bookcurios Chapter 968 Chen Zhongyu was arrested
Chapter 968 Chen Zhongyu was arrested
When Wu Mingqiang heard Gui'er mention Long Xing, he thought for a moment and said, "Since this Detective Long Xing is Ouyang Bao's opponent, he must want to bring him down. Maybe we can use his help. Don't worry, Miss, I'll have someone find out who this Long Xing is later."
The next day, when Lin Peishan returned to school, she said to Gui'er, "It seems that there are rumors among the students that Professor Xu was retaliated against because he had a personal feud with the police, not because he was involved in the progressive movement. So now everyone is at a loss as to what to do."
Gui'er asked, "Did Brother Chen contact him? What did he say?"
Lin Peishan said, "I had my personal maid secretly go to see him. Brother Chen said that this person is really greedy. He has repeatedly caused trouble for the revolutionaries, either by seizing goods or making things difficult for us when transporting comrades north, and he has profited from it. However, this person has connections in the police system. He is extremely generous in bribing officials and making things easy for all parties. The one named Long Xing yesterday is not so ruthless. When it comes to our cases, he will turn a blind eye. However, he is not as wealthy. This time, in the competition for the position of police chief, he is actually at a slight disadvantage."
Gui'er asked worriedly, "What should we do next?"
Lin Peishan sighed and said, "Originally, we should have used the school and students to create public pressure to force him to release him, but this Ouyang Bao is very cunning. He actually said it was Professor Xu's personal problem, which made some students feel that it was inconvenient for them to get involved in these matters, and they backed down. Now only Professor Xu's family is still persisting in the rescue, but as far as I know, Ouyang Bao is constantly extorting his family, forcing them to pay ransom after ransom. Professor Xu's family doesn't dare to give any more money now, because it will all be wasted in the end. When Ouyang Bao saw that they were unwilling to give any more, he made a threatening statement, saying that he could not guarantee Professor Xu's treatment inside."
Gui'er shook her head and said, "I'm afraid Ouyang Bao won't stop here. His wife came to my house last night."
Lin Peishan asked in surprise, "What did his wife want to see you about?"
“What else could it be? She’s forcing me to be her husband’s mistress. I don’t want to break ties with her, but I’m not willing to agree either. She even suggested that I could temporarily stop being her husband’s mistress, but I would have to pay her. I’ve already given her a necklace, so I’ve temporarily put it off.”
"Shameless! This is outrageous! Do these two people think we're their cash cows?" Lin Peishan said angrily.
She suddenly realized something: "Oh no! What about Brother Chen? Could he...?"
Gui'er then realized that since Xu Jing had been arrested and extorted money from the Xu family, and she had extorted a ruby necklace from them, now only Chen Zhongyu's Xinmin Bookstore remained.
The two of them forgot about class and rushed out of the school to find Chen Zhongyu.
As soon as I arrived at the street where Xinmin Bookstore is located, before I even got close, I saw a crowd gathered in front of the bookstore.
Gui'er and Lin Peishan pushed through the crowd and walked to the front, only to be stunned.
The wooden door of Xinmin Bookstore was crooked and half-open, the latch broken on the ground. The glass counter was smashed, shards mixed with scattered books scattered all over the floor. Bookshelves were overturned, several thick dictionaries lay in the corner, their covers torn, and there were several muddy shoe prints on the floor, clearly indicating that it had been roughly searched. Most conspicuous was the "Three Principles of the People" propaganda poster hanging on the wall, which had been smeared black with ink, the ink running down the wall like ugly tear stains.
"What happened? How did this perfectly good bookstore get smashed?" An old woman carrying a vegetable basket stood on tiptoe to look inside, her face full of doubt.
"I heard a group of police officers came and arrested Boss Chen!" A cigarette vendor nearby whispered. "They said they were investigating banned books. I recognized the leader as one of Chief Ouyang's men."
“Boss Chen is such a good man. He often brings books for our children to read…” The carpenter in the short jacket sighed. “In this world, it’s not easy to do anything honest.”
Gui'er felt her hands and feet turn ice cold—Chen Zhongyu had been arrested, what should she do? She was only in contact with him, and she didn't know who to ask for help.
Lin Peishan gripped her hand, her fingertips trembling: "Gui'er, what do we do? We don't even know where Brother Chen is being held..."
Gui'er took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down: "Don't rush, Peishan, let's split up. You go to Mr. Meng Haoliang and explain the situation. I'll go to the police station and see if we can find out where Brother Chen is being held."
Lin Peishan hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said to Gui'er, "Then you must be careful."
The two parted hastily, and Gui'er, her heart pounding, rushed to the police station. Just as she reached the entrance, a black sedan pulled out, the window rolled down, revealing Ouyang Bao's greasy face as he chatted and laughed with the officers beside him. Gui'er was terrified and quickly hid behind a nearby mailbox, watching the car drive away in a cloud of dust, her back already drenched in cold sweat.
She hurried into the reporting room on the first floor of the police station, squeezed her way to the front, and asked the officer on duty, "Officer, I want to ask about the owner of Xinmin Bookstore. I heard he was arrested by the police. Where is he being held? He still owes our magazine money. Our editor-in-chief asked me to come and find him."
"I don't know. Arrests aren't our responsibility. We only record reports. Ask who made the arrest. Next."
Gui'er was suddenly pushed out and stood there, anxious but helpless.
Suddenly, she saw the stairs to the second floor, and an idea struck her. She went up to the second floor of the police station, where a police officer in the large office saw her and asked curiously, "Who are you looking for?"
They clearly didn't recognize Gui'er as the village girl who had come last time.
Gui'er said politely, "Hello, I'm here to see Chief Long."
"Brother Long, a student is here to see you."
"A student? Let her in."
The police officer gestured with his hand, and Gui'er smiled and thanked him before arriving at the door of Longxing's office.
Longxing's office door was ajar, and the room was filled with smoke. Longxing was smoking inside.
Gui'er frowned, but still went inside. Long Xing looked up and stared blankly for a few seconds before recognizing Gui'er. His brows furrowed: "It's you? What are you doing here?"
"Detective Long, I have a friend who owns a bookstore. He's been kidnapped by Detective Ouyang. I need your help. Could you tell me where he is? If possible, I'd like to see him... I can pay you." Gui'er thought that if she could see Chen Zhongyu, she could get a way to contact her superiors and then have them rescue him.
Long Xing put down his cigarette, picked up his teacup and took a sip: "How can I interfere with the people Ouyang arrested? We're all colleagues, we'll run into each other all the time, and it'll only damage our relationship."