A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 97 Secretary Zhu

"Who are you?" Chairman Zhang felt unfamiliar with Liang Shan in front of him, as if this person was not here when he last came.

"The chef, the chef who just arrived." Pointing to the basket full of vegetables, Liang Shan naturally understood the man's confusion.

Chairman Zhang then burst into laughter, "No wonder, last time I stayed here, it was that guy Ah Niu who cooked. Today, Ah Niu must be busy in the orchard! It's quite surprising that Ah Niu didn't come out."

Zhang Liangshan looked at the old man driving the car in front of him. He didn't expect him to be an old guest and seemed to know Zhang Niu quite well. "Zhang Niu was arrested by the police yesterday."

"Oh, they arrested him? I'm a bit surprised. How did such a fine young man end up in jail?"

"Yes." He then recounted the story of digging the grave. He also mentioned the stone statue that had disappeared yesterday.

Touching his chin, he thought, "This is really strange. It's just an empty grave, so why are the police coming to my door?"

"Then take me to the tomb. Perhaps I can be of great help," he said to Zhang Liangshan.

Zhang Liangshan glanced at the black car behind him and thought, "Let them watch; they might actually be of some help."

Liang Shan led the way, and we arrived at a deep pit at the edge of the forest.

"That's it. Last time there was quicksand inside, so it's impossible to go in now. Those two indentations are where the stone statues were placed."

The two stone doors in front of them were closed, and only a stone staircase led down into the deep pit.

"I also remember that these two policemen seemed very interested in the weapons on the stone statue. They kept asking about the weapons." He quickly recounted what he remembered.

"Why would the police target the stone statue with weapons? Could it be...?" Zhang Huichang knew a lot about the ins and outs of the situation in the provincial capital. Could it be that Ah Niu got into trouble because of this?

I was somewhat certain, but I didn't say it aloud.

After leaving the orchard, Chairman Zhang carried his things into the bamboo house, exchanged a few words with Liang Shan, and then turned to get into his car to go take a look.

I learned a little inside information from an old friend in the provincial capital. Apparently, a group of tomb raiders has been rampant lately, digging up tombs everywhere. There are also special operations to crack down on illegal tombs. The city is about to start a crackdown. If I hadn't seen this tomb just now, I wouldn't have remembered it.

When he arrived at the county police station, Chairman Zhang saw a white sedan parked in the parking space next to his. Watching the young man drive away, he remembered that he seemed to have seen it there before.

Zhang Xing had something to do early this morning and only just managed to get here now.

I went to the duty room and asked about what happened at the door yesterday.

The police officer on duty simply gave a few perfunctory words and called it a day, saying it wasn't his responsibility and pointed into the corridor, telling him to go in and find it himself.

Zhang Xing, who was used to being a section chief, was furious. Was this how the police station was supposed to be? He couldn't believe it when he overheard his colleagues chatting about it.

When Chairman Zhang, who followed in, saw the irresponsible police officer, he thought this place was really tarnishing the reputation of the police station.

Just as Zhang Xing was about to go in to see their station chief and talk about yesterday's events, a policeman in the duty room called out, and the two men who came out of the corridor said, "Those two men in front are the officers handling the case. You can find them."

The two who came out were Gangtou and Jiangcheng.

Zhang Xing quickly stepped forward. "Could you two please stop for a moment?"

When Gangtou saw the young man blocking his way, he was well-mannered and wearing a white shirt. He guessed that the young man was from the city. Gangtou's judgment of people was always accurate.

"What's wrong? We're going out to eat." Jiang Cheng was very annoyed at being stopped.

"I heard you arrested two people in Zhangjia Village yesterday. I wonder when they'll be released," Jiang Cheng's words angered Zhang Xing, who asked.

Upon hearing that the visit was about the two men from yesterday, Steel Head was filled with anger. The two had been giving conflicting accounts, insisting that the mountain god had taken them away, which had led to him receiving a severe scolding from the station chief that morning.

"The two are tomb raiders, and we're currently investigating them thoroughly," Steelhead said, as usual.

"I wonder if you have any evidence that they are tomb raiders?" he asked confidently.

I didn't expect this guy to be so stubborn. He insisted on getting to the bottom of it.

Jiang Cheng was displeased. He was always the one bullying others, but he didn't expect this young man to be so long-winded. "Do you know them?"

"They're from my village, so I'm asking you to take me to see the two people who were arrested yesterday," Zhang Xing insisted, wanting to clarify the situation.

Chairman Zhang watched from behind, not intending to go up, to see how the police would handle the situation.

Of course, Gangtou wouldn't take Zhang Xing to see the two men. They were still under investigation, and if Zhang Xing saw them, there might be reports of police brutality.

Since you're from the same village, that's even better. We'll just arrest you, interrogate you, and take you to see the stone statue, you know?

Just as they were about to arrest him, the police chief came in from outside, saw the young man in front of him, and frowned.

"What are you all doing? What kind of order is this, standing around the door like this?" He started off with a lot of official jargon.

"Are you the director here?" Zhang Xing asked immediately upon seeing the director come up.

Looking at the young man in front of her, she seemed not to recognize him, but still answered, "Yes, I am."

"That's good. I'd like to ask why the two people arrested yesterday haven't been released yet, and why they can't even meet. I hope you can explain that." He looked at the director, hoping for an answer.

