Chapter 619 - 619: Seeking Help from Liu Changping
As for Xishan City, Ye Qing had also learned some information from Zhao Chengshuang. Everything was as Ye Qing had anticipated; the entire police system in Xishan City had been reshuffled from top to bottom.
The Chief, Kong Anwu, remained in his position in Xishan City because he had not participated in those criminal cases. Moreover, he handled this situation with very strong measures, so he still holds his position. However, all the deputy chiefs were ousted—some were arrested, and others were sentenced. Especially Lu Jiangong, who was found involved in many affairs, and most of his relatives and friends were also mixed up in his affairs. This time it all ended abruptly, with no one spared. Among them, seven people were sentenced to death, and Lu Jiangong, being the principal culprit, was naturally sentenced to death without any suspense!
Lu Jiangong's daughter, Lu Xiaoli, was also found involved in many matters. Among them, just the act of accepting bribes on behalf of Lu Jiangong was enough to sentence her to ten to eight years. This once untouchable rich second generation in Xishan City had finally fallen completely. Entering prison, her days ahead would likely be even more difficult. After all, during the time Lu Jiangong was deputy chief, he had wrongly accused many people, and he had no shortage of enemies in prison.
As for Liu Guiting's former husband, Zhang Jun, who had shot and killed his own brother, he was also sentenced to death. And their family members, who tried several times to break into the place where Liu Changping and Zhou Bolong lived, were sentenced by the Xishan City police for disturbing public safety. Zhang Jun's sister, Zhang Xia, once rushed into the room where Liu Guiting lived, attempting to kidnap Xiao Ding Ding, but was caught by the police. However, this time her charges were serious—involving attempted child abduction, which, though unsuccessful, caused an extremely adverse impact, and she was sentenced to five years.
As for the Zhou Binglin's home, Liu Changping did not go back on his word; he indeed found jobs for his two daughters and a daughter-in-law. However, this was also a way to repay them for their kindness in raising Liu Guiting. Liu Changping personally met them once and made it clear that henceforth, Liu Guiting would no longer have any relation with their family. Although the members of the Zhou family were deeply regretful, it was irreversible, as their initial attitude towards Liu Guiting had been so.
Actually, the fact that Liu Changping arranged jobs for these three children was already considered returning kindness for ingratitude. After all, they had never raised Liu Guiting; instead, they had used Liu Guiting in a transaction once to get a wife for their elder son. Then, when Liu Guiting needed their help the most, they tried their best to sever any relations with her, showing absolutely no affection. According to Zhou Bolong, it was already good enough not to punish them, so he always wondered why Liu Changping would arrange jobs for their children.
What Liu Changping truly appreciated was the old woman who had raised Liu Guiting. However, she had already passed away. Liu Changping could not repay her, so he could only give some thanks to her descendants, which was also considered a good deed by the elderly blessing future generations. Liu Changping specially went to her grave to offer his respects, which was also a way to express his gratitude.
As for Xishan City, the reshuffling of the police system resulted in the government system also being greatly implicated. Especially concerning the incident where Erhe Village was submerged years ago, the officers involved in deception, neglect of duty, corruption, and embezzlement of project funds were all thoroughly investigated. This directly led to the investigation of a Vice Mayor named Zhou, along with a group of officials, all of whom received their deserved punishment.
In doing so, Liu Changping gave a sort of closure to the spirits of the villagers of Erhe Village from those days.
After handling the matters in Xishan City, Liu Changping returned to Dongzhou. When Ye Qing called, Liu Changping was sitting in the living room, holding Xiao Ding Ding, and reading fairy tales from a children's book to her. Although this might seem dull to others, Liu Changping read with great care. For someone who had been childless for most of his life, no matter how mundane these things were, they were also the warmest moments, something beyond his past expectations!
Xiao Ding Ding had changed into a cute princess dress, wearing glamorous clothes, with her small face and hands washed clean. These days her life had improved, her complexion gradually grew rosy, her little face becoming plump, no longer resembling the beggar-like child she once was, but completely the image of a lovely little princess. With her two adorable braids, wherever she went in the police precinct's neighborhood, she was beloved by all, which made Liu Changping very happy.
In his life, he had never felt vain about anything. But now, in his old age, he felt incredibly proud because of his adorable granddaughter. Although it was a kind of vanity, he did not hide this feeling. His daughter and granddaughter were now the only things worth boasting about for him.
Suddenly, the phone rang on the table. Just as Liu Changping was about to reach for it, Xiao Ding Ding, who was sitting in his lap, had already jumped down, picked up the phone, and handed it to Liu Changping, saying in a baby voice, "Grandpa, phone."
