Chapter 42 How much is your son worth?
Early in the morning, before the police superintendent in the Zhanan district had officially started work, a taxi pulled up in front of the Criminal Investigation Bureau building.
Mr. Wu got out of the car with his wife, grumbling to himself, "I knew he was going to get into trouble sooner or later. Now what? He's so stupid he wouldn't even know if someone sold him."
"What happened to our son?" Mrs. Wu asked anxiously, following behind.
"Who the hell knows?" Mr. Wu replied angrily, storming into the building with his hands behind his back.
In the lobby, two police officers who had just finished their shift were changing out of their uniforms and preparing to go home.
"I'm looking for the officer named Yang. Which floor is he on?" Mr. Wu shouted loudly at the two officers.
Just then, Old Yang, who was chatting with someone on the first floor, immediately walked over with a smile and extended his hand. "You must be Wu Shixiong's father."
"Yes," Mr. Wu shook his hand and demanded, "What happened to my son?"
"Well...he's not in trouble or anything," Old Yang paused for a moment, then said, "We need to take him to the police station later. Come on, let's talk outside."
The phrase "let's talk" surprised Mr. Wu, and he asked, "Where do we talk?"
"Just come outside first," Old Yang gestured and smiled.
Although Mr. and Mrs. Wu were suspicious, they still followed Old Yang outside.
"Here's the thing. Another person was involved in this case," Old Yang handed Mr. Wu a cigarette and said softly, "The parents of the person involved want to talk to you."
"What do I have to talk to them about? Did my son commit a crime?" Mr. Wu asked cautiously.
"They're all part of the same case. Talking first might have some benefits," Old Yang replied vaguely, pointing his hand not far away. "You go talk to them first, and when you're done, find me."
"It's not...!" Mr. Wu was still puzzled and wanted to ask more questions.
Old Yang patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "I'm right here. What could happen? Listen to me, talk to them first, and then we'll discuss the case. Don't worry, your son is not in big trouble."
As they were talking, Mr. Tang's car had already driven up and stopped on the side of the road, with the door open.
Mr. Wu hesitated for a moment, but could only follow the lead of the investigators. He and his wife got into Mr. Tang's car.
At this point, there were only Mr. Tang and his driver in the car, and everyone else had already left.
"Drive a little further, I need to talk to these old guys," Mr. Tang instructed from the middle-row seat.
"Okay," the driver responded, gripping the steering wheel and driving away.
—---
Five minutes later, the car stopped in a large supermarket parking lot. The driver sensibly opened the door and stepped out to smoke.
"What do you want to talk about?" Wu Shixiong's father asked directly.
Tang Baiqing's father turned to him and asked, "Your three children live on Tufang Street?"
Wu Shixiong's father was taken aback. "What's the matter?"
"My son is a coastguard in his early thirties. If nothing unexpected happens, he should become a squadron leader before he's 35 and reach the rank of deputy director by the age of 40. There shouldn't be any problem," Tang Baiqing's father said gravely, pulling out a cigarette box and offering one to Wu Shixiong's father.
"What are you trying to say?" Wu Shixiong's father didn't take it.
"The woman who died, she was just hit and had a needle injection previously, and she wasn't conscious," Tang Baiqing's father said, staring at Wu Shixiong's parents with dead eyes. "This case could be seen as a justifiable defense or negligent homicide. As you saw, I have some friends in the police station, so no matter who takes the blame, he won't be sentenced too heavily. Three years or more, ten years at most. If the suspect has mental retardation or mental illness, the sentence will be even shorter."
Wu Shixiong's father understood what he meant by now. "You want me to sell my son?"
"Can we talk about it?" Tang Baiqing's father asked.
"Talk my ass!" Wu Shixiong's father reached for the door.
"One year, fifty thousand!" Tang Baiqing's father shouted.
Wu Shixiong's father's hand was on the door handle at this moment. He listened to the other party's words and replied coldly, "I'll give you fifty thousand, will you sell your son?"
"I don't need fifty thousand, but you do!" Tang Baiqing's father lit a cigarette.
Wu Shixiong's father didn't say anything and simply opened the car door.
"Smack!"
Tang Baiqing's father grabbed his arm.
"Let go of me!" Wu Shixiong's father was getting a little impatient.
Tang Baiqing's father held onto him with his right hand, staring at his cheek with his mouth full of smoke. He turned around and used his left hand to lift a piece of white cloth on the aisle of the rear seat.
"Whoosh!"
The white cloth was pulled back to reveal a black plastic bag filled with money, which gleamed brightly in front of Wu Shixiong's father.
Rain poured outside the car, and the interior was dimly lit, but the money inside the bag seemed to emit a certain radiance.
