Chapter 812: If You Don't Use the Opportunity I Give You

"Officer Wang, my name is Meng..."

"Meng Guangcheng, this is Meng Ziyi, your nephew who came out to work with you. This is Ren Mingzhong. Looking at it, you were the one beaten, right? This is Gao Cheng, and this last big brother is Zhang Xingquan. You all live at Zhao Xianming's place, right? I didn't remember it wrong, did I?"

Wang Yan smiled, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, gave one to each of them, and lit them, then sat down and lit one himself. "I know about your affairs, and I was the one who said I would ask for money for you. Now that you are all sitting here, don't be in a hurry, just say it slowly."

Hearing Wang Yan's words, several people looked at each other and saw the surprise in their eyes. Wang Yan could call their names, which was something they could never have imagined, but this also made them believe more that this smiling Officer Wang could handle things for them. After all, he had seen tens of thousands of people, and he could still call their names. If he didn't really handle things, why would he remember these migrant workers?

But in fact, this was Wang Yan's passive memory, and it was also an old method of buying people's hearts. Especially in the process of him being an emperor twice in the past, let alone high-level generals, he could also call the names of the lowest-level squad leaders and deputy squad leaders. He could also call many names of the numerous soldiers. Even after he was over a hundred years old, when he inspected the army again, he could call the names of their ancestors after thinking for a while when he saw familiar faces.

What kind of scene was that?

He firmly controlled the military power. In addition to various institutional checks and balances for generals, logistics checks and balances, and high welfare treatment, the fact that he could call the names of grassroots soldiers also accounted for a considerable part. There were even scenes where generals wanted to rebel, and were tied up by their subordinates and sent to the imperial city all the way.

Wang Yan ruled the army, not relying on generals, but on the children of the vast number of peasant families who stood out, and the officers of various grassroots combat units who had studied in military academies. This road could not be taken by others, only his Emperor Wang could. The knife in his hand forged his supreme authority...

In the company of the real world, he could also call the names of many employees and be clear about their family situation. He, the boss, did not have the situation where employees were afraid to stay in the same space with him. On the contrary, everyone chatted very happily, combined with the company's welfare treatment, which was almost the highest in the country, and relaxed working conditions, and such a good boss, the employees' subjective initiative was hard not to be strong.

After all, a company where fishing is open and honest, a company that completes tasks in advance and gives money for long holidays, and a company that knows at a glance that the future is limitless, it is hard for employees' subjective initiative not to be strong.

Now that he has reached the vast masses of the people here, it is the same truth. When there is nothing to do, walk on the road,

No words needed—it was just warmth. He actually remembered my name...

"Officer Wang has such a good memory. I didn't expect you to still remember us."

After offering a compliment and seeing Wang Yan wave it off, Meng Guangcheng took a drag of his cigarette, cleared his throat, and said, "We are all manual laborers. We started work at the beginning of March and worked until last Tuesday. In eight and a half months, they only paid us for three and a half months. Our wages are about the same—over eight thousand a month. Each of us is owed over fifty thousand yuan."

"Our foreman is named Zhou Jincai. I heard he has some connections and seems to know people at the Wan Chun Group."

"At the time, the foreman told us to go home first, saying he would wire it to us after a week. A week isn't long, and it would be a hassle to come back if something changed. Besides, we still had to buy things in the city for our families, so we didn't leave. But a week passed, and the foreman made no move. When we called him, he just kept saying 'right away, right away.' This morning, we really couldn't sit still anymore, so we went to Yuhuatai together to find him."

"His home is in the suburbs of Yuhuatai. It's not much different from outside the police station—just a two-story building facing the street. He was playing mahjong with people at home. We went over to ask for the money, and he was quite unhappy. He told us he had fronted a lot of the project money himself and the developer hadn't settled the payment with him, so he didn't have the money to pay us."

"But Officer Wang, you tell me—he drives a Toyota worth over a million, that... what's it called, Land something..."

"Land Cruiser," Meng Guangcheng's eldest nephew, Meng Ziyi, helpfully added.

