Power and Wealth
Chapter 1621 – thuggish behavior
It was after four o’clock.
The alleys in front of Houhai were bustling.
Originally, there was already quite a commotion here, with many people gathered.
When the six tow trucks towed away the police car, it attracted even more onlookers.
“Look!”
“Oh my god! What’s going on?”
“What does this mean?”
“Hey, come and see, something is going on!”
“Wow, this is rare. Why would the police car…”
“Do you see those traffic police and policemen still standing there?”
“I heard that the Audi seems to belong to a district cadre. It has been illegally parked and blocked the road here countless times, and now it’s causing public outrage.”
“What cadre?”
“It should be a cadre from the district traffic management.”
“Ah? A traffic management cadre’s car? A police car? And someone dares to tow it away?”
“Hehe, didn’t you see the words on the tow truck? Those are vehicles of the City traffic law enforcement officers!”
“Superior department, huh? No wonder, I guess these people have offended someone.”
The crowd surrounded the scene, watching from afar, pointing at the vehicles and a few policemen, and enjoying the spectacle.
The informed old residents were even more disdainful.
Everyone blocked the police in front, not letting them pass.
Listening to everyone’s murmurs and mocking laughter, the traffic police officers and policemen alternated between flushing and paling. They couldn’t hold it in any longer. How could they bully people like this? They didn’t leave us with any dignity at all!
“Stop!”
“Stop! Our cars!”
“You don’t have the right to do this!”
“Put our cars down immediately!”
Several policemen shouted!
This is infuriating! They are disgustingly arrogant!
But the City traffic law enforcement officers didn’t listen, continuing to tow the cars as they pleased. In the blink of an eye, the third police car was also towed out of the alley.
At this moment, several middle-aged men walked towards them.
Several were bald, with beer bellies, looking somewhat like leading cadres.
The three drivers were excited when they saw them, “Director Zhang! Director Zheng!”
They were the owners of several Audi cars – cadres from the West City District Traffic Management Department. It had been two and a half hours since the incident, and they arrived late.
The drivers had already reported the situation to their leaders. Director Zheng and the others probably understood some of it. Their faces were all dark, and their eyes were icy. When they saw that their Audis had been towed far away, and even the handbrake hadn’t been released, causing the tires to squeak against the ground, their expressions turned even darker. Then, at the next moment, several tow trucks towing police cars passed by them.
Director Zheng was stunned!
Director Zhang was also taken aback!
Police cars? Why were police cars also towed away?
What the hell is going on here?
They were all leaders with much higher political wisdom than a few drivers. Seeing this scene, the several of them looked at each other and calmed down. The anger suppressed in their hearts was also forcibly restrained, and they carefully looked around, not making any impulsive moves.
Driver Old Wang came up, “Leaders! They towed the cars away! We couldn’t stop them! Even the police car…”
Several policemen also took advantage of the chaos to push their way out.
Old Traffic Policeman said, “Director Zheng, the cars…”
When the leaders arrived, they showed some backbone and voiced their anger.
Director Zheng didn’t act impulsively. He glanced at the law enforcement vehicles and couldn’t help but focus on the apparent leader’s face, walking over and saying, “You’re comrades from the City Traffic Management Bureau, right?”
The law enforcement officer said, “Yes.”
Director Zheng said, “I’m from the West City District Transportation Department.”
The leading law enforcement officer nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Can we talk?” Director Zheng said, “We just had a meeting, and there’s nowhere else to park around here. We had no choice but to park in the alley. It’s fine if you issue fines, but is towing necessary? If the cars are damaged during towing, it will complicate matters. After all, these are not our private cars, but government vehicles of the district. Disputes over damage during towing can be quite troublesome.”
The leading law enforcement officer glanced at Dong Xuebing. He was indifferent. Usually, he would give face in such situations, as they were all part of the same system, and the other party seemed to be of higher rank. He didn’t want to offend anyone for no reason. However, this matter was beyond his control. The key was Dong Xuebing’s attitude. Their presence here was to back up this young man.
Seeing his gaze, Director Zheng and Director Zhang also followed his line of sight and looked at Dong Xuebing. They were slightly surprised. Who is this? So young? But after recalling the situation reported by the drivers, they understood. This young man was the one who had found them.
The scene quieted down for a moment.
Finally, some leaders had arrived, and everyone watched quietly.
Seeing this, Dong Xuebing walked up slowly, glanced at the leader, and said lightly, “No choice but to park here? I don’t think so. Even if parking spaces are scarce, there are shopping malls nearby. You could have parked in the mall’s underground parking lot, couldn’t you? You find the distance too far or don’t want to spend money, you block our alley. Is this what you call having no choice? Don’t try to fool anyone! Nobody’s a fool here. Just because you have brains doesn’t mean others don’t! We’ve been honking here for so long! Where were you guys? Huh?”
