Chapter 94: A Clean Sweep

The man arrested and taken away by the police was named Xu Zhengrong. He sat in the cold, silent interrogation room and confessed to all the crimes he had committed without holding anything back. His account also shed light on how what should have been a dispute between homeowners had escalated into a conflict between a renovation worker and a homeowner.

Before taking on the renovation job, Xu Zhengrong had just arrived in the city from the countryside and had been unable to find work for nearly half a month. He had no special skills, only physical strength, but all the construction sites in Anyang City operated under a subcontracting system. Each foreman had their own team and rarely hired outsiders. Xu Zhengrong tried his luck at several construction sites but couldn’t find a place willing to take him in.

As the money he brought from home dwindled, and with nowhere else to turn, Xu Zhengrong happened to see a flyer advertising a company called XX Construction. It claimed to be hiring large numbers of construction workers, offering free job placements and only taking a small commission. Xu Zhengrong didn’t recognize the obvious trap in the ad. He was overjoyed and immediately called the number listed.

Following the directions given over the phone, he found the company mentioned in the flyer. The person in charge told him that while the jobs were indeed free, due to high worker turnover, they had to collect a security deposit in advance. That way, if someone quit halfway through a job, they’d have funds to cover breach-of-contract penalties. As long as he completed more than ten jobs, the deposit would be refunded.

Xu Zhengrong was confused by these unfamiliar terms, but he repeatedly assured them that he was hardworking and would never quit halfway. However, the person in charge was unmoved, forcing him to grit his teeth and hand over his last two thousand yuan as a security deposit. He also signed a small stack of contracts.

After paying, Xu Zhengrong grew uneasy. He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, feeling something wasn’t quite right. Just as he was thinking about asking for his money back the next day, he got a call. They told him that since he was new, the company had specially reassigned a job from someone else to him. He was to report to the given address at 8 a.m. the next morning. They also mentioned the pay was 200 yuan per day, with the company taking a 10% cut. He would receive 180 yuan.

Xu Zhengrong was overjoyed, thinking the money had been well spent. He hadn’t expected to get work the very next day. He thanked the company profusely and promised to work hard. As for the 10% cut, he didn’t mind. They had helped him find a job, so it seemed fair. What he didn’t know was that manual laborers were in short supply, and employers were offering rates of 300 yuan or more. Officially, the company took a 20 yuan cut, but in reality, they were pocketing 120 yuan, splitting the earnings in half.

Early the next morning, Xu Zhengrong brought his tools to the address provided by the company and met the homeowner. The homeowner had to leave town and quickly handed over the keys, gave a rough explanation of what needed to be done, then left.

Once the homeowner was gone, Xu Zhengrong rolled up his sleeves and got to work. The banging of his hammer on the walls might have sounded like noise to others, but to him, it was a beautiful symphony on his road to prosperity. He swung the hammer again and again, filled with energy, as if he had endless strength.

By noon, he put down the hammer and went out to buy two packs of instant noodles. He cooked them in a small electric pot he had brought with him, which cost 19.9 yuan and only needed to be plugged in to use. Sitting on a pile of construction debris, he slurped the noodles with satisfaction and contentment.

“Knock knock knock!”

The knocking broke the silence and interrupted his rare moment of leisure. Xu Zhengrong was a bit puzzled but went to open the door. Standing outside was an elderly woman.

“You’re the one who’s been banging on the walls since early this morning, huh? Why didn’t you answer when I knocked earlier?” Old Lady Huang frowned, clearly annoyed.

“Ma’am, I had just stepped out to buy something. I’m really sorry,” Xu Zhengrong quickly apologized.

“Forget the apology. Just don’t start hammering again this afternoon. I’m old, I can’t take that kind of noise,” Old Lady Huang said.

“But—”

“But what? You’ve been banging away since early morning. Who can stand that kind of racket? If you start up again this afternoon, you and I are going to have a problem!”

Xu Zhengrong tried to explain, but Old Lady Huang cut him off. Her words made him anxious.

“Ma’am, I’m working within the allowed hours. You can’t be unreasonable. Sure, hammering is noisy, but what renovation job isn’t? I promise to finish the wall and floor demolition within five days. Please just bear with it a little longer.”

Old Lady Huang was furious. “You’re still smashing the floor? And for five more days? How can you be so heartless? Us elderly folks can’t handle this kind of noise! You’re really not going to stop?”

“Nope.”

“Fine, just you wait!” Old Lady Huang stormed off in a rage.

Xu Zhengrong didn’t take it seriously. As soon as the scheduled time came, he picked up the hammer and went back to tearing down the wall. But he’d barely started when someone knocked on the door again. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he opened the door to find a staff member from the property management office standing there.

They said they’d received a complaint and came to check on the situation. The image of that old lady immediately popped into Xu Zhengrong’s mind.

He explained what had happened, thinking that would clear things up. But to his surprise, the property staff looked troubled and asked him to temporarily stop the work.

Xu Zhengrong didn’t understand. After a moment of hesitation, the staff member vaguely hinted at Old Lady Huang’s “track record.” Only then did Xu Zhengrong realize she might be a real handful. But stopping work? That was out of the question. If he stopped, the client wouldn’t pay the company, and the company wouldn’t pay him. Worse, they might even dock his security deposit. What kind of logic was that—doing the work and still losing money?

Once the property staff left, he picked up the hammer again. This time, he swung it even harder, as if venting his frustration. But not even an hour had passed before another knock came at the door. This time, it was two uniformed officers from the Environmental Protection Bureau, there to investigate a noise complaint.

