A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 95 Getting Beaten

In a white room, Zhang Niu's hands were handcuffed behind his back and tied to a chair.

"Name," Wang Long, who was sitting in the chair in front, called out.

Zhang Niu, who was slumped over in the chair, felt very uncomfortable.

Where are you from?

"People from Zhangjia Village".

"Do you know why I brought you back this time?" The questioning began with emphasis.

"Isn't it just that they didn't report it and dug up a small grave without permission?"

"Why aren't you confessing how much stolen goods you dug up inside?" Wang Long slammed his fist on the table.

Zhang Niu had long heard that if they couldn't get any information from an interrogation, they would slam their fists on the table; this had become a habit among them.

"It's just an empty tomb. You can go to the village and ask around to see if they've dug anything up." Zhang Niu was very puzzled. In the past, when tombs were dug up in the neighboring Wangjia Village, no police came to the door. How come they came to my door after only a few days? And could that kid Zhang Wu have come here to find something?

Inside the room, the interrogation continued.

Outside, Steel Head, with a buzz cut, stood by the corridor, smoking a cigarette. He thought of the phone call the director had made yesterday.

Steel Head was drawn to the director's final words that if he did well this time, he could be promoted. He felt he had been in the squad leader position for so long and it was time for a change of position.

Steelhead smiled as he thought of this good thing.

Just as he took a puff of his cigarette, he saw Jiang Cheng and Lao Shu coming in from outside.

"How's it going? Any progress?" Steelhead called out before he even arrived.

Jiang Cheng, who had just walked in, shrugged and said in a low voice, "That thing is gone."

"What's gone?" The voice immediately rose a lot.

The sound made the colleagues passing by a little curious. Why was this guy so angry all of a sudden?

Steelhead waved, signaling Jiangcheng and the others to follow.

They found an empty interrogation room, went inside, and closed the door.

Just as he closed the door, Steelhead turned around. Without warning, he punched Zhang Wu squarely in the face. "Damn it, Zhang Wu, didn't you say that thing weighed over a thousand pounds?" The information about the stone statue was all provided by the rat.

Zhang Wu, who had been punched, fell to the ground. He quickly got up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said in a low voice, "The stone statue weighed over a thousand pounds, but when we got there, it was really gone." That was all Zhang Wu could say.

Standing next to Zhang Wu, Jiang Cheng chimed in, "Boss, it's true. I even went out to ask around, and they all said it was still there the night before."

"Damn, can these two stone statues fly? They weigh over a thousand pounds! Did you see any signs of them being moved?" Being detectives, they quickly realized this.

Jiang Cheng shook his head. "I've checked the surrounding area. There are no towing tools. Vehicles can't get up there. You can't even see the tracks."

"Then you guys go out first and wait outside the door," he said to Jiang Cheng and the others.

After closing the door, Steel Head sat down in the chair. How could this be? The stone statue was gone, and the spot he had in his hands had flown away! Although he was in a bad mood, he still quickly took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Me? Steelhead. We caught the man, but the stolen goods have vanished."

A furious roar came through the microphone: "What? What are you good for? The stolen goods must be recovered, or you can forget about being a squad leader!"

He cursed at me for a good while.

He hung up the phone, still seething with anger. He'd just gotten a good scolding from the station chief; what kind of world was this?

Jiang Cheng and the others saw Gang Tou leave with a grim expression, so they followed obediently behind, not daring to say a word for fear of getting into trouble.

"Hello, is this Da Pao?" In a room, a ruddy-faced fat man held a phone and dialed a number.

"Hmm." A deep voice came from behind.

"You're probably not going to get that stolen goods you wanted; they've flown away."

"Flew away? What do you mean? Didn't you guarantee you'd get the money when you took it from me yesterday?"

"Well, I just got a call myself, that's why I called you right away."

"I just want that thing. Since you've taken the money, you can handle the rest yourself. You know what will happen if you can't deliver the goods," the cold voice said.

The fat man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "I understand. I will do my best."

"Then I'll see how you perform." The call ended.

A glamorous girl hugged the cannon and said in a coquettish voice, "Brother Cannon, what's making you angry?"

He placed his hands on the towering mountain peaks. "It's okay, baby, let's continue with what we're doing next."

She clapped her hands together, pursed her lips, and said, "So naughty."

The interrogation room door suddenly opened.

Before Zhang Niu could even reach Pao Ge, who was leading the way in, Gang Tou kicked him.

With a "thud," Zhang Niu couldn't move his hands. He fell heavily to the ground, especially from that kick. It made Zhang Niu feel particularly uncomfortable.