"Ah, right, Land Cruiser. That car seems to be worth over a million. Every time he steps on the gas, it costs a yuan. I heard he's even keeping a college student on the side. You tell me, a guy like that, could he be short of our two hundred thousand? Old Ren is a straightforward guy; he just said it directly: 'You drive such a nice car and keep a mistress on the side—you have money, so why don't you give us our hard-earned wages?' He said if you don't pay, we aren't leaving today."

"Then he got anxious and said we were being shameless and acting like hooligans. He went up and slapped Old Ren a few times and kicked him in the stomach. We didn't dare to fight back at the time—it wasn't that we didn't dare then, we don't dare now either. Officer Wang, you tell me, if we had fought back, wouldn't we be unable to spend the New Year? If we had hurt him and gotten sentenced, wouldn't that affect the kids' futures?"

"We definitely couldn't do that kind of thing. Besides, the people playing mahjong with him looked quite fierce, so we dared even less to fight back. Then we were pulled apart. I said I was going to call the police and find Officer Wang, and he just said, 'Find whoever you want, it won't do any good, I just don't have the money.' He cursed us out again, and then we came back to find you. Officer Wang, you have to help us think of a way."

Wang Yan asked: "Do you have evidence of the beating and the conversation?"

"Yes, Officer Wang, I took a video. I originally wanted to post it online, but my uncle didn't let me, saying to let you see it first, and if there's no other way, then post it." Meng Ziyi hurriedly took his phone out of his pocket, swiped a few times, and handed it to Wang Yan.

Meng Guangcheng said: "We don't want to post it online either; it's embarrassing enough. We don't know how it will end, so we don't dare post it recklessly."

Wang Yan watched the video on the phone with a chuckle. This foreman named Zhou Jincai was very arrogant—broad-shouldered and fat, with a booming voice and heavy-handed strikes. Otherwise, Ren Mingzhong, who was beaten, wouldn't still have a swollen face now. He spoke very wildly. In the video, Meng Guangcheng did indeed say he was going to find Wang Mou, but this Zhou Jincai didn't care at all. His exact words were, "I don't care if your name is Wang or Zhang, find whoever the hell you want, nobody has money."

Shaking his head, Wang Yan sent a copy of the video to his own phone and said, "Old Brother Meng, if you have a video, it's actually better to post it online sooner. Look at how Old Brother Ren was beaten, and look at how arrogant this Zhou Jincai and those people playing mahjong are. If this matter is posted online, by now, it would be a hot topic that all the people in the country would know about. By then, the top leaders of our city would have to personally inquire about it, and you'd get your money in less than three days."

"We are all farmers, we're just afraid of causing trouble. I was thinking, if it blows up, sure, they might pay me now, but what if they come to cause us trouble later? There's a whole family of old folks and kids at home. We farmers can't even fight big bosses, let alone Zhou Jincai."

Meng Guangcheng asked, "Officer Wang, is it still in time to post it online now?"

"It's never too late, but you definitely can't post it now. I know about it already; if I still let you post it online and blow it up, wouldn't the leaders come to find trouble with me later? I'll handle it first; if it can't be solved, we'll talk again."

Wang Yan waved his hand and asked, "Did this Zhou Jincai just not pay you, or did only you guys go to find him?"

"He only paid a portion—just to the ones who are usually hard to mess with or have a tough temper. There are over thirty people left. We few are just representatives; they are waiting for our news. Otherwise, if over thirty of us went out together, it would look like we were going to cause trouble."

Meng Guangcheng's words were very correct; if over thirty people went together, the foreman would definitely be resistant. But in reality, the foreman didn't think much of them anyway—he didn't think much of them whether there were many or few. This is the simple and honest people of China: until they are forced to the edge, they never want to make things look that ugly, always thinking of taking two steps back and enduring it.

Wang Yan said: "Do you know where this Zhou Jincai is now?"

"We know. We specifically found someone to follow him. They say he's out taking a bath with someone."

"I'll tell you the truth: wage disputes aren't something we police manage, and I can only coordinate a solution. But don't worry, since I promised you, and now you've come to find me again, I will definitely see this matter through to the end. Now that this Zhou Jincai has hit someone, I can arrest him. Jiwei, get a police report form and have Old Brother Ren sign it. Old Brother Meng, clarify the specific location. Once the report is signed, we'll go arrest him. Let's arrest him first, then study the money issue."

