New River District People's Hospital.
Feng Wen paced anxiously outside the operating room. Feng Wu and Liu Chao were both inside undergoing surgery.
However, he wasn't worried about his brother's safety, but rather if the police would trace the incident back to him and whether he should flee.
He had called Xiao Wen earlier, wanting to know where the two arsonists had gone and if they had been caught, but the phone was turned off.
This made him deeply uneasy. If Jiang Bin hadn't been there, he would have rushed to the bank to transfer the money from the check into his own account, to avoid any further complications.
"Director Jiang, you must be hungry. I'll go buy some breakfast."
Suddenly remembering that they hadn't had breakfast yet, Feng Wen found an excuse.
"Yes, go ahead. Prepare some for them too. They should be out soon."
Jiang Bin was still immersed in the frustration of the factory being burned down and didn't notice the change in Feng Wen's expression.
Feng Wen breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out of the hospital. It was already past nine o'clock, and the banks were open. The check was from Construction Bank, and there happened to be one near the hospital.
"Miss, I need to make a transfer."
There weren't many people in the bank, and Feng Wen didn't have to queue upon entering. He handed the check and his bank card over.
The beautiful bank teller scanned the check emotionlessly and then looked at Feng Wen with a strange expression.
"I'm sorry, your check stamp is incorrect, and the unit specified has not opened an account with us. This check is fake."
"Fake? How is that possible?"
Feng Wen's mind went blank. He had been tricked by that woman named Xiao Wen again. No, he suspected that even the name Xiao Wen was fake.
"The check is indeed fake. If you've been scammed, you should report it to the police immediately. Next, please."
The bank teller reminded him with a hint of sympathy.
Feng Wen, crestfallen, picked up his check and bank card and walked out of the bank. He suddenly didn't know what to do. If he ran, he only had two hundred yuan in cash and seven or eight hundred in his card. He would still have to work in another city.
But if he didn't run, the police would surely investigate him. The escape of the two arsonists was enough to arouse police suspicion, and he, as the guide, could not escape responsibility.
While he was hesitating, Jiang Bin called.
"Xiao Feng, your brother and Liu Chao are out. Their condition isn't too serious. Buy some soy milk and steamed buns, they're both hungry. They're in room 304 on the third floor of the inpatient building."
"Alright, I'll be right back."
Feng Wen decided to check on his brother first. Even if he had to escape, he would bring him breakfast.
He bought four servings of soy milk and four cages of steamed buns on the street, along with the day's newspaper, and returned to the hospital.
When he reached the third floor of the inpatient building and found room 304, the door was opened by two unfamiliar men.
"You're Feng Wen, aren't you? I'm Lin Nan from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the District Police Bureau. You are suspected of involvement in the arson case at Lijian Panel Factory. Please come with us for investigation."
During the investigation of the panel factory fire, the Xinqiao Police Station discovered that the fire was clearly arson, a major criminal case, and reported it to the district police bureau.
Lin Nan took on the case voluntarily because he knew the panel factory belonged to Yang Jian and he wanted to help find the culprit. Based on the clues provided by the police station, Feng Wen was a major suspect because the two businessmen he brought into the factory yesterday had disappeared.
Feng Wen's face turned ashen. He hadn't expected the police to arrive so quickly. If he had known, he wouldn't have returned to the hospital and would have left directly by long-distance bus.
Seeing his brother being taken away by the police, Feng Wu, who had just come out of surgery, was stunned. He couldn't understand why his brother would lead people to commit arson.
He quickly called his parents to inform them of the situation and prepare them psychologically.
Nanhu Farm.
Hong Xing gathered Brother Mao, Bao Guo, and Shen Hua.
"Brother Mao, I just learned from the police station that a special task force has been formed, led by Lin Nan, to investigate the arson case at Lijian Panel Factory. Feng Wen has been apprehended. Have all the people you arranged left Xinhe?"
Hong Xing had eyes and ears everywhere and was the first to learn about the police department's movements.
Brother Mao smiled, "You can trust me to handle things. Lin Nan won't get any useful information from Feng Wen. Not only have the people he met with left Xinhe, but I've also had the casino shut down.
Everyone in the casino yesterday was our people. We went to great lengths to set up this trap, renting the ancestral hall in Zhongjia Village and even closing down our real casino in Qiaotou Village. Therefore, no one admits to having a casino in Zhongjia Village yesterday, and no one saw Feng Wen."
"That was handled beautifully. Do you think Yang Jian will go crazy and come back to seek revenge from us?"
"Given his personality, he should. I've had a brother follow San Pang to stay in Yangli Village. As soon as Yang Jian is spotted, he'll report him to the police immediately, ensuring he rots in jail."
Bao Guo was a little worried, "Master, what if Yang Jian comes directly to Chengguan with his men? His brothers are very fierce."
Before Brother Mao could speak, Shen Hua jumped up, "What are we afraid of? Tomorrow I'll take people to Xiaosha River, restart the excavators, and repair that dirt road. I'd like to see if Yang Jian dares to show himself."
Hong Xing kicked him, "Why are you shouting? Listen to Brother Mao on this matter."
Brother Mao thought for a moment and said, "It's okay for Xiao Shen to take people to test the waters. Lijian Company is in a state of panic now. Jing Yongli is not in charge, and Feng Wu is injured and hospitalized. No one should obstruct the reopening of the sand quarry.
However, be careful. Yang Jian is very insidious. He might already be planning to attack us. He doesn't like to wait overnight for revenge."
Hong Xing nodded and said, "I'll speak to Zhou Hong later and ask him to temporarily halt operations. With the panel factory burned down, Yaochi Garden will lose its most important source of funding and might become a烂尾工程 (unfinished project). He should be able to see the situation."
"Burning down one template factory is still not enough. If we had burned down the cold storage and the decorative panel factory yesterday in one go, it would have been perfect. Yang Jian would have had no chance to recover. Xiao Shen, you smashed the security department yesterday, why didn't you burn down the cold storage too?"
Brother Mao seemed a bit regretful, feeling that burning down only the template factory wouldn't be a significant blow to Yang Jian. The trading company and the decorative panel production line could still generate wealth for him, giving him a chance to make a comeback.
Shen Hua pouted, "I wanted to burn down both the security department and the cold storage, but the Xinqiao Police Station responded too quickly. As soon as the template factory caught fire, someone reported it immediately. We started our actions after receiving instructions from your two brothers. Before we even finished smashing the security department, we heard the police sirens. We didn't dare to continue the arson."
"Then now we can only hope Yang Jian returns and walks into our trap. Otherwise, he's still a threat to us."
"He's a wanted fugitive on the run, what are we afraid of him for? I bet he won't dare to come back. Otherwise, after the poisoning incident last time and the smashing of Jing Yongli's house, he would have returned long ago. I think he's a coward. Faced with our repeated provocations, he can only choose to be a shrinking turtle." Shen Hua had never directly confronted Yang Jian and was unconvinced of his great reputation.