Era: Starting from the local police station

We arrived at the conference room.

Jin Hong, Qiao Fuping, Yu Yong, Zhang Chongguang, and Lin Song were discussing something.

Seeing him come in, Jin Hong asked, "Did Hu Decai confess?"

Jiang Zhenghua handed over the transcript with both hands: "You've confessed to the big issues, but you're still not very honest. You've withheld some key information, so we'll have to slowly extract it like squeezing toothpaste."

Jin Hong quickly glanced through the transcript and placed it on the table: "He doesn't know what's in the bag either?"

Yu Yong took the transcript and began to read it.

Jiang Zhenghua said, "I don't think he lied about this. This group was actually quite well-organized, and everyone had their own responsibilities. If it weren't for the villagers from Houjia Village being reluctant to part with the sacks during loading and trying to pocket them, which exposed the problem and aroused Hou Laicai's suspicion, this matter might not have come to light. Based on the previous testimonies from the villagers of Houjia Village, the amount of stuff this group hauled out wasn't very large. If it were really scrap metal, it would be impossible to generate such a large profit, and Hu Decai wouldn't have received so much of the dividends."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Jiang Zhenghua looked at Lin Song: "Instructor Lin, have you found the person who rented the cart?"

Lin Song nodded: "We visited many old cart owners and finally found Hou Laicai's former residence. We also learned that a few days ago, someone lost a cart, which caused a lot of discussion in the circle."

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Did you make any unexpected discoveries during your investigation?"

Lin Song nodded emphatically: "We found the person who lost the car. Although he seemed very indignant and annoyed, his expression actually made him seem somewhat happy. I also smelled lingering braised meat and alcohol in his room. At first, I thought he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol, but we learned from his neighbor that he rarely eats braised meat, but this time he bought some braised dishes to go with his drinks, which is a bit unusual. So we asked Chen Shan to keep an eye on things for a while to see if he can find anything wrong."

Jin Hong chimed in, "I agree with Instructor Lin's suspicion. It's highly unusual that the man lost such important tools, didn't call the police, and even started drinking. It's probably not that he actually lost the cart; the cart loss was just a smokescreen. He's probably just using this as an excuse to make a quick buck and is secretly celebrating."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "By the way, did you find his previous residence? Did he have any contact with the landlord?"

Lin Song nodded: "Yes, after inquiring, we learned that the time he moved in, the time he entered the city, and the time he moved into the courtyard house all match up perfectly. We also learned that another person, also known as the 'Boss,' once lived in the courtyard."

Jiang Zhenghua said, "Is it Hu Decai? He just confessed."

Lin Song nodded.

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Did you inquire why Hou Laicai moved away?"

Lin Song said, "According to the landlord, Hou Laicai claimed that there were better developments available and that it was inconvenient to live here."

Jin Hong quickly asked, "Are you sure?"

Lin Song quickly pulled out a notebook, flipped through a few pages: "That's right, that's exactly what I wrote down. What's wrong?"

Jiang Zhenghua explained, "What Hu Decai just said was that the landlord's son was being transferred back to work in Beijing, and the house was no longer available for rent, which is why we had to move."

Qiao Fuping frowned and said, "This shouldn't be a big deal, so why would someone lie?"

Everyone frowned and fell into deep thought.

Jiang Zhenghua thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out: "Let's leave it for now. We'll have someone come and investigate again tomorrow, and everything will be clear then."

He looked at Yu Yong: "Have Meng Yuan and the others returned?"

Yu Yong nodded: "I just got back and I'm eating in the kitchen."

Jin Hong interjected, "While you were interrogating them, a few of us discussed it. We have limited interrogation rooms here, so what do you think about bringing the people we brought back from the crime scene to your station for processing?"

Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "I have no objection. Have you figured out the location?"

Zhang Chongguang said, "No problem. The kid I found is a clever fellow. He's already gotten to know everyone there, and I'm sure Brother Leopard will be there tonight."

Jin Hong raised his wrist to check the time: "It's a little past nine now. That secret operation opens at ten, so to be on the safe side, we'll make our move at eleven-thirty."

The crowd responded, "Yes."

Jin Hong ordered, "Zhang Chongguang, take your men and do a good job of reconnaissance."

Zhang Chongguang straightened his back: "Yes."

Not long after Zhang Chongguang left, a voice came from outside the door: "Report."

"Come in."

The office door was pushed open, and Meng Yuan strode in, standing at attention and saluting.

Jin Hong asked, "What can we find out?"

