Chapter Thirty-Two: The Truth

Sitting in the interrogation chair, Xu Dong had sobered up completely from his drunkenness. As he looked around at the all-too-familiar surroundings, unease gnawed at his heart. He could not fathom when he had slipped up, nor could he understand when Haifeng, who had appeared to be idly enjoying himself in Tanghua, had begun his investigation.

Staring at Haifeng before him, Xu Dong asked, “When did you realize Stone Heng’s escape was connected to me?”

Haifeng replied, “When did you help him escape?”

“So you started watching me from that day?” Xu Dong pressed.

Haifeng nodded, “No one does someone a favor for nothing. If you invite me to dinner without reason, I’m not going to believe there’s nothing fishy about it.”

Hearing this, Xu Dong regretted having helped Qian Zhen invite Haifeng. If it hadn’t been for that dinner, perhaps he wouldn’t be sitting here now.

“So your days of sightseeing in Tanghua were all just a façade?” Xu Dong asked again.

Haifeng looked at him but didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, “Why did you help Stone Heng? How much do you know about his affairs?”

“I know nothing,” Xu Dong replied.

“And about Qian Zhen? How much do you know?” Haifeng pressed.

“I have nothing to say.”

“Still refusing to come clean? How long do you plan to resist?” A familiar voice sounded from outside the door. Xu Dong couldn’t help but turn to look. The moment he saw the face at the door, he was shocked; his expression changed instantly.

With trembling voice, he stammered, “Director Qiao... Qiao Yuqian...”

Qiao Yuqian strode in, his eyes sharp as daggers. “Is the treatment in Tanghua so poor? Is your treatment as a bureau chief so bad you can’t support your family? Why couldn’t you live with integrity? Why degrade yourself as someone else’s lackey? Have I treated you unfairly? Since I took office, haven’t the conditions here been much better than elsewhere?”

Xu Dong forced a bitter smile. “Better? I used to have three people just to draft documents, two to manage the seals, two to handle travel, two for daily receptions, and three more for my miscellaneous affairs. When was I ever short on staff?”

“But after you took over, you sent people to the grassroots or transferred them to the municipal bureau, leaving me with only two. Now, when businessmen go out, they’re surrounded by an entourage. And me? Only two people by my side—doesn’t that look ridiculous? Even going out for a meal is embarrassing. Is that your so-called good treatment?”

Qiao Yuqian retorted, “Do you think it’s normal for so many people to serve just you? Don’t forget you’re a public servant. If you keep all those people serving you, how are those at the grassroots supposed to do their jobs? Do you know how hard your subordinates have it?”

“Do you know they have to be on duty every three days, and go a whole month without a single weekend off? Most weekends are spent working overtime, and even then, they can barely get the work done.”

“All the tasks assigned to your sub-bureau are pushed onto the local stations. A grassroots officer has to complete the work of three or four of your bureau staff. For every task, five or six departments demand reports, and just dealing with your endless paperwork is a nightmare for those at the bottom. Add to that all sorts of duties and security work—do you ever treat those officers as your comrades? Don’t you realize how much you’re bullying them?”

Qiao Yuqian paused, then continued, “I know you’ve never worked at the grassroots, but as bureau chief, are you really so ignorant about your subordinates’ conditions? Or do you just not care, thinking only of yourself?”

“There are too few at the grassroots, yet you send those with connections to the office to drink tea and read the paper, while those without are left to suffer. All were hired for their professional skills, yet at your sub-bureau, none work in their field.”

“Promising young officers, after two years with you, are wasted into idle loafers. And what have you done? Transferred young, pretty women to the bureau to show your ‘care’? Installed a private bathroom and shower in your own office, yet wouldn’t even provide a shower for those young officers living in the dorms?”

“If you envy businessmen for making money, you’re free to resign and go earn it. I’ve always valued people’s wishes, never forced anyone to stay. I even abolished those rules restricting new officers from transferring. As bureau chief, you’re even less bound to stay.”

“But as long as you haven’t resigned, as long as you’re in this position, you must remember your duty. You were made chief not to lord it over others, and certainly not to accept bribes and bully the ranks.”

“You say your treatment is poor—do you even know what your salary is? You earn enough each month to hire three hardworking young officers. Is that not enough? Your salary is enough for two families of three to support themselves. Is that not enough?”

Xu Dong, in truth, had no idea what his salary was. He’d never used it over the years; he’d often heard station chiefs say that since Qiao Yuqian arrived, pay had gone up, and it was better at the grassroots than in the offices. But he didn’t know exactly how much, nor did he care. To him, that money wasn’t even enough to pick his teeth with, so of course he didn’t care.

He said, “Is that money enough? Do you know how high housing prices are here? The cost of my child’s schooling? Is the salary you give enough for my social obligations? Can it even cover a meal? It’s not enough for gas!”

Qiao Yuqian looked at Xu Dong, seated in the interrogation chair, and felt a pang of shame. He blamed himself for failing to educate his officers, for allowing such a greedy chief to rise under his command. He felt he’d made a grave error in selecting talent.

At that moment, Qiao Yuqian wished he could grind Xu Dong to dust. Pointing at him, he said, “If someone else said that, I might believe it—but you, Xu Dong? You own at least five properties here, your son studied abroad at great expense and now works at a state enterprise with an annual salary, and you claim your pay isn’t enough? Have you no shame?”

“Are you out socializing every day? Must you dine at the castle every night? Even a mountain of gold wouldn’t satisfy you. But remember this: you’re a state official, not a Qing dynasty prince. Spending tens of thousands on a meal is not how you should behave. When you do, do you ever think about your subordinates? About the common folk? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?”

