Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

The night in the southern part of the city is like a piece of cloth soaked in ink, pressing heavily on the sky.

The police station lights were still on. Cang Lifeng sat on a bench in the corridor, waiting for an hour before the police officer finally came out. The officer, surnamed Fang, was in his early thirties and looked somewhat tired. He sat down opposite Cang Lifeng, opened his notebook, and said apologetically, "Comrade Cang Lifeng, we've investigated the case you reported. When we went to retrieve the surveillance footage from the teahouse that day, the owner said the machine was broken and the footage from those days wasn't saved. We also checked the place where Li Xiaojun was detained, but no one was there anymore. As for Song Jiawen, we summoned him, but he hired a lawyer and denied everything. He said..."

Officer Fang glanced at Cang Lifeng but didn't continue.

"What did he say?" Cang Lifeng asked.

"He said that Li Dehou owed him money and made up these stories to avoid paying it back. He also said that you... made Li Dehou say these things to shirk responsibility for the construction site accident."

Cang Lifeng remained silent for a long time. He recalled Old Li kneeling on the ground, kowtowing, and Old Li saying, "They held a knife to his neck and took pictures to show me." He hadn't seen those scenes, but the fear in Old Li's voice when he described them was real. Now, nothing was left. The surveillance cameras were broken, the people had run away, and even that bag of powdered sugar—Old Li had long since used it all.

"Old Li... what will happen to Li Dehou?" he asked.

Police officer Fang closed the record book: "He admitted to tampering with the concrete, and that fact is undeniable. Although he came to report the case voluntarily, if no evidence of coercion can be found... the specific judgment will depend on the court."

Cang Lifeng nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

After leaving the police station, Cang Lifeng stood by the roadside for a while, lighting a cigarette. The night wind was cool, causing the cigarette butt to glow flicker. He thought of Old Li's wife dying young, leaving him to raise two children alone; he thought of his daughter, still in her final year of high school; he thought of Xiao Jun, imprisoned and tortured. Old Li was in jail; this family was ruined. He couldn't just stand by and watch it happen.

But Tianci is still in the ICU. If the construction site is tainted with a record of mismanagement, how will they get future jobs? How will they explain it to their parents?

He hesitated, weighed his options, and finally, he stubbed out his cigarette and threw it in the trash can. Then he started walking towards the construction site.

The construction site lights had long been off, with only the light from the distant streetlights filtering in. Old Li, sitting in the empty shed, heard the door open and jumped up.

"Boss..."

"Uncle Li." Cang Lifeng sat down on the wooden bed, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and handed one to Old Li. Old Li's hands were shaking so badly that he had to try several times to light it.

"Uncle Li, I've dragged you into this. They're targeting me, not you, and not Xiaojun."

Old Li shook his head: "Boss, don't say that..."

"Uncle Li, let me finish." Cang Lifeng stubbed out his cigarette. "I'll go to the police station tomorrow to close the case. I'll tell them it was my fault for not managing things properly and not checking the materials carefully. You didn't know there was a problem with that batch of materials; it was my fault for not checking it."

Old Li froze, dropping his cigarette. "Boss, you...you're going to take the blame for me? No way, absolutely not! I did it, I'll take the blame myself!"

"You can't handle this. If you do, you'll go to jail. You still have Xiaojun and your daughter. What will happen to them if you go to jail?"

"But boss, you..." Old Li's lips trembled, and tears welled up again.

"I'm fine. I figure at most I'll be charged with negligence and have to pay compensation. Things that can be solved with money aren't really problems." Cang Lifeng stood up, patted his shoulder, and said decisively, "Uncle Li, it's settled then. Go back to the construction site and tell the brothers that our construction team is disbanding! I, Cang Lifeng, am sorry to everyone!"

"No, boss, we'd follow you even if we didn't want money!" Old Li said impulsively.

Cang Lifeng was silent for a while, then sighed and said, "Don't talk nonsense. We all have families to support. Besides, given the current situation, how can I get any projects with you guys in the future? Go tell the brothers that I'm not going back to see them, so as not to make them sad."

Old Li opened his mouth as if to say something, but Cang Lifeng pressed down on his shoulder.

"Stop talking. Let's do it this way."

He turned and walked away. Behind him came Old Li's suppressed sobs, but he didn't turn back.

