but he smashed Dai Xiaomin's shop."

"Shop?" Chen Zhonghou asked suspiciously: "What shop?"

Chen Zhongxue said: "You know Wu Xianping, right? Dai Xiaomin's uncle."

"I know!" Chen Zhonghou said: "Seems like he runs some printing factory."

"Right!" Chen Zhongxue said: "Wu Xianping is quite something now; he's relied on the Jiangzhou Brewery, and the scale of that printing factory of his is not small now. It's said he can earn hundreds of thousands or even a million a year."

Chen Zhonghou sneered: "What does that have to do with us?"

Chen Zhongxue said: "I mean, he has money, and he invested in a hot pot restaurant for Dai Xiaomin."

"Oh!" Chen Zhonghou realized, "Xiaolei smashed this hot pot restaurant?"

"Right!" Chen Zhongxue said: "The loss could be nearly ten thousand."

"Ha!" Chen Zhonghou laughed, "I thought it was something big. Smashing it is smashing it; making such a fuss scared me."

Chen Zhongxue said: "This is no small matter. The loss is nearly ten thousand. Intentional destruction of public or private property, if the amount is huge or the circumstances are particularly serious, is punishable by fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years. This matter of Xiaolei's is enough to get him sentenced."

"What?" Chen Zhonghou's anger flared up immediately, "Isn't it just smashing a crappy hot pot restaurant? At worst, we pay for it; how could he be sentenced?"

Chen Zhongxue said: "Wu Xianping said he doesn't want compensation and wants to follow legal procedures. In other words, he wants to send Xiaolei inside."

"Fuck his mother." Chen Zhonghou cursed angrily, "Wu Xianping is courting death, does he think our Chen family is easy to bully?"

Chen Zhonghou had been a village party secretary for over twenty years and was an out-and-out village tyrant. At the east end of Houtun Village, if he stomped his foot, people at the west end could feel the ground shake.

Chen Zhongxue hummed: "Wu Xianping needs to be taught a lesson to make him remember; our Chen family is not something to be kneaded at will."

Chen Zhonghou said: "I'll arrange for people right now."

Chen Zhongxue said: "No rush, let's get Xiaolei out first."

Chen Zhonghou said: "Call the third brother; Xiaolei's matter is just a matter of a word from him."

"Fine!" Chen Zhongxue said: "You call the third brother."

Chen Zhonghou put down the phone, then picked it up again, quickly dialed a string of numbers, and it took a long time for the other side to answer.

"I am Chen Zhonglai!"

"Third brother!" Chen Zhonghou said: "I am your big brother, something happened to Xiaolei."

Chen Zhonglai said: "I knew last night, don't worry, he'll be out in two or three days."

Chen Zhonghou laughed: "Do we need to pay for the damages?"

"Pay for damages?" Chen Zhonglai sneered, "If we pay, would Wu Xianping dare to take it?"