187: Chapter 187 The First Branch of the Family Was Schemed Against

In the Jiangnan Provincial Party Committee residential compound, the heating in the study was turned up high.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, cumulonimbus clouds hung extremely low, and the sky was pitch black.

The voice of Bureau Chief Hao Jianguo came from the other end of the phone: "Old leader, the Provincial Public Security Department has gotten to the bottom of it. Regarding the Lin family's matter, their people have already come knocking."

Secretary Lei Zhen of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission leaned back in his mahogany chair, toying with a finely carved jade pendant in his hand.

"Director Qi Shan is determined to fight me to the end." Secretary Lei Zhen's tone was calm. "Have you found that girl, Lin Wan?"

Bureau Chief Hao Jianguo quickly replied: "Not yet. My subordinates reported that Old Lin's family moved away long ago; even the neighbors don't know where they went."

"Since they haven't been found yet, what is there to panic about?"

"Have you found out who leaked the news?"

"Lei Dong has lost contact." Bureau Chief Hao Jianguo swallowed hard. "According to the rules, he reports in every eight hours. It's been over twenty-four hours now; I'm afraid he's in grave danger."

"When a white glove gets stained with blood, there will come a day when it gets washed away."

Secretary Lei Zhen stood up and walked to the bookshelf.

"Bureau Chief Hao Jianguo, you've been operating in the Jingjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau for so many years; do you really not have a way to patch the leaks? For those who handled that case back then, transfer those who need to be transferred, and medically retire those who need to be retired. As for Lei Dong, execute the cleanup plan."

"What if the Provincial Public Security Department insists on investigating?"

"Without physical evidence, without a victim, you can't build an ironclad case on just a few words."

Secretary Lei Zhen's voice turned cold.

"Do it cleanly. This wind won't blow for long. Over at the Provincial Government, Governor Zhou has already made his move. Rumors are circulating that Secretary Lao is going to lock horns with him, so they won't have time to worry about the Political and Legal Affairs system right now."

Hanging up the phone, Secretary Lei Zhen looked at the pitch-black sky outside the window.

The wind direction had changed.

Director Qi Shan must have an expert guiding him from behind the scenes. Striking at the most lethal weak point—this ruthless strategy doesn't resemble Director Qi Shan's usual straightforward style.

Who is masterminding this for the Provincial Public Security Department?

...

Night enveloped Heishi Town.

In the Party and Government Office on the second floor of the Town Government, the lights were blazing bright.

Director Xu Jie sat in front of a pile of case files, her pen quickly marking up the roster.

The three thick ledgers of households receiving minimum subsistence allowances, the five guarantees, and subsidies for impoverished families were being dismantled and cross-referenced by her one by one.

The door hinge turned slightly, and Zhu Wenhao stepped into the room carrying a thermos.

Director Xu Jie stopped her pen and pushed a newly organized list over to him.

"Secretary Zhu, I've screened them. Among the sixty-plus people Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi is preparing to mobilize to block the gates, twenty-four households are on minimum subsistence, and eight receive disability subsidies."

She paused, then added the most crucial piece of information.

"Among them, twelve households have immediate family members in their third year of high school, or are preparing to enlist in the military next year."

Zhu Wenhao picked up the list.

Names, home addresses, and the involved points of interest were clearly marked by Director Xu Jie with different colored pens.

"Notify Police Chief Zhao Gang to follow the trail." Zhu Wenhao tapped his knuckles on the paper twice. "Go into the village tonight. Speak only of national law, not personal favors."

"Make three copies of this list." Zhu Wenhao instructed. "Focus on those twelve households. One can be poor, but one cannot gamble the future of their descendants for a moment of face. Make sure they understand this clearly."

Director Xu Jie nodded and noted it down, acting with swift decisiveness.

There were no streetlights on the village road, only a few dog barks echoing in the cold wind.

Two minivans with civilian license plates stopped silently under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village.

Police Chief Zhao Gang and Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang, along with a dozen or so Municipal Public Security Bureau officers in plain clothes, crept into the village under the cover of night.

No sirens, no kicking down doors.

Police Chief Zhao Gang used the faint light of a flashlight to glance at the list in his hand.

"Split into three groups. Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang, you take your people to the east end. Remember Secretary Zhu's instructions: show your credentials upon entering, and keep the law enforcement cameras on the entire time. No conflicts, just educate them on the law."

Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang touched the bandage wrapped around his head. "Understood. Reasoning with people—I'm good at this job."

The team broke up into small squads and melted into the night of the village.

At the east end of the village, at the home of Zhang Laoshuan.

The old man was sitting cross-legged on the heated kang, calculating with his wife how many hours they would sit at the entrance of the Town Government tomorrow and how much "lost work compensation" they could get from the Eldest Branch.

The door was knocked on.

Zhang Laoshuan threw on his cotton-padded jacket to open the door; several unfamiliar faces stood outside the courtyard.

Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang flashed his police ID and walked into the house.

"Zhang Laoshuan, right? From the Town Police Station." Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang pulled up a stool and sat down, pulling a sheet of paper from his pocket. "Sorry to disturb you in the middle of the night, but I'm here on behalf of the Town Party Committee to educate you on the law."

The old couple looked at each other.

"I heard your grandson, Political Commissar Zhang Qiang, is in his third year of high school this year, has good grades, and is preparing to apply for police academy?" Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang read from his notebook.

