Chapter 344

"Yan Ge, we toast you."

"Yeah, Yan Ge, I've heard everything from Aluo—we owe today to your help."

In the lively, festive atmosphere of the Lei family's home in Dongtou Village, Lei Luo in a suit and tie, alongside Liu Fengxia in a red wedding dress, approached Wang Yan's table, both beaming with joy, cups in hand.

"Fengxia must be careful with her health—she shouldn't drink. Let Aluo have two glasses instead." Wang Yan smiled, stood up with his cup, let Fengxia fill it to the brim, clinked it with Lei Luo's, and drained it in one go.

Lei Luo was a straightforward man, and today was such a monumental occasion—he had finally married the woman he had long desired. Add to that his smooth life, plenty of money, and newfound prestige, not to mention the child growing in his beloved's womb—how perfect could it be? So Lei Luo drank with great delight, and since he said two glasses, he drank two, without hesitation.

"Yan Ge, Zhuyouzi, enjoy your meal and drinks slowly. There are too many guests today—I apologize for any poor hospitality."

"Stop pretending. Go attend to the others." Wang Yan patted his shoulder, watched him leave to toast other guests, then sat down to eat and drink.

Today was Lei Luo's wedding, and as the elder brother, Wang Yan naturally came. Through his connection, Zhuyouzi had grown close to Lei Luo and naturally came to offer his gift. Even Chen Tong, who had long known Wang Yan's favor toward Lei Luo, heard Lei Luo was from Chaozhou and asked Wang Yan to help him contribute.

As for Chen Tong, it wasn't that Wang Yan had snatched Lei Luo's opportunity. Originally, Lei Luo's promotion to plainclothes officer was still two years away—but now Wang Yan could confidently say that within a few months, Lei Luo would be promoted. Moreover, it was because Lei Luo was outstanding that Chen Tong himself sought him out and transferred him from police academy to Wong Chuk Hang.

In truth, to him, it didn't matter who he followed. Even if he had joined Yan Tong, it would've been the same—only difference being he might have earned the label of a "turncoat," since Yan Tong would never pamper him like Chen Tong did; conflict was inevitable. But so what if he was a turncoat? Did anyone really think that bowing to Guan Yu meant everyone kept their oaths? If so, why did cops and gangsters still call each other brothers?

The past month had been hectic. Wang Yan only ate at Lei's home during the New Year, since he was alone; otherwise, aside from occasionally checking on the cooling tea business, he was either busy at the police station or chasing down suspects.

After Chen Tong and the six gang bosses agreed on a new division of profits, they immediately launched the Chi Yun Shan anti-gang operation. Due to manpower constraints, plainclothes and uniformed officers cooperated closely. Originally, Lin Mingyuan refused to approve it, but after Chen Tong's persuasion, he finally agreed.

He had never been one to hoard benefits—he always believed in mutual gain. His goal wasn't the glory itself, but control over these Chinese officers. He wanted their loyalty—so that even if he left Chi Yun Shan, even if Chen Tong left and a new chief inspector took over, his word here would still carry weight.

The uniformed officers had always followed his lead. This time, because of his proposal, everyone got a share, further winning their hearts. As for the plainclothes officers, it was even easier—they worked side by side daily and knew he did this to help them earn more. Combined with his kindness, his past favors to them, and Chen Tong's deliberate promotion of him by granting him command authority, nearly all plainclothes and uniformed officers in Chi Yun Shan Police Station answered to him alone.

When the operation began, Chen Tong and Lin Mingyuan remained at the station to oversee everything, while he managed the overall strategy.

Together, the uniformed and plainclothes officers numbered fewer than fifty—even after reinforcements arrived. They were far too few to arrest so many gangsters, so naturally, the six major gang factions became "concerned citizens," providing manpower and effort. Under Wang Yan's brilliant command, they swept clean all illegal establishments in Chi Yun Shan not belonging to the six families—opium dens, gambling dens, drug dens, brothels—you name it. The police station couldn't hold them all; most were temporarily detained in the detention center, awaiting evidence collection before being sent to prison.

Of course, clearing out the gangs wasn't hard—the real difficulty lay in securing convictions. These men were gangsters, not good people, but they weren't fools. They wouldn't admit to crimes they'd actually committed, let alone false ones pinned on them.

Sure, they'd all end up in prison for many years anyway—so what if they denied it? But conversely, since they'd all be in prison for many years anyway, what difference did a few more years make?