"Why are you hitting me?" Zhang Niu shouted, lying on the cement ground.

Wang Long and Jiang Cheng both went outside. The entire team knew about Gangtou's violent interrogation.

A passing policeman pointed inside. "The fighting has started."

Wang Long nodded.

As soon as they left, Steel Head rushed up and kicked Zhang Niu several times. "Speak up, where's the stolen goods? That way you'll suffer less later."

Zhang Niu could only cower, trying to avoid being hit in his vital areas. "I'm going to complain about you! I'm going to complain about your torture and forced confessions!" His education hadn't been in vain; Zhang Niu still knew a little bit.

"I'll teach you to yell." He said, grabbing Zhang Niu and punching him several times.

"This must be a hard feeling, right? Once you reveal the whereabouts of the stolen goods, this suffering will be over." He said fiercely to Zhang Niu.

Zhang Niu felt like his internal organs were about to jump out, especially with his buttocks still pinned behind him. He struggled incessantly, saying, "I don't know what kind of stolen goods there are, and we didn't dig anything out of there."

Just as he finished speaking, several more punches came flying at him. "You don't know what the stolen goods are, huh? Well, let me tell you, they're those two stone statues in front of the passage. Now you understand?"

Stone statue? Could it be that they came for the stone statue? The thought immediately flashed through my mind.

"You remember now?"

Looking at Zhang Niu in front of him, he hoped that Zhang Niu would quickly reveal his whereabouts.

However, Zhang Niu retorted, "Isn't the stone statue in front of the passageway door?"

"Damn it, I'll teach you a lesson you won't get away with this." He continued to swing his fist as he spoke.

"Do you think this guy inside can hold out this time?" Wang Long nudged Jiang Cheng beside him.

He chuckled, "That's hard to say. Last time, there was this guy who looked tall and strong, but he turned out to be useless. He was beaten up in just ten minutes and even brought up the time when he was a kid and peeped at girls taking a bath."

After hearing this, the two chuckled and said that with someone in charge, everything would be a piece of cake.

"What are you two doing here?" A cold voice came while the two were still laughing foolishly.

The two men were taken aback. "Chief, what brings you here?"

"Let's see how the investigation of this case is going."

The two men quickly lowered their heads, feeling uncomfortable under the director's gaze; this was what it was like to be an official.

"It'll be quick, they're investigating inside," he said, pointing towards the door.

The director naturally understood what kind of investigation it was, and smiled knowingly, "Very good, hopefully we can find something useful for the inquiry office."

Watching the director walk away, I let out a sigh of relief. "Every time I see the director, I feel afraid."

Wang Long said softly, "Yes, this is what it feels like to be an official. You never know when you'll climb to the top. When you do, you'll be all high and mighty."

Looking at Wang Long's eyes, Jiang Cheng scoffed, "Keep dreaming."

"What are you two standing there for? Go back in and continue the interrogation. If you don't get anything out of them, I'll beat you up." Steelhead came out of the door and saw the two whispering to each other.

"Okay." The two quickly slipped inside.

The two men who entered the room saw Zhang Niu in the corner, his face pale, his body covered in shoe prints, and blood trickling from his mouth. He truly lived up to his title of "boss." But what was this guy doing, stubbornly refusing to back down like that?

Steelhead emerged, clenching his fists. This guy's really stubborn. No rush, there's plenty of time to come back and deal with him. He'll just have to obediently tell me where the statue is.

"Hey, Xiaomei, you look even more beautiful today." In a good mood, Gangtou couldn't help but joke when he saw Xiaomei from the office walking towards him.

Walking past Xiao Mei, he chuckled softly, "Hey, what a surprise today! Even our handsome guy in the office is joking around."

Zhang Niu's father was getting anxious after waiting at home until the afternoon, thinking he had to find the village chief.

Just as I stepped out, I ran into the village chief who was coming in.

"Has your Zhang Niu come back yet?" was the first question asked.

"No, I was just urgently looking for you to check on you. Why haven't you come back yet? I heard they use violence during interrogations inside, and I'm worried about Zhang Niu..."

"Don't worry, I'll go to the county town later and see how things are going. Maybe I can get out tonight."

"Really? Let's go together then. I'm still a little worried."

The two of them got on a motorcycle in the village together.

"Mom, when is my brother coming back?" the little sister asked, pulling her mother's hand.

"Almost done. Has Niu Niu done her homework today?" he said, looking outside.

Looking outside, I really hoped Zhang Niu would come back soon; this whole thing was truly a nightmare. Thinking of that Zhang Wu kid, the village really did raise a thankless wretch.

