Chapter 338

"Ah Yan, sit down. How have these three days been? Are you adjusting well?"

Lin Mingyuan looked at Wang Mouren, who had walked into his office, with a smile and asked kindly.

"Many thanks for your concern, sir. Everything is fine." Wang Yan sat down opposite him, took out a cigarette to offer him one first, and after lighting it for him like a sycophant, he lit one for himself.

"Looking for me for something?"

"Sir, your insight is brilliant; I knew these little thoughts couldn't escape your eyes." Wang Yan buttered him up and laughed: "Sir, there is indeed something I want to ask for your instructions on."

"You are someone Uncle cares for; even if I don't give you face, I have to give Uncle face. Even without looking at Uncle's face, I think highly of you myself, so just say whatever it is."

"Sir, I want to clean up the environment within our jurisdiction."

Lin Mingyuan stopped his silly smile, his chubby face slightly stunned, and his brows furrowed: "What do you mean?"

"Although the pickings in our jurisdiction aren't as good as Tsim Sha Tsui or Yau Ma Tei, no matter how much there is, it's not something we hat-wearers can get a share of. You know I'm smart and love to read; according to my observations over the past three days, it's just that the market here is too chaotic, and the citizens have no sense of security. Sir, we are police; it is only right and proper for us to maintain public order. If we clean up the foul atmosphere in our jurisdiction, let those small-time thugs and big gangsters all behave themselves, with no stealing, no robbing, no slashing people in the street, and no harassing pretty girls.

If we wait two or three months like this, until the safety here is noticed by the citizens and spread by word of mouth. Then our brothers can exert our professional functions, helping citizens solve some troubles and handling some cases. Sir, I can guarantee that the stalls and shops in our jurisdiction will definitely have better business, and the brothers' pickings will also be on a higher level. And most importantly, our public order is good while other places are bad; this is a contrast, and it can show your ability. By then..."

Wang Yan's speaking speed was neither fast nor slow, full of magnetism, and bewitching: "Sir, by then, if you operate a bit yourself, it's not impossible to move to a new position. Although the foreigners don't trust us and won't promote us, isn't it a great thing to be transferred to a place with more pickings, or to become a detective sergeant? No matter what, it's better than guarding Tsz Wan Shan and not even being able to eat meat, don't you think, sir?"

Lin Mingyuan smoked and pondered until the cigarette butt burned his hand, then casually stuck it into the ashtray: "Tell me how you're going to do it."

"It's very simple. I'll find those gangs in our jurisdiction and talk to their leaders, won't that be enough? Let them restrain their subordinates, don't let them cause trouble, and let them honestly run their brothels, gambling dens, and drug dens. As for the order on the streets, we'll have to trouble our brothers to put in more effort. Whenever we encounter troublemakers or vandals, we won't give anyone face; we'll grab them, beat them up first to give them a lesson, and then talk. At the same time, we'll count all the stalls in our jurisdiction, register them, standardize management, and collect fees uniformly every week. Also, our brothers can't bully them; we must pay for food. They are our bread and butter; shouldn't we be more polite and fair to them?"

Lin Mingyuan was ultimately not confident: "To move those gangs... do we need to discuss it with Uncle?"

Wang Yan waved his hand, his tone flat, as if he were the big brother: "We do need to discuss it with Uncle, but not now. We aren't sweeping their venues, so there's no need to discuss it with Uncle. On the contrary, afterward, when the plainclothes officers from the Criminal Investigation Unit see the pickings from those stalls go up and start greedily collecting indiscriminately, that's what we need to discuss with Uncle. The plainclothes are powerful, but they can't bully us hat-wearers like this; they can't take all the benefits, right?"

"Can this work? Are you sure?"

"Regardless of whether the brothers' pickings can go up, public order will definitely improve. If public order is good, that's your credit; no matter what, you win, sir."

"Do you have confidence?"

Wang Yan was unquestionable, his tone certain: "If I say it works, it definitely works."

Not caring about his offense, Lin Mingyuan slapped the table: "Good, this matter is handed to you to handle. All twenty-eight brothers are handed to you to arrange. As long as this is done, even if Uncle doesn't promote you to plainclothes, I'll send you up."

"Sir, you are wise and decisive; promotion and wealth are just around the corner." Wang Yan buttered him up, stood up and said: "Then I'll go out to work first. Sir, hold a meeting with the other brothers to explain it so everyone understands. Most importantly, sir, we cannot bully our bread and butter; this point must be made clear."

"No problem, go ahead, I'll wait for your good news." Lin Mingyuan waved his hand, urging Wang Yan to get to work quickly. He didn't mind Wang Yan pointing things out to him at all. If he could really do it, let alone pointing things out, calling him 'Brother Yan' would be no problem; he would be a great benefactor...