Director Zheng, Director Zhang, and the others immediately became angry when they heard this. There was no choice. This person’s words were infuriating as if they didn’t even consider them!
Who are you to speak like this?
Can’t you speak nicely?
But unfortunately, Dong Xuebing didn’t know how to speak nicely. He turned to the law enforcement officers of the City Traffic Management Bureau and said, “Stop wasting time with them! Tow them away!”
The leading law enforcement officer immediately said, “Okay!”
The others also heard and continued to tow the cars forward.
“We’ll go back first.” The leading law enforcement officer said to Dong Xuebing.
Dong Xuebing nodded and said, “Thank you all for your hard work.”
But Director Zhang couldn’t take it anymore. “Wait a minute! What are you guys doing?!”
The sound of the Audi cars scraping against the road made them feel heartache. Towing like this would damage the cars too much, and they only had a few Audi A6s in their unit!
Dong Xuebing looked at him and said, “Who’s causing trouble here? Is it us or you? Huh? You didn’t say a word for over two hours! Blocking the road as if it’s reasonable! Shouting at the common people! Even calling the police to back you up! Repeatedly bullying the common people? Nonsense! I’ve given you enough face! Towing your cars is being lenient! Stop wasting my time!”
Director Zhang was annoyed. “What authority do you have to tow our cars?”
Dong Xuebing said, “What authority do you have to block the road and act self-righteous? Just because you’re in charge of the West City District’s transportation? Ridiculous! I’m laying down the law here! It doesn’t matter what you do! We’ll tow your cars today! Let’s see what you can do!”
Reasoning?
Procedures?
Rules?
That wasn’t Dong Xuebing’s style. He believed in doing what he thought was right, regardless of the consequences. He knew that towing the Audi with the handbrake on was somewhat against the procedure, and towing a police car was also somewhat irregular, but… just like Dong Xuebing said! Damn it, I’m just going to tow your cars! What are you going to do about it? Come on, bite me if you dare! Dong Xuebing’s rogue style was fully displayed at that moment! The more the leaders and the drivers listened, the angrier they became. Was there no room for reason anymore? How did they run into such a bastard?
But as the saying goes, “Evil needs to be countered with evil.” Trying to reason with these leaders and police officers was futile. They never thought they were wrong, always maintaining a self-righteous stance. So, Dong Xuebing didn’t need to play nice with them. He would tow their cars, and they couldn’t do anything about it!
Oh, so it’s okay for you to bully ordinary people but not for others to fight back? Where’s the justice in that? The cars moved farther and farther away. The police and the cadre could only stare helplessly, with no way to stop them!
Seeing their cars being towed further away, Director Zheng took a deep breath and called a superior on his phone. The call connected.
“Hello, leader.”
“Hmm, Xiao Zheng, right?”
“Yes, it’s me. There’s been an incident here. The City Traffic Management Bureau’s people towed our cars and three police cars from our district.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, you see…”
“The City Traffic Management Bureau? Wait for my call. I’ll inquire about this! What’s going on!”
Two traffic police officers and the drivers also gathered around the leader, waiting for instructions from above.
In their view, even if they were from the City Traffic Management Bureau, they couldn’t just touch the vehicles of their West City District government, let alone police cars. They were outnumbered and couldn’t handle the law enforcement officers and the public, but reporting to the leaders, the leaders would not agree. Whether directly communicating with the City Traffic Management Bureau or sending cars to intercept the tow trucks, they had to save face somehow!
But a few minutes later, the call came back. When Director Zheng answered, he heard the leader on the other end say bluntly, “Blocking the road for two hours for the common people! The police didn’t do anything about it! You still have the nerve to report this to me? You still dare to complain? Tomorrow, go to the City Traffic Management Bureau yourselves, pay the fine, and retrieve the cars!”
Director Zheng was taken aback. “Uh, leader, we…”
The leader interrupted, “Xiao Zheng, you’re usually quite flexible. How could you do something so stupid? Secretary Xie’s secretary has even issued a directive! What are you guys even doing? Come back immediately! Each of you writes a self-criticism! Submit it to my office by the end of the day!”
“Leader!” Click, and the call ends.
Secretary Xie?
Secretary Xie’s secretary?
Director Zheng was shocked. He never imagined that such a trivial matter as parking a car would alert Secretary Xie’s secretary!
Looking at Dong Xuebing, who was calm on the other side, Director Zheng suddenly drenched in cold sweat and wiping his forehead. He realized he had met his match!