Chapter 303: Who can release the prisoners?

Having dealt with Deng Hanyu, I had cleared an obstacle on my path toward becoming Deputy County Magistrate. Deng Hanyu was the best candidate for the position; given his personal qualifications and social background, who else could it be but him?

Secretary Liu Qimeng's advice still rang in my ears, but I am a man who does not believe in fate. For many years, I have been unswerving in my struggle against destiny. For instance, my leap from an unofficial staff member to someone within the system involved luck and struggle, but I believe personal effort played the leading role.

Deng Hanyu's political future in Chunshan County was declared at an end. As long as I was willing, he would be ready to work for me at any moment. It wasn't because he had lost over a million yuan to me, but because if word got out that he had colluded with a card sharp, he would have only one end—waiting for death.

Rather than creating an enemy, it is better to turn an enemy into a friend; the most thorough way is to turn an enemy into a lackey. Only a dog will be fawning and submissive to its master!

Looking across the entirety of Chunshan County, the only person left who could rival me was Guo Wei. If I tripped Guo Wei, I would be the only one who could sit in the Deputy County Magistrate's chair. Guo Wei's return to Hengyue City naturally had its own calculations; I knew his "secretly crossing the Chencang plank road" plan like the back of my hand. Guo Wei's only winning move was to win the favor of Chen Meng; as long as he became the son-in-law of Secretary Chen, no one could contend with him.

Time was tight and imminent. The County Committee had let it be known that the candidate for Deputy County Magistrate must be decided before the Spring Festival; after the New Year, in March, the People's Congress would go through the motions, and it would be officially justified.

Guo Wei was not a man who could be easily toppled. He didn't smoke, drink, gamble, or lust after women; he was practically made of high-quality material from head to toe. Such a man was a top-tier specimen in the eyes of women, but in the eyes of men, he was a man with absolutely no taste.

But as long as one is human, one will have shortcomings. No matter how perfect a person is, there will be flaws. There is no such thing as a perfect person in the world, just as there are no two identical leaves in the world.

I had racked my brains to get Guo Wei to approach Chen Meng, not because I hoped they would blossom and bear fruit, but to let Guo Wei know the difficulty and retreat. After Chen Meng left Chunshan County, I thought the plan was about to be completed perfectly, but I never expected that the moment I left Chunshan County, Guo Wei would follow right behind me, and with a clear objective.

Guo Wei's return to the city was both unexpected and reasonable.

Although he knew Chen Meng was secretly pregnant, he was willing to gamble his future on it. It was just like when Guo Wei relocated his site; he didn't have a cent in his hands, yet he dared to do it. This point made me admire him, though I didn't think highly of his prospects.

Thinking too much made my heart restless. Liu Qimeng had already judged my future, and my cousin-in-law was noncommittal; the position of Deputy County Magistrate of Chunshan County was like the moon hanging in the sky—within reach, yet difficult to obtain.

As soon as the sky brightened, I crawled out of bed, called Huang Qishan, and the two of us rushed to the detention center.

The road was covered in snow; the trees on both sides were piled high with it, and the branches of some pine trees had been snapped by the weight of the snow, revealing fresh, jagged stumps. There were few pedestrians on the road, and a single set of tire tracks stretched lazily into the distance. The black dust kicked up landed on the snow-white ground, as if a perfect corpse had been dismembered into pieces.

The gate of the detention center was tightly shut. The armed police officer at the entrance was hiding in the guard booth. Seeing my car approach, he came out carrying a semi-automatic rifle, exhaling hot air as he asked me, "What are you doing here?"

"Picking someone up!" I said, pulling out my ID card and handing it to him.

The armed police officer didn't even look at it, gesturing with his mouth toward the side. Only then did I see a tightly closed small window by the gate, with the words "Visitation Registration" written on it.

I went over and knocked on the window, but there was no response. I knocked again, still no response. Puzzled, I turned back and asked the armed police officer, "Is no one on duty?"

The armed police officer looked back at the clock hanging in the booth, suddenly grinned, and said, "You should look at what time it is."

Huang Qishan yawned, grumbling unhappily, then turned and dove back into the car, shouting forcefully, "Chen Feng, start the car! It's freezing to death out here."

I stood by the large iron gate, peering through the crack. The detention center was silent; in the courtyard, a few bald prisoners in prison uniforms were sweeping the snow.

