Chapter 1698: Mutual shirk

Francis quickly made an inference about his situation. No matter who the other two betrayed him, it was even possible that they had confessed to Qiu Yuan about the activities they had done in the past, but Qiu Yuan did not immediately order his arrest.

Instead, he summoned himself to confront him, which shows that Qiu Yuan has not yet made a final decision in his heart. Although he has made a mistake, it is not serious enough to be arrested and imprisoned immediately. As long as he handles it properly, he still has a chance to make a mistake.

The impact of these things is minimized.

Francis didn't dare to hide anything from Qiu Yuan, because he couldn't be sure how much the other party knew. Moreover, Qiu Yuan's personal involvement in the matter meant that he had no room for maneuver. If he said the wrong thing, he might just retaliate.

This is the end of his official career. The best coping strategy that Francis can think of is to honestly explain to Qiu Yuan, and then try to shift the responsibility to the other two people in the process. The lighter his guilt, the more severe the punishment he will receive afterwards.

It's small, maybe he can escape smoothly.

In this small group formed by Ding Feng, Francis, and Qin Huacheng, Francis is actually the most famous and influential, but precisely because of his special status, the actual role he can play in this small group is the smallest.

Although he has the title of Director of the Western Management Bureau, the power he can actually use is not even as high as that of Qin Huacheng, a grassroots police officer. As for financial resources, Francis, who is basically an empty shell in his family, cannot compete with the Ding family.

That's why the security farce that made Qiu Yuan so angry happened earlier, otherwise Francis might still be a hollow mascot until now.

Unlike Francis, Ding Feng did not leave immediately after receiving the summons from the Provisional Management Committee. Instead, he first called his three children together and explained the family affairs to them.

It’s okay for the youngest daughter Ding Ping’er to be inexperienced in world affairs. The two brothers Ding Pingsheng and Ding Pingcai are not fools. It’s definitely not a good sign that their father summoned them to start explaining family affairs for no reason. Ding Pingsheng couldn’t help but ask: "

Father, is there something going on?"

Ding Feng's attitude was very calm: "Some things may happen, so I have to explain it to you first, so that if my father cannot come back for a while, the family will not be disrupted."

The two brothers looked at each other and saw the panic on each other's faces. Although the Ding family is headed by Ding Pingsheng to the outside world, the family has always regarded the old man Ding Feng as the backbone, and all major decisions are made by Ding Feng.

Although the Ding family has encountered some setbacks in recent years, the momentum of development has never stopped, and the scale of the business has grown larger and larger. Even this year, when Haihan and Spain went to war, the ownership of the local area completely changed hands.

Fundamentally shaken the Ding family's influence in Manila.

The three brothers and sisters have long been accustomed to having such a calming figure in the family. No matter what kind of storm they encounter, as long as Ding Feng is there, they will be able to get through it safely. But before this, Ding Feng had never behaved like this. Although

The two brothers didn't want to think about the bad things, but the current situation really seemed like they were dealing with funeral arrangements, which made them feel quite flustered.

Then Ding Feng continued: "You may also know that my father had some cooperation with Mr. Francis before, but these things are not all in compliance with Haihan law. If the official wants to pursue it, the two of us must bear the responsibility."

.Just now, someone came from the management meeting and summoned me to meet with Chief Qiu Yuan. This big shot will not summon me for no reason. After thinking about it, maybe the things I did earlier came to light and I need to start to investigate the responsibility!

If my father goes here, he may be imprisoned, so I have to explain it to you three brothers and sisters first."

When the three Ding brothers and sisters heard this, it was like a thunderbolt from the blue, and Ding Ping'er immediately burst into tears. If Haihan wanted to punish Ding Feng, the Ding family would inevitably be implicated to some extent.

After Ding Feng takes charge, it may be difficult for the Ding family siblings to cope with subsequent changes in the situation.

Ding Pingsheng said: "Would you like to invite your brother-in-law to come over?"

Although little Francis has restored his relationship with the Ding family after being released from prison, he has not taken Ding Ping'er home to live for the time being - this is also Ding Feng's intention, to let Ding Ping'er live in her parents' home for a while until the situation stabilizes.