"Ah, what a good girl!" Liu Changping replied, and though it was a simple gesture, it brought tears to his eyes.
Accepting the phone from Xiao Ding Ding's hands, Liu Changping affectionately stroked her head before he picked up the phone, saying, "Hello, this is Liu Changping."
"Uncle Liu, it's me, Ye Qing!" Ye Qing replied.
"Oh, Ye Qing." Liu Changping chuckled, "How have you been recently? When will you have time to come over to our place, Xiao Ding Ding said she misses you a lot."
Thinking of the lovely Xiao Ding Ding, Ye Qing also smiled, saying, "Tell Xiao Ding Ding, I miss her too. When I have the time, I'll come to Dongzhou and bring her a gift!"
"Hehe…" Liu Changping chuckled, "By the way, did you call for something specific? How are things in Shenchuan City?"
"It's okay here." Ye Qing paused, then said, "Uncle Liu, there's something I need your help with."
"What is it?" Liu Changping asked, "Just say it, if there's anything I can do, I will definitely help you!"
"Thank you in advance." Ye Qing fell silent for a while before saying, "Uncle Liu, the Beggar King of Tianhui City, I wonder if you've heard of him?"
"The Beggar King?" Liu Changping frowned slightly, asking, "Is that his name or a nickname?"
Ye Qing replied, "It should be a nickname."
"Oh." Liu Changping nodded and asked, "What about him?"
Ye Qing said gravely, "I just received news that this person is the biggest drug lord in the entire Eastern Province!"
"What?" Liu Changping's voice held a trace of shock, as it seemed he was completely unaware of this.
Ye Qing continued, "Seventy percent of the drugs in the entire Eastern Province are supplied by him!"
"Is that so?" Liu Changping immediately stood up and asked gravely, "How did you obtain this information? Is it accurate? Do you have solid evidence?"
Ye Qing replied, "I got it from another drug lord who has already been arrested. However, this Beggar King is still at large. The information is definitely accurate, but I don't have concrete evidence yet."
Liu Changping frowned slightly, fell silent for a moment, and asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Ye Qing replied, "Uncle Liu, I was thinking, is it possible to completely eradicate this Beggar King?"
"Eradicate him completely?" Liu Changping fell silent again, then said, "If he really is the biggest drug lord in Eastern Province, then I definitely need to arrest him. But right now, you're just relaying someone else's words without solid evidence. I can't mobilize the troops to arrest him just based on that. By doing so, not only might we not be able to pin him down, but it might also alert him and make future arrests and evidence gathering even more difficult. Moreover, he is from Tianhui City, and this matter should be handled by the Tianhui City police department. Although I am the director, I shouldn't interfere directly in this matter. If I were to send people to arrest him, first, dealing with this cross-regionally risks operational errors due to unfamiliar terrain. Furthermore, doing so would seem like I am dissatisfied with the comrades in Tianhui City, which is not very appropriate!"
Being the director, Liu Changping had many considerations. Moreover, the situation in Tianhui City was not like that time in Xishan City, where he went all out because it involved the life and death of his only daughter. He had already decided to cleanse the police system in Xishan City. But things were different in Tianhui City; he couldn't cleanse the police department of Xishan City and then immediately do the same in Tianhui City!
"Uncle Liu, I will definitely find the evidence. But the police in Tianhui City, I feel, are somewhat unreliable!" Ye Qing continued, "The Beggar King has been operating under their noses for so many years. As the biggest drug lord in Eastern Province, they couldn't possibly be unaware of him. Also, you might not know exactly how the Beggar King transports drugs!"
"How does he transport drugs?" Liu Changping asked curiously.
"He uses children to transport drugs!" Ye Qing said somberly, "He specifically targets orphanages and by various means, kidnaps a bunch of children. These children are mostly around Xiao Ding Ding's age. Usually, he cripples these children and then has them beg on the streets. When it's time to transport drugs, he makes these children carry the drugs inside their bodies. Every year, the number of children he kills is countless. His nickname, the Beggar King, comes from this!"
"What!?" Liu Changping was clearly enraged, raising his voice as he said, "He even does such things? How did you find out?"
Since he had a granddaughter, Liu Changping clearly became exceedingly protective of children.
"I have seen it with my own eyes!" Ye Qing replied, having witnessed it firsthand at the public orphanage in Shenchuan City where these children were crippled!
"That's despicable!" Liu Changping slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Such people must be dealt with! Seriously dealt with!"
"Uncle Liu, the Beggar King still has at least a few hundred children under him. Moreover, he is about to send out another drug shipment soon. If we don't stop him, more children will probably die!" Ye Qing continued gravely, "The reason I called you even though I don't have the evidence yet is because this matter really can't wait, we must save these children first!"