1010 Bribery
Qiao Mei hurriedly closed the door and windows tightly and went back into the room to get a glass bottle to put the golden ginseng inside. The small ginseng was still able to rattle around in the bottle! It knew how to stretch out its roots to try and feel its surroundings.
“This… can this really be a spirit…” Qiao Mei looked at the ginseng in the bottle in shock and said in disbelief.
Out of all the ginsengs that she cultivated, the oldest one was only 1,000 years old. The quality of this ginseng was definitely much better than the 1,000-year-old ginseng. This one was definitely at least 10,000 years old.
Qiao Mei sneaked into the storeroom when no one was looking. She took out the good wine that Xia Jun had given her and filled up the bottle containing the golden ginseng.
All this while, she had been extracting concentrated ginseng juice from the ginsengs. However, she reckoned that she would not be able to cultivate a second golden ginseng. This was something that she had obtained by accident. Even if she extracted the juice from it, she would probably only get one or two drops. It was hard to say if she could cultivate another one in the future. It would be better to soak it in wine. Although the medicinal effects would be inferior to the extracted juice, it was still much stronger than any ordinary medicinal wine.
If He Ning managed to get his hands on this bottle of wine, it would be like having the secret manual of immortality in his hands!
By the time she was done, it was almost dawn. Only then did the exhausted Qiao Mei return to the room to take a quick rest. As she did not get much rest and the past few days had been more tiring than usual, this had given Xia He an excuse to comment that she was always feeling sleepy. Yet, it was difficult for her to defend herself.
“Elder sister, you’re back… Oh, Sister Sun and Sister Zhou are also here. Come and take a seat!” Qiao Mei said groggily as she rubbed her eyes.
Sun Juan and Zhou Shuang felt very worried when they saw Qiao Mei in such a state. Qiao Mei looked much more haggard than before. They felt that Qiao Mei would not be so tired if not for their issue. At the end of the day, it was because the two of them were such a disappointment and their characters were too weak, allowing others to bully them.
“Mei Mei, why don’t we just forget about the matter between us and Su Yang? It’s alright as long as their family doesn’t go overboard in the future. I’m almost fully recovered now and Sister Sun’s neighbors will be moving out soon to live with their children. I can move next door to Sister Sun and be neighbors with her and then we’ll be able to take care of each other,” Zhou Shuang said.
“Don’t worry. Officer Zou will be coming here today to resolve this matter. We can’t let Su Yang beat us up for nothing. We must make him pay the price. I originally planned to let you stay in my house in the neighboring district but if you want to stay next door to Sister Sun, it’s not a bad idea too,” Qiao Mei said with a smile.
Qiao Mei still had plans to expand her business. When the time came, she would have to provide benefits like a staff dormitory. If Zhou Shuang did not have a suitable place to stay when her children grew up, Qiao Mei would discuss the matter with her then. The house in the other district was still under renovation and it would take a few months before it was ready for anyone to move in.
For the moment, moving near to Sun Juan’s house was indeed the best choice for Zhou Shuang.
More than half an hour later, Zou Ming arrived at Qiao Mei’s house with a big bag of fruits that he had paid for out of his own pocket. His goal was to put everyone in a good mood so that the case could be closed quickly and he could settle it properly for the police department.
If he could get Qiao Mei to put in a good word for him with the higher-ups and make his superiors happy, then he would have hope for a promotion and a raise next year.
“Officer Zou, why have you brought so many things with you? Isn’t this considered bribery?” Qiao Mei looked at Zou Ming and teased him.
Zou Ming thought fast and he quickly explained, “How can this be bribery? It’s only bribery if you’re the one giving me something! I’m just showing my concern for the common people, so please accept it.”
Qiao Mei did not stand on ceremony with Zou Ming. There was no issue for Zou Ming to bring these things in, but if he brought them back out with him, it would become a different matter. People who knew what was going on would know that it was because Qiao Mei did not accept Zou Ming’s gift. However, if there were ignorant people who witnessed it, they would only take it out of context and say that Qiao Mei’s family wanted to bribe the police department. When that happened, Zou Ming could forget about continuing to work at the police station.
Zou Ming was well aware of this, thus he was certain that Qiao Mei would accept his gift. Afterll, one would feel obliged to do a favor for others when one received benefits. Once Qiao Mei accepted it, she would probably feel too awkward to reject his request.
“Alright, since Officer Zou has said so, then I won’t stand on ceremony. However, these are separate matters. The issue we’re discussing today is not a grudge between me and Officer Zou. We must ensure that the law is enforced impartially,” Qiao Mei said.