Chapter 32 The Undercover Policeman Appears
Meanwhile, at the other end of Portland Street, in Jiang Tianqi's private club.
As elegant jazz music played, Jiang Tianqi swirled his wine glass, listening to his subordinates' report.
"...Fang Che went to Kwai Chung Wharf today and got into a conflict with Ma Wang's men, but he managed to get away with it by using the excuse of 'collecting garbage.' Ma Wang is already on alert."
Jiang Tianqi laughed: "Collecting garbage? He really does... always manages to surprise me."
He took a sip of his drink, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "That idiot Ma Wang is full of holes. It's only a matter of time before Li Hanzhou finds out about him. But..."
He put down his wine glass and looked out the window at the brightly lit Victoria Harbour.
"Fang Che is so actively investigating the mole for Li Hanzhou? Interesting..."
The following morning, a thin mist enveloped Portland Street.
Fang Che, sporting dark circles under his eyes, climbed up from the tattered sofa.
The aroma of fried eggs wafted from the kitchen.
Cheng Tieniu, wearing an ill-fitting apron, was flipping the pan when he saw Fang Che come out. He smiled and said, "Che, you're awake? Didn't you sleep well last night? I'll fry you two eggs."
Fang Che felt a warmth in his heart and leaned over to take the plate: "Thanks, buddy. Did no one keep an eye on you when you came back last night?"
"No! I went around in circles several times before I got back." Cheng Tieniu lowered his voice. "What did Boss Li say about the Horse King matter?"
"Let's hold off for now." Fang Che took a bite of his fried egg. "Brother Li has his plans. Right now... we're bait."
"Bait?" Cheng Tieniu's eyes widened. "That's too dangerous!"
"What are you afraid of?" Fang Che stiffened his neck, then shrank back. "Well, actually I am a little scared... but Brother Li said that Ma Wang doesn't dare to openly touch me now. Besides, our 'Chefeng Express' isn't just for show!"
Just then, Xi Rong slipped in like a cat, carrying a bag of steaming char siu buns.
"Good morning, Brother Che and Brother Niu!" Her eyes lit up. "I just came from the tea restaurant and heard some news!"
"What news?" Fang Che and Cheng Tieniu asked in unison.
Xi Rong put down the steamed bun and lowered her voice: "Uncle Ma sent people to Kwai Chung Wharf this morning, and it seems they are clearing things out. Also... the waiter at the tea restaurant said that Uncle Ma got very angry last night and smashed a purple clay teapot."
Fang Che and Cheng Tieniu exchanged a glance.
It seems that King Ma is indeed panicking.
"Xi Rong, well done!" Fang Che ruffled her hair. "Keep an eye on things, but be careful not to get too close."
"I know, Brother Che!" Xi Rong nodded, then took out a small notebook. "Also, the kids reported this morning that those old building residents on Portland Street who always avoid us seem to have softened their attitude a bit. One old lady even asked us when we're going to put on another 'singing and dancing performance'!"
Fang Che's eyes lit up: "Really? It seems square dancing is actually quite effective!"
"What's it for?" Cheng Tieniu didn't understand.
“It’s about getting closer to the neighbors.” Fang Che raised his chin, then his face fell. “But right now, the mole is more important. Let’s put this aside for now… Sigh, it’s so tiring to think.”
As the three were talking, the door to the inner room opened.
Li Hanzhou came out, wearing a clean black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms.
His complexion was better than yesterday, but there was still a chill in his eyes.
His gaze swept over the three of them and landed on Fang Che's face.
"Come over after you finish eating."
"Yes, Brother Li!" Fang Che quickly stuffed the last bite of the bun into his mouth.
Cheng Tieniu and Xi Rong stepped aside.
Fang Che followed Li Hanzhou into the inner room, where A Gui was already inside, spreading out a map on the table.
"Brother Li, Brother Gui." Fang Che stood up straight.
Li Hanzhou gestured for him to sit down, pointing to a spot on the map: "End of Portland Street, the old Tanglou district. Jiang Tianqi's target is here, and he's also infiltrating the surrounding areas."
Fang Che leaned closer to look and saw that several areas with a high concentration of old buildings were circled in red on the map.
"Brother Li, you mean..."
“Let’s put Ma Wang aside for now.” Li Hanzhou raised his eyes. “Since he’s already on guard, he won’t make a move anytime soon. But the battle for Portland Street can’t stop. Jiang Tianqi is waiting for us to make a mess of things; we can’t let him wait.”
