Chapter 592

Dusk.

Chu Lingxi, far away in the capital, had obtained the hospital's pregnancy checkup report. She originally thought that her missed period this month was because she was pregnant with triplets. The doctor said it was menstrual disorder, she wasn't pregnant.

Feeling down, Chu Lingxi dialed three video calls in a row, hoping to discuss having triplets with Lin Dongfan, planning to book a flight to Yue Prefecture for a family reunion.

Unexpectedly, all three calls were rejected by Lin Dongfan; the scene instantly shifted to sunset, a heartbroken person in the hometown.

Chu Lingxi glumly complained to her son Lin Fuxing: "Choubao, your dad doesn't love me anymore—do you know how upset I am? All you do is play. You're almost four, not a three-year-old kid; can't you be more sensible? Hurry to the convenience store and buy me a pack of spicy strips; I need the comfort of spicy strips."

"Grandma said, you can't eat spicy strips, give up on that idea."

Lin Fuxing lay on the living-room sofa, his focus entirely on the six-colored cube in his hands. The little guy's restoring ability was terrifyingly strong; in just a few moves he restored four faces, a true seed contender.

As for his mother's request, he gave it no attention.

Chu Lingxi grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest, listlessly reclining on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling: "Why is my life so miserable? My husband won't answer my calls, my son doesn't pamper me, I can't even have a pack of spicy strips…"

Fortunately, Lin Dongfan couldn't hear these complaints.

If he could hear it.

He would probably be gloomy and speechless.

Fan Ye isn't refusing calls now; it's just inconvenient to answer during work.

The official minibus had just arrived at the highway exit of Taoyuan County, when County Party Secretary Yu ChengHai, who had been waiting there, immediately led several core committee members to greet it.

The minibus doors opened, and Lin Dongfan stepped out first.

Yu ChengHai, warm and enthusiastic, hurried forward to shake hands: "Director Lin, you've worked hard on the way!"

"Secretary Yu, hearing about you is no match for meeting you—you're much younger than I imagined." In the course of their friendly chat, Lin Dongfan politely shook hands: "Sorry to trouble you today."

"That's not the way to put it." Yu ChengHai said respectfully: "It's not early; please, leaders, go have a meal first—the county has prepared boxed lunches…"

"No need for a meal; official business comes first." Lin Dongfan directly cut off Yu ChengHai's words, tone leaving no room for doubt: "Trouble Secretary Yu to show the way—first to the Lü Mansion."

"Alright, follow behind my car."

Yu ChengHai appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was still a little nervous.

The Lü Family has occupied over four thousand square meters in Lingtan Town to build a Suzhou-style garden! If this were to be escalated, just the matter of land allocation would implicate the local government.

Yu ChengHai didn't dare say more, hurriedly leading the way.

The convoy sped toward Lingtan Town, dust kicked up from the rear resembling a spreading golden mist in the sunset.

At the same time.

The lights of Lingtan Town's clinic had also turned on.

In the simple treatment room, the doctor held the freshly taken X-ray and examination report, solemnly telling Liu Zhuangwen: "Mayor Liu, Wang Yaosheng's injury…… the scalp wound totals over eight centimeters in length. According to the *Standard for Assessing Human Injury Severity*, this already constitutes a Grade Two Minor Injury."

Liu Zhuangwen took the appraisal report, examined it carefully, and his heart sank to the depths.

Before, Wang Yaosheng refused to come to the hospital, and he had thought Wang Yaosheng wasn't seriously injured; he never expected it to actually meet the standard for a Grade Two Minor Injury.

Liu Zhuangwen asked in a depressed tone: "The scalp wound is this long, why wasn't there any bleeding before?"

"Wang Yaosheng used mud to plaster the wound, which stopped the bleeding but also caused the wound to become infected." The doctor had never seen such a hemostatic method before, he gave a bitter smile and shook his head, indicating he was speechless.

But Liu Zhuangwen did not find this funny at all.

Quite the opposite.

Liu Zhuangwen felt this was a very tragic matter!

Imagine, Wang Yaosheng clearly suffered a serious injury, yet he had to use mud to seal his wound, even pretending to be fine.

What does that mean?

This means the common people have suffering with nowhere to speak, pain they can only endure themselves! This means his work as Liu Zhuangwen is still not up to par, his governance is ineffective!

A grade-two minor injury, this is no longer an ordinary public security case but constitutes a violation of the Criminal Law, suspected of intentional injury, meeting the threshold for criminal filing.

"I just don't believe it—doing something for the common people could be this hard!"

