Chapter 101 Chapter 101 Actually, there is no such thing as just now...
In fact, there is no such perfect thing. A group of hot-blooded young men have accomplished a great feat when the police station can't catch the person.
How many days has it been? Less than half a month at most.
It is impossible for it to be a coincidence. Of course, there must be people behind the scenes who are planning and preparing. No matter how many preparations they have made in secret, even Wu Nian, an energetic demon cultivator, couldn't bear it.
To pull this off, the first thing to do was to leverage the power behind these people. Wu Nian's ragtag group included university students, workers, suburban farm children, and neighbors from the courtyard houses... all sorts of people, each with their own connections and uses. While it might seem like a mixed bag, each had been carefully vetted by their family members, young and old. Those lacking loyalty and simply seeking to join the fun, those with frail bodies, and those with ulterior motives were persuaded to leave first. Only those with genuine kindness were allowed into this makeshift troupe, ready to perform on stage.
Early winter in Beijing was tough, not to mention sacrificing warm beds for patrols. Unlike the neighborhood militias, they didn't stick to familiar areas. They gathered together to figure out which alleys were bustling and which areas were experiencing the most trouble, then scrambled into those corners. After the sense of loyalty to their friends faded, some dropped out daily. But there were also newcomers. Several children from the compound who weren't Wu Nian's classmates were recruited by their comrades, one of whom had parents working for the Ministry of Public Security. Lin Xinghuo and Wu Nian had inquired about several key figures who could push for a crackdown, but none of these families had any connections to the literary world or an interest in antiques, making them a poor fit for the family. Ning Bangyan could help pull strings, but could he pull them together with just words?
Fortunately, every family can be plagued by unfilial offspring. The tall, lanky youngster was what his father called his "badass" youngest son, unskilled in both literature and martial arts. His surname was Liu, nicknamed "Liu Zhugan." Liu Zhugan was one of those children left behind in the compound during those years when his parents were sent down to study and neglected. His parents and three siblings were all incredibly capable, and there was a significant age gap between him and them. When the movement began, the entire family was sent down to other areas, enlisted in the army, or assigned to other places, leaving him and his grandmother alone in Beijing. His parents held high positions, and while they were sent down, their salaries and benefits remained intact. His siblings adored him, sending their allowances home relentlessly. His grandmother, even though they were of a different generation, doted on this little grandson, raising a well-bred young man into a crooked position. They flatter women, engage in group fights, form gangs and shout loudly, and hang out in groups. They are called "brothers" in the compound and "masters" when they go out. They look very impressive.
Liu Zhugan, a man with a good reputation but no real work, nearly had his ass ripped apart by his parents and siblings when they returned. To discipline this slacker, they even tricked the protective old lady into sending him back to his hometown, asking his uncle's cousin to take care of the family for a year. Even so, Liu Zhugan refused to work in the logistics department assigned to him, preferring to stay with the dog kept by the compound security. His family knew what he was thinking, but the jerk was too old to join the army, and with his poor grades, he couldn't even get into a technical secondary school. How could he possibly become a police officer?
Liu Zhugan had originally been a different breed from the other students in the compound who had been admitted to university, but he couldn't resist his inner dream of fighting violence and protecting the people, and thus, Wu Nian successfully recruited him into the group. This kid was a formidable fighter, with some influences of regular police boxing. He was also proactive, never complaining about the hardship or fatigue, and always rushing to the front. After witnessing Wu Nian's skills, he no longer acted like the friend who had been recruited by his friend. He quickly shed his elegant woolen coat and put on the coarse cotton jacket his grandmother had sent him. He kept his hands in his sleeves all day, looking even more like a peasant than Tang Wuliu.
But if a crackdown were to happen on someone like him, like what happened to Lin Xinghuo in his previous life, he would most likely perish in this "severe and swift" campaign. Lin Xinghuo even dug out a memory of an article he had stumbled across in his previous life and repeated to Wu Nian the slogans for the crackdown: "We can arrest or not, but we must arrest; we can sentence or not, but we must sentence; we can kill or not, but we must kill."
If Liu Zhugan continues to be idle and play around like this, he will sooner or later attract attention, and the things he used to do, which many children from the big courtyards have done, will kill him.
This was the reason why Lin Xinghuo carefully revealed a small corner of his secret to Wu Nian, and it was also another reason why Wu Nian went to so much trouble to do this.
But it wasn't just Liu Zhugan. Aside from his few close classmates, half the group consisted of unemployed, idle individuals. This was obvious; only people like them had the time to join in the fun. They were all young, strong men, all with a history of fighting. With so much unemployed time and nothing to do, sooner or later, problems would arise.
The crackdown was supposed to happen a few years later. No matter how many years these people got older, whether they worked for their families or found work on their own, they wouldn't be left idle any longer. With something to do, unless they were too "famous," the crackdown wouldn't reach them. But since Lin Xinghuo wanted to push for the crackdown sooner, he had to prepare something, at least to wipe the dirt off those who didn't deserve to die.
