1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 398 A City with a Strong Personality (1)

Different from the plots seen on TV in later generations, at that time in the country, some research teams liked to make a big show of conducting inspections according to a long-planned itinerary under the leadership of local competent authorities; but other research teams liked to adopt the "four no's and two direct" approach to obtain some information they really cared about according to their own ideas.

The so-called "four no's and two direct" means no notification, no greeting, no report, no accompanying reception, and going straight to the grassroots and the scene.

This type of research is mainly carried out through surprise inspections, random checks, retrospective checks, etc. It can not only reduce the burden of inspections, but also help researchers to truly observe and evaluate the actual situation and obtain first-hand information.

In fact, this method is often used in current important or major surveys; and if it is an important survey that requires a detailed evaluation report, there is almost no other choice except this method.

Therefore, as one of the members of the research team, Zhao Lin, who was less than 30 years old, felt inexplicably nervous when he saw the train he was riding gradually approaching Dezhou Railway Station.

The size of this research team was not large, but not small either, with about eight or nine people, but they were divided into four groups, moving separately using different means of transportation, and then heading towards their respective destinations.

So when his group, together with another group, were unfortunately arranged to travel by train to the DZ city for a seven-day research mission, they were in a very bad mood.

Everyone knows what the public security situation is like these days.

Although it was fortunate that nothing serious happened on the journey from the imperial capital to Texas, the problem was...

The area around the train station is not a good place at this time!

Thinking of this, Zhao Lin, who was standing in the empty smoking area, lowered his voice and whispered to Xin Ronghua, the only team member beside him: "Make sure the identity document is not in the bag. Is it hidden close to the body?"

A short-haired girl in her twenties had a slightly serious expression. She touched her waist and abdomen and nodded imperceptibly: "Both of us have our identification documents hidden close to us. They shouldn't be lost easily."

Zhao Lin hummed, "Let's make sure the cash sewn into the clothes is still there... We're not afraid of losing the money in the briefcase, but if all the hidden money is lost and we have to ask the local authorities for help, then we'll lose face."

Seeing Zhao Lin calmly put his hand on the belt buckle and touched it, Xin Ronghua rolled his eyes: "Don't worry, it won't be lost!"

Although Zhao Lin is nominally the team leader, the two of them are on the same level. What's more, this so-called team actually only has the two of them, so naturally they don't have so many concerns... and now it is early summer. Although a woman can only hide her "reserve funds" in a few places, in terms of security and sensitivity, she is ten blocks away from men. She doesn't need to touch it to know whether the money is lost or not.

Seeing the unhappiness in Xin Ronghua's eyes, Zhao Lin smiled awkwardly: "I am too sensitive, there is nothing I can do... Elder Yue from Liao Province has just been rescued from the grassroots... Dezhou is not far from Liao Province. With the lessons learned from the past, we should be more cautious."

Xin Ronghua's expression suddenly became serious when he heard this. He looked around and didn't care if it was rude. He turned around and quietly raised his right hand to touch his chest. Then he turned around and nodded imperceptibly: "Yes, it's well hidden."

The "Mr. Yue" mentioned by Zhao Lin is named Yue Qifeng, an old revolutionary who has just taken office in Liaoning Province and is in charge of all work.

As a result, the old man, who always liked to speak directly, encountered some "small situations" (check it out for yourself) during his grassroots research work not long ago this year that were enough to make future generations dumbfounded.

This incident had a huge impact on people within the system, so when Xin Ronghua heard Zhao Lin mention it, he immediately took it seriously.

"I heard that the Texas region has made rapid progress in the past year, and has even been reported in the newspapers several times... The situation shouldn't be that bad, right?"

After making sure that all important items were kept close to him, Xin Ronghua looked at the platform outside the window which was slowly stopping and said uncertainly... He didn't know whether what he said was true or just to cheer himself up.

Zhao Lin glanced at her, moved his lips, but in the end he didn't say anything to spoil the mood. He just nodded at her and said, "When you go out, it's always better to be careful."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the carriage...

