Chapter 281: Take Responsibility

"Xiang Geng, show everyone how to use this surveillance system."

Uncle San strolled through the control room with his dog, acting like a middle-aged playboy.

His little Huabo Xuetu dog trotted on tiny paws, proud as if it were worth two coins.

Xiang Geng was a slender young man with slightly yellow fingers and a faint, unpleasant smell of tobacco on him.

At Uncle San's call, Xiang Geng smiled and sat down at the monitor console. "Since the whole system isn't fully ready yet, I'll switch through and show you our surveillance coverage."

He pressed buttons one, two, three, four, adjusted the joystick, and displayed scenes from the front and back of the Jiangcun community houses.

Several middle-aged village men who had come along nodded solemnly. "From now on, no more messing around inside the community."

Uncle San chuckled. "No worries—Xiang Geng's one of us. He's my fourth sister's brother-in-law's son, so he's her nephew."

Everyone murmured "Oh…" and their expressions relaxed slightly.

Uncle San continued, "Xiang Geng, whenever our own people show up on camera, delete the footage that's inappropriate—not just for us, but for other villagers too. Is that fine?"

Uncle San looked around at the group.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Xiang Geng grimaced. "That's not easy. Deleting footage on this system is a hassle, and if we delete everyone's, the recordings become useless."

He didn't dare take on this task—it was too exhausting, and too prone to trouble.

Uncle San frowned. "So everything we do in the courtyard will be recorded?"

Xiang Geng stayed silent, then nodded.

"Any of you guys able to delete footage?" Uncle San turned to the other five.

The other five exchanged glances and shook their heads. Deleting footage was one thing; deleting all of it was another. If you saw something and deleted it… these people all lived in the community—might as well just turn off the cameras entirely.

Xiang Geng said, "Uncle, didn't you think about this before installing the surveillance system? That you'd end up on camera yourself?"

Uncle San frowned. "How could I possibly understand something this high-tech?"

Xiang Geng was at a loss for words.

Jiang Yuan, being a Jiangcun native, cleared his throat twice. "Um, Uncle San, what exactly are you worried about?"

Uncle San's brow furrowed. He glanced left and right, then whispered, "The village committee elections are coming up soon…"

"I've got a suggestion," Jiang Yuan said decisively. "Let's reorient the surveillance direction. Simple. All the cameras facing the central square—right next to the activity center—just turn them slightly. I'll readjust them."

As he spoke, Jiang Yuan immediately began operating the system.

Some cameras could be restricted; others couldn't—their lenses were pointed straight at the square. Jiang Yuan noted their IDs and would later have workers remove them.

At first, Xiang Geng was surprised, even confused about what Jiang Yuan was doing.

Only when he understood did he stare in awe—so Uncle San had said this system was Jiang Yuan's doing? He'd assumed Jiang Yuan had just paid for it and overseen construction. He hadn't realized it was literal.

To Xiang Geng and the others, who only knew how to operate the system, Jiang Yuan's actions were like a TV repairman walking in while they were changing channels with a remote.

They were doing two entirely different things.

When Jiang Yuan finished, he explained the safe zone boundaries as he worked.

Uncle San understood at once and nodded enthusiastically. "That's right—that's exactly it. We can't monitor our own people. Too dangerous…"

Jiang Yuan smiled. "I'll have someone paint a green line. Everything outside the line is under camera; inside is the Green Zone—or the Council Zone. You can discuss elections and such without being recorded. That way… we eliminate unfair competition."

"Yes! Exactly—the Council Zone!" Uncle San was thrilled, nodding vigorously to the others.

Xiang Geng finally got it and laughed. "Uncle, this year's your turn, right?"

"Hard to say. There's no 'turn'—I'm just planning to be more active this year," Uncle San replied with a smile. "Xiang Geng, you learn well from Jiang Yuan. This whole system was his idea—he's sharp."

"Got it!" Xiang Geng nodded eagerly.

He'd seen Jiang Yuan's operation—he was clearly a surveillance expert.

Besides, Jiang Yuan was a Jiangcun native, naturally part of the village's power circle. Xiang Geng, though half-related, wasn't from Jiangcun.

"We six will work in three shifts—two per shift—watching cameras and patrolling," Xiang Geng explained to Uncle San and the others.

This was the basic function of the "Jiangcun Security Surveillance Room." Wang Futing added, "You've all worked with surveillance before—that's why we hired you first. Later, we'll recruit a few more villagers, then bring in more people."

Wang Futing looked at the others. "Security ultimately comes down to courage and grit. Our village's safety protects everyone here—this can't be taken lightly…"

Everyone nodded. They truly had money—and truly needed security.

The next day, the video surveillance company sent workers to adjust camera density and coverage.

After Uncle San and the others were satisfied, the elder Jiangcun villagers—Grandpa and Grandpa Two—returned to inspect the equipment and once again encouraged the six security personnel.

Then came a flood of visits and crowds of onlookers from Jiangcun.

After all that settled down, another three or four days passed.

