Chapter 128

Upon seeing this transcript, Gong Jianjun began to mutter to himself. A deputy director of a township’s Party and Government Office was also at the deputy-section level, the same rank as him. More importantly, Su Xinghui was only twenty-two. To hold such a position at such a young age, he likely had some backing.

Consequently, Gong Jianjun decided to just mediate the matter. Of course, it was necessary to make Su Xinghui bleed a little; the Public Security Brigade was famous for plucking feathers from every goose that flew by—once you entered, you couldn't leave without losing some blood. Thus, he instructed the young police officer to ask Su Xinghui for one or two hundred yuan in medical expenses.

Chang Hu and the others certainly wouldn't dare to keep the medical expenses. If Su Xinghui paid this sum, couldn't the few of them go to a restaurant for a good meal? People said you live off the mountains if you live in the mountains, and off the water if you live by the water; wasn't that exactly how their Public Security Brigade made a living? They felt this was perfectly justifiable.

Who would have thought they would hit a hard nail today? Su Xinghui actually refused to accept mediation and seemed to have a tendency to blow things out of proportion. If this matter really escalated, Gong Jianjun and his men wouldn't be able to handle it.

Letting "Rat" go today had no paperwork, so it couldn't stand up to scrutiny. Besides, they weren't the only ones calling the shots in the Public Security Brigade. Wu Jun, who had caught Rat today, was not on their side, and there were several other officers in the brigade who didn't get along with them. If the higher-ups investigated, this couldn't be covered up.

If it were an internal investigation within the Public Security Bureau, they wouldn't be afraid. Chang Hu was considered a lackey of Tao Yanbin, and Tao Yanbin’s father was Tao Yan. Could he not protect his own son?

However, this Su Xinghui was from the government. Who knew what connections he had? If he had connections in the county and blew this up, Tao Yan might not necessarily be able to protect them.

Seeing Su Xinghui sitting with his eyes closed, looking calm and composed, the young officer hurried back out to find Gong Jianjun and whispered in his ear for a while.

Gong Jianjun felt a headache coming on after hearing this. Su Xinghui was so confident, he must have backing. It seemed making him pay medical expenses had annoyed him. Gong Jianjun immediately decided: what if they just didn't collect the medical expenses? In any case, today's matter could not be blown out of proportion.

Gong Jianjun entered the room with the young officer and laughed heartily: "You must be Director Su, right? Hey, it was little Li who didn't handle things well. What medical expenses? I just gave Chang Hu and the others a good scare, and they don't dare to ask for money anymore. Forget it, Director Su, you're fine now, you can go."

Su Xinghui opened his eyes, glanced at Gong Jianjun, and asked, "May I ask who you are?"

Gong Jianjun took out a pack of 555 cigarettes, tore it open, pulled one out, and offered it to Su Xinghui: "I am Gong Jianjun, deputy captain of the Public Security Bureau's Public Security Brigade. Come, let's be friends."

Given Gong Jianjun's status, usually, no one would refuse his goodwill. Having a friend who was a deputy captain in the Public Security Brigade could be so helpful in the future! Therefore, Gong Jianjun's smile was very confident; he believed Su Xinghui would not refuse his goodwill either.

But Gong Jianjun's smile immediately froze on his face. Su Xinghui waved his hand and said, "Sorry, I don't smoke. Deputy Captain Gong, I just want to know, who let that Rat go?"

Gong Jianjun's smile faded bit by bit. He slowly put the cigarette back into the pack, put the pack back into his pocket, and then asked, "May I ask, Director Su, do you work in the Public Security Bureau's headquarters or the Political and Legal Affairs Committee?"

The implication was clear: since Su Xinghui was not his superior, he had no right to ask about this.

Su Xinghui said, "I don't work in your bureau headquarters, nor in the Political and Legal Affairs Committee. I am just an ordinary citizen. However, that Rat was caught by your police officers with my help. At the time, he was caught red-handed, but two hours later, I saw him on the street again, and he was even preparing to retaliate against me. I feel I have the right to know how he got out!"

Gong Jianjun's face turned cold: "Do we need your guidance on how to handle cases in the public security organs? We now suspect you of involvement in provoking trouble and causing injury, and we are going to take compulsory measures against you. Little Li, cuff his hands for me!"

Su Xinghui couldn't help but sigh. He had heard before that some people working in public security organs were like dogs—their faces were dog faces. Even if they were calling you brother a moment ago, they could turn on you in an instant. Now that he saw it, the saying was indeed true.

Su Xinghui smiled: "Deputy Captain Gong, you must understand, it's easy to put on these handcuffs, but it won't be so easy to take them off."

Seeing Su Xinghui's fearless demeanor, Gong Jianjun felt a bit nervous, but he had been backed into a corner by Su Xinghui and had no way out. He hardened his heart: even if you have backing, can you necessarily handle Bureau Chief Tao? I'll let you suffer a bit first.

With this reckless urge taking over, he turned to the young officer: "Little Li, cuff him for me!"

Su Xinghui smilingly extended his hands, letting the young officer put the handcuffs on him. The young officer even tightened them on purpose, leaving marks on Su Xinghui's wrists, but Su Xinghui seemed completely unaware.

Gong Jianjun turned and left the room, and Little Li followed. After they left, they locked the door from the outside. It was January, the coldest time of the year, and there was no heating or air conditioning in this room. The cold alone would be enough to make Su Xinghui suffer.

Of course, Gong Jianjun was still somewhat wary of the backing behind Su Xinghui, so he didn't use any further methods. If he injured the person and his backing was too strong, it would be hard to explain.

Gong Jianjun planned to leave Su Xinghui here for a while, then have another officer go in to play the "good cop," persuade Su Xinghui to accept his conditions, and leave. He had seen many hot-headed young people who would become obedient after being locked in this room for an hour or two.

Su Xinghui wasn't in a hurry either. He continued to sit with his eyes closed. He was wearing plenty of clothes, and his health was good, so he wouldn't be cold sitting here for a while. Besides, he estimated that Xue Qin should be bringing reinforcements soon.

Sure enough, he had only been sitting for ten minutes when he heard a female voice outside asking, "Where did you lock up Su Xinghui?"

He could tell that the female voice was none other than Xue Qin's.