Let’s talk about it later. So Ding Feng summoned his children to discuss matters, but his son-in-law Francis Jr. was not present.

Ding Feng shook his head and said: "No need, if something really happened, then Francis must have received a summons from the interim management meeting, and maybe little Francis would have to follow him. Besides, it's not possible to confirm whether there are people from the government watching outside.

, if you go to find your brother-in-law at this time, it may be regarded by the government as an attempt to collude in confession, which will only cause more trouble."

Although there were no signs beforehand, Ding Feng still prepared for the worst for everything. If the incident happened as he expected, he would at least be able to prepare his children in advance.

After all, there are corresponding ways to deal with other methods. As for Francis and Qin Huacheng, he doesn't have the extra energy to consider their situation now. He must first try to save his children and property.

By the time Ding Feng finished briefly explaining what he considered to be more important matters, a long time had passed. Although the interim management meeting did not send anyone to urge him, Ding Feng himself did not dare to delay any longer. If he was dismissed from the interim management meeting,

The senior official thought that he was deliberately showing off, so perhaps all his efforts would be in vain. Ding Feng still hoped that after meeting Qiu Yuan, he could get a chance to escape guilt.

Ding Feng had his own special carriage when he went out. He only brought one driver with him, and asked his three children to wait for news at home and not to go out for the time being. If he did not return home before the night curfew, he would probably be cold.

When he arrived at the interim management meeting, Ding Feng reported his identity and asked to see him, but was told that Qiu Yuan was receiving other guests and asked him to wait outside the office. Ding Feng did not dare to ask any more questions, so he waited outside honestly.

After waiting for a full hour, the office door opened, and out came Francis, an old acquaintance of Ding Feng.

The two met suddenly in such an environment, and they didn't know how to greet each other for a while. It was obviously unreasonable to turn a blind eye, but if they said hello, they were afraid that someone would think they were communicating with each other.

After a moment of hesitation, they just nodded to each other and passed each other in the corridor. There was no conversation, but there was quite a stir in the hearts of the two of them.

For Francis, seeing Ding Feng appear here and now, he can once again confirm that being summoned by Qiu Yuan today was no accident. Qiu Yuan wanted to see him and Francis was not the only one. If there is anything in his description just now

Concealing the omissions, you will know the truth and lies as long as you confront Ding Feng. To put it another step back, even if Ding Feng did not betray himself, and even did not know about the current situation, Francis would not dare to take the risk to hide anything.

, after all, he was not sure whether Ding Feng would quickly and decisively choose to give up resistance and explain everything after seeing Qiu Yuan like him.

For Ding Feng, Francis arrived before him and met Qiu Yuan, and left here safe and sound. The meaning is even more complicated. If what Qiu Yuan talks to him next involves those

In the gray area, it goes without saying that he was sold by Francis. Ding Feng could even imagine that Qiu Yuan probably heard Francis tell some things before sending someone to his home to summon him.

For these two people who have fallen into the Prisoner's Dilemma, mutual suspicion is inevitable. Due to the serious asymmetry of information, they are completely unable to trust each other, and they dare not entrust their safety to the other's tight-lippedness. In the end, they are just a profit.

The small group in the lead is not even an offensive and defensive alliance. Once the situation overturns, no one can stay out of it. Only by shirking responsibility as soon as possible and throwing the blame entirely on others can you have a chance to escape guilt.

"When you came in just now, you should have seen Francis, right?" After Qiu Yuan asked Ding Feng to sit down, he started to get to the point: "Do you know the reason why he came here?"

"I don't dare to make unreasonable guesses. I would like to ask the chief to make it clear." Ding Feng was not stupid enough to take the initiative to confess. He responded while carefully observing Qiu Yuan's expression.

Qiu Yuandao: "I already know most of what you have done. I asked you to come here today because I want to hear if you have anything else to add. After all, all the information I have heard before this is

Narratives from others may be somewhat different from your actual situation, so I still give you a chance to tell your own story about what happened."

When Ding Feng heard what Qiu Yuan said, he knew that he was absolutely unlucky, and he no longer had any thoughts of luck. He did not believe that Francis would cover for him. This was just like the time when Francis was defeated and arrested.