"Don't worry, Old Brother Ren, I'm checking it all. Those five slaps and that kick to the stomach definitely won't be for nothing. I will definitely punish him severely and get you more money. I remember you said your son wanted to buy a new computer—did you buy it? No? Then that's perfect; the money for this computer will come from this."

When Old Ren heard this, his face didn't even hurt anymore; he grinned. That was several thousand yuan! His son was studying design and needed a computer. He said his old one was outdated and wanted to change to a better one. He had saved some money from his part-time job and was waiting for his father's support.

With Zhao Jiwei's help, Old Ren signed the police report and took a few photos of his face.

Wang Yan said: "Alright, leave Old Brother Meng to follow me to arrest him. Old Brother Ren, stay at our station for a while. If this Zhou Jincai softens up, maybe we won't need to detain him; by then, we'll need to sign a mediation agreement, and you three can go back first. If it can't be solved, I'll contact the comrades from the Labor Bureau and the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau tomorrow, and you guys come back tomorrow. I'll say it again: I will definitely get the money back for you. If I can't, I'll make up the difference myself."

The five of them all said there was no need, and finally, the three of them left, all returning with smiles. After all, Officer Wang had promised, and their difficult problem had been transferred to Officer Wang. They didn't need to worry for the time being. Although they were still concerned, they were ultimately much more at ease. Officer Wang was no ordinary policeman...

Wang Yan found Station Wang Suozhang and asked for the phone number of the station chief in Yuhuatai. He didn't need Station Wang Suozhang to step in and communicate; he made the call himself.

First, it was cross-jurisdictional law enforcement, so he had to give a heads-up. Second, he wanted to understand the situation of this Zhou Jincai from them—whether there were other illegal or criminal activities. If there were crimes, he would directly let them find a way to handle him. Third, he wanted to understand if the bathhouse where Zhou Jincai was located involved prostitution. If it existed, he would strike it while he was at it today.

After all, for a guy like Zhou Jincai, it's hard to just take a proper bath at a bathhouse; he must be going upstairs.

So, after some communication, the station chief surnamed Zhang on the other side gave him face and wanted to send all the station's forces to follow Wang Yan in the operation. Because the place Zhou Jincai went to wasn't just a bathhouse—it was a club, and a high-end one at that.

Although he didn't say it explicitly, Wang Yan felt it was more likely that Station Chief Zhang had already obtained some evidence, but there might be people behind it, so he hadn't acted rashly for a while. Now that Wang Brother Tie Tou had taken the initiative to strike, he was just pushing the boat with the current and acting directly. The credit would go to them, and if there were any problems, Wang Yan would take the heat.

This is the reputation of Wang Mou...

Because this station chief was in the jurisdiction of that club, not the jurisdiction where Zhou Jincai lived, he contacted another station chief surnamed Li to inquire about Zhou Jincai's situation. Unsurprisingly, he had committed quite a few offenses, but they had all been handled in the past; there was nothing going on now.

Immediately, leaving Ren Mingzhong and Meng Guangcheng waiting at the station, Wang Yan, fully armed, took an auxiliary police officer and set off in his small car toward Yuhuatai...

"Oh my, the famous Officer Wang, I've finally seen the real person today." Station Chief Zhang was very enthusiastic, extending both hands to shake Wang Yan's hand as if meeting a leader.

Station Chief Zhang was quite young, looking to be in his thirties. Although at this age he was only a deputy section-level official, which destined him not to reach a very high position, compared to their own Station Wang Suozhang, who was already fifty-four and still only a deputy section-level official, he had more prospects—excluding the influence of Wang Mou. There is a joke that China is governed by division chiefs; if his luck wasn't too bad, this Station Chief Zhang would definitely be a white-shirt official.

"Station Chief Zhang is mocking me. You are a senior and a station chief; I've only been in the police force for a few months." Wang Yan also responded to Station Chief Zhang's enthusiasm with both hands.

