Anti-gang campaign: Female bureau chief

After Lu Zheng left, Jiang Ruolan sat back down at her desk.

On the table was a newly delivered briefing—the provincial discipline inspection commission's investigation into Gu Changhe's detention had made substantial progress.

Faced with the irrefutable evidence of the hard drive data and Zhou Wenxuan's confession, Gu Changhe gave up resisting and began to confess.

He admitted to holding shares in Fengmao Group, admitted to helping Shen Wangshan with the aftermath of Xu Guangfa's murder, and also implicated several other provincial government officials who had illicit dealings with Fengmao Group.

The provincial discipline inspection commission has initiated a new round of investigation and prosecution procedures based on his confession.

The last page of the briefing included a sentence: "Gu Changhe mentioned your name several times during the interrogation, saying, 'I underestimated that woman surnamed Jiang.'"

After reading it, Jiang Ruolan closed the briefing without expression and locked it in the safe. This sentence meant nothing to her.

She never cared whether others valued or looked down on her; she only cared about one thing—whether the evil deeds committed by those people could be punished.

At 3 p.m., the technical department of the Provincial Criminal Investigation Corps completed the full recovery and organization of the hard drive data.

Zhou Pei called, his tone carrying an excitement that Jiang Ruolan rarely heard from him:

"Ruolan, all the data on the hard drive has been recovered, and the contents are much larger than we imagined."

The document contains fifteen years of financial data from Fengmao Group, bribery records, internal meeting minutes, and even several recorded phone conversations between Shen Wangshan and Gu Changhe—Shen Wangshan had been keeping a backup plan from the beginning, recording all his interactions with officials.

These recordings cover more than a dozen officials from Yi'an and three surrounding counties, spanning from 2009 to this year. I'm currently compiling the catalog, and I'll send it to you when I'm done.

"Send it over," Jiang Ruolan said.

"Also, what's the whereabouts of the two out-of-towners who threw sulfuric acid, Hei Zi and Xiao Dao, whom Ren Pengfei mentioned?"

"They've caught them. They were arrested this afternoon in a small county town in Tongren, Guizhou. The local police had been staking out the place for three days based on the information we provided, and they found them in a mahjong parlor."

The two are on their way back to Yi'an and are expected to arrive tomorrow afternoon.

"it is good."

Jiang Ruolan hung up the phone and crossed out another to-do item in her notebook.

She flipped through the first few pages of her notebook, looking at the clues and question marks she had written down when she first arrived in Yi'an—Chen Yonggui was splashed with sulfuric acid, Li Changhe's leg was broken, Zhang Dayou's warehouse caught fire, Xu Guangfa went missing—she had checked off each clue.

Only one item remains: the list of protectors in Zhou Wenxuan's hard drive is being investigated one by one.

Five days. In the five days she was in Yi'an, she tore a dark web that had covered the entire city for thirty years to shreds.

But Jiang Ruolan knew that the real work had only just begun.

Arresting people is only the first step; the subsequent interrogation, evidence collection, prosecution, and trial are all tough battles.

Shen Wangshan and his protectors have been operating in Yi'an for too long, their tentacles reaching into every corner, including within the judicial system.

Zhang Youcai, the vice president of the Yian Intermediate People's Court, has been placed under investigation, but no one can guarantee that there isn't another Zhang Youcai in the court.

At 7 p.m., Jiang Ruolan took some time to go to the Municipal People's Hospital.

Chen Kexin's ward was on the third floor. The plainclothes officer at the door saw her arrive and nodded to her.

When she pushed the door open, Chen Kexin was leaning against the bed reading a book, her right leg still in traction, but her complexion was much better than a few days ago.

Chen Desheng was peeling an apple on the edge of the bed when he saw Jiang Ruolan come in, and he quickly stood up.

"Director Jiang." His voice was filled with indescribable gratitude.

"You're so busy, you didn't need to come all this way."

"Just passing by, thought I'd take a look." Jiang Ruolan sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the book in Chen Kexin's hand—an eighth-grade math textbook.

"So diligent?"

"Final exams are next month, and I don't want to fall behind." Chen Kexin put down her textbook, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Jiang Ruolan.

"Aunt Jiang, my dad said you caught all those bad guys, is that true?"

"Some have been arrested, and others are still being arrested."

Jiang Ruolan said.

"So, will there be no bad people in Yi'an anymore?"

Jiang Ruolan paused for a moment, then answered her seriously:

"It won't be completely gone. Bad people can't be completely eliminated, just like there will always be diseases in this world."

But we can establish a system that deters bad people from bullying good people, and makes everyone who does wrong pay the price. That's what we need to do.

Chen Kexin blinked, seemingly not fully understanding, but she still nodded vigorously.

As Jiang Ruolan stood up to leave, Chen Desheng chased her into the corridor, took an envelope from his pocket, and handed it to her:

"Director Jiang, here's the 200,000 yuan. It was sent by Shen Wangshan's men, and I haven't touched a single penny. I want to hand it over as... as evidence."

Jiang Ruolan took the envelope, weighed it in her hand, and then said:

"This money will be confiscated according to the law. But Mr. Chen, I have something to tell you—after your daughter was hit, you chose not to sign the letter of understanding."

In Yi'an, you were the first person to dare say "no" to Shen Wangshan. That courage is worth far more than two hundred thousand.

Chen Desheng stood there, stunned, his eyes slowly reddening. He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, only bowing deeply.

When Jiang Ruolan walked out of the hospital, it was already completely dark.

She stood on the steps at the hospital entrance, looking at the city shrouded in night.

Tonight, Yi'an is different from usual—the streetlights seem brighter, the food stalls along the roadside are steaming, and a few young people ride shared bicycles past her, their laughter carrying far away in the night breeze.

These most ordinary daily routines were luxuries in Yi'an before.

At that time, there were almost no people on the streets after dark. Every household had its doors and windows tightly closed, and everyone lived in a silent fear.

Now, those who had been hiding at home can finally come out and breathe freely on the streets at night.

Her phone vibrated; it was a message from Zhou Pei:

"The provincial department will hold a special project summary meeting at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, chaired by the director. Please prepare your report materials."

She replied "Received," then walked down the steps and got into the car.

As the car drove through the city, she noticed a long queue outside a small restaurant by the roadside. The sign outside read...

"The old flavor of Yi An has been open for twenty years."

She suddenly remembered that she had only eaten a boxed lunch today, so she stopped the car and walked over.

People in line turned around when they saw her in a police uniform.

Someone recognized her, whispered something to the person next to them, and then the whole group fell silent.

An elderly woman with gray hair walked out of the line, stood in front of her, looked her up and down, and then suddenly reached out and took her hand.

...............