195: Mediators

Mediators

"Okay, I'll go back now," Ding Chen replied. He stopped paying attention to the unfamiliar luxury car and turned around to return to the courtyard.2

Huo Tian didn't care about an unfamiliar car either. Her figure quickly disappeared through the door of the tailor shop.

In the car not far away, Xi Cheng kept staring at the small door.

Xi Cheng's eyes welled up when he saw the scene of Ding Chen and Huo Tian getting along. The hands on his legs trembled unconsciously.

The reason Xi Cheng came to the urban village today was because after going through the 13 suspicious identities, he realized that the one that had the highest likelihood to the one he had used in the past was Huo Cheng.

Xi Cheng recalled the scene earlier today when the leader of the search team, Chen Ming, came to report the results of their investigation…

Chen Ming was an extremely capable person in his work. He investigated the 13 identities previously selected in the shortest time possible.

Back then, Xi Cheng had a strange sense of familiarity with the name 'Huo Cheng'. Chen Ming hadn't overlooked this detail and disseminated the investigations of the other people to his subordinates while he placed additional emphasis on investigating the man called 'Huo Cheng'.

Today, as soon as Chen Ming found out the results, he came to report to Xi Cheng.

He stood in front of Xi Cheng and explained succinctly, "According to my investigation, this Mr. Huo Cheng came to China 20 years ago. Back then, he seemed to have made some enemies and was unable to get a long-term and stable job. In the beginning, in a hotel in the urban village, his usual work was to help others as a mediator…"

Fearing that his boss who was born in high society didn't know what being a mediator meant, Chen Ming even explained in detail, "Back then, the security in China wasn't as bad as it is now. The urban village was also a no man's land with a chaotic mix of people. There were many small gangs and hooligans. The lives of ordinary citizens were very difficult, that's why they had the mediator profession…"

Chen Ming wanted to continue explaining, but Xi Cheng waved his hand. He seemed to have sunk into some kind of recollection and naturally continued Chen Ming's story.

"Ordinary citizens who live in the urban village, no matter how careful they are, would occasionally offend those gang members. As long as the gang members were offended, they would suffer the gang's revenge. Even if the mediator doesn't join any gang, for those who have prestige in the neighborhood, the gangs will give them face. The mediators will act as a bridge between the ordinary citizens and the gangs to help the ordinary citizens mediate things. If there are conflicts between ordinary citizens or small gangs, they will sometimes look for mediators to help settle things…"

Chen Ming closed his mouth and looked at Xi Cheng in surprise. He realized that Xi Cheng's expression was very complicated. He knew very well that this person called Huo Cheng could very well be the boss's previous identity.

He couldn't help but ask, "Sir, did you remember anything?"

Xi Cheng shook his head and leaned back in his chair dejectedly, saying, "No, I don't remember anything. Everything related to mediators is more like common sense that has been engraved in my mind. As long as I mention this word, I know what it is."

Looking at Xi Cheng's dejected expression, Chen Ming quickly said, "Sir, you don't have to be disheartened. According to my investigation, ever since China started to take care of public security, the various small gangs in the urban village have disappeared. The mediators slowly retreated from the stage of history and the younger generation don't know what a mediator is. Since you know so much about this, it means that you've lived here for a long time. Even if you don't remember it, it proves that you're very likely to be the mediator named Huo Cheng."

Upon hearing Chen Ming's words, Xi Cheng made himself get his act together and asked, "That Huo Cheng, other than him being the urban village's mediator, did you manage to find any other information about him?"

Chen Ming immediately said, "That Mr. Huo Cheng lived in the urban village for a long time. Not only did he become a mediator, but he also fell in love and got married to a girl in the urban village…"

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