"A hundred thousand for a year in jail! You get a good deal, and I guarantee my son's future. How about it?" Tang Baiqing's father asked.
Wu Shixiong's father gripped the car door handle, and his mouth twitched.
"Brother, your son has an intellectual disability. He works on the sea for 24 hours a day, and he might not be able to earn a hundred thousand even if he works for half his life. Wouldn't it be more practical to exchange for some money instead?" Tang Baiqing's father said in a hoarse voice.
Several minutes later, the car returned to the entrance of the office building, and Wu Shixiong's parents got out of the car with extremely complicated expressions.
Old Yang smiled and asked, "Are you done?"
Wu Shixiong's father looked at him, motionless.
In the lobby of the office building, Su Tianyu bent down to ask the police officer, "Can we see Wu Shixiong now?"
"No, you can't."
"Doesn't he have anything to do with the case?" Su Tianyu asked strangely.
"You still can't see him. Wait outside," the other party replied impatiently.
Su Tianyu glanced at him and didn't ask again. He turned around and said to Bai Hongbo, "Let's go outside first."
"It's really strange. What's the problem with seeing a witness?" Bai Hongbo cursed irritably. "Damn it, this is how the grassroots are, holding onto a straw as if it's a command."
Everyone was indeed puzzled, but it wasn't worth finding connections over an interview. So Su Tianyu and the others returned to the car outside to wait.
—---
On the third floor, inside the interrogation room.
Wu Shixiong yawned and boredly picked his nose.
"Bang!"
The door opened, and Old Yang walked in with Wu Shixiong's parents.
"You guys talk." Old Yang dropped a sentence and turned to leave.
In the surveillance room, a police officer casually closed all the cameras in the interrogation rooms and wrote on his logbook: "Maintenance for surveillance on morning shift."
In the interrogation room, Wu Shixiong stared in disbelief at his parents: "Y-you...what are you doing here?"
His father looked at him with a vacant expression, momentarily unable to respond. His mother's eyes were red-rimmed as she turned her head away.
"Son!" His father sat down heavily in a chair, rubbing his cheeks vigorously. His voice trembled as he spoke: "Can you...can you take the fall for this case on behalf of someone else?"
It was the first time in his life that Wu Shixiong had heard his father call him "son" instead of "idiot" or "baby of the family," starting from when he was young and his mental disability became apparent.
Chapter 42 How much is your son worth?
Early in the morning, before the police superintendent in the Zhanan district had officially started work, a taxi pulled up in front of the Criminal Investigation Bureau building.
Mr. Wu got out of the car with his wife, grumbling to himself, "I knew he was going to get into trouble sooner or later. Now what? He's so stupid he wouldn't even know if someone sold him."
"What happened to our son?" Mrs. Wu asked anxiously, following behind.
"Who the hell knows?" Mr. Wu replied angrily, storming into the building with his hands behind his back.
In the lobby, two police officers who had just finished their shift were changing out of their uniforms and preparing to go home.
"I'm looking for the officer named Yang. Which floor is he on?" Mr. Wu shouted loudly at the two officers.
Just then, Old Yang, who was chatting with someone on the first floor, immediately walked over with a smile and extended his hand. "You must be Wu Shixiong's father."
"Yes," Mr. Wu shook his hand and demanded, "What happened to my son?"
"Well...he's not in trouble or anything," Old Yang paused for a moment, then said, "We need to take him to the police station later. Come on, let's talk outside."
The phrase "let's talk" surprised Mr. Wu, and he asked, "Where do we talk?"
"Just come outside first," Old Yang gestured and smiled.
Although Mr. and Mrs. Wu were suspicious, they still followed Old Yang outside.
"Here's the thing. Another person was involved in this case," Old Yang handed Mr. Wu a cigarette and said softly, "The parents of the person involved want to talk to you."
"What do I have to talk to them about? Did my son commit a crime?" Mr. Wu asked cautiously.
"They're all part of the same case. Talking first might have some benefits," Old Yang replied vaguely, pointing his hand not far away. "You go talk to them first, and when you're done, find me."
"It's not...!" Mr. Wu was still puzzled and wanted to ask more questions.
Old Yang patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "I'm right here. What could happen? Listen to me, talk to them first, and then we'll discuss the case. Don't worry, your son is not in big trouble."
As they were talking, Mr. Tang's car had already driven up and stopped on the side of the road, with the door open.
Mr. Wu hesitated for a moment, but could only follow the lead of the investigators. He and his wife got into Mr. Tang's car.
At this point, there were only Mr. Tang and his driver in the car, and everyone else had already left.
"Drive a little further, I need to talk to these old guys," Mr. Tang instructed from the middle-row seat.