This remark offended the director, who had been annoyed by the phone call from Da Pao early this morning, so he naturally gave Gang Tou a cold shoulder.

With his eyes glaring at Gangtou, he thought, "Now look what's happened, the people have come looking for us. Let's see what you're going to do now." Without saying a word, he walked past Zhang Xing and continued forward.

Zhang Xing originally thought that with the director there, meeting the village chief and the others would be a simple matter, but the director walked past him without saying a word.

Just as he was about to rush forward to stop him, Jiang Cheng stretched out his hands to block Zhang Xing from passing by.

Jiang Cheng blocked the way from the front, while Gang Tou watched the director disappear around the corner, then pulled out handcuffs and slammed them onto Zhang Xing's wrists.

"What are you doing?" By the time they realized what was happening, their hands were already handcuffed.

"It's nothing, just asking you to go back and investigate. We strongly suspect you're an accomplice of tomb raiders." Jiang Cheng chuckled a few times.

The warden pretended not to see it, so Steel Head naturally had no worries. His priority now was to find the stone statue as soon as possible. Everything else could be put aside. As for beating people, that would be easy. He could just say that he was beaten by prisoners in the detention room.

"Hey old man, what are you looking at? Do you want to go in too?" Gangtou noticed Chairman Zhang watching them from the corner.

Chairman Zhang, being a man of many experiences, quickly waved his hand and said, "No, I'm here to report a crime." If he said he was here for Zhang Niu and his group, he might not be able to handle the consequences if he went in.

"Report the incident, what are you standing there for?"

"I'll go right now." He hurried inside.

Zhang Xing struggled fiercely, only to be punched hard several times from behind.

As Chairman Zhang walked out the door, his forehead was covered in sweat. This was hardly a police station; it was more like a den of bandits. And the station chief was arresting people without a second thought, just using any excuse.

Chairman Zhang had heard of this before. He never imagined he would witness it with his own eyes; he almost ended up in jail himself.

I drove towards the provincial capital; it was too complicated to explain over the phone, so I had to go in person.

In the afternoon, Chairman Zhang passed the guards at the gate and drove into the municipal party committee's residential building.

Chairman Zhang doesn't come here very often. If it weren't for that young man Ah Niu going in, it would be difficult for me to get in even once a year.

The car stopped in front of a three-story white building.

Wearing reading glasses, Zhu Peijian sat on a stone bench, leisurely drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

"Old Zhu, you seem to be having a pretty leisurely day." Chairman Zhang saw Old Zhu in the pavilion as he entered.

"Come, sit down. It's been a long time since I've been here. How could I bear to leave? But thank you for the news last time anyway," he said after Chairman Zhang sat down.

Chairman Zhang didn't stand on ceremony; he picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of fragrant hot tea.

"I had something to ask you. But every time I come, your tea is different, so I'm really lucky." Chairman Zhang took a sip of the tea and really enjoyed the aroma.

"When we get back, I still have quite a bit of Longjing tea. Don't forget to take some with you." Anyway, I have plenty of tea at home, and I can't drink it all by myself.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. You're always so generous." Chairman Zhang wasn't going to be polite when it came to tea.

"Look, I just mentioned it and I forgot. I came here today for something else, which is the rectification campaign you're planning to carry out."

"About the tomb?" Secretary Zhu was a little unsure.

"Yes, that's it."

Taking off his reading glasses, Secretary Zhu said, "So tell me what's up? It's rare for something to catch your attention, that you'd come all the way to me." Secretary Zhu knew his old friend's personality well; he usually only talked about things over the phone.

Chairman Zhang recounted everything he had seen at the police station.

Secretary Zhu's smile froze instantly. He had heard before that there were problems in various bureaus below, but he hadn't paid much attention. Who knew that they would arrest people arbitrarily without any evidence? This was truly a disgrace to the public security department.

Chairman Zhang looked at Old Zhu without saying a word, after all, within his jurisdiction, it meant that the job had not been done well.

"Secretary, it's your phone number." The housekeeper brought out the phone.

Those who could get into his home were all acquaintances, so Secretary Zhu naturally accepted their invitations.

Chairman Zhang, who was sitting on the side drinking tea, naturally didn't listen, but judging from the expression on Old Zhu's face, it must be a good thing.

After hanging up the phone, she handed it to the nanny standing next to her. "The young man you mentioned is called Zhang Niu, right?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Why bring up this kid all of a sudden?

"The person who just came looking for help asked Zhang Niu to come out. It was an old friend who called. He's not simple." These words, coming from an old friend, were naturally different.

He's not simple, but how come I didn't realize it myself? He's just an ordinary person.

"Why would you suddenly ask this kid for help?" Old Zhu wondered.

Chairman Zhang said with a smile, "He opened a mountain resort with beautiful scenery. I stayed there for quite a while. The young man is very nice, so I naturally wanted to lend him a hand."

"Oh, so you've learned to enjoy life now." I was surprised.

He poured himself another cup of tea. "I'm getting old. It's time to enjoy life. The mountain village is better than the city."

The two of them burst into laughter at the same time.

The housekeeper, watching Secretary Zhu laughing heartily outside, felt that this was really difficult; she usually kept a straight face.

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