Xu Zhengrong let them in. They asked him to keep working while they measured the noise levels inside, outside, and upstairs. The results showed the noise hadn’t reached the threshold for a mandatory shutdown. The loudest sound was inside the unit. By the time it reached the fifth floor, it was barely noticeable.

After the Environmental Protection Bureau left, no one else came knocking. When the workday ended, Xu Zhengrong stopped on his own. To be ready for the next day and save the thirty yuan daily lodging fee, he laid out a mat and slept on the floor. Luckily, it was already June and the weather was hot. Otherwise, he might’ve gotten sick.

The next day, as soon as the clock struck the hour, he got back to work. No one bothered him all morning, which was a relief for Xu Zhengrong, who’d been on edge.

But just as he started to relax, a call came in from the client that afternoon. The client said the neighbor had filed multiple complaints and even threatened that if her health suffered because of it, the client would be held responsible. Normally, the client wouldn’t entertain such nonsense, but he was already swamped with a complicated matter elsewhere and didn’t have the energy to deal with this. So, for now, he had to halt the renovation.

As an apology, the client said he’d still pay for two full days of work, even though it hadn’t reached that.

If it were someone else, Xu Zhengrong might’ve pushed back. But since the client had spoken, what choice did he have? He quietly packed up his things and called the company supervisor.

After hearing the situation, the supervisor told him that since he hadn’t handled the matter properly, they’d have to deduct 200 yuan from his security deposit according to company policy. On top of that, he’d only be paid half the wage for the job. He’d worked a day and a half, which should’ve earned him 270 yuan, but now he’d only get 135.

Xu Zhengrong did the math. After a day and a half of hard labor, he was actually losing 65 yuan. How was that even fair?

He tried to argue his case, but the supervisor grew impatient and said unless he could convince the client to resume work, the deductions would stand.

After getting hung up on, Xu Zhengrong sat amid the rubble and thought things through. It all came back to Old Lady Huang. If she hadn’t complained, none of this would’ve happened.

With that in mind, he went to her place and sincerely apologized, saying that from now on he’d wrap the hammer to muffle the sound and promised not to make such a racket.

But Old Lady Huang still refused. She looked at him with disdain and muttered about how country folk were so uncivilized. If he’d just done what she said from the start, she wouldn’t have had to make all those calls. She even complained about how much money she’d wasted on phone bills.

Having failed to reach an agreement and been mocked in the process, Xu Zhengrong felt helpless. As he packed up to leave, a thought suddenly struck him. Since he was already losing money, why not just stay here for a few days? The client wouldn’t be back anytime soon anyway.

With that decision made, Xu Zhengrong bought some supplies and stayed in the unit for two days. On the morning of the incident, he had already packed up and was ready to leave. But just as he stepped off the stairs, he ran into Old Lady Huang, who was coming back from taking out the trash.

She was first surprised, then full of scorn. She accused him of being shameless, called him a thief, and said he was secretly staying in someone else’s house even after the job had stopped. She even claimed he might be planning to steal something and said she was going to call the client and tell him to come check right away.

Face flushed with embarrassment, Xu Zhengrong returned to the house, thinking he should call the client and explain. After all, he had indeed been in the wrong. But just as he pulled out his phone, another thought struck him: what if the client really believed he had stolen something? What if they called the police and had him arrested for breaking and entering?

The more he thought about it, the more tangled his mind became. Tears welled up and spilled down his cheeks. He’d worked for nothing, even paid out of pocket, and now he might end up in prison. Despair swallowed him whole. And after despair came a surge of fury. He hadn’t done anything wrong, so why did everyone treat him like a criminal?

Anger surged from his chest, and recklessness followed close behind¹. Eyes red with rage, Xu Zhengrong grabbed a hammer and stormed up to the fifth floor…

It wasn’t until Old lady Huang collapsed to the ground, blood streaming from her head, that Xu Zhengrong realized what he had done. A man who had lived an honest life for decades, he returned to the house and broke down in sobs. He decided to pay for a life with his own, and sat there waiting for the police to come.

But when the sound of sirens drew near, when officers began knocking on doors and asking questions, fear gripped Xu Zhengrong’s heart. He couldn’t stop thinking about his aging parents, about his frail little son who had lost his mother at a young age. He realized then that he didn’t actually want to die.

…

The officers who took his statement said nothing afterward. They sympathized with Xu Zhengrong’s situation. But the crime he committed still stood. No matter the reason, no one has the right to place themselves above the law and take another person’s life. What awaited him now was the judgment of the law.

However, the construction company Xu Zhengrong mentioned drew serious attention. If the dispute with Old Lady Huang was the direct trigger, then that company had been the hidden hand pushing the situation toward tragedy.

After handing Xu Zhengrong over to the court, the Criminal Investigation team launched a covert probe. Through surveillance, interviews, and evidence gathering, they uncovered proof that the company had illegally collected security deposits, arbitrarily withheld wages, maliciously delayed payments, and committed tax evasion. In the end, the entire operation was taken down in one sweep.

During the review of the case, it became clear that Song Changfeng and Aofeng had played a crucial role. If they hadn’t found the evidence in time and uncovered the hidden details in the surveillance footage, this case might not have been solved so easily.

At the meeting, Lei Liming gave special commendation to Song Changfeng and Aofeng, which helped dispel the doubts some had about this man-and-dog duo.

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Translator’s Notes

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1. Anger surged from his chest, and recklessness followed close behind: A translation of the classic idiom ‘nu cong xin tou qi, e xiang dan bian sheng’ (怒从心头起，恶向胆边生). Frequently used in traditional vernacular literature, it signals a character’s breaking point where extreme anger overcomes their reason and leads to a violent or ‘evil’ impulse. ↩