Chapter 56: Infighting

  Just as the whole Changfu City was bustling with excitement, Li Wenhui had just returned home.

  "Are you back? Dinner will be ready soon." His wife Zhu Jianhui was preparing dinner in the kitchen.

  Li Wen-hui's home was in a ordinary residential building in the living area, both inside and outside were very ordinary, making it impossible to imagine that the residence of a steel factory manager would be so plain.

  Li Wenhui has been the general manager of Changfu Steel Factory for six or seven years, but no matter how he messes around outside, and even keeps several mistresses, he will definitely return home every night. It's not that Li Wenhui and his wife have a good relationship, but rather he is filled with gratitude towards her.

  At that time, he was criticized and entered the May 7th Cadre School for labor reform. Thanks to his father-in-law, who was then the director of the Changfu District Revolutionary Committee, he escaped disaster. Later, with his father-in-law's help, he climbed step by step to his current position. If his father-in-law had not retired from the Provincial People's Congress two years ago, he would not have stopped at the position of general manager of a steel plant.

  However, he was still relatively satisfied. Although the general manager of the steel plant is not considered to be very high in administrative level, the key is that he has a strong grasp on power, personnel rights, financial rights, and decision-making rights. In this territory of several thousand people, he is the emperor who says one word and decides everything. Compared to ordinary bureau-level leaders, it's also quite glorious, and he doesn't have to suffer from so many constraints.

  So in these years, he has been living a carefree life.

  Zhu Jianhui is not good-looking and not very capable, but she is indeed a virtuous wife and mother who knows how to manage the household. She takes care of everything at home and outside, and her children are well-educated and have gone to university in another city, which makes Li Wenhui feel relieved and happy.

  As soon as Li Wen-hui sat down at home, the phone in his bag rang. As the general manager of the steel mill, he had also bought a big brother's mobile phone for convenience, and many people knew this number.

  As soon as I picked up the phone, a fierce voice came from the other end: "Was it you who had Cold Yun's son kidnapped?"

  Upon hearing this voice, Li Wenhui didn't get angry but instead smiled. He had long expected this call to come eventually, but hadn't thought it would be so soon. They were more impatient than he had anticipated, it seemed. This move had indeed struck a sore spot for them.

  He said calmly: "What if it is? What if it isn't?"

  "Are you crazy? How could you go and kidnap someone? Do you know how serious a crime this is?"

  Li Wenhui sneered a few times and said, "You're very straightforward when taking money, but when something happens, you start to make excuses. Anyway, I'm going to die either way, so let's just go down together, what's there to be afraid of?"

  On the other end of the phone, there was a slight silence, and the tone also softened a bit: "Some things can't be rushed, and it's not yet at the point where they can't be saved. We're still trying to salvage the situation. Don't make things complicated, or you'll get to the point where no one can save you."

  "Hmph, don't think I'm a fool. Even if we can't wrap things up, let's just scatter and everyone meet their end together. It's better than me being the only one to die."

  "Wen Hui, don't be obstinate anymore. Now the whole city's military and police are mobilized for this matter, it's only a matter of time before they catch up with you. Originally, there was still room for compromise and flexibility in this matter, but if you don't withdraw your hand in time, you'll really be finished."

  "Don't spout nonsense, either you guys settle this matter and I'll immediately release Cold Cloud's kid as if nothing ever happened. Otherwise, I'll use my own methods, anyway, I won't just sit here waiting to die. That's it." Li Wen Hui let out a heavy hum, hung up the phone, and thought to himself: "I've struggled for so many years, back then they always pushed me around and treated me like an idiot? Humph, now you know to be afraid? Trying to cheat me? Not that easy, if I die, I'll definitely drag you down with me."

  "Wen Hui, come and eat quickly, I've made your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs and braised pork in soy sauce." The gentle voice of Zhu Jianhui came from the dining hall.

  The sound seemed to have some kind of magic, calming his originally irritable mind and making it more peaceful. The atmosphere filled with warmth and affection was perhaps the charm of family? It was also the biggest temptation that attracted him to return home every night.

  "Here we are!" Li Wenhui rubbed his facial muscles, squeezed out a smile, and walked in with a pretended happy face. The couple happily started eating their dinner together.

  On the other end of the phone, a middle-aged man furrowed his brow, seemingly not expecting Li Wen-hui's attitude to be so resolute and uncooperative. This situation seemed to have far exceeded his expectations, leaving him momentarily at a loss.

  He stood there for a moment, then let out a soft sigh and walked into the inner room. He moved a bedside cabinet aside, revealing a safe embedded in the wall. He carefully opened the safe, which contained a lot of cash, jewelry, and documents, but none of these caught his attention. He pulled open a drawer and took out a phone, seemingly about to dial a number before hesitating for a moment. After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth and dialed the number anyway.