"Ah Luo, let's go."

After leaving Lin Mingyuan's office, Wang Yan waved to call over Lei Luo, who was chatting with other uniformed police.

"Coming, Brother Yan." Lei Luo put on his hat, trotted over, and walked outside beside Wang Yan: "Brother Yan, where are we patrolling today?"

"No patrolling today, I'm taking you to do something big."

"What big thing, Brother Yan?"

"Beating up the thugs in our jurisdiction, does that count as a big thing?"

Lei Luo was stunned for a moment, then quickly took two or three steps to the front: "Brother Yan, don't be reckless and seek death. I admit you can fight, but they have great power and many people. If you hit one, a whole bunch will come out. They also have close ties with the plainclothes and won't put us hat-wearers in their eyes at all. Before you even hit them, they'll have beaten us to a pulp."

This was the truth. Including the Rattlesnake whom Lei Luo had scraped fifty thousand dollars from in the original drama, there were six big thugs in Tsz Wan Shan, called things like Baldy, Chui Shui Qiang, and so on. Of course, what their nicknames were didn't matter; what mattered was that these people were backed by big syndicates. The 14K, Wo Shing Wo, Chiu Chow gangs, etc., that had retreated with the Nationalist Army, all had various branches underneath. The six big thugs in Tsz Wan Shan operated opium dens, gambling dens, brothels, and the like, and their relationships with other big gangs were also inextricably linked.

But so what if they had connections? It wouldn't work if he fought hundreds or thousands of people, but they were just a bunch of thugs, and they wouldn't dare make such a big move. Besides, he wasn't scraping money and wasn't affecting their business; he was just teaching them a lesson to make them behave. Chen Tong was standing behind him; as long as he could win the fight, there would be no trouble at all. Even without Chen Tong, there would be no problem; his strong fist was the truth.

"Even if we get beaten to a pulp, are you coming with me or not?"

"I... I'm definitely going, you're the big brother. As a brother, I definitely have to follow; at worst, I'll just get a beating. They wouldn't dare kill us, so what's there to be afraid of."

Wang Yan patted his shoulder: "Let's go, find Rattlesnake and let him know our rules."

Lei Luo gritted his teeth and nodded fiercely: "Screw him..." As he spoke, because he knew a big battle was imminent, under the influence of the adrenaline that had already started to secrete, he slightly trembling hands took out a cigarette, offered one to Wang Yan, and after lighting his own, walked quickly toward Rattlesnake's venue.

Because there were only so many illegal industries that made money, nothing more than drugs, gambling, and prostitution, the thugs' industries overlapped highly. This was also the main reason why a bunch of thugs would start a fight for no reason.

Rattlesnake was just like that, operating gambling dens and opium dens, having a brothel, and also dealing in heroin, and correspondingly, he also did loan sharking. They were all profitable businesses, and with money came people; he had seventy or eighty subordinates, so he was a leader and had confidence.

It was precisely because of this confidence that when Wang Yan brought Lei Luo, both of them appearing at the door in eye-catching uniforms, more than a dozen subordinates blocked them with fierce eyes and unkind expressions.

"Hey, hat-wearers, our protection fees have all been paid to the plainclothes. Don't cause trouble for your boss, get out of here if you're sensible. If you really want money, go find Detective Chen, don't disturb our business, otherwise don't blame us for being impolite."

Looking at the small leader in front of him, Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "You misunderstood, we aren't here to scrape money, but to find your boss Rattlesnake to talk about something. It's a new rule from our uniformed police side that we need to notify him of; trouble you to go report it."

"What other rules do hat-wearers have? We've always dealt with the plainclothes."

Wang Yan patiently shook his head: "You go find Rattlesnake, I'll talk to him."

"Damn, so much trouble, you two wait." The small leader cursed as he turned and went inside, and after a short while, he came out and snorted unhappily: "Follow me."

It was morning, and people still had to work to make money, so there weren't many people gambling, and it wasn't too foul-smelling; the environment was still okay. Rattlesnake, wearing a white cardigan, long pants, and slippers, was sitting there drinking and eating meat; looking at that bird's nest hair, one could tell it was breakfast.

Rattlesnake held a chicken leg in one hand and glanced sideways: "Kid, say what you have to say quickly, get out when you're done; I get angry just seeing you hat-wearers."

"Boss Rattlesnake is a straightforward person, then I'll be direct." Wang Yan looked at him with a smile: "From today on, you must restrain your subordinates, don't let them run wild on the street, harass women, etc. Honestly do your business and maintain the order on the street. If you don't restrain them well, I'll make you look good."

