Chapter 19: Big setup

"Hello, is this the Changjing Road Police Station? I'd like to ask, reporting gambling is rewarded, right?"

"Yes, do you have any leads?"

At an intersection outside Da Mao residential area, in a phone booth across the street.

Zhai Da had already dialed the police.

"I can't tell you the leads yet. Can you tell me the rules about reporting rewards? Also, how is it distributed, how do you ensure the safety of the reporter? Is it taxed?"

On the other end of the phone, the old policeman seemed to hear that Zhai Da's voice was very young and that it wasn't an emergency, so his voice carried a bit of a lecture: "Little comrade, reporting gambling is to maintain social order. You're a student, right? You shouldn't be so utilitarian..."

"Oh... then I'll report to another police station."

Zhai Da made a move to hang up, and the old policeman on the other end hurriedly said: "Don't... wait a moment, let me find the materials, don't hang up, I'll switch to an extension to talk to you, this phone can't be occupied for long."

Immediately after, the phone made a beeping sound, and about three minutes later, it reconnected:

"According to the latest 'Interim Measures for Rewarding Meritorious Personnel in Reporting Gambling Illegal and Criminal Activities,' for gambling funds under 10,000 yuan, the reward is 100-500 yuan."

"For seizing 10,000 to 100,000 yuan, the reward is 3% of the gambling funds."

"For seizing 100,000 to 500,000 yuan, the reward is 5% of the gambling funds."

"For seizing over 500,000 yuan, the reward is 6%."

"The reward for a single case shall not exceed 60,000."

Actually, Zhai Da had already checked online. The reason he asked again was that he hoped the police station knew he was reporting very seriously and wanted the reward very seriously, so they wouldn't mess with him.

According to these rules, as long as the gambling funds exceeded 70,000, his funding gap of 2,000 yuan would be covered.

"How do you ensure the safety of the reporter?"

"You have to trust the police uncles."

On the other end of the phone, the old policeman still didn't take it seriously. In his view, it was highly likely that someone in a student's family was playing cards, and the young person probably had some quarrel with their parents and wanted to destroy their relatives for the sake of righteousness.

Sending a neighborhood policeman to knock on the door would be enough; it wasn't a big deal, and they wouldn't really arrest anyone.

But he heard the person on the other end say: "I can trust the rules, but I don't necessarily trust the people who execute them."

It wasn't 2024... it was 2008, and it was a small county town. One had to be on guard.

In fact, he also had a backup plan, such as preparing to leave a record on the "S-Long Hotline." Dongyang County belonged to "Qian City," and according to the rules, every message from that place had to have "a response and a follow-up."

The old policeman sighed and said:

"You can report anonymously. We will provide a unique 'reporter code,' just like a verification code. Afterward, you can go to the police station with the reporter code, briefly describe the process, and collect the reward. You don't need to be there in person, and you don't need to hold an ID card."

Zhai Da nodded secretly; this was a good method.

Just find someone else to collect it, someone like the blockhead Wu Yue would be very suitable.

"Then how long does it usually take to get the reward?"

"That depends on the complexity of the case. If the gambling funds are all cash, it can be sorted out in one night, then go through the process... about three days."

A phone call lasted for a full ten minutes. It wasn't until the end that Zhai Da told the other party the reporting leads and got his "reporter code."

And Zhai Da reminded the other party that he didn't know how big the gambling game was, but there were many people, gamblers + lookouts, probably twenty people. Now was the opportunity to catch them in the act, so they had to be fast.

Hearing this scale, the other side was clearly more attentive.

Hanging up the phone, Zhai Da walked out of the phone booth and came to the fitness equipment on the street. Lu Wei was sitting on a piece of equipment whose name he didn't know, waiting quietly.

Zhai Da sat down beside her: "The call is done, there's no turning back now."

There were no street lamps here, so Lu Wei couldn't read. She held Zhai Da's Snickers bar in both hands and said softly: "No regrets."

Zhai Da: "It won't have any other impact on your life, right?"

After saying it, he felt he had asked a stupid question.

With a father like that, even if there was an impact, it would be a good impact.

Sure enough, Lu Wei shook her head: "No, he rarely comes home."

The two of them hid in the darkness, waiting for something to ferment.

