Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1105 The Economy of Fines

Huang Jianfa shook his head and said, "This is the boss. The woman in the shop just now is her aunt. It's already generous of her not to beat you up, buddy. You know your place, right?"

On New Year's Eve, the provincial leader came over for a visit. He's a close friend of our division commander, despite the age difference. The Public Security Bureau is practically our backyard, you know? He invests hundreds of millions of yuan every time he makes a move. You guys are incredibly reckless.

"Hurry up, stop talking nonsense, tell me, where is your fourth brother? Bring him back quickly and get this over with, then you can get away with it."

Yang Zhi said, "Fine, don't tell me then. Let's take it back first. I really don't believe you're that tough."

The man with the buzz cut said, "Bro, I told you! If I told you, I'm finished! Won't people kill me?"

Huang Jianfa said, "Do you look down on me or on Captain Qin? Do you think he still has a chance to kill you? Do you think Captain Qin was joking when he said he would protect you for two years? I've noticed that you're a bit dim-witted, no wonder you were able to do something like this today."

The man with the parted hair who had been beaten said, "Brother, why don't we just tell him? We can't take it anymore."

The man with the buzz cut licked his lips: "Then...then...we can't say it was us who said it, can we?"

Huang Jianfa said, "Are you going to talk or not? If you're going to talk, then talk it out; if you're not going to talk, then talk it out too. I'll watch the show with you!"

The man with the buzz cut said, "Fourth Brother is here, on South Second Road. There's a restaurant, a dance hall, a hair salon, and a tobacco and liquor store."

Huang Jianfa asked, "How many people are there over there? What have they done?"

The man with the buzz cut said, "I haven't done anything big, just sold cigarettes and alcohol to small shops, and sometimes the hair salon would charge exorbitant prices. Does having prostitutes at the dance hall count?"

Huang Jianfa asked, "You've done plenty of looting and vandalism, haven't you? Have you killed anyone?"

The man with the buzz cut shook his head: "No, no, really no, how could that be? At most, I'd get a beating, minor injuries to my arms and legs."

Huang Jianfa asked, "Were any weapons used?"

The man with the buzz cut said, "When you fight, you're bound to use weapons. Even if you don't, someone else will. You can't just stand by and watch yourself get hurt, can you?"

Huang Jianfa said, "Okay, you two," he pointed to another man with a split haircut, "Here, get them paper and pens to write their memoirs. You take us over there." He pointed to the one who had been beaten by Director Qin.

"You two, let me tell you, write carefully, understand? You've turned against us now, the more detailed your writing, the better for you both, get it? If anything major happens, it'll count as a meritorious service. Separate them." Huang Jianfa instructed, then led Yang Zhi out.

"Old Wang, call a few more men over here, and bring some more handcuffs," Huang Jianfa shouted at the gate. "I reckon there are quite a few people over there."

Wang Zhili said, "You've confessed? Then just go to the station and get it; it's on the way."

Two large Jiefang trucks, with about twenty soldiers climbing into the truck beds, first went to the police station to get handcuffs, then called three policemen and several community security guards, and went to South Second Road.

"Which room does he usually stay in?" Huang Jianfa asked, splitting his head.

They checked the time separately: "He should be at the tobacco shop at this hour; the dance hall isn't open yet. He usually keeps watch over these two shops."

……

Xiao Wei chatted with his stepmother for a while, and seeing that there was no real loss, he offered a few words of comfort.

After Aunt Ji recovered, she praised Shan Hongjuan highly: "That girl, she's so clever, she's so quick and decisive. Today, we all owe it to her; I was completely stunned."

Xiao Wei smiled and said, "Okay, good job, keep up the good work."

Chen Hui walked in: "All done? No damage, right?"

Xiao Wei said, "No, I was just startled. I never expected that someone would have designs on us."

Chen Hui said, "Everyone's chasing money these days. People in society are obsessed with money. Now, there are local bullies in the major markets and wholesale markets, and even meat and vegetable vendors have their own wards. We need to be careful in our free market, or we might end up like them too."

Xiao Wei said, "What are you doing there, hogging him?"

Chen Hui said, "If you're selling water or food, and you have to help him sell clothes, you'll have to sell those kinds of things. I heard that there are people on Taiyuan Street who directly demand money, protection money."

Shan Hongjuan said, "Aren't there vendors selling water and food everywhere?"

Chen Hui shook his head: "A bottle of water costs five yuan, and a meal costs ten or twenty yuan. You have to buy these things even if you don't eat or drink them."

The old woman exclaimed, "My goodness, isn't this robbery? And nobody's doing anything about it?"

Chen Hui said, "How can we manage it? If you go there, he'll leave; if you leave, he'll come back. Do you think the vendors dare to offend them? We can't have a policeman there every day. Besides, having a policeman there is useless. I sell at this price; I didn't force him to buy. You can say whatever you want. That's just how the world is."

Xiao Wei said, "Tell the security department to keep an eye on things. Arrest them one by one. We can't control other places, but we can't do that in our shopping mall."

Chen Hui said, "Haven't you heard people say that a dish costs eighty yuan and a haircut costs one hundred yuan? These days, nothing is surprising. The area around the train station is full of honey traps, and people fall for them every day."

Shan Hongjuan asked, "Brother, what's a honey trap? How does it work?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's a group of people who are cheating each other. I knew that all the food stalls selling boxed lunches near Wu'ai had to pay protection money and they often fought over territory. I really didn't know it was like this in Ziyou Shopping Mall. It's really a bit chaotic now."

Chen Hui said, "Nobody cares. The system has changed now; don't you know civil servants now take exams?"

Xiao Wei said, "I know, but what does it have to do with this?"

Chen Hui said, "In the past, local governments were rich while the central government was poor, and they relied entirely on issuing treasury bonds to get things done. Didn't we have a tax reform last year? Now the central government is rich while local governments are poor. Only civil servants within the established staffing system and a small number of public institutions receive government funding, and the rest are borne by the local governments themselves."

"Now that the big cut has been taken, the local governments have to do their jobs, right? Where will the money come from? Many units don't even have funding but still have quotas to meet. Isn't that amazing? It's like running a shop; we have to be responsible for our own profits and losses and still have to meet quotas."

Xiao Wei's eyes widened: "A fine?"

Chen Hui nodded: "We have now gloriously entered the era of fine-based finance. Can't you see the red eyebands all over the streets? Transportation, taxation, urban construction, road administration, sanitation, fire protection, public security, all rely on fines to operate."

If you don't complete your quota, you won't get paid. Even the street sweepers have gone out to take on other areas.

Xiao Wei said, "So you mean everyone's focused on completing the tasks, and nobody's taking care of the important stuff?"

Chen Hui said, "We certainly won't care about things that don't pay. There are already few positions available, and some units don't even have any. How are we supposed to survive?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let's have the staff below keep an eye on things and check everything carefully, so we don't end up getting fined someday."

Chen Hui said, "Fire safety in shopping malls is a problem, as is the Liwen area, which is the most prone to problems, and then there are restaurants."

Xiao Wei suggested, "How about we gather the fine standards from each department and issue an internal document about it?"

Chen Hui shook his head: "It's not very useful. Like a restaurant kitchen, unless you don't use it, there will be problems if you do."

(End of this chapter)