TPW – Chapter 74

The little one scrunched his nose, completely confused. “What does ‘jailbreak’ mean? I just want to save Daddy. I don’t want Daddy to be taken away. I’m scared… Mommy, I’m scared…”

He was afraid he might never see his father again.

He knew that the uncles from the Public Security Bureau only arrested bad people and put them in jail. Once someone went into jail, they couldn’t come home.

Some really, really bad people would even be executed. Execution meant death—meant they’d never be seen again.

He didn’t want that. He didn’t want Daddy to die—

The more he thought about it, the more panicked he became. He cried so hard he was gasping for air.

“Forget it,” Qiao Lu sighed, distressed and helpless. “Just get on the bicycle. We’ll go together.”

“Okay!”

The little one stubbornly wiped away his tears and climbed onto the bicycle.

Inside the interrogation room of the Public Security Bureau, Li Hongjun not only had to endure the police’s questioning, but also Xu Haizhou’s “deeply emotional” stare.

Two pairs of eyes fixed on him made Li Hongjun’s heart flutter in fear, and he quickly admitted defeat: “Alright, alright, I admit it. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have said our clothes were from the capital just to attract customers.”

Recently, Limin Garment Factory in Lian City had received a batch of high-end fabric from the capital, but it had gone missing five days ago. The theft suspect had yet to be apprehended.

Just today at noon, Officer Ma Guoliang went home for lunch. His wife told him there was a clothing store on Baiyun Street selling dresses that came from the capital—beautiful ones, just like the ones worn by the Spring Festival Gala hosts!

He asked which store it was. His wife replied, “The first one at the corner. The owner’s a young guy, quite handsome.”

Thinking it over, Ma decided they had to bring the person in for investigation!

“But Comrade Police Officer, right is right and wrong is wrong. I admit my mistake, but I swear I didn’t steal any of that fancy fabric. This accusation is completely baseless and is smearing my reputation!”

Why should he take the blame for something he didn’t do?

Handcuffed and seated on a worn-out wooden chair in the interrogation room, Li Hongjun kept a righteous face, which made the already irritated Ma Guoliang even more furious.

Ma Guoliang raised his brows and snapped, “It’s not up to you to decide whether it’s true or not!”

“Then who decides?” Li Hongjun asked quickly.

“Investigation decides! Truth decides!” Ma Guoliang replied, word by word, full of annoyance.

“Then investigate the truth, Officer. I already told you it wasn’t me. You grabbed us without cause—this is like stretching your hand out in a teahouse just to get the pot served!”

Even now, Li Hongjun’s mouth was like a machine gun—he just wouldn’t shut up.

Ma Guoliang scowled and slammed the table. “Watch your attitude! Don’t joke around with me! Everything you say is being recorded. If you don’t want more charges added to your name, just keep blabbering!”

The force of the slam shook the uncovered fountain pen on the table, making it roll slowly off the notebook. It almost fell to the ground, but Ma Guoliang’s quick reflexes caught it.

He was visibly agitated, his glare fierce. “Behave yourself! Or even if you’re innocent, I’ll still lock you up!”

Li Hongjun shut his mouth at once, not daring to say another word. Inwardly, he muttered, If I’m innocent and you still lock me up, aren’t you just stirring up trouble…

There were no windows in the interrogation room, just a single old door letting in a slight breeze. Even though it was a cool April day, the room was stuffy to the point of suffocation.

Xu Haizhou had remained silent since entering, but now he had finally pieced together the whole situation.

He cast a cold glance at Li Hongjun.

Feeling the chill in Xu Haizhou’s sharp gaze, Li Hongjun quietly scooted his chair away.

“What’s your relation to him?” one officer asked Xu Haizhou.

Xu Haizhou replied calmly, “Business partner. We co-own the clothing store.”

“Were you aware of his actions?” Ma Guoliang asked again.

“I was.”

“This was all me! It had nothing to do with him!” Li Hongjun quickly distanced Xu Haizhou from the issue.

Ma Guoliang glared at him in displeasure. “I wasn’t talking to you right now.”

An older officer who had been standing quietly to the side suddenly chuckled and patted Ma Guoliang’s shoulder. “Let me handle it.”

After a moment of hesitation, Ma Guoliang stood up and yielded his seat.

The older officer’s approach was clearly much more measured.

It was obvious that Ma Guoliang was feeling frustrated with this case. Perhaps because it had dragged on for several days with no leads, his temper had been worn down.

The older officer picked up the pen and started writing as he asked, “Which of you is the primary manager, and which is secondary?”

“He is! He is! He’s the boss!” Li Hongjun pointed at Xu Haizhou.

The officer didn’t scold him for interrupting—he just smiled and turned to Xu Haizhou. “Why didn’t you stop Comrade Li Hongjun’s behavior? You do know this counts as false advertising, right?”

It was clear that Xu Haizhou was a steady and composed man, while Li Hongjun was impulsive and easily provoked.