Time, he will also not involve himself in it just to save the other party.

However, Ding Feng's thoughts coincided with Francis's at this time. He thought that since Qiu Yuan summoned him for an interview instead of sending someone to arrest him directly, it meant that there was still room for redemption. The next step was to

See if you can seize the opportunity.

Thinking of this, Ding Feng stood up decisively, lifted up the hem of his clothes, and knelt in front of Qiu Yuan: "I was obsessed with it for a while and made many mistakes. Please punish me, chief!"

How could Qiu Yuan fall for his tricks? He snorted coldly and said: "If I didn't call you here for questioning today, you would probably continue to be obsessed with me, right? Punishment... I think you are working hard."

, you’re not afraid of any punishment at all, are you?”

Ding Feng didn't dare to answer. He just lowered his head to the floor and lay down. He didn't know what Francis had betrayed him and how he told Qiu Yuan. If he rashly defended himself, it would be self-defeating. He could only wait for Qiu Yuan to do so.

Yuan asked and then answered according to the situation.

As for the things he has done, which ones have violated the laws of Haihan, Ding Feng still has a rough idea. If he really wants to study these past things in detail to punish his crimes, it is a capital crime that can be forgiven, and a living crime cannot be escaped. He will definitely be imprisoned.

It was inevitable. However, Qiu Yuan's attitude did not seem to hold him accountable, which made Ding Feng still have a lingering thought in his heart, thinking that he should still have a chance to escape.

And Qiu Yuan can't say he has much dislike for Ding Feng. If it hadn't been exposed by Qin Huacheng this time, he would still have a little fondness for this wealthy Chinese businessman. After Haihan occupied Manila, the Ding family stood relatively early.

One of the gentry who came out to assist the government in restoring social order, and took the initiative to donate a lot of money and food to relieve the large number of refugees that emerged after the war. Although these actions of the Ding family were somewhat intended to draw a clear line between them and the Spanish official Francis who was married to him

, but objectively it did play a big role in promoting Haihan to take over this place.

It is precisely because of the positive attitude shown by the Ding family that even though they knew that the Ding family was wearing the same pants as the Spanish before the war, the Haihan official did not make things difficult for the Ding family after the war. Although the Ding family's original business was because of

The war and the change of rule had a certain impact, but there was indeed no official suppression. Qiu Yuan even recently intentionally relaxed the restrictions on the business scope of local businessmen, allowing the Ding family's commercial institutions to enter the Hispanic settlements as they wished.

District management.

But after a series of things planned by Ding Feng were exposed, Qiu Yuan certainly knew that this scheming guy was not a kind person. Everything he did had a very clear purpose. On the one hand, he was trying to please the authorities and on the other hand, he was trying to suppress competitors in the market.

.If it hadn't offended him, Qiu Yuan would have really wanted to applaud this businessman who had a lot of ideas in his mind. If he hadn't kicked the iron plate of Chaosheng Commercial Store, the Ding family would have had a chance to slowly control it.

The lifeblood of local business.

But destroying the Ding family would not bring any benefit to the local social stability. Qiu Yuan knew this very well, so he did not want to hold Ding Feng accountable and tried to keep the matter quiet and low-key. However, this lack of investigation did not mean calling Ding Feng to the front.

A few verbal warnings are enough, but real punishment is still necessary. Since Ding Feng did these things for a profit, Qiu Yuan wanted to start with this profit and impose heavy penalties on him.

Ding Feng didn't stay in Qiu Yuan's office as long as Francis, but his face was much uglier than Francis' when he left. In exchange for "not being held accountable" by the interim management committee, the Ding family must secretly pay a sum to the interim management committee.

A huge fine. The fine was so large that the Ding family couldn't raise so much cash for a while. In the end, Ding Feng persuaded Qiu Yuan to relent and let him pay it in monthly installments. But even so, the fine was still huge.

It was enough to devastate the Ding family, but Ding Feng not only did not dare to complain, but when he left, he had to thank Qiu Yuan profusely for his "magnanimous" handling.
Chapter completed!