Chapter 23: Fishing Enforcement

When she heard Lu Cheng's words, Meng Li glanced at him.

According to Team Captain Zhou, the comrade named Lu Cheng has martial skills in his fists and feet, needs proper cultivation, and can become a senior officer of the Traffic Police Unit in the future.

But lately, because of this gang of thieves, all Train Police have been assigned to duty on the Carriage, leaving no time to mentor this inexperienced young comrade.

"What good solution could you have?"

She was indeed angry about the matter, even alerting Deputy Bureau Chief Tang of the Railway General Bureau, demanding a deadline to capture the thieves and give the revolutionary masses an answer.

Through the train window, she looked at the sun outside; noon was approaching, and she guessed they would soon pass Shan Jin.

Lu Cheng rubbed his stomach: "Police Chief Meng, I'm a bit hungry, my mind is fuzzy."

No matter the mistakes, Lu Cheng is still a Railway employee; Meng Li, though angry, still gave the instruction.

"Xiao Qin, go to the dining car and bring a meal."

Seeing Liu Jian'an still downcast from a violation, Lu Cheng added, "Brother Qin, please bring two portions."

It has long been said that the Railway system not only offers good benefits, but its meals are unmatched by other units.

When Xiao Qin brought it up, the lunchbox contained four dishes—braised chicken chunks with potatoes, lion's head meatball, scallion‑stirred pork slices, and vegetarian cabbage stew with tofu—plus two flower rolls per person.

Lu Cheng's stomach growled; in the past two days, due to work and his wedding, his mother had prepared two lavish meals, each with only one meat dish, far less abundant.

He picked up a lion's head, bit off half in one bite, and had to admit, it was truly fragrant.

"Police Chief Meng, I didn't bring any food coupons."

"No tickets, what will you eat?"

Seeing the other's complete indifference, Meng Li inhaled and said, "Fine, Xiao Qin, tell the dining car master to settle it on an internal account, and we'll deduct it later."

Damn, I thought I could eat for free, but it still has to be deducted from the salary standard.

Originally feeling guilty about a free meal, since it costs money, Lu Cheng simply relaxed and ate heartily.

After a greasy meal, Meng Li could no longer hold back.

"Are you full? Speak quickly, or if you have no good solution, I'll see how I deal with you when we get back."

This woman, with a temper that flares daily, probably has no husband and is just asking for a beating.

Lu Cheng rubbed his stomach: "The method is simple—fishing enforcement."

"Fishing enforcement? What does that mean?"

"It means we, the Traffic Police Unit, send a few people, strip off their uniforms, dress as ordinary civilians, carry a bag with some money to lure the thieves, then catch them red‑handed on the spot."

Meng Li frowned at the suggestion; although feasible, she firmly rejected it.

"That won't do; it violates regulations. Every citizen has dignity, and this infringes on civil rights, amounts to inducement. Good people could become bad; I refuse to use such a method."

Lu Cheng was somewhat surprised; despite her fiery temper, Meng Li actually had principles.

But such principles are unnecessary; special circumstances call for special treatment.

"Police Chief Meng, I know you come from the army; regulations are orders, but I think regulations are dead, people are alive.

Regardless of white cat or black cat, as long as we catch the mouse, it's a good cat."

Meng Li gave the young man another glance, then paced the Carriage while pondering.

They have been searching for the train thieves for several days, yet they don't even know what they look like.

Each time, only after a passenger reports missing money do the Train Police act urgently, tracing the loss carriage to begin investigation.

But by then, the thieves have either alighted or are well hidden.

Further systematic checks are extremely difficult.

They have also apprehended a few suspects, but after on‑site interrogation and searches, no tools or the passengers' missing money were found.

They were even sued by passengers, who claimed abuse of authority and asked why they were subjected to searches.

Each time, Zhou Weihua suppressed the situation, preventing it from escalating.

Meng Li, once bitten by a snake, fears the well for ten years; without evidence, she dares not search passengers again.

Thus Lu Cheng's fishing enforcement method itself violates regulations; Meng Li wrestled with it for a long time but couldn't make a decision.

Lu Cheng saw her hesitation, stood up and said, "Police Chief Meng, I know what you're wrestling with, but you must understand the enemy is hidden while we are exposed, and this gang's skills are extremely high—not ordinary thieves."

"We only start investigating after passengers lose something, by which time they've already hidden; therefore we must take the initiative."

Listening to Lu Cheng's analysis, Meng Li was mildly surprised; she had thought the inexperienced Lu Cheng was only fit for platform duty.

She didn't expect such precise insight to illuminate the previously encountered problems.

Xiao Qin has worked for several years, yet has never felt this defeated as during this period.

The revolutionary masses' property is threatened, and the entire team feels ashamed.

"Police Chief Meng, I think Comrade Lu Cheng's method could be tried; as long as it prevents further loss of the masses' property, using special means isn't impossible."

Meng Li glared, "Your enlightenment is high, so you will be the bait."

Fishing enforcement itself violates regulations; if it catches thieves, it can be somewhat justified—though not saying the merits outweigh the faults, a balance might be acceptable.

At least privately, no one would think you erred; they'd treat you as a hero.

But if you fail to catch anyone or arrest the wrong person, once reported to the Railway General Bureau, you'll certainly face punishment.

Summing it up, any calculation shows it's more loss than gain; Xiao Qin still thinks the chance of failure is higher.

"Police Chief Meng, I... I could do it, but you see I have a righteous aura; the thieves probably won't fall for it easily."

Meng Li said sternly, "Who doesn't have a righteous aura?"

Xiao Qin looked left and right, finally fixing his gaze on Lu Cheng.

"Hey, that's not it, why are you looking at me? How could I lack a righteous aura!"

He can be called ugly, but calling him lecherous he would never admit.

Xiao Qin again sized up Lu Cheng; with his sloppy demeanor, there's not a hint of righteousness.

Meng Li, still unsmiling, said, "You want to improve, right? This is a chance for Redeeming Merit."

Redeeming Merit? Lu Cheng isn't that easy to fool.

"So that means Police Chief Meng agreed."

Meng Li choked a bit: "I didn't agree, and whatever you plan to do next has nothing to do with me."

Sure enough, reaching chief makes you a real schemer, already shifting the responsibility away.

"Fine, since it doesn't involve Police Chief Meng, if I earn Merit, I hope Police Chief Meng won't compete with me for it."

If you want to wash your hands of responsibility, then I'll put you in the first army.

Meng Li's face indeed turned pale, and she said in a huff: "I'm not even going to compete with a mere apprentice like you for Merit. If we really can catch those thieves, I'll go to Team Captain Zhou myself to request Merit for you."

With those words, Lu Cheng felt relieved, and immediately pulled Liu Jian'an out of the food cart.