In the next village-wide election, Jiang Yuan and Wang Futing were elected by wide margins as members of the security team, joining Uncle San to manage and maintain the surveillance room and other village security duties.

The "Jiangcun Security Surveillance Room" was now officially operational.

To celebrate, Jiang Yuan specially re-sifted through all new footage from the past week.

One case of lost property found—returned immediately.

Two cases of electric scooter theft found—even with Jiangcun's own surveillance system, and even with the county's system, thieves like Xiao Lei couldn't possibly stop overnight.

If their hands and mouths stopped, how would they live?

Jiang Yuan sat in the "Jiangcun Security Surveillance Room," displaying the suspects' faces from the two scooter thefts on the public screen.

"What now?" Xiang Geng asked, sniffing the cigarette Jiang Yuan had just tossed him, watching the screen curiously.

He'd graduated from a regular school, then taken a job at a local Jindun Company, later working briefly as a visual security guard—patrolling construction sites and monitoring cameras part-time.

After spending so long in the control room, Xiang Geng had taught himself everything. When he heard Jiangcun was starting a new security company, he rushed over immediately.

He understood surveillance somewhat—but how to use it to catch criminals, he didn't really know.

Jiang Yuan smiled. "What do you think?"

"Facial recognition?" Xiang Geng ventured, staring at the faces on the screen.

Jiang Yuan smiled. "Too hard. For small cases like this, forget it."

"Then… fingerprints?" Xiang Geng knew a little.

"Possible. But the thief in the video was wearing gloves, right?" Jiang Yuan said.

"Uh… then follow the footage to find where they touched things without gloves," Xiang Geng thought aloud.

Jiang Yuan chuckled. "Go ahead and try."

He sent the two recent screenshots from the public screen to the "Ningtai Theft & Robbery Group."

Xiang Geng and the others eagerly moved the cameras to track the two Xiao Lei thieves.

Jiang Yuan asked in the group:

"Anyone here recognize these two thieves? Take them down. Our Jiangcun property surveillance caught them stealing electric scooters—full footage, video, victim, and receipts."

"Which hero knows these two thieves? Take them in. Our Jiang Village Property surveillance caught them stealing electric bikes—complete footage, video evidence, and a victim with the purchase receipt."

South Second Ring: 【I'll ask around.】

Team Six Li Jing: 【Don't bother—I know the guy on the left. Jiang Ge, send me the video. I'm going to pick him up now.】

Petty Theft Xiao Wang: 【I'll take the one on the right—I know Jiangcun well. Jiang Ge, was the scooter worth over 3, 00? It didn't look new.】

Ningtai Jiang Yuan: 【It's over 7, 00—about one or two years old.】

Petty Theft Xiao Wang: 【My bad. Jiangcun's scooters can't possibly be worth only 3, 00.】

South Second Ring: 【I'm jealous. I haven't seen a thief in half a month—I actually miss them.】

Team Six Wei Zhenguo: 【When I started, my master said catching thieves is a lifetime job. Some places have no murders, some have no arson—but never no thieves. Never thought I'd catch them all in one lifetime.】 Jiang Yuan smiled faintly, sent the video, put away his phone, and looked at Xiang Geng and the others.

They'd followed the cameras so far they'd lost themselves.

"Alright, both thieves have owners now. Someone will come to arrest them. When police ask for the original footage, give it to them," Jiang Yuan said calmly. "You can keep watching—if you find fingerprints, even better."

Xiang Geng understood immediately and nodded. "Don't worry—we'll practice hard."

"Good. I'm heading out," Jiang Yuan stood and took two steps, then remembered Jiangcun tradition. "After solving these two cases, everyone gets a 1, 00-yuan bonus. Going forward, if you catch a thief through surveillance, it's 500 yuan per thief."

Xiang Geng's eyes lit up. "Then I won't be shy—I'll send you the next one I catch."

"Sure, send it to me," Jiang Yuan noticed Xiang Geng's enthusiasm and grew slightly concerned. "Are you short on money?"

"Alright, I'll head back." Jiang Yuan stood and took two steps, then remembered Jiang Village's tradition: "After solving the two cases just now, everyone gets a thousand-yuan bonus. From now on, if we catch thieves through surveillance, it's five hundred yuan per thief."

Jiang Yuan frowned. "Are you married? Or is your girlfriend spending a lot?"

"No… I'm not married," Xiang Geng hesitated, then whispered, "My girlfriend doesn't spend much—but the three of us like to compete. We buy everything in threes, or else she gets upset."

Jiang Yuan fell silent for a few seconds. "If you're short on cash, come straight to me. Don't bring your girlfriend into the surveillance room—not her, not anyone."

"It's not that… I'm not married," Xiang Geng hesitated, then whispered, "my girlfriend doesn't spend much, but the three of them sometimes like to compete—everything has to be bought in triplicates, or they get upset."

Jiang Yuan fell silent for several seconds, then said, "If you're short on money, come straight to me. Don't bring your girlfriend into the surveillance room—not one, not even if there are several."