Era: Starting from the local police station

Time flew by, and it was already past nine o'clock at night.

The conference room of Taotiao Hutong Police Station was brightly lit.

After the meal, everyone gathered together.

Jiang Zhenghua stood in front of three large blackboards, which were covered with densely written words.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then looked at everyone: "This is the information we gathered about the deceased from our trip to Houjia Village today, as well as the clues we obtained from interviewing his neighbors. Now, the deceased's timeline is missing two important points: one is where he was between moving to the city in 1955 and moving into the tenement; the other is the date when Diao Cuihua's life improved."

Jin Hong continued, "I contacted Cheng Mingli of Hongxing Machinery Factory. He found out that Hou San first worked at the factory at the end of 1955, but he only worked for a few days, helping with loading, and received limited compensation."

Chen Shan said, "So, Diao Cuihua lied?"

"That's possible, but it can't be ruled out that Hou San did something else and obtained a large amount of supplies."

After Jiang Zhenghua finished speaking, he looked at Jin Hong: "Deputy Director Jin, did Section Chief Cheng say who recommended him?"

Jin Hong shook his head: "It's very difficult to find."

Jiang Zhenghua pondered for a moment and said, "Since we can't verify or know how he got involved with Hu Decai, I think we should implement the plan tomorrow morning and invite Hu Decai to the station."

Yu Yong interjected, "The comrade monitoring him reported that he showed no abnormalities and went straight home after get off work."

He paused briefly: "Your place is quite conspicuous now. Let's go, I'll interrogate you then."

Zhang Chongguang said, "I asked Hu Gui, and the time for Hu Tianshun's fight hasn't been set yet."

Jiang Zhenghua said, "Then we should have the victim report the case."

Yu Yong asked Zhang Chongguang, "Are there any people around here who have a grudge against him?"

Zhang Chongguang said, "There was one who got into a fight with a kid from Yu'er Hutong not long ago, and it seems he broke his arm."

Yu Yong laughed and said, "That's even better. Give me the information, and I'll go find the person."

Jiang Zhenghua looked at Lin Song, the instructor of Yu'er Hutong Police Station: "Instructor Lin, is there any news about the cart?"

After pondering for a while, Lin Song said, "I asked around, and there was indeed a rumor circulating among the 'boarders' that someone had rented a boardwalk at a high price, but we haven't found out who it is yet. I estimate we'll have accurate information by noon tomorrow."

Jiang Zhenghua was somewhat dissatisfied, thinking that the Yu'er Hutong Police Station's execution was rather poor: "When you were investigating, you also inquired about someone else. The person who bought Hou San's cart was strong, a tall man over 1.7 meters, and spoke with a Shandong accent."

Lin Song wrote in his notebook: "I will investigate."

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Qin Weijun, is the patrol going as usual today?"

Qin Weijun replied, "The patrol was normal, but Qi Ronggen kept asking about the case, so I told him what I could."

Zhang Chongguang asked, "How many people were there with them?"

"Including Qi Ronggen, it's a group of four."

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Is there anyone surnamed Hu? This person has a black mole on his neck in this spot."

Looking at the location Jiang Zhenghua was gesturing to, Qin Weijun shook his head: "None of these four people have the surname Hu, and I didn't notice their necks either."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "You will continue to lead them on patrol tomorrow. Be sure to pay attention to your own safety. Get a pistol from the armory and carry it with you at all times, just in case."

Qin Weijun nodded.

Jiang Zhenghua looked at the blackboard and pointed with chalk at the truck driver's position: "How did you manage to bring this person back so quietly?"

Jin Hong continued, "When I contacted Cheng Mingli, I mentioned it briefly. He said he wasn't very familiar with the team leader and was afraid of alerting him, so he couldn't say it directly. He could only keep an eye on when the vehicles would set off."

"Then we can only wait for an opportunity."

After Jiang Zhenghua finished speaking, he seemed to remember something and looked at Zhang Chongguang: "Instructor, when you were visiting, did you ask Ni Yongfu how Hou San managed to rent their house?"

Zhang Chongguang and Geng Jianwu exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

Zhang Chongguang said, "Renting a house is just a matter of asking around or looking at posted notices, isn't it?"

