Chapter 1393: The Power of the Masses

Dongsi Street

Sun Jinxi paced back and forth in the room like an ant on a hot pan. He grabbed his cousin Sun Yinxi by the collar: "Was Zhao Zhong really arrested?"

The plump and fair-skinned Sun Yinxi wore a mournful face: "It's true! Absolutely certain! The one leading the charge was that Cao Weiguo who arrested Boss Wu!"

Sun Jinxi shoved Sun Yinxi aside and roared in a fit of anxious rage: "Bastard! That Cao fellow deserves to die! Don't let me catch an opportunity, or I'll definitely finish him off!"

Sun Yinxi stomped his feet anxiously: "Brother, what should we do? Will that Cao fellow come to arrest us too?"

Sun Jinxi, Sun Yinxi, and Zhao Zhong were all thugs who made a living following Wu Chuanzong. They hadn't done few evil deeds under him. After the Liberation, their group scattered on the surface, but in reality, they never cut ties. Privately, they operated underground casinos, brothels, and usury—shady businesses. However, as the situation changed, they hid deeper. Coupled with people protecting them, no one had dared to touch them until now.

But now the times had changed. The all-powerful Boss Wu had actually been arrested. Wouldn't their good days be coming to an end?

Sun Jinxi raised his hand and slapped Sun Yinxi, shouting with a ferocious expression: "Useless! Useless trash! Look at that shameful, cowardly look of yours! What are you afraid of? What are you panicking about? Go to the Street Office and find Director Hu. He eats my food and drinks my wine; now that trouble has come, how can he not help me block it? Go! Go now! Immediately! Tell him to get over here!"

"I'm going! I'm going right now!"

Sun Yinxi covered his face and ran out of the room. Sun Jinxi, with a sinister grin, hammered his fist onto the table: "Wang Ba bastard! Want to harm me? No way. As long as this money is still useful, the sky won't collapse. So what if he's a director? So what if he's an official? As long as he takes my money, he's my dog!"

But he didn't wait for Director Hu; instead, Cao Weiguo arrived first with the Workers' Inspection Team. Besides the team, there were nearby neighbors, and they swarmed into the Sun family's old residence.

This old residence was the Sun family's ancestral property, a single-courtyard Sihe Academy. It was kept spotlessly clean, with flowers and plants in the yard, koi in the water vat, and doors, windows, and furniture made of high-quality wood.

However, at this moment, this elegant courtyard was packed with furious people. A middle-aged man with a limp pointed at Sun Jinxi with a face full of hatred: "Leader, my leg was broken by him. Leader, you must seek justice for me!"

Sun Jinxi shouted urgently: "Zhou Chang, stop making false accusations! What does your limp leg have to do with me? Be careful, or I'll sue you for slander for spouting nonsense!"

The limping man was so angry his face turned red: "It was you! You deliberately set a trap to harm me! You cheated me out of my family's savings! You snatched away my family's ancestral jade pendant, and you brought people to break my leg! At that time, there were..."

Sun Jinxi roared sharply: "Shut your mouth! What evidence do you have? Leader, right? You can't listen to this guy's one-sided story. He borrowed money from me and didn't pay it back. When I went to his door to ask for money, he tried to hit me. I admit I fought back, but his leg was broken when he fell himself; it has nothing to do with me. Besides, Director Hu of the Street Office already handled this, and we reached a settlement. I didn't expect this guy to bite back. Leader, you must investigate clearly. You can't let him extort me!"

A middle-aged woman spat at Sun Jinxi: "A good person! Bah! If you're a good person, then all the crows under heaven are white. You rotten piece of filth, it was you who dragged my husband into gambling, causing him to lose all our family property and fall into gambling debt..."

Following that, many people emotionally exposed Sun Jinxi, scaring him into backing away subconsciously.

"What are you arguing about! What are you arguing about! Be quiet, all of you!"

At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a gray Zhongshan suit and glasses walked over aggressively. He glared at the neighbors present with a stern face: "What are you doing? Gathering a crowd to break into someone else's home and causing a scene? Do you have any legal awareness at all? Do you know what kind of behavior this is? Be careful, or I'll have you charged with disturbing the peace."

Cao Weiguo said with a cold face: "You piece of trash that popped out because someone didn't tie their pants tight enough, what are you? What qualifications do you have to bark orders here, and to threaten the broad masses of the people?"

