The man coughed for a while before finally stopping. However, his head hung down like a broken neck, and he refused to get up from the ground.
Wen Siqiang grabbed his hair, forcing him to lift his head. "Are you going to talk or keep drinking?" he asked.
The man's eyes were lusterless, like those of a dead fish. He weakly squeezed out a few words: "I'll talk."
Wen Siqiang said, "Wouldn't it have been easier to talk earlier? You only brought suffering upon yourself."
Wen Siqiang had two subordinates lift him up and drag him in front of me.
In a very low voice, he said, "We are Wu Guodong's men, but this wasn't his idea. A local from the mainland named Sun brought our boss a lot of money. In exchange, they asked us to carry out this operation."
As expected, although I had guessed they were Wu Guodong's men, I hadn't expected Principal Sun to pay such a high price for this operation.
I asked, "What was your role inside?"
He replied, "We have eight operational teams in total, with over thirty men in each team. The group that came last time was the first team. I am the district chief, in charge of four teams. Three teams came today. It was supposed to be a sure victory, but I didn't expect you to use a forklift for clearance, which disrupted our plan."
I hadn't expected that a sudden whim of mine would unearth a nest of rats.
It was just that this nest of rats was quite vicious, nearly leading to my complete annihilation.
I said, "You really only recognize money and not people. Last time, when your men came to cause trouble, I sent word. We were minding our own business, and yet your dog-like Wu Guodong actually sent you to stir up trouble for a few measly coins. Wu Guodong and I have no grievances, but he has repeatedly sent people to cause trouble. That makes us enemies. Go back and tell Wu Guodong to wait. I will settle this score with him completely! Today, I'll give you two choices: either you go back and they stay, or they go back and you stay."
I gave him a question to answer.
As expected, his face showed distress as he looked at me, finding my decision difficult.
I gave him a reassuring look, letting him know there was no other choice.
He said, "I'll stay, and let them go back!"
He spoke with such firmness that I found it hard to believe.
I looked at him with new respect, not expecting him to be such a man, willing to sacrifice himself to protect his brothers.
I said, "I admire your loyalty to the country, but I've changed my mind. I'll let you go back, and I want to keep your brothers here for a few days. We'll make a decision after your boss gives me a reply. You don't have any objections, do you?"
He didn't expect me to make such a decision and looked at me, puzzled.
He said, "I know your intention is to display your strength to General Wu Guodong. However, if I go back and my subordinates don't, I am as good as dead. What use is it for me to go back? This is why I chose to have them go back and me stay. If I stay, I might still live, or at least have my body intact. If I go back and they cannot, they face only death."
I remained silent, not expecting that my decision would lead to such a cruel outcome.
I said, "Haven't you considered me letting all of you go back?"
He replied, "Either I go back to face death, or they go back to report. There is absolutely no third possibility, so I don't want it, nor will I allow it to happen."
I said, "What if I choose the third possibility? That is, letting all of you go back."
He said, "I still choose to refuse. Only in this way can I protect my brothers."
I was truly moved by him, not expecting that their men would have such a high level of awareness.