Fang Che understood: "So we should act like nothing happened and continue to push forward with the Portland Street project?"
“Yes.” Li Hanzhou nodded. “The results of your ‘inspection’ at the dock yesterday can be used.”
Fang Che was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant!
Brother Li wanted him to continue using the guise of "garbage collection" to operate and observe Portland Street!
"Understood, Brother Li!" Fang Che perked up. "I'll go and draft a 'dock garbage removal plan' right away, and also make 'sanitation plans' for several districts on Portland Street! I guarantee Jiang Tianqi will think we're really doing environmental protection!"
Ah Gui's lips twitched: "You're really treating this like a career?"
“Brother Gui, there’s a trick to this!” Fang Che said seriously, “You can tell something from the trash! A lot of trash in a certain area means there are many people; changes in the types of trash can reflect the situation; even the scraps of paper inside…”
"Stop, stop, stop." Ah Gui rubbed his temples. "I give up. Brother Li, are you really going to let him do this?"
A faint smile flickered in Li Hanzhou's eyes: "Why not?"
Ah Gui: "..." Fine, never mind.
Fang Che received the order and began planning with great enthusiasm.
He pulled Cheng Tieniu and Xi Rong along and set up a broken blackboard in the backyard.
"First, get the 'Chefeng Express' sign up!" Fang Che drew a crooked logo on the blackboard with chalk. "No need for uniforms, but give everyone an armband with the logo and slogan printed on it!"
"What slogan?" Cheng Tieniu asked.
"Swift and efficient delivery, mission accomplished! Protecting the environment starts with me!"
Xi Rong laughed: "Brother Che, wasn't that last sentence too serious?"
"We need to be serious!" Fang Che said, hands on his hips. "We're a sanitation company on the surface, so we need to look professional! Tiezi, you buy some sturdy armbands! Xirong, you take the kids around to familiarize themselves with the new area. Remember, it's mainly for showing off, not for actually sweeping!"
"Is there really trash?" a child asked, raising his hand.
"Uh... picking up some things along the way is fine, consider it training!" Fang Che scratched his head. "But the key is to observe people! Observe who hangs out often, which shops are suspicious, especially those related to Ma Wang and Dong Sheng Society!"
The children nodded.
Fang Che looked at this group of teenagers and felt a little uncomfortable.
She should be in school at this age, but instead she has to take risks with him.
"Um..." he cleared his throat, "After this is over, I'll see if I can find a place where you can learn some literacy. You can't be illiterate, otherwise it will be difficult to read contracts in the future."
The children's eyes lit up.
Xi Rong whispered, "Brother Che, you're so kind."
Fang Che's face flushed, and he waved his hand, "Stop it! Get back to work!"
The plan is progressing smoothly.
The children from "Chefeng Express" wore armbands and darted around Portland Street like little bees.
They really did pick up trash, and their eyes weren't idle either; they reported what they saw to Xirong.
Fang Che then frequently took Cheng Tieniu to the Kwai Chung Wharf, claiming it was to "inspect the site selection for a garbage transfer station."
Every time I went there, I would bring crumpled flyers and hand them out to everyone I met. I would also chat with the workers and ask them, "Do you have a lot of garbage?" and "Do you sort it?"
The workers' gazes towards him shifted from wariness to amusement, and they eventually came to think of him as a mentally unstable young master who had become obsessed with environmental protection.
But that's exactly what Fang Che wanted.
On the afternoon of the third day, Fang Che was "training" the children in the backyard...
Teach them how to deduce the residents' situation from the garbage ("This family has seafood shells every day, they are rich; that family only has vegetable leaves, they are probably struggling").
Ah Gui walked in.
"Fang Che, Brother Li is calling you."
"What's up, Brother Gui?" Fang Che brushed off the chalk dust.
“Someone came to ‘pay their respects’,” Ah Gui said in a strange tone. “They specifically asked to see Brother Li, and even said… they brought a pledge of allegiance.”
"A pledge of allegiance?" Fang Che was taken aback. "Who?"
“A new face, his name is Lu Che.” A Gui paused, “He said he’s from the north and wants to follow Brother Li.”
Lu Che!
A "boom" sounded in Fang Che's mind!
That undercover police officer from the original novel! He became Li Hanzhou's rival and love rival in the later stages of the story!
He's here! So fast!
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