Xu Haizhou lowered his eyes, looking remorseful. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think much of it at the time. It won’t happen again.”

Lately, he’d been so busy and exhausted he hadn’t paid close attention to this. Even though he felt Li Hongjun’s methods were inappropriate, he’d only casually told him off and let it go.

In this chaotic market era, when the general public lacked legal awareness, merchants didn’t even have a concept of false advertising. Everyone played tricks here and there—it was normal.

The law couldn’t punish everyone. Since everyone did it, it never felt like a real offense.

As the questioning continued, Li Hongjun suddenly remembered a key point. “By the way, Officer, besides me, there are tons of shop owners on Baiyun Street—at least half—who say their clothes are from the capital. You’re only arresting me? That’s not fair!”

Ma Guoliang shot him an icy glare. “Whether it’s fair or not, we’ll investigate. You just need to truthfully confess your crimes! And stop interrupting when you’re not being asked!”

Li Hongjun: “…”

How am I supposed to confess if I didn’t commit a crime—

“I’ve already confessed everything I can. This is just a misunderstanding, a mistake…” He’d laid everything bare—what else did they want? Should he dig out his heart for them?

After wrapping up that line of questioning, the older officer shifted gears. “I recall that Lian Garment Factory doesn’t wholesale to private vendors. So where exactly did you get your merchandise?”

“We got it from the Special Economic Zone—know what that is? Didn’t the government say that the rich should help the poor? We’re just actively supporting the development of the SEZ!”

Li Hongjun jumped in again, and this time even Ma Guoliang was too tired to scold him. He just rolled his eyes in exasperation.

This man was hopeless! Completely unreasonable!

The older officer continued taking notes without comment.

The supply channel was indeed compliant and legal, which made sense.

The interrogation lasted for a full hour. Li Hongjun’s statement consistently stuck to “false advertising,” and as for theft, neither of the two men admitted to it.

Knock knock— The door to the interrogation room was suddenly knocked on, and a young female officer in an olive-green uniform walked in from outside.

She gave the two “suspects” seated at the interrogation table a quick glance, then turned to Ma Guoliang and said, “Officer Ma, the head of procurement from Liming Garment Factory is here.”

“Alright, Officer Zhang, please continue the questioning for me. I’ll go receive the visitor,” he said, then turned and left the room.

He hurried toward the administrative hall, but just as he rounded the corner, he bumped into two women.

Both sides were walking briskly, and one of them accidentally bumped shoulders with him. Qiao Lu quickly apologized, but upon seeing his uniform, she hurriedly grabbed his arm: “Hello, Officer. I’m a family member of Xu Haizhou. My husband was taken in by your department. Could you tell me where he is now and what exactly happened?”

The woman had an extraordinarily beautiful face that was hard to ignore, but at the moment, it was drenched in sweat from anxiety. Beside her stood a teary-eyed child and a fashionably dressed, mature woman.

“Family member? Of whom? What crime are we talking about?” Ma Guoliang straightened his posture and asked.

“The two male who were arrested not long ago—those selling clothes on Baiyun Street,” Yu Fan reminded him.

Weren’t those the two men he had just finished interrogating? Realization dawned on Ma Guoliang, and his expression darkened.

“We haven’t even notified their families yet. How did you find out?” he asked sternly, clearly implying that if they didn’t give a good explanation, he might just take them in as well.

Yu Fan hurried to explain, “I also have a stall on Baiyun Street. The two detained men are my friends. When I saw what happened, I rushed back to inform his wife…”

Ma Guoliang’s eyes swept over the two women like searchlights, his expression far from pleasant. “We haven’t sorted out the situation with those two yet. You two wait here for now.”

He turned to leave, but how could Qiao Lu let him go like that? She quickly blocked him: “Officer, can you please tell me what my husband is being accused of? Can you share any details?”

Ma Guoliang, rushing to meet someone, hadn’t intended to waste time answering questions. But when he saw the desperation on Qiao Lu’s face and the tear-streaked child beside her, he suddenly softened, thinking of his own daughter. He replied patiently: “Suspected theft.”

“What?” The two women exchanged glances. Qiao Lu’s heart dropped. “That… That’s impossible. Our family isn’t short on money. There’s no way… Officer, are you sure you have the right person?”

“I already told you—whether or not we’ve got the wrong person will depend on the investigation.”

“Then can you tell me what exactly was stolen?”

“Recently, there was a major theft case in Lian, involving a batch of high-end fabrics from the capital. We currently suspect your husband and his business partner. But the investigation isn’t complete yet. If he’s truly innocent, the authorities will not wrong a good man.”

With that, he left for real this time, and even though Qiao Lu tried to stop him, she couldn’t catch up.

He left decisively—meanwhile, Qiao An had already burst into tears.

Clinging to Qiao Lu’s leg, he sobbed uncontrollably: “Mommy… wuwuwu… Mommy, Daddy’s not a thief. He’s not.”

