Chapter 107 Prison and the Book

Zhou Ze sent the crowdfunding message to Lin Wanqiu via WeChat.

Ten minutes later, Lin Wanqiu replied:

"Got it."

And then,

nothing...

These simple three words made Boss Zhou feel that even his civet coffee this morning had no civet scent at all.

Everything seemed a bit bland.

"What's wrong, Boss?" Yingying, who had woken up later, asked the old Taoist.

"Cherished love is often taken for granted, while that which you cannot obtain always stirs the soul; now it's reversed, and he's not used to it."

"Why are you talking so strangely?" Yingying didn't quite understand.

"You're still young; you'll understand when you grow up," the old Taoist said, stroking his goatee.

"You're older than me?"

"You're still cold; you'll understand when you get hot."

Zhou Ze, who was staring blankly at his phone, noticed the coffee cup in front of him gently vibrating. He looked up and saw Yingying chasing after the old Taoist, beating him wildly.

The monkey was "squeaking" beside them, but it had inherited the old Taoist's timidity; it only called out, never daring to actually intervene to stop the zombie.

"So noisy so early in the morning! What are you arguing about? It's so annoying!"

The little loli came downstairs,

her hair uncombed,

wearing pajamas.

Early in the morning, the bookstore was lively. Boss Zhou stretched and noticed a police car parked outside the bookstore.

He got up and went out.

The little loli noticed Zhou Ze going out and was about to follow.

"Hey, you haven't washed your face, brushed your teeth, or changed your clothes, and you're going out like that!" Bai Yingying asked.

"None of your business." The little loli had been annoyed by this silly zombie for a long time.

"This is a bookstore; it's the boss's turf. You're the boss's person, so going out represents the boss's image. If you casually go out like that and something is exposed, the boss will lose face!"

"........." The little loli.

"Did you take the wrong medicine today, stinky zombie!"

The little loli stuck out her tongue at Bai Yingying and made a face.

When she turned back, she found that Zhou Ze had already gotten into the police car and left.

"Where's he going so early in the morning?"

"Investigating a case, maybe," Bai Yingying said.

"So mysterious."

The little loli pouted and called out:

"The boss's image is hungry! Needs food!"

"Okay, wait,"

Bai Yingying, seeing that she had successfully kept the little loli inside, went to prepare breakfast for her.

The little loli looked outside again, then at Bai Yingying's back.

She clasped her hands in front of her chest

and muttered:

"Silly zombie; you'll be sold off someday and still help the seller count the money! Just because you don't want me to go doesn't mean I won't."

The little loli sat on the sofa, sulking, resting her chin on one hand and watching the little monkey playing with the Yin-Yang Scroll, flipping it back and forth.

"Stinky Zhou Ze, is my status not even as good as a monkey?"

............

"Fried dough sticks."

Zhang Yanfeng handed Zhou Ze a fried dough stick.

"I've already eaten," Zhou Ze said, waving his hand.

Zhang Yanfeng nodded, eating as he drove.

"Is this a police car?"

"What's wrong?"

"You're using public resources for private purposes."

"I just happen to need to deliver some materials to the prison today; it's on the way." Zhang Yanfeng glanced at Zhou Ze. "If you're not out by the time I'm done delivering the materials, I won't wait for you. You can take a taxi back yourself."

The car arrived at the prison at nine in the morning. Zhang Yanfeng arranged the visit, and the two entered the prison and separated.

Zhou Ze sat alone behind the glass, feeling a bit bored. He couldn't smoke here.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes,

a thin, tall man walked in with a guard. When he saw Zhou Ze sitting outside, he seemed surprised. He turned back to ask the guard something and, after confirming that he hadn't made a mistake, sat down.

He picked up the phone and asked directly:

"Who are you?"

"I'm a friend of Officer Zhang. I need to ask you about some things."

"Are you a reporter?"

"I'm not."

"What's in it for me to talk to you?"

"Perhaps you can find a way to clear your name."

"Heh."

The man smiled.

"I've already served five years; I only have one year left. Why would I bother with that?"

"If you can prove you were wrongly accused, you can get compensation."

"I'm sorry, first of all, I firmly believe that I'm innocent, that I’m blameless, but my wife and my two children are dead; that's a fact.

I have to thank these five years of imprisonment. Perhaps if I were outside, I would have been unable to bear the mental pressure and committed suicide. Here, I have found peace again."

Zhou Ze was speechless at the man's attitude. He nodded, stood up, and indicated that the visit could end.

"It's over?"

The man was a little surprised but still put down the phone, stood up, and prepared to follow the guard back.

Zhou Ze watched his back disappear behind the door. The originally smiling and genial face slowly turned cold.

Zhou Ze had seen this kind of demeanor before in some ascetic monks. They regarded all the suffering that the world inflicted upon them as trials given by the Buddha, so they could accept it with joy.

But this was a prison,

not a church.