So the busiest task these past weeks had been individually negotiating with each gangster, reasoning with them, urging them to bravely, firmly, fearlessly accept responsibility for their crimes and give justice to the innocent victims. It was grueling physical labor—every uniformed and plainclothes officer in the station was exhausted.

But as the saying goes, sunshine always follows the storm; after dark clouds, clear skies appear. Most importantly, for these men, effort always brought reward.

After a month of hustle, the backlog of cases in Chi Yun Shan was nearly cleared. With fewer gangsters roaming the streets, the area looked far more pleasant, and public safety visibly improved. Residents were satisfied, merchants and stall owners were satisfied, and visitors coming to shop and stroll were even more satisfied.

With so many venues shut down, so many cases cracked, so many vagrants arrested, every single one was a tangible achievement. Everyone in the station—even retired staff in logistics—got credit.

Those doing the work got rewards; the leadership naturally did too. Lin Mingyuan, about to leave, managed to snag one last bonus. Chen Tong, who had been straining to outshine Yan Tong, became the most outstanding inspector in Hong Kong and Kowloon thanks to the surge in statistics—he shone before the foreign superintendents and stole the spotlight from other inspectors.

Earlier, when inspectors met to report work, Chen Tong had told him about it. He said Yan Tong's face turned green when he saw how big this operation suddenly became.

Perhaps precisely because of this glory, Chen Tong reignited hope and ambition. With this major achievement and his seniority, as long as he spent money, transferring to another post was absolutely no problem.

So lately, the old bastard stopped managing anything—spending all day running connections, kissing foreign officers' asses, living a life of eating, drinking, and entertainment. He was also liquidating his assets, raising cash.

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Though he was already an inspector, moving to a more lucrative post wasn't as hard as a senior detective jumping ranks—but it still cost a fortune. And Chen Tong was old; he needed to smooth things over to extend his tenure by a couple more years, or this deal would be a net loss. If he only broke even after all this trouble, it wouldn't be worth it—he needed to make more money, and more importantly, to annoy Yan Tong for years, to repay all the years of humiliation.

Of course, don't forget the one who dug the well—the old bastard didn't forget his top lieutenant, Wang Yan. This promotion to senior detective was certain, and he planned to take Wang Yan along, keeping him under his command.

For Wang Yan, this didn't matter—he didn't care who he worked for or where. But crucially, if he stayed here, the new chief inspector wouldn't feel secure. Power is both poison and honey—once you touch it, you can't let go. Not everyone is an aging Chen Tong; few would willingly cede authority to subordinates and let themselves be sidelined.

If he remained here, conflict with the new chief inspector was inevitable. Of course, the new chief wouldn't realize that even after Wang Yan left, this place still answered to Wang Mou.

And since Chen Tong was determined to compete and planned to transfer, he might as well slip Lei Luo in too. Lei Luo had prior achievements, added to this one, plus his help with bribes—perfectly logical to transfer together and get promoted to plainclothes officer. That's why Wang Yan was certain it would happen within a few months.

As for the cooling tea, it was thriving, everything going smoothly.

Zhuyouzi acted efficiently, bringing over many unemployed men and women from his neighborhood. The kid was loyal—he prioritized families with the worst conditions. In the large house now serving as a factory, most of the herb processors were elderly men and women. They specialized in one herb each; after long practice, they worked quickly and skillfully. The younger staff handled mixing and packaging, fearing the elderly might make mistakes due to declining mental acuity.

Market expansion was no longer needed—Hong Kong and Kowloon weren't that big. They'd visited every other shop within a couple of streets; over the past month, they'd essentially promoted everywhere, with excellent feedback. The key was the large number of delivery workers—all strong young men—daily cycling on custom-built tricycles across the streets.

For deliveries, Wang Yan borrowed the police district system: one person per district, carrying a notebook with addresses. Each district wasn't huge, but not tiny either—so these men had no idle time, working tirelessly.

Zhuyouzi now stepped away from daily operations, focusing on coordination and occasionally resolving troubles. After all, any profitable business attracts envy—there were always messy problems. Fortunately, "Yan Ge's" reputation still held weight—big gangsters now scorned legitimate business, while small-time thugs feared Wang Yan's power, so overall things were still fine.

But due to their rapid growth over the past month, as Zhuyouzi had predicted, others with ancestral cooling tea recipes began copying them, producing semi-finished tea packs and pushing them on the market. They competed directly and simply—by slashing prices to snatch back the small and large stall owners they had previously lost.

