Li Anquan possessed the mind of an adult.
Between harming others for personal gain and harming others to no benefit of his own, he naturally chose the former.
Dragging all three of them into this would not benefit him in the slightest, while also creating a mortal enemy. But even if he decided to let the three of them off, he had to make it hurt!
"Yi Zhonghai, are you trying to brush off a beggar? You expect to get away with just one month's salary?"
"For what you pulled, you should be locked up for a few months at least, and you might even lose your job!"
"It's not that I won't let you off the hook."
"Yi Zhonghai, you hand over 300 yuan. As for He Yuzhu hitting me, considering he's relatively poor, make it 200 yuan. And Qin Huairu, for withholding my money and refusing to return it, that's 100 yuan."
"Bring out a total of 600 yuan, and I can pretend none of this ever happened. Otherwise, the lot of you can go explain yourselves to the police comrades! With this money, I can live a better life, and even without a mother, I'll take good care of my younger sister!"
Li Anquan was truly ruthless! Not only did he demand money, but he even rubbed in the fact that He Yuzhu was broke!
Six hundred yuan might be half a lifetime's savings for many people, but unfortunately for them, the three of them had fallen right into Li Anquan's hands!
Everything Li Anquan said afterward was also meant to score some goodwill with the police and the Support-the-Military Office!
When it came to navigating interpersonal affairs and handling situations, Li Anquan was exceptionally astute.
After learning about Yi Zhonghai's salary, Zhang Ming and the others figured that demanding a total of 600 yuan—amounting to half a year's wages—did not seem too excessive.
Besides, considering that Li Anquan and his younger sister were now left to depend entirely on each other, their situation was truly pitiful!
Since there was nothing they could do to help directly, the least they could do was squeeze a bit more compensation out of the offenders to help Li Anquan!
Zhang Ming, the police captain, rubbed his chin and glanced at the comrade from the Support-the-Military Office. The men exchanged a tacit nod, and then Zhang Ming spoke up.
"Yi Zhonghai, your actions already constitute a crime. This counts as misappropriating someone else's property, and you're looking at a major demerit. Whether your factory will even keep you on is up in the air, and you're looking at a detention of at least three months!"
"As for you, He Yuzhu, your offense is even worse! You bullied the family of a revolutionary martyr. Now that Li Anquan has just lost his mother, the circumstances are even more grave. I've decided to punish you severely: either you get sent down to the farm, or you pay up!"
He Yuzhu panicked. Before Zhang Ming could even finish, he blurted out anxiously:
"I'm willing to pay! But... police comrade, I... I don't have that much money! I just gave him a push, I didn't do anything to him—how can it be this serious?!"
Annoyed at being interrupted, Zhang Ming put on a stern face.
"Why is it this serious? His family has the status of revolutionary martyrs, and he's just a child who lost his mother! Don't you people have a shred of human decency? Not only did you fail to help him, but you threatened and intimidated him, and even withheld his money! Are you even human?"
"I don't care whether you have the money or not. We do it Li Anquan's way: you pay 200 yuan. If you can't cough it up, then you're coming with us."
With that, Zhang Ming didn't even bother looking at He Yuzhu anymore!
He Yuzhu wore a bitter expression, but Zhang Ming turned his attention straight to Qin Huairu.
"You're a mother of three yourself, with another baby still at the breast—how could you bring yourself to do this? Trying to rob them of their money, are you trying to starve them to death?"
"This is practically murder for profit. For the sake of your children, you must hand over this 100 yuan. If you don't, you'll end up just like He Yuzhu: either you take your kids and get sent down to the countryside, or you return the money right now!"
Qin Huairu wore an equally troubled expression, looking thoroughly aggrieved.
"Police comrade, I really did it for his own good! I never said I wasn't going to give the money back. I just saw he was a child, so I was holding onto it for safekeeping. My family really doesn't have any money—please, for the sake of my children, don't punish me like this!"
While she was speaking, Huaihua was still crying inside the room. The police comrades were placed in a difficult position, but Li Anquan immediately exposed Qin Huairu's lie.
"Your family doesn't have money? Didn't Jia Dongxu die in that accident too? What about his compensation payout?"
"Jia Dongxu's compensation must have been over 300 yuan! I'm not even asking you for the whole amount, just 100 yuan. You were the one who started all this by refusing to return my money. If you don't pay up, you can just take your kids and go down to the countryside!"
Upon learning that Qin Huairu actually had money and was simply refusing to part with it, Zhang Ming's face darkened. Any sympathy he had for her vanished, and he gave her a direct order:
"Either you cough up the money right now, or you come with us immediately. And that goes for the two of you as well."
As he spoke, he pointed a finger at Yi Zhonghai and He Yuzhu!
Yi Zhonghai simply could not understand how things had turned out this way.
Yet, facing the prospect of prison time, Yi Zhonghai had no choice but to compromise.
"Three hundred is three hundred. Police comrade, I'm willing to pay! Can you take these handcuffs off so I can go home and get the money?"
Seeing someone cooperate, Zhang Ming waved a hand at his subordinates. Yi Zhonghai regained his freedom, walked back home with a dark expression to retrieve 300 yuan, and handed it directly to Zhang Ming.
Zhang Ming merely passed the money through his hands before handing it over to Li Anquan.
The notification chime rang in Li Anquan's mind once again.
[Congratulations on obtaining 300 yuan in cash. Current balance: 950 yuan. Please make a transaction as soon as possible.]
Li Anquan genuinely wanted to see what was inside the system store, but now was not the time.
"Let's call it even between the two of us, Yi Zhonghai. I won't hold you accountable anymore, but if you ever bully me or my sister again, I'll go straight back to the police and the Support-the-Military Office to get justice!"
Yi Zhonghai nodded with bitter resignation. Meanwhile, Zhang Ming and the comrade from the Support-the-Military Office patted Li Anquan on his small shoulder.
"That's right! If you ever run into any trouble in the future, come straight to us. If anyone bullies you, just report them to us. Our Support-the-Military Office will also be sending people to check on your home regularly from now on."
Li Anquan bowed deeply from the waist to the police officers and the comrade from the Support-the-Military Office.
"Thank you, you're all good people. When I grow up, I want to be a police officer or a soldier to protect the country."
Both Zhang Ming and the comrade from the Support-the-Military Office were utterly delighted!
He Yuzhu rolled his eyes. Since he was still in handcuffs, he had no choice but to play along for now, but he had already cooked up a scheme.
"Police comrade, I really don't have any money. Can I write an IOU for 200 yuan to Li Anquan first? Then this matter can be settled between us, and once I get my next paycheck, I'll pay him back!"
He Yuzhu's plan was simple: once the police left, he would claim he had no money, and what could Li Anquan possibly do about it?
He Yuzhu had pulled this kind of shameless stunt plenty of times before, so he didn't care what anyone else had to say.
Yet Li Anquan saw right through He Yuzhu's plot!
"Uncle Zhang, I don't agree!"
"He Yuzhu beat me up earlier and even threatened and intimidated me. Do you think I'd ever dare go to him to collect the money?"
"I don't trust his IOU. If he doesn't have cash, please take him away with you, uncles!"
He Yuzhu was grinding his teeth with rage, but at that moment he felt utterly helpless. "I really don't have the money! Li Anquan, do you really want to burn bridges with me like this? When I get back, I won't let you off either!"
Li Anquan pointed a finger right at He Yuzhu. "Police uncles, look at that—he's still threatening me. Do you think he'd ever actually pay me later?"