Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

In the director's office, the old-fashioned cast iron stove was glowing red, and the tin kettle on it was hissing and spewing white steam.

Zhang Guodong pulled out the half-bottle of "Beidacang" from the bottom of the filing cabinet. The liquor was a bit cloudy. He poured it into the two chipped enamel mugs, which emitted a pungent smell of alcohol.

"There's not much good food, but this wine is strong!"

Without further ado, Zhang Guodong picked up the jar and raised it towards Zhao Shanhe:

"Here we go! Let's go!"

After saying that, he tilted his head back, downed most of the vat of strong liquor in one gulp without even flinching.

"ha--!"

Zhang Guodong put down the jar, exhaling a breath of fiery liquor, and his dark red face instantly glowed red.

Zhao Shanhe looked at the still-bubbling liquor, and without saying a word, picked up the jar and tilted his head back.

"Gulp."

Not a drop of wine was left.

Zhao Shanhe turned the jar upside down to expose it to the sky, his expression unchanged.

"Good! What a hero!!"

Zhang Guodong slapped his thigh suddenly, his eyes full of admiration.

He grabbed a handful of peanuts, crunching them loudly, and leaned forward, his tiger-like eyes fixed on Zhao Shanhe as if trying to see a flower bloom on his face.

"Shanhe, isn't that strange?"

"That Wang Laosan, I really can't do anything with him. That old rascal is like an eel smeared with lard, so slippery you can't get a hold of him!"

As Zhang Guodong spoke, he gestured to indicate the name:

"Over the past few years, I've led a team to intercept him several times. But every time, we'd barely see a ghost as soon as the car entered the ditch. Those bastards disappear into those deep mountains and forests; it's like finding a needle in a haystack. I'm in the open, and they're in the shadows. It makes me so angry I could grind my teeth!"

"I'm truly baffled; it must be some kind of supernatural phenomenon!"

Zhang Guodong slammed his hand on the table, his face filled with disbelief:

"Why did these slippery eels become so docile once they were in your hands? Why are they all so obedient, like grandsons, and you brought them back intact?"

"Did you bewitch them? Tell me about it!"

Zhao Shanhe fiddled with the enamel mug in his hand, and couldn't help but laugh when he heard the bureau chief's thick local accent.

He pointed to the ceiling, his expression one of utter honesty, his tone remarkably sincere:

"Director Zhang, it's really not because I have any special skills."

"To be honest, when they intercepted my goods, I didn't intend to alert the authorities. I originally planned to take a dozen or so strong young men, grab our weapons, and fight them to get the goods back."

"And guess what happened?"

Zhao Shanhe shrugged and said vividly:

"Our village Party Secretary, Wang Changgui, is obsessed with officialdom. When he heard that this batch of goods was 'foreign exchange earning materials' to be sent to the city, he was so scared that his legs went weak. He was afraid that something would happen on the way and he would be held responsible, so he insisted on giving me the militia platoon from the brigade. More than twenty Type 56 semi-automatic rifles were all hidden in the truck bed."

"When Wang Laosan and his gang rushed up, they were so arrogant, thinking they could bully the weak. But when I lifted that tarpaulin—whoa!"

"More than twenty dark gun barrels were pressed directly against their foreheads!"

"You didn't see that scene. Those hooligans who usually act like they own the place were all soaked in sweat on the spot. That's what you call 'a mouse acting as a cat's escort—risking their life for money.' They were just walking into the line of fire."

"Pfft—Hahahaha!!"

Zhang Guodong nearly spat out his drink, then burst into a deafening burst of maniacal laughter, slapping his thigh, tears welling in his eyes from laughing:

"Good! What a fine example of a mouse acting as a cat's escort!"

"That's what they call 'the wicked get their just desserts'! Serves them right! They absolutely deserve it!"

After the laughter subsided, the office fell silent.

Only the crackling sound of the fire remained.

Zhang Guodong filled the two chipped enamel mugs with wine, took a sip himself, and then grabbed a peanut and threw it into his mouth.

After a few drinks, they started talking non-stop.

"Oh, my dear country, it was exhilarating, but you have no idea how difficult it was to keep this job."

Zhang Guodong sighed, spread his calloused hands on the table, and pointed to the pitch-black night outside the window:

"The common people all criticize us police officers for being lazy and talk behind our backs, but we also have our own grievances."

"In the past two years, there have been too many unemployed people in society. A large number of educated youth have returned to the city, and there are also those who failed the college entrance examination after graduating from junior high school and are now unemployed at home. Without jobs, without money, but with plenty of energy, it is easy for them to cause trouble."

