Chapter 81

It was a little past eleven at night when Li Mu had just finished his shower and heard a frantic knocking at the door. He opened it in surprise and found Zhao Kang standing there, panting heavily.

Li Mu asked curiously, "What's going on?"

"Guo..." Zhao Kang said hurriedly, swallowing hard and gasping for breath, "Guo Lin..."

Li Mu frowned and asked, "What about Guo Lin? Can you catch your breath before you speak? Come in first."

Zhao Kang, while rubbing his chest to calm himself down, said anxiously, "That old bastard Guo Lin is trying to frame my Uncle Li!"

"My dad?" Li Mu's eyelids suddenly started twitching violently.

Zhao Kang cursed, "I heard from my dad that the old scoundrel secretly approached my Uncle Chen, the head of the survey team at Xiling Coal Mine, Chen Hailong, and coerced him into framing your dad for stealing an imported instrument worth over 90,000 yuan!"

Li Mu's heart sank, and the veins on his forehead bulged. "Is this true?"

Zhao Kang nodded and said, "My Uncle Chen and my dad are from the same village and are sworn brothers. They have a very close relationship. Tonight, Uncle Chen invited my dad for a drink, and after getting drunk, he told him about this. Guo Lin gave Uncle Chen two choices: if he cooperates, he'll get 200,000 yuan and a promotion at the end of the year; if he refuses, he'll have to pack his things and be laid off at the end of the year."

"Damn it!" Li Mu, who rarely swore, burst out, and asked, "What does Chen Hailong think about it?"

Zhao Kang said, "He's hesitating. 200,000 yuan is a lot of money, but he feels guilty about taking it and fears the day the truth comes out. But if he doesn't take the money, Guo Lin will have him laid off at the end of the year. His wife doesn't work, and his son hasn't graduated from university yet. It's a matter of life and death for him."

Li Mu's veins and heart rate were racing. He couldn't believe that Guo Lin would use such a method to retaliate against him. This was a matter of life and death!

Li Mu had heard many stories about theft at the mine, especially at Xiling Coal Mine, a state-owned enterprise where theft was rampant. People stole coal, iron, cables, equipment, and even explosives. The police had caught many in recent years, and those who were caught were prosecuted and sentenced without mercy.

There had also been cases of false accusations. His father once told him about a production team leader who, after being caught stealing cables with others, framed the subordinate who discovered him. The case value was around 10,000 yuan, and the subordinate was sentenced to three and a half years. An instrument worth over 90,000 yuan would mean a sentence of seven or eight years!

Since Guo Lin had decided to do this, it wouldn't be a small-scale operation. He would ensure that the entire chain of evidence, including witnesses and physical evidence, was flawless.

Li Mu's mind raced as he carefully considered the evidence needed to constitute theft.

First, there needed to be witnesses. Either someone had to falsely accuse his father of stealing the instrument, or someone had to falsely accuse his father of selling it. Chen Hailong, the head of the survey team, would be the former, and Guo Lin might even have someone for the latter.

Second, there needed to be physical evidence, the imported instrument they planned to frame his father with, which was already in place.

If Chen Hailong agreed, the basic evidence would be in place. Although it might not be comprehensive, if Guo Lin used some influence and connections, it could very well succeed!

Li Mu was seething with anger and trembling all over. The last time, his conflict with Guo Yuhang led to Guo Lin forcing his parents to retire early. Now, because of his conflict with Guo Yuhang, Guo Lin was trying to frame his father and send him to prison!

Just because you're the mine manager, you can abuse your power for personal revenge? Just because you're the mine manager, you can act recklessly? Even a teenager knows that one's family shouldn't be involved in personal grudges. How can a mine manager in his forties not understand this? Your son is a scoundrel, and you're even worse!

Li Mu clenched his fists. If you want to play, I'll play with you, and I'll strike first. This time, I won't play with Guo Yuhang, the spoiled brat; I'll play with you, Guo Lin!

Zhao Kang, seeing Li Mu's terrifying expression, quickly tried to comfort him, "Li Mu, don't worry too much. Even if they frame Uncle Li, you can still seek help from big shots like Song Liang and Zhang Wanjun. I don't think Guo Lin can succeed."

Li Mu waved his hand, his voice cold, "This isn't about whether they can succeed. The fact that he's thinking this way already endangers my father's safety. It's unforgivable!"

"What do you plan to do?"

"Find a way to strike first and take him down!"

Li Mu finished speaking, found the half-pack of cigarettes his father had left, lit one, and frowned in deep thought. Zhao Kang also lit one and watched Li Mu in silence.

In this situation, Zhao Kang knew he had no appropriate solution.

