Chapter 351: Hua Zi Doesn't Come Free

"Officer, why are you looking at me like that?"

Even in this kind of environment, Wang Hao still felt thoroughly uneasy under Yu Dazhang's stare.

That gaze was like a pervert who had been holding it in for ages suddenly laying eyes on a dewy-fresh new bride.

"Oh, nothing." Yu Dazhang wore a smile on his face:

"Smoke?"

Wang Hao had been about to nod, but the moment he saw that look in his eyes, he forced himself to hold back.

"I don't smoke, thanks." He raised a hand and declined.

For some reason, he had a premonition: this fatty's cigarettes didn't come free.

"Pretty polite, aren't you." Yu Dazhang laughed, pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and waved it in front of him:

"Hua Zi. If you don't smoke, don't say I didn't warn you."

Looking at the cigarette pack in the fatty's hand across from him, Wang Hao hesitated.

At a moment like this, the temptation of a cigarette was undoubtedly enormous, but he didn't dare let his guard down.

He vaguely felt that this fatty was a little different from the other police officers.

But exactly where the difference lay, he couldn't say.

"Well..." Wang Hao hemmed and hawed, then finally gritted his teeth:

"If you've got good cigarettes, why not smoke one. Give me one."

Yu Dazhang smiled, stood up, walked over to him, and lit a cigarette for him.

After sitting back down, he stared at Wang Hao and said:

"The photo has to be taken fresh, so it'll take some time. I know you need to confirm that Hong Liuwen's daughter has been rescued before you'll make a decision."

"But before that, we can chat about something else."

His words successfully drew Wang Hao's attention.

"Chat about what?" Wang Hao asked.

"Let's just chat about the city of Jianning." Yu Dazhang said in a relaxed tone:

"You should be able to tell I'm not from this province, so I don't really know much about this side."

He paused briefly, then went on:

"When you first started laying out your operation in Yancheng, you were pulling people over from Jianning, which means your setup in Jianning started earlier than here."

Yu Dazhang's gaze settled on the other man, as if watching his reaction, then continued:

"And you also ended up staying in Jianning long-term afterward, which is enough to prove you attach great importance to this place."

"So I'm very curious — why would a third-tier city like Jianning warrant so much of your attention?"

His line of reasoning was drawn from the information already in hand; it looked simple, yet left the other man no room to argue.

If he kept pushing the reasoning forward, he could further deduce the other side's intentions, but Yu Dazhang didn't do that.

He wanted Wang Hao to be the one to answer the question.

Conclusions he deduced himself still needed the other party to confirm them.

"You really don't know?"

Wang Hao's expression was a little complicated; he looked at Yu Dazhang with a doubtful gaze:

"If you knew even a little about Jianning, you'd know the reason."

Yu Dazhang wore a smile:

"I already told you — I'm not from around here. If I knew anything, I wouldn't need to ask you."

This was a good opening; he was using this approach to sort out his thoughts.

For now, this point of entry was undoubtedly the most appropriate.

"Market demand," Wang Hao answered:

"Jianning is one of the eight newly designated key industrial cities in the country, the industrial jewel of Province N."

"In recent years, large numbers of enterprises have flooded in to build housing and factories, so the labor they need is naturally enormous."

"And within that labor, heavy physical work is indispensable, and takes up a very large share."

He answered crisply, looking completely free of psychological pressure.

Because all of this information could be deduced.

Jianning's status and importance within Province N as a key industrial city was common knowledge.

For locals of Province N, this wasn't much of a secret.

So whether he said it or not, it wouldn't affect the police's grasp of this information; his answer merely let Yu Dazhang and the others know it ahead of time.

"Industrial jewel?"

Yu Dazhang looked a little surprised, as if he didn't quite buy such an explanation, then went on talking to himself:

"In my view, the Yancheng Industrial Zone is already plenty big. They're both third-tier cities — how much bigger could Jianning be?"

There was a questioning tone in his words; it sounded like regional discrimination, and would instinctively make people uncomfortable.

"You're actually comparing the Yancheng Industrial Zone with Jianning?"

Wang Hao was so angry he laughed:

"Looks like you really don't know a thing."

"Jianning has ten industrial zones in total, including one national-level development zone and five provincial-level development zones, plus four provincial-level industrial clusters."

"Pick out any one of them, and it's not something the Yancheng Industrial Zone can hold a candle to."

"Let alone one national-level development zone — it can match at least five Yancheng Industrial Zones."

After saying all this, he unconsciously showed a proud expression, as if he were proud of the city of Jianning itself.

How could Yu Dazhang possibly know nothing about such critical information?

In fact, when those three "legs" revealed the handover location was at the border between Yancheng and Jianning, he had already conducted a comprehensive investigation into the city of Jianning.

Among these, the industrial development situation was the primary focus.

However, some matters still require the other party to speak them out to count as evidence.

"Then, if we follow your logic, the labor demand on the Jianning side is at least ten times that of Yancheng."

Yu Dazhang wore an expression of sudden realization:

"Just now you said one of the national-level development zones alone equals five Yancheng industrial zones."

"The other nine industrial zones are also larger than those in Yancheng. If calculated this way, it's more than ten times."

He had already calculated this before; if judging solely by industrial development, Yancheng and Jianning were incomparable.

If he were the one to choose, he would certainly place the focus on the Jianning side.

"That is correct." Wang Hao nodded:

"After all, industrial development in Jianning started earlier, the foundation is better, and it meets the basic conditions for rapid development."

It must be admitted that regarding knowledge of Jianning, he, as a local, had more authority to speak and knew more comprehensively.

But what he did not expect was that, after this sentence, the fat man opposite suddenly darkened his face.

"So, you arranged your layout based on the level of industrial development in the cities."

Yu Dazhang's face grew gloomy, and his tone cooled down:

"By this logic, you must have started transporting cheap labor to Jianning long ago, even several years ahead of Yancheng."

These words seemed squeezed out from between his teeth.

He spoke very slowly, and every word revealed a surge of anger.

"Moreover, for you, the demand in Yancheng is very small; compared to Jianning, it is nothing at all."

"Precisely because of this, you have stayed in Jianning for years, paying almost no attention to the Yancheng side."

Yu Dazhang's tone grew increasingly severe, making people feel an invisible pressure.

After a pause, he continued:

"This time, we rescued over three hundred mentally disabled laborers in Yancheng; what about Jianning?"

"The labor demand is ten times, or even more than twenty times, that of this side..."

Finally, Yu Dazhang's voice became somewhat low, even carrying a trace of fear:

"I dare not even imagine the specific number, and this..."

"... is merely two cities!"

(End of this chapter)