Chapter 833

Yang Xinhua patted his chest and said, "As long as you, Mayor Su, have given the word, we will handle Yuan Kang however he should be handled. He is the primary culprit, so it is only right that he be detained for a few extra days."

Su Xinghui believed that Yang Xinhua's words were still sincere. During the incident with Yan Qing last time, their Public Security Sub-bureau had handled it normally, hadn't they? They had already offended a department-level cadre once; offending another one would just be like a person with many lice not feeling the itch, or a debtor not worrying about his debts. Besides, Su Xinghui had a more powerful background standing behind him; if he were to be retaliated against, Su Xinghui could not just stand by and watch.

However, after thinking about it, Su Xinghui realized that holding onto Yuan Kang would not have any practical effect. He hadn't suffered any losses himself, and Yuan Kang could only be subjected to administrative penalties—at most, a few days of detention or a small fine. To Yuan Kang, this would be neither painful nor itchy. But for the Jiangnan District Public Security Sub-bureau, offending such high-level cadres repeatedly would put them under immense pressure.

After some thought, Su Xinghui decided to do Yang Xinhua a favor. Yang Xinhua was a decent person and relatively principled. Thinking of this, Su Xinghui asked, "Can you confirm that Yuan Kang is indeed Secretary Zhang's nephew? He isn't just swindling people, is he?"

Yang Xinhua said, "It has been confirmed. He is indeed Secretary Zhang's nephew, the son of Secretary Zhang's eldest sister. He works at the Provincial Tobacco Bureau."

Working at the Provincial Tobacco Bureau? Su Xinghui roughly understood how Yuan Kang had met Sun Xuefei. They worked in the same system, so there were plenty of opportunities for them to meet.

After pondering for a moment, Su Xinghui said, "Captain Yang, you have helped me quite a bit. How about this: I will be returning to Pengjiawan shortly, and I will no longer ask how you handle this. However, there is one condition: I do not wish for such a thing to happen again. If there is a next time, I will not let them off so easily."

Yang Xinhua was overjoyed. This result was, of course, the best possible outcome. The police officer from earlier had been sent by their bureau chief, and the message he conveyed was the hope that he could persuade Su Xinghui to show leniency and stop pursuing Yuan Kang.

Once the bureau chief heard it was Secretary Zhang's nephew and that it involved Su Xinghui, his head must have immediately started aching. Last time, Su Xinghui had clashed with Yan Qing, and the final result was that Yan Qing was sentenced to prison. Even without investigating, the bureau chief knew Su Xinghui's background was extraordinary, not to mention he had investigated Su Xinghui before and roughly knew his background—after all, Su Xinghui had appeared in the *Hudong Daily* several times.

But the key was that Yuan Kang's background was not small either. How could a small sub-bureau chief like him afford to offend so many deities? He didn't want to offend anyone anymore; if he offended anyone else, he feared his position as a small sub-bureau chief would no longer be secure.

It was only because Yang Xinhua was an acquaintance of Su Xinghui that the bureau chief could only send a police officer to tell Yang Xinhua, hoping he could persuade Su Xinghui.

As for Yang Xinhua, he had originally held no hope of persuading Su Xinghui. He knew Su Xinghui was a person who hated evil as much as he hated his enemies; asking him to let Yuan Kang go was too unrealistic. Therefore, he simply didn't mention pleading for Yuan Kang and instead said he could be detained for a few extra days.

But he hadn't expected Su Xinghui to take the initiative to say he was willing to let Yuan Kang go. This made Yang Xinhua pleasantly surprised. If he helped the bureau chief accomplish this, his status in front of the bureau chief would be greatly improved. Yang Xinhua had been stuck in the position of deputy captain of the traffic police squadron for many years without moving, and he also hoped to move up.

Yang Xinhua hurriedly nodded and said, "Mayor Su, you can rest assured about this. We will definitely give him a stern warning and tell him not to cause trouble again in the future. If he causes trouble again next time, it won't be so easy to get off the hook."

Su Xinghui nodded, stood up, and said, "Alright, Captain Yang, then I'll be going. It's getting late. Next time I come to Jiangcheng, I will definitely look for you to have a drink."

Yang Xinhua nodded repeatedly in agreement and stood up to see Su Xinghui and Lu Xiaoya out. Su Xinghui saw Min Tong's car and turned to say to Yang Xinhua, "Captain Yang, my friend's car is waiting for me. You can go back in."

Su Xinghui and Lu Xiaoya got into Min Tong's car. Min Tong asked, "Is everything alright?"

Su Xinghui shook his head and said, "It's fine. Let's take Xiaoya home first. It's already five-thirty; if she doesn't go back now, her parents will be worried."

Min Tong nodded and drove Lu Xiaoya home. Su Xinghui followed Lu Xiaoya into the Lu residence. Lu Zhenghong had not yet returned home; only Song Qiaoli and Grandma Lu were there. Song Qiaoli said, "Why are you back so late? Come and eat quickly."

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "Auntie Song, I won't be eating. My classmate's car is waiting for me outside. I just came to greet you."

Song Qiaoli said, "Why are you in such a rush? It won't be too late to leave after eating."

Lu Xiaoya smiled and said, "Mom, forget it. It's almost dark. If he leaves any later, it won't be safe. It's better to let him go."

Song Qiaoli then nodded in agreement. Su Xinghui greeted Grandma Lu again, then went out and got into Min Tong's car.

Min Tong started the car and asked, "Xinghui, what exactly happened today?"

Su Xinghui then told Min Tong what had happened that afternoon. Once Min Tong heard it, he cursed, "That son of a bitch is truly insidious. Xinghui, I don't think you should have let him off today. Can a nephew of a municipal party committee deputy secretary really be that arrogant?"

Su Xinghui said, "It's not that I wanted to let him off. What is he worth? It's just that, in the end, today's incident doesn't count as a very big deal. Even if I were to be relentless, he would at most be detained for a few days, so what? It would only make things difficult for the people at the Public Security Bureau; why bother? Even if he were detained for a few extra days, what good would it do? It would only give others a handle against me. It's better to do someone a favor."

Min Tong thought about it and realized that made sense. He stopped talking and focused on driving. After about an hour, the car arrived at Pengjiawan Town. Su Xinghui said, "Min Tong, let's eat here before you head back. It's getting late."

Min Tong parked the car and went into the Chaochao Restaurant with Su Xinghui. After eating, he drove back to Menghuling.