………………

As one of the important reference factors for evaluating the potential of a city, population flow, or more precisely, the interaction between inbound and outbound population, is extremely important.

As one of the three major transportation hubs in North China, the passenger flow at Dezhou Railway Station is naturally not small.

But what surprised Zhao Lin was that although the city is not small, for an old industrial city like Dezhou, which is neither a first-tier economic center nor an industrial center, the flow of people at the train station shows obvious seasonality.

Logically speaking, it is only early summer, which is definitely the off-season. However, it can be observed that the passenger flow at Dezhou's not-so-big train station can reach nearly 2.5 people per day, which is 50% higher than the previous statistical data for the same period. At this time when the mutual growth rate of foreign population in major cities has shrunk to varying degrees, this kind of increase instead of decrease, and the sharp rise, is really incredible.

Zhao Lin squatted in a corner of the square for a full hour, recording the number of people leaving the station on six trains, and fell into deep thought.

The number of people getting off the trains on these six trains varied. According to his observation, the number of people getting off the trains coming from the north was relatively small, while the number of people getting off the trains coming from the south was the majority.

In other words, there are more people from the south and fewer people from the north, and much fewer... This can be seen from their faces, accents and clothes, and is also confirmed by the fact that the train he was riding was not crowded.

Seeing Xin Ronghua coming back, Zhao Lin stood up with some difficulty, and said softly, "Let's go."

Unlike other train stations, the police force allocated to Dezhou Railway Station at this time was obviously over-specified. A rough calculation showed that the number of patrolling security brigades and police officers at open-air stations added up to more than 35 people... Although judging from their uniforms and insignia, the police officers at these stations were basically auxiliary police, even so, this was very abnormal.

Therefore, Zhao Lin had every reason to suspect that Texas had already known that members of the research team would soon arrive by train, but did not know when they would arrive, and therefore began the laborious and costly inspection preparation work in advance.

Therefore, even if the information collected was not comprehensive enough, he and Xin Ronghua still had to leave... In order not to arouse suspicion, he changed 4 restaurants as a diner in the previous hour. If he continued to do so, even if no one suspected him, his stomach would not be able to hold on.

My god, the food portions here in Qilu are so huge, even bigger than in Changshan. How can you do business like this inside a train station?

Zhao Lin rubbed his stomach in distress. Although he was impressed by the fact that they did not cheat tourists or fool outsiders, the huge portions were really too much for him to handle... There were a lot of people willing to eat inside the train station, and he was embarrassed to stand in one of the few seats available. Therefore, after rotating through four snack bars, his stomach suffered a lot.

Upon hearing this, Xin Ronghua gently pushed him back to his seat: "Don't be in a hurry to leave. I've found out clearly that they greatly expanded the security force at the railway station as early as last year, and those auxiliary police were also stationed here at the beginning of last month... They are not here to deal with us at all, so there is no need to leave in a hurry."

Zhao Lin was stunned: "It's been like this since last year? Are you sure you're not kidding?"

Although the public security problem has been somewhat unsatisfactory in the past two years, the finances of the local authorities are also not very abundant. Even in areas like railway stations where there are all kinds of people and where special precautions are needed, it is impossible to dispatch so many security forces unless it is a first-tier city... There are far more places in a city that need police force than just one, and the financial situation does not allow it!

More importantly, even in first-tier cities, at most four or five police officers are stationed here to coordinate public security. How could there be more than a dozen like at the Dezhou Railway Station?

Ok……

Although they are basically auxiliary police officers.

Upon hearing this, Xin Ronghua sighed, "I didn't quite believe it at first, but I asked several people, including some who frequently travel to Texas, and the answers I got were all similar... I don't think those people were lying to me."

Zhao Lin found it a little difficult to understand.

As an old industrial city that is trying to make a difficult transformation, the financial difficulties in Dezhou are well known. It even needs a large amount of payment transfers from the state every year. Under such circumstances, even though the current social security is not good, the competent authorities of DZ city have spent huge manpower and material resources to maintain security at the railway station... Is it worth it?
Hearing Zhao Lin's question, Xin Ronghua had a strange expression on his face: "I don't understand why either, but several local people told me that Dezhou Railway Station has a special meaning for Dezhou, so no one thinks that the local authorities are doing something wrong."

