Reborn in 2000: I'm the Boss's Driver

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Lin Fan got up.

In the kitchen, Mother was already preparing breakfast. The aroma of fried eggs wafted out, enticing Baby Beibei to run barefoot out of the bedroom.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," the baby said, rubbing his eyes.

"We'll eat right away." Lin Fan picked up his son. "Go wash your face and brush your teeth first."

After Wang Juan got up, the family gathered around the dining table for breakfast. The father looked out the window, appearing somewhat nervous.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Lin Fan asked.

"Are we really going to transfer the property title?" The father rubbed his hands together. "Am I... am I skilled enough?"

"Okay, you practiced pretty well yesterday, didn't you?" Lin Fan said with a smile. "Besides, I've already spoken to the vehicle management office. We can just drive there slowly in a bit. After the paperwork is done, I'll practice with you for a few more days."

"Well... okay then."

After dinner, Lin Fan and his father went downstairs. The white Honda CR-V was parked downstairs, clean and looking quite new.

"This car is actually quite easy to drive," the father said, touching the steering wheel. "Wang Juan has taken good care of it."

"Yes, she drives carefully," Lin Fan said. "Let's go to the vehicle management office."

The vehicle management office is located in the north of the city, a 20-minute drive away.

"Dad, how's your job as a gatekeeper at the traffic police station going?"

"It's good, quite leisurely," the father said. "It's just standing guard and registering vehicles coming and going. The young people in the team are all very polite to me, they know I'm your dad."

Lin Fan smiled. This was the reality within the system. He was the deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and his father, working in the traffic police, naturally received preferential treatment. Although he wasn't a high-ranking official, that's just how things were.

When I arrived at the vehicle management office, it was just 8:30, and it wasn't open yet. But there were already more than a dozen people lined up at the door, all there to do business.

Lin Fan parked his car and called a friend at the vehicle management office. A few minutes later, a middle-aged man in uniform came out and greeted him with a smile.

"Secretary Lin, you're here so early?"

"Director Li, thank you for your help." Lin Fan shook hands with him. "This is my father. He's here today to transfer the property title."

"Hello, sir." Director Li warmly shook hands with the father. "Come on in, please. No need to queue."

They entered the lobby through a side door. The lobby wasn't open for business yet, but staff were already preparing. Director Li led them directly to a window and spoke briefly with the female clerk inside.

"Secretary Lin, give me the materials, and I'll have someone process them for you," Director Li said. "You and the old man can sit and wait a moment; it'll be done in a bit."

Lin Fan handed over the vehicle registration certificate, ID card, and other documents. The clerk took the documents and quickly began processing them.

The procedures were completed quickly. Twenty minutes later, the clerk handed over the new driver's license and registration certificate: "It's done, Secretary Lin. The car is now registered in the old man's name. I've chosen a good license plate number for him, and the original license plate has been transferred to the Land Rover's name."

"Thank you." Lin Fan took the documents and then said to Director Li, "Director Li, thank you for your help. I'll treat you to dinner another day."

"You're too kind, it's my pleasure," Director Li said with a smile.

After leaving the vehicle management office, my father held the new driver's license and looked at it over and over again.

"This...this is my car now?"

"Yes, this is for you," Lin Fan said with a smile.

The father and son got into the car. This time, the father drove much more confidently than yesterday, driving steadily all the way from the vehicle management office back to the city.

Lin Fan checked the time; it was 10:30 AM. His father drove back to the traffic police station. He drove back to the municipal party committee office, and just as he arrived, Zhao Gang knocked and came in.

"Secretary Lin, there's new information regarding Zhang Jianguo."

"explain."

"We checked his daughter Zhang Tingting's bank account in Australia," Zhao Gang said in a low voice. "From 2008 to now, there have been seven large remittances, totaling more than two million RMB. The remitters are all different companies, and they don't seem to have anything to do with Zhang Jianguo."

"Is it possible to find out the background of these companies?"

"We are investigating," Zhao Gang said. "But based on preliminary observations, these companies are all shell companies, registered in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, and the actual controllers are unknown."

