Chapter 74.1: Apprehended and Brought to Justice
Yangliu Street hadn’t been this lively in a long time.
The last time there had been such a commotion was when Old Xie’s wife had brought a whole crowd of relatives from her maiden family to catch him cheating. She’d gone after the adulterous couple, scratching and clawing at them, while some busybody had even notified the cheating wife’s husband and children. The resulting spectacle had not only provided everyone with a thoroughly entertaining show but also given them plenty of gossip to talk about for months afterward.
This time, there wasn’t much to yell about, and the spectacle was slightly less entertaining. However, the people being arrested more than made up for that shortcoming. Who in the neighborhood hadn’t been threatened by these people at some point? With that gang around, everyone had to keep their doors firmly shut during the day. The young women and newly married wives in their families didn’t even dare go outside. Now that they were finally seeing these thugs get arrested, it was immensely satisfying.
Quite a few residents didn’t even bother going back to sleep. They weren’t worried about getting bitten by mosquitoes, either. They hurriedly scrambled out of bed and gathered along the walls of their homes to watch. Some even climbed onto their rooftops for a better view.
The gamblers inside the casino had been so engrossed in their games that when they suddenly saw so many police officers storm in, they were momentarily dumbfounded. But almost immediately, most of them came to their senses and bolted toward whatever escape route they thought would be safest.
Some tried climbing over the walls, only to find several police officers waiting for them on the other side.
Others attempted to slip outside while the officers who had stormed in were busy subduing people. They barely made it a few steps before running straight into the officers from the outer perimeter cordon.
Still others pulled out knives, hoping to take on the police with their weapons. But in the very next second, they found a handgun pressed against their heads. The sight of that dark, gaping muzzle instantly cleared their minds. They obediently dropped their daggers, put their hands on their heads, and knelt down.
So what if they got arrested? Maybe their boss would bail them out later. There was no point risking their lives and getting themselves shot!
“We’re running out of handcuffs! Bring over five more pairs!”
“These guys are members of the gang. Search them first, then take them over there.”
“Sister Wang, Sister Chen, there are a few women over here. Come take care of them.”
…
…
It turned out that rounding up 160 or 170 people wasn’t much easier than rounding up a hundred pigs. By the time everyone had been restrained, their identities sorted out, their cash counted, and the prisoners transported back to the detention center, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
That’s right. There were simply too many people. The detention rooms at the Municipal Public Security Bureau couldn’t possibly hold them all, so they had no choice but to cram everyone into the detention center for the time being.
Meanwhile, the other arrest operations were still underway.
＊
Eleven o’clock at night.
Three police officers quietly approached a private residence.
The three consisted of a neighborhood police officer and two young economic crime investigators. The former wore a solemn expression, while the two younger investigators tried their best to keep their faces straight, though their eyes were practically shining with barely restrained excitement.
This was their first time going out to arrest someone!
Taking advantage of the moonlight, the neighborhood officer surveyed the surrounding area.
The house was an ordinary single-story residence. Its front gate was made of wooden planks nailed together, with a large gap in the middle. It was firmly shut at the moment. To the east stood a wall about as tall as a person. By standing on tiptoe, one could see that there were two rooms inside: a main room facing south, whose door was also closed, and a bedroom window that opened inward and was covered with a layer of window screening. Through the screen, they could just make out a bed inside, with what appeared to be someone lying on it.
After carefully checking the details against their information, the neighborhood officer gave a slight nod.
This was the place.
“Zhu Baoqing is inside. He’s one of the key members of the gang operating at the vegetable market on Jiefang Road.”
The neighborhood officer turned around and quietly briefed the two economic crime investigators on the arrest plan.
“This guy has repeatedly injured people with weapons in the past. There’s a good chance he has weapons stashed nearby, so we need to be careful.”
“The three of us will climb over the wall in a moment. The main door doesn’t look particularly sturdy to me. Zhang, you’re the strongest, so you’ll be the one to kick it down. I’ll be right beside you. The moment you break the door open, I’ll rush inside. Liu, you stay by the window. When we kick the door down, cut through the window screen and climb in through the window. The important thing is to move fast. We have to subdue him before he can grab a weapon and fight back!”