"What did you say?" Rattlesnake was stunned for a moment, threw away the chicken leg in his hand, stood up and walked to Wang Yan, reaching out to poke his chest: "Make me look good? Threatening me? You've got guts, kid? You're just a hat-wearer, who do you think you are? Honestly do business and maintain street order? Did Lin Mingyuan send you? Damn, two little punks, daring to show off in front of me, beat them..."

Following Rattlesnake's words, the dozen or so people around surrounded them.

Seeing Rattlesnake throw the chicken leg and stand up, Lei Luo knew it was bad and had already quietly felt for his police baton. Hearing the words "beat them," he didn't say a word, picked up his baton, and aimed it at Rattlesnake's head, giving him a direct blow.

Seeing Lei Luo's blow, Wang Yan shook his head, casually kicked out, kicking the Rattlesnake who was clutching his head flying to the side, then drew his baton, and like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, he started swinging away.

After a brief riot, Wang Yan looked at the few bold onlookers who had started gambling early on and asked: "Are you okay?"

Lei Luo wiped the bright red from the corner of his mouth: "Took two punches, no big problem." As he spoke, he didn't forget to give the person on the ground a kick; it was clear he was the one who beat him.

"Your fighting skills are still a bit lacking. Wait a while when we go to that Baldy's place, you just guard the door; it's not worth getting beaten up."

After instructing Lei Luo, Wang Yan slowly walked toward Rattlesnake, who was sitting in a chair, rubbing his stomach with one hand and his head with the other: "Honestly do business and maintain street order, can you do it?"

Rattlesnake was unconvinced: "I'll do your mother's head, screw your mother."

"I just like you like this." As he spoke, Wang Yan suddenly reached out, grabbed Rattlesnake's hair, and smashed his head onto the table with a bang, again and again.

Until Rattlesnake was bleeding and dizzy, Wang Yan let go of his hair and slapped him to the ground with a big slap: "Can you do it now?"

Rattlesnake's head was buzzing, and he hadn't recovered yet, so how could he answer? He just lay on the ground groaning.

"Not talking? That means no?" Wang Yan stepped on his big boots, kicked away the lackey rolling on the ground blocking the way, stepped forward, and raised his leg to kick.

"Can, can, can, stop hitting, stop hitting, if you hit anymore, someone will really die." Rattlesnake hurriedly reached out to protect his face and stubbornly smiled: "Isn't it just restraining subordinates? Guaranteed no problem, sir, don't worry, don't worry."

Gently putting down his foot, Wang Yan said: "My name is Wang Yan; if you're unconvinced, I'll wait for your revenge anytime. But I'll say it first, this time I'll let your offense against me slide; if there's a next time, I'll make you wish you were dead."

"Won't, won't." Rattlesnake winced in pain: "Ah Hua, get Brother Yan a thousand dollars for tea money. Brother Yan and this brother must be tired too, go out and eat and drink well; consider it my apology for being ignorant."

"Forget it, I said I wouldn't scrape your money, so I won't. Just restrain your subordinates and maintain the order on the street. You don't have to feel embarrassed; in a while, our brothers will go find other bosses, and most of them probably won't care about us either. Wait until tomorrow when you all have a gathering and look at each other's pig heads, maybe you'll feel balanced. Also, if you're really unconvinced and want revenge, then hurry up, don't play little tricks to cause trouble for me. That's it, let's go Ah Luo."

Although he was in great pain, Rattlesnake still shouted: "Brother Yan, walk slowly, come often when you have time."

Since the big brother said so, the lackeys naturally followed suit, shouting "Brother Yan, walk slowly" as if they were dying.

Wang Yan waved his hand and walked out with Lei Luo, who was rubbing his face...

They didn't do anything else that day. They set off in the morning, and by the afternoon, after the two of them had a meal, they returned to the police station amidst the awe-struck and dumbfounded looks of the uniformed and plainclothes officers. Wang Yan was fine, just his military green uniform had some bright red bloodstains, but Lei Luo, whom he was supporting, was miserable; he was limping, and his face had swollen into a pig head; he had been beaten badly.

There was no other way; Wang Yan could fight, but he had to beat them one by one, and he couldn't take care of it if there were too many people. It was fine when beating Rattlesnake because there weren't many people, but the few places they went to later had all gathered manpower waiting for them to arrive. One could guess with their toes that Rattlesnake was unconvinced and had sent people to tip off other thug leaders in advance.

