Liu Jinbao nodded smugly. "Of course I do. You think I'd dare come here without it? Captain Yang, I have a note written by Yang Guangming himself. You'll understand once you see it." He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Yang Dingbang.
Yang Dingbang glanced at it and passed it to Wang He. "A bunch of legally illiterate fools!"
Liu Jinbao sensed that something was wrong.
Lin Lan leaned over to look. The note stated that Yang Guangming had borrowed a total of one hundred fifty yuan from Liu Jinbao on several occasions. It was agreed that the debt would be repaid in two months. If it was overdue, his wife, Lin Lan, would sleep with Liu Jinbao to settle the debt.
Yang Guangming's signature and thumbprint were at the bottom.
Enraged, Lin Lan stepped forward and kicked Liu Jinbao. "You animal! Scum of the earth!"
Caught off guard, Liu Jinbao was kicked to the ground. He scrambled up, pointed at her, and said to Wang He, "Mr. Wang, look at this! She dares to hit me even with you here."
Wang He gave him a cold look. "Considering what you've done, you deserve a beating!"
Liu Jinbao craned his neck defiantly. "You ignore the murderer but come after me instead."
Yang Dingbang looked at Liu Jinbao. "Liu Jinbao, you led people to illegally break into a private residence. You have broken the law."
Liu Jinbao's beady eyes widened. "I lent him money, and I came to collect the debt. And you say I'm breaking the law? Do you take me for a fool?"
Yang Dingbang stared him down. "This is a gambling debt. Using a wife and child to pay off a debt is a practice from the old society. This is the new society. What you're doing is illegal."
Liu Jinbao flinched, then lifted his head and squinted at him. "A gambling debt is still a debt. The new society doesn't say you can just refuse to pay. Yang Guangming is dead, but his wife and son are still here. A husband's debt is paid by the wife, a father's debt is paid by the son. You can't be thinking of welshing on this, can you?"
Wang He looked at him. "Liu Jinbao, the law stipulates that debts incurred by one spouse through gambling are considered illegal debts and are not protected by law. You organized illegal gambling and attempted to coerce others, which is also against the law."
Liu Jinbao's beady eyes darted around. He pointed at Yang Dingbang and Wang He. "You're all in this together! I'm going to report you for harboring a murderer." With that, he tried to slip away.
Wang He stepped forward and grabbed him. "Where do you think you're going? I'll take you to the station to file that report."
Liu Jinbao argued evasively, "I wasn't running!"
Yang Dingbang said to Lin Lan, "Ma'am, please come with us to the police station to give a statement."
"Okay," Lin Lan nodded. "Auntie, could you please watch Douzi for me?"
The old woman gave her a sympathetic look. "Go on. Make sure everything is clear before you come back."
Lin Lan followed Wang He toward the police station. She noticed that on the left were villagers' courtyards, and on the right was a large expanse of rice paddies. The tractor path was paved with gravel. The commune members living closer to the city were much better off than those in the countryside.
After walking for half an hour, they entered an alley about two meters wide. The alley twisted and turned, with no end in sight.
The three of them walked for more than fifteen minutes through the winding alley before emerging onto a street, where they could immediately see an intersection.
The street at the mouth of the alley was lined with hibiscus trees. A rusty bus stop sign read "Furong Street Station."
The street was somewhat deserted, with only a few pedestrians walking by in twos and threes, and a tricycle cart pulling coal briquettes.
Directly across the street, raised five or six steps above street level, was a large courtyard. A sign hanging on the gate frame read "Xingmian Town Police Station," with the police crest above it.
She followed Wang He across the street and saw that the street to the left of the intersection was much livelier, bustling with people coming and going. In the original owner's memory, the city hospital was in that direction. 'It seems hospitals are always the busiest places, no matter the era,' she thought.
Wang He led the two into the duty office, pushed Liu Jinbao down onto a chair, and turned to Lin Lan, saying, "Have a seat."
