Chapter 139: The Fierce Battle (Part 4)
Ten days passed without incident, and everyone in Shangqinglin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Hou Weidong, however, remained deeply troubled. A few days prior, Deputy Section Chief Liu from the Public Security Bureau’s Security Division had passed along a message: Heiwa categorically denied any involvement in the car-smashing incident at Sanchakou, insisting he had nothing to do with it.
Armed with this information from Deputy Section Chief Liu, and cross-referencing it with what Liang Bifa had reported, Hou Weidong abandoned any thought of meeting Heiwa face-to-face. He knew this matter would not end easily, so he instructed everyone to remain on high alert at all times.
On April 27th, the Qinglin town launched a massive Patriotic Health Campaign. Cadres from the neighborhood committee, officials from the township government, and teachers and students from Qinglin School were all mobilized. They divided the area into sections, each group responsible for their assigned zone. Several town leaders wore red armbands, supervising the sanitation efforts.
The entire town was bustling with activity, red flags fluttering in the wind. It felt as though they had returned to the era of the great reservoir construction projects. The cleared garbage had piled up into small mountains; it took three full truckloads to haul away the massive heap of refuse.
The dusty streets of the town gradually revealed a cleaner, more vibrant appearance, regaining some of the charm of the old town.
Hou Weidong, as the initiator of this Patriotic Health Campaign, felt a sense of satisfaction looking at the results. Director Yin of the neighborhood committee followed closely behind Hou Weidong, his face covered in sweat. He reported, “Twelve villages donated a total of three hundred large trees. Shangqinglin alone contributed two hundred and sixty, mostly osmanthus trees, with some small-leaf banyans. They are taking root well; only one osmanthus tree has died. Additionally, the fifty trash bins supported by the township government have all been installed.”
Seeing the significant changes in the town, Director Yin was genuinely happy. He said, “Township Head Hou, with your strong support, the neighborhood committee is certain to improve the town’s sanitation. I am confident enough to sign a military-style pledge on this. I also have two suggestions: First, the dirt road at the town entrance generates the most dust. I suggest we pave and seal it. Second, some households in the town lack proper sewage drains, so dirty water is poured directly onto the streets. Could we comprehensively clear the town’s drainage system and connect it all to the main canal?”
These two projects would require significant funding, which Hou Weidong estimated the town’s finances could not bear. He smiled and said, “Director Yin, to be honest, although the town’s finances improved last year, we are still operating on a ‘payroll-only’ budget. There is very little money left for construction. We must take things one step at a time. Let’s aim to build a section of drainage ditch before the end of the year.”
Hou Weidong’s promise already exceeded Director Yin’s expectations. He laughed heartily, “Township Head Hou, leave the town’s sanitation to me. You don’t need to worry at all. We’ve increased the cleaning crew to five people, and I guarantee we will keep the town spotless.”
The Patriotic Health Campaign concluded successfully. Zhao Yongsheng and Su Ming, the two top leaders, put down their work and joined the labor. By eleven o’clock, they were carrying brooms, chatting cheerfully as they walked back toward the township government office.
Hou Weidong’s forehead was covered in sweat. Looking at the newly planted trees, the new trash bins, and the refreshed streets, a sense of accomplishment rose within him. Suddenly, his mobile phone vibrated violently inside his shirt. Feeling the intense vibration, Hou Weidong was struck by a sudden sense of foreboding.
“Was the car smashed again? Please speak clearly.”
Zeng Xiangang said urgently, “I just received news that another truck was smashed, and the driver was beaten up.” This time, the smashed truck had just loaded cargo at Zeng Xiangang’s quarry. The driver’s surname was Jiang, and he was quite familiar with Zeng Xiangang.
“Where did it happen?”
“This time it was right in the territory of Hezekou Village, Ninth Cooperative, at the border between Wutan Town and Qinglin Town, where there is a sharp curve. It is said there were six or seven people, all armed with knives. They threw several large rocks onto the highway. When the car stopped, they rushed up, dragged Driver Jiang out, and beat him severely. Driver Jiang has already been sent to Wutan Hospital. His wife was sitting in the truck; she was slapped a few times and suffered a nosebleed, but she is otherwise unharmed.”
Hou Weidong thought to himself, “This Heiwa must have studied Mao’s Selected Works; he even knows how to conduct guerrilla warfare.” He told Zeng Xiangang, “Gather Qin Dajiang and the others to discuss a countermeasure. This cannot continue.”
After hanging up, Hou Weidong saw that Zhao Yongsheng and Su Ming were still carrying their brooms, walking and talking like two leaders. He hurried to catch up with them.