Xu Dong could barely remain seated, cold sweat pouring from his brow. He hadn’t realized Qiao Yuqian knew so much about him. These details couldn’t have come from Haifeng; it was likely Qiao Yuqian had been watching him all along, perhaps even the disciplinary and inspection departments.

Xu Dong felt there was little to fear from Haifeng—for now, Haifeng had little evidence of his crimes. But if Qiao Yuqian was involved, there would be no escape.

Still, Xu Dong maintained his bravado. “The money was earned by me. How I spend it is my business.”

Qiao Yuqian’s anger flared. “Earned by you? The gold bars too? You never took Qian Zhen’s gold bars? Never helped Stone Heng escape? You recognize this photo, don’t you? How long will you keep lying?”

The moment Xu Dong saw the photo Qiao Yuqian flung on the table, he went limp. If not for the cuffs, he’d have collapsed to the floor. In the photo, he was beaming, holding a scantily clad young girl—the very thirteen-year-old Qian Zhen had sent him.

His last line of defense crumbled. Other things he could deny, but not this. To have relations with a thirteen-year-old—statutory rape—he would never escape conviction.

Qiao Yuqian continued, “Cao Qin and Stone Biao have already confessed everything. There’s no use resisting. Come clean.”

Now Xu Dong realized he was truly finished—caught not only by Haifeng’s trap, but by Qiao Yuqian’s, and even Li Xian’s. There was no way out. All he could do was confess and hope for leniency.

Gone was his former arrogance; weeping, he began to confess.

“I didn’t even know Stone Heng. It was President Qian—no, Qian Zhen—who called me to ask about Stone Heng’s accounts. I asked Cao Qin, who told me Stone Heng’s finances were now controlled by Li Xian and the others, and that they were preparing for his arrest. They needed our cooperation. So I had him tell the lower ranks not to investigate Stone Heng yet, just to wait and see.”

“Later, Qian Zhen asked me to arrange a dinner with Li Xian and the others. I called them, and we all had dinner together. After that, Stone Heng escaped Tanghua. I honestly don’t know how he did it—I only did what I just told you. Later, Qian Zhen invited me to another dinner, gave me the gold bars at the table, and the woman was also arranged by him. I had no idea she was underage until after we’d slept together. I swear I’m telling the truth—may I die a terrible death if I lie!”

Qiao Yuqian asked, “Why did Qian Zhen give you the gold bars?”

Xu Dong answered, “It must have been a thank you for not arresting Stone Heng right away and for inviting Li Xian to dinner, which delayed the arrest and allowed Stone Heng to escape.”

“How many times has Qian Zhen bribed you over the years? How many misdeeds have you helped him with?” Qiao Yuqian continued.

Xu Dong hung his head, unable to meet his gaze. “Over the years, Qian Zhen gave me quite a bit, but I can’t remember exactly how much. I didn’t do much for him, really—his Qian Group is in Tangping, he’s in business and naturally runs into trouble with rivals, so I just helped smooth things over for him, that’s all.”

“Smoothing things over? You’re the police chief! ‘Smoothing things over’—do you realize you were committing crimes?”

“I was blinded by greed for a moment. Qian Zhen was introduced to me by a friend—generous, straightforward, we got along. At first I didn’t do him any favors; he was in finance, our work didn’t overlap. I just introduced him to a few contacts so he could do business, nothing more. The castle was his, rented after his business took off. A few friends would gather there for drinks and conversation.”

“Was it finance, or loan-sharking? Was he really legal, or was he doing something illegal? Be clear—don’t hide anything. At that castle, was it really just drinks and talk? What about the women?”

“He really was doing legitimate lending. I even helped set up his bank connections. Interest was 24%, well within legal limits. He has a brother, also in finance—they’re clever, ran their business online, so it grew quickly.”

“He’s just bolder than others; where most give out fifty thousand, he lends a hundred thousand, so he makes more interest—but still within the law. As for the women, they were just servers he found somewhere—pretty, yes, and when people drink too much, things happen. But all the women there were willing. The underage girl—this was the first time, I swear. I know nothing more.”

“How many shares did you take from him?” Qiao Yuqian kept pressing.

Xu Dong muttered, “Not much, just ten percent, and he forced it on me. I only took it out of courtesy.”

Qiao Yuqian was at a loss for words. He had taken the money, accepted the women, pocketed the shares, and done Qian Zhen’s bidding—yet still insisted Qian Zhen was legitimate, had done nothing wrong, ignoring how many lives had been ruined. This man, who should have protected the people and punished wrongdoers, had been bought so easily. Qiao Yuqian felt a pang of grief.

He knew how hard police work was, and how poor the pay. Since taking office, he’d worked hard to improve conditions, weeding out those who took salaries but did nothing, advocating that those who did the work should reap the rewards. He’d sent most staff to the grassroots, and transferred the truly skilled to technical roles, so everyone was put to best use.

He believed he’d brought real benefits to his officers; Tanghua’s police were paid double, sometimes triple, the salary of those in neighboring areas. Where before they were on duty every three days, now, with more staff, it was every five days. Their happiness and sense of achievement had soared, and their combat effectiveness improved, earning him much praise. Yet, faced with greedy, insatiable men like Xu Dong, he wondered if there was anything that could satisfy them. He knew the only way to protect the force was to root out such rotten elements.

Gazing at Xu Dong slumped in the interrogation chair, Qiao Yuqian could only hope it was not too late—that the harm Xu Dong had done could still be limited.