Taijiang Prison is also located in Taijiang District of Pengcheng City. If you go a little further east, you will reach Huicheng.
This prison is very large and all the prisoners inside are serious criminals from Pengcheng.
When Lin Shuyue got off the car, what came into view was the majestic gate. Next to the gate was a small door. Next to the small door were a few large gold-plated characters of Taijiang Prison.
She first took out her camera and took a photo of the prison gate before heading to the guard room. She showed her ID, the letter Zheng Zhongfu wrote to her, and completed a detailed registration before being taken in.
Taijiang Prison is large, but seems very empty. There are no large green plants except for the lawn, and few people are walking around outside. The combination of high-rise buildings and concrete floors, coupled with their special functions, makes the atmosphere of this place seem particularly dull.
Lin Shuyue was brought to the office building. This time there were some other colors on the wall. Lin Shuyue looked around and saw that most of what was written on it was the history of the establishment of Taijiang Prison, as well as the awards and honors it had received over the years.
After another round of registration, Lin Shuyue met Zheng Zhongfu in the reception room 20 minutes later.
He was about 37/38 years old, about 1.7 meters tall, a thin man with a crew cut, and was brought into the reception room. Lin Shuyue pointed at the camera in her hand and asked.
Zheng Zhongfu nodded, and Lin Shuyue took a photo of him, deliberately avoiding the prison guard behind him.
After Lin Shuyue put down the camera, she casually turned on the good and evil radar.
The detection range of the good and evil radar is a total of 130 meters. The moment the good and evil radar is turned on, many red dots of varying shades appear on it.
None of these shocked Lin Shuyue. After all, this was a prison, and it was normal to have criminals here.
What shocked her was that the criminals who were the farthest away from her and were detained in the prison were all at least 100 meters away from her and were all gathered together.
There was no red dot of crime within ten meters of her that could lead to the sentencing.
Because of the scan of the good and evil radar, Lin Shuyue's heart sank. This time, she encountered an unjust, false and wrong case.
Lin Shuyue sat in front of the transparent glass and raised the telephone receiver in her hand.
Zheng Zhongfu also sat down and picked up the receiver.
Zheng Zhongfu was very happy when he learned that someone who had never visited him before was coming to see him. But when he arrived at the meeting room and saw the still young Lin Shuyue, his happy heart instantly sank.
But he quickly comforted himself.
Over the years, he has written letters to almost all the reporters in Pengcheng. At the beginning, some people would come to see him, but in recent years, not even one person would come to see him out of every ten letters he wrote.
He should be happy if a reporter comes, no matter what gender or age they are.
A clear female voice came from the other end of the receiver, introducing herself.
Zheng Zhongfu listened carefully, and after she introduced herself, he began to recount what he had told countless people over the years.
"My name is Zheng Zhongfu, I am 39 years old. The incident happened in May 1994. Before it happened, I was the business manager of Limin Real Estate Co., Ltd. My wife Liang Haihui and I were in the same company, but she was our company's receptionist."
"On May 22, one of my big clients called me at around 7pm and said that a clause in a contract that was about to be signed had not been confirmed. Because this was a particularly large business, I went out as soon as I received the call."
"When I came back, it was already twelve o'clock in the morning. I turned on the light and found my house in a mess. The drawers in the living room and bedroom were all opened and turned upside down."
"Because the public security was not very good at that time, and my family lived in a bungalow that had been built for many years, I thought at that time that a thief had entered the house. I was very scared at the time and quickly called my wife's name. But no matter how I called, she did not respond."
At this point, Zheng Zhongfu paused. Even though he had said this countless times over the years, he still couldn't continue. He wiped his face with his hand, calmed down, and continued: "I turned on the light in the room. She was lying on the bed. Her neck was cut many times, and the bed was stained with blood."
"I went to call the police, but found that my phone line had been cut. I could only knock on the door of the village shop to call the police."
"Many police officers came that night. I was taken to the police station and questioned for a long time. Then I became a suspect in the murder of my wife."
"I was arrested and detained. The court tried me and sentenced me to death with a two-year reprieve. I was dissatisfied and appealed on the spot. The second trial did not begin until December 1995."
"This time, my sentence was changed to life imprisonment. Over the years, my parents and brothers have been running around for me outside, and I have submitted my application for retrial countless times, but it is still useless. I am still guilty of the same crime."
"My mother passed away during my third year in prison. We had no choice but to ask for help from outside." After Zheng Zhongfu finished speaking, he waited quietly for Lin Shuyue to ask him questions, just like those reporters before.
Ask him what he did and what happened before he left home that night.
Lin Shuyue did ask, and after asking, she said to Zheng Zhongfu: "I will try my best to help you."
It was just a simple sentence, not even a promise, but it made Zheng Zhongfu's eyes red.
He hadn't heard these words for many years. He thanked Lin Shuyue solemnly: "Thank you, reporter Lin."
The visiting hours were over, and Lin Shuyue put down the receiver and left.