After finishing the cigarette, Li Mu extinguished it, slapped his thigh, and stood up. "Do this: go back now and mobilize the core members you trust on Douban. Start working on it tonight. I need to disrupt his plans and buy some time to find his real weaknesses!"

...

"Hasn't Chen Hailong made up his mind yet?"

The next afternoon, in a private hospital room, Xue Guilan was visibly frustrated.

Guo Lin sighed and said angrily, "That guy is still hesitating. He's mainly afraid that the frame-up might be exposed."

Xue Guilan frowned and asked, "How could it be exposed? The guy who's buying the used instrument has already agreed. All Chen Hailong needs to do is secretly bring the instrument out and hand it over to him, then report it to the police, right?"

Guo Lin said, "The problem is, Chen Hailong thinks the logic isn't sound. Li Daoping has been laid off for many days and hasn't been to work for several days before that. If he reports the total station missing now and blames it on Li Daoping, the police might not believe him."

Xue Guilan became even more anxious. "Didn't we already agree on this? Chen Hailong just needs to tell the police that Li Daoping applied to use the total station before he took leave, and it hasn't been moved since he returned. No one has checked the box again. When they opened it, they found that the total station was missing, and they suspect Li Daoping stole it. The police will definitely investigate all the places in the city that buy such instruments. Once they find the machine, the buyer will claim that Li Daoping sold it to him, and everything will be resolved."

Guo Lin gritted his teeth and said, "I told Chen Hailong that, but this bastard is still hesitating and won't give me a clear answer!"

Shi Yuhang, lying in bed with a disfigured face, said with a tearful voice, "Dad, if he doesn't agree, offer him another 100,000 yuan. If he still hesitates, offer him another 100,000. I want Li Daoping to be arrested before I'm discharged!"

Guo Lin nodded. "That's the only way. Don't worry, I'll talk to him again tonight."

The three of them fell into a strange silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly, a phone rang, breaking the silence. Guo Lin looked and saw that it was his old leader, Han Lu, calling.

Han Lu was the former mine manager of Xiling Coal Mine and later became the deputy party secretary of the mining group. Before leaving, he promoted Guo Lin to mine manager, making Han Lu Guo Lin's patron. Guo Lin was also Han Lu's inside man at Xiling Coal Mine, a trusted ally.

"Secretary Han," Guo Lin's voice was full of respect.

"Little Guo, what's going on? Everyone is saying you're a mine tyrant at Xiling Coal Mine, listing several charges of corruption and embezzlement. They even say you've been keeping a female college student and having an improper relationship with a married young female teacher from City No. 5 High School. It's all over the group!"

Guo Lin broke out in a cold sweat. His corruption was well-known in Xiling Coal Mine, but he had never taken it seriously. Since he dared to be corrupt, he wasn't afraid of gossip. Many corrupt officials had faced rumors, but their positions remained secure. However, someone was suddenly spreading rumors about him, and it had reached the mining group in Pengcheng, which was unusual!

He had been involved in too many corrupt activities, and he didn't know what evidence the other party had. But how did they know about him keeping a female college student? He had always been very discreet about that!

Moreover, when had he had an improper relationship with a female teacher from City No. 5 High School? That was a complete lie!

Guo Lin quickly asked, "Secretary Han, what's going on? How did you hear about it?"

Han Lu scolded angrily, "It's all over the internet! My secretary told me that not only is it all over the internet in Haizhou, but it's also all over the internet in Pengcheng! The bankruptcy of Xiling Coal Mine is imminent, and I was planning to bring you to the group before I retire. Now what am I supposed to do?"

Guo Lin panicked. Although he didn't know what was being said about him online, he understood that if even Han Lu was calling to scold him, the situation must be serious.

He quickly assured Han Lu, "Secretary Han, don't worry. I'll do my best to resolve this issue as soon as possible!"

"You'd better do it quickly! If the group leaders and the disciplinary committee start paying attention to you, I won't be able to help you!"

Han Lu was also very nervous. In terms of corruption, he was no less guilty than Guo Lin, and Guo Lin had also given him a lot of money over the years. With retirement approaching, he only wanted to take one more bite of the Xiling Coal Mine pie and retire peacefully. He also wanted to bring Guo Lin to the group to have a trusted ally in the system. However, if Guo Lin got into trouble now, it would not only affect his future transfer to the group but also his own retirement.

Han Lu knew that his future had only two extremes: a peaceful retirement or a life in prison.

Feeling the immense pressure from Han Lu, Guo Lin repeatedly promised and assured him before hanging up. He then told his wife, "I have an emergency and need to leave."

Before she could ask what was wrong, he had already rushed out of the room.