Chapter 7

The police station was not far from the old alley, about 500 meters away, and it took only three to five minutes to get there. When Officer Zhao, the deputy chief of the police station, heard about the incident, he frowned, feeling it was difficult to handle. He ordered the officers to throw Su Tao into the interrogation room.

Officer Zhao was the second-in-command at the police station, with a chief above him responsible for political work. Today, the chief was not around, so he was in charge of the station's affairs. He was a rather sensitive person and felt that since the matter involved commercial demolition, it was not wise to intervene too much.

Officer Zhao then instructed the responding officers to have Hongsheng Group send someone to handle the situation, categorizing it as a civil dispute to minimize the impact. The responding officer, rubbing his sore abdomen, felt a bit intimidated by Su Tao. That kid had just poked him and he was paralyzed, which was really strange.

After about ten minutes, a man in a black suit with a fair complexion entered the interrogation room and sat opposite Su Tao, saying, "Hello, I am Xiao Yifeng, the assistant to the chairman of Hongsheng Group!"

Su Tao glanced at him and said coolly, "If you have something to say, just say it. If you have something to fart, just fart it."

Most of the time, Su Tao was a gentleman, but sometimes he could be quite rude, and he didn't like it when he wasn't civilized.

Xiao Yifeng coughed to cover his embarrassment, realizing that Su Tao was not easy to deal with. He took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Su Tao, saying, "Please read this demolition contract carefully."

Su Tao glanced at it. Hongsheng Group was offering a compensation of 70,000 yuan per square meter, ten times the market price, which was a significant amount.

Xiao Yifeng smiled and said, "This price must be kept confidential. Out of respect for the relationship between President Nie and Doctor Su, we are offering you this preferential policy. Others will not get this price."

The offer was astronomical. Sanwei Hall was just a dilapidated traditional Chinese medicine shop. With the compensation, Su Tao could open a new shop in the prime location, with more than enough funds and a guarantee of better business. There was no reason for him to refuse.

Unfortunately, Su Tao raised his eyebrows and shook his head, saying, "I refuse!"

"Don't be too greedy. This much money is already a fair deal," Xiao Yifeng's tone became more forceful.

Su Tao said coldly, "If I give you this money, will you sell your wife to me?"

Money is important, but there are many things it cannot buy.

"You!" Xiao Yifeng's face turned grim, and he warned in a stern voice, "One must know one's limits. You can't win against a stronger force. If you don't sign today, you won't be able to leave the police station."

Su Tao shrugged indifferently and said, "Then I'll stay in the police station."

Xiao Yifeng angrily slammed the table and walked out.

Officer Zhao was waiting outside for Xiao Yifeng and asked, "Did you reach an agreement?"

Xiao Yifeng shook his head and said irritably, "This guy is impervious to both water and fire. Please keep him in the police station for a while."

Officer Zhao was not pleased to hear this and said, "Assistant Xiao, we can help, but you can't make us do something wrong."

Xiao Yifeng patted Officer Zhao's shoulder and said in a low voice, "You won't be left out."

Officer Zhao pursed his lips, thinking there was no way out. Hongsheng Group had considerable financial and political clout, and Chief Cheng had given instructions to provide special protection. So, he decided to let Su Tao stay in the interrogation room to cool off.

Not long after Xiao Yifeng left, there was a commotion outside. Officer Zhao walked to the door and found a crowd gathered.

The leader was Old Xu, who was familiar with Officer Zhao, and said, "Little Zhao, release Su Tao quickly. He was acting in self-defense."

Officer Zhao could only smile apologetically and said, "Old Xu, we have to follow the procedures. Su Tao is suspected of fighting, and the mediation with Hongsheng Group was not completed. To prevent further conflicts, we have to ask him to stay in the police station for a while."

Cai Yan pointed at Officer Zhao's nose and scolded, "You and Hongsheng Group are colluding. You deliberately detained Su Tao, while the real culprits are still at large. You are aiding the wrongdoers."

"Su Tao is the only one we detained because the others were injured and transferred to the hospital," Officer Zhao explained helplessly. "Please understand. We are following the procedures. Once the investigation is complete and there are no issues, we will release him."

He was skilled in political and ideological work, handling people and affairs smoothly without easily offending anyone.

Back in his office, Officer Zhao was extremely frustrated.

Hongsheng Group had caused him trouble. Sending Su Tao away was not an option, and keeping him was even worse.

The neighbors from the old alley stood outside the police station, refusing to leave. Officer Zhao called Xiao Yifeng again. Xiao Yifeng told him to keep Su Tao waiting, to wear him down.

Officer Zhao secretly went to the interrogation room to check on Su Tao. He looked very calm, more so than Officer Zhao, which made him even angrier.

Besides the neighbors from the old alley, there was another person trying to help Su Tao, and that was the Russian businesswoman Vera.

Vera sat in a Buick business car, her legs crossed, and with a serious expression, she instructed her secretary, "Call Zhang Ping for me."

The secretary thought for a moment, knowing Vera was furious, and quickly dialed a number, handing the phone to Vera.

"Secretary Zhang, this is Vera. I just witnessed a violent demolition. The investment environment in Hanzhou is so poor that I am withdrawing my commitment and abandoning the investment project," Vera, regaining her image as a queen in the business world, said slowly.

"What exactly happened?" Zhang Ping frowned, wondering why things had changed so suddenly.

Vera calmly said, "Please have someone investigate the demolition in the old alley in Hanzhou. My friend, Doctor Su, who cured me, is still being detained at the police station."

