Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âBut, we donât know who he is or what kind of background he has,â Cao He slowly said. He was just presenting a fact. âHave you ever seen him?â
âNo, never,â Cao Meng said as he shook his head.
The whole thing started with a strange phone call and a cash deposit, which made them see the hope of making a big amount of money. They went to Lianshan right away. However, the result was not good. They didnât get the money and ended up in the hospital.
âIf you were successful, the payment would be significant or even alluring,â Cao He said. âGiven the current situation, I donât think youâll have any chance to finish the task successfully. The reward was just like the flower in the mirror or the moon in the water. I suggest you give up.â
âHui, what do you think?â Cao Meng actually still wanted to try because the reward was really significant. If he could successfully complete the task, he would probably not have to do anything the next few years.
âYou donât want to give up?â Cao Hui asked without answering Cao Mengâs question directly.
âYes, I still want to try, but I want to listen to what you have to say first,â Cao Meng said.
âYou can speak to that person again to test the water. After, we will decide whether we should continue,â Cao Hui said.
âOK, Iâll contact him again,â Cao Meng said.
They had made a temporary decision. A moment later, the four gangsters came back.
âBoss, Iâve made up my mind. I donât think we should leave at this moment. We should continue to support you,â one of them said.
âYes,â another one said.
âSo, you donât worry about your family anymore?â Cao Meng asked.
âMy dad has passed away. I canât bring him back anyway. I think I should focus on work from now on,â Cao Zizhen said.
âGood, what about you? Your son?â Cao Meng asked another gangster.
âMy son is old enough to be independent. I donât worry about him now. You are right, boss, we should focus on whatâs in front of us,â the gangster said.
âGood. Iâm glad that you are all passionate about work,â Cao Meng said.
The four gangsters noticed Cao He and Cao Hui. âThese two are?â
âThey are the professionals I invited to help us with the task. You guys need to be cooperative with them.â Cao Meng introduced Cao He and Cao Hui to the four gangsters.
Cao Meng had spent a lot of time educating the two youngsters secretly. They were his true trusted subordinates and often acted by themselves. The other four gangsters had never seen them or been aware of their existence.
âCao He will give you instructions of what to do next,â Cao Meng said.
âNo problem, boss, you just need to try to get better here and leave the rest to us,â the tall gangster said.
âOK,â Cao Meng said with a sigh.
He really wanted to beat these four guys to death with his shoes. He regretted having to recruit the useless bastards to participate in such an important task.
âWell, I need to rest now,â Cao Meng said.
âOK, boss, you take care,â one of the gangsters said.
They went out with Cao He.
âWell, what should we do next?â one of the gangsters asked.
âYou guys just stay here and wait,â Cao He said.
âWait for what?â the gangster asked.
âYou stay here to look after our boss and leave the rest to us,â Cao He said as he left with Cao Hui.
âHey, donât go! where is the card?â a gangster anxiously asked.
...
In a small city in Yunnan, which was not very economically developed but a well-known tourist spot with its lovely scenes, two people were playing Chinese chess in a local government office. One of them was a good-looking young man. The other was a man in his 40s with a receding hairline.
The young man apparently prevailed. His rook, knight, and cannon had forced the middle-aged manâs king to the corner. The middle-aged man struggled to make a few moves.
âYou are really good at chess. I surrender,â the middle-aged man said.
âIâm flattered,â Guo Zhenghe said with a smile.
The middle-aged man looked at Guo Zhenghe, who was 15 years younger than himself, thinking about what he had been doing when he was in his 20s. He was a factory hand. He had to work really hard to survive. He wasnât exactly poor, but life wasnât easy for him at all.
Guo Zhenghe was already the deputy county head before reaching 30. He was sophisticated, steady, considerate, and capable. He was nice to his colleagues. Although he was from a prestigious family, he worked hard. People like him were born to become a senior government officer.
The middle-aged man respected and admired Guo Zhenghe.
Beep! Om! Guo Zhengheâs phone rang. âSorry, I have to answer this call.â
He stood up and walked to the corner. âHello, this is Guo Zhenghe... Fine... Iâll leave it to you to decide.â
After he hung up the phone, he chatted with the middle-aged man about work for a while. The middle-aged man soon left his office.
Guo Zhenghe walked to the window to look at this small city. He had worked there for over two years and been promoted to deputy county head from mayor like a rocket. It was due to his family background, as well as his own capabilities.
âI lost to you this time, but our game has just started,â Guo Zhenghe murmured.
Wang Yao thought the incident related to the old man was over. However, he received a message from the police station the next day that someone had sued him for medical malpractice, which caused the death of a patient.
âWhat?â Wang Yao didnât expect that.
Zhang Peng, his lawyer had all the documents ready. âYouâll be fine.â
It was Wang Yaoâs first time to be summoned to the court as a defendant. The evidence provided by the plaintiff was the poison found in the old manâs blood. In addition, the old man died in the clinic.
Fortunately Wang Yao also had evidence to prove his innocence. He had sent the old manâs blood to Beijing for testing. It was true that the old man was poisoned to death, but he had been poisoned long before he went to Wang Yaoâs clinic.
Wang Yao had the blood sample tested in several laboratories, including a well-known national laboratory and a famous hospital in Beijing. Therefore, the results of the test were very convincing. What was more convincing was the CCTV footage from the clinic. When the old man came to the clinic, he had already shown symptoms of poison. Wang Yao also recorded the conversation.
However, the initial verdict was quite interesting. The judge thought Wang Yao was responsible for the old manâs death, so Wang Yao was to pay a compensation of $640,000 to the old manâs family.
âI donât accept the verdict,â Wang Yao said in the court. He immediately made an appeal.
âWhat is going on?!â Zhang Peng was also shocked by the verdict. He didnât expect such a decision from the judge.
âIâm sorry, I didnât expect that,â Zhang Peng said.
âI know,â Wang Yao said. âI really want to know what has gone wrong.â
When he arrived home, he found he had a visitor. A beautiful girl was talking to his mother.
âHi, Xiaoxue, how come you are here? Why didnât you tell me you were going to come?â Wang Yao was surprised to see Su Xiaoxue in his house.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âIâll prepare dinner,â Zhang Xiuying said with a smile.
âI saw the news about your clinic online,â Su Xiaoxue said. Wang Yao had to close his clinic temporarily due to the medical accident. âThatâs why I am here.â
Because Wang Yao missed Su Xiaoxue, he closed his clinic and visited her in Beijing. Because Su Xiaoxue worried about Wang Yao, she asked for leave from the university and came to Lianshan. They had overcome the distance because they had feelings for each other.
âThank you,â Wang Yao softly said.
âIs everything alright?â Su Xiaoxue asked.
âNot really.â Wang Yao told Su Xiaoxue what happened in the court.
âThat is bullsh*t! Who is the judge? He should be judged,â Su Xiaoxue said.
âIâve made an appeal,â Wang Yao said.
âGood, you should. We are not afraid of anyone,â Su Xiaoxue said.
She didnât believe that Wang Yao would kill an old man by accident at all. The reason of death was poison, which was planted.
âAre those people from Zhongyuan province?â Su Xiaoxue asked.
âYes,â Wang Yao said.
Su Xiaoxue didnât say much. She had been thinking about it on her way here and also had obtained some details from Zhang Xiuying.
Those people planted the blame on Wang Yao and wanted to blackmail him. They were really despicable. The point was that those gangsters were not from Qi province. So, why would they come all the way to such a small village to cause trouble for Wang Yao, a village doctor? Su Xiaoxue didnât think it was just a coincidence. She immediately thought about Guo Zhenghe.