Chapter 84

When Chu Tianshu heard the bald man's words, he suddenly remembered that these two guys were the ones who had beaten Bai Yunduo at the hospital. Since they were just accomplices and not the leaders, they had only shown a side profile in the video, so Chu Tianshu hadn't recognized them at first.

His heart pounded, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Damn, this is a pleasant surprise. I've been looking for you everywhere, and here you are, right in front of me."

Chu Tianshu initially wanted to beat these two guys up to vent his anger, but then he changed his mind. He decided to play with them a bit to lure out their leader, the real culprit.

So, he pretended to be very afraid and quickly explained, "Big brothers, she was just talking nonsense, don't be angry." As he spoke, he tightly held Ning Xin's wrist, signaling her not to say anything more.

Ning Xin grinned and threw a bun into her mouth, chewing it while saying, "I'm a cultured person and won't stoop to the level of a dog."

The two men walked over, and the muscular one stepped on the table, causing the steamer baskets and bowls to clatter.

The muscular man deliberately rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong arms, and cursed, "You damn softy, are you itching for a beating?"

The bald man also arrogantly shouted, "If you don't want to live, just make a sound, and I'll give you a quick death."

"Make a sound!" Chu Tianshu really said the word "make a sound."

This made the two guys almost explode with anger. They had never encountered someone so fearless.

Without a word, the bald man slapped Chu Tianshu's face with his right hand, cursing, "Damn, I'll make you shut up."

With a "slap," Chu Tianshu deflected the bald man's hand, making a crisp sound.

"Ouch, it hurts so much," Chu Tianshu exaggerated, shouting, "Help, they're going to kill me."

Seeing a fight, the elderly couple threw down some money and supported each other as they ran out of the snack shop.

The little girl hid in the kitchen, peeking through the door.

The old chef came over with a spatula to mediate but was pushed by the muscular man, stumbling backward and dropping the spatula.

Seeing Chu Tianshu shouting for help, the muscular man thought the bald man had given the handsome young man a hard time, feeling even more smug. He reached out to touch Ning Xin's face.

Ning Xin played along, pretending to be scared and screaming, but she dodged the muscular man's attack.

Chu Tianshu's struggle with the bald man looked very desperate. He shouted for help while his hands and feet were busy. When he saw the bald man kick fiercely, he staggered backward, pulling Ning Xin to try to escape, pretending to be panicked and bumping into her.

In the chaos, Chu Tianshu picked up Ning Xin, holding her skirt with one hand and aiming her feet at the bald man.

This move was quite vicious.

The heel of a high heel is a sharp point, usually bearing the weight of an adult woman, making it incredibly hard.

At that moment, the muscular man's right foot kicked forward, hitting the high heel.

"Ouch, ouch," the muscular man cried out in pain, sitting on the ground and holding his right foot, screaming in agony.

Chu Tianshu quickly put Ning Xin down, grabbed her arm, and shouted, "Junior sister, run, or we'll be dead."

Ning Xin bit her lip and smiled, her feet not idle. She pretended to be panicked and kicked over a small stool, which hit the bald man's arm as he was sitting on the ground. As she stepped forward, she deliberately kneed him in the back, causing him to scream and fall to the ground.

The two ran out of the snack shop. Seeing his partner suffer, the muscular man was not about to give up. He grabbed the old chef's spatula from the ground and chased after them.

Chu Tianshu and Ning Xin exchanged a smile. They didn't run to the car by the roadside but along the snack street.

The muscular man swung the spatula and chased after them, shouting, "You damn couple, if I don't chop you up today, I'll take your name."

Chu Tianshu turned around and laughed, "Don't take my name, I don't want you as a son."

This sentence almost made the muscular man explode with anger. He ran a few steps and swung the spatula at Chu Tianshu's back.

Ning Xin was extremely excited, holding Chu Tianshu's hand and running down the street, feeling like the heroine in a gangster movie, desperately fleeing with the hero.

Chu Tianshu had already noticed that at the end of the snack street, there was an old police officer on duty.

The old police officer had just bought a drink from a nearby shop, drinking it while chatting with the shop owner.

At this moment, Chu Tianshu and Ning Xin ran over, and he signaled Ning Xin to slow down and wait for the muscular man to catch up.

Ning Xin understood.

The muscular man caught up and swung the spatula at Chu Tianshu's back.

Chu Tianshu pulled Ning Xin to the side, dodging the spatula, and then extended his right leg, tripping the muscular man's right leg.

The muscular man, using too much force, couldn't stop himself and fell forward with the spatula.

