Since Song Guanchao had taught Zheng Bihui a lesson on behalf of Xu Xin, the two had not met privately again.
Xu Xin had once thought about exchanging her body for Song Guanchao’s trust.
But as she joined Wu Qiangwei’s camp, she no longer entertained this idea.
At this point, the sudden phone call seemed quite unusual.
"Director Xu, what’s the matter?"
"Secretary Song, are you busy right now?"
Judging by her voice, her emotions were a bit off.
Song Guanchao asked, "Did Zheng Bihui go looking for you?"
"No," Xu Xin said. "It’s people from my hometown."
"Yes, many of them have come, and they’ve been banging on the door."
"You should call the police first; I’ll head over right now."
Song Guanchao immediately drove there.
The villagers from Huangni Village had sought out Xu Xin; their purpose was clear.
With so many villagers arrested, they wanted Xu Xin’s help.
But what help could a director of an office provide?
Yet, the villagers did not care about that.
In their eyes, the mayor was an important official, and Xu Xin, who worked at the City Committee, was an even bigger official.
It was impossible to reason with such ignorant villagers.
Moreover, Xu Xin had been bullied in the village since she was young, and even though times had changed, in the villagers’ eyes, she remained the little girl they could easily bully.
Such matters had to be resolved at once; the longer they dragged on, the worse they would become.
Twenty minutes later, he arrived at Xu Xin’s residential complex.
A police car was parked downstairs.
Exiting the elevator, the noisy clamor hit his ears.
From outside the door to the elevator, it was packed tightly.
From seniors in their seventies or eighties to children just a few years old, everyone was crammed in there.
The police officers who had responded to the call were surrounded by the crowd, trying to calm everyone down only to be overwhelmed quickly.
"What’s all the noise about?"
Song Guanchao shouted, silencing the scene momentarily for two seconds.
Just as they were about to resume their commotion, one of the young police officers recognized Song Guanchao: "Secretary Song!"
Hearing this title, the villagers immediately realized that the newcomer held no ordinary status.
Although Song Guanchao was young, his presence was formidable, and for a moment, no one dared to speak.
Two police officers came over: "Secretary Song, what brings you here?"
Song Guanchao spoke amiably, "You two go ahead and leave this to me; I’ll call you if I need any help later."
The officers were more than eager to leave this troublesome spot.
Disputes like these were the most annoying, especially those involving rural folks who were downright unreasonable.
You say your piece, I say mine, it was like talking to a brick wall.
After the officers had left, Song Guanchao approached the door and knocked: "Director Xu, it’s me."
A few seconds later, Xu Xin opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, the group of villagers started shouting again.
"You’re at home and not opening the door, big girl!"
"We’re all fellow villagers; what do you mean by this?"
"Now that you work in the city, you look down on us poor folk?"
The villagers ranted as they barged into the house.
Xu Xin stood by Song Guanchao’s side, hesitant to move away like a frightened quail.
As the last person entered the house, Song Guanchao whispered, "Don’t speak later."
"Mhm," Xu Xin nodded, following closely behind him, maintaining a close distance.
Although she now held a distinguished position, when faced with the villagers who had once bullied her, childhood shadows still loomed over her, making her unable to stand up for herself.
Xu Xin’s home was not very large, and there were more than twenty villagers present, mostly women and elderly people in their thirties to seventies.
There were also a few young men in their teens and twenties.
Upon entering, they found seats wherever they could, and some even went as far as searching through the fridge, not treating themselves as outsiders at all.
Seeing a few young men take out cigarettes and light up, Song Guanchao frowned, "Put out the cigarettes."
The young men looked at him and, feeling embarrassed, stiffened their necks and ignored him.
Song Guanchao did not waste words, moving forward and delivering a strong slap.
The young man was struck so hard that he saw stars, staggering and falling down on his behind.
This slap instantly set off a commotion.
A few other men rushed up, ready to start a fight.
Song Guanchao gave them a look, and they immediately stopped, but pointed at him and exclaimed, "How can you hit someone!"
Song Guanchao snorted heavily, "Trespassing private property, I could call the police right now and have you all taken to the station!"
"Who, who’s trespassing? This is Xin’s place, we’re her fellow villagers."
The man’s voice grew weaker.
"Fellow villagers?" Song Guanchao scoffed, "Tell me, why are you here?"
The man did not know which department Secretary Song worked for.
But seeing even the police treating him with respect, they did not dare to cause more trouble and quickly explained their intention.
They hoped Xu Xin could go to the police station and ask the police to release their family members.
Song Guanchao said, "Your men have broken the law, they can’t be released. Director Xu does clerical work, she cannot intervene in police matters. I will not mention your trespassing to the police this time; just leave quickly."
The villagers immediately got agitated.
"What law did they break?"
"Who are you exactly?"
"We’re here to find Xin, what does that have to do with you?"
Song Guanchao said, "They intentionally committed murder, they will spend their lives in prison."
"Also, let me remind you that the money Li Zhuang embezzled over the years must be turned in."
"Don’t think just because the police arrested them, the embezzled money can be forgotten—there’s no such luck."
Li Zhuang had clearly managed to gather a group in the village that had been stealing money together for years.
When Song Guanchao said all this, he wasn’t really planning to arrest them; he was merely trying to scare them.
A little intimidation was needed to make them fear.
Otherwise, they’d keep causing trouble here, which no one could tolerate.
Sure enough, hearing his words, the villagers felt guilty, yet they retorted defiantly, "What embezzlement? Who embezzled anything? We’re just farmers, we all till the land!"
"Heh," Song Guanchao said, "Okay, so you’re all farmers, right? Go to the station later and tell that to the police."
"Director Xu, have the officers upstairs take them back for interrogation."
Seeing Xu Xin reach for her phone, the villagers were completely frightened.
"Xin, what are you doing? We just came to ask you something."
"I have some things to take care of at home, Xin, I’m heading back."
The villagers didn’t dare stay any longer, fearing the police might truly come to arrest them.
Thus, it was evident that their consciences were not clean.
Song Guanchao shouted after them, "Go and turn in the stolen money. If you do, you might be treated more leniently. Wait until the police come knocking, and by then they’ll have auctioned off your houses."
The villagers didn’t even wait for the elevator, but dashed down the stairs.
Even those in their seventies and eighties showed an agility unusual for their age. Follow current novels on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥
After they had left, Song Guanchao said, "Give the police a call, tell them to go back."
Song Guanchao walked to the balcony and looked down, watching as the villagers fled towards the exit of the complex.
He came over and said, "I’m going back now."
Xu Xin reflexively grabbed his arm, lowered her head, and whispered, "Could you stay with me for a bit longer?"
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