The investigators came calling

"Du Rui, you're suspected of disturbing public order. Come with us."

Du Rui had only just recovered from Lai Feipeng's departure when he heard those words.

After a moment of stunned confusion, he shouted angrily, "I-how did I disturb anything? Don't make things up!"

"And who are you people? What gives you the right to say that?"

Chen Guokun pushed Du Rui into the office. Tong Yu followed close behind, shut the door, and leaned against it to block the exit.

Chen Guokun walked over to where Lai Feipeng had been drinking tea and sniffed the leaves.

"Good tea. What a shame."

Although Du Rui didn't understand what sort of agency the Emergency Affairs Administration was, Lai Feipeng's behavior earlier had told him it was no ordinary department.

Hearing Chen Guokun's remark, he thought he saw an opening.

"It's no shame at all! If you'd like some, I'll have it delivered to you in a couple of days."

Chen Guokun set down the teapot and smiled at Du Rui. "That's not what I meant."

Du Rui froze.

"Then what is it?"

"It's a shame you'll never get to drink it again."

Du Rui's face instantly drained of color, but he quickly forced himself to stay calm.

"I haven't done anything! I want a lawyer. I'll sue you for unlawful enforcement!"

Chen Guokun said nothing. He took out his phone and played an audio recording.

It was Du Rui's earlier conversation with Lai Feipeng.

It included not only his payment to hire Lai Feipeng for this job, but also his own account of hiring Zhong Fa to target the Tianmen Funeral Home previously.

By the time it finished, Du Rui's face had grown even paler.

"We'd only established a connection between you and Zhong Fa before. We hadn't found any evidence. This time, you've saved us the trouble of an interrogation."

Du Rui collapsed into a chair.

"What you're doing is wrong! It's illegal! I'll sue!"

As he spoke, Du Rui grew agitated again.

Chen Guokun looked at him with cold eyes.

"Since you already know about this side of things, this is no longer an ordinary case. Don't expect it to go through the normal procedures."

"Just as you didn't use normal means to try to seize a share of Tianmen County's funeral services market."

Du Rui wanted to argue, but he didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, he remembered Lai Feipeng.

"Why didn't you arrest Lai Feipeng? There's a cover-up! You're covering something up!"

Chen Guokun stood.

"We didn't arrest him because he was lucky enough to run into us before he could act. Once he returns to Shannan City, someone will deal with him."

"Stop struggling. The only reason I've told you this much is that I'm in a bad mood and wanted to watch someone like you make his last desperate struggle."

Clatter!

A pair of bright silver handcuffs swung out and snapped around Du Rui's wrists as his strength deserted him.

"Would you like a hood?"

Chen Guokun asked.

"Yes! Yes, I would!"

"Sorry, we don't have one."

News that Du Rui, the owner of the Fushou Funeral Center, had been arrested reached the Tianmen Funeral Home within ten minutes.

There was no need to ask how it had spread so quickly. After all, many of the Fushou Funeral Center's employees had been poached from the Tianmen Funeral Home.

They had left, but their relationships remained. Tianmen County's funeral industry was only so big, after all.

Chen Miao heard about it after presiding over a memorial service.

"Du Rui was arrested?"

Chen Miao scrolled through the group chat, but no one had given a reason.

He did, however, see people gloating that if the Fushou Funeral Center went under, things would get interesting for those who had quit.

Someone asked Chen Miao whether those people would still receive their old salaries if they came back.

Chen Miao didn't answer.

Before long, though, no one was asking that question anymore.

The very next day, Du Rui's younger brother, Du Xiang, took over the Fushou Funeral Center.

Those who had been waiting to laugh at their former colleagues at Fushou suddenly heard that they had actually received raises!

Their smiles vanished at once.

Not only did they stop laughing, but Chen Miao also began to feel some pressure.

If the competition raised salaries, should he do the same?

If he didn't, his employees might feel unfairly treated and start entertaining other ideas.

If he did, the funeral home's profits would shrink.

But that wasn't the most important issue. Elder Uncle had once told him that raising salaries without a reason was a major mistake.

Give someone a little and they would be grateful; give them too much and they would come to resent you. Everyone would be happy with a raise this time, but if something else happened next time, would he raise salaries again?

If he didn't, even those who had previously been content would start having second thoughts!

The newly appointed owner, Du Xiang, had certainly presented Chen Miao, the newly appointed director, with a difficult problem.

Soon, however, the problem resolved itself.

Once news of the Fushou Funeral Center owner's arrest reached the general public, all sorts of rumors began to circulate.

Some said Du Rui had been secretly trafficking organs, and that the bodies were actually stripped of everything inside before cremation!

Some said Du Rui was an underworld figure who specialized in disposing of bodies for criminals!

Others said Du Rui was actually a foreign spy who used his funeral home as a cover to gather intelligence within the country!

Rumors abounded. Outlandish as some of them were, they still damaged the Fushou Funeral Center's reputation.

Conversely, business at the Tianmen Funeral Home naturally improved.

With that, Chen Miao openly announced to everyone that they would be getting raises!

Morale soared at the previously lifeless Tianmen Funeral Home.

A week after Du Rui's arrest, Chen Miao was considering hiring a Funeral Rites Specialist to ease his workload.

Someone came calling.

In his office, Chen Miao looked at the two men seated across from him.

"What can I do for you two?"

"There is something, actually."

After taking a sip of tea, Chen Guokun told Chen Miao about Du Rui's situation. He made no attempt to hide that Du Rui had hired Lai Feipeng to deal with him.

Chen Miao's expression darkened considerably as he listened.

It would have been one thing if Du Rui had only targeted him, but the man had actually set his sights on Elder Uncle.

If Elder Uncle had really encountered the helper Du Rui had hired, the Peachwood Talisman Chen Miao had given him, made from century-old peach wood, probably wouldn't have been enough.

Fortunately, none of that had happened.

Chen Miao immediately thanked Chen Guokun.

"Don't mention it. It's part of our job."

Chen Guokun waved a hand.

Hearing that, Chen Miao developed a much better impression of the Emergency Affairs Administration.

"If there's ever anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."

Chen Miao spoke solemnly.

Whether or not it was their duty, he owed them a debt of gratitude.

Chen Miao had once come across a story while scrolling through short videos.

A firefighter had fallen from a building while rescuing someone, yet the person he saved not only showed no sadness, but even declared that it was simply what the firefighter was supposed to do!

Chen Miao didn't want to become the kind of person he himself had once despised.

So, as long as it was within his abilities, he certainly wouldn't refuse to help.

What Chen Miao hadn't expected was that the moment he finished speaking, Chen Guokun would set down his tea and smile for the first time.

"To be honest, Mr. Chen, we really have run into a bit of trouble, and we may need your help."

PS: Today is the Ghost Festival. Don't step on or kick around the ashes at crossroads. If you have children at home, pat down their clothes at the door.