Upon hearing the news, their expressions turned serious. Zhao Yongsheng dropped his broom on the ground and said, “They are really defying heaven. Call Director Qin and Fu Jiang over. We will hold a meeting in the small conference room to discuss this together.” Zhao Yongsheng went to his office, opened the contact list, and called the Deputy Director in charge of security. After thinking for a moment, he also called the Political Commissar of the Public Security Bureau. Once he received assurances, he proceeded to the conference room.
On Shangqinglin Mountain, Zeng Xiangang did not go to Qin Dajiang’s place for the meeting. Instead, more than ten people had already gathered in his courtyard.
“You bastards! Boss Jiang’s truck was smashed. Are we people of Shangqinglin afraid of anyone? Now we are being ridden on like a toilet. Do you accept this?” Zeng Xiangang held a large club in his hand, delivering a pre-battle mobilization speech. This tactic was learned from his time in the military. He had good military qualities; in wartime, he might have achieved great things. Unfortunately, he was born in the wrong era. In peacetime, military skills were not particularly important. After receiving a few commendations, he was discharged and returned to become the village committee director.
The dozen or so young men had been training daily with Zeng Xiangang. Well-fed and full of energy, they held thick wooden sticks over thirty centimeters long, shouting, “Brother Zeng, let’s wipe out those bastards!” “They dare to provoke us people of Shangqinglin? They don’t want to live!”
Zeng Xiangang said, “We are here to fight, not to kill. Aim the sticks at their legs and feet. As long as no one dies, it is not a major incident.”
After the mobilization, Zeng Xiangang led his men onto a large truck that had been prepared in advance. It was an ordinary stone-hauling truck; these vehicles all looked similar. With the license plate covered, it would be difficult to identify whose truck it was in a hurry.
Departing from Shangqinglin, they arrived at Wutan Hospital. Zeng Xiangang picked up Driver Jiang’s wife. Both Zeng Xiangang and the wife sat in the front passenger seat, searching along the way for the attackers.
The driver was a middle-aged man who had just sold the truck to Zeng Xiangang the day before. He had agreed to drive for him for another month, so he felt no psychological burden about joining the fight. Moreover, since he had sold the truck for a good price, adding a little more money would allow him to buy a new one. He was in a good mood and remarked, “Those ruffians beat someone and definitely ran away. Searching like this, we certainly won’t find them.”
Zeng Xiangang shook his head. “These ruffians are very arrogant. They might be playing cards or drinking tea in a nearby teahouse. If we are lucky, we might bump into them.”
Unfortunately, their luck was bad. The truck drove to the edge of Yiyang County town, but not a single shadow was to be seen.
Just as Zeng Xiangang’s men were patrolling everywhere, in Yiyang City, Heiwa and his subordinate, Da Lian, had smashed two more cars, giving the Shangqinglin quarry a taste of their power.
“Da Liu, do not take action tomorrow. I will send Qingpi up the mountain to check the attitude of those bosses. If they remain so stubborn, we will strike hard the day after tomorrow and burn the trucks. I want to see if any driver dares to go up to haul cargo. Without anyone hauling cargo, the stone from Shangqinglin will be worthless.”
Da Liu said, “The police car from the Qinglin police station often patrols around Sanchakou. What if we run into them?”
“The Shangqinglin highway is dozens of kilometers long. One police car cannot patrol it all. Fear nothing. When you are in this line of work, you are always playing with your head on the line.”
Da Liu was one of Heiwa’s trusted confidants. Having been in the underworld for a long time, Heiwa had become shrewd. He always arranged matters through single-point, vertical communication. This way, even if something went wrong, there would be no major issues.
Da Liu handled the beatings, while Qingpi handled negotiations. Each acted independently, without interfering with the other.
The meeting at the Qinglin township government yielded no concrete results. It merely involved Director Qin reporting the incident to the Public Security Bureau and strengthening patrols, while Hou Weidong was to warn the various quarries on the mountain.
However, Hou Weidong did not have time to go up the mountain. The county Civil Affairs Department notified him of a meeting, which lasted two days. It concerned funeral reform policies, which were very important. The county specifically required the town heads, divisional leaders, and directors of the Social Affairs Office to attend. Hou Weidong could not take leave.
Before the meeting in the county, Hou Weidong slipped into a quiet spot to give Zeng Xiangang and Qin Dajiang further instructions via mobile phone, then entered the conference hall. He switched his phone to vibrate mode. Among the government cadres, only the top leaders of each bureau and township were equipped with mobile phones; deputy officials mostly used pagers. As a deputy, he did not want to show off by taking out his mobile phone.
When Hou Weidong was making the call, Zeng Xiangang was at Qin Dajiang’s house. Over the past couple of days, the number of trucks coming to Shangqinglin had noticeably decreased. The two felt the situation was deteriorating and began discussing countermeasures. After deliberating for a while, they realized the matter was simple: either submit or engage in a major fight.