"Not arrogant or impetuous—good, very good. But you shouldn't be overly humble. To say nothing of further away, there are very few government units in our Ping'an City that don't know you."

"Oh, Station Chief Zhang, stop flattering me. I just had good luck and luckily did a few things; it's nothing big. I see the comrades are all ready, let's take action quickly."

Wang Yan said, "Let's agree on one thing first, Station Chief Zhang: if this club really has problems, I must take this Zhou Jincai away first, but you still have to open a case for his other issues. After I finish handling my part, you can detain him later, and he must serve the full term."

"That's a small matter. I understand what you mean. This Zhou Jincai is indeed terrible. How much money are the migrant workers' wages? He runs around outside eating, drinking, and having fun—we definitely can't let him have it easy. Don't worry, it must be fifteen days."

"That's what I mean. Take action quickly; the ones asking for the money are still waiting at our station."

Feeling Wang Yan's style, Station Chief Zhang smiled, turned around, and called the comrades from the station who had long been prepared to get into the cars. He told Wang Yan the channel for their station and asked Wang Yan to adjust his walkie-talkie.

This kind of operation wasn't arresting any dangerous figures, and the scale wasn't as large as the Lanting Yashe one in Balihe, so there was no operational plan: block the front and back doors, go in, and record the video—that was it.

Wang Yan and the auxiliary police officer he brought followed Station Chief Zhang and the others through the front door. Once they got upstairs, there were all sorts of scenes of people without clothes. Wang Yan pushed open door after door without stopping at all. Station Chief Zhang had caught them in the act and had already started calling for people. They only had a dozen or so people; it was good enough to control the scene, but it would be a struggle to take them all away—they needed to increase police force.

As Wang Yan searched room by room, he finally found Zhou Jincai in one room, who was somewhat flustered but became calm again after reacting.

He was in his forties, broad-shouldered and fat, with a crew cut, and was wearing a quite large jade pendant around his neck. Being interrupted by the police was an instinctual fluster, but his calmness was because he wasn't afraid of being detained, or he didn't care about those few days, or because he could find someone to bail him out.

"Zhou Jincai, right? One minute—get dressed."

"Here for me?" Zhou Jincai was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Did those migrant workers asking for money call the police? I say, Officer, is it necessary? Coming all the way here to arrest me for such a small matter, and then sweeping this whole place?"

"Forty seconds." Wang Yan stood at the door with his arms crossed, smiling. "I'll remind you: if you aren't dressed, I'll take you out just like this. You have thirty seconds left."

Zhou Jincai's eyes widened suddenly: "Damn..."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "Very good—insulting a police officer."

"I fucking..."

Looking at Wang Yan's mocking gaze, Zhou Jincai stopped blabbering and hurriedly put on his underwear, then pulled on his pants. Being shirtless on top was fine, but he absolutely couldn't be exposed on the bottom—he had his persistence.

"Officer, I'll tell you the truth: today I was entertaining people from the construction company. It's hard to collect money at the end of the year; if you don't eat, drink, and play well, how can you settle the accounts? Because you arrested me today, you've implicated him. It'll definitely be even harder to collect the money later. Originally, if I entertained them well today, I could settle the accounts in a couple of days, and then in another couple of days, I would have given the money to them. But with you causing such a scene, this matter is going to be hard to handle."

"Which room is he in? What's his name?"

"Just next door. His name is Chen Mingsheng; he's the manager in charge of our construction site." Zhou Jincai was very indifferent because prostitution wasn't a big deal, but the project payment was a very big deal.

"Hurry up and get dressed. Brother Liu, watch him." After giving the instruction, Wang Yan couldn't really let Zhou Jincai go out bare-bottomed; counting the numbers was just to scare him.

Arriving at the room next door, ignoring the young woman covering herself with a quilt, Wang Yan looked with a chuckle at the man in his thirties who was putting on his clothes. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, wasn't very strong, and was even a bit thin.

"Chen Mingsheng, right? Let me ask you one thing: can the project payment be settled?"

This guy was completely bewildered. Could the people asking for money actually reach the scene of a prostitution arrest? And the police were the ones asking?

