I bought a prison in the United States.

"Who wrote this note?" Lin Ge asked.

"Crawford's secretary."

Parker's lips curled up slightly:

"Her name was Dorothy. She worked in McLean County for fifteen years. After Crawford resigned, she was also laid off."

"She now lives in a prefabricated house in the suburbs of Tulsa and is on unemployment benefits."

Lin Ge pressed on, asking:

"You've been in contact with her; is she willing to testify?"

Pike said:

"She's willing, but her asking price isn't low."

"She said she knew about every deal between Crawford and Bayless, including that fabric deal, and some other more serious things."

"More serious?"

Parker pulled a piece of paper from the bottom of the folder; it only had a few lines of text on it:

"Bayless Building Materials has signed a contract with McLean County to supply building materials for several public buildings in the county, totaling $1.2 million."

"But some of the materials provided by Bayless were substandard."

"The asphalt shingles on the roof of the county courthouse should have a lifespan of thirty years, but the shingles supplied by Bayless will crack in at most ten years."

"The county finance bureau's floor tiles were contracted to be imported Italian ceramic tiles, but the actual tiles delivered were imitations made in Mexico."

Lin Ge felt a chill rise from the base of his spine:

"The county government doesn't know about these things?"

Parker lit a cigarette:

"Some people know, but they won't say it."

"The chairman of the county purchasing committee is Leonard Hart, and he and Bayless are golf buddies."

"No one dares to question a contract approved by this person."

Lin Ge asked:

"So what about Judge Hammond? What's his connection to all this?"

Parker exhaled a puff of smoke:

"You'll come into contact with him sooner or later. Hammond is smarter; he won't be directly involved in purchasing, but he's handled a few disputes for Bayless."

"A few years ago, a Tulsa construction company was found in breach of contract by Hammond for complaining about the quality of materials used by Bayless, and had to pay Bayless a large sum of money."

Lin Ge remained silent for a long time. The relationship diagram in front of him was more complex than he had imagined, almost flawless, and extremely difficult to pierce through.

"I need Dorothy's testimony," Ringo said, looking up.

"I can help you contact her, but you'll have to talk to her yourself."

Parker wrote an address on a piece of paper and pushed it over:

"She lives here and will be home tomorrow afternoon, but you'd better bring some sincerity with you; she's really short of money right now."

How much do you want?

"She said she needed five thousand dollars for moving and living expenses," Parker replied.

Ringo frowned; he couldn't even come up with five hundred dollars right now.

The Danforth order was just secured, and we won't receive the first tranche of working capital until at least next week.

"Um... can I pay you back now?"

Lin Ge asked cautiously.

Parker glanced at him, his gaze clearly saying, "Are you serious?"

He sighed, and then said:

"I can ask around for you, but Mr. Chen, you need to think this through. What you're dealing with isn't just one person, it's a system."

Even if you get the evidence, what are you going to do then?

"I have my own plans," Ringo said.

"Hopefully your plan includes a lawyer, a bodyguard, and an escape plan."

Parker stubbed out his cigarette.

"Some people think they can bring down a system, but in the end they either disappear or become part of the system."

Lin Ge stood up and picked up the relationship diagram and address:

"Thank you, Mr. Parker. I will settle the bill with Ray."

Parker didn't stand up; he simply leaned back in his chair, looking at him with his sharp eyes.

"Mr. Chen, there's something else I'd like to know."

"What?"

The detective's face showed a curious expression:

"Why did you do this? You bought a prison, not because you like challenges, right?"

Lingo gave a meaningful smile:

"Mr. Parker, you're a native-born American, so you should know better than me that in this country, if you don't climb up, you'll be trampled down."

Parker stared at him, as if confirming the Asian man's resolve, then nodded.

"Then I wish you good luck."

……

When Lingo returned to the prison, it was already six o'clock in the afternoon.

As soon as he entered the office, he found a note on his desk:

The stamping machine is repaired.

Just as Lin Ge was still considering whether to have lunch first or go check on the stamping machine, the office landline suddenly rang.

"You've already been to Parker's?"

Lei's voice carried a languid air of "I already know the answer."

"I went there and got the items," Lin Ge replied.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"I'm short of money. Dorothy needs five thousand dollars, and I don't have that right now."

Lin Ge said honestly.

A low chuckle came from the other end of the phone.

Ray was probably smoking, because Ringo could hear the faint sound of the cigarette burning as he inhaled.

"Do you know what I admire most about you, Chen?"

Lei's voice came through the receiver, carrying a calculating quality typical of a businessman:

"You're not greedy. You know what you can't reach right now, so you won't let yourself get hung up on one thing."

"Many people go bankrupt not because they don't know how to make money, but because they feel they haven't earned the money they should have."

"So can you lend me five thousand?"

Lin Ge asked abruptly.

"cannot!"

Lei spoke succinctly and concisely:

"You already owe me 54,000, with an annual interest rate of 25%."

"Add another five thousand, and your interest will soon reach fifteen thousand."

"Don't you know whether your prison can earn 15,000 a year?"

Ray continued:

"But you can make Dorothy wait. She's waited months, she won't mind waiting a few more weeks."

"Play your cards well first, don't rush to play the King."

"Make those stamped parts for Danforth's order, get paid, and then go find Dorothy."

"When you have cash, orders, and prison operating records, you can go to the bank to negotiate a legitimate loan."

"After I pay off my high-interest loans, I'll use the bank's money to do other things."

Lin Ge leaned back in his chair, staring at the fluorescent light on the ceiling.

One end of the light bulb is turning slightly black, which means it's about to break.

"Lei, you're actually thinking of me like this? What are you after?"

Lin Ge asked, seemingly puzzled.

"Thinking of you my ass! I'm doing this for myself. If you can't pay me back, I'll put you in jail."

"But I can't run a prison; I can only sell it again."

The price I get for selling it might not even cover the money you owe me.

Lei's tone was as flat as if he were reading a financial statement:

"So you'd better succeed and let me see what your blueprint actually looks like, because I don't like losing money."