Chapter 225

Upon seeing this transcript, Gong Jianjun muttered to himself. A deputy director of a township Party and Government Office was also at the deputy stock level, the same rank as him. More importantly, Su Xinghui was only twenty-two years old; to hold such a position at such a young age, he might have some backing.

Consequently, Gong Jianjun intended to just mediate the matter and be done with it. Of course, it was necessary to make Su Xinghui bleed a little; the Public Security Brigade was famous for "plucking a feather from every goose that flies by"—once you entered, you couldn't leave without paying up. So, he told the young officer to ask Su Xinghui for one or two hundred yuan in medical expenses.

Chang Hu and his men certainly wouldn't dare to actually pay for medical expenses. If Su Xinghui paid this money, couldn't they, the officers, go to a restaurant and have a good meal? People say, "Those who live on the mountain live off the mountain, those who live by the water live off the water." Wasn't the Public Security Brigade living off exactly this? They felt this was perfectly justifiable.

Who would have thought they would run into a tough nut today? Su Xinghui actually refused mediation and seemed to have a tendency to blow the matter out of proportion. If this 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 running the Public Security Brigade. Wu Jun, who had caught Rat today, wasn't one of them, and there were several other officers in the brigade who were at odds 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 closing his eyes to rest, looking completely unbothered, the young officer hurriedly went 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: couldn't they just stop collecting the medical fees? In any case, today's matter could not be blown out of proportion.

Gong Jianjun then entered the room where Su Xinghui was with the young officer. He 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 his men a scare, and they don't dare 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 handed it to Su Xinghui: "I am Gong Jianjun, deputy captain of the Public Security Bureau's Public Security Brigade. Come, let's make 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 very 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 stiffened on his face. Su Xinghui waved his hand: "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 into his pocket, and then asked, "May I ask, Director Su, do you work in the Public Security Bureau's headquarters or in the Political and Legal Affairs Commission?"

This was very clear: since you, Su Xinghui, are not Gong Jianjun's superior, you have no right to ask about this.

Su Xinghui said: "I don't work in your bureau headquarters, nor in the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. I am just an ordinary citizen. However, that Rat was caught with my help for your officers. At the time, the person and the stolen goods were 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 our public security organs? Now we suspect you of being involved in provoking trouble and causing injury to others, and we are going to take compulsory measures against you. Little Li, put him in handcuffs!"

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, seeing this, the saying was indeed true.

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

Seeing Su Xinghui looking so fearless, 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 take down Director Tao? I'll make you suffer a bit first.

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

Su Xinghui smilingly stretched out his hands and let the young officer put the handcuffs on him. The young officer deliberately tightened the handcuffs, 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 went out, 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 Su Xinghui's backing, so he didn't use more extreme measures. If he injured the person and his backing was too strong, it would be hard to explain.

Gong Jianjun prepared to leave Su Xinghui here for a while, then later send another officer in to play the "good cop" and persuade Su Xinghui to accept his conditions and leave. He had seen many young people with hot tempers; after being locked in a room like this for an hour or two, they would become obedient.

Su Xinghui wasn't in a hurry either. He continued to close his eyes and rest. Anyway, he was wearing plenty of clothes, his body was in good shape, and sitting here for a while wouldn't make him cold. Besides, he estimated that Xue Qin should be bringing reinforcements soon.

Sure enough, after sitting for just over ten minutes, he heard a female voice outside asking: "Where have you locked up Su Xinghui?"

He could tell that the female voice was indeed Xue Qin's.