  The phone rang for a few seconds before it was answered, and surprisingly, it was a government affairs service hotline. However, he quickly exchanged a few cryptic phrases with the other party, and the call was transferred to another location. It seems that their organization is very tight-knit, even if someone accidentally leaks the number, they will still reach this government affairs service hotline. Without the cryptic phrase, it's impossible to access deeper levels, and the phrase changes every week, notified through a single line.

  After a brief pause, a slightly aged but full-bodied voice came from the other end of the phone, asking: "What's going on?"

  The voice was very calm and magnetic, but when the middle-aged man heard it, he couldn't help but tremble slightly, his back hunched even lower, and he carefully wiped away the sweat that had seeped out of his forehead, recounting Li Wenhu's situation with great care.

  Things have reached this point, completely beyond his control. Although he risked being reprimanded or even eliminated, he didn't dare hide anything. If it affected the overall situation, he would be unforgivable even if he died for it. Not only would he suffer, but also his family would be implicated.

  He finished speaking, but the other end of the phone remained silent, without a single response. As time passed by second by second, his heart sank lower and lower, and he became more and more anxious, not knowing what kind of treatment he would receive. Would it...

  People always have some fear of unknown or uncontrollable things.

  After a long time, even he seemed to feel that he was about to collapse, the voice on the other end of the phone finally came through, saying: "Alright, give up on him. Fully cooperate with Leng Yihan to settle this matter, and don't provoke any conflict with Leng Yun at this time."

  When he heard that the other party did not take any action against himself, the middle-aged man seemed to have let out a sigh of relief, and his nervous heart also calmed down. Although he had long been psychologically prepared for Li Wen-hui's abandonment, now that he has actually heard it, he couldn't help but ask his own question: "But what about Zhu Lao's side..."

  "Zhu Lao has indeed grown old, hasn't he?" The other person interrupted him, with an unmistakable tone of finality.

  "Ah, yes!" The middle-aged man's heart skipped a beat and sweat broke out on his forehead again as he repeatedly responded.

  "Alright, just like that, you handle it." After finishing speaking, the phone on the other end hung up.

  A middle-aged man held the phone, listening to the dial tone for a long time, before shaking his head in frustration and hanging up. He muttered to himself: "Wen Hui, this is all your own doing, don't blame me."

  The sky quickly darkened, and the leader and Ah Long also quickly drove back in their car, which was loaded with food including bread, crackers, instant noodles, and several large boxes of water.

  "Big brother, you're back! Everything went smoothly, right?" Huang Mao immediately smiled and walked up to greet him.

  However, this time it was clear that the flattery had fallen flat, and the leader walked into the house with a gloomy face, seemingly oblivious to his fawning.

  "What's going on, big brother?" Huang Mao asked in confusion, pulling at Ah Long as he looked puzzled.

  "How would I know?" Ah Long was clearly a dim-witted person who wouldn't notice any details.

  "Damn it." Huang Mao also knew that he had obviously asked the wrong person, but he couldn't afford to be annoyed and quickly went into the house to see what orders Lao Da had.

  The boss went into the house and took a look at Knife Scar, who was playing with his knife there, and asked: "Nothing's happened, has it?"

  Scar smiled and said: "Boss, with me around, what kind of situation could a little kid get into? He's quietly staying in that house!"

  The boss looked through the window and saw Leng Binghan lying quietly on the bed, not crying or shouting loudly, seemingly quite satisfied. He turned his head to say to Dao Ba and Huang Mao, who had just entered the room, "Everyone eat something to fill your stomachs, rest for a night today, and tomorrow morning we'll change places."

  "Change places?" For this decision, except for Ah Long who had always been obedient, both Huang Mao and Knife Scar were somewhat perplexed.

  After exchanging a glance with each other, Huang Mao was the first to express his doubts: "Boss, why do we need to change places? This is a hiding spot that we finally found after great difficulty. Where are we going to move to?"

  The leader looked at them and said, "I've contacted the client, he also acknowledges that this time we kidnapped is indeed the youngest son of Mayor Leng Yunyi's most beloved child, and agrees to increase our labor costs from 100,000 to 200,000..."

  "Wow, 2 million! We're rich, we're rich!" Before he could finish speaking, Huang Mao and Knife Scar heard the words "2 million" and were overjoyed, dancing with excitement. Two million, even if Big Brother took a large share, they would still get several hundred thousand each, an enormous wealth that their families couldn't earn in a lifetime.