This battle definitely wouldn't be counted as a loss. Not catching those thug leaders off guard actually highlighted his strong fist. Now, the several big thug syndicates within the jurisdiction of the Tsz Wan Shan police station had been beaten into submission by him, which was even more deterrent. It was also because of this encounter that they would mostly not retaliate afterward.

Those thug leaders also had news channels, and a day was enough for them to know who Wang Mouren was. Not to mention how outstanding he was in the police academy, just knowing that Chen Tong had specifically brought him in was enough. Otherwise, they wouldn't be seeking their own deaths; one person fighting dozens of people's combat power, and a policeman at that, how stupid would they have to be? Unless forced into a corner, no one would jump over a wall. If they were really that reckless, they wouldn't have been able to reach the position of big brother with dozens of subordinates.

"Ah Yan is back, oh my, Ah Cheng, hurry up and get some ice to apply to Ah Luo, look at how he was beaten." Hearing the noise, the chubby Lin Mingyuan walked out, and seeing Lei Luo's miserable state, he hurriedly showed concern for his subordinate.

Supporting Lei Luo to sit down, Wang Yan sat on the table and casually took off his hat.

Lin Mingyuan didn't let anyone follow him in the morning because he wanted to see how much ability he had. With six big thugs, no matter what method he used, he had to convince at least one, otherwise, what confidence would he have to point things out? And even if he didn't do a good job and got beaten up, it had nothing to do with Lin Mingyuan; it was all his own decision.

But the situation was different now. He went out for a day, beat six big thug leaders into submission, and initially set the rules. Next, as long as they went out to clean up those small gangs, it would be done. To be honest, after today's battle, his words were more effective than Lin Mingyuan's; one could tell just by looking at the awe in others' eyes.

"Brother Yan, you are the most powerful; I'll call you Brother Yan from now on. Come, smoke a cigarette and rest."

Letting this uniformed officer light his cigarette, Wang Yan patted his shoulder: "We are all brothers, Ren Ge, what's powerful or not? Just call me Ah Yan."

"Is it recognition of your strength?" Lin Mingyuan laughed and joined the conversation: "You put in effort for the brothers, let everyone have money to earn and be able to support their families, isn't it right to call you Brother Yan?"

Wang Yan exhaled a puff of smoke and looked at his superior: "Did you explain it to the brothers?"

"I did, I said it first thing in the morning. It's just that you and Ah Luo left too fast, otherwise we would have gone together to support you, and Ah Luo wouldn't have been beaten into a pig head. Young people, too impatient." Lin Mingyuan glossed over the fact that he had pretended not to see it in the morning, turned around and clapped his hands: "Come, everyone listen up, you all know what Ah Yan went to do today and why he did it. For the sake of our good days ahead, for the next period of time, listen to Brother Yan's orders, understand?"

"Understood."

Lin Mingyuan looked at Wang Yan with a smile: "Brother Yan, say a few words to the brothers?"

"Sir, don't tease me, how can I afford the title 'Brother Yan'."

Wang Yan was humble for a moment, stood on the ground and looked around at the twenty or so uniformed police: "Brothers, I won't say much, just one thing: don't bully our bread and butter. They give money, we provide them with a good environment and good public order; this is what we should do. For pickpockets, robbers, and those who harass women on the street, anyone who affects the normal order of the street, count them one by one, grab them all back and beat them up first.

Also, we must start doing our essential work. In the future, when citizens in our jurisdiction call the police, help them as much as possible. Maybe everyone will be a bit tired, but I guarantee that the money in hand will definitely be more than before, everyone can live a good life, and a thousand-square-foot luxury house is not a dream."

Although the current housing prices haven't risen yet, and will even plummet in two years when war breaks out, a good apartment still costs tens of thousands. This is determined by the current scarcity of Western-style buildings, and in the future, it will be determined by Hong Kong's lack of land and large population. Relying on an income of two hundred dollars a month, over two thousand a year, after deducting the expenses of the whole family, wanting to buy a two-bedroom apartment is also indefinitely distant.

"Good, whatever Brother Yan says, we'll do. As long as we can earn more, it doesn't matter if we're tired. After all, we aren't like the plainclothes; we can earn hard-earned money and not be scolded by citizens, which is worthy of the job."

"Yeah, Brother Yan, you're in charge now, whatever you say goes."

Listening to people he used to call brother now calling him Brother Yan one after another, Wang Yan's heart was calm; he had been a big brother for many years. Even though it was his first time being a big brother in the police force, there was nothing fresh about it.

When the enthusiasm passed, Wang Yan began to assign tasks. Some were to count the large and small merchants in the jurisdiction and register them, and some were to clean up the destroyers of order in the jurisdiction. With limited manpower, these tasks were not light. As for solving the problem of citizens calling the police in the jurisdiction, it would have to wait until these two tasks were done. Anyway, the citizens here had always lived in dire straits, so a little time didn't matter.

