Sweeping Mouse Ridge – Chapter Six : 4

Because of his good behavior in prison, after serving his eighth year, the prison authorities repeatedly requested a sentence reduction, which was approved by the Intermediate People’s Court of the city, and Zhou Liping was released early. There were indeed differing opinions regarding his release; the charges against him, “Western Suburbs Serial Murders,” were still under the statute of limitations, and the investigating police officers continued their efforts. However, eight years had passed, and no evidence had been found that Zhou Liping had murdered anyone other than Fang Zhifeng, so his release was the only option and the only necessity.

Upon his release, Zhou Liping showed no expected excitement, nor any dramatic scenes; he was very calm. After completing the formalities, he changed into a new set of clothes that Old Feng had bought for him and left the place that had imprisoned him for eight years. Eight years ago, when he was arrested, he had nothing on him; eight years later, when he was released, he had a release certificate and a bank card in his pocket—money earned through labor had been deposited into his account by the prison authorities.

“No one came to pick him up. I saw him to the door, and he just left on his own,” Old Feng said. After listening to Guo Xiaofen’s story, the room remained silent for a long time. Huyan Yun was still staring at the old photograph, seemingly still lost in the memories of the past.

Outside the window, the autumn wind was blowing fiercely. The tall poplar trees in the yard swayed violently, helplessly scattering their yellowing leaves, which seemed to flow through the air like rushing, turbulent waves, rustling and crashing…

“Huyan, Huyan…” Guo Xiaofen called to him, “What should we do next?”

Huyan Yun did not speak.

“According to our work plan, Huyan and I should find the long-haired girl who knows Zhou Liping,” Li Ziyong said, glancing at Ma Xiaozhong. Back then, Ma Xiaozhong confidently assured everyone that he could get the long-haired girl’s contact information through the intermediary, Little Luo.

Ma Xiaozhong grumbled, “That Little Luo has vanished somewhere; I cannot find him anywhere. Okay, this job’s been handed over. Guo and I will handle it. I’ll go to the Yuanman Real Estate branch in a bit and force the manager to hand him over!”

“That’s not urgent,” Huyan Yun said slowly. “The most important thing right now is to get to the top of Love Charity Foundation and find out more… So far in this investigation, I feel that both we and the police are just going around in circles, never really touching the core. What we should do now is change direction and focus our attention on Love Charity Foundation, on Tao Zhouyao, Zhang Chunyang, and Xing Qisheng, because Zhou Liping is likely just someone who got on the train midway, and the starting point has nothing to do with him…”

Li Ziyong sighed and said, “This is quite difficult. Forget about the higher-ups at Love Charity Foundation; even the branch at Hefeng Hotel is an independent kingdom. Ordinary people cannot get in. In the entire Mingyi Public Relations Company, probably only Zheng Gui can get by. But asking Zheng Gui to gather information is like taking away his livelihood; do not even think about it.”

Just then, Li Ziyong’s phone rang. He picked it up, his face immediately turning grim. After hanging up, he sighed, “I’m going out for a bit.”

“What’s wrong?” Huyan Yun asked.

“The Social Security Center called, saying that my mother’s registration form needs a copy of both sides of the person being paid for. I need to go home right away, get a copy of my mother’s ID card, and then deliver it.”

“Why didn’t they say that last time?” Huyan Yun asked, somewhat angrily.

“Who knows? They didn’t give a reason, just told me to hurry up and hand it in.” Li Ziyong gave a wry smile, turned, and walked out.

After chatting all morning, they were feeling quite hungry. Huyan Yun went to the kitchen and cooked a pot of instant noodles, bringing the whole pot into the room. The three friends sat together to eat, but perhaps because the conversation had touched on Lin Xiangming, they all seemed heavy-hearted, and the meal was somewhat subdued. Ma Xiaozhong, who hated anything less than a lively atmosphere, suddenly brought up a topic: “Huyan, how’s it going with you and Simiao?”

Huyan Yun was startled: “Me and Simiao… how’s it going?”

“Stop pretending!” Ma Xiaozhong said with a grin. “After all these years, do you think we can’t tell who you truly love?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Huyan Yun blushed slightly.

“Stop talking nonsense! Every time Simiao gets into trouble, you rush over even if it’s from a thousand miles away. Who can you fool with your little schemes?” He nudged Guo Xiaofen with his elbow. “Guo, tell me, am I right?”

Guo Xiaofen glanced at Huyan Yun, then lowered her head and continued eating.

Huyan Yun stammered, “I’m mainly worried that if something happens to Simiao, I won’t be able to explain it to Xiangming when he gets back.”

Ma Xiaozhong slammed his chopsticks on the table and gave a thumbs up: “Brave! Escorting the Empress Dowager a thousand miles, a modern-day Guan Yu—as long as you do not end up sending her to your own bed!”

Huyan Yun fell silent.