“Understood! Understood!”
The two economic crime investigators nodded furiously, practically bursting with youthful energy.
Neither of the two younger men needed a boost to get over the wall, which was about a person’s height. They simply reached up, grabbed the top, and vaulted straight over. Then they pulled the older neighborhood officer up after them before quietly dropping into the courtyard.
The three crept toward their assigned positions.
The neighborhood officer raised his hand, then brought it sharply downward, signaling them to move.
The investigator stationed by the door immediately raised his leg and delivered a powerful kick to the main room’s door. The force was so great that the door’s bolt flew right out of its socket, and the entire door swung open.
Meanwhile, the investigator by the window didn’t even bother reaching for his knife. He grabbed the window screen with both hands and yanked hard. Amid a series of sharp crack-crack-crack sounds, he ripped the entire screen right off.
Before the neighborhood officer could even catch up, the two men had already rushed into the house, shouting at the top of their lungs:
“Police!”
“Don’t move!”
Zhu Baoqing was still lying in bed, dreaming sweet dreams. In his fantasy, he was lounging amid mountains of money and beautiful women, living a life of extravagant pleasure.
Then, suddenly, a tremendous crash rang out beside him.
The money and beauties vanished, transforming into a pitch-black abyss. He jolted in fright and opened his eyes, only to see two figures lunging straight at him.
＊
Late at night.
Duan Qinhhu suddenly opened his eyes.
A thick wooden beam stretched high above him, supporting the entire roof. In the darkness, the heavy layers of thatch insulation resting atop the rafters resembled patches of black clouds pressing down through the wooden framework, weighing on him until he could hardly breathe.
The adulation he’d enjoyed during the day had faded, and the thrill of throwing around huge sums of money at the casino had turned into an indescribable emptiness. Alone in the room, the darkness and silence magnified the fear that had been lurking deep inside him all day.
Duan Qinhhu stared fixedly at the ceiling.
Ever since the day he’d threatened the captain of the criminal investigation team, that same sense of unease had returned to haunt him.
He was practically asking for death.
It was one thing to bully neighborhood police officers, but threatening the captain of the Municipal Public Security Bureau’s criminal investigation team was another matter entirely. Things were no longer under his control. The other party might back down, but he might also escalate the matter through the proper channels until they were determined to drag him out and arrest him.
But he had no choice.
This was the only way he could do it.
Just like when he took his men to seize someone else’s territory.
If they didn’t take over other people’s turf, someone else would come and take theirs.
He had to make his move. He had to issue threats.
Of course, after delivering the warning, he’d also offered a sweetener. That day, he’d even had someone leave a full 5,000 yuan at the other party’s house. Even if he saved every last penny without eating or drinking, it would take him ten years to accumulate that much. It was more than generous.
And the captain had accepted the money. Gradually, he’d also withdrawn the men who had been keeping watch on them, sending them off to deal with speculators and black-market middlemen instead.
Everything was getting better, yet Duan Qinhhu still couldn’t shake his unease for some inexplicable reason.
Things were going far too smoothly. It was almost as if someone had deliberately set a trap for him.
And yet, neither he nor his men had noticed any police investigating them so far.
Was he just being paranoid?
The electric fan continued to rattle and squeak. The breeze blew across his sweat-soaked body, making him feel chilled all over. Duan Qinhhu sat up, felt for the long knife beside his pillow, then looked at the two large dogs sleeping in his courtyard. Gradually, he felt reassured.
Just one of the larger vegetable markets could bring in over ten thousand yuan a month. With profits like that, it was more than enough to tempt someone into taking a desperate risk and sneaking over in the middle of the night to kill him.
Fortunately, he had these two guard dogs. As long as anyone approached the house, they would definitely notice.
With the dogs and his men sleeping in the next room, he had absolutely nothing to worry about.
