140: Chapter 140 Firecrackers sound from Du Village

An hour later, peace had returned to Du Village, but suddenly, someone set off a string of firecrackers.

It was like a signal flare; immediately, the entire village sounded as if it were the New Year, with firecrackers popping incessantly.

Meanwhile, Sun Ning was out on an inspection and knew nothing of this.

Because he had entrusted this matter entirely to Station Chief Ding Jun, and before there were any results, Station Chief Ding Jun felt it inappropriate to disturb Sun Ning.

Just then, while Sun Ning was in a certain village, his phone rang.

"Party Secretary, the matter has been investigated clearly, the chain of evidence is detailed, and the main members have all been apprehended."

"I am currently in the countryside. Come to my office at five o'clock this afternoon."

In the afternoon, it was already six o'clock when Sun Ning returned from the village.

He had notified Station Chief Ding Jun in advance.

Station Chief Ding Jun did not arrive early this time.

After work hours, the Mishui Township Police Station chief was waiting at the door of the Party Secretary's office.

This gave people the impression that something major had happened.

The Township Government had many eyes and ears, and Station Chief Ding Jun could not guarantee that no one was specifically snooping around.

He still maintained the necessary confidentiality.

Sun Ning walked into the office, and Station Chief Ding Jun followed right behind him.

"Party Secretary, Du Laosan organized idlers from the village and the neighboring village; the actions of these people have already constituted a crime."

Station Chief Ding Jun handed the documents to Sun Ning.

Looking at the thick stack, Sun Ning began to flip through it simply.

"Party Secretary, these people were too sloppy in their work. They just relied on having connections at the Police Station to intimidate the villagers, so it was very easy to investigate."

"They are a criminal underworld organization led by Du Laosan!"

"Among the more serious crimes are robbery, causing disability, illegal logging, and some economic crimes."

Sun Ning could understand the other charges, but he couldn't grasp the illegal logging aspect.

Seeming to understand Sun Ning's confusion, Station Chief Ding Jun continued: "Party Secretary, flip to the end, and you will see."

"The core business of their organization is illegal logging, manufacturing, and selling coffins!"

Hearing this, Sun Ning became interested.

He could guess that Du Laosan definitely had an illegal source of income; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to bribe a Police Station chief.

Therefore, he stopped looking at the contents of the material and focused on listening to Station Chief Ding Jun's report.

"Du Laosan kept a few lumberjacks under him, collecting raw materials across the county through means such as purchasing and illegal logging."

"They built a coffin manufacturing plant in a desolate mountain area in Du Village, and then sold them."

"More than two-thirds of the coffins in the entire Gongfan County come from Du Laosan."

"They used intimidation, threats, arson, and other means to squeeze out other individual coffin shops, forbidding them from producing their own, so the coffin shops could only stock theirs."

Hearing this, Sun Ning felt something was not quite right.

He could understand Du Laosan being able to 'rule the roost' in Mishui Township; after all, someone was backing him.

But for his coffins to account for two-thirds of the county's market share, that was not something Chief Wu could handle alone.

"Tell me, who is the highest-ranking official found?"

"Yang Songtao, Director of the Political Department of the County Bureau."

Sun Ning did not respond, signaling Station Chief Ding Jun to continue.

"We discovered that the second-in-command of Du Laosan's organization, his second older brother, Du Laoer, was apprehended by us while soliciting prostitutes in the county seat."

"Then we brought out the evidence we had investigated and began the interrogation."

"Who would have thought, Du Laoer looked fierce, but we hadn't even really interrogated him before he confessed everything!"

"He said Du Laosan has an account book, and it's sitting right on his bedside table at home."

"It also involves a section chief from the Forestry Bureau."

"Then I contacted Director Zhu to apply for an arrest warrant and request support, and went directly to Du Village to make the arrests."

As he spoke, Station Chief Ding Jun took out a separate stack of documents from his bag.

"Party Secretary, this is Du Laosan's account book."

