Mingzhu City, Duan Village.
As the New Year approached, she had specially prepared a holiday gift for the elderly villagers over the age of sixty. In addition to rice, flour, and cooking oil, each senior also received an extra New Year red envelope containing one thousand yuan.
“Yutong is such a good child, she always keeps her hometown in her heart!”
“Isn't that the truth? She's made a name for herself out there, yet she still remembers us old bones. She's much better than my own children, who I don't even see once a year.”
“This girl has been kind-hearted since she was little. She's beautiful, and her heart is even more impeccable.”
“The Liu family's granddaughter is truly successful! And so righteous! Our entire Duan Village shares in her glory!”
“Accountant Liu is so blessed!”
“...”
The small square in the village was packed with people, everyone talking at once as they praised Liu Yutong.
Liu Yutong's grandparents also had glowing, red faces. Having such a successful granddaughter made them walk with their backs completely straight wherever they went.
Now, let alone the town leaders, even the city leaders who came down to the countryside would make a special trip to sit in their home, politely chatting with Old Mr. Liu, their words full of admiration for Liu Yutong.
Liu Chengjiang truly felt that his old bones had somehow become younger and more energetic.
Just as Liu Yutong was handing out red envelopes to the villagers one by one, her phone rang. It was Zhao Tianyi calling.
“Miss, I have already intervened on this end. Procedurally speaking, there are no problems for now. Zhang Tao is currently cooperating with the investigation and has not been criminally detained. This is one of the best scenarios we anticipated.”
“However, the wind in Huaicheng seems a bit off lately. Someone has put pressure on the police department there, leaning towards classifying the case as intentional injury causing death, or even intentional homicide. The pressure is significant; it doesn't look like something an ordinary person could pull off.”
“So, Zhao Biao's connections are very strong?”
“From the information we've gathered so far, Zhao Biao seems to be the son-in-law of a certain representative in Huaicheng. The other party has been operating locally for many years and has strong influence.”
“Then what support do you need?”
“Just in case, I hope to borrow your Weibo platform to mobilize public opinion and gain more initiative for us.”
“Actually, besides Zhang Tao's case, our law firm has received two other cases where people were found guilty despite deaths resulting from justifiable self-defense. It's just that those two cases happened a while ago. The families refused to accept the verdicts and always wanted to appeal, but they hit a wall with many law firms. I want to use Zhang Tao's case to thoroughly bring the standards for determining justifiable self-defense to the table for public discussion.”
Liu Yutong thought for a moment and said, “That's fine, but I will have someone moderately guide and control the direction of public opinion. We cannot let it spiral out of control and turn into pure incitement.”
Zhao Tianyi quickly replied, “I understand!”
Just as she hung up the phone, a panting voice rang out behind Liu Yutong.
“M-Miss! I... I have a situation to report!”
Liu Yutong turned around and saw Ma Da, covered in sweat, holding his knees and gasping for air. She couldn't help but be taken aback. “Ma Da? Why did you run all the way here?”
“I... I ran here.” Ma Da said, out of breath.
“You ran here?” Liu Yutong was surprised.
Ma Da took several more deep breaths before he barely managed to catch his breath. “M-Miss! I have deeply realized my mistake. I ran... ran all the way from Mingzhu City. Along the way, I even did thirty-six good deeds and helped eighty old grandmas cross the street. Of course, some of the streets were the same one, and the old grandma was the same one too. She insisted I looked like her grandson and forced me to help her cross again...”
Liu Yutong: “...”
Are you just picking a fight with an old lady?
Liu Yutong could also roughly guess why Ma Da was doing this.
Because he had failed in his duties, Liu Yutong had punished him by ordering him to lose ten pounds within half a month.
This guy actually ran straight from Mingzhu City. As for whether he truly ran the whole way or just got out of a car near the destination and started running, only he himself knew.
“Alright, stop spouting this nonsense. Just tell me, have you lost your ten pounds of flesh?” Liu Yutong asked.
“Definitely! More than ten pounds!”
After bragging, Ma Da quickly got down to business. “Miss, although I was careless over in Huaicheng before, I promise to keep a close eye on things from now on. If those local snakes want to stir up trouble, they'll have to ask me, Ma Da, if I agree first.”
