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Chapter 179: This is not causing trouble?

Xie Hushan and his two companions boarded the green train at eight o'clock in the morning and took four hours to reach Yanjing after stopping on the way.

When getting off the bus, Song Tiesheng walked away while cursing his brother Dongzi who was carrying a bag behind him:

"Is it embarrassing? Ah? Are you taking advantage of my third brother? It's more than 200 miles, and you've only eaten eight meals. Do you have to let the people in the car look at you like a monkey?"

Before, Xie Hushan said he wanted to go to Yanjing, and Song Tiesheng had already obtained two adjacent lower berth tickets and a middle berth ticket, thinking that the three of them could sit at a small table to eat and chat, and not be as crowded as in the hard seat compartment.

As a result, not long after getting on the train, an old conductor who was affiliated with the Yushui Police Section of the Yaoshan Police District of the Tianjin Railway Public Security Bureau recognized Song Tiesheng when passing by. Song Tiesheng had dealt with the other party several times when catching thieves. The old policeman was very excited to see Song Tiesheng, so he asked him to follow him to the hard seat carriage to help resolve some disputes, saying that there was a thief stealing something.

The train police were afraid that the thieves were a gang, so they asked Song Tiesheng, who worked in the Public Security Department and dealt with railway theft gangs every now and then, to go along, mainly to give themselves courage.

Otherwise, a train attendant like him would also be afraid of thieves in groups. If they really don't buy his tricks, they will take advantage of their numbers to beat up the train attendant, and the train attendant will have no way to deal with it.

They were all from the same system and were older people. Song Tiesheng, who was in plain clothes, could not refuse, so he asked Dongzi to accompany Xie Hushan on the train, and he followed the conductor to the hard seat compartment.

Unexpectedly, he would be busy for half a day. When he was exhausted and squeezed back into the sleeper car, there were still more than 20 minutes left before he could get off at the final stop, Yanjing.

And when they came back and sat down to catch their breath, they found that half of the people in the sleeper car were looking at the three of them as if they were monsters.

After asking Dongzi, Song Tiesheng found out that his sworn brother was really an eyesore. Every time a food cart came by, he would stop and buy whatever was delicious. He almost bought everything in that cart.

In the end, the female stewardess who was pushing the cart decided not to leave and offered to roast the chicken for Dongzi and Xie Hushan. Judging from her attitude, it seemed like she was just about to offer to accompany Dongzi for dinner and get off the car to go home with him to live and have children.

How much stuff did you buy?

According to Dongzi, the person involved in the gluttony case, the third brother Xie Hushan just ate a chicken foot, peeled a few peanuts, and drank a bottle of cold beer.

There were three roast chickens and a bunch of snacks left. I was afraid that Song Tiesheng might not come back and they would be wasted, so I tried hard to make him finish them all.

That's why half of the people in the carriage watched him eat.

"I let him eat. He gets tired and sweaty catching thieves every day and still doesn't eat well. It's a rare opportunity for him to buy some meat on the train without a meal ticket to satisfy his craving. You scolded him for that." Xie Hushan heard Song Tiesheng scolding Dongzi and said:
"Besides, when did you eat less when I treated you to a meal? How dare you criticize others?"

Hearing Xie Hushan standing up for him and scolding Song Tiesheng, Dongzi laughed happily while holding his bag.

Dongzi's surname is Wei, and his nickname is Wei Dongming. He is the brother of Song Tiesheng who started his career by beating up hooligans.

At the beginning, Song Tiesheng's team only consisted of the two of them. The other brothers around Song Tiesheng now only gathered together after he became a little famous.

So if there is any problem, Song Tiesheng is willing to take care of Dongzi, his closer brother.

Dongzi is also a railway family man. His father is a train driver and his mother is a train attendant. The couple spends more time on the train than at home.

When Song Tiesheng's family was short of money, Dongzi often stole money from his own family to help Song Tiesheng. He was a real thief. His father has not solved the case yet. He used to be a track switchman in the engineering section. Later, Xie Hushan paid Zhang Ming to find someone to help Song Tiesheng transfer to another job, and he was transferred to the police section as well. He went from being a thief in the family to a railway policeman who caught thieves in the public security department with Song Tiesheng every day. How can this be justified?

