20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 697: Committing a crime against the odds
Upon hearing this, Jiang Lianheng's face immediately fell.

As early as the first few days of the month, he had already made some instructions online, and his requirements were not high - a three-day birthday banquet for the Marshal and peace in the provincial capital.

Regardless of whether it is true or false, the purpose is to create an image of a prosperous Fengtian where doors are opened at night, people do not steal on the streets, and the government is in order and the people are harmonious, in front of Chinese and foreign journalists and birthday guests.

After all, it concerns Lao Zhang's face, and even more so the value of the Jiang family in the eyes of government offices. Naturally, both the black and white sides tried their best to cooperate, and there were no complaints.

Anyone who commits a crime against the law now, no matter who it is, is tantamount to turning a deaf ear to what the Jiang family says.

Is it bearable, what is unbearable?

Jiang Lianheng looked grim. He turned around and glanced at the guests at the party, and asked in a low voice, "Second Master, who is this person you just mentioned?"

"This man's surname is Chen, and his name is Chen Guojin." Mr. Jiang waved his hand and said, "Boss Jiang, don't look at him, he didn't come. Those who can sit in the Marshal's Mansion are all representatives sent by various provinces. There is a guard group responsible for security. How could they make mistakes?"

"Oh? So he's not on the party list?"

"No."

Jiang Lianheng was confused, so he asked, "Since he is not on the banquet list, why did he prepare a gift for the Marshal?"

Mr. Jiang sighed and said, "Alas, this Chen Guojin, he is a close confidant of General Manager Han."

"The General Manager Han from the Arsenal?"

"Isn't it him?"

Master Jiang explained, "In the past two years, Chen Guojin has been in Tianjin, helping the provincial capital's arsenal recruit workers. Logically speaking, he is not qualified to come to celebrate the Marshal's birthday. His original intention of coming to Fengtian was to report to the Military Governor's Office, but he knew that the Marshal was celebrating his birthday, so he secretly prepared a birthday gift."

Jiang Lianheng nodded.

After two years of military reorganization in Fengtian, Lao Zhang's arms and legs became stronger and stronger. He began to get ready to enter the pass to fight for supremacy and avenge his previous humiliation.

There is a saying: Before the troops move out, the food and fodder must go first.

Now is the time to actively prepare for war, so it is natural for Lao Zhang to ask about the recruitment situation of the arsenal.

General Manager Han is a senior member of the Fengtian clique and a real power holder. I wonder how many people in the provincial capital are lining up to curry favor with him!
Jiang Lianheng didn't dare to neglect it after hearing this, and asked quickly: "What did Chen Guojin lose?"

"I heard it's a jade sculpture, how big it can be." Mr. Jiang showed his hands a foot long, "The old ape is offering peaches, hoping for good luck, the base is made of red sandalwood, inlaid with gold, it seems to have been bought from the capital, the price is not cheap."

"How on earth did such a large object get lost?"

"Oh, this is a long story."

Mr. Jiang had a worried look on his face. He only mentioned the important matters and finally gave a brief account of the theft.

It turned out that Chen Guojin had arrived in Fengtian at noon three days ago and settled down at the "Penglai Hotel" in Daxiguan.

After resting for half a day, he called a few old friends together, and they gathered together to drink some wine and reminisce about the past. There was nothing else to do but wait for the birthday banquet at the Marshal's Mansion to be over, and then he would go to the Governor's Office to report to Marshal Zhang in person.

There has been nothing strange or unusual in the past three days.

When I got up this morning, the birthday gift I had prepared was still there. But when I went downstairs to eat and then returned to the guest room, I suddenly felt something was wrong.

But what exactly is wrong?

In fact, he couldn't put it into words, but he had a vague feeling that someone had been in this room.

This is not surprising. After all, it is a hotel. Maybe the waiter came in to clean the rooms!

Chen Guojin checked quickly and found nothing missing, so he sat down and smoked a cigarette. After he finished the cigarette, he still felt uncomfortable, so he went to look through the birthday gift prepared for the Marshal. It was heavy, but he didn't find anything wrong, so he opened it again.

Fortunately, he opened it and read it.

Otherwise, the day after tomorrow, when he went to the Military Governor's Office to report on his work, what he would present to Marshal Zhang would not be "an old monkey offering peaches" but two hard bricks!
At this point, Mr. Jiang sighed, smacked his lips and said, "The difficulty of this case is that he has no idea when the birthday gift was lost. He said it was lost this morning, but who knows, maybe it was lost last night."

"It's a trick of 'buy high'!"

Jiang Lianheng muttered softly, and he sounded more like an experienced detective.

Mr. Jiang said, "Boss Jiang, no matter if it's Mr. Buddha or Mr. Gao, now that something is lost, and it's in the area under my jurisdiction, you have to take the trouble to help me!"