Zheng Zhongfu also followed the prison guard back. Today was Wednesday, and it was still morning. Their work for the day had just begun. Before leaving the visiting room, he turned his head to glance at Lin Shuyue's back.
After so many years, he knew that his case had little chance of being overturned, but he still held on to hope. For this little hope in his heart, he persisted for so many years. And he will not give up in the years to come.
He will not admit to what he did not do, nor can he admit it. He is waiting for the truth, and so is his wife. He will keep holding on, and he believes that the sun will shine on him one day.
Lin Shuyue walked out with the prison guard and chatted with him at the same time: "Officer, do many people usually come to see Zheng Zhongfu?"
The prison guard who led Lin Shuyue was an old policeman in his thirties. He had a deep impression of Zheng Zhongfu. In other words, there was no prison guard in the entire prison who was not familiar with him!
After all, there is no other person in the prison who has been sentenced to ten years but still refuses to plead guilty.
"At the beginning, there were many reporters who came to see him, but now, apart from his parents and brother and other relatives, only his former boss Yang Haoan came to see him."
Lin Shuyue raised her eyebrows: "His boss? It's been so many years, and his boss still comes to see him?"
Speaking of this, the prison guard had something to talk about: "Yes, you know Limin Real Estate Development Company, most of the houses in Pengcheng were built by their company."
"They are a good company and they always give the most generous compensation for demolition. Every time there is a demolition, when the people hear that the demolition company is Limin, they all happily sign and agree." The prison guard's family is local and he is all smiles when talking about the demolition. His hometown will also be demolished next year and the developer is Limin Real Estate.
Last week, he signed the demolition consent form, and they will receive the demolition compensation soon.
Thinking about the large sum of money that will soon come into his account, the prison guard couldn't hide the smile on his face: "Boss Yang is a good man. Every year, no matter what charity activities the city organizes, their Limin Real Estate is always the first to rush to the front. They also build roads and bridges. There are several bridges and roads in Pengcheng that were built by them."
"Their employee benefits are pretty good, and the wages are higher than those of similar companies. They also give out more gifts during festivals and holidays. Now that the weather is hot, I heard that workers on the construction site are given five kilograms of mung beans and two kilograms of sugar a month."
"They don't delay payment for the work. They pay the foreman upon completion of the work. All the construction teams in Pengcheng want to work on the construction site developed by Limin."
The prison guard really liked Limin Real Estate. With a welcoming look on his face, he told Lin Shuyue about the roads and bridges that Limin had invested in.
By the time she walked out of the prison gate, Lin Shuyue had already formed a deep impression of the Liming Real Estate Development Company.
Lin Shuyue did not rest for long, and went straight to Zheng Village where Zheng Zhongfu lived. Zheng Village was also located in Taijiang District, but the direction of the village was completely opposite to Taijiang Prison.
As the second developed district in Pengcheng, Taijiang's prosperity is reflected in all aspects. Even a small village like Zhengcun is much richer than Pingsha Village where Lin Shuyue's family lives.
As you enter the village, you will see two- and three-story buildings. The streets are lined with shops and people are coming and going. Factories and workshops of all sizes are everywhere.
Lin Shuyue found Zheng Zhongfu's home according to the address he gave her.
This is also a three-story building with a rental sign on the door.
After taking the photo, Lin Shuyue followed the rental label on the door and went up to the second floor. The landlord lived in the first room on the second floor. From the open window, she could see a middle-aged man sitting on the sofa watching TV.
Lin Shuyue knocked on the window. The middle-aged man put down the remote control, stood up, walked over and opened the door: "Pretty girl, do you want to rent a room? We have studios, one-bedroom and one-living room, and two-bedroom and one-living room. The rooms are clean and the price is cheap. The rooms are tidy and transparent, and there are special people guarding them, so there is no problem with safety."
Lin Shuyue took out her press card from her bag and handed it over: "Excuse me, are you Zheng Zhonglu? I am a reporter from Pengcheng Metropolis Daily. Mr. Zheng Zhongfu wrote to me..."
Zheng Zhonglu looked at Lin Shuyue's press card, and the smile he had just worn fell. After looking at Lin Shuyue's card for several seconds, he returned the card to Lin Shuyue and said, "Reporter Lin, please come in with me."
Zheng Zhonglu's house was just as he described, it was indeed very transparent: "Reporter Lin, wait a moment, I'll go call my father."
Lin Shuyue sat on the wooden sofa, waiting for Zheng Zhonglu to go into the house to call someone. After a while, an old man came out trembling with his support.
The old man, Lin Shuyue, hurriedly took a few steps and said, "It's a reporter. You are a reporter. Thank you. Thank you for coming to help my Ah Fu."
As the old man spoke, tears streamed down his face.
Lin Shuyue looked at his shaky steps, afraid that he would fall, and hurriedly stood up to greet him: "Grandpa, please walk slowly, walk slowly."
"Hey hey." The old man responded.
Zheng Zhonglu helped him sit on the single sofa and apologized to Lin Shuyue: "I'm sorry, reporter Lin, it's been a long time since we had a reporter come to our house. My dad was too excited."
