Chapter 81: The House

Chapter 81: The House

"You shameless bastard!" Huang Qiuyan gritted her teeth and shouted at Li Jie, who was trying to flip the blame onto her.

People gradually gathered around, watching the scene with interest.

"And there's more. Sleeping around is nothing compared to embezzling public funds and lining your own pockets."

"If you don't want me to say it all here, just come quietly with us to get this sorted out." With that, Li Jie grabbed Huang Qiuyan's arm, trying to drag her off.

Huang Qiuyan stepped back to dodge. She knew exactly what Li Jie was like—no way she'd go with him. "What do I have to fear? Go ahead and say it. I've got nothing to hide. I walk tall."

"Fine, have it your way. Drag her away." Li Jie signaled the men beside him.

The crowd backed off, none of them wanting trouble. Wang Dexian was about to be transferred, and the mining area would soon belong to Li Jie and his boys.

"If you've got something to say, say it right here. If I'm gonna be questioned, it should be by the cops. Who do you think you are?"

"Since when can anybody just drag someone off the street? Is there no law anymore?" Huang Qiuyan snatched the knife off the cutting board, defiant.

"Exactly! Cops are the ones who make arrests!"

"At this rate, anybody could get dragged off the street. This is total lawlessness!"

Two vendors who were on decent terms with Huang Qiuyan couldn't help but speak up.

"Around here, I'm the law!"

Li Jie used to be the final word in the mining area—nobody dared question him. But ever since Wang Dexian showed up, these people had gotten bolder.

"Anybody else running their mouth, I'll haul you all in!"

The murmuring died back down.

"Alright, just cooperate. We're not gonna hurt you. As long as you come clean, nothing's gonna happen."

Li Jie said, getting impatient. He didn't really want to hurt Huang Qiuyan—he just wanted to get at Wang Dexian.

"I've got nothing to confess." Huang Qiuyan glared at him, knife in hand.

"Goddammit!" Li Jie was about to lunge when somebody shoved him aside.

Zhao Qian was out of breath. He'd planned to give Huang Qiuyan a hand, but from a distance he saw a crowd gathered, Li Jie front and center.

Without a second thought, he charged over and planted himself in front of Huang Qiuyan.

Li Jie was helped back up. "You looking to die?!"

"Grab him." His guys closed in around them.

Zhao Qian took the knife from Huang Qiuyan and stared them down without flinching.

"Xiao Qian." Huang Qiuyan said, her voice tight.

"It's fine. I sent somebody to get Zheng Qiang." Zhao Qian said in a low voice.

Zhao Qian had been around the mining area for years, and he knew the score.

Over the years, Wang Dexian and Zhou Wei had split into two factions, fighting out in the open and behind each other's backs. Now that Wang Dexian was getting transferred, Zhou Wei was bound to stir up trouble.

But he never expected the fire to land on Qiuyan.

Now all they could do was wait for Wang Dexian to sort this out. Zheng Qiang was one of Wang Dexian's people. In a fight between the two factions, it was always the regular folks who got caught in the crossfire.

Zhao Qian held the knife, looking like he wasn't messing around. One of the guys leaned in and whispered to Li Jie.

"Boss, we need to wrap this up fast. Wang Dexian's gonna be back this afternoon. Let's just get her to come along quietly first."

Li Jie snorted in irritation. In his book, a good beating would fix everything.

"Fine, we'll do it right here." Besides, the more people who heard, the more the rumors would spread. Besides, he did have evidence.

"Huang Qiuyan, if you deny screwing around with Wang Dexian, then how do you explain that apartment you bought?"

Huang Qiuyan frowned deeply. "I bought a house with my own hard-earned money. What's the problem?"

"Ha!" Li Jie sneered. "How much did you pay? And how many square meters did you get? Don't you know in your heart?"

Li Jie had done his homework earlier. He didn't have solid proof of the affair, but he had found something else.

At the management office, the receipt for Huang Qiuyan's payment clearly showed she paid for 101 square meters, but the final notation listed 120 square meters. The difference was said to have been made up.

But who would believe that!

The shantytown buildings were handled entirely by Wang Dexian. If he wanted to pay less and get more, it was just a word from him. Wasn't that the perfect handle to grab?

As long as Huang Qiuyan admitted it, that was solid proof of corruption.

At these words, the crowd erupted in murmurs.

Buying a house was a sensitive issue in the mining area lately. Who wanted to live in asbestos-tile shacks? But not everyone could afford the apartment prices.

Every family had to grit their teeth, and after buying, they'd have to scrimp and save.

Now hearing Li Jie's accusation, everyone looked skeptical. Could that really happen?

If so, that was outrageous. They paid with their hard-earned money—why should some people get something for nothing? For a moment, the looks directed at Huang Qiuyan turned strange.

Zhao Qian, standing in front of Huang Qiuyan, suddenly realized something. His face went pale, and he frowned nervously.

"What?" Huang Qiuyan was stunned. She had indeed bought 101 square meters. How could it have been swapped? "I ordered 101 and paid for 101."

"Still talking tough? See for yourself." The sales office ledger was already in his hand. Unit 1, first floor, the 120-square-meter unit indeed had Huang Qiuyan's name on it.

And the receipt stuck beside it showed the price for the smaller size.

A nosy onlooker leaned in for a look. "It's true!"

"Could there really be something going on? Why can't we pay for a small house and get a big one?"

Zhao Qian clenched his fist, his face cold and stern. Suddenly he spoke up: "The difference was paid by me."

"Flip to the next page. I paid for the bigger unit but got the smaller one."

Li Jie was taken aback. When he spotted this loophole, he was too excited to bother checking anyone else's records and had come straight to confront Huang Qiuyan.

He flipped to the next page. Sure enough, on the next page, same floor, the smaller unit had Zhao Qian's name on it.

Damn it, are you out of your mind? He's just messing with you, Li Jie snapped the ledger shut. "I don't give a damn what your deal is!"

"There's nothing else here—are you stupid? Who'd believe you'd spend that much on a tiny place?"

"Take 'em away."

At Li Jie's command, several men rushed forward. Zhao Qian shoved Huang Qiuyan back, thrusting a knife into her hand. "Run home."

Then he threw himself in front to shield her, kicking the first attacker down, but another man grabbed his arm tightly.

Zhao Qian yanked his arm free and punched the man in the stomach with his other fist.

Though Li Jie had many men, most were a bunch of useless desk jockeys, lazy and unfit, no match for the tall, strong, and young Zhao Qian.

Seeing his men unable to subdue Zhao Qian, Li Jie frowned, grabbed an iron clipboard from a nearby stall, and swung it at Zhao Qian's head.