Song Tiesheng and Dongzi had officially kowtowed to each other and sworn brotherhood, unlike Xie Hushan, Han Hongbing and other rural people who did not follow any procedures and recruited brothers in a bandit-like way, relying on their fists.

If we use the analogy of Song Tiesheng starting a company, Dongzi is a co-founder or the company's number one employee.

He has a good personality, is straightforward and honest. In the words of Song Tiesheng, he is good at nothing else except fighting and eating.

"Third brother, if you keep pampering these guys, I will send them all to your steel rolling mill. I can't control them. When I am in charge of them, you always take their side and you won't listen to me in the future." Song Tiesheng said with a smile when he heard what Xie Hushan said.

Xie Hushan turned his head to look at Song Tiesheng, and said seriously:

"What do you mean by embarrassing yourself? I pay for the meal, so how much do you care? If you can't afford to pay for the meal, that's embarrassing!"

"Also, don't yell at your brothers in front of so many people. Even brothers need to save face. Don't take it to heart. If you scold too much, your sworn brothers will feel uncomfortable. Brothers hang out with you and call each other brothers just to be scolded by you. Why don't I scold you and Han Lao Er every day?"

"Yes, yes, I won't scold you anymore. I'm not good at talking and I can't beat you. Anyway, you are the third brother, you have the final say." Song Tiesheng admitted his mistake:

"Even my mom told me to ask you if I encounter any problems outside. It's true. Hu San'er has brains, but you don't have brains."

The three of them chatted and laughed without leaving the station. Xie Hushan followed the route that Cheng Yunfei took him and Han Hongbing last time and went directly to the rest area for the loading and unloading team at Yanjing Railway Station.

Five or six middle-aged men, who may have just unloaded the car, were shirtless, with a layer of sweat on their sturdy bronze bodies. They were hiding from the sun in the shade under the eaves, sitting in a row to rest their legs and chat.

The leader was a middle-aged man in his forties, who looked like a team leader or group leader. He wore a two-strand vest, a red band on his arm, and held an enamel pot in his hand. He blew away the tea leaves while talking to his subordinates about how to play with birds:

"As the old saying goes: A red-eared bird is for a scholar, while a thrush is for a warrior. Old Jia, you've got the wrong bird. Red-eared birds were played with by the remnants of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty. When they were played with, they wore long gowns and jackets, and carried a bird cage that shook with every step."

"You have to walk slowly and steadily. It would take at least three hours to walk from home to the teahouse half a mile away for a tea party. You don't have to worry about the sun rising and melting these old guys. That's not walking a bird, that's walking a person."

"We are a bunch of rough men, and we walk with the wind. Bailing and Hongzi are not used to our rush. It is more suitable for us to take a morning walk with a thrush that is easy to raise. We should carry the bird cage in our hands and swing it like a pendulum. The harder we swing it, the happier the thrush will be."

"When I was a child, before liberation, I saw someone carrying a thrush cage at the entrance of the alley early in the morning. He waited for the rickshaw driver to go out. He treated the driver to a bowl of tofu pudding, and then asked the driver to help hang the bird cage on the handlebars of the rickshaw so that the bird could follow the rickshaw for a circle."

"If you ask me, you are just asking for trouble by raising a hypocritical Hongzi with your hasty temper."

"What's up, comrades? Are you in trouble? You must have taken the wrong road. Go that way after you exit the station. Walk back twenty or thirty steps and turn right..."

He was chatting when he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw Xie Hushan and his two companions walking towards his group. He thought that the three young men carrying bags had gone in the wrong direction after getting off the train, so he enthusiastically pointed the direction for them.

"Excuse me, comrade, is Brother Cheng Yunfei at work today?" Xie Hushan asked the other party.

The other party put the teacup on the ground, stood up and looked at the three people carefully, then looked at his companions, and then spoke to Xie Hushan with some suspicion:
"Three comrades, I have something to talk to him about. I am his leader. Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Hello, leader. We are from other places, from Bingyang County. Last time when we passed by Yanjing, Brother Cheng invited us to dinner. This time we came to Yanjing for business, and we specially brought him some local specialties as a token of our appreciation." Xie Hushan explained politely.

When Xie Hushan said he was from another place, the other party was relieved: "Hey, you scared me, Huazi is not here, you came at the wrong time, she got into trouble again."