Glancing at the police rank on Wang Yan's shoulder, he asked suspiciously: "I don't know what this officer's relationship with Zhou Jincai is..."

"You keep dressing, don't stop." Wang Yan said, "Some workers went to find Zhou Jincai to ask for money this morning. Not only did he not pay, but he also hit one of the workers. Now those workers have called the police, so I've come to arrest him and, by the way, solve the wage issue."

Chen Mingsheng's reaction was also fast: "So today's matter is just to arrest Zhou Jincai?"

Wang Yan nodded: "I'm asking you now: can the accounts be settled?"

"Officer, I see you look quite young; you might not understand the matters in here. This matter... it's not that I can just say yes and it's done. The current environment isn't too good, prices are rising, construction materials are also rising, but the trend of housing prices has already..."

Chen Mingsheng was calm and composed, actually putting on airs and playing tai chi with Wang Yan. Because he knew clearly that this matter wasn't illegal and the police couldn't manage it, and whether to settle the payment or not, he was clearly the one who could speak—otherwise, why would Zhou Jincai look for him? But he was just putting on a show here.

Wang Yan knew very well that this was dissatisfaction with him. Of course, even if he were satisfied, he still wouldn't pay, and he would still drag it out. The reason he came to ask Chen Mingsheng this was because his idea was still very good: the construction company where Chen Mingsheng worked would settle the payment with Zhou Jincai, and Zhou Jincai would settle the payment with the workers like Meng Guangcheng. He wanted to get Zhou Jincai's money back first.

This had nothing to do with whether Zhou Jincai was good or bad; it was just a question of whose hands the money was in. He believed Zhou Jincai had money, but he didn't believe he had a lot of money—he probably only had a few hundred thousand in his hands. But Meng Guangcheng and the others were over thirty people, five thousand each, totaling one hundred and fifty or sixty thousand. Zhou Jincai likely couldn't come up with that much at once.

But clearly, he gave Chen Mingsheng a chance, and Chen Mingsheng couldn't grasp it, so he couldn't blame Wang Yan.

"Station Chief Zhang, come over for a moment." Smiling at Chen Mingsheng, who was putting on airs, Wang Yan turned his head and shouted for Station Chief Zhang at the top of his lungs.

His voice, amidst the shouts of "Don't move," "Squat down with your hands on your head," and "Put your clothes on," reached Station Chief Zhang, who was acting together with him, with great penetration.

Although he was a station chief, there wasn't enough manpower, so the station chief had to step up too.

"What's the situation?" Station Chief Zhang walked over quickly and glanced at Chen Mingsheng inside.

"Station Chief Zhang, we haven't had contact before, but our Station Wang Suozhang said he's an old acquaintance of yours, and he speaks very highly of you. I believe you aren't someone who makes things convenient for others. This person, Station Chief Zhang, you must pay close attention to him."

With the body-worn camera on, Wang Yan spoke very carefully, basically using irony: "In front of the body-worn camera, I'll be direct: no matter who calls you to release him, you cannot release him. Let the person who calls come find me; I want to see who has such great ability. Also, his family and company must be notified of what happened today. Sorry to trouble you, Station Chief Zhang."

Wang Yan's words were very blunt, expressing his attitude. What he didn't say was that if this Chen Mingsheng was released, then you, Station Chief Zhang, would be in big trouble.

Station Chief Zhang, of course, understood, and of course, he didn't mind. Except for not knowing that Wang Yan was mocking Bureau Chief Liang, Station Chief Zhang knew everything else. There were plenty of people with higher ranks than him, and Wang Yan didn't indulge them either. What did he, a tiny station chief, have to mind?

He looked at Chen Mingsheng, who clearly heard Wang Yan's words, and nodded with a chuckle: "Don't worry, leave it to me."

"No, Officer, I..."

Wang Yan waved his hand, interrupting him: "I gave you a chance, you didn't grasp it, and you're still playing the official here with me—then don't say useless things to me now. It's in your hands, Station Chief Zhang. I'm taking that Zhou Jincai away."

Station Chief Zhang nodded, cast a pitiful glance at Chen Mingsheng, who still didn't know what this meant, and turned to watch Wang Yan push Zhou Jincai away from here...