Accomplishing a great deed is the way to go.
The police station in charge of the stolen goods and evidence found in the most secluded, dilapidated house at the end of the alley was afraid to make a decision. They quickly called their superiors to report the case. As the case was passed up the chain of command, more professional and capable police officers took over. On the one hand, they quickly pursued the other suspects while they were unaware of the situation, and on the other hand, they immediately began an investigation...
Wu Nian and his fellow burly fellows also had to be questioned one by one. However, the four frightened young women and Wei Layue, the three women who hadn't participated in the fight, received special care. Early in the morning, they were kindly taken to other rooms by female police officers, given food and drink, and comforted by kind, gentle older women.
"Isn't this a circle?" The aunt who was in charge of cleaning and sanitation asked the young clerk secretly.
The term "quanzi" (a social circle) is a derogatory term used by older Beijingers to describe girls who hang out. Auntie has witnessed bloody brawls over competing for a quanzi (a social circle), where the sheer number of participants and the severity of the injuries escalate the case—a rare occurrence at the city police station, where a case of jealousy escalates to the level of a syndicated crime.
The young clerk poured some water and said with a smile, "What circle? He was brave enough to save four female employees! Auntie, this case isn't over yet. Don't tell anyone when you get out."
Auntie swung the rag and said, "Don't underestimate me. I only speak in our building. Once I leave the house, I am like a gourd without a mouth!"
"But what kind of person would be so brave as to bring his family along?"
Isn’t it? In the single closed interrogation room, three serious-looking old, middle-aged and young people were asking Wu Nian the same question.
Wu Nian couldn't help but laugh. "...This is also due to experience. When we first went into the alley, the two female comrades we rescued were more scared of us than the drunks who were harassing them. They threw their bicycles and ran away... After asking someone for several days, we finally got their bicycles returned. Since then, every time we go out, we ask a few sisters-in-law to go with us."
"We've reported the incident to the police, and the drunk man has been taken to the police station. The police station over at Baihui Alley should have a record of him."
"It's mainly because of the good examples set by our subdistrict office and the local police station. We all learned from the subdistrict's 'militia patrol'. The aunts and sisters-in-law are also willing to sacrifice their rest time to help out during their off-duty hours. It's also because they're worried about their families, so they let these capable sisters keep an eye on them..."
"Your companions said it was your idea to choose this alley to wait. How did you know? If you were sure, why didn't you report it?..." asked the youngest one. The old comrade next to him looked at him and felt that this young man still needed some practice. Fortunately, he was assigned to the interrogation group.
"...My family members were all devastated. Ever since then, I've been searching for that group of people... Thanks to my skills, I know a lot of people, all kinds of people, and my information is pretty good... The half-blind old man who rented a house to me pulled out a piece of wire and installed a very bright light outside the door. Electricity is so expensive, he wouldn't even use such a bright light in his own house... This story is quite famous in the flea market. Oh, that old man is the street sweeper in the flea market. I go there often and I know him. Home… The old man hid it at first, daring to tell me. Later, he told me that there were some vagrants living in the back of their house, and they were very vicious. He had heard some noises in the quiet of the night. The old man wasn't sure, and he took a detour past that door but didn't see anything. But the old man was worried. His house was at the corner, and the gate faced east, and the alley in front of the door was often passed by female workers on the night shift. So the old man gritted his teeth and turned on the light outside the door… I was just leading a group of people to do a good deed, so I took it seriously.
"The textile factory is two miles away. That long alley is a shortcut, and many people take it. I've been there a few times myself. There are so many run-down houses in small courtyards over there, and the people living there are so diverse. I really saw someone familiar..."
“…”
Listening to this guy talk is like listening to a story. There are so many coincidences, as if the bad guys are deliberately running into him.
But when Wu Nian told people his background, how he, a man from a remote mountain village who had never attended school for a day, had achieved an astonishing score in the college entrance examination this year as a farmer; and when he asked for a pen and paper, he quickly sketched the appearances of several people he had just brushed past when he entered the door, and also wrote down the details of their clothing, such as the appearance of the exposed belt, the brand of the watch, the color of the socks... No camera in the photo studio could do what he could.
With such cleverness, no one doubted that he could not recognize his enemy. Not only did he recognize him, he also helped to draw the others who were not among the nine people this time.
"There were those who blocked us that day, and those I secretly saw with them. They must be accomplices! They were all wearing the first batch of Liberation shoes that the department store had bought. The color of those shoes was particularly bright, and they were thicker than the ones they sold before. Each pair was 30 cents more expensive... And there were also belts. Many of them were wearing leather belts!"
"Do you know where to buy that belt?"