Xie Hushan was somewhat confused by the captain's words. The tone was like Cheng Yunfei entering the police station and an old lady entering the vegetable market:
"Again? How many times has he been in prison? What crime did he commit? How many years has he been sentenced to?"

The captain sat down again, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then smiled and said to Xie Hushan:

"Don't worry, little brother. It's no big deal. The country has banned boxing, but he likes it. He secretly organizes boxing matches for fun. The police received reports and robbed him. It's a common thing. You will know if you get to know him well. He is robbed twice a month. The Dongcheng Public Security Bureau relies on fining him every month, which is enough to improve the food."

"As for the crime, it's not counted, and there's no sentence. Just a fine, a written self-criticism, and the unit will pick him up. We're getting paid today, and after we get paid in the afternoon, we'll all chip in a little bit to help him pay the fine, and redeem him, and that's it."

Xie Hushan looked at Song Tiesheng and Dongzi, who had been thinking that they were here to visit a hermit master, and whose minds had collapsed and they could no longer hold back their expressions of respect, and asked the captain, "Leader, how much is the fine? I have some money on me."

The other party did not tell Xie Hushan, but asked seriously:

"Comrade, let me ask you, what is your relationship with Hanako?"

"We're just friends who I met once and took the train together. But Brother Cheng is a very nice person. He saw that we had no money to go home, so he lent me a hundred yuan last time." Xie Hushan took out ten big unity notes from his pocket and handed them to the captain: "We just happened to be there. Please keep this money so that you don't have to spend your salaries..."

"We don't need you. There are so many of us who are his co-workers. One or two days' wages are enough. At most, we can fine him fifty for not changing his ways. We can also buy some fruits and go to the hospital to see the injured. It won't cost that much." The captain declined quickly:
"Besides, we didn't know that Hanako lent you money, so how could we accept it on his behalf? If we accept it on his behalf, it would hurt our friendship. When the person comes out, if you really owe him money, you can pay him back in person, okay?"

Seeing that the leader had guessed his thoughts, Xie Hushan did not act pretentiously. He put the money away and pointed at the two bags in Dongzi's hand:

"Then, leader, can we leave this special product here for Brother Cheng? We will go first, arrange accommodation, and come back to see him in two days after we are done with our work?"

"Don't leave it here. No one is watching it. When a car comes, we all have to go to work. There's no lock here, and people are coming and going. It might be lost later, right?" The captain hesitated, then asked the worker who was resting behind him:
"Send it to his house... No, there seems to be no one at his house. Lao Jia, when Huazi's wife came to help him to apply for leave and collect his salary this morning, you were the one who went with her. I didn't see her when I unloaded the car. She must have been selling tickets on the No. 5 bus today, right?"

The worker named Lao Jia said, "Xiao Min? It's not Xiao Min's turn today. When I came, I heard that she was organizing people to queue up to buy tickets at the Labor and Workers Cultural Palace. There will be a fashion show there in the evening. I'll make more money to pay back Huazi."

"Oh, why don't you just give the money and things to his wife? It's timely rain. Beggar... Cheng Yunfei is a worry. Without his wife, he would have become a beggar." After listening to this, the captain smiled and said to Xie Hushan:

"Exit the station and go to the opposite side of the train station to take a bus. There is a stop sign and the fare is four cents. When the conductor announces that we have arrived at the Labor and Workers Cultural Palace, get off the bus. When you see a long line of people, his wife must be in the line. Ask the policeman who is maintaining order nearby to help you find Cheng Yunfei's wife Chen Min, and the policeman will tell you."

"The police not only know Brother Fei, they even know Brother Fei's wife?" Xie Hushan said with emotion.

The captain chuckled, "She sells tickets on the No. 5 bus during work hours, and sells tickets at the Labor and Workers Cultural Palace after get off work. She's almost become a ticket scalper because of Huazi's pressure. How can the police not recognize her? Okay, I'll take a few steps and take you to the stop. Follow me."

Xie Hushan and the other two followed the enthusiastic captain of the loading and unloading team out of the train station and waited for the train under the bus stop according to his instructions. After sending him off with many thanks, Xie Hushan bought a few BJ newspapers and read them while waiting for the train. After Song Tiesheng looked around the train station square for a long time, he could no longer hold back his curiosity and asked Xie Hushan:
"Third brother, this Brother Cheng doesn't sound as amazing as you say. He was a ruthless guy who carried two guns at Yangcheng Railway Station and no one dared to stop him. How come he was arrested just like that?"