  When he was interrupted, the leader seemed somewhat dissatisfied, furrowed his brow, and coughed heavily several times, quieting everyone down. With their attention and gaze refocused on him, he continued: "Everyone should not get too excited yet. The kidnapping of the mayor's son has already caused a big stir. Now it's not just the police, but also the troops that have been deployed, with real guns and nuclear bombs conducting searches everywhere. Even rural villages are being searched, and when we were coming back, we almost got caught. Luckily, Ah Long was familiar with the route; otherwise, who knows if we would've made it back."

  "This place is remote, but it won't take long to be discovered, so we must leave and find a new place with the child until we receive notification from the employer. According to his requirements, either release the person or tear up the ticket, only then can we get the remaining 150,000 yuan. So, if you want to live a rich life, everyone should be careful for now, don't capsize in a ditch. At that time, not to mention money, even lives may be lost."

  After hearing the big brother's words, the room fell silent. Everyone, including Ah Long, seemed to be shocked by what he said and looked at each other in dismay. After a moment, Huang Mao spoke up: "Big brother, we're not afraid of the police, but if even the troops are deployed, where can we run? Don't end up with money but no life to spend it."

  At that time, people like them who were making trouble were not very afraid of the police, but they seemed to be much more intimidated by the troops. The quality and equipment of the troops were far beyond what the police could match. Once the troops were deployed, it proved that the situation was extremely serious, to the point where the government's determination to crack down on them was extraordinary. At any time, they could be shot dead directly, rather than being arrested by the police and put in prison so easily. This made him break out in a cold sweat.

  Always reticent, Ah Long also said: "Big brother, I heard that this Mayor Leng is a rare good official who has done many good deeds. Besides, at the time it was only mentioned that he would be kidnapped, not that he would be killed for ransom. He's just a child, can't we let him go after we get the money?"

  The scar seemed to glance at them with disdain, still playing with the knife in his hand, and said: "You're all cowards. Xiao Huang, you raped the two women in this house back then, even the 10-year-old girl wasn't spared. Why weren't you afraid at that time? Big brother has his own way of doing things, no need for you to worry unnecessarily."

  Xiao Huang's true nature was exposed, and his face couldn't hold up to it. Especially when Chang Sheng, who had always targeted him, spoke out in a loud voice with a red face: "I may be lustful, but I haven't killed anyone. You, on the other hand, have killed both mother and daughter, and even spared no one, including a ten-year-old girl. You're a killing maniac! What else can you do besides kill?..."

  "Alright, stop arguing!" The older brother slammed his hand on the table in anger, pointing at the two of them and saying: "You two, one can't control those below him, one is bloodthirsty, and as soon as you meet, you know how to argue all day long. What else can you do?"

  The two saw Big Brother get angry and lowered their heads, quietly enduring Big Brother's anger.

  "And you, Ah Long." After scolding the two of them, Big Brother turned around and said to Ah Long: "Do your job properly, don't have so many unrealistic fantasies. What good officials? In this era, where are there any good officials?"

  "Big brother seemed to have thought of something and said indignantly: 'Do you think I like killing people? Wasn't it these corrupt officials who forced me to kill in the first place? It was out of desperation. If we could get the money without killing, that would be best. But if the client insists on us taking his life before paying, what can I do? Can't just give up the money, right?'"

  Ah Long seems to be somewhat perplexed, but has no choice but to obey his elder brother's words, and doesn't dare say anything more. Two emotions intertwined and conflicted with each other, the expression on his face is also very complex and anxious.

  Wait a bit, big brother's mood has improved slightly. Huang Mao said urgently: "Big brother, kidnapping is a serious crime, and the instructions from behind the scenes are even more serious crimes. We can use this to threaten that Li guy, otherwise we'll expose him. Anyway, we can just walk away, but he may not be able to give up everything he has now. At that time, it's not just 200,000, maybe 300,000 or 500,000 are also possible. Why do we need to choose this most dangerous path?

  The leader seemed to be somewhat moved by what he heard, and at this time, Knife Scar also rarely agreed with Huang Mao's point of view, saying: "Brother, I agree with Little Yellow's point of view this time. Being chased by the police and soldiers is not a fun thing. We do this business although we are not afraid of death, but can't we keep our lives to enjoy that money?"

  Unexpectedly, the big brother seemed to ponder for a moment, but shook his head and said: "No way, there's a code of conduct among thieves. If we do it this way, we'll break the rules. Who will dare ask us again in the future?"

  Dagger Scar revealed a somewhat disheartened expression, not saying anything, while Huang Mao seemed unwilling to give up, muttering: "Aye, big brother, isn't coming out to mix just for the money? Who would still do this if they had money?"