"In fact, don't you think that the attitude of the people here towards the public security brigade and even the auxiliary police is very different from what we imagined?"

After hesitating for a moment, Xin Ronghua gestured meaninglessly with his hands: "Let's put it this way, we have been to many places over the years, and the people in most places would basically stay away from that skin;"

"When these locals or travelers who frequently come to Texas on business see the auxiliary police, they don't show any fear at all. Instead, they seem to be quite friendly and even come over to talk to them from time to time."

Zhao Lin frowned when he heard this: "Could it be that...?"

Xin Ronghua understood what he was thinking and quickly shook his head: "I think it may not be what you think. You don't understand what I mean. What I mean is... the people here will only be like this when facing the public security brigade and the auxiliary police at the railway station."

Zhao Lin, who understood the meaning, was immediately surprised: "Why is this?"

Xin Ronghua's expression became more and more strange. "Because according to the people, Captain She, who is in charge of the public security brigade at the railway station, was the first person to jump out and cooperate with Mo Mo Bai Zha last year to help evacuate and settle the migrant workers who returned home... It is said that he was also responsible for a lot of things."

"And those auxiliary police are the employees on standby who were carefully selected by Dahua Company from the Dongying oil system... It is said that all those who were transferred from the army have strong professional qualities and strong ideas."

"What is the relationship between Dahua Company and Southwest Drilling Company No. 1, and what is the relationship between Southwest Drilling Company No. 1 and Momo Baizha? It should not be a secret, right?"

Zhao Lin found it hard to accept what he said: "Does it mean that these people are so close to these security personnel and auxiliary police officers because of Mo Mo Baizha?"

Xin Ronghua spread his hands and said, "That should be the case... The evacuation and resettlement of migrant workers was reported in the newspapers and on TV. Although the main force was Qingfeng Food, to which Mo Mo Bai Zha belongs, many people in Dezhou regard this as their pride. When they meet outsiders, they will promote it with a reserved look on their faces, and even stick out their chests after they are done... Haven't you seen that the No. 1 franchise store opened by Mo Mo Bai Zha in the train station has almost become a tourist attraction?"

Zhao Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Just because of this?"

Xin Ronghua shook his head: "It's not just because of this. No matter how well we did that thing, it was at the beginning of last year. How can we brag about it forever? Besides, have you ever seen a dish that can be eaten from the beginning of the year to the end of the year?"

Zhao Lin was a little confused: "Then...?"

Xin Ronghua's expression became a little strange again. "Whether it's Qingfeng Foods where Mo Mo Bai Zha is located, or Dahua Company, which was established at the beginning of this year, they all have very close ties with Southwest Drilling Company No. 1... And this Southwest company in the oil system has always been known for its ability to make trouble, dare to make trouble, and do things willfully."

"So, in addition to being very dedicated to maintaining law and order, these members of the public security brigade and the auxiliary police officers who came here for exchange are also known for not doing their jobs properly... This is the main reason why the local people are close to them."

Not doing your job properly?

What kind of idleness is it?
Zhao Lin didn't react for a moment.

Seeing this, Xin Ronghua pursed his lips slightly and said, "Nuo, did you see those pillars in the train station square and those portraits posted on the doors of various businesses? Did you see those iron fence passages at the exit that were deliberately set up in a twisting manner?"

Hearing this, Zhao Lin turned his head and looked over thoughtfully.

Today's Texas Railway Station cannot be said to be beautiful, at least from a visual point of view, it is far less neat than before.

This "untidiness" is not because the tourists and merchants here litter, nor is it because the cleaning staff here are lazy, but because all the empty pillars and billboards here, except for the necessary content, are covered with various pictures that look like small advertisements.

Zhao Lin naturally knew the contents of those portraits... In addition to those criminals who were officially wanted, there were also many young faces, some clear, some not so clear, and some even hand-painted from memory.

