Xiao Wenshun had a general understanding of the situation.
Several grandfathers wanted to retire, and the vacant positions naturally needed to be filled. As people moved upward, vacancies would also appear at the upper levels, requiring promotions from the middle ranks.
Coupled with the fact that each emperor brings his own courtiers, a large number of unqualified people would inevitably be eliminated, creating even more vacancies.
Naturally, many people from the middle and lower levels would also be promoted, and their responsibilities would increase.
However, who would be promoted and who would be demoted remained a problem, since everyone's qualifications, abilities, and connections were relatively similar.
Therefore, at such a time, the value of merit became apparent: whoever made contributions would be promoted. It was that simple.
It could be said that during the period before his grandfathers officially retired, everyone was desperately trying to perform well, hoping to leave a good impression on the leaders and secure an opportunity for advancement.
However, understanding the situation did not mean Hou Liangping had the right to investigate him.
He had already left the capital, left the center of power, and hidden away in Hanjin to seek peace and quiet, yet they still dared to investigate him.
If he weren't afraid of his father's Seven Wolves, he truly wanted to go on a killing spree, from the Southern Heavenly Gate all the way to Penglai Immortal Island, making blood flow like rivers.
Those bastards had gone too far.
At the same time, this also made Xiao Wenshun suspect whether some fool outside the circle was using this opportunity to target the Xiao Family.
He himself was merely an excuse; their true target was his father.
After all, given Xiao Wenshun's current circumstances, he was not important enough for a bureau director to personally come and arrest him.
The more Xiao Wenshun thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Over the years, the Xiao Family had developed rapidly, becoming an enormous entity with influence spanning the globe and countless industries under its control.
Naturally, they had affected the interests of many powerful figures and accumulated enemies everywhere. It was perfectly understandable that they had attracted jealousy and hostility from many people.
And Xiao Wenshun, an individual living in seclusion outside the system, naturally became the perfect target for those with ulterior motives.
This incident was very likely a carefully planned conspiracy aimed at bringing down Xiao Wenshun and, through him, striking the Xiao Family. Perhaps their ultimate target was his father himself.
At the very least, having Hou Liangping, this hotheaded fool, stir up trouble was intended to create internal conflicts within the Xiao Family.
After all, although Zhong Zhengguo was considered one of their own brothers, his surname wasn't Xiao.
In response, Xiao Wenshun merely let out a cold laugh.
They simply didn't understand why the Xiao Family possessed its current status.
Thus, he stopped resisting and followed Hou Liangping back to the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
He wanted to see exactly who was blind enough to try to deal with the Xiao Family.
Inside the interrogation room, Hou Liangping and Lu Yike sat opposite Xiao Wenshun and began the routine questioning.
"Name?"
"Xiao Wenshun."
"Gender?"
"Male."
"Age?"
"Forty-three."
"Xiao Wenshun, I warn you, this is an interrogation, not a joke! How can someone who looks like this be forty-three?"
"My ID card is right there. Are you blind?"
Xiao Wenshun rolled his eyes dismissively.
"Director... he's not lying!"
Lu Yike found an ID card from the pile of documents. The birth date indeed showed that he was born in 1972.
"Ah???"
Hou Liangping repeatedly confirmed the information, still finding it hard to believe.
He had never imagined that the youthful-looking Xiao Wenshun was already over forty years old.
"Fine, age doesn't matter. Let me ask you, do you know the people on this list?"
Hou Liangping took out a list and some files, placed them in front of Xiao Wenshun, and questioned him.
"Yes."
"Who are they?"
"They're all my customers."
Xiao Wenshun answered sincerely.
"Are you still lying to us?!"
Lu Yike immediately raised her voice.
"You say they're your customers. Then what exactly did you sell them?"
Hou Liangping restrained the angry Lu Yike and continued questioning calmly.
Answer:
"Farm produce that I grew myself."
Question:
"Where did you grow it? You don't own any farms or land."
Answer:
"State secret. Your clearance level isn't high enough to inquire."
Hou Liangping: "...(•́へ•́╬)"
Question:
"Then explain this. Why is it that whenever you're short on money, you send a batch of vegetables to these people, and shortly afterward, a large sum of money appears in your account? Do you know that many people on this list have already been implicated in corruption cases?"
Answer:
"None of my business. Merchants are only responsible for selling goods, not investigating the source of their customers' money. That's your problem."
"So, you're telling me a single cabbage or cucumber in your store costs hundreds of Yuan? Do you understand the purchasing power of Yuan? An ordinary family could buy an entire truckload of cabbages with that amount!"
Lu Yike slammed the table angrily and shouted.
Due to the Rabbit's continuously growing national strength, the rabbit coin had never depreciated since the 1970s, so domestic prices had remained relatively stable.
The market price of a cabbage was only a few cents, but in Xiao Wenshun's store, one was sold for as much as one thousand Yuan.
In their eyes, this was outright fraud.
"Fine, if you're going to ask questions, then ask properly. Stop playing the good cop, bad cop routine. It's annoying."
Faced with Lu Yike's interrogation, Xiao Wenshun frowned and voiced his dissatisfaction.
"Why are your vegetables so expensive?"
Hou Liangping continued.
Xiao Wenshun replied fearlessly:
"Is selling expensive products illegal? What if my prices are a little higher? People are willing to buy them, so why can't I sell them?"
"If you were simply buying and selling vegetables, then regardless of the price, it wouldn't matter. But the problem lies right here."
Hou Liangping shrugged and took an exquisite Railgun figure out from beneath the table.
He originally intended to casually toss it onto the table, but suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as though doing so would cost him his life.
Immediately, he carefully placed the figure on the table instead.
"What's the problem?"
Only then did Xiao Wenshun withdraw the killing intent from his eyes.
Lu Yike took out an investigation report and began explaining:
"This was purchased from Wang XX. You spent approximately ten thousand Yuan on it, and this is only one item."
"We investigated your accounts."
"You buy several anime figures like this almost every month."
"These collectibles are all extremely expensive. The cheaper ones cost two or three hundred Yuan, while the expensive ones cost tens of thousands."
"In addition to figures, there are also all kinds of high-priced autographs and costumes. Behind every item is an enormous financial transaction."
"According to our investigation, the number of anime-related items collected in your villa has already exceeded several thousand."
"The total value has reached 120 million Yuan."
"That amount of money is enough to purchase a three-courtyard mansion in Sijiucheng / Beijing."
Lu Yike looked at the man before her who still refused to cooperate, her eyes filled with anger.
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