A horn sounded behind me. I turned around and discovered it was Lao Mo driving his police car.

A surge of joy filled my heart; I didn't care about anything else, stretched out my arms to block the gate, and stopped Lao Mo.

Lao Mo poked his head out of the car window and cursed, "It's early in the morning, are you looking to die?"

I ran to his car with a grin, fawning, "Brother Mo, was your wife gentle enough last night?"

Lao Mo froze, staring at me suspiciously, a trace of embarrassment sliding across his face.

I caught this subtle movement. Without hesitation, I pulled open his car door and sat down.

"You brat, so it was you?" Director Mo simply turned off the engine, and the temperature inside the car dropped immediately.

"Didn't your wife tell you I was coming to find you today?" I laughed wickedly, pulled a cigarette from the pack, stuffed it into his mouth, and helped him light it.

Lao Mo nodded, took a deep drag of the cigarette, and tapped the steering wheel with one hand, saying, "Little brother, you don't have the paperwork, and I can't help you. You know, I'm just a man who watches over prisoners; I don't have the authority to release anyone."

I pulled the report signed by Secretary He from my pocket and handed it to him, saying, "Look, this is the signature of Secretary He of the Municipal Committee."

Lao Mo hesitated for a moment, pushed the report away without looking at it, and said, "I don't know Secretary He."

A fire rose in my heart. I cursed Lao Mo's wife—you don't even know Secretary He, how do you survive? Of course, I knew he was stalling; he didn't dare take the responsibility.

"Little brother, don't make things difficult for me!" Lao Mo said pitifully, then cursed fiercely, "That damn woman in my house, besides playing cards and gambling, never does a single proper thing. She's a menace."

I laughed, "Your wife is great, she can grace the parlor and work in the kitchen. Brother Mo, you should just be happy."

"Happy my ass!" Lao Mo bit off the filter, spat the cigarette butt out the window, turned back to me, and said, "I don't dare talk about releasing people, but I can provide you with convenience. You can go see the person you want to see, alright?"

"That's fine too! Thank you, Brother Mo." I agreed with a grin. Getting into his detention center was the first step; if I wasn't even allowed through the door, then even if I had heaven-reaching abilities, I could only sigh at the gate.

Remembering the phone call to Li Fulian last night, hearing Lao Mo moaning and groaning on the phone, and Li Fulian speaking in a flustered manner, I knew they were in the middle of their tryst. After hanging up, I lay under the covers and laughed for a long time.

"Get out of the car and register," Director Mo ordered me.

I didn't want to get out of the car. Lao Mo, you son of a bitch, don't think you can trick me into getting out. Once I get out of the car, you'll step on the gas and drive through the iron gate, and your promise will be like dog shit—no one to clean it up.

I said with a thick-skinned smile, "Brother Mo, I'm sitting in your car, do I still need to register?"

Lao Mo laughed, "Don't blame me. This is discipline. Even if our Public Security Bureau Chief came, he would still have to register."

"Keep blowing your horn! You'll blow the cow to death." Of course, I didn't believe his words, so I rolled down the window and shouted to Huang Qishan, "Qishan, you go register."

Huang Qishan swayed as he got out of the car, took my ID card, and walked to the small window, just in time to see the small window open, revealing a furry face from inside.

Lao Mo finally had no choice; he honked the horn to open the large iron gate and drove me inside.

His office was warm as spring, with a large iron stove burning inside. The fire was roaring, and a kettle on top was boiling, jumping with a "tut-tut" sound.

"Well? Who do you want to see?" Lao Mo asked me straight to the point.

"I don't want to see anyone; I want to release people." Once in his office, even if he held a gun to my head, he couldn't drive me out.

"Are you dreaming?" Lao Mo stared at me and roared loudly, "Do I have that authority?"

"Don't be impatient!" I said, finding a black, grimy water cup on his desk, pouring a cup of water, blowing on it, and taking a sip before saying, "You have to tell me, who has that authority?"

"Unless the Bureau Chief speaks!" Lao Mo revealed the bottom line.

"You're not lying to me?"

"What good would it do me to lie to you!"

"Good! You wait." I pulled out my phone and started calling the County Public Security Bureau Chief. ===== CHAPTER 304 =====