Lin Lan figured Liu Jinbao must be a regular here. He didn't seem nervous at all, slumping into the chair with a careless slouch, his body turned to the side.
Then, a female police officer with two large braids came in and sat down right next to Wang He.
Wang He handed the IOU to the female officer. "Little Yao, this is what Liu Jinbao produced."
The officer called Little Yao read it, then glanced at Lin Lan. She noticed that despite her messy hair, the woman sat there calmly. She wasn't timid and shrinking like other commune members who came to the police station. She exuded a resolute confidence that seemed to come from her very bones.
It was the first time she had ever seen a woman so composed after encountering something like this.
Little Yao slapped the IOU on the table and looked at Liu Jinbao, her voice cold. "This is the new society, yet someone still dares to pull a stunt like this!"
Liu Jinbao knew she was talking about him. He looked up at Officer Little Yao but didn't dare to make a sound.
Wang He recounted what he had seen at the doorway of Lin Lan's home to Officer Little Yao, who recorded it diligently.
The two officers began to question Liu Jinbao. He stuck to his story that Lin Lan refused to pay her debt and had tried to murder him.
Lin Lan stated that he had broken into her home and she had acted in self-defense.
Wang He looked at him and said, "Liu Jinbao, you'd better think carefully. False accusation is a crime that carries a sentence."
Liu Jinbao looked at Wang He, his expression flickering. When Officer Little Yao asked him to sign and fingerprint his statement, he refused.
BANG! Wang He slammed his hand on the table and glared at Liu Jinbao. "Liu Jinbao, you'd better tell the truth. The neighbors of the Yang family are all present. We can question all of them."
Only then did Liu Jinbao confess to kicking down the door and breaking into the Yang family's home.
After Officer Little Yao recorded his new statement, she had him sign and add his thumbprint.
Wang He looked at Lin Lan and asked her the same questions again. Lin Lan recounted the events once more.
Officer Little Yao quickly took notes. When she finished, she read it back to Lin Lan before having her sign and add her thumbprint.
Lin Lan carefully signed her name stroke by stroke, meticulously imitating the original owner's handwriting.
Wang He tapped the IOU on the table and looked at Liu Jinbao. "Liu Jinbao, you organized illegal gambling, led others to break into a commune member's residence, deliberately destroyed property, and attempted to coerce someone. These charges alone are enough to land you in a world of trouble."
Liu Jinbao started to panic. He stood up, bowing and scraping before Wang He. "Mr. Wang, I was just trying to scare her! I wasn't really going to do anything! And when did I organize illegal gambling? You can't just pin false charges on me."
Wang He tapped the IOU on the table again. "What is this? I'm telling you, gambling debts are not protected by the law. From now on, you are not to seek repayment from Comrade Lin Lan again. Furthermore, you must apologize to her and compensate for the damages."
Liu Jinbao wasn't having it. He held up his injured finger. "Mr. Wang, you say the gambling debt is illegal, so fine, I'll consider it money thrown to the dogs. But you can't just side with Lin Lan! Look at this! A chunk of flesh is gone, and I lost a lot of blood. How much meat do I have to eat to get that back? I can pay for her door, but she has to pay my medical bills!"
SLAM! Officer Little Yao smacked the table and pointed at Liu Jinbao. "You broke into someone's house to act like a hooligan! If you'd gotten yourself killed, it would have served you right! You will pay for the door you kicked in. Four yuan for the broken latch and six yuan for the damaged door panel. Apologize and pay up. If you don't pay, you'll be detained. Take your pick."
Lin Lan mentally applauded the beautiful Officer Little Yao. 'She's so impressive. If I were reborn, it would be great to be a policewoman!'
"Just my luck!" Liu Jinbao stared blankly at the two officers for a moment, then listlessly pulled a wad of crumpled bills from his pocket. There were one-mao, two-mao, five-mao, and one-yuan notes.
He counted out ten yuan, threw it on the table, and clutched the few mao he had left. He grunted at Lin Lan, "Sorry!" Then he shot her a venomous glare and turned to leave.