Originally, he thought that although the starting point of this arrangement was good, it was likely just a superficial effort. But what did his colleague mean?
Xin Ronghua saw this and reminded him, "Old Zhao, do you remember those dirty homeless people we saw on the platform right after we got off the train? They kept looking at the passengers getting off the train carefully, but they were never driven away by the platform staff, right?"

Zhao Lin nodded: "Remember."

More than just remembering, he even had a very bad first impression of Texas because of these people. When a homeless man approached him and looked at him, he almost thought that the other party was going to rob him, and he was extremely disappointed with the inaction of the platform staff.

Xin Ronghua sighed, "It was not until I asked around to find out about the situation just now that I accidentally found out about this... We misunderstood them. Those people on the platform are family members. It was Captain She who made several reports, and Dahua Company coordinated and communicated with them, and only then were they allowed to enter the platform!"

Huh?
Family members! ?
Recalling those pairs of eyes filled with mania and self-blame, the expectation followed by disappointment, and the disappointment followed by despair, Zhao Lin suddenly felt a blockage in his chest.

Just when he was about to ask something, a commotion broke out from the train station square.

"Grab the woman holding the child in front, and the four men in front of her... Stay alert! Stay alert! There may be others!"

A shrill roar came from afar.

When Zhao Lin turned his head, he saw a man at the exit whose hat had been squeezed off while running.

If it weren't for the uniform he was wearing, you wouldn't be able to tell that he was a security guard.

Wow!
The tourists who were eating in the restaurant were still peeking in to watch the fun. The restaurant owner, who was about 45 or 46 years old, stood up from the chair at the cash register. His slightly fat body pushed the chair over and leaned it against the wall.

"Have you spotted those damn bastards again!?"

"Qiangzi, Lao Liu, turn off the fire first, fuck your weapons, go and fuck those bastards who are not even worthy of doing this job!"

Following the fat boss's distorted roar, in less than ten seconds, accompanied by a faint panic noise, the sound of the stove in the back kitchen stopped, and three men who looked like chefs holding kitchen knives and iron spoons followed the store owner and rushed out of the station.

This is……

what's the situation! ?

Zhao Lin and Xin Ronghua stared in amazement at the few people who rushed out, then looked at the room full of diners and the empty bar... What's making you so excited? Aren't you afraid that everyone in this room will run away without paying?

However, what was even more surprising was that it was not only the owner and the chef of this store who rushed out. As if they had heard some signal, more than half of the merchants in this train station came out, and everyone rushed out with kitchen knives and rolling pins... Among them, several people even dragged out folding chairs. Nearly a hundred people rushed to one place. The scene was extremely chaotic and exaggerated.

hiss~
Zhao Lin took a deep breath with some toothache. Although martial virtues are abundant among the people these days, and the people in the northern region are even more fierce, but so many people acting as if they are going to have a fight in broad daylight, and in the city area, isn't it a bit too arrogant?

Besides, even if something happens, don’t we still have the security team and the auxiliary police?

brutal!

The slight favor that Zhao Lin had just developed towards this city disappeared in an instant.

But soon, he understood why so many people rushed over fully armed even though there were so many security guards and auxiliary police.

It seemed that he was being pushed into a corner, or he was used to seeing two hammers being used to beat up a whole car of people. Seeing that he was about to be caught up, the people nearby also took action and several auxiliary police officers in uniform even drew out electric batons and rushed towards him...

The men in front of the woman had ferocious looks on their faces. They quickly took out screwdrivers and hatchets from their bags. One of them even took out a machete from his butt. No one knew how they had hidden them in the first place.

"do not come!"

"When you go out, always leave room for maneuver!"

"Brothers, please make way... Let's just pretend we didn't see anything today, nothing happened. I'll remember this favor, how about treating you guys to a drink some other day?"

The leading man swung the short axe in his hand viciously, and after forcing back the crowd approaching him, he spoke in a deep voice to the three auxiliary police officers and two security personnel who were chasing him from two meters away.

With his indistinguishable foreign accent and ferocious look on his face, he looked like an arrogant mountain eagle.

