Chapter 59: I Want to Report a Crime

Li Yi turned around and saw a familiar face.

He had never expected to run into Old Man Wang here.

Wang Guoguang recognized Li Yi too, but didn’t come over to speak. He merely nodded at him.

The bald department head frowned at the old man who had suddenly appeared, then said, “Comrade, this has nothing to do with you. Don’t go looking for trouble.”

Wang Guoguang immediately replied in anger, “How does it have nothing to do with me? Can you see the slogan above your heads? ‘Serve the people.’ I’m one of the people you’re supposed to serve!”

He went on, “This doesn’t just concern me. It concerns everyone here, because we’re all the people!”

“You… You’re just being unreasonable!” the bald department head said, sweat beading on his forehead.

“What do you mean, unreasonable? I’d say you’re the one with something to hide,” Wang Guoguang said, hitting the nail on the head.

“What would I have to hide?”

“Heh. Think about what you said just now. ‘If you can’t afford it, don’t waste our staff’s time.’ How are we supposed to know whether we can afford something if we don’t ask the price? And if we’re not allowed to ask anything, what do you need all these people for?”

The old man continued, “And let me make one thing clear: this supply and marketing cooperative is a government-run purchasing and distribution unit. All its goods are meant for ordinary people. Expensive items aren’t automatically reserved for officials!”

Seeing how commanding Wang Guoguang was, the department head realized he wasn’t an ordinary man. “Who are you, exactly? Why are you getting involved?”

“I’m an ordinary citizen. What of it? Is there a problem?”

“You…”

Seeing the bald man’s furious expression, Li Yi spoke up. “Old sir, don’t waste your time arguing with the likes of him. I think we should report this to the police and the disciplinary commission.”

The bald man snapped, “What do the police and the disciplinary commission have to do with this?”

“Nothing to do with them? We came here to buy something, and your employee insulted us. Isn’t that a matter for the police?” Li Yi said coolly.

“Then what does the disciplinary commission have to do with it?”

“Heh. I have serious doubts about your work ethic and competence. I really wonder how you people managed to get jobs at the cooperative. So I’d like the disciplinary commission to look into it. Is that not allowed?”

Without waiting for the department head to answer, Li Yi continued, “And there’s something fishy between you and this woman. What kind of woman, after being wronged, throws herself into her supervisor’s arms and cries? I have good reason to suspect you two are having an improper relationship. That’s something the disciplinary commission should investigate, too!”

To be honest, Li Yi had seen through the affair between the bald man and the saleswoman at a glance.

He hadn’t wanted to get involved with these people, but since the two of them had been so obnoxious, there was no reason to spare them. He called them out right then and there.

The department head’s face changed at once. “You… You’re slandering me. I have every right to sue you!”

“You don’t need to sue me. I’ll go get the police and disciplinary commission over here myself,” Li Yi said without a trace of concern.

“You… Comrade, I admit that Comrade Zhou Fengmei’s attitude at work was wrong. I’ll have her apologize to you. Can we let the matter end there?”

The department head knew how to bend when necessary. If this blew up, it would be bad for both him and Zhou Fengmei, so he was trying to make a serious matter into a minor one and a minor one into nothing.

But he had underestimated just how foolish the woman beside him was. The moment she heard him tell her to apologize, she balked.

“I’m not apologizing! I did nothing wrong…”

“Shut up! This isn’t up to you. Apologize now, or don’t bother coming to work tomorrow!” the department head shouted.

“You just wait, Gu Tongfu! You took advantage of a young, beautiful, unmarried woman like me, and now you want to fire me? I’m going to report you to the county!”

Her words caused an uproar.

Everyone had thought Li Yi was making things up, but it turned out he’d hit the nail on the head!

In an instant, the crowd’s expressions changed as they looked at the two of them.

Gu Tongfu, the department head, went deathly pale at the fool’s words. Was this really something to say in public? If it reached the higher-ups, he’d be finished.

This was a matter of personal conduct. If the higher-ups took notice, not even the gods could save him!

“Smack!”

A loud slap sent Zhou Fengmei stumbling backward several steps before she managed to regain her balance.

The saleswoman realized she’d said the wrong thing. She covered her face and cried off to one side, not daring to say another word.

Gu Tongfu turned to the crowd. “I’m sorry, everyone. Our comrade here has a habit of talking nonsense. Please don’t take it to heart…”

Li Yi said coldly, “Whether she’s talking nonsense isn’t for you to decide. You’d better start thinking about what you’ll tell the disciplinary commission.”

Gu Tongfu’s face darkened. “What’s with you, refusing to let this go? What exactly do you want?”

“That makes it sound as if we’ve done something to you. Remember what I told you earlier: this isn’t over.”

When he ran into a scumbag like this, Li Yi wanted to beat him to death with a stick, not leave him around for another day.

Just then, someone shouted, “The police are here!”

Li Yi looked toward the entrance of the cooperative and saw several uniformed officers hurrying inside. The man leading them was an acquaintance of his.

As soon as Li Gang entered, he looked around as if searching for someone.

When he spotted Li Yi in the crowd, he immediately headed over.

Seeing Li Gang walking straight toward him, apparently intending to speak, Li Yi took the initiative. “Officer, I’d like to file a report!”

Li Gang had originally meant to have a few words with Li Yi. Ever since their conversation a few days earlier, he’d kept thinking about what Li Yi had said. The words “short-lived ghost” had haunted his mind like a curse.

He hadn’t believed in ghosts or spirits, and at first he hadn’t taken the matter seriously.

But then he’d watched Wang Anguo follow Li Yi’s advice and solve the child abduction case with ease. That had shaken his confidence.

Li Yi’s advice to “dig deeper” still echoed in his ears.

No one could have imagined that those despicable traffickers had hidden the children in an abandoned mine shaft, dozens of meters underground.

Without Li Yi’s guidance, they would never have found them.

So, not wanting to die young, Li Gang had hoped to talk with Li Yi.

As it happened, while out on an errand that day, he’d spotted Li Yi’s big red mule outside the cooperative and gone in.

He had never imagined that the first thing Li Yi would say upon seeing him was that he wanted to file a report!