Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

Gao Xiaosheng hadn't finished his cigarette when Li Shuguo rushed in.

"Brother Sheng, the guards said that the section chief and his men brought the man back a few minutes ago, and it seems they headed straight for the office building."

"Huh?" Gao Xiaosheng was immediately taken aback.

Why bring them to the working group without even conducting a review? That's not in accordance with the rules.

Most importantly, he hasn't even gotten a chance to win a prize yet.

"Old Li, you stay here and watch over Jia Dongxu, I'm going to go check on him."

Gao Xiaosheng gave a brief explanation, then turned and ran out of the detention room.

Although it's not good to hit someone in front of the work group leaders, what if there are a few troublemakers among these young workers? At least we can salvage some of the losses.

Entering the drab four-story building, Gao Xiaosheng grabbed a staff member at random and asked what was going on. He learned that Section Chief Zhou was in the conference room on the third floor, and rushed up the stairs in a few strides.

As soon as I reached the third floor, I saw a dozen or so armed officers walking over, laughing and joking.

"Gao Xiaosheng, what brings you here? The section chief said we should go and call you, this saves us the trouble."

"I heard you guys were back, so I came to see what's going on," Gao Xiaosheng replied casually, nodded to everyone, and walked straight into the conference room.

"Come here, Xiao Gao." Zhou Jiasheng beckoned to Gao Xiaosheng.

"Let me introduce you. This is Wei Bai, the team leader of the working group; this is Yang Siyuan, the deputy team leader in charge of workshop production; and this is Shi Hongyun, the deputy team leader in charge of logistics."

"This is from the labor union... or the women's federation..."

Gao Xiaosheng followed Zhou Jiasheng like a puppet, saluting and shaking hands with each leader.

After circling around, I finally had time to look at the eighteen "prey" standing neatly against the wall.

"When we solved the last theft case, Section Chief Zhou said that a highly skilled officer had joined the security department. Now it seems that Section Chief Zhou was being too conservative."

Team leader Wei Bai smiled kindly at Gao Xiaosheng and praised him in front of everyone.

"Yes, Officer Gao has only been on the job for less than a month, and he has already solved two cases. With this level of skill, he could easily handle things on his own in the East Fourth District Public Security Bureau," Shi Hongyun chimed in.

Yang Siyuan, the deputy team leader whom Gao Xiaosheng was familiar with, who would later become the director of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, remained silent and only nodded.

He was in charge of the factory's production work, and also had to manage the workshop workers.

Today, these eighteen people—oh no, we also have to include Jia Dongxu, who's being held in the detention room—are all from the workshop, making it a truly embarrassing situation for him.

"Section Chief Zhou, this case was solved by your Security Section. We shouldn't bother two people with the same matter. You should also be in charge of the interrogation."

After praising Gao Xiaosheng, Wei Bai turned to look at Zhou Jiasheng.

"Team Leader Wei, since we've already brought everyone here, there's no need to take them back to the detention room. I'll just ask them here, and there's no need to take a statement. The team leader can just be a witness."

Hearing Team Leader Wei Bai's words, Gao Xiaosheng thought there was still a chance to take advantage of the situation, but Zhou Jiasheng poured cold water on him, saying that he would actually interrogate him in the conference room.

Can't we do fewer of these rule-breaking things?

Gao Xiaosheng sat in his chair, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He kept shifting his position, mentally summoning five divine interventions, hoping that the leaders of the work group would understand the bigger picture and quickly refuse, so that he could take the person back to the security department.

As a result, all of them nodded silently, and not one of them objected.

Gao Xiaosheng hated him so much that his teeth itched with rage.

The interrogation went very smoothly.

The conference table was covered with gambling paraphernalia, and these people were caught red-handed by the security department. They had no way to deny it and all confessed readily.

Basically, what Jia Dongxu said is true: they treated the abandoned courtyard as their own home, inviting friends over to gamble and have some fun.

There is absolutely no such thing as gambling or taking a cut.

Moreover, according to them, if the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau hadn't recently issued a notice banning gambling, and if the street offices and neighborhood committees hadn't also strengthened their anti-gambling publicity efforts, they wouldn't have had any intention of asking Jia Dongxu to spread rumors.

"Boss, we were just having some fun among friends, it doesn't really count as gambling, right?"

One of the bolder workers spoke up and asked.

"Um... Section Chief Zhou, what's your security department's opinion?"

Team leader Wei Bai casually handed Zhou Jiasheng a cigarette.

"Team Leader Wei, the notice is very clear: this crackdown on gambling is mainly about consolidating the results, shutting down all underground casinos, and severely punishing the ringleaders."

"Strictly speaking, these workers don't run casinos; they're just using abandoned yards for gambling."

"It didn't attract gamblers from the community; it was all people I'd known for years, coworkers and comrades who used to play together all the time."

"As for the ringleaders who profit from gambling, they do not exist."

"There's no commission, no organizer; it's a loosely organized, spontaneously formed gambling operation."

"In terms of its nature, it is more serious than the small-scale gambling that is played for family entertainment during holidays, after all, there are more people involved, and Jia Dongxu was assigned to be the lookout."

"According to the document, recreational gambling should be mainly addressed through publicity and education. I suggest that the working group give them serious criticism and education, and that the workshop directors strengthen supervision and management."

Gao Xiaosheng's eyes turned red as he listened.

Well, the head of the security department kneels so smoothly.

Yes, he admitted that the workers' behavior was indeed inconsistent with the nature of operating a casino, but they couldn't be let off so easily.

If all else fails, at least take him back to the detention room to write a self-criticism; that would at least give him a chance to abuse his power for personal gain.

"Hmm..." Team Leader Wei Bai nodded noncommittally, then asked, "Section Chief Zhou, isn't their hiring of Jia Dongxu as a lookout similar to the activities of underground casinos?"

"Team Leader Wei, I think the nature of the matter is completely different," Zhou Jiasheng retorted.

"The money they gave Jia Dongxu was only enough to buy half a cigarette, and in a month, it wouldn't even buy two pounds of pork."

"It's less like employment and more like mutual help among coworkers."

"After all, if I win money playing cards at home, I'll take some out to buy candy for the kids."

Gao Xiaosheng grimaced upon hearing this.

Is this even human language? What do you mean by mutual help? And buying candy? How old is that pretty boy Jia Dongxu? Can he be compared to a child?

"Good!" Wei Bai nodded emphatically, then looked at the people around him. "Does anyone have any objections to the way Section Chief Zhou was dealt with?"

Yang Siyuan, Shi Hongyun, and others shook their heads.

This punishment is already as lenient as it gets, so why would anyone object? Are you suggesting we just pretend nothing happened and let them go back to work?

Gao Xiaosheng didn't hear a word of the polite words everyone said afterward. He was completely dejected, as if he had lost a fortune.

After working hard for several days, I ended up empty-handed. I should have slapped Jia Dongxu a few times earlier; even just earning a minimum would have been fine.

"Xiao Gao, what are you thinking about? Let's go."

Gao Xiaosheng was filled with remorse when he felt a heavy pat on the shoulder. He looked up and saw it was that good-for-nothing Section Chief Zhou.

"Section Chief, I...you..."

"Let's talk outside," Zhou Jiasheng said in a low voice, pulling Gao Xiaosheng's arm as they walked out of the conference room.