Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"Captain Tang, I have a question for you. Why are there so many thugs out there?"

Tang Xiaobo was slightly taken aback by An Xiaohai's question. He hadn't expected An Xiaohai to ask such a question, and it was not an easy one to answer.

"Ah Lai, tell me, tell Captain Tang, why did you get involved in this kind of life?"

"My mom ran away with someone, and my dad always beats me, saying that seeing me reminds him of my mom, so I ran away. I don't know anything, and I don't know what else I can do besides hanging around outside."

Wang Bulai said this while eating his rice.

"Oh, I see!" An Xiaohai nodded slightly. "If Captain Tang helps you find your parents and lets them live a good life like before, would you still be a slacker?"

"Of course I won't slack off! Everyone knows you have to study hard to have a good future, damn it!"

"Don't swear in front of Captain Tang!"

An Xiaohai glared at Wang Bulai, then turned to Tang Xiaobo: "Team Leader Tang, you heard it too. If you can help Alai solve this problem, Baoshan District will immediately have one less gangster. How about it? Can Team Leader Tang help with this?"

Tang Xiaobo gritted his teeth, lowered his head and didn't say anything, but the anger on his face had subsided considerably.

"Ali, tell me, why did you choose to get involved in this business?"

"My grandmother is the only one left in my family. She's in poor health and couldn't afford to send me to school, so I have to work to support her!"

"If someone could take care of your grandma and also pay for your education, would you still be a loser?"

"No way! If you can go to school, why would you want to hang out in society? That's stupid!" Ali mumbled, his mouth full of vegetables.

"How's it going, Captain Tang? Ali's problem is much simpler now; we can just say money will solve it. Why don't you help us out?"

Tang Xiaobo remained silent, and An Xiaohai turned to Xie Dan again.

"Boss, you don't need to ask me anymore. I'm in this line of work because I enjoy it!"

"I'm so angry..." An Xiaohai was furious. Xie Dan had actually sabotaged him at this crucial moment.

"You're not doing this because you like it, you're just dissatisfied with the court's verdict, right?!" To An Xiaohai's surprise, Tang Xiaobo spoke up this time.

"Xie Dan, your brother's case has already been investigated and cleared up. It was just a regular traffic accident. I advise you not to dwell on it!"

"I'm not being stubborn, I'm telling the truth! My brother was hit and killed, my mother couldn't bear it and jumped off a building, my father was so worried, I lost everything, and the person who hit him was sentenced to three years!"

I am not satisfied!

I'm out here doing this because I love it. I don't want to be bullied; I'm determined to make something of myself! I'm just waiting for him to come out, and as soon as he does, I'll kill him!

"Xie Dan, don't talk nonsense!" Tang Xiaobo shouted, pointing at Xie Dan's nose.

"Tch~", Xie Dan rolled her eyes and stopped talking, but kept stuffing food into her mouth.

An Xiaohai raised his eyebrows. After all this time, it turns out these two are acquaintances.

"Captain Tang, look at this. You can't even solve these fundamental problems. All you can do is solve cases and arrest people, but what good is that for the victims? What's done is done."

"What exactly do you mean? What are you trying to say? Are you trying to say you can solve all of this?!" Tang Xiaobo slammed his hand on the table, almost spilling the tea in front of An Xiaohai.

"I can't say for sure that I can solve all of this, but I will try."

How will you try?

"I will try to guide them into legitimate professions, give them normal jobs, so they can earn money and support their families. Have you ever heard the saying, 'Only those with constant assets have constant resolve'?"

"What kind of legitimate business can they do? They're just a bunch of thugs. Are you going to lead them to bully businesses and extort protection money?"

"Team Leader Tang, look at this. You don't even believe they can do honest work, so how can you talk about helping them? Even those who have been to prison are encouraged by the government to reform and start anew."

"You, a criminal investigation team leader, are unwilling to believe us. How are we supposed to start over?"

"An Xiaohai, stop beating around the bush and just state your purpose. My patience has its limits!"

"Okay, then I'll get straight to my purpose!"

An Xiaohai took a sip of tea, pursed his lips, and said, "Give us six months, and I will ensure that Alai and his followers have normal jobs, stable incomes, and live normal lives, while also stopping them from bullying others."

