In front of the memorial hall, there was a clamor.
"People’s father died, and they’re not even allowed to send him off on his final journey. Is there no humanity left?"
"City officials can dismiss people like they’re nothing, huh? If your dad died, wouldn’t you attend his funeral?"
"Are you all fucking heartless?"
Faced with over forty ferocious urban management officers, Wei Pengcheng was instantly panicked. He clutched the shiny handcuffs but simply couldn’t bring himself to use them. Most of the others were dispatched from the city bureau and were also hesitant in the face of this crowd, compounded by Gao Man, who was surrounded in the middle and constantly muttering.
"What’s the rush with this investigation? They won’t even let people send off their dead father!"
This internal and external trouble had the group of a dozen huddling together. A sense of camaraderie was keeping them from taking action, leaving Wei Pengcheng naturally overwhelmed. He could only grit his teeth and glare at Lin Fan, who stood at the back smoking, his face distorted in disdain as he sneered at him.
Just at that moment, another group of people approached, led by Deputy County Chief Zhao Chuanchun, followed by other county leaders as well as many heads from the county government and various departments. Clearly, without Zhao Chuanchun’s presence, none of them would have dared to show up.
"What is this all about!"
Zhao Chuanchun’s face was stern as he looked toward Zhao Xiaozhuang. Seeing his second uncle arrive, Zhao Xiaozhuang quickly ran over, "Second Uncle, these guys claiming to be from the provincial office have come to cause trouble at County Magistrate Luan’s memorial service. I was so angry that I had people surround them."
"Nonsense, who told you to do this? This is resisting the law with force!"
Hearing this, Zhao Chuanchun angrily scolded. At that moment, Lin Fan came over and respectfully said to Zhao Chuanchun, "County Magistrate Zhao, don’t blame Xiao Zhuang, it was me who asked him to bring people to help. County Magistrate Luan’s body is not yet cold, and he’s about to be cremated, but these guys are here waving their authority trying to take away County Magistrate Luan’s children. I wouldn’t let them take anyone, and they put a gun to my head and were about to shoot me!"
"A gun to your head?"
Hearing this, Zhao Chuanchun looked sternly at Wei Pengcheng, who had just squeezed through the crowd to stand before him, "Deputy County Magistrate Zhao, I am Vice Group Leader Wei Pengcheng of the provincial special operations team. Here’s my ID. We received a report claiming that County Magistrate Luan’s son Ru Long and daughter Ru Feng were suspected of being kidnapped, so we need to take them in for questioning. Just as we arrived, we were stopped outside by Vice County Magistrate Lin. I acted in desperation."
"Vice Group Leader Wei, is it?"
Looking at Wei Pengcheng’s ID, Zhao Chuanchun asked sternly, "Can you then explain to me whether County Magistrate Luan’s children are suspected of being kidnapped or suspected of kidnapping others?"
"They are suspected of being kidnapped, so we asked them to assist in the investigation."
Wei Pengcheng quickly explained.
"If they are suspected of being kidnapped, then they are victims, and it’s right they should assist with the investigation, but if they aren’t criminals, why the rush? County Magistrate Luan dedicated his life to Red Flag County; can’t it wait until after his children finish his funeral before cooperating with the investigation? If this is difficult for you, I can call Director Liu from the provincial office to inquire whether the victims are now to be treated as criminals. Is there law and order?"
Zhao Chuanchun’s words rendered Wei Pengcheng speechless.
"I... I was just anxious to ask them some questions... It wasn’t an arrest..."
"Since it’s not an arrest, and the suspects are right here and can’t run, can’t waiting for them to complete their father’s final rites before questioning do any harm? Will they suddenly go mute or abscond? If you are worried they might flee, then I, as the Deputy County Magistrate, vouch for them. If that’s not enough, our county leadership and heads of various departments can also vouch, right?"
Zhao Chuanchun’s words, dark-faced as he was, further incensed the crowd, and the infuriated Wei Pengcheng could only bow his head and step back, though the corners of his eyes glared spitefully at Lin Fan.
"Vice County Magistrate Lin, I also have to criticize you. Although you did it to maintain County Magistrate Luan’s dignity and to preserve the good reputation of Red Flag County, you should not have gathered a crowd to block law enforcement. What if a fight had broken out? If there’s an issue, we could report it upwards. The higher-ups would surely bring justice."
"County Magistrate Zhao is right in his criticism; I didn’t handle the methods right."
Lin Fan smiled lightly as he nodded. Between the lines, though meant as criticism, it was indeed a compliment.
"Okay, now that the issue is resolved, let us pay our respects to County Magistrate Luan first."
Lin Fan’s demeanor pleased Zhao Chuanchun, who nodded in satisfaction. Although they were nominally on the same level, Lin Fan behaved deferentially as if toward a senior leader, all while under the watchful eyes of everyone, signaling that the new Vice County Magistrate had submitted to Zhao Chuanchun, and any faint hopes vanished.
Watching Zhao Chuanchun’s satisfied smile, Lin Fan was naturally obliged to remain attentive by his side, but not without sneaking a glance at a discomfited Wei Pengcheng, who seemed about to hate him to death.