Seeing that he had given in, Ma Xiaozhong grinned widely, patting him on the shoulder and saying, “Brothers, don’t mind me; you’re better than me in every way, except for two things: you’re not as handsome as me, and you’re not as straightforward. For example, if I like Little Guo, I’ll just tell her directly and then pursue her relentlessly. If I succeed, it’s my reward; if not, it’s her bad luck—it’s been three years since Xiangming’s incident; even widows can remarry now. Do you really want Simiao to stay there like a waiting-for-husband stone forever?”

“Oh dear, it’s true; three years have passed in the blink of an eye…” Guo Xiaofen suddenly felt a little melancholic. “These days, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for us friends to get together.”

“Yes!” Even Ma Xiaozhong could not help but sigh. “I quite miss the time we spent working on cases together in the Special Task Force.”

Guo Xiaofen gazed out the window, murmuring, “I remember, the Special Task Force was formed outside a beef noodle shop not far from the north gate of the Police Academy. That day, Xiangming had just finished giving a Criminal Personality Analysis lecture to the students and was caught by Director Xu and Secretary Li, who were auditing the class… He called us together—Lei Rong, Simiao, and I—and we ate and assigned tasks outside the noodle shop. Later, he drove us to pick up Huyan, who was completely drunk and had vomited everywhere…”

Huyan Yun felt a little embarrassed but also noticed something strange about Guo Xiaofen’s expression and tone: “Little Guo, what’s wrong?”

Guo Xiaofen stood up: “Nothing… You guys are finished eating; I’ll go wash the dishes.”

Guo Xiaofen put the dishes in the pot and took them to the kitchen. Listening to the running water, Huyan Yun and Ma Xiaozhong exchanged glances.

“Was she bullied by someone?” Huyan Yun asked Ma Xiaozhong.

“Go ask around the whole city. Who would dare bully the girl I, Old Ma, like?” Ma Xiaozhong said fiercely. “But lately, she’s been acting strange. She used to be so cheerful, always smiling, pushing her way forward during interviews, camera in one hand, recorder in the other, so energetic. Now she’s like a melancholic little sister…”

“Is it because she lost her job?” Huyan Yun asked.

“Possibly… but I heard she’s been moving constantly for the past six months, even giving away her beloved cat. Apparently, she even spent a night on a park bench once. I asked her what happened, but she wouldn’t say.”

Huyan Yun was lost in thought when his phone rang. It was Li Ziyong: “Huyan, I’ve finished things at the social security center, but I can’t get back to your place.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Zheng Gui just called me, telling me to come back to the company immediately. He sounded really anxious. I don’t know what happened.”

“Okay, let me know anytime you have any updates!”

After hanging up the phone, Li Ziyong drove to the Runtang High Tech Incubation Park. Upon entering Block D and walking into the general manager’s office, he saw Zheng Gui tapping his phone screen repeatedly with his index finger, seemingly playing a game, but his face looked worse than if he had gone bankrupt.

“Mr. Zheng, you wanted to see me?” Li Ziyong asked.

“Li Ziyong, since you joined the company, I, Old Zheng, have treated you well, have I not?” Zheng Gui glared at him with slightly swollen goldfish eyes. “Why did you betray me behind my back?”

Li Ziyong was completely bewildered: “What are you talking about, Mr. Zheng?”

“Did you take Huyan Yun to Hefeng Hotel Block E?” Zheng Gui’s fat eye bags and cheeks trembled like an enraged Shar Pei as he roared, “Old Dou reported Xing Qixian and Cui Wentao, and they immediately went to find Old Liao to find out what happened. You know, Old Liao is a paper shield; he looks like Captain America with that thing in his hand, but he’s easily punctured. He exposed you and Huyan Yun. Xing Qixian and Cui Wentao summoned me again and gave me a thorough dressing down. Luckily, I reacted quickly and stubbornly insisted that Huyan Yun was a new employee at our company, which allowed me to get through it. If Xing Qixian and the others had discovered the truth, they would definitely think I was a traitor, colluding with the police to investigate the foundation. Not to mention anything else, what if they severed the company’s ties with the foundation on the spot? Without the foundation as a pillar, do you believe I’d be roasted to death in the dead of winter?!”

Li Ziyong looked at Zheng Gui for a long, long time, then sighed and said, “President Zheng, I really am sorry about this. I’m resigning… Thank you for your care all this time.”

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the office, went to his workstation, packed his things, and headed towards the HR department. At the door, someone grabbed him. Turning around, he saw it was Zheng Gui.

“Come on, come on, to my room!” With that, Zheng Gui dragged him back to his office, closed the door, and pressed him down on a wooden stool beside the root-carved tea table. While boiling water to make tea, he complained, “You have not been a detective in years. How come you still have such a temper? I, as your brother, said a few words to you, and you threw a tantrum. What kind of behavior is that? Why are you looking at me? Drink your tea, drink your tea!”