In addition, they will cooperate with your work, provide you with information you need, help you deal with people you want to deal with but are hesitant to do so openly, and even help you maintain order in Baoshan District, as long as you trust them.

"Which industry are you planning to target? I'm warning you, don't mess around!" Tang Xiaobo said to An Xiaohai, squinting his eyes.

"Look at what you're saying, how could we do anything reckless?"

I won't target existing industries; I don't value them. I'll take them with me to start a completely new business, or even create a completely new industry.

An Xiaohai slowly poured Tang Xiaobo a cup of tea.

"Tell me, what kind of business is it specifically?"

"cybercafe."

"cybercafe?"

"It's a place specifically for people to access the internet. You can think of it as a video game room, except that you play computer games instead of video games in an internet cafe."

Of course, internet cafes are not just for playing games; you can also access the internet, learn new knowledge, and broaden your horizons.

I plan to open dozens of internet cafes in Baoshan District within a year, and have Alai and his team gather unemployed youths from all over Baoshan District. Anyone who is willing to work in our internet cafes is welcome.

With more people having jobs, there will naturally be fewer people who are idle.

There aren't many people doing this industry now, so Captain Tang doesn't need to worry that we will use violent means to squeeze the living space of ordinary citizens.

This is a win-win business.

"Are you telling the truth?!"

Do I look like I'm lying?

"It doesn't look like it!" Tang Xiaobo shook his head, gritted his teeth and thought for a while before picking up his teacup and taking a sip of tea.

"Then why did you call me here? What do you need me to do?"

"I need Captain Tang to protect them and not let them be bullied."

"Will they be bullied?"

"Of course!" An Xiaohai nodded. "When people find that internet cafes are profitable, some people will target them. I believe Captain Tang knows very well who will bully them."

I'm very busy and live quite far away, so it's impossible for me to take care of you all the time.

So I hope Captain Tang can help keep an eye on them. You don't even need to give them special treatment; I just hope they can receive relatively fair treatment so that when they suffer injustice, they won't be left with nowhere to turn.

"It's that simple."

"Yes, it's that simple! If calling the police would help when something unfair happens, who would bother to grab a knife and fight back?"

Of course, if Captain Tang can't take care of them, then there's nothing we can do. We'll just have to solve the problem in our own way. In that case, Captain Tang, please stand back a bit so you don't get splattered with blood.

Finally, if internet cafes ever require police approval in the future, we urge Captain Tang to intervene and give these unemployed youths a job opportunity.

Tang Xiaobo gritted his teeth and stared at An Xiaohai for a long time before finally nodding: "If what you said is true, even if you don't come to me, I'll still be watching them!"

"Then I'll thank Captain Tang on behalf of these young men!" An Xiaohai said with a smile, raising his teacup. Tang Xiaobo hesitated for a moment, then raised his teacup and gently clinked it against An Xiaohai's.

"No need to thank me, as long as you abide by the law!"

"Obeying the law is a given. Only by obeying the law can a business last. Did you all hear me?!"

"We heard you, boss!" Wang Bulai and Ali nodded repeatedly, but Xie Dan didn't seem to care. He only nodded after An Xiaohai patted him on the head.

Tang Xiaobo raised an eyebrow; clearly, he was surprised by the way An Xiaohai and Xie Dan communicated, and by Xie Dan's reaction.

"Alright, Captain Tang, now that we've laid it all out, I really have nothing else to say. If you're worried about your family, please go home first. Once our business is up and running, you're welcome to invest."

"You want to bribe me?" Tang Xiaobo said, his eyes narrowed. You could tell that there was no longer any anger in his voice.

"It's not about bribery. Doing business always requires capital, especially for internet cafes which need to purchase a lot of computers, so the initial investment is quite large."

With more capital, expansion is faster, and the speed of market penetration can also increase. I said I welcomed Captain Tang to invest, but I didn't say I was going to give him shares or money.

"Hmph!" Tang Xiaobo snorted coldly, "I hope you keep your word. My family has already finished eating, and I'm not in a hurry to go back. Waiter, two bowls of rice, please!" Tang Xiaobo shouted.

"We want some too! We want six bowls of rice!" Ali shouted decisively.

A short while later, the waiter brought in a pot of rice, and everyone at the table started eating with their heads down. Only An Xiaohai didn't eat any rice, and he rarely even picked up any dishes, but he kept drinking tea.