The middle-aged man glared at Cao Weiguo with a livid face: "I am Director Hu Laiyun of the Street Office. Who are you? How dare you insult a state official!"

Li Dong widened his eyes and shouted sharply: "You blind thing, this is Director Cao Weiguo of our Red Star Steel Mill Committee. We are here today to arrest these two reactionary elements, Sun Jinxi and Sun Yinxi, who have committed countless evils. What, do you want to stand up for them?"

Director Hu's expression changed abruptly: "Your Red Star Steel Mill's hands are reaching too far. This is Dongsi Street, not under the jurisdiction of your Red Star Steel Mill."

Sun Jinxi, who had been pale with fear, saw his savior arrive and grabbed Director Hu's arm with a face full of grievance: "Director Hu, save me! These people suddenly broke into my home and want to hit me. You must uphold justice for me!"

Feeling the force of Sun Jinxi's grip, Director Hu's expression turned gloomy: "Comrade Cao Weiguo, right? Without rules, there is no order. Although the rank of your Red Star Steel Mill Committee is higher than our Dongsi Street Committee, you can't just cross districts to make arrests. If you don't have instructions from higher-level leaders, please leave with your people immediately. Otherwise, I will report this to the District Committee."

Cao Weiguo said with a cold face: "We have already grasped conclusive evidence. According to the confessions of the Wu Chuanzong reactionary gang and the reports and exposures from the broad masses of the people, we have determined that this Sun Jinxi has participated in multiple crimes, mainly involving causing injury and disability, gathering crowds for gambling, insulting women, extortion, and engaging in feudal superstition... His behavior is extremely reactionary, and his crimes are extremely serious. Please cooperate with our arrest operation, clarify your revolutionary stance, and do not go further and further down the wrong path."

"You! What nonsense are you spouting!"

Director Hu said with a dark face: "Comrade Cao Weiguo, I have never walked the wrong path. I am an official appointed by the organization. Sun Jinxi is also one of the people, and he has participated in voluntary labor many times and helped people in difficulty. His performance has always been positive and good. Don't spout nonsense here..."

"Shut up!"

Cao Weiguo shouted with a face full of anger: "Director Hu! You have disappointed me too much. I now seriously suspect that you have been bought off by this reactionary element, Sun Jinxi. Your various behaviors have already betrayed the revolution and deviated from the broad masses of the people. Men, control Director Hu, Sun Jinxi, and Sun Yinxi, and take them back together for investigation."

"Yes!"

"What are you doing! What are you doing! I am an official appointed by the organization! What are you doing! This is rebellion! Rebellion! It's all rebellion! Drive them out for me..."

"Bastard! You are bullying people too much!"

"I'll fight you to the death!"

Director Hu, along with the Street Office staff and the Sun Jinxi and Sun Yinxi brothers and their families, resisted arrest arrogantly. Several members of the Workers' Inspection Team were punched and kicked.

"Fellows! Down with the reactionaries!"

"Sun Jinxi, you animal!"

"Catch Sun Jinxi!"

"Down with the reactionaries!"

Cao Weiguo led the charge, kicked Sun Yinxi over, and then raised his arms and shouted, inciting the indignant crowd present to yell and swarm toward Director Hu, Sun Jinxi, and the others in a chaotic mess.

"Ah!"

"What are you doing! What are you doing! I am the Street Office Director! Ouch!"

"You dare to go against me... Ah!"

Director Hu and Sun Jinxi still wanted to throw their weight around and act tough, but they were immediately submerged by the angry crowd, falling into the vast ocean of the people, letting out bursts of screams. When the crowd dispersed, Director Hu was lying on the ground, covered in footprints, his glasses gone, and his crotch wet, emitting the smell of urine... As for the Sun Jinxi brothers, it was even more unbearable to look at. Sun Yinxi had his arm stepped on and broken, and Sun Jinxi was clutching his crotch, having had one eye poked blind, already rolling his eyes in pain... Sun Jinxi and Sun Yinxi's wives and children were also beaten until their faces were bruised and swollen, their hair disheveled, and their clothes torn. They huddled on the ground, shivering, having lost all their former arrogance...

This made Cao Weiguo sincerely sigh at how powerful the strength of the masses is! ===== CHAPTER 1395 =====