Chapter 273

Qian Youyu was handcuffed and taken to the police station by Hao Qiang at the first opportunity.

When I arrived at the police station, Hao Qiang had just returned riding his sidecar motorcycle. He scooped a ladle of cold water from a vat, gulped it down, wiped his chin, and cursed: "That dog-son Zhao Dequan, he sure knows how to run."

Seeing me, he spread his hands and said: "Didn't catch him, he ran."

I smiled and said: "Where can Zhao Dequan run to? He'll be back sooner or later."

"Town Mayor Chen, do you have something to see me about?" Hao Qiang looked at me and asked.

"Nothing much," I said, took out a cigarette, tossed him one, helped him light it, and asked: "How many did you catch?"

"Eight," he gestured with his fingers: "Five from Yuetang Village, three from Laoyingzui."

"How do you plan to handle it?"

"Someone died, how can I handle it? It's a crime, the court has to judge it." Hao Qiang looked at me suspiciously: "Town Mayor Chen, you don't have any ideas, do you? I can't help you with that."

I smiled faintly, smoked my cigarette seriously, and said unhurriedly: "I have no ideas. Don't worry, I won't make it difficult for you. However, I want to see Qian Youyu. That shouldn't be hard, right?"

Hao Qiang hesitated for a long time and said: "Town Mayor Chen, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that this is a major case involving a death, and Qian Youyu is the main person responsible for this incident. I heard he was the one who shouted to fight."

"Whether it was him or not, someone died, and he has to be responsible," I said: "I actually want to see him, nothing else, I just want to ask him what his plans are for the next step. If this person is sent to the county detention center, he'll be in a heavenly prison, and wanting to see him again will be harder than reaching the sky. This Qian Youyu invested ten million in our town, and there's more capital to be invested later. I'm not looking at his investment, I just feel that even if he has to die, he should die willingly, don't you think?"

Hao Qiang was left bewildered by my words, staring blankly at the two young policemen.

The two young policemen were even less willing to meet my gaze, looking away and glancing around.

After a moment of silence, Hao Qiang sighed and said: "Town Mayor Chen, we have to send them to the county detention center tonight. You know our police station facilities aren't good and can't hold people; to prevent accidents, we must send them to the detention center." He turned to the two young policemen and said: "We've been chasing people all day, haven't even had a drop of water, everyone is hungry. You go see if your sister-in-law left us any food. You go eat first, I'll sit with Town Mayor Chen for a while, I'll come later. After dinner, we'll send them away."

The two young policemen understood and left. Hao Qiang took the keys to the confinement room from his waist and walked inside, silent.

Less than three minutes later, I heard footsteps, and then I saw Qian Youyu, his hands handcuffed, head bowed, following behind Hao Qiang.

I called out: "Boss Qian!"

Hearing this, he raised his head. Seeing me, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes, followed immediately by a wail. He took a few quick steps over, his knees went weak, and he knelt before me, shouting repeatedly: "Save me! Brother, save me!"

Hao Qiang stood for a while, rubbed his stomach, and said: "I'm really hungry!"

I said: "You go eat first, by the time you're done eating, I'll be done talking."

Hao Qiang hesitated, opened the door, and walked out. After a few steps, he turned back, unlocked one of Qian Youyu's handcuffs, and cuffed it to the iron window grille before feeling safe enough to walk away.

As soon as Hao Qiang left, Qian Youyu hurried to ask me for a cigarette, saying he had been holding back for almost a day and was about to go crazy.

I lit his cigarette and pulled up a chair for him to sit.

After he took a few satisfying puffs, he said to me with a face full of smiles: "I knew you would come to save me, brother."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said in a muffled voice: "Old Qian, what kind of trouble are you causing? Someone was beaten to death, do you know that?"

Qian Youyu was shocked, and the cigarette in his hand fell to the ground: "Dead?"

"Dead!" I said: "Head injury, a major incident. If this person hadn't died, everything would be easy to talk about, but now that someone is dead, nothing can be said."

Qian Youyu's face turned pale, his legs went weak, and he almost slid off the chair.