Meng Yuan reported: "During our visit to Tianfu Village, we learned that Hu Decai is the youngest of four brothers. After marrying Tan Xiu and becoming a worker, he became the pride of his family and the envy of the entire village."

"What about Diao Cuihua?"

"Diao Cuihua was born in the latter half of 1929. She was the third of five sisters: an older sister, an older brother, a younger brother, and a younger sister. In 1943, in order to find a wife for their eldest son, Diao Cuihua's parents arranged for her older sister to marry a mentally challenged man from a neighboring village; while the man's younger sister married his older brother. It was an exchange marriage."

Meng Yuan paused for a moment: "Perhaps having witnessed the unhappiness of her elder sister's marriage, the clever Diao Cuihua, in early 1944, heard that someone in the city was recruiting maids, and she asked someone to register her."

"You mean, Diao Cuihua went to the city a long time ago?"

Meng Yuan nodded: "Yes, Deputy Director Jiang. Back then, she became a maid in a wealthy family because of her cleverness and good looks. But at the beginning of 1946, that family moved overseas to escape the war, and she was also laid off and returned to the countryside. Not long after returning home, she met Hu Decai. At the end of the year, Diao Cuihua's parents began to arrange a marriage for their fifteen-year-old son, but the dowry they asked for would only be worth three yuan now, which was an astronomical sum for the countryside in 1946."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So they married Diao Cuihua off to the city in exchange for this dowry?"

Meng Yuan nodded emphatically: "That's right. According to her neighbors, Diao Cuihua went to the city the next day, and soon after, a matchmaker came to propose marriage."

"You mean, Diao Cuihua herself hired someone to find the Wang family in the city?"

Meng Yuan replied, "It should be. When her parents heard about the high dowry, they wanted to arrange another marriage, thinking that if all else failed, they could use her as a substitute. But Diao Cuihua refused. She proposed that as long as she could find a way to solve the money problem, she could decide her own marriage, and her parents agreed."

Jiang Zhenghua, who was deep in thought, suddenly looked up: "Do you know the names of that family from back then?"

Meng Yuan shook his head: "I don't know, I only have the address."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded and pondered, "Over the past ten years or so, if it was a wealthy family, the neighbors should still remember them."

Jin Hong said thoughtfully, "I'll also ask some elderly people to check."

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

"Everyone, assemble."

Soon, all ten or so people had assembled and arrived by car at the entrance of an alley not far from the venue. Everyone was fully armed and ready for battle.

Chen Junsheng carried a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle on his back; Cao Hui held a submachine gun in his arms.

Jiang Zhenghua's lips twitched, and he whispered to Yu Yong, "Is this really necessary? They even brought submachine guns?"

Yu Yong chuckled and said in a low voice, "See that? The domestically produced semi-automatic rifle that was finalized in 56, the new weapon that was just put into service, that's the real good stuff. As for the submachine guns, those are just for emergencies, they're all from previous captures, gathering dust in the warehouse, it's a waste not to use them."

He paused for a moment, then said, "If this weren't Beijing, I'd want to bring out the mortars and have some fun."

At this moment, Zhang Chongguang strode out of the dark alley.

Jin Hong stepped forward and asked, "How is it?"

Zhang Chongguang lowered his voice and said, "It's confirmed, Brother Leopard just went in."

As he spoke, he took a piece of paper out of his pocket.

Jiang Zhenghua quickly shone his flashlight over and saw a simple hand-drawn map.

Zhang Chongguang pointed to the map and said, "These people are very cautious. They have arranged lookouts at both ends. If we want to break in smoothly, we must take them out first."

"Is there any way to sneak in?"

Zhang Chongguang shook his head: "No. For safety reasons, all of these people need to be accompanied by someone they know, and someone can vouch for them before they can join."

"We don't have the time to launch a full-scale attack from both sides while simultaneously blocking both alleyways."

Jin Hong glanced at everyone and said, "Each of you lead your own people and attack from both sides."

Jiang Zhenghua and the other three immediately responded in unison, "Yes."

Jin Hong looked at Zhang Chongguang and asked, "How many people inside know tonight?"

Zhang Chongguang said, "I'm not entirely sure of the specifics, but according to the informant's estimate, there are about ten of them who are thugs at the establishment."

Jin Hong asked again, "Have the people from the neighborhood committee arrived?"

Zhang Chongguang nodded: "Director Liang from the Yu'er Hutong Subdistrict Office personally led the security committee members to wait at the entrance of the hutong. I haven't told them the specific tasks yet, only that they need to cooperate."