"Okay," the driver responded, gripping the steering wheel and driving away.
—---
Five minutes later, the car stopped in a large supermarket parking lot. The driver sensibly opened the door and stepped out to smoke.
"What do you want to talk about?" Wu Shixiong's father asked directly.
Tang Baiqing's father turned to him and asked, "Your three children live on Tufang Street?"
Wu Shixiong's father was taken aback. "What's the matter?"
"My son is a coastguard in his early thirties. If nothing unexpected happens, he should become a squadron leader before he's 35 and reach the rank of deputy director by the age of 40. There shouldn't be any problem," Tang Baiqing's father said gravely, pulling out a cigarette box and offering one to Wu Shixiong's father.
"What are you trying to say?" Wu Shixiong's father didn't take it.
"The woman who died, she was just hit and had a needle injection previously, and she wasn't conscious," Tang Baiqing's father said, staring at Wu Shixiong's parents with dead eyes. "This case could be seen as a justifiable defense or negligent homicide. As you saw, I have some friends in the police station, so no matter who takes the blame, he won't be sentenced too heavily. Three years or more, ten years at most. If the suspect has mental retardation or mental illness, the sentence will be even shorter."
Wu Shixiong's father understood what he meant by now. "You want me to sell my son?"
"Can we talk about it?" Tang Baiqing's father asked.
"Talk my ass!" Wu Shixiong's father reached for the door.
"One year, fifty thousand!" Tang Baiqing's father shouted.
Wu Shixiong's father's hand was on the door handle at this moment. He listened to the other party's words and replied coldly, "I'll give you fifty thousand, will you sell your son?"
"I don't need fifty thousand, but you do!" Tang Baiqing's father lit a cigarette.
Wu Shixiong's father didn't say anything and simply opened the car door.
"Smack!"
Tang Baiqing's father grabbed his arm.
"Let go of me!" Wu Shixiong's father was getting a little impatient.
Tang Baiqing's father held onto him with his right hand, staring at his cheek with his mouth full of smoke. He turned around and used his left hand to lift a piece of white cloth on the aisle of the rear seat.
"Whoosh!"
The white cloth was pulled back to reveal a black plastic bag filled with money, which gleamed brightly in front of Wu Shixiong's father.
Rain poured outside the car, and the interior was dimly lit, but the money inside the bag seemed to emit a certain radiance.
"A hundred thousand for a year in jail! You get a good deal, and I guarantee my son's future. How about it?" Tang Baiqing's father asked.
Wu Shixiong's father gripped the car door handle, and his mouth twitched.
"Brother, your son has an intellectual disability. He works on the sea for 24 hours a day, and he might not be able to earn a hundred thousand even if he works for half his life. Wouldn't it be more practical to exchange for some money instead?" Tang Baiqing's father said in a hoarse voice.
Several minutes later, the car returned to the entrance of the office building, and Wu Shixiong's parents got out of the car with extremely complicated expressions.
Old Yang smiled and asked, "Are you done?"
Wu Shixiong's father looked at him, motionless.
In the lobby of the office building, Su Tianyu bent down to ask the police officer, "Can we see Wu Shixiong now?"
"No, you can't."
"Doesn't he have anything to do with the case?" Su Tianyu asked strangely.
"You still can't see him. Wait outside," the other party replied impatiently.
Su Tianyu glanced at him and didn't ask again. He turned around and said to Bai Hongbo, "Let's go outside first."
"It's really strange. What's the problem with seeing a witness?" Bai Hongbo cursed irritably. "Damn it, this is how the grassroots are, holding onto a straw as if it's a command."
Everyone was indeed puzzled, but it wasn't worth finding connections over an interview. So Su Tianyu and the others returned to the car outside to wait.
—---
On the third floor, inside the interrogation room.
Wu Shixiong yawned and boredly picked his nose.
"Bang!"
The door opened, and Old Yang walked in with Wu Shixiong's parents.
"You guys talk." Old Yang dropped a sentence and turned to leave.
In the surveillance room, a police officer casually closed all the cameras in the interrogation rooms and wrote on his logbook: "Maintenance for surveillance on morning shift."
In the interrogation room, Wu Shixiong stared in disbelief at his parents: "Y-you...what are you doing here?"
His father looked at him with a vacant expression, momentarily unable to respond. His mother's eyes were red-rimmed as she turned her head away.
"Son!" His father sat down heavily in a chair, rubbing his cheeks vigorously. His voice trembled as he spoke: "Can you...can you take the fall for this case on behalf of someone else?"
It was the first time in his life that Wu Shixiong had heard his father call him "son" instead of "idiot" or "baby of the family," starting from when he was young and his mental disability became apparent.
