TPW – Chapter 77

“Sure, we started the fight, but I only scratched his hand! It’s not that serious. And that tall guy—Xu Haizhou or whatever—he wasn’t even hurt! They’re totally faking it!”

Zhang Weiqiang protested indignantly, trying to plead his case, but the police officer remained calm and turned to the younger officer beside him. “Note it down: carrying a weapon, intentional injury, provoking trouble.”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t write that! Stop writing!” Realizing he’d slipped up, Zhang Weiqiang quickly shut up, rolled up his sleeve, and showed his wound. “We got beaten too! Look—our injuries are worse than theirs! You all saw our bruised and swollen faces. What about that?!”

The officer replied coldly, “There were eyewitnesses at the scene. It’s clear you were the ones who started the fight.”

The witness—also the person who reported the incident—was a high school girl on her way to evening classes. She saw Zhang Weiqiang and his group gang up on two men and immediately ran to the police station to report it.

There were five of them. Xu Haizhou’s group had only two people, and their vehicle was loaded with goods—obviously just trying to get home.

Zhang Weiqiang’s group wasn’t only carrying wooden sticks but even had knives. It was crystal clear who initiated the conflict.

“They acted in self-defense. What you did was far more serious,” the officer said, his voice growing sterner. With a loud slap on the table, he barked, “We’re in the middle of a crackdown, and you still dare to stir up trouble? Life’s been too easy for you, huh? Detention is inevitable!”

“What? Detention?” Just a fight, right? Isn’t that too much…

Zhang Weiqiang finally realized how serious the matter was. Being legally clueless, he didn’t know that a simple fight could have legal consequences—especially when knives were involved. That was way more serious than just throwing punches and kicks!

“W-We won’t do it again, Officer. Please have mercy on us…”

“Whether to be lenient or not isn’t up to us. If you break the law, you face the consequences!” Since the truth was already clear, the officer didn’t bother wasting more time.

He stood up and said to a female officer behind him, “Take them away. Lock them up first.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ah—ah—” came a pained howl from the interrogation room.

Since it was the height of the crackdown period and their crime was considered serious, the five troublemakers were temporarily detained at the police station. As for how long they’d be locked up… a minimum of half a month, easily.

As for Xu Haizhou and Li Hongjun, the police didn’t take them to the station right away to record statements. Instead, they sent them to the nearest clinic to the scene.

The doctor treated Li Hongjun’s wound. It was a deep cut, but fortunately, it hadn’t hit any tendons or bones.

Xu Haizhou didn’t seem to have any major injuries—just some swelling on his face. A little red medicinal liquid was all he needed.

They ended up giving their statements at the clinic itself. After that, an officer came by and informed them that Zhang Weiqiang had already confessed. Once everything was clarified, and after applying the medicine, the two men were taken to the station to sign a statement and give their fingerprints, then released.

Li Hongjun later asked around about Zhang Weiqiang’s fate. Upon learning that he would be detained for at least half a month, he finally relaxed and got on Xu Haizhou’s bicycle.

The scattered goods had already been carried into the station by the police. Xu Haizhou first took Li Hongjun home, then returned to collect Li Hongjun’s bike and haul the rest of the goods back.

After walking out of the station, Li Hongjun even had the mood to joke.

“Heaven’s got no mercy, huh? Of all places, it just had to mess up your pretty face. You’ve got a wife and kid at home—no way you can hide this.”

He could already imagine the scene: Qiao An, that little crybaby, bursting into tears at the sight of Xu Haizhou’s injuries. He’d probably cry the house down, ha!

Xu Haizhou sighed helplessly. “Can’t hide it from Qiao Lu. Maybe I can still fool An’an.”

He’d just make up some excuse and say he fell or something.

Li Hongjun chuckled, “True, your son’s pretty easy to fool.”

Before leaving the police station, they’d washed their faces in the bathroom, wiping away the visible bloodstains. They didn’t want to scare people on the street—and especially didn’t want Qiao Lu or Qiao An to worry.