Zhai Da had already called Yu Xiaoli and told a small lie, saying he was going to Wu Yue's house to play + eat. He was currently in a "free-range" state regarding his studies, and Ms. Yu didn't care much anymore.

To be less conspicuous at night, Zhai Da took off his blue and white school uniform and tied it around his waist, but after wearing it all day, the short-sleeved shirt inside also had a bit of a sweat smell.

The two fell into a brief silence. Zhai Da suddenly felt that he had been avoiding deep conversations with Lu Wei, never asking about her deeper thoughts on reporting her own father, nor had he tried to be a counselor or guide.

This girl, who seemed to lack emotion, was just being dragged along by him to participate in a strange "activity."

Like a puppet being pushed along.

Feeling a bit guilty, Zhai Da started a topic: "The injury on your hand, is it still not healed?"

Last time he noticed Lu Wei had several bandages on her hand, and today it seemed there was no change.

Lu Wei: "It's healed, but there are new ones."

"Does it hurt? Needle pricks?"

"Hmm, it hurts... but I can endure it."

"Is it tiring in the factory?"

"Tiring... but I can endure it."

Zhai Da sighed, are you a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle...

"Working, it not only requires skill, but also technique. Slack off when you should, stand out when you should... safety is the most important."

"You helped me such a big favor this time, I'll put in a good word for you with my mom later..."

He had always wanted to go through the back door, and this time he finally experienced the feeling of being someone else's back door.

How could the back door of the factory not count? Let you do two fewer clothes a day, easy-peasy!

For Lu Wei, he was a "limited-to-one official second generation."

Suddenly, two people came out of the side gate of the Da Mao residential area; they were exactly the ones who were looking out the other day.

Zhai Da, who was already quite vigilant, immediately grabbed Lu Wei and retreated, completely hiding in the darkness.

Lu Wei let out a soft "hmm," but didn't resist.

The two lookouts looked around, but their attention was mainly on the road, and they didn't notice the two people dozens of meters away.

The place Zhai Da chose was very good; one step back was complete darkness, and there was no surveillance.

Not long after, two black sedans stopped, and several people got out.

The two lookouts immediately went up to meet them.

More content was too far away to see clearly, but the plastic Japanese they were speaking—"All go! All go!" "Hi! Kouji kouji!"—was very clear across the road.

Zhai Da pondered for a moment, thinking to himself that this small gambling den... had quite a wide range of business? There were even foreigners?

The dealer sent people specifically to meet them, so they should be big spenders... or fat sheep.

This was... going to be fun.

He didn't care... as long as the police didn't punish them flexibly because there were foreigners...

Also, the time Lu Wei's dad was locked up might be longer.

It wasn't until they all went in that Zhai Da relaxed a little.

The clean laundry detergent smell on Lu Wei was very fragrant.

The two were sticking very close at this time... in order not to expose the limited shadow, Zhai Da could be said to be completely hugging Lu Wei.

This girl was really thin, as if a gust of wind could blow her over. He felt he could wrap his arm around her waist.

To be honest, he didn't feel any romantic stirrings.

It just made Zhai Da feel that the choice to report Lu Wei's father was correct.

Lu Wei didn't shyly lower her head, nor did she struggle, and her expression was even very calm.

She just felt the chest that was slightly sweaty... it felt very strange.

A mosquito flew past Lu Wei's eyes and landed on Zhai Da's chest, or rather, right in front of Lu Wei's eyes.

Lu Wei stared for a moment... but didn't use her hand to drive it away or swat it.

On a whim, she used a headbutt, hitting it with her forehead.

"Hiss~!"

Zhai Da looked at Lu Wei in shock. Are you really a turtle?

"What are you doing?"

"There's... a mosquito."

Zhai Da rubbed his chest, which had just hit his ribcage:

"You headbutt a mosquito? Did it die?"

"No... it flew away..."

"Then I took a hit for nothing? You could have just blown on it!"

The slightly strange atmosphere was blown away by a headbutt.

After the two separated, no one mentioned the brief hug just now.

Another ten minutes passed, and several more cars drove up at the intersection.

Four sedans and an Iveco.

The people who got out of the sedans were clearly not ordinary people. They looked left and right and began to organize their batons and handcuffs.

The people on the Iveco went without saying; they were fully armed, and some were holding shields.

Zhai Da smacked his lips...

He felt the setup tonight was quite big... ===== CHAPTER 20 =====