Ye Qing returned to his room, took out a sheet of white paper, and with a few simple strokes, sketched out a simple diagram of a building.
Ye Qing carefully recalled what he had seen today in the ruins, gradually marking spots on the building's walls. The areas he marked were severely damaged, the bricks even shattered.
The severely damaged areas Ye Qing had seen today were all marked on the building diagram. Looking at these spots, Ye Qing's frown deepened more and more.
"How could this be?" Ye Qing murmured quietly to himself, his eyes growing colder as he stared at the diagram.
Meanwhile, at the same time, inside the police station detention room, a middle-aged man sat restlessly. Due to excessive nervousness, he appeared somewhat agitated, unable to sit still.
After a while, the door suddenly opened. The man immediately looked up and saw a man in a suit and leather shoes standing at the door. His expression instantly brightened, as if he had seen a savior, and he hurriedly got up, saying, "Lawyer Zhou, you finally came!"
The visitor was Zhou Dingwen, a renowned attorney in Shenchuan City. The man, named Xu Beihua, was the developer of the Beihua Residential Area. With such a significant incident occurring in Beihua Residential Area, he, as the person in charge of the company, was detained immediately.
With such an incident occurring in Beihua Residential Area, Xu Beihua, as the person in charge, was certainly not going to escape responsibility this time.
"Lawyer Zhou, what's the situation now?" Xu Beihua asked anxiously.
Zhou Dingwen sat down at the table, looked at Xu Beihua with a grave expression, and said, "President Xu, this time the situation is very troublesome."
"How troublesome is it?" Xu Beihua asked urgently, "We are only the developers, not the constructors. In such a case, the main responsibility lies with the constructor, not with us."
"President Xu, you should be aware that as a developer, you bear the responsibility of overseeing the project. The constructor using banned materials, as a developer, you wouldn't be unaware.
Even if you truly didn't know, that would indicate a lack of oversight," Zhou Dingwen paused, then continued, "Moreover, we've found that the construction team in Beihua Residential Area was not qualified for undertaking the project. You shouldn't have been unaware of this before, President Xu!"
Xu Beihua's expression was extremely grim, as he had indeed known about these issues before. But as the construction team lacked sufficient qualifications and asked for a modest price, it allowed him to make an extra profit. Thus, under those circumstances, he had deceptively handed the project over to that team.
Now that an accident had occurred, the issue was exposed, and it would become the primary evidence of his crime.
"Is there no way to resolve this?" Xu Beihua whispered, "Is it a matter of money? How much is needed?"
Zhou Dingwen's eyes flickered with displeasure and said, "President Xu, given the magnitude of this incident, which everyone in Shenchuan City knows about, how much money do you think could cover it up?"
Xu Beihua understood too that the issue had blown up too much, and he really couldn't justify himself anymore. However, he truly did not want to go to jail. He had started from nothing and climbed step by step to his current position, it had not been easy. Now, with his vast wealth, the thought of going to jail was more unbearable than death!
"Is there... really no solution then?" Xu Beihua asked sadly.
Zhou Dingwen frowned, this matter was considered very serious from above, and he dared not twist right and wrong. Moreover, with the evidence being so conclusive, Xu Beihua truly couldn't escape.
Seeing Zhou Dingwen remain silent, Xu Beihua looked nearly desperate, grasping Zhou Dingwen's hand and tremblingly said, "Lawyer Zhou... please help me, I really don't want to go to jail. You... go talk to Director Liu, he is my fellow villager, he will definitely help me..."
Zhou Dingwen shook his head. In such a major case, no one wanted to be involved. At a time , no one would want to wade into these muddy waters!
"President Xu, the only thing you can do now is to cooperate with the inspection authorities as much as possible, aiming for a lighter sentence," Zhou Dingwen spoke softly.
Xu Beihua looked at Zhou Dingwen, and after a long while, suddenly stood up and shouted, "I... I will not go to jail! I absolutely will not go to jail!"
With his outburst, the door was flung open, and two police officers rushed in to hold Xu Beihua down on the chair.
"President Xu, I'm sorry, but the law is the law," Zhou Dingwen stood up and said, "I will defend you, but you shouldn't have too much hope for the outcome of the defense."
Zhou Dingwen then walked out directly, and Xu Beihua shouted loudly behind him, but being held down by the two officers, he couldn't even stand up.
As Zhou Dingwen walked away, the expressions of the two officers changed instantly. One of them punched Xu Beihua in the stomach and cursed, "Yell, yell, keep yelling and I'll kill you!"
Xu Beihua, clutching his stomach and leaning on the table, was himself a well-known entrepreneur in Shenchuan City, and had never been treated .
He endured the severe pain in his abdomen, turned to look at the two officers, and said with a heavy voice, "I... I have no quarrel with you, why... why are you doing this to me?"