Wang Yan didn't intervene. First, this was normal business competition—not worth targeting. Second, his formula was superior in efficacy. His tea had flavor—a quality others couldn't easily replicate, giving him an advantage. Even if they lost some customers and earned less due to the price war, it wasn't critical. Let Hong Kong's cooling tea market diversify—let the people of Hong Kong achieve cooling tea freedom…

Besides, profits weren't bad—they couldn't even meet demand across Hong Kong and Kowloon; their earnings grew daily. He now employed over eighty people, half of them elderly men and women—still a tiny fraction of the entire market.

As for money, he'd already found an accountant, through Lin Hanbin from the former Huifeng Bank. They were classmates; good jobs were hard to find now, even for top talent. Their qualifications and skills could easily land them jobs—but landing good positions at big companies? Extremely difficult, as always, everywhere.

He paid them 150 dollars a month, same as Zhuyouzi. After all, the work here wasn't hard—just keep the books clear.

His black money, though substantial, was easy to launder—he ran a company of eighty-plus employees, all cash transactions, with a professional accountant helping—simple to balance.

He now paid himself a salary: 300 dollars a month…

So his monthly income was now 442 dollars—absolute high salary.

As for the 5,000-dollar personal loan, it no longer came from him—after all, the company was his, and business was booming; those two thousand wouldn't take ten years to pay off.

"Yan Ge, Aluo's wife is gorgeous." Zhuyouzi had never been here before; though familiar with Lei Luo, this was his first time seeing Fengxia.

"Mm, she is. Fengxia is excellent—a true homemaker. Aluo has good taste—and good fortune," Wang Yan nodded, looking at the slovenly Zhuyouzi: "You've got eighty to ninety people under you now—can't you act like a boss? Look at how you eat—sloppy and filthy."

He didn't really impose expectations on Zhuyouzi, or dictate his path. Originally, Zhuyouzi was the link between Lei Luo and gang bosses, a middleman collecting bribes. Now under him, though doing legitimate business, he still handled the messy tasks Wang Yan assigned—never truly clean, more like his chief steward. As long as he did what was asked and didn't cause trouble or cross the line, he could do whatever he wanted—Wang Yan didn't care.

"It's just habit," Zhuyouzi chuckled, straightened up, wiped his greasy mouth, and changed the subject: "Yan Ge, Aluo's about your age—he's married and about to be a father. Don't you have any thoughts? Shouldn't you start looking for a wife? If you don't have anyone in mind, just say the word—I'll find you the best girls in Hong Kong, one by one, let you pick…"

"You're right. I am at the age, and now I'm the last one in my family—I must carry on the lineage. Do I have someone in mind? …" Watching Zhuyouzi wink and flirt, Wang Yan agreed, gazing at Lei Luo and Fengxia as they toasted guests, and mused: "Zhuyouzi, I do have someone in mind—I saw her once, just a glimpse, before the New Year. I wanted to approach her, but she vanished. I meant to find her, but I was so busy, and it slipped my mind."

"You only saw her once? Don't even know her name?" Seeing Wang Yan nod, Zhuyouzi scratched his head, frowning: "That's tough, Yan Ge. Finding her is like… searching for a needle in a haystack? Yes, exactly like that. I think you should give up—let me find you some other pretty girls instead."

"Fuck, do I need you to find girls for me? If I don't look, how will I know I can't find her?" Wang Yan slapped the back of his head: "Listen well—she has long hair, big eyes, an oval face, tall and slim… dressed very stylishly, elegant, clearly from a wealthy family. Probably an only daughter. Her circle isn't big—search among the rich and gangsters across Hong Kong, ask around—I'm sure you'll find her."

He was describing Bai Yuechang. When he'd first considered Fengxia, he'd already had this idea—after all, Fengxia was his brother's wife, he couldn't touch her. But Bai Yuechang? No problem—nothing had happened yet, had it? He'd just been too busy lately. Now that he had time, he should settle his personal affairs—fall in love, have fun, maybe even make a baby.

"Yan Ge, if she's really like that, we're not even in her league," Zhuyouzi said cautiously. "If you were a chief inspector, maybe—but you're just a plainclothes officer. It's hard…"

"Why are you so damn talkative? I told you to find her—just find her. Whether we're good enough is my problem, not yours?" Wang Yan slapped him again on the back of the head: "Alright, it shouldn't be too hard. This job is yours."

You're the boss, you're right—fuck, even honest truth isn't allowed… Zhuyouzi rubbed his head, grumbled, then turned his frustration into appetite and ate and drank heartily…

Since Lei Luo got married, Wang Yan only saw him during morning commutes and breakfast. His work enthusiasm had dropped sharply—newly married, with a pregnant wife waiting for him at home, it was understandable. He'd patrol, then drift toward home; after work, he'd rush back immediately. This lasted a week, until Lei Luo's post-wedding excitement finally settled—of course, Wang Yan helped calm him down.