Just then, two or three men wearing black suits and sunglasses walked over and entered the courtyard. One short-haired man with dark sunglasses shouted loudly, “Qin Dajiang!”
Seeing their attire, Qin Dajiang exchanged a glance with Zeng Xiangang and immediately became vigilant. Qin Dajiang walked out and asked, “Who are you? What do you want with me?”
The man had a prominent blue mole on his face. He smiled and said, “You are Qin Dajiang. My name is Yao Heping. I have come to act as a mediator.”
“Come in and sit,” Qin Dajiang said. Having served as a branch secretary, he was very composed.
“I heard that two trucks at Sanchakou were smashed. This is not right. So, I volunteered to act as a mediator.”
Zeng Xiangang looked at him sideways and asked, “Who are you mediating for?”
“Shangqinglin has made a lot of money in the past two years. However, your heavy trucks have damaged the roads along the way. The noise from the heavy trucks has scared the farmers’ chickens so much they stop laying eggs. Therefore, you need to pay some compensation. Everyone should make money together; this is only natural.”
As Qingpi spoke, he smiled pleasantly. Behind him stood three men with fierce expressions, revealing tattoos on their arms.
Qin Dajiang remained calm and said, “Yao Heping, you have talked for a long time, but I still do not understand. Who are you mediating for?”
One of the men behind him cursed, “You idiot, still pretending to be crazy.” Qingpi raised his hand, and the man behind him fell silent.
“Let’s skip the nonsense. I am Heiwa’s brother. I heard that Shangqinglin has a gravel association. As long as the association pays one thousand yuan per day, we guarantee the safety of the trucks along the route. Otherwise, if your trucks are smashed, Brother Hei will not intervene.”
Seeing their arrogance, Qin Dajiang felt anger rising, but he restrained himself and said, “One thousand a day, ten thousand for ten days, one hundred thousand for a hundred days. This is too good a business with no capital investment.” Zeng Xiangang, fiery-tempered, said, “You bastards, trying to extort without looking at who you are dealing with.”
The three men behind Qingpi simultaneously drew machetes about a foot long, the blades gleaming menacingly.
Zeng Xiangang was not afraid. Veins bulged on his face as he casually picked up a firewood knife from the living room.
Qingpi said, “Put the knife away. I am here to serve the enterprises of Shangqinglin, not to fight. We only collect a few hundred thousand yuan a year. Spending money to buy peace is a good deal. I have delivered my message. You should think it over carefully.”
He stood up, clasped his fists in a gesture of respect, and said, “You must reply by tomorrow, or bear the consequences yourselves.”
Qingpi left arrogantly. After getting into the car, another man in black got out, carrying a paper package. He slowly approached Qin Dajiang’s courtyard, threw the package at the door, and turned to leave without saying a word.
Zeng Xiangang stood at the door cursing, “Those bastards are too arrogant.”
Qin Dajiang was more steady. “As long as someone shows their face, it is a good thing.” He added, “What did they throw?”
Opening the paper package, a human hand赫然 appeared wrapped in newspaper. Qin Dajiang was startled and quickly threw the hand onto the ground. He hurried back inside to call Xi Zhaoyong: “Officer Xi, come quickly! Someone threw a severed hand at our door.”
Xi Zhaoyong arrived almost running. After examining the severed hand, he called the Criminal Investigation Brigade. After hanging up, he pondered, “Why are they so stupid? Isn’t this putting themselves in the detention center?”
Upon hearing of the case, the criminal investigation team arrived at Qin Dajiang’s residence in Qinglin Town within an hour. They examined the severed hand and questioned the visitors about their appearance and physical characteristics. The leading police officer said, “I know who did it. It must be Qingpi.” He had been looking for Qingpi; now that Qingpi had handed him the opportunity, he happily made a phone call, ordering his subordinates to search for Qingpi in the city.
Seeing the severed hand, Qin Dajiang further realized the seriousness of the problem. He called Hou Weidong, but no one answered. He then called Zhao Yongsheng, reporting the situation in detail. Upon receiving this intelligence, Zhao Yongsheng was also anxious. He personally called the Director of the Public Security Bureau, urging them to deploy police forces to solve the case.
The Director of the Public Security Bureau was also the Party Secretary of the Bureau, holding more real power than the Political Commissar. At the bureau leadership meeting, he slammed the table vigorously, scolding the deputy officials severely, and ordered the case to be solved within a deadline.
Fifteen minutes after the meeting, Heiwa knew the content of the Bureau Director’s speech. He was not panicked at all. Qingpi was probably already in Chengdu by now. What was the big deal about smashing a car? Moreover, what did it have to do with him, Heiwa?