Chapter 10 - 6: Hotspot Event_2
Five minutes later, a police car arrived with a male and a female officer. Under the scolding of the two officers, the onlookers finally dispersed, and the middle-aged woman, seeing the police arrive, did not continue to cause a commotion but left with her child. However, as she was leaving, Yan Fei noticed a triumphant smile in her eyes. The police, seeing that the middle-aged woman left voluntarily and took a child with her, did not stop her.
The two officers who responded Yan Fei recognized, as they were local police from the nearby station. The man was called Huang Pu, and the woman was called Miao Hong. Yan Fei often went to the police station to report tenant information, so he was very familiar with them.
The two officers approached, and Huang Pu said to Yan Fei, “Little Fei, what’s going on here? Who was that woman?”
Yan Fei replied, “Huang brother, I don’t even know that woman.”
Miao Hong asked, “Then why did she come here to cause trouble? There must be a reason…”
Yan Fei then relayed the history of his family’s property, and after thinking for a while, he also mentioned Zhang Baocheng’s visit the previous night, and that he had just seen Zhang Baocheng in the crowd, which led him to suspect that the middle-aged woman was sent by Zhang Baocheng to cause trouble. As for her real identity, Yan Fei said he did not know.
Huang Pu’s expression became serious as he said, “I’ve heard of this Zhang Baocheng before; he used to be in the mafia, and later he went straight and started a real estate company. Even though he’s gone straight, he still has ties with the mafia, and his Company frequently uses deceitful and threatening methods to seize people’s houses; he doesn’t have a good reputation.”
Yan Fei asked doubtfully, “Isn’t the country cracking down on organized crime? How come people like him still exist and covet my property?”
Miao Hong replied, “Little Yan, although the country is cracking down on the mafia, we still need evidence. We now govern according to the law, and without evidence, we naturally can’t arrest people. Previously, whenever Zhang Baocheng got into trouble, one of his subordinates would take the blame, and we couldn’t gather any solid evidence of his crimes, so we couldn’t arrest him. At most, we would fine him some money, and he would repeat his tactics next time.”
Yan Fei felt dazed, almost as if he’d been transported back to the era depicted in old Hong Kong movies. The crackdown is real, but it still relies on evidence and “Program”. With the education from old Hong Kong films, the mafia became increasingly cunning—after committing crimes, they would simply have someone take the blame. Those taking the fall get paid while in prison, and the mafia would compensate them financially after their release. This way, everyone gets what they want, and there’s general satisfaction. Hence, the mafia continues to break the law; as long as they avoid committing murder and are careful, they can often escape unscathed.
Huang Pu added, “This Zhang Baocheng is engaged in legitimate business, and though he obtains properties through scheming, he makes sure everything is watertight. With the victims intimidated, we can’t act against him without evidence.”
After thinking for a moment, Yan Fei said, “What should I do then?”
Miao Hong suggested, “The area here is about to undergo demolition. Once negotiation starts, if the terms are right, I advise you to sign as soon as possible, take the compensation, and leave immediately. The other party can’t do anything to you then. We will also “Enhanced” patrols around the area to ensure Zhang Baocheng’s people don’t get an opportunity. For your safety, you should also avoid going out unnecessarily for the time being. Once this period is over, things will get better.”
Feeling somewhat helpless, Yan Fei could only nod in agreement to their advice. He only asked Huang Pu and Miao Hong to help investigate whether the middle-aged woman was from the family that had their land occupied thirty years ago, to which Huang Pu and Miao Hong agreed.
As they were leaving, Huang Pu asked Yan Fei about a recent issue: whether he had noticed a black Drone in the vicinity. Huang Pu showed him a blurred photo of the Drone from the “Surveillance Camera”. Yan Fei was startled to recognize it as his own “Drone Avatar”. Due to the lighting and color, the photo was unclear, showing that the police had indeed started investigating the Drone case. Consequently, he resolutely shook his head, indicating that he knew nothing about it.
Around three in the afternoon, Yan Fei heard loud wailing outside again. When he went to check, he saw the middle-aged woman with the young boy reappear, still disheveled and sitting on the ground, crying bitterly. This time, a white banner with black writing was stretched out at the scene, reading, “Return my land, I need to survive, I need to eat!”
Soon enough, onlookers gathered once more. Seeing the crowd, the middle-aged woman cried even more heart-renderingly, and the comings and goings of some of Yan Fei’s tenants were greatly affected.
Yan Fei went downstairs, pulled out some evidence documents he had just photocopied, showed them to the middle-aged woman, and said, “I don’t know who you are, but this house came into my father’s possession through completely legal means. So please, stop making trouble here.”
The middle-aged woman was taken aback at the sight of the documents, but she immediately pounced on Yan Fei, clung to his legs, and cried out, “I don’t know what these are, I only know your family oppressed us and took the land we depended on for survival. Give me back my land… ”
Yan Fei tried to pull his leg free, but the middle-aged woman held on tight and did not budge. He looked around at the crowd of onlookers and said, “If you feel your rights have been violated, you can sue me in court.”