Chapter 847: This Village Has Not One Good Person

The militia didn't know what the gap-toothed monkey was thinking, or they'd have kicked him again.

You're a gangster, yet you dare yell "black" at me? That's just plain unjust.

"Ow!"

Wu Chao happened to be walking by; it was getting dark, and if the militia hadn't kicked the gap-toothed monkey, he wouldn't have noticed little Liu sitting off to the side.

"Why do you look so familiar to me?"

Wu Chao crouched down, leaning his head forward until he was almost touching little Liu's face.

Little Liu no longer thought of revenge; he kept his head down and shrank back as far as he could.

"You've got the wrong person. We've never met."

"Really?" Wu Chao grinned, and slapped little Liu hard on the head.

Little Liu's head snapped down, his upper body tipped forward, his crouching legs lost balance, and he crashed face-first into the dirt with a thud.

The gap-toothed monkey pulled his neck in and shuffled backward, afraid Wu Chao would recognize him and beat him up.

Little Liu had never endured such humiliation; he shot up angrily: "Fucking—"

The moment he opened his mouth, the patrolling militia stopped and turned to look.

The dark muzzles of their guns also rose, pointing at him.

"I—I—I… fuck… grass…" Little Liu's blood, which had just boiled up, instantly turned cold. "There's too much grass here, mosquitoes everywhere—I'll move somewhere else."

He took two steps sideways, then squatted down properly, refusing to look at Wu Chao.

"Ha!" Wu Chao laughed, stepping over. "Weren't you just about to curse me?"

"No!"

Little Liu shook his head violently—he dared not admit it. He was meat on a chopping block, ready to be minced at any moment.

A wise man doesn't fight when outmatched; he wasn't stupid—he wouldn't clash head-on with someone who wielded the hammer.

At that moment, car headlights swept over them, followed by the village chief's voice.

"The county bureau's here!"

Soon, over a dozen police cars and two trucks pulled up at the village entrance.

"Thud! Thud! Thud…"

The muffled sound of car doors slamming shut echoed as a middle-aged man in uniform stepped forward first.

Seeing the village chief approaching, he extended his hand from afar.

"Old Reporter Guan, long time no see."

The village chief shook his hand: "More than half a year."

The man nodded: "Yeah, I've always wanted to come down and have a drink with you, but I've been swamped—never had the time."

"Work comes first. Drinking can wait anytime." The village chief, seeing Zhou Andong approaching, introduced him: "Guo Lichun, this is Zhou Dong!"

"Hello, Zhou Dong!" Guo Guo Lichun shook hands with Zhou Andong.

The village chief continued: "Dongzi, this is Director Guo Guo Lichun from the county bureau."

"Director Guo, sorry for the trouble." Zhou Andong was polite.

Guo Guo Lichun smiled: "You're embarrassing me. These thugs causing you trouble? That's my failure as an official."

The village chief said: "Enough with the formalities—get these thugs out of here before it's completely dark."

Bian Bian Zhenghe, with the militia, brought over Erping and Dashan and the others.

Guo Guo Lichun looked and said: "There are so many of them?"

Bian Bian Zhenghe grinned: "These guys came first—we held them back."

Guo Guo Lichun sighed: "You'll have to help us escort them to the county."

"No problem!" Bian Bian Zhenghe replied.

Guo Guo Lichun waved to the officers behind him: "Load them all onto the trucks."

Around two hundred people were shoved onto two trucks, including their own minivan.

Scarface, the gap-toothed monkey, little Liu, Big Head, Erping, and Dashan crouched in the truck bed, staring at each other.

They didn't know what this arrest meant—but Erping and Dashan felt a strange sense of relief.

Fuck, finally leaving this hellhole—this whole village has not one good person.

………………

Qishi, past ten at night—the city bureau meeting room was full; everyone waited for news from Beijing police.

"Ding…"

Just before eleven, the phone rang suddenly; those half-asleep snapped awake.

Tan Tan Zongwei snatched up the phone: "Tan Tan Zongwei speaking!"

A deep, firm voice came through the receiver: "Director Tan, good evening. The fugitive criminals Sun Hewen and Qi Qi Damin have been apprehended."

"Bang!" Tan Tan Zongwei slapped his thigh excitedly: "Great!"

The caller heard his excitement and chuckled: "These criminals were slippery—we had to work hard just to pin down their location."

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Tan Tan Zongwei kept saying thanks. "Without your help, they might've escaped."

"No need to thank us. Assisting sister units in capturing criminals is our duty." The caller asked: "When will you come to pick them up?"

Tan Tan Zongwei replied without hesitation: "I'm sending people to Beijing right now."

They chatted a few more minutes, then hung up.

"Hahaha…"

Tan Tan Zongwei burst into laughter; his entire day's fatigue vanished.

He immediately arranged for someone to go to the train station and buy the earliest ticket to Beijing.

After making arrangements, he waved his hand: "Come on, I'm treating you all to late-night snacks."

"Tan Ju paying? That's rare—definitely going!" a leader joked.

With Sun Hewen captured, everyone's tense expressions eased; they laughed and chatted as they left the office, discussing where to eat.

………………

At the municipal government housing complex, Meng Tong Huai Zhi sat in his study smoking; his wife Gao Minglan brought in a cup of tea, but the smoke made her cough.

"How many cigarettes have you smoked?"

Gao Minglan hurried in, set the tea on the desk, then opened the window.

"This screen door needs replacing—some parts are broken, mosquitoes and flies can get in."

Meng Tong Huai Zhi leaned back wearily in his chair and glanced at the window.

"Just patch it up for now—we'll replace it next year."

Gao Minglan said: "It's past eleven—leave it till tomorrow."

Meng Tong Huai Zhi waved his hand: "I'm waiting for Old Zhao's call—it's a very important one."

Gao Minglan said nothing more: "I'm going to bed—you should rest too."

"Go ahead," Meng Tong Huai Zhi replied.

Gao Minglan left the study and quietly closed the door.

Meng Tong Huai Zhi raised his hand and rubbed his throbbing head.

Without realizing it, he fell asleep slumped over his desk.

"Ding…"

Past one in the morning, the phone rang shrilly.

Meng Tong Huai Zhi jolted upright, his head spinning, vision suddenly black.

After several seconds, he recovered, then grabbed the phone and held it to his ear.

"Old Zhao, what's the news?"