Chapter 435

Returning to the fishing village construction site, Lin Dongfan was blocked outside by the police tape that had just been pulled up ahead.

As soon as Guo Lichun's "stop-work and thorough investigation" order was issued, relevant authorities acted swiftly, directly sealing off the fishing village's entrances and exits, prohibiting Zhengtong Capital personnel from entering the site.

For Zhengtong Capital, this was undoubtedly a huge blow.

Although the project had halted, the actual expenses—equipment rental fees, maintenance costs, workers' salaries and benefits, and material losses—could not be reduced by a single cent.

It could be said that money was burning up every minute!

The longer the work stoppage lasted, the greater the losses Zhengtong Capital faced.

However, for the money-savvy Lin Dongfan, money was just a number! The most depressed person on site was not Lin Dongfan, but the junior police officer Chen Shaokang, who had been suspended by his superiors!

Earlier, Lin Dongfan had instructed Chen Shaokang to maintain order in the fishing village and had dispatched a security team for his command.

But in the end…

The construction site still saw a fatal incident, which dealt Chen Shaokang a considerable psychological blow.

Chen Shaokang lowered his head in shame and confessed to Lin Dongfan: "Brother Fan, perhaps I'm simply not cut out for great undertakings…"

"What do you mean by that?"

Lin Dongfan, cigarette in mouth, also wanted to see how much insight Chen Shaokang had gained from this ordeal.

Chen Shaokang gave a wry smile: "They were right under my nose, operating a crane to lift prefabricated slabs, then the cable snapped and crushed someone on the spot. Ultimately, my predictive ability was insufficient. I had anticipated that the Hai Long Society might play dirty, but I never imagined they would do it by staging an accident."

"Insufficient predictive ability—it's not too late to realize this now," Lin Dongfan said with a smile.

Chen Shaokang couldn't even meet Lin Dongfan's smile: "I have let down your trust; because my supervision was lax, all the effort you previously put in has come to nothing."

"Saying it's all come to nothing is premature," Lin Dongfan said, lightly patting Chen Shaokang's shoulders twice as he turned and walked, adding: "I'm not dead, and Guo Lichun hasn't moved in yet. We've just drawn our swords; who will win the deer is still unknown. Come on, take me to the excavator operator's home."

"Mm."

Chen Shaokang, eager to make amends, hurriedly led the way.

The responsible excavator operator, whose real name is Huang Hai, has already been taken away for investigation by the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Under Lin Dongfan's strategic "protection," the behind-the-scenes black hand likely wouldn't dare kill to silence him, otherwise Guo Lichun would bear responsibility. However, he is likely to be gagged by Guo Lichun's people and certainly won't speak the truth.

Lin Dongfan didn't expect Huang Hai to turn on his mastermind either; he could only look for a breakthrough among the family.

On the way to the Huang residence.

Chen Shaokang told Lin Dongfan: "Last year, Huang Hai's wife could no longer endure the domestic violence; she jumped into the sea with their newborn daughter and committed suicide. Now Huang Hai has no wife or child; at home lives only his mother in her sixties. His older brother has split off and doesn't live with them. You've met him before—he's Huang Tao from the Fisheries Bureau."

"Does Huang Hai have a history of domestic violence?"

Unintentionally, Lin Dongfan's mind conjured the image of a woman clutching her daughter as she leapt into the sea to kill herself, and he felt a twinge of regret.

Chen Shaokang said: "Around here everyone wants a son; his wife gave birth to a daughter and was despised. Huang Hai would take out his outside frustrations on his wife; after drinking away from home he'd come back and beat her just the same. His wife wouldn't come to our police station to report it, and domestic matters are hard for us to intervene in."

"Why did his wife bring the child along when she jumped into the sea?" Lin Dongfan asked.