Around 3 PM, the village chief arrived at the district police station. He saw Jiang Cheng at the entrance.

"Hey comrade, when will Zhang Niu, whom we brought back this morning, be released?"

Jiang Cheng and his group, who had just come out for some fresh air, heard the voice and turned around. It was Zhang Niu and his accomplices. They figured this guy might know a lot, so they'd grab him and question him. Jiang Cheng gave Wang Long a meaningful look.

Since they were both a couple, they naturally knew what the young man was thinking and smiled knowingly.

Seeing the police approaching, the village chief figured he might get some information this time. He pondered what to say next.

Before the two could even speak, Jiang Cheng pulled out handcuffs, subdued the village chief, and snapped them on.

Zhang Niu's father was stunned by what he saw. What was going on? Why was the village chief being arrested?

Zhang Niu's father stepped in front of him, but Wang Long kicked him, saying, "Get out of my way! We suspect this guy is an accomplice, and we're taking him back for questioning."

"On what grounds are you arresting people?" the village chief, who was pinned to the ground, shouted as he struggled.

"Yes," Zhang Niu's father said loudly as he got up from the ground.

"Wang Long, what are you babbling about? Just grab him and take him back, that's all."

The two men grabbed the village chief and dragged him into the police station, leaving Zhang Niu's father outside.

I went inside and asked, but no one paid any attention. Quite a few people had seen it, but no one seemed to care. We see this all the time; it's become a habit.

The village chief, who was dragged in, is now puzzled. He came over to gather information, but he didn't expect to be arrested. This is simply random arrest.

Zhang Niu's father wasn't very familiar with this county town, and he had no relatives there. Now, even the village chief has been arrested. How is he going to explain this when he gets back?

We have no choice but to go back and discuss it with our third uncle.

Just as he was seated on the chair, Steel Head walked in.

"Why did you arrest this person?" Steelhead asked, puzzled.

"Boss, you don't know this, this guy went down the tunnel with that ox. He definitely knew about this, but he didn't expect to deliver himself to our doorstep."

Steelhead laughed upon hearing this. "Very good. If you manage to find the stolen goods this time, you'll get credit for it."

Looking at the village chief, I figured he'd be confessing soon. I clenched my fists. I'd just finished afternoon tea, so I relaxed them.

The village chief, seeing the burly man rubbing his hands, thought, "Oh no! This guy's about to use violence!" He quickly shouted, "Wait, let's talk this out!"

Steelhead was just about to make his move when he realized this guy actually knew his stuff. "Very well, then let me ask you, where did you put the stolen goods this time?" Steelhead didn't believe it; if the stone statue could fly, someone must have moved it.

"Stolen goods? What stolen goods? We didn't find anything there at all." He hurriedly explained, but if he were accused of stealing, things would be different.

Wang Long walked up to the village chief. "The stolen goods are the stone statue in front of the passage. Now you remember, right? Don't pretend you don't know. The young man in the room across the way is your target."

"What happened to Zhang Niu?" Upon hearing what Wang Long said, the village chief knew that something was wrong.

Steelhead chuckled. "It's nothing. That guy was disobedient, so I treated him to a big meal. He's digesting it now, so you'd better know what you're doing, or this feast won't taste good." He clenched his fist.

"This is violent law enforcement. Call your police chief. I'm going to file a complaint against you." Upon hearing that, the village chief knew that Zhang Niu had definitely been beaten.

Steelhead knew this guy would do this. "Since you don't know what's good for you, then I'll just have to let you taste the flavor of a feast." He walked up with a waving fist.

Stepping outside, I was surprised to find that the guy was so weak. But how could the stone statue, which was there last night, be gone? Could it be that the mountain god, as he said, took it back? I couldn't help but chuckle. That's a bit unbelievable. If I went to the station chief and the mountain god simply waved his hand and took the statue away, I'd be in for a good scolding.

Zhang Niu slumped into a chair, his entire body aching terribly. That steel-headed man had hit him way too hard. Zhang Niu could only cower, watching as the steel-headed man's fists flew around, each punch delivered with full force.

"This place is no place for a human to stay." Zhang Niu was left alone in the room, cursing fiercely.

Leaning against the corner of the wall, Zhang Niu pondered that he was glad he had unintentionally moved the stone statue into his space that morning. After thinking about it, it seemed that someone was after the stone statue.

The stone statue only appeared in my area a few days ago, and someone has already taken a liking to it. I guess it was that kid Zhang Wu who ran out and told people. That scoundrel is a scoundrel.

That's today's update, please vote!