Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 193 Rumors
Don't be fooled by the polite demeanor of these two police officers now; if we keep them waiting, who knows what might happen.

After all, they also had to prevent Wang Chengpeng from escaping. It was not uncommon for criminal suspects to jump off buildings and run away when the police arrived at their door.

As expected, the two policemen's serious expressions relaxed somewhat after seeing Wang Chengpeng.

"Stride forward," Mao Weimin said in a formulaic way.
"Comrade Wang Chengpeng, someone has reported you for extortion. Please come with us."

Although he already knew this was the case, Wang Chengpeng still looked puzzled and said with an innocent expression:
"Extortion? Officers, are you mistaken? How could I possibly do such a thing?"

Mao Weimin has seen countless people who vehemently deny their crimes.

Mao Weimin did not deny Wang Chengpeng's statement, saying in a businesslike manner:
"Since we have been able to get here, we must have already obtained some relevant evidence."

"You may keep your opinion, but we will make the fairest and most impartial judgment based on facts and evidence."

"Don't worry, as a police officer, I would never wrong any innocent person."

Combined with the righteous air on Mao Weimin's face, his words did seem quite convincing.

Nodding slightly, Wang Chengpeng smiled and said, "I believe in you two police officers. You will definitely uphold justice for the people and will not wrong any good person, nor will you let any bad person go unpunished."

"I am willing to cooperate with your work and go with you."

Seeing Wang Chengpeng's cooperation, Mao Weiming showed no joy whatsoever.

Such a person is either extremely easy to deal with or a huge problem; he only hoped that Wang Chengpeng was the former.

With that in mind, the two of them drove their motorcycle directly back to the police station with Wang Chengpeng on board.

Given Wang Chengpeng's cooperation, they did not immediately handcuff him.

The roar of the motorcycles was undoubtedly very noticeable in the quiet countryside, especially since it was already known that the police had entered the village, making it even more conspicuous.

With Liu Yanran fanning the flames, Wang Chengpeng was taken away by the police almost in front of everyone.

Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast; for a time, everyone was talking about it.

Especially the village intelligence team, who had already obtained inside information, began to explain the intelligence they had gathered, saying:
"Don't be fooled by Wang Chengpeng's seemingly respectable appearance; he's actually full of wicked schemes."

"See those big items in their house? See their new house? Those are all illegal gains, and they will be confiscated by the police officers soon."

"How could Wang Tieshan and Liu Chunhua, who seem so honest and simple, have given birth to such a wicked son?"

"No wonder he never comes to work in the fields; it turns out he spends all his time on illegal activities."

"Extortion is a serious crime; you'll definitely be out in several years."

The person who could so relentlessly slander Wang Chengpeng must have a grudge against him. Upon closer inspection, the speaker was none other than Kong Xiu.
She was already somewhat dissatisfied that Wang Chengpeng was able to be received by the Wang family, while she herself was not.

Now that they've found a good opportunity for revenge, how could they possibly let Wang Chengpeng off the hook?
Faced with Kong Xiu's slander, Wang Zidong could no longer hold back and began to hurl insults:
"What, did you see my brother Peng doing something bad with your own eyes?"

“Brother Peng did not go to work in the fields, but he was not doing anything illegal either.”

"He's just reading and studying. Stop spreading rumors."

Faced with Wang Zidong's defense, Kong Xiu was extremely disdainful, saying:

"No one who can be taken away by the police in such a high-profile manner is innocent."

"I do remember that you were usually very close to Wang Chengpeng. So why were you so eager to jump out and defend him? It turns out you were also doing illegal things with him."

"It's Wang Chengpeng now, but you'll be the one arrested soon."

Kong Xiu was not afraid at all, and even started cursing at Wang Zidong, showing extreme ferocity.

On the other side, Wang Zidong was clearly lacking in fighting ability. He was so angry that his face turned red, but he couldn't say a word in rebuttal.

After all, Kong Xiu could shamelessly spread rumors about them, but he couldn't do the same kind of gossip.

In the end, Wang Zidong came up with a solution and shouted to everyone:
"Everyone, listen to what Kong Xiu is saying. He speaks so confidently, isn't he afraid of biting his tongue in the wind?"