Liu Yutong: “Did you hear any rumors?”
Ma Da: “I received news on my end that several local gangs in Huaicheng seem to have been brought together recently. It looks like they want to test our depths and give us a show of strength. I'm guessing it's because we suddenly appeared in Huaicheng and took out Zhao Biao, which touched some people's nerves. No, wait, we acted in justifiable self-defense.”
Liu Yutong was silent for a moment, looking at the smiling faces of the villagers not far away. “It seems someone thinks we are paper tigers and wants to poke us. Or rather, the waters in Huaicheng are inherently deeper than we thought.”
Ma Da nodded. “We analyzed that Zhao Biao is very likely just a white glove pushed to the front by some behind-the-scenes figure. We touched his people, especially knowing that we also sent one guy to Mingzhu City, so the other side is getting a bit desperate. On one hand, they want to use pressure to make Zhang Tao's case an ironclad conviction, and on the other, they want to show us some color.”
After that underling of Zhao Biao was handed over to Gao Min, knowing he was definitely going to trigger a reincarnation mode, he simply spilled everything he could. Zhao Biao ran sandpits and other businesses in Huaicheng, and did quite a few bad things. Baldy also knew some things, and it very likely involved the people behind Zhao Biao.
If that was really the case, the other party's fierce reaction would make sense.
“Miss, I think we need to make preparations in advance. We are unfamiliar with the people and the place in Huaicheng; let's not fall into a trap again,” Ma Da said.
Of course, the probability of that was very low.
With the Wanlong Syndicate's current scale and network of connections, it would be quite difficult for anyone who truly wanted to make them suffer a major setback.
But it was always right to be cautious in everything.
At this moment, an elderly man who had just received his New Year goods walked by happily carrying his things, greeting Liu Yutong: “Yutong girl, come to my house for a meal when you're done! Your grandma stewed an old hen, it's incredibly fragrant!”
Liu Yutong's face instantly broke into a smile. “Thank you, Sixth Grandpa, I appreciate the thought, but I have to rush back soon; there are still matters to handle. You and Auntie eat more and nourish your bodies.”
The elderly man was a bit regretful. “I see, then you must come next time. You may be busy, but you must take care of your health.”
“Aye, thank you for your concern, Sixth Grandpa,” Liu Yutong said with a smile.
Once the old man had walked far enough away, she turned her attention back to Ma Da. "Then we will take a two-pronged approach. Zhao Tianyi's side will coordinate the public opinion offensive, with the goal of getting Zhang Tao acquitted and released. On your end, deploy some manpower into Huaicheng. The focus will be on gathering evidence of illegal activities by anyone associated with Zhao Biao, as well as dirt on those local gangs. If they cannot hold back, we will send them to a safe place behind bars. Meanwhile, I will see if I can have a word with Uncle Li and push an investigation team down from the provincial level. Anyone who can gather so many local thugs together certainly deserves this kind of special treatment."
She was doing this, firstly, to hand her sister an achievement. With Baldy in her custody, her sister would have a legitimate reason to intervene.
Secondly, she felt there was no need to investigate exactly how many local connections the person behind Zhao Biao had. It was better to just cut the Gordian knot. In the face of a provincial investigation team, any local connections would be rendered useless.
Ma Da's spirits lifted as he listened. He nodded, "Yes, I will get on it right away! I guarantee that anyone who dares to stick their neck out will be pushed right back down, one by one!"
He turned around and was just about to leave when Liu Yutong called out to stop him.
"Wait."
Ma Da looked back. "What is it, Miss? Is there anything else you need me to do?"
Liu Yutong pointed to the rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil on a large truck not far away. "Since you are already here, do not let the trip go to waste. The village is short on hands to distribute the supplies. Go help carry the rice and oil; you can consider it a weight-loss exercise."
Ma Da was speechless.
"Miss, can I say no..."
"Hmm?" Liu Yutong raised an eyebrow slightly.
Ma Da immediately patted his chest. "No problem! Serving the people! It is my absolute duty!"