"Just last week."

Zhang Guodong held up one finger, looking utterly helpless:

"It happened at the Hongxing Inline Skating Rink in the county. Two young men, only seventeen or eighteen years old, glared at each other while skating. One of them asked, 'What are you looking at?' and the other replied, 'What's it to you?'"

"For such a trivial matter! They even used a knife!"

He was stabbed three times on the spot! He's still in the hospital!

Zhang Guodong was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table:

"What kind of mess is this? We've never been this violent before! These greenhorns, they really dare to lay a hand on us!"

Zhao Shanhe silently lit another cigarette for the bureau chief.

He remembered the case, which seemed to have been triggered by the theft of a fashionable "officer's hat" at the time. In those days, a hat could really be fatal.

"That's nothing."

Zhang Guodong took a deep drag on his cigarette, his tone becoming even more somber:

"The hardest part is catching people."

"Like that group from Heixiazigou, they disappear into that area and nobody can find them. And there are even more extreme cases. Some people who have committed crimes don't even go home; they just hitch a ride on a train and run away to other places."

"Just find some shady connections, spend some money to buy a fake letter of introduction, or even get a fake household registration and change your name, and you'll be completely untraceable."

"Our current methods are too outdated. We have no internet, no joint investigation capabilities, we rely entirely on our own two feet and our mouths. It's tough..."

At this point, Zhang Guodong looked at Zhao Shanhe, his eyes filled with gratitude:

"So, Shanhe, I really have to thank you. Wang Laosan and his gang are a major headache for our bureau. If you hadn't rounded them up and brought them here, who knows how many more passing drivers would have been harmed."

Zhao Shanhe simply smiled modestly and took a sip of his wine:

"Director Zhang, you're too kind. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Besides, good will always prevail over evil, and they'll be brought down by you sooner or later."

"Haha! I appreciate your kind words!"

Zhang Guodong was pleased by these words, and his old detective confidence returned.

He unbuttoned two buttons on his coat and leaned back in his chair:

"Anyway, Wang Laosan is in now. Once he's in my cage, he's not getting out."

Zhao Shanhe put down his cup, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up to remind him:

"Director Zhang, the person has been arrested, but this matter is probably not over yet."

"Oh?" Zhang Guodong raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Zhao Shanhe's tone was calm, yet earnest:

"I'm a native of the countryside, and I know the character of these people."

"Wang Laosan has been operating in Heixiazigou for so many years, relying on the clan power of 'Xiaowangzhuang'. In the countryside, clans are known for sticking together. If you beat up the young ones, the old ones will come; if you catch one, the whole family will come."

"With all this commotion tonight, I'm afraid that once those people in their village get wind of it, they won't let it go and might come to the station to cause trouble."

"make trouble?"

Zhang Guodong's eyebrows shot up, revealing the anger that followed provocation:

"Charging into government offices? They wouldn't dare! That's outrageous!"

However, being a veteran criminal investigator, Zhang Guodong did not overestimate his abilities.

He knew all too well what kind of people these legal illiterates would become when they went crazy.

"But you're right to remind me."

Zhang Guodong's face darkened, and he reached for the phone on the table:

"It's better to be safe than sorry. I'll call the armed forces department right away..."

however.

His hand had just touched the telephone receiver.

"boom--!!!"

A loud bang, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, shook the office windows, making them vibrate.

The sound was coming from downstairs, right at the front door!

Followed by.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—!"

That was the noise of dozens of tractors revving their engines at the same time; it was a roar powerful enough to tear the night sky apart.

"Release them!!!"

"Release Third Master!!"

"The police have killed someone!!"

The sound wasn't just a few people shouting; it was the roar of hundreds of people gathered together, mixed with the clanging of shovels smashing against the large iron gate, instantly shattering the tranquility of the police station compound.

Zhang Guodong's hand froze.

He suddenly stood up, rushed to the window, pushed it open, and looked down.

At the entrance of the Public Security Bureau, a dense crowd of people could be seen. Countless torches illuminated the entrance in a fiery red glow, making it look like a fire dragon encircling the Public Security Bureau.

At the very front, someone was even carrying an unpainted black coffin, frantically ramming it against the main entrance!

"These...these lunatics..."

Zhang Guodong's hands were trembling, from anger and shock.

He expected these people to come, but he didn't expect them to come so quickly and so crazy!

This isn't a disturbance; these are clearly bandits coming to attack the county town!