Ning Xin, fearing the muscular man's momentum wasn't enough, pushed him from behind with her right hand.

The muscular man, holding the spatula, lunged at the old police officer.

"Assaulting a police officer," Chu Tianshu shouted, "Officer, be careful."

The old police officer turned around and saw the muscular man charging at him with the spatula. It was too late to dodge, so he raised the drink bottle to block it. The muscular man's momentum was too strong, and the spatula knocked the bottle away, hitting the old police officer's hand, leaving a fresh red mark.

"Damn, you dare to assault a police officer," the old police officer was furious, turned around, and pulled out his baton, striking the muscular man's shoulder.

The muscular man fell to the ground, losing two teeth and spitting out blood, the spatula falling to the side.

The old police officer, without hesitation, pinned the muscular man down and handcuffed him.

When the old police officer looked up to find the person who called out, Chu Tianshu and Ning Xin were already gone.

Chu Tianshu and Ning Xin got into the car but didn't drive away immediately. They turned a corner and drove off only after seeing the bald man following them in the rearview mirror.

After driving for a while, Ning Xin was still laughing uncontrollably.

"Awesome, so awesome," Ning Xin patted her chest, finally stopping her laughter. "Ma Li and the others only use brute force, it's boring. Master Brother, playing with you is much more fun."

Chu Tianshu rubbed his stomach and said seriously, "Sigh, what a pity about that delicious osmanthus rice wine and steamed buns."

"You... hahaha," this made Ning Xin laugh even harder.

Chu Tianshu couldn't help but laugh out loud as well.

After laughing, Chu Tianshu parked the car in front of a coffee shop and said, "Alright, junior sister, no more playing. Let's sit down and talk."

"Okay," Ning Xin jumped out of the car, still laughing, and held Chu Tianshu's arm.

Sitting down again, Chu Tianshu ordered coffee and snacks for Ning Xin, and they started chatting while eating.

"Junior sister, stop laughing. I have a question. How's the information you were supposed to gather?"

Ning Xin tried to stop laughing, blinking her eyes, and asked, "What information?"

"Hey, you actually forgot my important task," Chu Tianshu raised a spoon, pretending to hit Ning Xin's head.

Ning Xin tilted her head and begged, "No, no, no, I'll tell you."

"Tell me!" Chu Tianshu picked up his coffee cup, took a small sip, and put on a serious face.

Ning Xin stopped laughing and told Chu Tianshu that she had pestered her teacher for several days and finally uncovered some suspicious activities in the auction process.

Chu Tianshu didn't expect that under the guise of fairness, justice, and transparency, there could be so many manipulations.

Ning Xin gave several examples. Although the items being auctioned might be artworks or antiques, the cheating methods were similar, differing only in the amount of money involved.

Despite the various methods, the core issue was the collusion between the bidding companies, the evaluation agencies, and the organizing units, using various excuses to skirt the rules. On the surface, they didn't violate the law, making it very hidden.

The increasing power of resource allocation and intervention in economic activities by various levels of government has strengthened the institutional basis for rent-seeking activities, leading to the rapid spread of corruption and the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Many social unrest and conflicts have been brewing from this.

After listening to Ning Xin's account, Chu Tianshu couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that our country's path to the rule of law is still a long one."

Ning Xin said, "Yes, our teacher said that the problem with the Chinese people is that they don't try to follow the rules but instead try to exploit loopholes. As a result, those who follow the rules suffer, while those who don't benefit. Everyone then tries to find ways to break the rules, leading to a situation where the law doesn't punish the majority, and the rules become mere formalities."

Chu Tianshu nodded.

Ning Xin continued, "Another major issue is that the punishment for violations is not automatically generated by the rules but often depends on the power of officials. This makes violators feel lucky, thinking that as long as they have a powerful official's support, they can escape punishment."

Although Ning Xin's account was mostly a recitation of her teacher's words, it deeply inspired Chu Tianshu's thinking.

In the end, the problem is not that there are too few rules but that there are too many. The people who enforce the rules often abuse them to bully ordinary citizens, making people accustomed to rule by man rather than the rule of law. This is the reality of our country.

Although this conversation was not very thorough or in-depth, it had a significant impact on Chu Tianshu's approach to governance after his promotion, laying the foundation for the idea of promoting the rule of law through rule by man.

The conversation gradually shifted from serious national issues to lighter, everyday topics, and time flew by in their casual chat.

I recommend "The Grassroots Policeman" by YD Zhuo Jiao. Link: <http://www.17k.com/book/323473.html>

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