With Wang Yan's protection, Lei Luo thrived in Chi Yun Shan Police Station. With the force's lax management now, Lei Luo slacked off without consequence. If Wang Yan hadn't intervened, he'd have become utterly lawless—Wang Yan kicked him twice to snap him back to reality.

In truth, even when working, there was little real business—mostly chatting and gossiping, slowly reviewing old unsolved cases. After the recent operation, violent crimes in Chi Yun Shan had dropped sharply—except for minor disputes requiring uniformed officers to mediate. So Wang Yan was basically just like Lei Luo…

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.

Chen Tong, who had long been busy fawning over the foreign devils, arrived at the police station early, as he hadn't in a long while. When Wang Yan saw him, he smiled warmly, like an old neighbor awaiting death—yet his back was no longer hunched as before; it stood much straighter, his whole face flushed with health, unmistakably radiant with joy.

"Uncle, is everything taken care of?"

"Taken care of, taken care of—not all the money and time and energy I spent was wasted."

"That's wonderful! Congratulations, Uncle." Seeing he didn't say where exactly, Wang Yan played along: "So, Uncle, where are you headed next?"

"Sham Shui Po!" Chen Tong laughed heartily, voice strong and full: "I'm taking over on the first of next month!"

"I remember the superintendent of Sham Shui Po district used to be a foreign devil, and that place is so lucrative—switching to a Chinese superintendent must mean fierce competition, right? Uncle, how much did you pay to smooth it over?"

"Fifty thousand full—my entire savings are gone. These foreign devils are insatiable; they're wolves that can never be fed…" Chen Tong cursed for a while, sending heartfelt greetings and blessings to the Chief of Criminal Investigation, the top cop in the force, and finally to Queen Ying herself.

After calming down, he turned his face back to a cheerful grin: "But it did solve the problem—not only am I taking over Sham Shui Po next month, but I'll also get to serve several more years, so it's definitely worth it. You wouldn't believe it, Ah Yan—when the foreign devil chief announced the appointment, Yan Tong's face turned as black as a charcoal pot. He wanted that post too—he's got far more money than we do. But who cares? We did our job well, earned the credit, and the higher-ups can't just take money and ignore street order, right? They need results too. You didn't see it, Ah Yan—when the announcement came, Yan Tong's face…"

"So Uncle, you're feeling good now? Happy?"

"More than good—it's glorious, utterly satisfying. I've never felt this free in years. But Yan Tong didn't come out empty-handed either; this was a major reshuffle of all superintendents—he's now heading Central District, which is still a promotion. My old post? It'll go to that fat bastard downstairs. We made Ci Yun Mountain so profitable, boosted the graft so much—it's all going to benefit that fat bastard now."

"Then I'll have to go down and have a good chat with Officer Lin—he'll need to look out for me in the future. Uncle, honestly, your relationship with Officer Lin is even closer. Sham Shui Po isn't far from here; we should unite, stick together, support each other."

"Do you think I'm too stupid to know such a simple truth? I already told him. Do you think I'm senile? You little rascal. Besides, he has no choice but to side with us—he's not a fool; he can see clearly that everyone up and down here is yours. Not just him—even I, even the foreign devil commissioner, don't have as much power as you do, Brother Yan."

Perhaps it was a subtle warning, perhaps he truly didn't care—after saying this, without waiting for Wang Yan to reply, Chen Tong continued: "Your matter with Ah Luo is settled too—you're promoted to Investigator, he to plainclothes. You'll both come with me to Sham Shui Po. Ah Yan, there's been little going on in Ci Yun Mountain lately—go investigate Sham Shui Po thoroughly, think hard about how we'll break the ground. I've spent every last cent of my funeral money—if I don't recoup it, I'd rather die than look back. Ah Yan, go all out—I believe in you."

This was crystal clear. Wang Yan understood perfectly. Chen Tong's meaning was simple: do whatever you want, however you want—just two rules: one, make money; two, annoy Yan Tong. Everything else didn't matter. What a great boss…

"Uncle, leave it to me. With Ci Yun Mountain like this, Sham Shui Po—a district so rich in graft—making money won't be a problem. I'll make sure you're swimming in it."

Chen Tong laughed heartily, patted Wang Yan's shoulder, exchanged a few warm words, then turned and walked back to his office to burn incense for Guan Yu. He planned to find someone to consult—whether he should take Guan Yu with him…