My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

Hearing this, Director Gu was seething with anger, his face as white as a sheet. He cursed inwardly, "That damned nephew of mine has ruined me! Not only did he make me lose my job, but he also exposed my shady dealings in public!" He quickly turned to Director Liang, his voice trembling with panic, and tried to explain, "Director Liang, this has nothing to do with me. My nephew called the villagers himself. He acted recklessly. I..."

Director Liang glanced at him and interrupted him coldly, "What a convenient excuse! 'It's none of your business.' As the head of the police station, after receiving a report, you didn't investigate or collect evidence, but immediately showed favoritism towards your relative, and arbitrarily handcuffed an innocent person in public. Is this how you enforce the law? I think you should resign as head. Before even understanding the whole story, you abused your power and bent the law for personal gain. Do you even deserve to wear this police uniform?"

Upon hearing this, Director Gu turned ashen-faced, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt down. He hurriedly pleaded with Director Liang, his voice already trembling with tears, his eyes reddening: "Director Liang, I was wrong, I'm sorry, I will change, please give me a chance. I've followed you for so many years, I've worked hard even if I haven't made any great contributions..."

Director Liang replied coldly, his tone leaving no room for negotiation: "Too late. Come on, come to the police station with me. From now on, you're suspended from your position as station chief. The organization will launch an investigation. From now on, cooperate fully with the investigation. I think your problems are very serious. Just the fact that you not only didn't stop your nephew from extorting money but also helped him is enough to get you in trouble. This matter won't end so easily."

After saying that, he turned around and walked towards Dr. Hou, ignoring Director Gu, who looked ashen-faced behind him.

Upon seeing this scene, the villagers began to discuss it, some clapping and cheering, some sighing, and some shaking their heads and lamenting.

Just then, a villager in his fifties suddenly stepped forward from the crowd. He was wearing a faded blue cloth shirt, and his face was etched with deep wrinkles. He shouted at Director Liang, his voice filled with suppressed excitement: "Director, I have a problem to report!"

Director Liang stopped, turned around, looked him over curiously, nodded, and said in a gentle but serious tone, "Go ahead. Whatever your question is, say it here today. I'm listening."

A villager in his fifties pointed at Director Gu, his fingers trembling, his voice filled with anger and grievance: "That bastard is inhuman! Years ago, his nephew stole our entire fishpond—hundreds of kilograms of fish disappeared overnight. We went to the police, but he forcibly suppressed the report. He said we had no evidence and accused us of false accusation, ultimately refusing to even file a case. Our whole family cried for three days and three nights; that fishpond was our entire year's income!"

Director Liang's face darkened, his brows furrowed, and his voice carried a hint of suppressed anger: "Such a thing exists?"

As they were talking, several other villagers also stood up and began to criticize one after another, their voices rising and falling like a volcano that had been suppressed for many years finally erupting.

"Chief, I also have a problem to report! Years ago, Director Gu's son harassed my wife, and I called the police. Not only did he not handle it, but he also threatened me, saying that if I caused any more trouble, he would arrest me!"

"I also have a problem to report! Director Gu encroached on a piece of my family's land. When I went to reason with him, he had some people beat me up. I spent half a month in the hospital and didn't receive a single penny in compensation!"

"And me! He took three thousand yuan from me, saying he'd help me get my household registration sorted out, but three years have passed and the registration still hasn't been processed, and he won't refund the money. When I went to ask him for it, he accused me of slandering the police and detained me for five days!"

Suddenly, four villagers stood up to voice their grievances, each one like a knife, slicing into Director Gu's body. Director Gu stood there, his face pale, his body trembling, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like rain. He wanted to say something, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Director Liang was taken aback for a moment, clearly not expecting that the investigation would uncover so many old cases. He took a deep breath, nodded calmly, and said with a heavy but firm tone, "Alright, come one by one to the police station. If the facts are true, I will definitely give you justice. I will leave no one out, and every question will be thoroughly investigated."

A moment later, the four villagers got into the police car. Chief Gu, on the other hand, looked like a defeated rooster, his head drooping and shoulders slumped, as two officers led him to another police car, one on each side.

He couldn't utter a single word, because he knew his career was over. He might even end up in jail!

Seeing everyone get into the police car, Director Liang breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned around and went to Dr. Hou's side. He made a point of apologizing to him again, his tone sincere and his posture very humble: "Dr. Hou, I am truly sorry for what happened today. I'm sorry you had to be frightened. It's because we didn't do our job properly that such a black sheep has been able to run rampant at the grassroots level for so many years."

Deputy Director Guo kept comforting Dr. Hou, patting him on the shoulder with the concern of an old friend: "Old Hou, thank goodness you're alright. If you had really been bitten by a dog, I wouldn't be able to explain it to my superiors. I'll have the county bureau thoroughly investigate and rectify the situation in this area; they absolutely must crack down on crime here."

Dr. Hou smiled calmly, waved his hand, and spoke as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him: "It's alright, just make sure the investigation is thorough. Let's proceed according to the normal procedures, and I'll be no exception. Come on, I'll go with you to the police station to give a statement. You get in the car first, I'll go get the vehicle now."

Director Liang, still uneasy, gave a wink to a young male police officer beside him and personally led him to the car with Dr. Hou. Dr. Hou's Toyota SUV was parked in an open area by the stream, its body covered in a thin layer of dust. Director Liang had the male officer sit in the passenger seat of Dr. Hou's vehicle, while he quickly returned to the police car. The group eventually arrived at the county police station together.

The statement-taking process went smoothly, following the normal procedures, and the police also intervened in the civil mediation. Dr. Hou sat in the mediation room, legs crossed, expression calm. When the burly man who had tried to extort money was brought in, his arrogance had completely vanished. His eyes were red, and his handcuffs were still on. As soon as he entered, he bowed and scraped to Dr. Hou, his voice trembling with tears, offering not only to return the full 5,000 yuan that Dr. Hou had previously paid, but also to pay an additional 5,000 yuan as compensation for emotional distress.

Dr. Hou didn't hold it against him and signed a letter of understanding to express his forgiveness. Even so, he still couldn't escape criminal responsibility. The surveillance video clearly showed the entire process of his extortion, and the evidence was irrefutable. In the end, he was still convicted of extortion, and what awaits him next is at least several months of detention.