The next day, Cang Lifeng went to the police station. He changed his story, taking responsibility himself. Officer Fang observed him for a long time before finally writing something new in the statement. From then on, Cang Lifeng's name appeared in the "responsible person" column of the accident report.

When the news got out, public opinion went even crazier than before.

"Cang Lifeng Withdraws Police Report, Admits Mismanagement"—the headlines in the newspapers were increasingly jarring. The front page of the *Nancheng Daily* boldly proclaimed: "The Fall of a Hero: From Acts of Bravery to Shifting Responsibility." The article stated that Cang Lifeng initially framed others, but when he realized he couldn't cover it up any longer, he changed his story and admitted to mismanagement, displaying "fickleness and a complete lack of responsibility."

The gossip on the streets was even more unbearable. Cang Lifeng didn't read the newspapers; he stuffed them into a drawer and locked it. He couldn't care less about those things right now. Xiao Zhang's medical bills were still owed, Tianci's ICU fees were another huge sum, there were fines and compensations from the construction site, and the client's demand for breach of contract penalties... All these things piled up like a mountain, making it hard for him to breathe.

He withdrew all the prize money he'd saved for starting his business, used it to pay for Xiao Zhang's medical expenses, fines at the construction site, and breach of contract penalties from the client. In the end, only three thousand yuan was left in the account. Three thousand yuan wasn't even enough for one day of Tianci's ICU treatment.

That morning, Old Li brought his son, Xiao Jun, to the hospital. The father and son first knelt before Xiao Zhang's hospital bed and kowtowed three times. Xiao Zhang lay there, his leg still in a sling, unable to speak, only tears streaming down his face. Old Li then led his son to Cang Zhenye and Su Yumei, and knelt down with a thud. Su Yumei tried to help him up, but he wouldn't get up. He kowtowed three times to Tianci, his forehead hitting the ground with a thud. "Master Cang, Sister Su, it's my fault that I harmed Tianci, harmed Xiao Zhang, harmed Boss... I'm not human..." He couldn't finish his sentence. Xiao Jun stood beside him, head bowed, silent, his eyes red and swollen, his face still bearing bruises.

After leaving the hospital, Lao Li took Xiao Jun to the construction site. The workers who were still finishing up at the site gathered around, and Lao Li told them the whole truth—Xiao Jun had been lured into gambling, imprisoned, and threatened to adulterate the concrete. Cang Lifeng, to prevent Xiao Jun from going to jail, took the blame himself. Finally, he relayed the message Cang Lifeng had asked him to convey.

After he finished speaking, the construction site remained silent for a long time. Old Zhang squatted on the ground, smoking one cigarette after another. Da Zhou lowered his head, his fists clenched tightly. No one spoke. They all knew in their hearts that they would probably never meet a contractor like Cang Lifeng, who was so devoted to his brothers, again in their lives. They swore in their hearts: if their boss needed them, they would drop everything and come over at a moment's notice.

That evening, Old Li went to the hospital to find Cang Lifeng again, took out a wad of money from his bag and stuffed it into his hand: "Boss, this is some of my savings over the years. I just withdrew it from the bank. Please take it."

Cang Lifeng glanced at the money and estimated it to be around ten or twenty thousand yuan. He knew this was Old Li's hard-earned money saved for his daughter's future university education. His daughter was a senior in high school, about to take the college entrance exam. He'd heard her grades were pretty good. How could he accept this money?

He stuffed the money back into his hand and said, "Uncle Li, keep this money. Xiaoling (Old Li's daughter) still needs to go to university."

Old Li pressed his hand on the bag, preventing him from pushing it back: "Boss, I kept these for my daughter. If you don't accept them, I'll kneel here and not get up."

After saying that, Old Li's knees had already bent.

"Okay, I'll borrow some from you." Cang Lifeng immediately helped Old Li up. Then he took out five thousand yuan from the bag.

Old Li wanted to persist, but Cang Lifeng insisted on not accepting the money. Old Li had no choice but to give up.

Before leaving, he handed Cang Lifeng a contact book, saying, "Boss, this book contains detailed contact addresses and numbers for me and the brothers. We've discussed it, and we'll definitely come to your side as soon as you need us. Everyone says that we only feel secure working for you."

Cang Lifeng held Lao Li's hand tightly, too moved to speak.