Jiang Lianheng said politely, "Second Master, it is my duty to help you, but for this case, we have to go over it from the beginning again."

"Okay, okay, if there's anything I didn't explain clearly, feel free to ask."

"After Chen Guojin arrived in Fengtian, did he open the box and see the birthday gift? Maybe someone switched it on the train and left us here to mess around."

"I have seen it! He saw it when he was packing his luggage the night he first arrived in Fengtian!"

"Did he see it himself, or was there someone else present?"

Mr. Jiang thought for a moment and said, "I asked him about this, and he said that the jade carving had never been exposed."

Jiang Lianheng pondered for a moment, then asked, "What's his personality like?"

Master Jiang curled his lips, his eyes immediately showing disdain: "What a boast! Good fellow, he just came to me to report a case, and without saying anything, he said to me, 'You have heard of General Manager Han, he is my elder brother'. When I asked him about the case, he couldn't get to the point for a long time, and kept emphasizing to me how much his thing was worth, if it wasn't for-"

He suddenly paused, looked around, then lowered his voice and continued, "If it weren't for the fact that he is a close confidant of General Manager Han, I would have kicked him and told him to get out of here."

"In that case, I guess he accidentally dropped the birthday gift he prepared when he was having a party with his friends." Jiang Lianheng asked, "Where did he meet his friends? Was it at the Penglai Hotel or some other restaurant?"

"Oh, I was in such a hurry at that time that I really didn't ask in detail." Mr. Jiang frowned and said, "But he said that the gathering place was near the hotel, anyway, it was on the street of Daxiguan."

“That should be Deyi Building.”

"Why, Boss Jiang suspected... that someone close to him was responsible?"

Jiang Lianheng shook his head and said hurriedly, "I'm not sure about that. Anyway, walls have ears. If he was talking nonsense outside, Gao Mai, who was passing by, might have spotted him."

Master Jiang sighed and said, "Well, no matter what, this case has to be solved as soon as possible, otherwise it will affect my career!"

The Marshal had already repeatedly stressed the need for police in all areas of the provincial capital to step up patrols in conjunction with his birthday celebration. Now that something had gone wrong in his area, he was naturally anxious.

Jiang Lianheng thought for a moment, then suddenly asked with a smile: "Second Master, do you want to make a contribution or recover the stolen goods?"

Mr. Jiang waved his hands and said, "Oh, Boss Jiang, it's already this time. How can I have the energy to make meritorious deeds? I don't even want to file a case! If you ask me, the best way to handle this case is to make a big deal out of a small matter and a small matter out of nothing. It's better to pretend that nothing happened! Chen Guojin also said that as long as the jade carving can be found, he will not pursue it anymore!"

"When does he plan to report to the Marshal?"

"The Marshal's birthday banquet will last for three days. Tomorrow is the main day, and the party will continue the day after tomorrow. That means we will go to the Governor's Office the day after tomorrow..." Mr. Jiang calculated, "Boss Jiang, we have to get the jade carving back before the night after tomorrow. After all, it's a birthday gift for the Marshal, and we can't just mess around with it."

Jiang Lianheng nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go and help you arrange it now."

"Okay, okay, thank you very much, Boss Jiang."

"Don't be polite! If something like this happens, you will be punished and I will be embarrassed. We are in the same boat!"

After saying that, Jiang Lianheng led Master Jiang Er around the rockery and went to the reception room of the Marshal's Mansion.

When he arrived at the place, he borrowed a phone from the security guard and immediately called Jiang's residence in the north of the city.

Mr. Jiang was of low status and his words did not matter, so when he saw the guards, he just nodded and bowed, trying to please them.

Jiang Lianheng was familiar with the situation and didn't take it too seriously.

Over the years, the guards at the Marshal's Mansion had been replaced by many batches, and all of them were familiar with him, so they were always accommodating and never made things difficult for him.

The receiver rang twice, followed by a click - it was Zhang Zhengdong who answered the phone.

"Hey, it's me!"

Jiang Lianheng called Jiang Erye to his side and briefly recounted the events of the theft in Daxiguan, asking Jiang Erye to correct any omissions at any time.

On the other end of the phone, Zhang Zhengdong was just like usual, as if he was just chatting about daily life. His tone was very flat, but he listened very carefully and was extremely rigorous, asking about two details from time to time.

There are some details that not only Mr. Jiang cannot answer, even if the owner Chen Guojin is present, he would probably be confused.

Zhang Zhengdong did not complain. He listened carefully and asked calmly:
"Brother, if we catch him, what are you going to do with him?"

"Give him a good lesson. Let him remember it."

"understood."

"Well, please inform the others for me. I want the results tonight."