"Your project nearly killed our captain," the officer said angrily; the captain he referred to was Zhao Chengshuang.
Zhao Chengshuang had nearly died in the ruins, which incited the outrage of his subordinates, and these officers were definitely not going to be kind to Xu Beihua.
Xu Beihua lay on the table panting heavily; he had finally understood what it meant to be bullied when you're down. Yet, there was nothing he could change. Looking at the empty walls around him, his heart neared despair.
The next day, Ye Qing reported to the office and then went out on business again. He wanted to give the few business deals that Wang Xuan had handed him another try.
In the morning, he visited three companies but still didn't secure a single deal. At noon, Ye Qing didn't return to the office; instead, he went straight to the hospital.
In the hospital, Zhao Cheng Shuang had woken up. The guy looked quite spirited now; when Ye Qing arrived, he was half reclining on the bed, chatting with a few colleagues.
Seeing Ye Qing come over, Zhao Cheng Shuang immediately excitedly lifted the only hand he could move and said, "Ye brothers."
Ye Qing walked over, and by now, the friends around Zhao Cheng Shuang also recognized Ye Qing, greeted him. A few of the police officers needed to go back to work in the afternoon, so they left, leaving Ye Qing to look after Zhao Cheng Shuang.
Ye Qing sat down by the bed. Seeing Ye Qing, Zhao Cheng Shuang's mood improved even more and he said, "Ye brothers, have you eaten?"
"Just ate." Ye Qing had casually eaten something downstairs in the hospital just before.
Zhao Cheng Shuang said, "Why eat so early? Come and join me for a simple meal. The hospital food is not bad, quite well made."
Ye Qing smiled faintly and shook his head, looking at Zhao Cheng Shuang and asked, "How are you feeling now?"
"It hurts," Zhao Cheng Shuang glanced at Ye Qing and laughed, saying, "But, the pain was worth it. I heard from my dad that I made a great contribution this time!"
Zhao Cheng Shuang had narrowly escaped death this time and saved so many people; his merits were indeed great. The city bureau was now considering it, and a second-class merit was definitely in the offing, something Zhao Cheng Shuang had always wished for.
"That's good," Ye Qing nodded and said, "But, you were a bit too reckless last time."
"To be honest, it was my first time being so reckless!" Zhao Cheng laughed, saying, "Ye brothers, I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. When the wall fell yesterday, I thought I was definitely a goner.
People say you think a lot when you're about to die; at that moment, all I could think was, 'Are the two of us really going to die ?' That was the only thought in my mind; I didn't have time to think of anything else before I got knocked out."
"No regrets jumping in to save people?" Ye Qing asked.
"Regret what? There was no time to think about that; I was just wondering if I was definitely going to die," Zhao Cheng Shuang said, "But now, thinking about it, I don't feel much regret, just a feeling of being scared. Think about it, a huge wall falling down, who wouldn't be scared?"
Ye Qing nodded; Zhao Cheng Shuang could say this, which showed his nature wasn't bad. Although he was a bit timid, he had thought about whether the person on his back would die with him at that moment, which showed he was a very responsible person!
Ye Qing actually used to look down on Zhao Cheng Shuang, thinking he was just a spoiled rich kid with no capabilities, merely a trouble-making second-generation rich kid. However, his opinion of him had changed significantly now. Regardless of his background, understanding duty and responsibility defines a man, a person worthy of respect!
"By the way, a lot of people came to see me this morning, the relatives of those I saved," Zhao Cheng Shuang said this with an excited expression on his face, saying, "Ye brothers, you have no idea. I've never been valued or praised in my life. They didn't say much, but I could tell, their words were sincere, their gratitude was genuine."
Ye Qing looked at Zhao Cheng Shuang, and said, "That's quite nice."
"Yeah!" Zhao Cheng Shuang sighed slowly, saying, "Just until now, I finally understand those four words my old man often told me. 'Joy in helping others,' turns out, helping others can also bring happiness."
Ye Qing glanced at Zhao Cheng Shuang, wondering if his thought process had been elevated to this level because his head was smashed?
"It's just... the person I carried yesterday, he didn't make it…" saying this, Zhao Cheng Shuang's expression grew somber.
That person was carried by him personally but didn't survive, a feeling that would sadden anyone
"You did your best," Ye Qing said softly.
"Maybe," Zhao Cheng Shuang sighed again, saying, "Ye brothers, thank you."
"Why are you thanking me?" Ye Qing asked, curious.
Zhao Cheng Shuang looked at Ye Qing and suddenly smiled, saying, "Thanks for saving me!"
What Zhao Cheng Shuang really wanted to thank Ye Qing for was the inspiration he provided; it was Ye Qing who made him understand a man's responsibility, and Ye Qing had set an example for him. Coming from a military family, his veins also pulsed with fervor!
Ye Qing smiled faintly and said, "By the way, can you do me a favor?"