Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

"Captain Liao, judging from the packaging, these liquors should be from the same batch as those at the crime scene. We'll have to go back and do a comparison to see for sure. What do you think..." Officer Guo was a senior technician at the Market Supervision Bureau. He could tell at a glance that they were counterfeit liquor, but he didn't say anything definitively, leaving the decision to Captain Liao.

Captain Liao nodded, then turned to his men and ordered, "Take these two back to the station to give statements. Seal off the warehouse and storefront!"

Cheng Dong's face turned green, but he tried to remain calm and discussed with Captain Liao: "Captain Liao, I'll go back with you to investigate, but this matter really has nothing to do with the young girl, so how about..."

"Heh, you're trying to be a hero? Without her, can you explain things clearly on your own?" Captain Liao glanced at Cheng Dong and casually took off the handcuffs from his lower back.

"Captain Liao, please make an exception and let me at least send a message home..." Upon seeing the gleaming handcuffs, Cheng Dong broke out in a cold sweat. In this critical moment, his first thought was to contact his older brother.

"You just want to find your brother! Don't think that just because you're Lao Chengxi's brother, or even if you're the brother of a city official, I still have to act according to the law and regulations! This is a case supervised by the provincial department! Understand?"

Team Leader Liao showed Cheng Dong no mercy, waving his hand at his men and ordering, "Take him away!"

The moment the handcuffs were on his wrists, Cheng Dong felt a chill run down his spine. His past had been thoroughly investigated, and now he was in deep trouble.

To prevent collusion, Captain Liao kept Cheng Dong and Tingting separate from each other and took them back to the police station.

Now that things had come to this, Cheng Dong was "rightfully" a suspect in the poisoned liquor case, and news of the closure of Er Dong Wholesale Store spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the town in the blink of an eye. A large crowd of neighbors gathered at the store entrance, some craning their necks to watch the spectacle, others squatting on the curb gossiping, all talking at once.

At the police station, Cheng Dong was interrogated relentlessly by the special task force for three days and three nights. The way the veteran detectives questioned him terrified him, making him almost think he was about to go to jail.

Cheng Dong was indeed framed by Zhang Laifu. Although the poisoned liquor was stored in his warehouse, it wasn't him who received the goods, but rather the shop assistant Tingting. This raises the possibility that Zhang Laifu was behind it. Moreover, there were invoices and receipts for all his business dealings with Zhang Laifu. It turns out that apart from the fifty newly arrived cases of liquor, the rest were all beer transactions, which further clears Cheng Dong of suspicion.

Even so, Cheng Dong still couldn't prove his innocence. At that time, people didn't have a deep understanding of the legal principle of "presumption of innocence." Taking the poisoned wine case as an example, as long as Zhang was not arrested, Cheng Dong would most likely have to take the blame.

At the crucial moment of the trial and conviction, Tingting's testimony became paramount. This girl was very loyal, insisting that Zhang Laifu had framed her, and later even took all the blame upon herself: "Investigate me! Our boss had no idea there was anything wrong with the wine!"

The case grew larger and larger, with arrests coming one after another. Once all the threads of the poisoned liquor case were untangled, it became clear that the fifty cases in Cheng Dong's warehouse had absolutely no connection to the poisoned liquor circulating in the market. Even if they were to be prosecuted, it would at most be considered attempted counterfeiting, not enough to warrant jail time, since Cheng Dong hadn't even settled the payment with Zhang Laifu yet!

Cheng Dong and Tingting's testimonies were so seamless that even Liao, a professionally trained officer, was baffled. He knew best that there was no possibility of Cheng Dong and Tingting colluding. He even suspected that Tingting had been deceived by Cheng Dong and was willing to sacrifice herself to exonerate him. However, more and more evidence showed that Cheng Dong had nothing to do with the poisoned wine case.

After nearly half a month of waiting, Tingting was released first. The task force thoroughly searched the Er Dong Wholesale Department's ledgers, but instead of catching them selling counterfeit alcohol, they uncovered their tax evasion. In the end, Cheng Dong was fined by both the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the Tax Bureau, and he was only released after paying all the fines.

Clutching two exorbitant fines, Cheng Dong squatted on the curb, pulling out his hair. At this rate, not only would all his hard work over the past six months be for nothing, but he'd also be burdened with a mountain of debt. All that hard work and toil would be for nothing!

But what could Cheng Dong do? He didn't have the power to interpret the law; he was lucky to escape criminal charges this time. Look at those who were truly involved in the poisoned alcohol case—weren't they all bankrupted? Otherwise, where would the compensation money for the victims' families come from?

"Brother, I'm out." Cheng Dong found a newsstand and immediately called his brother to let him know he was safe.

"Go home and see your sister-in-law first. She's been worrying about you a lot these past few days," Lao Chengxi sighed on the other end of the phone.

"I won't go to your place, I'll go back to the shop first..."

Before Cheng Dong could finish speaking, Lao Chengxi interrupted him, "Why go back? Your shop has already been smashed to a pulp!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Dong's head buzzed.

It's over! It's all over now! The store has been raided, how can he possibly make a comeback? He should have realized this sooner. With police cars blaring in front of the store that day, and the neighbors pointing and whispering, Er Dong Wholesale Store had long become a target for the deceased's family.

"How much was the fine?" Lao Chengxi suddenly asked.

"Eighteen..."

"How many?"

Lao Chengxi's raspy voice boomed from the receiver. After confirming he hadn't misheard, even this rising business tycoon couldn't help but gasp. "Those bastards at the Industry and Commerce Bureau know how to pick and choose when they're going to rip me off! I even asked Director Wang to pass on a message, and it's all gone to waste?"

Lao Chengxi was cursing, while Cheng Dong was on the verge of tears. He could grit his teeth and accept the huge fine, but what could he do now that his reputation was ruined? From now on, even rats would have to avoid him at the city gate. How could he do business?

"Brother, lend me some money to plug this hole, I'll pay you back later..." Cheng Dong gritted his teeth and forced himself to say it.

"I'll figure out the money, but you have to promise me one thing: go back to work at the trading company right away!" Lao Chengxi seemed to have already prepared his words, and now that he had set the terms, he was just waiting for his brother's reply.

"Brother! I don't want to have anything to do with Zheng Zhongyi's gang, why do you keep forcing me?" Cheng Dong was a little out of control. He was like a firecracker, ready to explode at any moment.

"If I don't pressure you, will I let you keep messing around like this? Here's the deal: calculate how much you've earned in the last six months, and I'll pay you double your salary, okay?"

Lao Chengxi meant to comfort his younger brother, but Cheng Dong heard it as blatant mockery. Cheng Dong had sworn to start his own business, and now he was going back to working with Zheng the Butcher's gang? Just thinking about it was frustrating; it was tantamount to proving his own incompetence!

"I'm not asking you for anything anymore! From now on, you don't need to worry about my affairs!" After saying that, Cheng Dong threw the receiver away with a "thud," startling the old man selling newspapers so much that he almost called the police.

Upon hearing the busy signal, Lao Chengxi smashed the purple clay teapot to pieces and cursed at the air for a long time before stopping. In this world, apart from his mother and this stubborn younger brother, there was probably no one else who could make him lose his temper.