"Fine, I'll put my words here today."

“If my brother Peng really did something wrong and has to go to jail, I’ll accept it and go with him.”

“But if my brother Peng didn’t do anything wrong, and all of this is a misunderstanding, I will definitely sue Kong Xiu for spreading rumors.”

"Everyone present is a witness, please be a witness for me."

Wang Zidong's words immediately silenced those who were also about to gossip.

They just wanted to kill time and have some fun, and didn't want to risk being sued.

Even if they were to discuss or criticize, they would definitely do so behind Wang Zidong's back, in private.

However, just because others are afraid does not mean that Kong Xiu will be afraid.

She put her hands on her hips and shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Oh, there are people who are eager to go to jail. It's not that they're brave, but that they already know they can't escape."

"Sue me? Do you think I, Kong Xiu, am easily intimidated?"

"If Wang Chengpeng was taken away by the police, it must be because he committed a crime of extortion. He absolutely cannot escape punishment."

"I will not only say it, but I will also say it loudly and widely, spreading your glorious deeds to other villages."

"Sue me? I'm waiting for you to sue me."

For a time, Wangjia Village was thrown into chaos because of Wang Chengpeng being taken away by the police.

However, Kong Xiu did do something indirectly; because of his outburst, the matter spread even faster than expected.

Recalling what he had just heard, Wang Fucheng looked somewhat shocked and murmured:

"Why was this nephew invited back in so soon after he just came out?"

"I heard that the person who invited him was a policeman from the Shanghe City Public Security Bureau, but I don't have any connections with him."

While Wang Fucheng might have some connections in Hetian Town, he was completely powerless in Shanghe City.

Thinking this, he subconsciously looked at Wang Zhong and asked, "Son, how is your recovery going?"

"If there are no problems, go and talk to Comrade Fan about this matter as soon as possible."

"Since he's also a police officer, if he's willing to step in, he should be able to help a lot."

Looking at Wang Fucheng's worried face, Wang Zhong smiled and said:
“Dad, I think you’re worrying too much. My cousin won’t get into any trouble.” “He’s an upright person and would never do anything wrong. I think there must be some misunderstanding.”

"Take the last incident for example. We rushed over in a flurry, but we didn't help at all. In the end, it was just a false alarm."

Wang Fucheng glared at Wang Zhong with disappointment and then angrily cursed:
“In some ways, you’re even worse than your brother.”

"Whether I can help is one thing, but whether I help at all is another."

"And do you really think our intervention last time didn't work?"

"The reason why the last matter was resolved so quickly and easily was because of our relationship."

Even if we do nothing and just show our support, we can still make a point of being there.

"But as long as the other party knows that we have people here, and that we are not easy to deal with, they will not be able to do anything out of line to Cheng Peng."

"Besides, you benefited so much last time, so you can't not help this time out of both courtesy and reason."

At this point, Wang Fucheng sighed again and said:
"It would be best if we could handle this kind of thing ourselves, as it would also repay the favor we did for you before."

"Unfortunately, we simply don't have the strength, so we can only resort to a tactical maneuver."

Lowering his head, Wang Zhong realized his mistake and said, "Father, you are right to reprimand me. I did not think things through in this matter."

“Wang Chengpeng is my cousin, he’s family. I can’t let him be bullied by others.”

“I’m all better now. If my mother hadn’t always forbade me from going out, I wouldn’t need to stay at home every day.”

"Don't worry, I'll go to town right away and ask Comrade Fan if he can help."

Almost immediately after Wang Zhong left, Wang Fucheng saw Wang Tieshan and Liu Chunhua rushing over in a hurry.

After another round of reassurance, explaining that Wang Zhong had already gone to find someone to help, they finally managed to persuade the two to go back.

It was the photocopy left by Wang Chengpeng that put their minds at ease.

In their understanding, as long as their son hadn't really committed a crime, he would definitely come back safely.

Now that Wang Zhong is helping them, they feel a little more at ease.

……

Just as Wang Zhong was rushing to get reinforcements, Mao Weiming's motorcycle also carried Wang Chengpeng to the Public Security Bureau.