Duan Qinhhu gradually relaxed.
Sleepiness washed over him again. He yawned and was just about to lie back down when he suddenly heard the dogs barking frantically in the courtyard.
Duan Qinhhu jolted upright.
Someone was coming! Who?!
He immediately grabbed his knife, shoved open the door, and charged outside, ready to have a little chat with whoever had come calling.
But when he looked out, he saw that more than a dozen people had already surrounded his courtyard from outside the walls.
Someone shone a flashlight directly at him. Through the blinding beam, Duan Qinhhu saw that the person was wearing a police uniform. One of the officers was even pointing a gun at him.
They were finished.
In that instant, only one thought remained in Duan Qinhhu’s mind.
＊
The eastern horizon was already beginning to glow with the pale light of dawn.
A farmer named Hu Guangshun was hurrying toward the city, carrying two large baskets of vegetables on a shoulder pole.
His forehead was covered in tiny beads of sweat.
It was still dark when he got up that morning. He’d already made his way to his fields by the light of the moon to harvest vegetables. As soon as he finished picking them, he hurried straight toward the city, hoping to reach the intersection early enough to claim a good spot near the front.
Relying solely on farming, the grain they could grow in a year was barely enough to keep the family fed. But apart from making a living off the land, they had no other skills or means of earning money. Fortunately, they could now make a little extra by selling vegetables, giving the family at least one more source of income.
If he could save up a little more, he’d be able to buy new clothes for the two children still in school. He might even have enough left over to bring home a piece of meat, giving the whole family a chance to enjoy a proper meal.
Just thinking about it made Hu Guangshun feel as though he’d found a little more strength.
Gritting his teeth, he finally reached the intersection where he’d sold vegetables before.
As expected, there weren’t many people around yet.
He quickly set up his stall beside an alley.
The workers living inside that alley all came out this way. They could stop by, ask the price, buy their vegetables, and leave without going out of their way. It was the perfect spot for selling produce.
He had barely set down his baskets and found three bricks to stack up as an improvised stool when someone approached to ask about his vegetables.
“Hey, comrade, how much are your tomatoes per jin?”
“Thirty-seven fen.”
“Thirty-five fen, then. Give me three jin.”
“Well… all right. Let’s call it a lucky start to the day.”
Hu Guangshun weighed out the tomatoes, handed them over, and received the exact amount of money.
He wasn’t sure whether he’d simply arrived early enough to secure a good spot or whether that first smooth transaction had brought him some good luck, but all of a sudden, several customers crowded around his stall, picking out vegetables.
“Comrade, weigh me some cucumbers!”
“Comrade, how much are your loofah gourds per jin?”
“Comrade, hurry and weigh out three jin of tomatoes for me! I’m about to be late!”
…
“Don’t rush, don’t rush! I’ll get them weighed for you!”
Hu Guangshun barely had time to catch his breath, let alone stop and take a bite of his flatbread. He simply kept picking vegetables, weighing them, collecting money, and making change for one customer after another.
After several dozen minutes of this, his voice had grown hoarse from repeatedly answering the same questions. Both his arms felt as though they no longer belonged to him. Even when he picked up the steelyard balance, his hands couldn’t stop trembling.
The vendors at the neighboring stalls were in much the same situation.
Gradually, the number of customers buying vegetables began to dwindle, and Hu Guangshun finally had a moment to catch his breath. Sitting on his brick stool, he pulled a water flask from his waist. His hands trembled slightly as he raised it to his lips, and he gulped down more than half its contents in one go.
He let out a long sigh. Lowering his gaze, he saw the large pile of banknotes in front of him, and his spirits immediately lifted. Even the exhaustion weighing on his body seemed to fade somewhat.
There was enough money here to buy a full ten chi of cloth and make his daughter a new outfit!
But unfortunately…
A troubled expression appeared on Hu Guangshun’s face.
Unfortunately, how much of the money he earned through all that backbreaking work selling vegetables he actually got to keep wasn’t up to him.
<< _ >>