"It's okay. I understand."
Old Man Zheng asked Zheng Zhonglu to pour some water for Lin Shuyue quickly, and without waiting for Lin Shuyue to ask, he repeated what he had said to countless reporters over the years.
In this respect, he and Zheng Zhongfu are indeed father and son, even their way of doing things is the same.
"My son Zheng Zhongfu and my daughter-in-law Liang Haihui are in a free love relationship and they have a very good relationship. During the four or five years that Ah Fu and Haihui have been married, they have always been in harmony and rarely quarreled."
"If I say my son killed Haihui, let alone me, no one in the village will believe it. But what's the point of us not believing it? Ah Lu and I have been going to the court and the police station over and over again over the years, but it's all in vain. The court told us that it was my son Ah Fu who did it, and the evidence is irrefutable."
"How could our Ah Fu kill Hai Hui? They had such a good relationship. On the afternoon of the day when the incident happened, Ah Fu came back for dinner and even went a long way to buy Hai Hui her favorite pork knuckle."
Zheng Zhonglu confirmed his father's statement: "My father is right, they are a well-known loving couple in the village. They both work at Limin Real Estate. Every time they have a holiday, my brother does the laundry and cooking, and Haihui doesn't have to do anything. Because of this, my mother and Haihui had a big conflict."
After his eldest son finished speaking, Mr. Zheng continued, "When I was young, I had a little money. After my two sons got married, we divided the family property between them. We built a house for each of them. Because Haihui and Ah Fu had to go to work, their children always lived with us. Sometimes, when they got off work late, the children lived with us."
With the explanation of Zheng Zhonglu and Old Man Zheng, Lin Shuyue pieced together the relationship between Zheng Zhongfu and the victim Liang Haihui.
The two were classmates, fell in love, and became very loving after marriage. Because they both worked in the same place, they were together on weekdays. Their social relationship was also very simple.
Liang Haihui was pretty, gentle, and had a relatively peaceful personality. She had no enemies in her twenties, let alone extramarital affairs!
That is why, after she was murdered, since the doors and windows of her home were not damaged by external forces, the police could only focus their attention on Liang Haihui's partner Zheng Zhongfu.
And they think he is a serious suspect in murdering his wife.
There are two points of evidence:
1. Zheng Zhongfu worked as a salesman. Sometimes he would not go home until late at night because of social activities. Sometimes he would go to places like clubs and dance troupes. Liang Haihui had quarreled with Zheng Zhongfu about this. This was the testimony of a colleague of Liang Haihui and Zheng Zhongfu.
2. During the interrogation of Zheng Zhongfu, Zheng Zhongfu admitted that before he left that night, the two of them had a quarrel because he had to go out for a social event late at night.
Because of these two points, they simulated the whole process of Zheng Zhongfu killing his wife.
Because the couple quarreled, Zheng Zhongfu and Liang Haihui had an argument, and the war between the two escalated. During the scuffle, Zheng Zhongfu accidentally strangled Liang Haihui to death. In order to conceal the evidence, he took a kitchen knife to cut Liang Haihui's neck and messed up the house to make it look like a burglary.
Then he went to the kitchen, turned on the gas, and lit a mosquito coil, trying to detonate the gas to destroy the body, but because the gas ran out, his plan failed.
After faking the scene, he took the opportunity to go out for a banquet and used this to create a perfect alibi.
The police also simulated the distance between Shuanglin Village and the Honglangman Club where Zheng Zhongfu was going to attend the banquet. They finally concluded that Zheng Zhongfu could have arrived in 20 minutes at his speed, but it took a full 50 minutes from the time Zheng Zhongfu received the call to the time he arrived at Honglangman.
The thirty minutes in between were more than enough for Zheng Zhongfu to commit the crime.
Zheng Zhonglu also took out the rebuttal letters he had written for his brother over the years.
Zheng Zhongfu has explanations for these questions.
First: Liang Haihui did complain about Zheng Zhongfu's socializing. But that was because Zheng Zhongfu had stomach problems, and he mostly drank instead of eating during socializing. Every time Zheng Zhongfu came back from socializing, he was drunk, and he always had stomach pain in the middle of the night. He was even hospitalized because of this. In order to prove the authenticity of this rebuttal, two emergency cases from Pengcheng Hospital in the middle of the night were attached. The official seal of the hospital and the signature of the doctor were all available.
The second point: Zheng Zhongfu was going out for a social event that night, and he did have a few arguments with Liang Haihui. The content of the argument was still about asking Zheng Zhongfu to drink less. Zheng Zhongfu repeatedly assured her, but Liang Haihui became more and more angry. Zheng Zhongfu had to work with her for a long time before he was allowed to go out.
This is also one of the reasons why Zheng Zhongfu arrived at Honglang half an hour late.
Zheng Zhongfu had a witness to this. When he left, he happened to meet the owner of the convenience store who was bringing his children back to the store to watch TV.