Chen Shaokang replied: "I guess she feared that if she died, the child would have no one to look after it and would suffer in this world. When she hugged the child and jumped into the sea, the baby didn't even have a name, and had never been registered at our police station. Huang Hai's attitude toward his daughter was more than mere dislike."

"Don't tell me any more human tragedies from now on—they hit too close to home; I prefer to hear comedies."

As they chatted, Lin Dongfan arrived at the Huang family's gate—a two-story modest dwelling, slightly better off than the villagers' homes in the fishing village.

In the courtyard sat a big black iron pot, and an elderly woman was rendering lard.

Burning beneath the iron rack was firewood.

Chen Shaokang stepped forward and introduced her to the elderly woman: "Aunt Huang, this is Fan Donglin, Chairman of Zhengtong Capital; he'd like to learn about Huang Hai's situation."

The elderly woman lifted her head and glanced at Chen Shaokang and Lin Dongfan.

Uncommunicative, she said nothing, lowered her head again, and continued rendering the lard, constantly stirring the fatty meat that sputtered and oozed in the pot with a spatula.

Chen Shaokang said: "Aunt Huang, your son is suspected of murder and has been taken by the Public Security. If you don't want him to go to prison, you must tell the truth."

Still, harsh words work.

Upon hearing the two words "go to prison," the elderly woman's hand trembled, and her eyes filled with nervous tears.

She lifted her head and asked Chen Shaokang: "Will he really be sent to prison?"

Before Chen Shaokang could speak, Lin Dongfan responded indifferently: "Your son's life is a life, and so is anyone else's. To kill and pay with one's life is only natural and right."

"Officer Chen, my son was tricked; he didn't intend to kill anyone," the elderly woman urged.

Seeing the elderly woman loosen up, Chen Shaokang hurriedly pressed: "Then tell me the truth—did Zheng Canghai come to see your son last night and give him a large sum of money?"

The elderly woman pondered and replied: "Last night, Zheng…"

"What are you doing here?!"

Before the elderly woman could finish, Huang Tao, who works at the Fisheries Bureau, actually returned, shouted angrily, and cut her off.

The elderly woman, tears in her eyes, hurriedly greeted Huang Tao: "Tao, you've come back just in time—today your younger brother was taken by the Public Security; they say he'll go to prison, quickly think of a solution…"

"Mom, don't panic; they're just trying to scare you."

Huang Tao soothed the elderly woman's emotions.

He then strode straight up to Lin Dongfan and Chen Shaokang, his gaze sweeping over them before locking onto Lin Dongfan: "Fan Donglin, you've come to my house to intimidate my mother—what's the meaning of this?"

"It's not your turn to speak; get lost." Lin Dongfan replied indifferently.

Huang Tao gave a dismissive chuckle: "You think you're giving me face? Bringing a suspended petty officer here and thinking you can overturn heaven? The one who really ought to get lost is you."

"If that's what you mean, are you looking down on me, Fan Donglin, or on Chen Shaokang?" Lin Dongfan's face gradually darkened.

Huang Tao glanced at Chen Shaokang, then at Lin Dongfan.

He sneered arrogantly: "Take a look at your perception—do I disdain just one of you? I disdain both of you, and all the good-for-nothings in the fishing village, got it? I hear you like to give away boats—not only to the little fishermen, but also to Lin Ziniang. Believe it or not? I can make sure your vessels don't even qualify to be launched!"

A mere section-level official from the Ocean and Fisheries Bureau has this kind of god-like power?

If I hadn't heard it with my own ears.

Lin Dongfan truly couldn't believe the other party could be so arrogant.

Since you're being so arrogant, then I won't stand on ceremony with you—I'll send you packing today! Having made up his mind, Lin Dongfan turned and walked away: "Shaokang, retreat."

"……???"

Chen Shaokang stared, bewildered: "We're just pulling back like that? What's the situation? This is a bigwig from the province—someone who dares to handle Guo Lichun—couldn't possibly be unable to deal with a low-level section chief?"