It has to be said that motorcycles are much more powerful than bicycles, and they are also much faster, which makes Wang Chengpeng extremely envious. He secretly thinks that he might as well get a motorcycle if he has the chance.

As soon as he got off the bus, Wang Chengpeng saw a familiar figure at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau. Who else could it be but Zhou Xia?

Thinking about the more than 1,000 yuan that Wang Chengpeng had extorted from him, Zhou Xia didn't dare to stop for a moment and has been guarding the place ever since.

The moment Zhou Xia saw Mao Weiming and Wang Chengpeng, she began to cry loudly:

"You are a truly upright and just official, Comrade Mao is a truly upright and just official, he has brought the prisoner back for me right now."

"This matter is very clear now. I urge Comrade Mao to quickly get back the money that belongs to me."

It must be said that Zhou Xia's acting skills are really good, and he portrayed the appearance of a victim to the fullest extent.

Only Wang Chengpeng found it extremely funny and questioned:
"Comrade Zhou Xia, you can't just eat whatever you want, and you certainly can't just say whatever you want."

"We've only met a few times. I don't remember ever extorting you. Please don't make things up."

“If you don’t change your story, with so many police officers watching, I’m going to sue you for defamation and slander.”

At this point, Wang Chengpeng said, "Zhou Xia, I didn't really want to say anything more about the shady things you've done."

"But if you continue to make trouble, I don't mind explaining things clearly."

Faced with Wang Chengpeng's ultimatum-like words, Zhou Xia was extremely disdainful, saying:

"What kind of mess did I make up? It seems you're planning to fabricate stories and spread rumors about me."

“I’m warning you, extortion is already a minor offense. If you were to be charged with defamation and slander, you might not be able to get out anytime soon.”

Shamelessness knows no bounds!

Wang Chengpeng finally grasped the true meaning of those words and decided to ignore Zhou Xia. He then turned to Mao Weiming standing beside him and said:

"Comrade Mao, is the procedure of your Shanghe City Public Security Bureau to make judgments without any reason or evidence, and to draw conclusions without any evidence?"

"I haven't gone through any procedures or even been questioned, yet I've been charged with extortion for no reason."

"If this is how your Public Security Bureau does things, then I have no choice but to seek help from higher authorities."

Mao Weiming couldn't accept the high praise Wang Chengpeng had given him, so he could only glare at Zhou Xia and belatedly offer his advice:

"Comrade Zhou, I understand how you feel about being extorted for a large sum of money, but this matter is still unresolved, so it's best not to speak recklessly for now."

“Since the parties involved are all here, let’s go straight to the interrogation room. It’s such a simple matter, I think we should be able to figure it out in no time.”

However, Mao Weiming's behavior made Wang Chengpeng frown. The police officer's words seemed a bit too biased.

At first, he thought the other party seemed decent and wouldn't cause any trouble, but he didn't expect that he would be just like Zhou Xia, constantly accusing others of extortion.

Upon seeing this, Wang Chengpeng couldn't help but frown.

Mao Weimin either received a bribe from Zhou Xia, or he thought he was just an easy target because he was a country bumpkin, and he planned to resolve the matter quickly.

From any perspective, the situation is somewhat unfavorable to us.

Fortunately, I have decisive evidence in my hands. No matter how capable these people are, they can't turn white into black when they have evidence.

Considering that bicycles are much slower than motorcycles, Wang Chengpeng decided to delay the process a little.

If Song Wenxin doesn't cherish the time she helped her gain, this matter will only become public knowledge and cause her to lose face.

Just as Wang Chengpeng was thinking about how to stall for time, the four men had already arrived at the interrogation room.

Wang Chengpeng had just sat down, seemingly not wanting to waste time, when Mao Weiming slammed a receipt onto the interrogation table.

With just a quick glance, Wang Chengpeng recognized the receipt as the one he had personally written back then.

Seeing that Wang Chengpeng had also looked through the receipt, Mao Weiming preemptively shouted at Wang Chengpeng:
"Comrade Wang, do you have any objections to the authenticity of this receipt?"

(End of this chapter)