He had long heard Xie Hushan and Han Hongbing talk about Cheng Gong Yunfei. The two praised each other, saying that he was very fast at dismantling guns, his fists were full of calluses, and that the police in Yangcheng couldn't afford to offend him. But just now, he found that he was not as good as Xie Hushan and Han Hongbing said. He hadn't committed any serious crime, but was arrested by the police just because he secretly participated in a boxing match. Moreover, he was a familiar face who was often arrested...

"I'm not bragging, okay? This guy is really amazing. As for how he was arrested, I don't know. It shouldn't be that serious. Maybe the capital is different from the local cities." After Xie Hushan made two unconvincing arguments, he decisively changed the subject:
"Give the stuff to his wife later, and then we'll find a nice hotel or guesthouse to stay. Tomorrow I'll accompany you to Tiananmen Square, and the day after tomorrow you two can go wherever you want. I won't go, as I have to attend various lectures."

"Third brother, why do you have to attend this lecture? What's the point of listening to it? I fall asleep as soon as the meeting starts." Dongzi looked puzzled.

On the way here, he heard Xie Hushan say that there was nothing serious to do in Yanjing, and they just came here to eat and drink, wander around Yanjing, and listen to various popular reports. He would go back when the team called him.

"I can't sleep well in the guesthouse. I can sleep soundly when there are many people around." Xie Hushan said with a smile.

The extended bus slowly drove over and stopped next to the station. A group of people waiting for the bus immediately squeezed towards the door. Song Tiesheng and Dongzi had been police officers in the Railway Security Department for so long that they had gained experience and eyesight. As soon as the three of them got on the bus, Xie Hushan hadn't noticed anything yet and was buying a ticket from the conductor. Song Tiesheng had already given Dongzi a look, and Dongzi put the bag in his hand at Xie Hushan's feet and squeezed straight towards the back door.

Song Tiesheng waited for Xie Hushan to buy the ticket and put away the change. He pretended not to know Xie Hushan and squeezed next to him, and spoke in a very soft voice:
"Third brother, there is a thief on the bus. Although he is not from Bingyang and is not my responsibility, I have to do my job. Even if I don't catch him, I can't let the thief succeed. Don't worry, I won't cause trouble. I'll just warn everyone so that the thief doesn't have a chance to succeed."

After saying that, he squeezed to the front door, looked at the car for a long time, and said loudly:
"There are many people on the bus, so keep an eye on all the valuables and be careful."

With his words, everyone in the car became alert, covering their pockets with their hands or holding their bags tightly. At the same time, seven or eight people's faces changed slightly, and they looked at the tall Song Tiesheng who was shouting out a warning.

Among these people, there are both men and women, and they are thieves who specialize in stealing on public buses. In Yanjing dialect, such people are called "Foye".

This big man, whose origin was unknown, made their journey in vain with just a few simple words.

However, there was no anger or shame on their faces. Instead, they looked at Song Tiesheng with disdain. This stupid and talkative big guy was in big trouble.

Because today is the day when all government agencies in Yanjing pay their salaries, and it is also the battlefield where various monks in the city fight to get goods on the public bus.

Usually, a pair of Buddha partners can only steal a dozen or twenty dollars at most in a day.

On a big day like today, if the revenue doesn’t break three digits, I’d be embarrassed to tell others that I’m in this line of work.

It can be said that from morning to night today, there is Buddha on every bus in BJ.

However, today, Master Buddha cannot get on the bus in Yanjing City whenever he wants.

If a monk who has no real skills doesn't even have the ability to get on the bus, as soon as he shows up near the bus stop, his fingers will be cut by other monks with hidden surgical blades while they squeeze through the door.

Colleagues will first eliminate those useless people who are not well-trained and prone to failure, giving them a few days to rest their fingers and avoid today. The first purpose is to eliminate bad coins and reduce competition, and the second is that poor skills can easily lead to failure.

Moreover, if you want to make a living as a Buddhist in Yanjing, you must have the protection of a famous gangster.