Lin Fan frowned. A shell company remitting funds—this was a classic money laundering tactic. Zhang Jianguo was indeed very cautious.

Is there any pattern to the remittance timing?

"There's no obvious pattern, but it always happens around the time Zhang Tingting needs to pay tuition or make a large purchase," Zhao Gang said. "For example, in September 2008, when she had just arrived in Australia and needed to pay her first year's tuition, she received a remittance of 9 yuan. In March 2009, she bought a car and received another 3 yuan."

"Where did the funding come from?"

"We're still investigating, but it's very likely that the money went out through underground banks," Zhao Gang said. "We checked Zhang Jianguo's and his wife's accounts, and there were no large outflows of funds. It was either a cash transaction or through a third party."

Lin Fan leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. Two million was a huge sum of money for a deputy director-level official. If it could be proven that the money belonged to Zhang Jianguo, that would be irrefutable evidence.

But the question is, how do we prove it?

Shell companies, underground banks, cash transactions—each method is designed to evade regulation.

"Continue the investigation," Lin Fan said. "Focus on investigating the actual controllers of those shell companies, as well as Zhang Jianguo's network of connections in the steel city, to see if anyone has any financial dealings with him."

"Understood," Zhao Gang said. "There's one more thing."

"Um?"

"Our investigation revealed that before Zhang Jianguo was transferred to the provincial department, there was a very strange case at the Gangdong branch." Zhao Gang took out a case file, "A case of intentional injury in 2007, the defendant was named Wang Zhiqiang, and he was sentenced to five years. But the victim in this case was a distant relative of Zhang Jianguo."

Lin Fan took the case file and flipped through it. The case wasn't complicated: Wang Zhiqiang got into a fight at a restaurant and injured someone with a bottle. The victim's injuries were assessed as minor injury level one. Wang Zhiqiang pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison.

"What's strange about it?"

"Wang Zhiqiang suddenly recanted his confession during the trial, saying he was innocent, but the judge did not believe him," Zhao Gang said. "We found Wang Zhiqiang's former defense lawyer, who said that Wang Zhiqiang had privately told him that someone had asked him to take the blame and promised to give his family a sum of money. But Wang Zhiqiang did not say who it was."

"Take the blame?" Lin Fan frowned. "Why take the blame?"

"Even the lawyer doesn't know," Zhao Gang said. "But the case was handled very quickly, from detention to sentencing, it only took two months. And the person in charge of the case was Zhang Jianguo."

Lin Fan flipped through the case file. The chain of evidence seemed complete, but upon closer inspection, some parts were indeed suspicious. For example, the eyewitness testimonies were highly consistent, just like in the Chen Xiaohu case. Also, the fingerprints on the murder weapon were described vaguely in the identification report.

Where is Wang Zhiqiang now?

"He's serving his sentence in the Third Prison, and has been behaving well. He's already had one sentence reduction, and he'll be released in a little over a year," Zhao Gang said. "We've applied for a visitation, and we'll go tomorrow."

"Okay, let's go take a look," Lin Fan said. "If there's really something going on, this case might be a breakthrough."

After Zhao Gang left, Lin Fan checked the time; it was almost noon. He called Wang Juan.

"Are you coming back for lunch?"

"I'm not going back, the store is busy," Wang Juan said. "The goods for the store in the provincial capital have arrived, and I'm overseeing the unloading."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Fan thought about Zhang Jianguo's matter.

The shell company's remittances raise concerns about potential scapegoating and other problematic cases, including the previous five. Zhang Jianguo is a very shady character.

But no matter how deep the water, you have to wade through it.

Thinking back to today's vehicle management office, Zhang Jianguo has worked in the public security system for so many years, could he be involved in the use of counterfeit license plates?

He made a phone call to Zhao Gang.

"Check how many vehicles in the steel city are using police O-plates. Focus on those vehicles that aren't part of the police system but still have O-plates."

"A car with a fake license plate? Does this have anything to do with Zhang Jianguo?"

"Maybe," Lin Fan said. "He's been in the public security system for so many years. If he wanted to do something, using a car would be a good cover. If we investigate, we might find something."