Jiang Lianheng's statement was a bit ambiguous. His meaning was conveyed, but Mr. Jiang didn't quite understand it. He didn't dare to ask more questions and just stood aside waiting with a smile.

Even though he is the district chief of the police department, he is no different from a piece of dirt in front of the Jiang family.

Jiang Lianheng called him "Second Master" out of respect for a talented person, but he himself did not dare to act like a master.

Having said that, he also had some concerns in his mind that needed to be stated.

Only after hanging up the phone did Mr. Jiang sit down slowly, rubbing his hands together, and said with a laugh: "Boss Jiang, please allow me to ask you one more question. If you catch that thief, what are you going to do with him?"

Jiang Lianheng didn't act pretentiously and asked frankly, "Second Master, what do you think?"

"I dare not, I dare not!" Mr. Jiang waved his hands hurriedly, "Since I have come to you for help, I should follow your arrangements!"

Jiang Lianheng straightened his clothes and said, "Hey, Second Master, you are being polite. This is a matter between us. If you have any ideas, just say them and I will do it."

Mr. Jiang was a little embarrassed and declined a few times before he was willing to speak: "Logically speaking, the online rules are the rules of the Jiang family. I shouldn't ask about it, but this case... Boss Jiang, you see, I just said that our police side advocates making a big deal out of a small matter, so please don't..."

Before he finished speaking, all that was left was a silly smile pretending to be stupid.

The implication is also obvious.

During the Marshal's birthday banquet, a huge theft occurred in the provincial capital. The reputation of the state has already been lost. If a murder case occurs as a result, it will be counterproductive and further away from the original intention.

Jiang Lianheng listened and smiled and comforted him, "Don't worry, Second Master. This is an extraordinary period. Jiang knows what to do. If the jade carving can be recovered, there will be one way to deal with it; if it cannot be recovered, there will be other ways to deal with it. In short, the Jiang family will definitely not cause trouble for you. After all, this is of no benefit to me."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Mr. Jiang finally breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately stood up and said, "During the recovery of the stolen goods, if there is anything that Boss Jiang needs to be accommodating about, please feel free to ask."

"Then I would like to thank you, Second Master." Jiang Lianheng also stood up.

Just at this moment, there was a sudden burst of cheers and applause in the Marshal's mansion. The noise was so loud that it was like the Qiantang River tide, shaking the window frames so much that they made a buzzing sound.

It goes without saying that it must be Boss Mei who is performing on stage.

Mr. Jiang didn't dare to bother him any more, and hurriedly said, "Boss Jiang, please go and watch the party! I have some things to do at the branch office, so I have to hurry back to sort them out!"

Jiang Lianheng nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll take you there, okay?"

"No, no, no, Boss Jiang, please stay!" Mr. Jiang stopped him quickly, "The day after tomorrow night, I'll be waiting for your good news!"

Jiang Lianheng still insisted on sending him to the gate of the Marshal's mansion.

The two stood on the steps, said goodbye to each other, and then finally dispersed.

Watching Master Jiang going away, Jiang Lianheng's face became increasingly gloomy. Thinking of the recent unrest in the underworld, he couldn't help but want to kill a chicken to scare the monkey.

He didn't want to make a fuss about nothing, but he had to. Otherwise, when the "small problem" became a "big problem" and he wanted to solve it, it might not be as simple as killing a chicken to scare the monkeys.

In the past two years, the Jiang family's sand and gravel factory's business has been growing bigger and bigger. Lao Chuan and others have already cleared out the business, and successfully renewed the mining rights from the government for three years.

Because of this, the Jiang family became more and more envied by others. From time to time, there were a few young and foolish people who did not know their place and tried to replace the family.

The circumstances of this theft in Daxiguan could be serious or minor, and there is no guarantee that someone is not secretly trying to disgust the Jiang family.

A toad jumping on your face may not bite you, but it is annoying.

Whenever he thought of this, Jiang Lianheng felt murderous in his heart.

I slowly returned to the Marshal's mansion. The thunderous applause from just now had long ceased, replaced by the sound of gongs, drums, erhu, singing, reciting and fighting.

Everyone was staring at the graceful figure on the stage. The man dressed as a woman was even more charming and enchanting than a natural woman. It was quite interesting when you think about it.

Everybody is pretending, it's just that some people are crazy while others are not yet into the role.

Jiang Lianheng didn't know much about Peking opera, and most of the tunes he hummed were from Fengyueyao. After he sat down again, he couldn't hear the beginning or the end of the tune, so he asked those around him, "What's the play being sung now?"

A senior fan of opera at the same table immediately responded with a smile: "Boss Jiang doesn't listen to opera much, right? This is the big opera "Heavenly Girl Scattering Flowers" created by Boss Mei!"

(End of this chapter)