Hearing the busy signal, Zhang Ping angrily slammed the table. The secretary, crouching, quickly entered the inner room. In his memory, Zhang Ping rarely got so angry.

"This is simply lawless. Is this still a society governed by law? Officials and businessmen colluding to harm the people. Notify the Municipal Public Security Bureau immediately to release him," Zhang Ping frowned, thinking for a moment, and added, "This kind of恶劣事件 (恶劣事件 means 'serious incident') has been seen by foreign investors. Will any foreign investors still want to invest? The impact is too severe. You must go and resolve this matter properly!"

Having the secretary handle it personally would show his attitude.

The secretary roughly understood the situation, returned to his position, and called the Municipal Public Security Bureau Chief Yao Lin, saying, "There is an urgent matter that needs your attention."

The secretary of the Party Secretary, though not of high rank, represented the Party Secretary and was the top favorite in the Municipal Committee. Yao Lin quickly responded, "What is it? Why is Secretary Du so serious?"

Du Ping sighed and said, "A grassroots police station is cooperating with developers in a demolition, and they have detained a friend of a foreign investor."

Yao Lin quickly grasped the logic and explained, "This is not unusual. Conflicts arise during demolitions, and the police station has to mediate."

Du Ping sighed and said, "The key is that the foreign investor is important, preparing to sign a 500 million yuan project contract. If she gets such a bad impression, the project will be in jeopardy. Secretary Zhang is furious and taking it very seriously!"

Actually, the last sentence was the most important—Secretary Zhang is furious!

Du Ping arrived at the police station, and Yao Lin had been waiting for a while. The people from the old alley were still gathered outside, and Yao Lin's face was somewhat awkward.

Du Ping walked in front, and Yao Lin followed, saying to the duty officer, "Call your chief. We have business from the Municipal Bureau."

"Who are you? Our chief is out in a meeting," the duty officer, recognizing Yao Lin but still cautious, asked.

"I am Yao Lin. Here is my ID. Do you see it clearly?" Yao Lin, with a stern face, threw his police badge at him.

The duty officer was startled, cold sweat running down his back. This was the top figure from the Municipal Public Security Bureau. He instinctively saluted and stammered, "The chief is not here, but Officer Zhao is! Please wait, I will notify Officer Zhao."

When Officer Zhao heard that Yao Lin had arrived, he realized the matter had escalated. As the second-in-command of a grassroots police station, he rarely saw Yao Lin in person. Today, Yao Lin had come to the police station, clearly to handle an important matter.

Yao Lin, seeing Officer Zhao, said sternly, "This is Secretary Du, the secretary of the Party Secretary."

Officer Zhao was even more uneasy, thinking, "Could it be that even the Party Secretary has been involved? What kind of background does Su Tao have?"

Officer Zhao led Yao Lin and Du Ping into the interrogation room. All three were slightly surprised because Su Tao was not idle; he was taking the pulse of an officer.

"You had a car accident two years ago, with a serious head injury. There is still blood clots in your brain, so you get headaches on rainy days. It's not a big problem. Don't listen to Western doctors; you don't need surgery, which is too risky. Acupuncture and two doses of traditional Chinese medicine will do. Come to Sanwei Hall when you have time."

It turned out that Su Tao, feeling bored, had chatted with the responding officer who had arrested him and helped him with a minor ailment. Other officers, hearing about this, also came to the interrogation room for a consultation.

Seeing this, Du Ping exchanged a glance with Yao Lin and quickly explained, "I forgot to introduce you. Su Tao is an expert from Jianghuai Hospital."

Officer Zhao, standing beside them, smiled apologetically and said, "No wonder. He took the pulse of several of our colleagues and accurately diagnosed their conditions. He is truly amazing."

Yao Lin coughed, realizing that Su Tao had not been mistreated, which made things easier. He pointed at Officer Zhao and said angrily, "Call Cheng Long immediately."

Cheng Long was the chief of the district public security bureau. In terms of rank, grassroots police officers were not within Yao Lin's jurisdiction to discipline.

Yao Lin would discipline the district chief, who would then discipline the grassroots police station's Officer Zhao. This was the correct procedure.

Officer Zhao smiled bitterly and said to Su Tao, "Doctor Su, please explain to Chief Yao that we are enforcing the law civilly and invited you to the police station to mediate with Hongsheng Group."

Su Tao had a good memory. Although he had only met Du Ping once in front of Di Shiyuan's office that morning, he remembered that Du Ping was Secretary Zhang's secretary. Since Du Ping was involved, it was likely that Vera had used her connections.

Su Tao thought that Officer Zhao was experienced and had not made things difficult for him. The officer who had arrested him had become a loyal customer. In the future, Sanwei Hall would need the police station's support, so he gave both sides a way out.

Su Tao said, "Officer Zhao did not show obvious favoritism. After receiving the alarm, he handled it according to the law. I have been sitting here, resting for a while, and have not suffered any loss."

Yao Lin had originally planned to remove the chief and deputy chief of the local police station from their positions, but since Su Tao did not pursue the matter, he went along with it, saying, "You may be spared the death penalty, but not the living one. The crowd outside clearly shows that you have made mistakes. You and your chief should go to Cheng Long tomorrow and request disciplinary action."

Officer Zhao felt fortunate. He had thought he would be dismissed, but now there was a turn for the better. He said excitedly, "Thank you, Chief Yao, Secretary Du, and Doctor Su." He thought, "Su Tao is a good person. In the future, we will take extra care of Sanwei Hall."

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