There was also testimony from the shop owner. According to his account, he saw Zheng Zhongfu at around 8 o'clock, which was the time when the news broadcast on TV ended and the TV series was on. His one-year-old son had eaten that day and insisted on going out for a walk. He had no choice but to take his son out for a walk. In order to watch TV, he calculated the time and ran back with the child. After meeting Zheng Zhongfu, the two chatted. He also saw Liang Haihui come out and close the door after Zheng Zhongfu left.
Lin Shuyue read the two documents again and again: "There are witnesses and physical evidence, why is this case still sentenced like this?"
Old Zheng sat on the sofa and shook his head slowly. "We don't know. The court said they don't recognize the evidence we provided. We went to the police station to find the police, but they hid when they saw us. They said that the case of Ah Fu murdering his wife had been concluded and asked us not to make trouble."
"We submit applications for retrial every year. But the court rejects our requests every time."
Mr. Zheng is 62 years old this year, and he submitted this application eight years ago. His wife couldn't bear to see her beloved youngest son become a murderer, and she became sick and passed away before spring.
Old Man Zheng's health is getting worse and worse. He always feels that he doesn't have much time left. Old Man Zheng doesn't even know if he can still see his youngest son come out.
Lin Shuyue took photos of all these materials and kept them.
Before she knew it, Lin Shuyue had been at Zheng's house for three hours. It was nearly five o'clock when she heard footsteps and a girl in school uniform and carrying a schoolbag walked in.
She was about sixteen years old, tall, and had a cold look. She looked somewhat like Zheng Zhongfu, but she looked exactly like the photo of Liang Haihui that Lin Shuyue had seen.
From her appearance, she can get a glimpse of how beautiful her mother was back then.
After entering the house, she first called "Uncle" and "Grandpa", then nodded politely to Lin Shuyue and went into the room with her schoolbag.
"This is Ah Fu's daughter, Zheng Jiao." Zheng Zhonglu introduced her to Lin Shuyue: "She is fifteen this year and is in the third grade of Taijiang No. 1 Middle School. She is not doing well in her studies. My aunt and I are thinking of sending her to a medical school next year so that she can become a nurse, which is a stable job."
Zheng Zhonglu has a good relationship with his younger brother. He only has two sons, and both his parents-in-law and him love this niece very much.
Lin Shuyue said: "That's good. Doctors, nurses and teachers all have good jobs now. They have good benefits and high social status."
Lin Shuyue's words touched Zheng Zhonglu's heart, and he was very happy.
Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Shuyue stood up and said goodbye. Before leaving, Lin Shuyue remembered what the prison guard said in prison: "I heard that Zheng Zhongfu's former boss still often visits Zheng Zhongfu? Did they come to see you?"
Old Man Zheng insisted on sending Lin Shuyue downstairs. Hearing this, a smile appeared on his worried face: "Boss Yang is a good man. He has never treated Ah Fu unfairly since Ah Fu started working with him. After Ah Fu got into this kind of situation, he is the only one in their company who believes that Ah Fu did not kill anyone."
Old Zheng Zhongfu is very grateful to his boss: "He has taken good care of our family over the years. I met him in the hospital last year and he helped me find a doctor. He would also come to visit us during the Chinese New Year and other holidays."
"It's us, Ah Fu and Hai Hui, who are unlucky." Old man Zheng thought countless times that if this incident had not happened, his Ah Fu would have followed such a good boss and would have lived a very good life.
All of Ah Fu's former colleagues are now senior executives of Limin Real Estate. Who wouldn't be envious of them driving cars and living in high-rise buildings?
As they were talking, they had already gone downstairs and were saying goodbye when Lin Shuyue's phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was Hang Jiabai calling.
"I was sorting out the files this afternoon and took a look at the case you are investigating now. Have you made any progress?" Hang Jiabai's voice on the other end of the phone was low and magnetic. Lin Shuyue couldn't help rubbing her ears.
"Yes, shall we meet?" Lin Shuyue was just about to go to the Public Security Bureau to find He Yuling. After all, she knew a lot of policemen, but the one she was most familiar with was He Yuling.
As a result, before she even left, Hang Jiabai showed up at her door. This was what it meant when someone brought a pillow to you just when you were sleepy!
Hang Jiabai on the other end of the phone also called for this purpose. He thought for a moment and said, "I remember there is a cafe in front of your newspaper office. Let's meet there."
"No problem, I'll be there in ten minutes."
Lin Shuyue hung up the phone and started the car. She drove quickly and soon arrived at the coffee shop opposite Dingsheng Building. When she parked the car and got out, Lin Shuyue saw a man in a dark blue suit talking to Hang Jiabai from a distance.
The two of them were very familiar with each other, and Lin Shuyue saw that the smile on Hang Jiabai's face never faded.
By the time Lin Shuyue parked the car and walked over, the man had already left.
Hang Jiabai followed Lin Shuyue's gaze and said casually: "I met a friend and chatted with him for a few words. Shall we go in?"
