Chapter 86: Reporting the Incident

Chen Long hurried to the hospital and, upon seeing Zeng Yi, quickly asked, "Zeng Yi, are you alright? I heard you got into a fight with those thugs."

Zeng Yi was still fuming. Hearing Chen Long's words, he demanded, "Two government officials were almost beaten to death on the street, and this is how you police maintain peace and order!"

Chen Long was also seething. Who would have thought that Yuan Wenjie's people would be so cunning? When Zeng Yi intervened, they retreated, but once he was gone, they came back with a vengeance. By the time Chen Long received the report and arrived at the scene, it was too late. Even the police aren't omniscient; they can't predict when the other side will act.

"Have you caught them?" Zeng Yi asked loudly.

Hearing the tone of Zeng Yi's voice, Chen Long knew he was truly angry. He replied, "When we arrived at the scene, everyone had fled, leaving only a bulldozer."

Zeng Yi glared and demanded, "If they ran, can't you catch them? A monk can run, but the temple can't!"

Chen Long knew Zeng Yi was in a rage and didn't argue. He stood silently, feeling deeply wronged. Even if he knew Yuan Wenjie was behind this, without orders from above, he couldn't dare to go to Feilong Construction to arrest anyone. Not even Director Du would dare to do that!

"Alright!" Shao Haibo stepped in to mediate, "The police have their procedures, and Director Chen has his own difficulties."

Zeng Yi punched the wall and fell silent. He knew he was being unfair to Chen Long, but he couldn't swallow the anger in his chest, which made him feel suffocated.

Chen Long also felt uncomfortable. When he first became a police officer, he had ideals of fighting evil and promoting good. Over the years, he had seen many dirty deeds and become somewhat numb, but encountering someone as arrogant and domineering as Yuan Wenjie was a first. First, he forced the residents to sell their homes at a low price, then he demolished a cultural heritage site in broad daylight, and two staff members were almost beaten to death. Such behavior was truly despicable.

Seeing that Zeng Yi was fine, Chen Long stayed for a while and then left. He needed to return to the scene to deploy police forces. After this incident, the residents were agitated and had gathered in front of the old building again. It was now dark, and if not handled properly, it could lead to a large-scale public incident.

"Xiao Yi, have you had dinner yet?" Shao Haibo patted Zeng Yi's shoulder, "The injured are now out of danger. Don't stand here anymore; come back with me for dinner."

Zeng Yi, still holding in his anger, couldn't possibly eat. He waved his hand and said, "Brother, you go ahead and eat. I'm not hungry; I'll sit here for a while."

Shao Haibo sighed. The most disheartening part of today's incident was that no leaders from the injured person's unit had shown up. The injured person was hurt while protecting a cultural heritage site, but the higher-ups, fearing Yuan Wenjie's power, chose to stay away. Such leaders and their behavior were truly despicable.

Zeng Yi sat outside the intensive care unit. He had tried to resolve the issue this afternoon, but the situation was not optimistic. The old provincial governor was about to retire and had no interest in this matter. Moreover, this issue involved Yuan Gongping, and the old governor's intervention would be seen as obstructing someone's advancement, which would be resented by others.

The old governor only wanted to finish his last term, while Yuan Gongping was ambitious. Recently, the calls for him to become the provincial governor were high, and in the provincial government, he almost had the final say. In the provincial party committee, due to Fang Nanguo's absence, everyone was uneasy and didn't want to get involved in such a thorny issue.

Half an hour later, the hallway was filled with noise, and an elderly voice shouted, "Qunsheng! Qunsheng, where are you?"

Zeng Yi looked over and saw several people supporting an elderly man with white hair and a face full of age spots. The old man was very anxious, walking quickly with his shoulders uneven, shouting loudly. Zeng Yi then noticed that the old man's right leg was missing.

"Are you looking for Meng Qunsheng?" Zeng Yi stood up and asked.

The old man approached and grabbed Zeng Yi's hand, "Where is Qunsheng? Is he alright?"

"He is out of danger and is currently under observation in the intensive care unit," Zeng Yi pointed to the ICU and explained briefly, "Are you his family?"

The old man rushed to the ICU door and tried to push it open. Zeng Yi quickly stopped him, "Sir, please don't. The room is full of equipment, and outsiders are not allowed to enter."

The old man glared, "I am the patient's father. Can't I see my own son?"