To him, his father was the greatest person in the world—someone so upright and bright couldn’t possibly be a thief. No way. Wuwuwu…

Qiao Lu’s heart ached. She hugged the little one, kissed him, and comforted him softly: “Don’t cry, don’t cry. It must be a mistake. Daddy didn’t steal anything. The officers must be wrong.”

Qiao An wiped his tears with his tiny hand, sniffling: “Then when will the police uncle clear Daddy’s name…”

The word clear was one he had learned from a TV drama, and it was surprisingly apt here.

Qiao Lu lovingly patted his little head and pulled out a handkerchief to dry his tears: “Soon. Let’s just wait here a bit. Don’t worry.”

Even though she was practically dying from worry herself, she still had to calm her son. Being a mom under pressure was no easy task.

Ma Guoliang brought the head of procurement from Liming Garment Factory to Xu Haizhou’s store to conduct a search. After checking all the clothes, they found no trace of the missing luxury fabric. The clothes sold in the store were made from very common materials.

Still, Ma Guoliang considered it a “fruitful” mission. He brought in all the vendors who had participated in the “Capital Goods Battle”—including the “accomplices,” the total came to eight people.

They made a huge racket on the way:

“Officer, our clothes are all sourced from legitimate garment factories. They’re definitely not from the capital! I swear on my life—may lightning strike me if I’m lying!”

“Yeah, mine too! This is a misunderstanding!”

“I didn’t have any either! I just have a big mouth! I was just talking nonsense!”

“I swear I won’t spout nonsense again! My stupid mouth! Damn mouth!”

Then came the sound of slapping—actual slapping!

It turned out to be all a misunderstanding.

After an hour of anxious waiting at the public security office, the Baiyun Street vendors—including Xu Haizhou and his partner—were finally declared innocent and released.

But it wasn’t a total win. Before leaving, the officers gave them a stern lecture about the dangers of false advertising. If they reoffended, they’d face not just fines, but jail time.

“Thank you, thank you! Thank you, officers, for clearing our names. We’re truly grateful! You officers are truly servants of the people!”

An old officer chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling kindly. He looked at Li Hongjun like he was a child and said, “Don’t joke around next time. Words can get you into trouble—remember that!”

Li Hongjun immediately straightened up and gave a textbook salute: “Yes! I’ll remember! I won’t dare forget!”

Well… he was still being cheeky.

The old officer shook his head with an amused sigh. At that moment, the two anxious women hurried toward them.

“Haizhou!”

“Daddy!”

“Li Hongjun!”

The little one sprinted over like the wind and threw himself into Xu Haizhou’s arms.

Seeing his dad released, he cried all over again.

“Daddy, wuwu… Daddy, I knew you were a good person. You’re not bad. You’re not a thief.”

Hearing the word thief, Xu Haizhou was momentarily stunned, then laughed and cried at the same time. He gently wiped his son’s tears with his fingertips.

“Silly boy, Daddy’s fine now. Why are you still crying?”

The little one hiccuped from crying and lay on his dad’s shoulder, sobbing: “Daddy, I just… I was a little scared, that’s why I cried.”

He didn’t mean to cry—he didn’t want to be a little crybaby. He wasn’t three anymore. He shouldn’t cry easily, or people would dislike him…

“If Daddy got taken away, what would Mommy and I do?” After this ordeal, Qiao An realized he relied on his dad even more than he thought.

Without Dad, life would be so gloomy—a life with half the happiness!

“If Daddy’s gone, no one would earn money for us. If the light at home breaks, no one can fix it. No one can take me to the bathhouse. No one can take me to poop… wuwuwu… We can’t live without Daddy…”

Daddy was too important!

That one line had the adults around them laughing so hard they couldn’t breathe. The heavy atmosphere was completely swept away by the child’s innocent and earnest words, turning it into a celebration.

Xu Haizhou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

So in his son’s heart, was it that he couldn’t bear to lose him as a “handyman,” or as a father?

“It’s alright now, no more crying. How about Daddy takes you out to eat today?” Xu Haizhou coaxed softly, kissing his tear-streaked little face.

“Okay! And let’s order a lot of dishes that Daddy likes.” Then he seemed to realize he had forgotten someone and turned to give Qiao Lu a shy smile, “And the ones Mommy likes too.”

Qiao Lu couldn’t help but smile. She tapped his forehead: “You little rascal.”

Li Hongjun was partially responsible for making the child cry. He scratched his head awkwardly and said, “Sister-in-law, Yu Fan, you both came too?”

Yu Fan smirked teasingly, “What did you expect? Something this big—how could we not come?”

Rubbing the back of his head, Li Hongjun turned to Qiao Lu with a sheepish grin: “Sister-in-law, let me explain—wait, no—I mean, let me defend myself!”

Pfft—

Qiao Lu crossed her arms and smirked, “Go ahead, I’m all ears.”