Jiang Zhenghua explained, "I want to use this to see if I can determine the scope of his previous activities."

Geng Jianwu replied, "I'll go again tomorrow morning and ask more questions."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "Okay."

Jin Hong interjected, "Speaking of the scope of activities, shouldn't each of these bosses have their own territory?"

Geng Jianwu immediately chimed in, "Oh dear, how could we forget that? Back in 1955, things weren't like they are now, with cooperatives managing everything. There weren't any cooperatives back then; it was all about the rules that the people themselves established. If an outsider wanted to get into the business, there were a lot of rules to follow."

Jiang Zhenghua immediately asked, "What's the explanation for this?"

Geng Jianwu stood up and said, "These old men all have their own territories. They don't divide territories by large land plots, but by specific locations and streets. Back then, seniority was the rule."

Liu Baojia asked, "Uncle Geng, does that trade require seniority?"

"Absolutely. Places with high foot traffic, like train stations, vegetable markets, bus stations, or bathhouses, are all occupied by veteran drivers. Newcomers don't even have the right to get close. Anyone who tries to take over someone else's territory will at least be yelled at and driven away by the veteran drivers, or have their tricycle overturned. At worst, they'll be physically shoved. If a newcomer is defiant, they'll be boycotted by all the drivers in the area, and they'll never be able to get any fares in that area again."

Geng Jianwu paused slightly, then said, "The old drivers will tell the neighbors that the man doesn't follow the rules. People in Beijing dislike people who don't follow the rules the most, so no one will ride in the rickshaw of a newcomer from another area."

"Newcomers had to 'pay their respects' to established drivers. Back then, if a newcomer wanted to pick up passengers in a certain area, they had to first 'put on a good word' with the experienced drivers in that area. But how could they get these drivers to cooperate?"

As he spoke, Geng Jianwu glanced at everyone.

Before anyone could answer, he continued, "Either you work for the old rickshaw pullers for free for ten days or half a month as an 'apprenticeship fee,' or you give 30% of the fares to the boss after you get a fare. You also have to treat the old rickshaw pullers in your area to a pot of tea and a pack of cigarettes at a roadside teahouse. And they have to be good cigarettes, like Daqianmen or Hademen. Only then are you considered to have officially entered the circle. Anyone who goes out of town to pick up fares without paying respects will not only be ignored by everyone in the industry, but will also be ostracized and driven out of business."

Liu Baojia scratched his head and said, "So, since Hou San is doing the work of the old man, he must have his own area and has even paid his respects to the boss?"

Geng Jianwu nodded: "That's right. As long as we ask around about the foreman at the time, we can definitely find out which area he was working in, and we might even be able to find his place of residence."

Hearing this, Jiang Zhenghua thought for a moment and said, "Coach Lin, tomorrow you take Chen Shan and Geng Jianwu to inquire about it. As for Ni Yongfu's side... Chen Junsheng, you go and take a look."

The group nodded in unison.

Jiang Zhenghua looked at Yu Yong: "Chief Yu, do you have the case file for Wang Jiansheng's incident?"

Yu Yong shook his head: "No, the machinery factory is directly connected with the Dongsi Branch Bureau, so only the branch bureau has the files now."

In 1949, after the liberation of Beijing, the city was divided into seven sub-bureaus: the Inner Seven, the Outer Five, and the Suburban Eight.

The area now encompassed by Dongcheng District was divided between the First District (the predecessor of Dongdan District) and the Third District (the predecessor of Dongsi District) Public Security Bureaus.

On June 20, 1952, the First District was renamed Dongdan District, and the Third District was renamed Dongsi District. Correspondingly, the Dongdan Branch and Dongsi Branch of the Sijiu City Public Security Bureau were established.

On May 3, 1958, Dongdan District and Dongsi District were merged into Dongcheng District, and Dongdan Branch Bureau and Dongsi Branch Bureau were simultaneously merged into Dongcheng Branch Bureau of Sijiucheng Public Security Bureau.

Jin Hong nodded: "I'll go look for it tomorrow morning and bring it over on the way."

Jiang Zhenghua looked at everyone: "Does anyone else have anything else to say?"

Jin Hong stood up and said, "The five of you stay here. The rest of you can go back and rest."