Zeng Yi didn't get angry; he understood the old man's feelings and explained, "It's for the patient's benefit. His bones are fractured in multiple places and have just been set. If you go in and move around or cause him to become agitated, it could lead to a second dislocation, which would be detrimental to his recovery and could leave him with lifelong regret."

The old man's strength in pushing the door decreased. Having lost his leg, he had experienced the coldness of human nature due to his disability. He didn't want his son to suffer the same fate.

Zeng Yi added, "Moreover, the patient is currently unconscious. You won't be able to talk to him. It's better to just look through the window. Rest assured, his life is not in danger."

The doctors, hearing the commotion in the hallway, came out. One of them said, "Sir, if it weren't for Dr. Zeng, your son would have been in grave danger. Dr. Zeng chased away the thugs and saved your son from a beating. He also promptly brought your son to the hospital. If he had arrived a few minutes later, it would have been difficult to save him."

Another doctor added, "The patient's bones were severely broken. To reset them, major surgery would be needed, but the patient was in poor condition due to excessive blood loss and couldn't withstand the surgery. If it weren't for Dr. Zeng's manual reset, your son would have been left with a severe disability."

This doctor was more direct than Zeng Yi, who had only mentioned the possibility of regret, as he saw that Meng Qunsheng's father was also disabled and didn't want to cause him more pain.

The people who had brought the old man recognized Zeng Yi and said, "Uncle Meng, this doctor scared away the thugs this morning. He saved Qunsheng twice."

The old man, hearing this, felt ashamed and bowed to Zeng Yi, "Dr. Zeng, thank you. You are a good person. Qunsheng survived this ordeal thanks to you. I... I..."

Zeng Yi stepped forward to support the old man, feeling very uncomfortable, "I understand how you feel, sir."

The old man wiped the tears from his eyes and looked through the window of the ICU door. He saw Meng Qunsheng, who was completely wrapped up, with only his eyes visible. This was not the Meng Qunsheng who had left for work that morning.

"These beasts!" The old man's eyes widened in anger, and he raised his cane, "I will report them. I won't rest until they are brought to justice!"

The people around him immediately tried to calm him down, "Uncle Meng, calm down. Qunsheng's life is saved. Reporting them won't help. We went to the provincial government yesterday, but..."

The old man stomped his cane on the ground, "If no one in the province will handle it, I will go to the capital. I don't believe there isn't a just official in this world!"

The people around him sighed. They had heard about the fate of those who reported grievances. Officials protect each other, and no one would dare to handle this case.

The old man's face turned red with anger, "They dared to demolish the Eighth Route Army Office. Is this still our party's territory? I will risk my life to seek justice for Qunsheng!" He coughed violently, "Phone, give me a phone, I need to report them now!"

The people around him had phones but didn't give them to the old man, fearing that he might make rash calls and bring disaster to the Meng family.

The old man, seeing no one move, rushed to Zeng Yi, "Dr. Zeng, lend me your phone!"

Zeng Yi, feeling the old man's distress, was afraid he might have a heart attack and handed over his phone.

The old man, trembling with anger, dialed a number after several attempts and made the call.

Qin Yizhou had just finished dinner and was sitting in the living room watching TV when his phone rang. The caller ID showed an unknown number. He didn't want to answer, but to be safe, he picked it up and asked, "Who is this?"

"Xiao Qin!"

Qin Yizhou immediately stood up straight. The caller addressing him as "Xiao Qin" clearly meant he had the right person. There were few people who could call him that. "This is Qin Yizhou. Who are you?"

The voice on the phone was agitated, "I am Old Meng. I need to see the old leader. I need to report an injustice!"

Hearing "Old Meng," Qin Yizhou knew who it was and quickly said, "Uncle Meng, don't be upset. What happened? Take your time and tell me! No matter how great the injustice, I and the old leader will stand up for you."

Qin Yizhou had followed Qiao Wendeh for twenty years and knew very well how much Old Meng meant to Qiao. Old Meng had been Qiao's guard during his military days and was a tough and loyal old comrade. He had lost a leg saving Qiao and had to retire. If not for that, Old Meng would surely be a powerful figure now.

Old Meng had lived a very hard life over the years but had never asked Qiao for anything, despite the life-saving debt. This only made Qiao feel more indebted to him.

Qin Yizhou knew that Qiao had deep feelings for Old Meng and always remembered his old comrade and savior. He had often instructed Qin Yizhou to help Old Meng whenever possible and to assist with his living difficulties.

Today, this tough old man, who had never asked for anything from his old leader in decades, had called to report an injustice. Clearly, this hardy old man must have encountered a very unfair situation.