Liu Zhuangwen stormed out of the clinic filled with anger, and as soon as he stepped out he called Lingtan Town Police Station chief Tang Zhiyuan, ordering him to lead a team to make arrests.

Soon after.

Tang Zhiyuan brought two police officers and met with Liu Zhuangwen at the clinic entrance.

Having risen from a rank-and-file officer to the position of chief, Tang Zhiyuan had also spent over a decade in Lingtan Town, evolving from an impassioned youth into today's middle-aged uncle.

Tang Zhiyuan knows the situation in Lingtan Town far better than Liu Zhuangwen, who has only been in post for three months.

Tang Zhiyuan pulled Liu Zhuangwen aside and whispered, "Town Mayor Liu, regarding the Lü Shuyong matter, perhaps we shouldn't make a big issue of it? First, calm down…"

"Chief Tang, what do you mean 'don't make a big issue of it'? I don't understand!" Liu Zhuangwen's face darkened with anger, he pointed backhandedly at the clinic doors: "Wang Yaosheng is still lying inside with a grade-two minor injury, having sealed his wound with mud! Are you trying to tell me—Wang Yaosheng's life is worth less than those few fish of the Lü family?!"

"……!!!"

Tang Zhiyuan stifled a surge of frustrated anger, thinking, "You fucking really think you're some savior, huh? You've only been assigned to Lingtan Town for three months, and you actually want to send Lü Shuyong to prison!"

"If you don't want to get ahead, that's your business—why drag me down with you?"

Tang Zhiyuan suppressed his inner anger and put on an air of righteousness: "Town Mayor Liu, I advise you not to make a big issue of it—it's for your own good. You've just arrived, you may not be familiar with the Lü family's affairs. Not to mention people like us low-level cadres, even if the county party secretary Yu Shuji came, he'd still have to give Lü Shuyong some face."

"Thank you for your concern!"

Liu Zhuangwen held up the injury appraisal report in front of Tang Zhiyuan, his anger unabated: "Now I ask you one thing—are you going to enforce the law or not!"

"Sure, why not? Since you're determined to do this, I'll go with you."

Faced with Liu Zhuangwen's strong stance, Tang Zhiyuan reluctantly made a compromise.

On the way to the Lü Mansion.

All the way, Tang Zhiyuan prayed for the blessings of the Fortune Emperor, hoping Lü Shuyong wouldn't be home, only to be thwarted by the damned Fortune Emperor's trick.

As soon as he entered, he saw Lü Shuyong gathered with a bunch of cronies playing mahjong.

Inside, two mahjong tables were set up, over a dozen men shirtless with cigarettes in their mouths, each exhaling clouds of smoke, filling the room with a hazy miasma that made breathing feel like inhaling fire.

"Huh?"

Seeing Liu Zhuangwen leading the police inside, Lü Shuyong wasn't frightened at all; instead he sneered, "Town Mayor Liu, what performance are you putting on now?"

"Lü Shuyong!"

Liu Zhuangwen brought out the hospital injury assessment report, his voice firm and decisive: "You intentionally injured Wang Yaosheng, causing him a second-degree minor injury! Now, according to the law, I summon you to the police station for investigation; please cooperate!"

"Oh? So you came to arrest me."

With a light laugh, Lü Shuyong slapped the "ninety thousand" tile in his hand onto the mahjong table.

The shirtless thugs around who were playing mahjong and watching the game, in an instant, as if hearing the boss's order, each slapped the table and stood up, putting on a badass front toward Liu Zhuangwen.

Lü Shuyong snorted again: "Surname Liu, you've been working in our Lingtan Town for three months, right? After this long, you still don't know how to behave; is your comprehension a bit low?"

"I don't need you to teach me how to behave!"

Liu Zhuangwen couldn't be bothered to waste more words on Lü Shuyong.

He turned to Tang Zhiyuan urgently: "Chief Tang, Lü Shuyong is suspected of intentional injury, causing him a second-degree minor injury! Now, add a charge of gambling in a crowd, with both person and evidence caught!"

"!!!"

Tang Zhiyuan glanced at the stack of hundred-yuan bills on the gambling table, worried sick, "Damn! How is this going to end?"

Before Tang Zhiyuan could think of a way to smooth things over,

Lü Shuyong had already stood up, lifted his right foot, and stepped onto the chair!

He pointed at his own crotch and gave Liu Zhuangwen a cold smile: "Surname Liu, I, Lü Shuyong, am also a person with spiritual aspirations. I can win people over with virtue, so I will never resort to violence. Today I give you a chance to kneel down and apologize. As long as you get on all fours and crawl under my legs like a dog, I won't break your dog legs."