But there was no hiding the condition of their faces.

Once home, Qiao Lu, heart aching, immediately took out the first-aid kit and carefully reapplied medicine to her husband’s injuries.

Her hands were gentle and slow. Though she was using a cotton swab, it felt more like the soft pads of her fingers brushing his face.

“The doctor said once a day is enough,” Xu Haizhou said in a hoarse voice, swallowing a bit nervously.

Qiao Lu gave him a side-eye. “Didn’t you wash your face before coming home? Washed the medicine off too, and now you think once a day is enough? I say you need three or four times!”

As she spoke, her hand inadvertently pressed a little harder, making Xu Haizhou hiss in pain.

Nearby, Qiao An, all tense and anxious, quickly rushed in with a pouty mouth. “Huu huu—Daddy doesn’t hurt, Daddy doesn’t hurt… huu huu—”

He cupped his dad’s face and began blowing gently on the bruises.

Xu Haizhou blinked. The little puff of warm air, laced with the sweet scent of milk, tickled and comforted him at the same time.

He scooped Qiao An into his arms and kissed him a couple times. “Thanks, son.”

“No need to thank me, Daddy. I can keep blowing until it doesn’t hurt anymore.” Every time he got hurt, Daddy would always blow on his boo-boos. Now it was finally Daddy’s turn to be hurt, and Qiao An swore he’d take the best care of him!

Overflowing with a sense of duty!

Xu Haizhou couldn’t help but laugh and cry at once. “Son, Daddy’s skin isn’t even broken. It’s just a bit swollen. It’s fine. Doesn’t hurt.”

“It’s swollen… swollen means it does hurt. Daddy, don’t act tough. Be a good boy. If it hurts, just say it—I won’t laugh at you.” He had totally heard Daddy gasp just now. It must really hurt.

He knew that adults were a kind of creature very good at enduring things and caring about face—and Dad was no exception.

Mom, on the other hand… Mom had a slightly thicker skin. Sometimes when she got hurt, she’d even ask for hugs and comfort on her own initiative.

Dad was a man—he wouldn’t easily show his wounds. So Qiao An understood him—oh, he really did!

“Hahaha—ow—” The laughter tugged at his wound again, making Li Hongjun grimace in pain.

The little guy happily ran over again, “Uncle looks so pitiful all by himself. An’an will blow on it for you.”

“What a sweet little baby! Don’t blow on it—kiss me instead. A kiss feels even better than blowing.”

This time Qiao An was quite generous. He softly planted a kiss on Li Hongjun’s cheek, “Just this once—only because you’re bleeding, I’ll kiss you.”

“Hahaha—okay, okay. So being hurt comes with kiss benefits. Uncle wants to bleed again!”

Li Hongjun was back to joking around. Xu Haizhou smiled faintly, but Qiao Lu couldn’t smile at all. She felt genuinely upset: “What kind of nonsense is this? Two trips to the police station in a single month—this is a disaster out of nowhere.”

Li Hongjun shrugged helplessly, “Yeah. I’ve been alive for 24 years, and I’ve never gone to the station this many times—combined!”

Qiao Lu was a bit worried about their safety. “Try to stick together when coming home from now on. Carrying a knife is really terrifying.”

She didn’t dare imagine what could have happened if Zhang Weiqiang had succeeded.

At best, it would be like Li Hongjun—put on some ointment and rest for a few days. At worst, the child would lose his father, and mother and son would have to keep “depending on each other for survival.”

The two men fell silent in unspoken agreement.

Li Hongjun waved it off: “Zhang Weiqiang is just a lunatic. There’s no way all the lunatics in Lian will come after the two of us, right? Don’t overthink it, sis-in-law. You’re just scaring yourself.”

Qiao Lu frowned. “But didn’t you say he’d be out in a month at most? He’s a reckless maniac. Won’t he come looking for revenge?”