It's no wonder that he is so arrogant. Nowadays, as long as you dare to take risks, you can rob a train. What's more, there are only a few auxiliary police and security team members in front of them who are not even allowed to be equipped with guns. There are seven people on his side, including those who didn't jump out at the first time. They are not afraid of these guys who only have a few electric batons.

That’s right, people who do their job don’t commit crimes alone as ordinary people think, but work in groups... usually at least three or four, and sometimes there can be more than ten.

Obviously, the security team members and auxiliary police who arrived were also a little wary of this group of people. Seeing that the other party did not continue to run, they stopped and confronted each other at a distance of more than two meters... Nowadays, there is no decent security check on trains, so if they only have a short axe and a machete, it would be okay, but if they have other things on them, it would be troublesome.

Seeing the other party stop, the only woman in the gang blinked and said innocently, "Comrade, did you find the wrong person? I just brought my child and a few brothers from the same village to look for my relatives. It's just a misunderstanding. Why make such a fuss?"

Hearing the woman's stiff northwestern accent, the leading auxiliary police officer sneered and said, "What do you think I did before? It's not that easy to throw a smoke bomb!"
He ignored the woman's clumsy performance and turned his head to look at the security guard whose hat had been squeezed off: "Xiao Li, can you confirm again?"

Xiao Li, whose chest was still rising and falling violently, carefully looked at the boy next to the woman who was only five or six years old, and nodded with certainty: "Number 17, request for help with portrait, Zhang Xiaoshan, male, five years and seven months old, from Yucheng, has a dark blue birthmark behind his left ear, and a black mole on the lower left side of his philtrum... It can't be wrong!"

After saying this, as if afraid that the other party would not believe him, Xiao Li added: "I will ask someone to help me get a picture of No. 17's request for help... It's the child's original photo. Although the photo and the real person now look very different, these features have not changed at all. It is very easy to recognize."

Seeing Xiao Li was about to call for help, the leading auxiliary police officer stopped him and said, "No need. You are famous for your good memory. I believe you!"

As he spoke, the auxiliary police officer sneered and glanced at the child beside the woman who was already unrecognizable and trembling but silent. The expression in his eyes began to become dangerous: "... Leave a wiggle room for everything?"

"CNMB, this child is only five years and seven months old... In order to get away with it, you blinded his left eye... Is this what you call leaving room for maneuver?"

The woman looked innocent: "This child is naughty and likes to jump around on the ridges of the fields. Last year, he accidentally fell down and his eyes hit a rock, which blinded him. Why did you ask me to blind him... Which mother can be so cruel?"

The auxiliary police officer had a grim expression on his face: "Whether it was a fall or a burn, you know it in your heart... Have you ever seen someone whose eyes were blinded by a fall, and there are no other scars nearby?"

As he spoke, the auxiliary police officer pulled out his electric baton and took a half step forward. He ignored the woman and stared at the man in the lead. "Brother, if possible, I don't want to make a big fuss, but there is no way. You guys are too ruthless... This kid is less than six years old. To save trouble and make him obedient, you cut off his hand at the elbow. Fuck your ancestors... Is this something a human can do!?"

After the auxiliary police reminded the crowd, they realized that this child, who was only about 1.2 meters tall at most, was not wearing the most common short-sleeved shirt or vest in the early summer. Instead, he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt that was not the right size, and the left side of the long-sleeve was half empty... It was obvious that there was nothing!
Looking at the child's extremely pale face and the empty and numb look in the remaining eyes, an uncontrollable rage burned in the chests of the onlookers. Even the axes and screwdrivers in the hands of the men did not seem so scary anymore.

Damn, such a conscienceless person should be beaten to death!
Boom~!

Sensing the change in atmosphere, the leading man swung the short axe in his hand on the concrete floor, sparks flying.

After seeing that the people around him had calmed down again, the man sneered at the auxiliary policeman and said, "Don't give me this bullshit here. Just give me a clear answer... Will you give me this face and get out of the way?"