He asked me with a trembling voice: "Town Mayor Chen, Brother Chen, Grandpa Chen, what should I do? A life must be paid for with a life."

He was incoherent and almost cried.

I nodded, saying nothing.

"I, Old Qian, have spent my whole life struggling, and in the end, I've reached a dead end." Seeing me silent, he sighed and said: "Things have reached this point, and I have nothing to say. I have things to entrust to you, brother. For the sake of our years of brotherhood, you must help me."

I still said in a muffled voice: "Go ahead."

"In this life, I have no more attachments. Now that you're here, I can rest easy. First is the matter of Yuebai; she is now the company's vice-chairperson. After I die, you must help her take the lead. The second thing is the thousand-plus people in Yuetang Village; you must ensure they have houses to live in and food to eat. If you promise me this, brother, I can go without any regrets."

He spoke so sorrowfully, as if he were arranging his funeral, which made me feel deeply uncomfortable. People, only at the moment of life and death, realize who their most cherished people are.

"Old Qian, maybe things aren't as serious as you think. You must tell me: first, were you the one who commanded the fight? Second, were you the one who beat the person?" I comforted him.

"I'll tell you the truth, I didn't command the fight. When I arrived, the fighting had already started. And I definitely didn't beat the person. When I got there, Old Man Zhao was already lying on the ground, still cursing. How could he have died?" Qian Youyu reached out to me: "Give me another one, brother. Every cigarette counts."

"You're not lying?" I said, lighting another cigarette for him.

"If I said half a lie, may I be struck by lightning!" Qian Youyu patted his chest solemnly.

"Did you see who beat him?"

"I don't know. It was chaotic at the time, who knows who hit who?" Qian Youyu sighed: "It's a matter that can't be cleared up. I'm unlucky, I'll take the blame."

"The law isn't a joke, it's not something you can just take the blame for if you want to. You must base it on facts, understand?" I warned him: "No matter where you go, remember, if it's not your own business, even if you take it upon yourself, you won't be able to solve the problem."

"I can't let the people of Yuetang Village die for me." He lowered his head and smoked fiercely.

"Who said anyone has to die?" I said: "Remember, tell the police exactly what you told me just now, understand?"

He looked up at me, his eyes clouded with mist, and said sorrowfully: "I'll listen to you."

I nodded firmly at him, walked to his side, took his hand, and squeezed it hard.

He smiled gratefully, a tear welling up in the corner of his eye, falling onto the back of his hand and blooming like a desolate mountain flower.

The door was pushed open, and Liu Hongyan entered, holding a cup of water. She handed it to me and said: "Hao Qiang and the others are almost done eating. He wants me to tell you, if you have anything else to say, say it quickly."

I said: "Nothing left to say."

Liu Hongyan hesitated and said: "Then I'll take Qian Youyu in?"

"Take him in." I waved my hand and slumped into the chair, feeling defeated.

Qian Youyu was handcuffed again. He spat out the cigarette butt he was holding in his mouth, stepped on it hard, and said: "Town Mayor Chen, Yuetang Village has over a thousand people. You must help me!"

I nodded at him, my heart aching like it was being cut by a knife. Qian Youyu had been glorious his whole life, and I never expected that by following me to Suxi, he would end up a prisoner. I felt as if I owed him, and my heart was filled with an uneasy anxiety.

After leaving the door, Sun Demao hurriedly opened the car door for me. I fell into the seat, feeling completely drained of strength.

Sun Demao asked me tremblingly: "Town Mayor Chen, is it serious?"

I looked at him, sighed, and said: "Life and death are determined by fate."

He started the car, drove for a while, then stopped and said: "Boss Qian won't be sentenced to death, will he?"

I glared at him and said: "Old Sun, what are you thinking? Do you want him to die that much?"

He shook his head and said: "That's not what I mean. I just feel that Boss Qian and I came to Suxi to invest, and it doesn't feel like we're doing business to make money, but rather playing with our lives."

He seemed to have a sense of "grieving for the dead," and after restarting the car, he looked ahead and didn't say another word to me.