Of course, the most important thing couldn't be forgotten, and that was how to divide the money. Previously, everyone took turns patrolling to ensure everyone got a share, but now that it was collected uniformly once a week, it obviously couldn't be divided that way. After some discussion, Sergeant Lin Mingyuan took thirty percent, Wang Mouren, who opened the situation with a strong fist, took five percent, another five percent was considered an offering from all the uniformed officers to be handed to Lin Mingyuan for him to handle, and the remaining sixty percent was divided according to their respective ranks, with some getting more and some getting less, and everyone was satisfied.

After arranging these, there was no need for Brother Yan to speak; a bunch of uniformed police consciously went directly to work. As for getting off work? No one mentioned it. It was just that starting today, they were going to rectify the public order in the jurisdiction.

No one was a fool, and it wasn't hard to understand. Maintaining the order on the street, once time passed, it was an inevitable result that business here would improve. Thinking from another perspective, everyone could understand. So it didn't matter if they were a bit bitter or tired; they didn't care, as long as they could earn more. Their subjective initiative was up, and no one could stop them; their work enthusiasm was quite high.

Just as their meeting ended, a plainclothes officer pushed the door and entered: "Ah Yan, Uncle wants you to go up."

"Got it, Yang Ge." Responding, Wang Yan looked at the smiling Lin Mingyuan: "Sir, I'm going upstairs."

"Hey, Ah Yan, wait." Lin Mingyuan grabbed Wang Yan's arm: "Uncle is looking for you because of today's matter, and he thinks highly of you; why don't you explain it to him first?"

"No problem, of course no problem." Wang Yan nodded: "Then I'm going up?"

"Good, I'll wait for you in the office."

Wang Yan nodded and turned to walk outside.

This Sergeant Lin was quite capable and dared to let go. Actually, he wasn't wrong; after all, the rank was there, and Lin Mingyuan was the sergeant. Even if he played tricks under his command, the credit and money would still be taken by him. He wasn't afraid of being bypassed because he had a good relationship with the foreign police superintendent and had other connections; within normal rules, he wasn't afraid of anything.

Of course, it was mainly because he was capable, and Sergeant Lin knew the times. Knowing he couldn't suppress such a ruthless person and there was no need to make an enemy of him, he simply let go completely and sat back to enjoy the fruits of others' labor. He was a sensible person with a future.

Arriving upstairs, after greeting a group of plainclothes officers, he knocked on the door and walked into Chen Tong's office swaggeringly. He didn't stand on ceremony either and sat down opposite him.

Chen Tong looked at the young man in front of him with a smile: "You did a great thing today."

"Uncle heard about it?"

"How could I not hear about it? Now everyone in our police station is talking about your glorious battle record, and the few big brothers you beat into pig heads have also come to talk to me. I really didn't expect it; I knew you were quite capable of fighting before, but who the hell knew you were this capable? I think if Xiang Yu and Lu Bu were alive, they would be just like you." After Chen Tong boasted, he took out five thousand dollars and threw it in front of him: "Here, this is Rattlesnake's apology. He's afraid you'll keep holding onto him, so he asked me to help talk."

"This little bug is good at finding people. I originally planned to go break his legs tonight. This bastard notified Chui Shui Qiang, Baldy, and the others in advance. I brought Ah Luo over, and they had seventy or eighty people waiting for us. Uncle, you didn't see Ah Luo's miserable state; such a handsome guy, beaten into a pig head alive, now he can't even move sitting on a stool."

Wang Yan picked up the cigarette on the table and lit one himself: "Forget it, since Uncle spoke up, then I'll let this little bug go. But I can't take this money; Uncle has been so helpful to me, so consider this my filial piety to Uncle; go buy some good cigarettes and wine to enjoy."

"Stinky kid, looking down on me? Even if I, Chen Tong, am doing poorly, I'm still a detective sergeant. The one you beat, eat well and drink well, and you can still pick up girls and solve your lifelong affairs; I think highly of you."

"Thank you, Uncle, then I won't be polite." Wang Yan gave a simple and honest smile, reached out to take the money and put it in his pocket.

This time Chen Tong didn't want it, so it was highly likely he wouldn't want his money in the future. I believe Chen Tong should also know why he did this and had already verified his ability to do things. After beating six thug leaders into submission today, his future, which was already highly regarded, was now even more highly regarded. Compared to the umbrella of power, money was trash; Chen Tong could even give him money. After all, if he could really rise to a high position, Chen Tong could eat until his mouth was oily just by pulling his banner...