A typical hot-headed idiot—impulsive, acting entirely on a whim, choosing money over his life. You couldn’t reason with a guy like that, no matter what approach you took. Completely unmanageable.

Qiao Lu was full of worry—she might not sleep tonight.

Xu Haizhou gently squeezed her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

“It’s fine. If he really won’t let it go, we’ll just give up the shop. I value my life.”

His rare show of cowardice unexpectedly made Qiao Lu laugh.

She lightly patted his chest, “You’d better. Don’t you dare throw your life away over a storefront…”

That location was known to be lucrative—everyone could see it. On weekends, the profits were two to three times higher than those at the end of the alley. No one would willingly give it up.

“Wait, wait! I just remembered something important!” Li Hongjun quickly interrupted the affectionate couple. “We can report Zhang Weiqiang! He’s trafficking foreign garbage!”

They had to report him! That injury couldn’t go to waste!

The couple looked confused. Li Hongjun took a couple of breaths and explained what Yu Fan had told him earlier about the foreign garbage incident.

Only now did Xu Haizhou and Qiao Lu realize—so those blind goods were actually imported junk! No wonder they were so cheap!

So immoral—selling that kind of stuff was truly despicable!

“Good thing I picked out all the second-hand ones last time. If a customer wore them and got a skin disease, it would definitely hurt our shop’s reputation.” Plus, their business was doing well, and there were plenty of jealous eyes watching. If a scandal broke out, how could they continue in Baiyun Street?

“Yeah, you were right to be cautious.” Just thinking about it now gave them chills.

This was their first time starting a business. It was inevitable that the two men didn’t fully understand all the details or shady practices in the industry. But it was exactly by stumbling through the pitfalls that they learned to adapt, eventually becoming confident and capable.

“Aren’t the authorities cracking down hard lately? If we add trafficking foreign garbage to provoking public disorder, there’s no way he’ll get off lightly. Strike while the iron’s hot—come on, let’s go report him!”

As he spoke, he slapped the table and stood up—he slapped with his right hand, but the injured left hand still somehow felt the shock, and he sucked in a breath through his teeth.

“Is the police station even open now? If not, let’s go tomorrow.” Xu Haizhou had already closed up shop—would the police station be any different?

“The police station is staffed 24/7. It’s just a report—and it’s not even dark out. Let’s go now.”

As the saying goes: Misfortune never warns you ahead of time. Li Hongjun couldn’t wait—every extra minute felt like another chance for something to go wrong. He had to report it now.

He didn’t even care that his medicine wasn’t fully applied—he rushed out of the room like a whirlwind.

Xu Haizhou quickly chased after him.

Qiao An instinctively tried to follow his dad and uncle. Qiao Lu caught him with a helpless laugh, “Where do you think you’re going? Be good and stay here—Daddy will be back soon.”

“Daddy won’t get hurt, right?” The little guy looked worriedly in the direction the two men had left.

How did this sweet son suddenly turn into a little worrywart? Qiao Lu chuckled, “They’re going to the police station—there are police officers everywhere. Nothing will happen.”

“Okay then.”

The two men went to the police station together and reported Zhang Weiqiang for trafficking foreign garbage.

The matter drew significant attention from the public security bureau. With approval from above, a nighttime raid was conducted.

It was fine before the investigation, but once they looked into it—what a shock!

Not only was he an accomplice, he was the mastermind!

The foreign secondhand goods in the store had already been dealt with a week ago when the crackdown was at its peak. However, unwilling to let go of the money, all the inventory—both the stock and the disposed batch—was stashed away at home.

Zhang Weiqiang was a native local with three older sisters, all married off. The family had two rooms, and one of them now belonged entirely to him.

In less than twenty square meters, one side held a bed while the other side had piles of foreign garbage stacked like a mountain—it was quite the sight!

No one expected the police to come for a raid in the middle of the night. Two sneaky men came to Zhang Weiqiang’s house to pick up goods and were caught red-handed!