Lin Shuyue nodded, and the two of them entered the cafe together. They found a corner and sat down. Hang Jiabai ordered a cup of coffee, and Lin Shuyue ordered a cup of cappuccino and a small cake.
The two chatted for a while, and after the ordered food came, Lin Shuyue drank tea and asked Hang Jiabai what he found after reading the file.
According to the unit's regulations, Hang Jiabai could not take the files from the Public Security Bureau out of the unit. He could only tell Lin Shuyue about the problems he found: "When I looked at the files, I saw the first version of the record that Liang Haihui had sex before her death. And at the Zheng family, a fingerprint and a footprint were extracted, and they were compared that year. These two did not belong to anyone in the Zheng family."
"But strangely, these two important conditions were never mentioned in subsequent interrogations."
Hang Jiabai's face looked very unhappy. In 1994, even if the criminal investigation technology was not well developed, these two points, not to mention the police, even ordinary people knew that this could affect the nature of the entire case.
But no one mentioned it. No one would believe that there was no trick. Before meeting Lin Shuyue, he had already looked through all the personnel changes in the Public Security Bureau over the past ten years.
The director of Taijiang Police Station who responded to the call was promoted to the General Administration five years ago and is now the deputy director of Pengcheng County Public Security Bureau.
Upon hearing this, Lin Shuyue already knew why Zheng Zhongfu's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, but she still couldn't understand why neither the police nor the court at that time held anyone accountable for this matter.
In prison, Zheng Zhongfu never mentioned his wife's messy clothes. Lin Shuyue didn't know whether Zheng Zhongfu couldn't say it or he really didn't know. She decided to go to the prison again.
Lin Shuyue said: "I went to see Zheng Zhongfu and then to his home. His brother showed me two documents."
Lin Shuyue took out the camera from her bag, opened the two documents and handed them to Hang Jiabai.
After reading it, Hang Jiabai's brows were furrowed so tightly that they could pinch a fly to death.
"There is no testimony from this witness or medical record in our police station files."
The two men sat opposite each other, and they both knew that this matter had become a big deal.
Once this incident is exposed, it will be a major blow to the reputation of the police and the court. In particular, the police who investigated the incident will all be held accountable without exception.
Hang Jiabai is 26 years old this year. He skipped two grades when he was a child, graduated from college, and worked his way up from a small criminal policeman to his current position. It seems like only a promotion of one level in rank, but this level is something that many criminal policemen cannot achieve in their entire lives.
He had seen such unjust, false and wrongful convictions caused by police negligence before, but this was the first time he had encountered a situation where both the police and the court were blind.
Moreover, the murderer and the victim did not have any strong backgrounds. Both families were ordinary farmers! So what was the trick? Hang Jiabai fell into deep thought.
The small cake in front of Lin Shuyue remained untouched.
The two were silent for a long time. She looked at the people coming and going outside the glass door of the cafe and asked Hang Jiabai: "Captain Hang, do you know Limin Real Estate Development Company?"
Hang Jiabai nodded: "How could I not know such a famous company? The man you met when you came just now is the boss of Limin Real Estate Developer."
"Do you know him?"
"We grew up in the same compound."
After Hang Jiabai said this, Lin Shuyue understood. Generally speaking, a compound is either a government compound or a military compound, but she didn't know which one Hang Jiabai's compound belonged to.
Lin Shuyue took a sip of cappuccino. She was very curious about the boss of Limin Real Estate Company, especially the good boss who had been caring for his subordinates for more than ten years.
"Captain Hang, how is his family? The relationship between husband and wife and so on."
Hang Jiabai didn't expect Lin Shuyue to ask this, but he still answered honestly: "His parents died early, and he grew up with his grandparents. He and his wife have a very harmonious relationship and are a model couple in our compound. Brother Haoan has been the 'other people's child' in our compound since he was a child. Every time we were disobedient and were punished by our parents, their first words were 'Look at your Brother Haoan'."
"He seems to be a very good person. I went to the prison today, and the prison police said that Boss Yang has been visiting Zheng Zhongfu over the years."
Hang Jiabai was not surprised by this: "His grandfather was an old Red Army soldier, and he taught him to be kind to those who have made contributions. Calculating the time, his company had just started not long ago ten years ago, and Zheng Zhongfu and his wife were both employees of his company, so it was natural for him to visit them."
After hearing what he said, Lin Shuyue stopped talking. Then, the two chatted for a few minutes. They didn't say a word about the case, but they both knew that they would not give up.
Lin Shuyue's father told her since she was a child that there are many dark sides in this world, so he chose to be a policeman in order to bring some justice and light to the world.
Lin Shuyue is no longer a police officer, and she will never be a police officer in her lifetime. But journalists are also people who bring light to the world. They play the same role as police officers, bringing justice and light to the world.
The same goes for Hang Jiabai. To him, this is faith and cannot be tarnished.
Today is the day when the newspaper pays salaries. Lin Shuyue stood at the door of the cafe for a while, watching Hang Jiabai drive away, then went upstairs.