As he spoke, the man stretched out his hand and pulled out a seemingly ordinary man from the crowd next to him, then lifted up his clothes to reveal two things that looked like firecrackers: "Brother, don't blame me for not reminding you, people in our line of work rely on being bold and careful... See this thing, I got it from the coal mine. If you don't want everyone to get killed together, you'd better get someone out of the way!"

The auxiliary police officer laughed a little grimly: "You want to scare me? When I was clearing landmines in Laoshan, you were still breastfeeding!"

As he spoke, he slapped the electric baton with his left hand and took another step forward: "I don't think I'm a good person. When I was in Dongying, I cheated at the wine table, played dirty at the card table, urinated at the door of my leader's house, beat my wife when I was drunk, and I still owe more than ten yuan to the three breakfast shops over there..."

"But I am still a human being after all. I would never do such a heartless thing as cutting a living being into pieces!"

As he spoke, the auxiliary police officer looked calmly at the group of chefs and shop owners who had quietly gathered from behind, baring his sharp teeth: "Since ancient times, how should those who pick, grow, break, and cut meat be dealt with?"

There was almost no need to mobilize emotions, and the answer rang out from all around: "A thousand cuts!"

Faced with over a hundred responses, several men could not help but shiver, their minds fluttering.

Seizing this rare opportunity, the leading auxiliary police officer turned on the switch, rushed forward, and smashed the electric baton in his hand hard.

With a half scream, the man with two pieces of firecrackers stuck in his waist fell to the ground... Although from a subjective point of view, the leading auxiliary police officer believed that the two pieces of things were just fake things used to scare people, but just in case, he still knocked the guy down immediately.

"Everybody~Go!"

The attack was successful and the leading auxiliary police officer yelled.

All of a sudden, the other auxiliary police officers and security personnel behind him, as well as the shop owners and chefs who had quietly gathered from behind, all smashed the weapons in their hands at the group's heads.

After all, two fists are no match for four hands, and the attack came suddenly from behind, so the men didn't even have time to make any moves before they were knocked to the ground by countless sticks, pots and spoons... Judging from the cooperation of these chefs, this was obviously not the first time.

Looking at the crowd waving their weapons angrily, and the men and women lying on the ground wailing and begging for mercy, the leading auxiliary police waved his hand.
Immediately, the other two auxiliary police officers and several security personnel came over carrying the child who was no longer in human form, and then very tacitly left the scene thirty meters away, and turned around in unison, as if they didn't see anyone being beaten over there at all.

Lao Wei unceremoniously lit up the cigarette, took a long puff, and then pretended to be dumbfounded: "Stop? Stop what? I didn't see anything!~"

The police officer immediately laughed in anger: "Stop playing dumb! Hurry up, or someone will die!"

Old Wei sneered, "What's wrong with that? Can you expect a person like this to change his ways after spending a few years in jail? Look at this kid, what he has become of him... Rather than letting him continue to do evil after he gets out, it's better to put an end to them now!"

The police officer looked at the child who seemed to have died both physically and spiritually with some pity. After thinking for a while, he sighed, "But no matter what, we still have to follow the procedure... Hurry up, if someone dies, it will be really hard to explain."

(Hundreds of words deleted here)

………………

Although as Lao Wei said, these bosses and chefs, who were obviously not acting "heroically" for the first time, did still maintain their sense of propriety when they took action.

So when the shop owner and three chefs returned triumphantly with proud faces, those human traffickers, both men and women, did not die on the spot.

But Zhao Lin still felt a little dissatisfied when he saw several three-wheeled motorcycles arriving late.

The people here...are too tough and violent!
If he were a leader, he would definitely not allow DZ City to become the torch relay city for the Asian Games, and would not provide the city with any publicity and policy support during the Asian Games!
But there was no way. He was just a team leader of the research team. Not only was it not his turn to make decisions on such matters, but he also needed to put aside his personal preferences and report all the situations truthfully regarding the itinerary arrangements for the next research work.

"Let's go, find a place to stay, rest for a night, and then go wander around the main city."

Zhao Lin carefully took out two one-yuan bills from his bag, and then told Xin Ronghua...

(End of this chapter)