When Zhang Laoshuan heard his grandson mentioned, the vigilance on his face dissipated. "That's right, Qiangzi is a good kid; he's in the top fifty of his grade every exam. The teacher says getting into a police academy is a sure thing."

"Getting into police academy is a good thing. However, the political background check is very strict."

Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang closed the notebook, his tone steady.

"The town received news that someone is organizing villagers to block the entrance of the Town Government tomorrow. This is called picking quarrels and provoking trouble, and it violates the criminal law."

The pride on the old man's face instantly froze.

"According to regulations, if immediate family members have a record of illegal activities such as gathering a crowd to disrupt the office order of state organs," Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang pointed to the red-flashing recorder on his chest, "they will not pass the political background check for civil service exams, military enlistment, or police academy."

The room was so quiet that only the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner could be heard.

The old lady's legs went weak with fear, and she almost couldn't stand steady. "Old man, you absolutely cannot go tomorrow! If you go, Qiangzi's life will be ruined!"

Zhang Laoshuan waved his hands repeatedly. "I won't go! Whoever goes is a coward! Officer, rest assured, I'll just be at home chopping wood tomorrow, I'm not going anywhere!"

"That's best." Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang stood up. "The town will also re-examine the minimum subsistence quotas. Law-abiding families will receive every cent. As for those who follow the wrong people and stand on the wrong side, they should look out for themselves."

The same scene was playing out simultaneously in over twenty households in Heishui Village.

Some family members, upon hearing that their minimum subsistence allowance might be cancelled, immediately threw the old cotton-padded jacket they had prepared to wear tomorrow into the stove.

Some, hearing that it would affect their son's university entrance, slammed the meager "lost work compensation" handed out by the Eldest Branch onto the table.

In a dark alley in the village.

Zhang Yuanhang, wearing an old military coat, hid in the shadows of a corner, watching as several plainclothes officers walked out of a neighbor's house.

The sound of arguing and the elderly man's scolding coming from inside the house could be heard clearly in the quiet night.

"Those bastards from the Eldest Branch, they want to use our whole family as a scapegoat!" The neighbor's angry cursing pierced through the wooden door.

Zhang Yuanhang leaned against the brick wall, pulled a Baisha cigarette from his pocket, and put it in his mouth but didn't light it.

For so many years, the Eldest Branch had been using rhetoric about "clan honor and disgrace" and "ancestral rules" to tie the people of the Second and Third Branches to their chariot, making them charge into battle for them.

Everyone followed along in a daze, getting beaten and suffering losses, while in the end, all the benefits went into the pockets of people like Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi and Village Secretary Zhang Dahai.

Until tonight, this Zhu Wenhao sent people to poke through this layer of window paper.

You don't feel the pain until the knife cuts your own flesh.

When the interests of the Eldest Branch and the future of their descendants came into direct conflict, that ethereal clan system collapsed faster than a sandcastle.

The Eldest Branch wasn't propping up the face of the clan; they were using the whole clan as human shields.

Zhang Yuanhang crushed the unlit cigarette in his mouth and threw it along with the tobacco shreds into the snow.

He turned around and strode towards his own grocery store.

His back was straight.

Heishui Village was due for a new chapter.

Heishui Village, Zhang Clan Ancestral Hall.

A few dim incandescent lights cast flickering shadows on the spirit tablets.

Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi sat on the grand chair, the walnuts in his hand clicking and clacking, the rhythm chaotic.

A man ran in, sweating profusely.

"Seventh Uncle, something happened. Li Mazi's family at the east end, Zhang Laoshuan's family in the south, and several other households just sent word overnight that they aren't going to the Town Government tomorrow."

"Not going?" Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi raised his eyelids. "The rules were set, the money was taken, and now they say they aren't going just like that? Do they have no respect for the ancestors!"

"They said they'd return all the money." The man wiped his sweat. "The Town Police Station sent plainclothes officers to visit house to house in the middle of the night, using the minimum subsistence and the children's schooling and military service to reason with them. Once those old folks heard it would ruin their descendants' futures, they were scared out of their wits. Several families locked their doors, saying that if anyone mentions going to cause trouble again, they'll fight to the death with a kitchen knife."

The walnuts stopped in his palm.

Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi's face twitched violently twice.

Zhu Wenhao hadn't even shown his face, hadn't even driven a single police car; relying solely on a roster and a few legal principles, he had dismantled the human wave tactics he had painstakingly cultivated.

"What a ruthless tactic." Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi slammed the walnuts heavily onto the small square table. "I underestimated this kid. He is cutting off the lifeblood of our Zhang family."

"Seventh Uncle, are we still going to block the gates tomorrow?" The man below had lost his nerve.

"Block the gates, my ass! If it's just us from the Eldest Branch, we'd just be handing him political achievements on a silver platter, letting him sweep us all up in one go!"

Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi gritted his teeth.

"Notify all the key figures of the Eldest Branch who have a say, now, immediately come to the Ancestral Hall."

He stood up, walked to the incense table, and looked up at the dust-covered spirit tablets.

This evil fire cannot just be extinguished like this.

Since the soft knives on the surface are useless, then let's switch to a more sinister method.

This stagnant pool of Heishui Village must see some blood to force those big shots in the county who are sitting on the sidelines to get dragged into the water.

The night deepened, and the wind in Heishi Town blew ever tighter.