As soon as she entered the elevator, a woman in formal attire followed in. She held a beautiful white mobile phone in her hand, rolled her eyes at Lin Shuyue, and chose a position farthest from her, mumbling something on the phone.
Lin Shuyue listened for a while but couldn't figure out which country's language it was.
The elevator stopped on the 5th floor. Lin Shuyue walked out right after her and went to two different companies respectively.
The news department was particularly lively today, with the reporters who were usually elusive gathering here. Unlike other departments, they did not sit quietly, but pulled stools to sit in a circle in the aisle and chat.
The voices were quite loud, but no one was dissatisfied with them.
As soon as Lin Shuyue arrived, she received widespread attention from these reporters.
"It's true that the new generation pushes the old generation forward. Ah Qiang, your apprentice is much better than you." The middle-aged man who spoke was dressed similarly to Huang Qiang, and his hand was on Huang Qiang's shoulder.
"How can a graduate from a professional university compare with those of us who are unskilled? Weisheng, who you are teaching, is also good. There have been many reports about him in the past two months, and the response has been good." Huang Qiang was not annoyed. As his apprentice had achieved good results, he, as the master, was also proud.
Pengcheng Metropolis Daily is different from other newspapers. In other newspapers, interns do not receive any salary when they come in to work, and the articles they write must be published in the name of their masters. The base salary of intern reporters at Pengcheng Metropolis Daily is half of that of regular employees. They can sign their own reports, but they have to share some of their bonuses with their masters. It is not much, just 10%. After becoming a regular employee, there is no need to share the bonuses.
This has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that there is salary, not working for nothing. The disadvantage is that the old reporters who guide the newcomers will not get any benefits, and the teaching will not be very sincere, so they need to figure out everything on their own.
The original owner chose to intern at Pengcheng Metropolitan Newspaper that was not far away from her home. In addition to being close to home, the salary was extremely attractive to her.
There have been so many reports on Lin Shuyue recently, and each report has received a good response. Huang Qiang has calculated that he will get a lot of bonus. Therefore, he has been walking with a breeze these days. But he still needs to be humble in front of his colleagues, and he can easily come up with words to praise the other person's apprentice.
After all, Li Weisheng was a relative, and the other party was very attentive when guiding him. Li Weisheng did not disappoint him, and he published a lot of reports since he joined the newspaper. It can be said that the other party got a lot of bonuses and commissions.
After some business exaggeration, Huang Qiang asked the person who was talking to him: "I heard that you were involved in the news of the Sands Charity Gala. How was the result?"
"What's the suspense? Limin Real Estate is in the spotlight again."
"Which charity event has not ended like this? You'll get used to it. Limin Real Estate is good in every way except that it's not very friendly to journalists. I don't even know how to write news."
"That's true. From his family to which property his company has acquired and how much money he has donated to charity, these are the same headlines over and over again. Everyone is tired of seeing them."
Lin Shuyue felt that ever since she heard about Liming Real Estate Development Company from Zheng Zhongfu, she could hear its name everywhere she went.
"Master, this Boss Yang is so amazing. I've read reports about him before. Is he really that good?"
Huang Qiang didn't say anything, but Zhang Longfei, who had just been bragging to Huang Qiang about business, couldn't help but praise him: "Boss Yang is really a good person. They were going to develop a new property and invited us reporters to go over. Because of the hot weather, they put three large refrigerators on site with ice water, ice cream and fruit. Other real estate developers are not so generous."
Lin Shuyue nodded: "What about his family? I saw you just said that his family is also very good?"
"He and his wife were high school classmates. They have been together since school and got married right after graduation. Now their children are grown up. Didn't you guys take a picture of him taking his wife and daughter shopping in Country M a while ago?"
"It is true. Other bosses have affairs with other women when they have money, but Boss Yang is different. He has always kept himself clean. As a man, I admire him very much." Huang Qiang said, giving a thumbs up. He loves his wife, so he also likes men who treat their wives well.
The two reporters, like the prison guards and Hang Jiabai, all had positive and encouraging comments about Yang Haoan, which makes people very curious: are there really such good men in this world?
Li Mingfang came over and put the novel she was reading recently in front of Lin Shuyue: "Help me hold this first, I'm going to get my salary. Ah Qi also wants to read this book. If I don't bring it over, she will grab it and I won't be able to get it! Help me for a while, I'll be back soon."
Lin Shuyue looked down at the palm-sized book. She could tell at first glance that it was an ancient Chinese novel with color . When Lin Shuyue was old enough to read novels in her previous life, this kind of pocket book was no longer available. She marked the pages that Li Mingfang had read and started again from the beginning.
The novel was not long, and Lin Shuyue had already read half of it when Li Mingfang came back. She took back what she had just said. There were indeed good men in this world, and they existed only in novels.
Li Mingfang came back and saw Lin Shuyue was also reading. She immediately smiled and said, "I have a lot of comic books. I'll bring some to you later. Ah Yue, let me tell you, the comic books I bought this time are really good!"