A middle-aged man whose wife and children had died,

to be able to achieve such great enlightenment and let go of everything in prison,

regardless of whether others would believe it,

Zhou Ze didn't believe it.

He walked out of the visiting room and called Zhang Yanfeng.

"Finished so quickly?"

"Yes."

"I'll be a while longer. Wait for me at the prison gate."

"Okay."

Outside the prison, the surroundings were desolate. Zhou Ze squatted by a stone on the side of the road and silently lit a cigarette.

If it was just suspicion before, now Zhou Ze had a feeling that the female writer's husband definitely knew something.

As for anything deeper,

Zhou Ze didn't want to think about it,

because it was terrifying even to think about.

Regardless of whether the pen was in the other's hands, direct probing and questioning were meaningless and would only stir up trouble.

You could say that Boss Zhou was a bit cowardly,

but as a salted fish, you had to put yourself in the safest position to leisurely bask in the sun all day.

He took a few steps back, looking at the iron gate of the prison and then at the tall buildings,

Zhou Ze was wondering if he should find an opportunity to sneak in and take a look.

If the pen was really in the other's hands,

then he absolutely couldn't give him a chance to react.

A little girl saying "I'm going to squat in the corner and draw circles to curse you" was most likely just acting cute,

but if someone holding the pen really created a story tailored for you and gave you a bit part, then they were really betting your life.

His phone rang at this moment. Zhou Ze answered the call; it was the old Taoist.

"Hey, Boss, the place next to our bookstore has been taken over. The renovation team is already inside. I asked, and it was arranged by Director Lin."

"Oh."

Zhou Ze remembered Lin Wanqiu saying that she wanted to open a pharmacy next to Zhou Ze's bookstore because she always felt that her mentor, who was supposed to be a professional, was a bit too distracted by selling books.

"The renovation team asked you what style you want?"

The old Taoist shouted into the phone.

"Just follow the bookstore's layout."

"Follow the bookstore's layout?" The old Taoist was stunned. Was there such a pharmacy?

"Just like that."

"Oh, okay."

After hanging up, Zhou Ze thought that he should call Lin Wanqiu to ask about it. After all, he had sent the injured person there yesterday, and the injured person's brother's act of defrauding donations in an attempt to make a fortune had greatly tarnished the image of Lin Wanqiu's hospital.

"Hello, what's up?"

Director Lin answered the phone.

"How do you plan to handle the crowdfunding matter?"

"I've already had the lawyer sue the crowdfunding website. At the same time, the hospital's official Weibo has also released a video from the time we received the injured person to the end of the surgery."

"Can it be salvaged?" Zhou Ze asked with some guilt.

They weren't divorced yet, so even if they were, a man who screwed over his ex-wife like this would feel a little guilty, right?

"I knew about the crowdfunding message that the injured person's brother posted last night," Director Lin said.

"Hmm?"

"Then I helped him a little, hired some online trolls and big Vs to repost it, helping him gain a lot of exposure. Of course, his crowdfunding amount also reached 500,000, and he was very happy."

"You did it on purpose?" Zhou Ze realized.

"Yeah, when the matter became famous, when many people started criticizing my hospital for only caring about money and not about human lives, I took the opportunity to buy more marketing accounts to help me forward the truth, publish the video, and condemn it.

Now the online opinion is to praise my hospital. In fact, it didn't cost much more money; I just treated it as advertising expenses. The effect was surprisingly good. Both external opinion and the higher-ups praised the hospital."

"Then I worried for nothing."

"Do you think I've changed?"

"A little, maybe."

"I'm the director now. The entire hospital depends on me for food. I'm no longer the little girl who followed you around when I was an intern."

"Yeah."

The phone hung up.

Boss Zhou looked at his phone, dropped the cigarette in his hand, and stepped on it.

"Hey, get in the car; what are you spacing out for?"

Zhang Yanfeng had already driven the car out and honked at Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze got into the car.

"Did you find out anything?"

Zhou Ze shook his head.

No matter what the truth was, Zhang Yanfeng wasn't suitable to get involved in this anymore.

"Alright, I'm going back to the police station; I'll drop you off at the bookstore on the way."

"Thanks."

"It's on the way, on the way. I wouldn't use public resources for private purposes."

Zhang Yanfeng patted the steering wheel. A book that was on top of it fell down.

Because he was driving, Zhou Ze bent down to pick it up for him.

"The Road to Redemption?" Zhou Ze looked at the title. "You read this?"

"My brother-in-law wrote it; it's the one you visited earlier." Zhang Yanfeng said proudly.

"He wrote it?"

"Yeah, he's actively reforming in prison and has written several books based on his prison life. Some have been published, and some haven't been published yet. Because of this, he's even gotten a reduced sentence."

Zhou Ze seriously held the book in his hand.

The cover

was a panoramic photo of Tong City Prison.

Leaning out of the car window, Zhou Ze looked back at Tong City Prison.

For some reason,

he suddenly felt that

this towering prison

and the haunted villa that Bai Yingying had bought

were a little bit

similar...