Jin Hong nodded, glancing at his watch by the light of his flashlight: "I'll go see them now. Have their men guard the outer perimeter. It's 10:50 now, we'll move out at 11:25 sharp, arriving at the courtyard at 11:30 and launching a full-scale assault."

The group glanced at the time, then acknowledged and left.

Jiang Zhenghua and Qiao Fuping led their men to the east side, concealed themselves, and carefully approached a corner of an alley, where they could vaguely see a spark flickering.

Cao Hui said in a low voice, "Smoking during exercise time? Wouldn't that make you an easy target on the battlefield?"

Jiang Zhenghua chuckled and said in a low voice, "These people are just a bunch of lowlifes. How can they compare to the people on the battlefield? Step back and wait. We'll take care of them in a bit."

Soon, Jiang Zhenghua said in a low voice, "Chief Qiao, it's almost time. I'll go take care of the sentries."

Be careful.

Jiang Zhenghua nodded and immediately got up and disappeared into the darkness.

Jiang Zhenghua quickly arrived at the entrance of the alley, took off his peaked cap, swayed, and walked with uneven steps, just like a drunkard.

"Who is it?"

A voice came from around the corner asking a question.

Jiang Zhenghua paused, mumbling incoherently, "I...I'm your...dad..."

Then they wandered inside again.

The man in the shadows was instantly enraged and strode towards them, cursing, "You son of a bitch, how dare you insult me? Today I'll show you how many eyes the Horse King has!"

"Fifth Brother, take it easy and don't cause any trouble. Leopard Brother has been in a bad mood these past few days."

Just as they were about to get close, the man raised his leg and kicked.

Jiang Zhenghua pretended to stumble, cursing under his breath, and ran towards the alley.

The fifth brother shouted, "You little brat, you dare to hide? Qianzi, intercept him!"

A person suddenly appeared from around the corner and reached out to grab Jiang Zhenghua.

Jiang Zhenghua leaped forward and arrived beside him. Just as the man was about to make a sound, a hand chop to his neck struck him, and he instantly fainted, falling to the ground with a thud.

Jiang Zhenghua leaped again, arriving beside the somewhat dazed Lao Wu. He grabbed Lao Wu's collar, quickly covered his mouth, and said coldly, "Don't make a sound, police. If you move, I'll break your neck right now."

The fifth brother nodded obediently.

Jiang Zhenghua dragged the other person to a corner, took out a flashlight, and quickly shone it around: "How many people are there inside?"

The fifth brother's body trembled slightly. When Jiang Zhenghua released his grip, his voice trembled as he said, "There are... there are eight people inside, and two more are on lookout in the other alley."

"Do you have any weapons?"

The fifth brother nodded emphatically: "The two men with Brother Leopard are carrying guns, while the others are armed with clubs and machetes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiao Fuping led his men to approach.

Jiang Zhenghua asked again, "Where does the secret passage in that courtyard lead?"

"There is a secret passage in the east wing that leads directly to the third courtyard on the right, and there is a guard at the exit."

Jiang Zhenghua instructed, "Old Geng, you watch over these two. We'll hand them over to them when the neighborhood security committee comes."

Geng Jianwu responded, "Yes."

Jiang Zhenghua said to Qiao Fuping, "Chief Qiao, according to this man's confession, there are eight guards inside, two of whom are armed."

Qiao Fuping said in a deep voice, "Let's go, quickly meet up with Yu Suo and the others, and tell them what's going on."

The group moved quickly and soon arrived near the courtyard.

Jiang Zhenghua made a gesture, and everyone stopped.

He whispered, "I'll go across the street to deliver the message; you wait here."

"Go."

Jiang Zhenghua walked quickly towards the other side. As he passed the courtyard gate, he glanced at it and saw that the gate was tightly closed.

He hadn't walked far when he heard a soft footstep.

In the darkness, several figures approached, clinging tightly to the wall.

Jiang Zhenghua quickly stepped forward and, by the dim moonlight, recognized Yu Yong as the leader. He whispered, "Chief Yu, there are eight men inside guarding the place, two of them are armed. Also, the third courtyard next door is the exit of their secret passage; there's one guard there."

Yu Yong was taken aback, then turned around and said softly, "Old Lin, take two men and keep an eye on things."

Jiang Zhenghua quickly got up and walked back.

This time, he deliberately took heavy steps, stopped when he reached the gate, and stepped forward to knock rhythmically.

Two heavy objects and one light object, with no reaction inside.

After a brief pause, repeat the process of two light and one heavy strokes.

A hoarse voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

Jiang Zhenghua deliberately lowered his voice: "Seventh Master's friend."