Sun Ning picked up the account book and began to look through it.

In this coffin factory, Yang Songtao held a 40% stake, Du Laosan held 30%, Chief Wu held 15%, and a section chief from the Forestry Bureau held 15%.

Sun Ning looked at the financial transactions and discovered that the profit in the coffin industry was truly huge.

Normally, it's almost three times the net profit.

Like Du Laosan and his group, it was nearly four times the net profit.

Come to think of it, Sun Ning was a bit impressed by Du Laosan and Yang Songtao.

They actually managed to set their sights on such a niche business.

However, upon thinking about the rank of these people, Sun Ning also understood.

For industries like construction, landscaping, and mining, Yang Songtao's rank had no advantage whatsoever.

Sun Ning closed the account book and asked: "Are there any human lives on their hands?"

"No deaths, but there was a case of disability over in Daguan, which was related to a coffin shop."

"Has Du Laosan talked yet?"

"No. His subordinates have all talked. At first, it was Du Laoer making and selling coffins himself. Because the profits were high, Du Laosan set his sights on it. Later, Du Laosan met Yang Songtao through Chief Wu, which is how they made the coffin factory big and strong."

"Who else in the township is involved?"

"Li Jincai. Li Jincai was the village-stationed cadre for Du Village at the time. It is said that Du Laosan sent money to Li Jincai. After Li Jincai went in, Du Laosan tried to contact Zhang Zhibo, but it seems Zhang Zhibo didn't think much of him."

It would be a wonder if Zhang Zhibo could even look at a country bumpkin like him.

He came out of the County Party Committee Office, was a direct subordinate of Vice Mayor Wang Pingan, and was so young; a bright future awaited him.

The two men talked in the office for a while.

Sun Ning got the full picture of the matter.

"Station Chief Ding Jun, please work hard and strive to get Du Laosan's confession tonight, then wait for the people from the County Bureau to take over tomorrow."

"If Du Laosan doesn't confess, just tell him that this matter was uncovered by me in the county. That way, he will understand that his backing is worth absolutely nothing."

Because it involved a criminal case, the Mishui Township Police Station could not handle it.

But Sun Ning had to make Du Laosan talk before the people from the County Bureau arrived to take over.

So, Sun Ning did not mind having Station Chief Ding Jun bring him up to scare Du Laosan.

All in all, this matter wasn't that big, and the personnel involved weren't complicated.

It was just that the nature of it was extremely egregious!

Station Chief Ding Jun acknowledged this and returned to the Police Station.

He would be working through the night tonight.

Sun Ning thought for a moment and dialed a call to Secretary Wang Shengli.

"Secretary, sorry to bother you so late. When our Township Police Station was investigating a case, it involved Yang Songtao from the Political Department of the County Bureau."

"The matter is quite significant, and I'm afraid he might get wind of it if it's too late. After all, the people involved include someone from a powerful agency, so there is still some danger."

After receiving the call, Secretary Wang Shengli told Sun Ning to head to the County Party Committee immediately.

After Sun Ning got in the car, he dialed Director Ning Jie's number again.

"Director Ning, don't say I didn't notify you in advance. The Big Boss has invited us, and I'm heading over too."

A few days ago, Sun Ning had Secretary Li Chengping arrange a table.

Director Ning Jie drank very happily that day.

It is said that a few days later, Secretary Wang Shengli affirmed the combat effectiveness of the County Bureau in a public setting.

This counted as the first step of Secretary Wang Shengli accepting Director Ning Jie.

Director Ning Jie had firmly secured his position as the head of the County Bureau.

Don't look at Director Ning Jie as a Deputy County Magistrate; what he cared about most was the position of County Bureau Chief.

Without this position, how could he, Director Ning Jie, have his current prestige?

"Brother Sun, what's the matter? Why so urgent!"

"Let's talk when we get there!"

What good could come from being summoned by a leader after work hours?

Director Ning Jie was clear about this, and Sun Ning was also very clear about it.