"Then I'll take a good look. Thank you, Fang~~"
The finance department called the news department to collect their salaries, Li Mingfang also returned to her workstation, and Lin Shuyue and Huang Qiang walked towards the finance office together.
Huang Qiang was obviously very concerned about Lin Shuyue: "Ah Yue, did you go to see Zheng Zhongfu?"
"I did." Lin Shuyue wanted to talk to Huang Qiang about this matter. "Master, when you went to see Zheng Zhongfu, did you go to his house? Have you read their petition for wrongful conviction?"
"I've read it. Look at Zheng Zhongfu's appeal. Do you think that with these two pieces of evidence, Zheng Zhongfu's case is actually very clear?" Huang Qiang slowed down his pace.
Lin Shuyue nodded: "Yes, I plan to go to the owner of the canteen tomorrow to find out more about the situation, and then go to the hospital to check the files from that year."
Huang Qiang said: "No need to go and see, Ah Yue."
"If this incident was that simple, you wouldn't be the one investigating now. We went to ask him, but the owner of the canteen had already changed his testimony.
"He said that he did see Zheng Zhongfu coming out of his house that day, and the time did not change, but he denied seeing Liang Haihui coming out to close the door. Later he returned to his hometown, and now you can't find him if you want to."
"Taijiang Hospital does have Zheng Zhongfu's medical records, but apart from proving that he had a bad stomach, it doesn't prove that his wife quarreled with him because of this. The witness who saw them quarreling that year has long since resigned and no longer works at Limin Real Estate."
"Ah Yue, ten years have passed. If you want to overturn his conviction, you have to go to the police and ask them to provide you with the files from that year. Then go to the court and the procuratorate and ask them to review the case. Otherwise, it will be useless if we rely on ourselves."
The finance department called their names. The two ended the conversation and came out after receiving their salaries. Huang Qiang had already left with his bag. When Lin Shuyue was chatting with others just now, she heard him say that he would treat his wife and children to a Western meal today after receiving their salaries. The family had been looking forward to it for a month.
Lin Shuyue waited for Li Mingfang after they get their wages, and then they went home together.
When entering the stairs, Lin Shuyue saw the beautiful lady from the company next door again. She also saw Lin Shuyue and the other girl rolled her eyes at them again.
Lin Shuyue was puzzled, and when the beautiful woman looked at her again, she rolled her eyes in return.
As soon as the elevator stopped on the first floor, the beauty walked out twisting her waist, as if Lin Shuyue and Li Mingfang were carrying the virus.
As soon as she walked away, Li Mingfang couldn't help but say, "Did you see that? This is the boss of Shengda Trading's younger sister, her name is Zhong Jiali. She is said to be a top student who studied in France. She is very arrogant and has different attitudes towards men and women. She looks at women as if they were enemies, but she treats men differently as soon as she sees them."
Even though Li Mingfang didn't say anything, Lin Shuyue could see that this beauty was indeed unfriendly to women. Just like now, she walked past the cleaning lady with disgust on her face, but when she saw the security guard at the gate , her attitude immediately changed.
The three words "Bái Piáo Yán" popped into Lin Shuyue's mind. As a normal person, she could never understand why there were so many weird things in the world. (TL's Note: 'Bái Piáo Yán' is an internet slang in Chinese, which roughly translates to "freeloader cancer" or "entitlement syndrome," but in this passage, it likely refers to a type of toxic behavior—especially women who act friendly and charming to men for attention or benefit while treating other women poorly.)
"Let's go, let's not talk about her. I rented a car today and will take you home later."
"Okay, okay, it saves me from taking the bus. The bus drivers at this time these days seem to be sick, driving more and more shaky every day. Every time I get home, the shaky driving makes me want to vomit."
After sending Li Mingfang home, Lin Shuyue also went back.
Lin Shuxing and Luo Zhengjun have gone out to do business. Lou Fengqin has been busy these two days and has not returned yet.
Lin Shuyue walked into the room first, and Lou Fengqin followed shortly after.
Behind her was a man in a shirt and trousers.
The man was holding a bag in his hand. When he saw Lin Shuyue, he smiled and said, "Ah Yue, I heard that you have been doing very well at work recently. It just so happens that a friend of mine went to Hong Kong, and I asked him to bring me the latest camera from Hong Kong. Now I want to give it to you, and I hope it will be helpful to your future work and life."
What Lin Shuyue hated most in her life was scumbag men, and Lin Jianxin was the worst of them. Her smiling expression suddenly fell: "I dare not take what you give me. If your wife comes to my house, I will be scolded to death."
This incident really happened in the original owner's memory. At that time, the original owner had just entered the first grade of junior high school. One day, Lin Jianxin suddenly came to her and gave her a few hundred yuan. Because the original owner had to go to class, she did not have time to argue with him. She was planning to wait until she got home from school to ask Lou Fengqin to return the money, when Lin Jianxin's second wife Zhang Mei came.
Without saying a word, she snatched the money and verbally insulted the original owner. From then on, the Lin sisters never asked Lin Jianxin for a penny.