No matter how powerful a foreign thief is, if he is caught by those gangsters taking goods in their territory and refuses to pay tribute, unless he only does this one job and leaves Yanjing, someone will definitely come to his door to steal him the next day. When they meet, they will stab the outsider in the thigh and then peel off ten of his fingernails, making it impossible for the outsider to work for a month or two, as a warning.

If you dare to continue showing up in public after your injury has healed, I'm sorry. I'll chop off the first part of your middle finger, index finger and other four fingers, and completely ruin your job. You'd better find another job.

Therefore, the eight Buddhist masters on the train that Xie Hushan and his companions were on were all people who had the support of a big gangster and had amazing skills. They didn't care whether they could steal money on this train today, because no matter how much money they stole today, they could only earn a salary, and the income would all go to the big gangster behind them.

These gangsters usually only rely on the gifts from their subordinates, a symbolic amount of three to five dollars a day, and they won't exploit them too harshly.

The condition is that on the day when the government agencies and factories pay their wages, the masters have to work hard to pick up the goods. In addition, the stations along the route have long been divided into territories, and are guarded by the capable subordinates of various gangsters. After the masters succeed, they have to be searched and pay when they get off the car.

For example, these eight Buddhas can only eat in the three stations between Yanjing Station and Tiananmen East Station. These three stations are the territories of the gangsters behind them. They can take action to pick up the goods, and there are gangsters' thugs to pick them up at the three stations.

But if you are greedy and don't get off at your stop, even if it's just one more stop, such as getting off at Tiananmen West Station, just one stop, even if you have crossed the boundary, when you get off the bus, the other gangsters' thugs and subordinates will be waiting for you at the station to get on the bus and pick up the goods.

If they were found to have broken the rules, not only would they have to keep the money, but they would also be beaten and taught a lesson. Then, when they returned, they would be beaten by their eldest brother for not being able to withdraw the money and making a fool of themselves.

Now there is a big fool who actually speaks up to remind everyone that the Buddhas don't care, they just need to take a break, they will get off at the stop anyway, this train cannot be stolen, the responsibility is not theirs, the gangsters will talk to this person, in addition to these Buddhas, there are also thugs following the train, just in case someone blows up the place and causes trouble.

Sure enough, as soon as they arrived at Dongdan Station, the monks got off one after another, and two young men stood up from their seats, surrounded Song Tiesheng on the left and right, put their hands on Song Tiesheng's lower back, and tried to carry him towards the door, whispering threats:
"Dude, if you don't want to lie down, get out of the car with us."

Dongzi, who was near the back door, went down first, came up from the front door, pulled out the electric baton from his waist and pressed it on one of them!

There was a crackling sound, and a burnt smell similar to that of burning pig hair filled the air. The young man fell down with convulsions.

The situation suddenly became that Song Tiesheng and Dongzi double-teamed the remaining one. Song Tiesheng snatched the small dagger that had just been used against him from the other party's hand, grasped the blade, pressed his fingers on the blade and broke the tip of the blade directly! The tip of the blade fell to the ground with a clang!
"My elder brother..." The young man, who looked to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, swallowed his saliva and tried to muster up the courage to speak.

But before he could finish, Song Tiesheng grabbed him by the collar and threw him down. Dongzi also threw the guy foaming on the ground down. Song Tiesheng threw away the cheap shovel and said to the driver:
"Master, drive."

The driver quickly closed the car door and prepared to drive off, but the windshield was suddenly cracked by a brick thrown by someone outside. The driver was so scared that he stopped the car again. Although the glass was not broken, it had shattered into turtle patterns and could fall off in pieces at any time!

The closed car door was pounded hard with a fist. When the knocking stopped, a rebellious voice shouted impatiently:
"Open the door. This car can't leave today. If you are a man, get off the car obediently. I will save your face. When I, Long Saner, come to find you in person, I will not save your face at all!"

Xie Hushan looked at Song Tiesheng speechlessly:
"Is this what you meant by not causing trouble?"

Song Tiesheng came over somewhat embarrassedly:
"I didn't expect that the thieves in the capital are different from those in our country. They are more arrogant than those in our country. They will stop stealing as soon as they are threatened, but the thieves in the capital seem to dare to take action..."

"And listen, Third Brother, this guy is called Long San'er, and he's better than you. I'll take care of him for you."

Xie Hushan held the handrail and looked at the driver:

"Master, please open the door and let these two brave comrades get off the bus."

(End of this chapter)