Unfortunately, they only managed to catch one of them. One of the tall men got away.

Some officers stayed behind to deal with the “stolen goods,” while another team pursued the “fugitive.”

After twisting and turning through the alleyways, they still couldn’t catch him. They could only haul in the other man who hadn’t managed to escape and interrogate him.

Turned out he was Zhang Weiqiang’s accomplice—and also his second cousin.

Two years ago, Zhang Weiqiang and his two cousins had joined a group that specialized in flipping foreign secondhand goods—buying low and selling high, making a hefty profit.

All three were ringleaders, but Zhang Weiqiang mainly handled the storefront and sold the clothes, while the other two cousins managed the orders. It was essentially like they had set up a wholesale operation and split the profits with the big boss behind the scenes.

Although the Public Security Bureau didn’t catch the real boss, they had still managed to nab the people closest to him.

After a round of harsh interrogation, no one knew exactly what came out of it. The next update on Zhang Weiqiang was that his shop had been raided…

On Monday afternoon, every clothing shop on Baiyun Street was investigated. Aside from Zhang Weiqiang’s store, three others were also found to be selling foreign secondhand goods. The result: shut down.

A crackdown was no joke—the punishment was even harsher than it would be in later years.

And so, even before Zhang Weiqiang was released from detention, he was sentenced again.

Rumor had it that he was behaving well and had made efforts to redeem himself by revealing the identity of the big boss. If they managed to catch the person, his four-year sentence might be reduced to three.

Either way, there was no need to worry about Zhang Weiqiang’s threats for the time being. As for whether he’d still be on Baiyun Street after three or four years—who could say?

Two days later, the elusive street administrator finally showed up at Baiyun Street. He tossed out all of Zhang Weiqiang’s store items like garbage and put up a “For Rent” sign.

The vendors on the street buzzed with gossip.

“Wow, turns out he was selling foreign trash all along.”

“I heard some were even taken off dead people.”

“Gosh, thank goodness I never bought anything from him.”

“Look, that young couple across the street who sold clothes, and also Meng Guo’an, and Zhu Yong—they all sold secondhand goods. Their shops were shut down too.”

“So wicked… ah! I bought something from Meng Guo’an’s shop! Oh no, what should I do? Should I throw it away? It cost me fifteen yuan!”

“Throw it away? What a waste. Just wash it a few more times. From now on, just shop at the department store—the quality’s guaranteed.”

After the store was cleared out, Xu Haizhou immediately rushed to the street office and proposed renting another store.

It was the one at the end of the street that used to belong to Zhang Weiqiang.

The administrator had been worried that the place would carry bad luck and wouldn’t get rented. So when someone showed interest, he didn’t hesitate—he agreed on the spot and signed the paperwork right away.

As Xu Haizhou exited with the signed lease in hand, he brushed past someone rushing in.

“Brother Liu, I heard a shop on Baiyun Street got shut down—I want to rent it!”

“You’re too late. Someone already leased it. Just signed the papers.”

“Huh? Who?”

“There, right there… eh? Where’d he go? He’s gone?”

“How is it? Is everything going okay?”

Xu Haizhou came home unusually early after finishing work at 4 PM.

“Daddy! Daddy, you’re back so early today! Can we go to the park together later?” A pitter-patter of footsteps ran up to him and hugged his leg.

Recently, a group of wild ducks had appeared in the park from who-knows-where. The mother duck led a bunch of ducklings to swim and play in the lake every day. Qiao An loved to bring a bun and feed the ducks, especially the little ducklings, whose beaks clacked adorably—it was so much fun.

“Sure, I’ll take you after dinner.” He ruffled the little head and put down his goods. “Business wasn’t too good today. Zhang Weiqiang got sentenced to three years—it’s affected all the clothing shops.”

In the foreign trash scandal, no vendor on Baiyun Street came out a winner. Zhang Weiqiang going to prison was a success, but what was lost was the consumers’ trust.