Lou Fengqin was also full of impatience: "Okay, stop talking nonsense to me, tell me what clues you have about Ah Yang, and get out of here."
Lou Fengqin has always been a person who dares to love and hate. Lin Jianxin has always looked like a pretty boy, unable to lift anything. From the day she married Lin Jianxin, she took on the burden of the family.
Later, when Lin Jianxin came back from a trip outside, he started to quarrel and demanded a divorce. Lou Fengqin first went to the city to find out what had happened to him when he went out to work. When she found out that Lin Jianxin had found a rich woman outside, she went back and made a big fuss.
Even though his new lover was already pregnant, Lou Fengqin made a fuss and in the end not only got the land that Lin Jianxin was allocated but also the family house.
This is obviously an incredible thing in Guangdong Province, where male offspring are valued.
If Lin Shuyang had not been kidnapped, Lou Fengqin might have lived with her daughters and son in her hometown for the rest of her life, and she would most likely have no contact with Lin Jianxin anymore.
But the child was lost, and it was in Lin Jianxin's hands. When the child was lost, Lou Fengqin even slashed Lin Jianxin with a knife.
Lin Jianxin looked at his second daughter who was not close to him at all, and his ex-wife who was still beautiful even though she was dressed in rags and covered in mud, and thought of Zhang Mei, whose figure had been getting bigger and bigger every day like a blown-up ball since she gave birth, and his daughter at home who looked and had a figure exactly like her mother, and he felt uncomfortable all over.
"Ah Qin, won't you let me come in and sit down?"
Lou Fengqin was very familiar with Lin Jianxin. Just by looking at the pig-like expression on Lin Jianxin's face, she knew what he was thinking.
When this man was with her, he disliked her for being rude, having no fun, not relying on him, working all day, and talking about what to eat today and which fields were short of water. He got involved with Zhang Mei.
Now Zhang Mei has gained weight, and her appearance is not much different from when she was young, and she has not remarried for many years, so he feels that she is waiting for him and wants to renew their relationship as soon as there is a chance. Lou Fengqin wants to vomit when she sees him. If he hadn't said that he remembered the clues before Ah Yang was abducted, Lou Fengqin would not want to pay attention to him.
But seeing his pig-like appearance, Lou Fengqin knew that this idiot had ulterior motives for coming here today. Thinking of his words about buying something for Lin Shuyue, she narrowed her eyes and kicked him. Lin Jianxin dodged outside the door, and Lou Fengqin saw the opportunity and slammed the door shut.
"Let's go eat. Your brother Zhengjun said he would make some stir-fried pork tonight. I've been craving it all afternoon."
"Stir-fried pork!" Lin Shuyue's eyes lit up when she thought of the fatty and lean stir-fried pork: "Come on, let's go eat together."
The mother and daughter ignored the knocks on the door and walked towards the dining table under the grape tree. Zeng Xiaoyi had already laid out the food that Lin Shuxing had left for them when they entered the house.
These meals are all kept warm in a pot of warm water, and they are still warm and just right for eating.
At the dinner table, Lou Fengqin first talked about her work at the construction site, and then asked about Lin Shuyue's work as usual. Lin Shuyue had nothing to hide from her, so she told her about Zheng Zhongfu and mentioned that the boss of Limin Real Estate still went to see Zheng Zhongfu.
Lou Fengqin didn't say anything after hearing this, she just told Lin Shuyue to be careful. Lou Fengqin already knew about Lin Shuyue's secret visit to the Internet addiction school, and she and Lin Shuxing had been talking to Lin Shuyue for a long time a few days ago.
Later, Lou Fengqin told Lin Shuyue that she had only one request for her, which was that she be safe and sound.
Lin Shuyue assured her again and again, but Lou Fengqin was still not reassured and finally could only sigh.
Lin Shuyue finally escaped from Lou Fengqin's clutches. After washing up, she chatted with Zeng Xiaoyi for a while. Before going to bed, Lin Shuyue thought about it and sent a message to Huang Qiang.
Huang Qiang, who had just had a romantic time with his wife, received a text message from Lin Shuyue. After sitting on the sofa and smoking a cigarette, he replied to her and then started calling people he knew.
His wife poured him a glass of water and said, "Isn't your apprentice going to be promoted to a regular employee? You won't get any share from her, so why are you helping her so much?"
Huang Qiang hung up the phone, smiled at his wife, and said to her: "Ah Li, I no longer have the original intention when I entered the industry, but others do, so I have to help them."
His wife did not say anything, but just said to him: "You have been wearing glasses for a whole day, don't you feel uncomfortable? Take them off and wash them. Your temper has not changed after so many years, back then..."
"Ah Li, let's not talk about the past." Huang Qiang's phone rang, he picked it up and forwarded the message to Lin Shuyue: "It's good to be an entertainment reporter now, the money comes much faster."
Huang Qiang just looked up at the neon lights outside. He felt that there was nothing wrong with his current life. It was just that sometimes in his dreams at midnight, he would always go back to fifteen years ago. He was just one step away from success!