"Okay, I'll have someone investigate."

Lin Fan made himself a cup of tea and began reviewing documents. He had a meeting that afternoon to discuss the next phase of the rectification campaign within the political and legal system.

The meeting started promptly at 2:00 PM. Zhou Wenyuan presided over the meeting, which was attended by several deputy secretaries of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, as well as the heads of the public security, procuratorate, court, and judicial departments.

"The case review in the previous stage was quite effective," Zhou Wenyuan said. "The exoneration of Chen Xiaohu has received a very positive response from the public. However, it has also exposed many problems. Next, the education and rectification campaign will enter a more complex phase and we need to take real action."

He looked at Lin Fan: "Secretary Lin, please tell me about the situation."

Lin Fan opened the folder: "As of last week, the city's political and legal system had reviewed 327 cases, identified 43 problematic cases, corrected 29 of them, and is currently reviewing 14. Twenty-one officers were involved, including 15 from the public security system, 4 from the court system, and 2 from the procuratorate system."

"What's the situation with the handling of this?"

"Fifteen people have been transferred to the Discipline Inspection Commission, and six of them have been placed under investigation. Evidence is being verified for the other six," Lin Fan said. "Another point that requires special attention is that during our review, we discovered connections between some problematic cases. For example, the cases of Chen Xiaohu and Wang Zhiqiang were both handled by Zhang Jianguo."

Mentioning Zhang Jianguo created a subtle atmosphere in the meeting room. Everyone present knew that Zhang Jianguo was now a provincial-level official, holding a high rank.

"Has the situation regarding Zhang Jianguo been investigated thoroughly?" Zhou Wenyuan asked.

"The investigation is still ongoing," Lin Fan said. "We have some leads, but no direct evidence yet."

"Investigate according to law and regulations," Zhou Wenyuan said. "No matter who is involved, we must investigate to the end. But we must pay attention to the methods and approaches, especially when it involves comrades from the provincial department; we must be cautious."

"clear."

The meeting lasted until 4 p.m. After the meeting, Zhou Wenyuan called Lin Fan to his office.

"There might be some activity from the provincial department regarding Zhang Jianguo's case," Zhou Wenyuan said. "I heard that some people are inquiring about the progress of our education and rectification campaign, focusing on the investigation and handling of cases involving the police."

"Who's asking?"

"It's not clear yet, but it's definitely someone from the provincial department," Zhou Wenyuan said. "This means Zhang Jianguo may have already noticed. You need to speed things up, but you also need to be more careful."

"I will be careful."

"Also," Zhou Wenyuan looked at him, "your father is a gatekeeper at the traffic police station, right?"

Lin Fan was taken aback: "Yes, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, just a reminder," Zhou Wenyuan said. "Your family members should also be careful. If Zhang Jianguo gets desperate, he might target your family."

Lin Fan's heart tightened. He hadn't thought about this before.

"I will be careful," he said solemnly.

After leaving Zhou Wenyuan's office, Lin Fan called Wang Juan.

"Honey, please be careful lately. Drive carefully when you go out, and be careful when picking up and dropping off the kids."

"What's wrong?" Wang Juan sensed something was off about his tone.

"It's nothing, just some work-related stuff lately. I might have offended some people," Lin Fan said. "It's always better to be careful."

"Okay," Wang Juan said. "You too, be careful."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Fan stood by the window, looking at the traffic below.

Zhang Jianguo may be involved in a case of taking the blame for someone else's crime. Someone in the provincial department is inquiring about the progress of the education and rectification campaign.

These clues seem to be subtly connected into a single line.

But a crucial link is still missing.

He needs more evidence and more time.

But time may be running out.

If Zhang Jianguo had truly realized this, he wouldn't have sat idly by and waited for his doom.

The upcoming battles will be even more difficult.

But he was ready.

Along his journey, from a temporary worker in the Finance Bureau to the deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, he has experienced quite a lot.

What must be faced will eventually have to be faced.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Fan returned to his desk and continued working.

The sky outside the window had darkened at some point.

It is going to rain.