"I don't know, but leather belts are expensive and hard to find. Department stores sell out as soon as they arrive... Those belts all have the same ties, so I guess they must have been stolen from somewhere. I bought a belt for my old man, and the city department store wouldn't sell me an extra one. The ones my family uses now are all made by me."
"You can also make leather goods? Ahem... No, how do you know their belts are the same?" You touched someone's belt while beating them?
"No. I've followed them before and seen them in a public restroom."
Okay, he followed everyone into the toilet. What kind of spirit is this? This guy really holds a grudge.
Wu Nian seemed to see through his speechlessness and waved his hand: "The school knows something happened at home, so they granted me a month's leave."
This is new. I have seen companies giving their employees such long vacations, but I have never heard of schools giving students long vacations. It's not like he can't go to school. This will delay his studies for a month, and even a good student with high college entrance examination scores will not be able to catch up.
There was no need to verify with the school; it was truly true. And since he'd been in there, I wonder if he'd done something meritorious. So many people had heard the news and came to his rescue... Among them were the school's leaders and his professors, who lived nearby. Even more people had called to inquire about the situation. Among them, Old Man Ning and Big Head Ding from the military were the loudest. Big Head Ding was furious, blabbering about how important the opium supplements this guy's wife had been given were.
The city bureau leader is obsessed with lawsuits. Don't even mention that this guy is a good guy who bravely stood up for justice. Even if he really did commit a crime, what does it have to do with his wife? You, Ding Datou, caught him and kept talking about it. What do you mean by that they didn't create a stable environment for the citizens and were just delaying his work?
He hung up the phone and was just about to take a sip of water to soothe his throat when the office door pounded loudly. Meanwhile, the phone started ringing non-stop. He was an elderly veteran, too, and hadn't slept all night, mobilizing and dispatching operations, then worrying about follow-up work... He had a ton of things to do, and he was getting these calls so early in the morning.
"...There are a few people who need you to come forward and speak to them."
Who was coming, and why did they insist on him leaving? The old boss was furious: "This case is too serious, no one's connections will work! Send them back to where they came from!"
"No, they are the parents of the young men who have made great contributions. There are several big Buddhas among them! The old director is on the way here. He told you to hold them back first. You must take advantage of this good opportunity to resolve the equipment approval application for our bureau!" Now the entire system is short of people, money and equipment. Even though they are in Beijing, they are still very tight. They have made countless applications, but the higher-ups always approve only a little bit, like squeezing toothpaste. Among the people who came this time, there are not only leaders of the system, but also bigwigs in charge of logistics.
The old leader glared, then quickly came to his senses. Of course, only those high-profile figures could be so well-informed. They'd been arresting people all night, and only leaked a few tips around four or five o'clock, preparing to take advantage of the situation to catch the biggest fish. This gang wasn't small, and how could they have committed so many serious crimes without the backing of someone behind them?
He didn't expect that before he caught the big fish, the group of young people who bravely stood up for justice would have so many big legs behind them. If he didn't seize the opportunity to take them down, his nickname "Jiang Dalai" would be written backwards!
The operator who knocked on the door to report the incident rubbed his nose. They all said there was a "crazy, lazy, and shameless" person in their bureau. This time, it depended on them whether the entire bureau could "upgrade its arsenal." He thought those people who had come to take their child home at this moment probably had inquired about their old director, "Crazy Wang," who was absent due to a relapse of his illness last night...
Even before work hours, the city police station was bustling with activity. The crowds were all parents arriving to pick up their children, a sign of the city police's thoughtfulness: they'd arrested dozens of people last night, but there was no guarantee that no one had slipped through the net. This group was no ordinary person; several officers had been injured while arresting them. The city police feared retaliation against these young people, but they simply couldn't spare the manpower to send them home one by one. They could only notify their parents and elders, and also advise their parents to keep an eye on them and not let them out for the time being.
The call for Wu Nian's parents reached Rong Bocen. The old man, knowing what was going on, brought along his junior brother and niece, bringing their entire family to greet the "hero." Upon meeting, the two old men each gave him a chestnut: "They knew a little about the youngsters' plan, but they hadn't anticipated their recklessness." Even though they knew nothing would happen, their hearts were still pounding.
A fat old man wearing a four-pocket cadre uniform held Rong Bocen's hand and shook it, saying, "I'll visit you later, I'll visit you later."
Rong Bocen actually knew him. He was a deputy minister in the security system, but they had no previous relationship. Did Wu Nian save his child? Unexpectedly, the old man didn't even look at the young man who was following behind with his head drooping. He just clutched his bamboo vest and praised Wu Nian for his ideas.
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The author has something to say: Added some content.
Note:
"We can arrest or not, but we must arrest resolutely; we can sentence or not, but we must sentence resolutely; we can kill or not, but we must kill resolutely." — August 3rd Crackdown Slogan [Baidu]
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