Seeing that Li Ziyong did not intend to leave, he started counting on his fingers: “You know, our foundation, on the surface, looks like one big family, but actually, it’s like there are as many factions as there are people! Not to mention the smaller ones, just the big ones: Xing Qixian, Cui Wentao, and Old Dou are in one group, and Tao Bing, Tao Zhouyao, and Old Zhai are in cahoots. Xing Qixian and his group want to get rid of Tao Bing and his associates to seize control of the foundation. Old Liao is a fence sitter, always swaying with whoever’s winds blow.”

“Zhang Chunyang and Xing Qisheng—one is Tao Zhouyao’s gigolo, the other her private doctor. They don’t have any grand ambitions; they just want to get as much benefit as possible by clinging to Tao Zhouyao. If Tao Zhouyao falls, they would lose their cash cow… But their situations were different.”

“Xing Qisheng is, after all, Xing Qixian’s little brother. Xing Qixian came up, and he cannot just watch his elder brother starve to death, so he continued working as the director of his orphanage. Zhang Chunyang is different. To put it bluntly, without an outlet, what use is a plug! So, a while ago, Tao Zhouyao was preparing to marry Jiang Lei, which worried Zhang Chunyang terribly.”

Zheng Gui took a few sips of tea and continued, “The reason I was able to get involved with the foundation is that I taught Tao Zhouyao back in the day when I was a university professor. We had a teacher-student relationship, not exactly close, but all these years, I’ve been carefully serving the Tao family, avoiding trouble and making sure I do not cause any problems. I have to be all smiles to everyone so I can pick up scraps after their parties… Brother, it has not been easy for me! I do not want to take sides, but in the eyes of Xing Qixian’s group, I’m a member of the Tao family—Tao Zhouyao’s right-hand man, someone they desperately want to get rid of.”

“Now, with such a big incident at Sweeping Mouse Ridge and Xing Qixian’s Elder Brother dead, the one who killed him is one of my employees. Taking advantage of this momentum, Xing Qixian, while not completely kicking Tao Bing and his daughter out of the foundation, will definitely redistribute the spoils. You’ve seen Hong Kong gangster movies, right? When two gangs fight, there’s always a day when it has to stop. How do you stop it? You have to find the most pathetic underling to take the blame.”

“I might be that scapegoat. In this situation, how can I dare let anyone hold any leverage over me? I was wrong to yell at you earlier, but you should have at least told me before taking Huyan Yun to investigate the case. I said a few things to you, and you did not like it and left, but you have to understand, all the employees in this company get in through connections. You were the only one who got in through my connections. If you leave, who would I confide in if I had any troubles in the future?”

“Brother Zheng, are you really willing to be tied to this foundation for the rest of your life? Let’s not rely on them. Let’s start over, like other PR companies, working hard and diligently. I can’t accept that we won’t have customers or business…”

Zheng Gui touched his thinning hair and smiled bitterly, “I cannot do it anymore. I’m getting old. The worst thing is, working with foundations for too long is ruining me! They are like canaries in cages, and we are like lip-syncing behind the cage. They just open their mouths without making a sound, and someone feeds them when they are hungry or thirsty. We can at least pick up some leftover rice around the cage after we are done singing. After a while, it looks like we are outside the cage, but we are actually just like those inside. We cannot fly anymore.”

Li Ziyong sighed.

“Don’t sigh; I have something else troubling me,” Zheng Gui said.

“What is it?”

“Xing Qixian said he’s been getting a lot of interviews lately, but he’s been refusing them all. Those reporters are trying to find out more from the foundation’s ordinary staff, but the problem is, no matter who they are, anyone working at the foundation has no experience dealing with reporters. They might accidentally reveal something and cause a huge problem. Xing Qixian told me to tell the media not to interview him. I can manage with print media, but I have no idea how to handle new media. He wants me to find a former critic who has already left the foundation to go to Hefeng Hotel and talk to the staff about how to deal with reporters and interviews. He and the foundation’s senior and middle management also need to attend the training… Where am I supposed to find that reporter?”

Li Ziyong’s eyes lit up.

“What’s wrong? Did something come to mind?”

Li Ziyong hesitated, afraid of causing Zheng Gui more trouble.

“Oh dear, I’m in a real bind, and you just want to sit back and watch the show?”

“You forced me to say this,” Li Ziyong thought, then said, “I remember a few years ago, a reporter wanted to interview a foundation about the student loan scandal, but you stopped her. She still wrote an article, but it wasn’t as provocative as other media outlets…”

Zheng Gui thought for a moment: “There was such a reporter, a woman named Guo… Guo Xiaofen, quite famous for her critical reporting. What, she’s no longer in the media?”

Li Ziyong nodded: “I heard it from a friend; it seems she left the media.”

Zheng Gui slapped his thigh excitedly: “God’s helping me! God’s helping me! I’ll go find her!”