Siheyuan: I am Banggeng's uncle

Chapter 739 Backup!

"Director! Section Chief Li and the others are back, and they're bringing back a large group of gamblers." Around 11 p.m., just as Jia Dongming and Zhang Guoping were chatting in their office, a security guard rushed into Jia Dongming's office, excitedly reporting the news of Li Aijun and the others' return.

Upon learning of Li Aijun and the others' return, Zhang Guoping immediately stood up from his chair and exclaimed to Jia Dongming with great joy, "Director! Old Li and the others are back! I'll go out and greet them!"

When Jia Dongming saw Zhang Guoping rushing out of the office, he found it very amusing, so he stood up from his desk and walked out of the office as well.

As Jia Dongming walked out of the office building, he saw the security guards from the Public Security Department escorting a large group of gamblers toward the detention room.

Upon seeing Jia Dongming emerge from the office building, Li Aijun immediately rushed to him and reported with a beaming smile, "Director! We have successfully completed our mission. We have apprehended a total of nineteen casino managers and ninety-two gamblers, fifty-one of whom are employees of various factories. We have already notified the security departments of these factories to come to the casino to pick them up."

"In addition, we seized gambling funds from the casino, totaling 18,431.25 cents, plus 15 small yellow croakers and 2 large yellow croakers."

Upon hearing Li Aijun's report and learning about the evening's gains, Jia Dongming noticed that Guo Jianguo, who had participated in the operation with Li Aijun, had not returned. He immediately asked Li Aijun, "Comrade Aijun! Why hasn't Comrade Jianguo returned?"

When Li Aijun heard Jia Dongming ask about the whereabouts of Guo Jianguo and the others, he immediately reported to Jia Dongming: "Chief! Because some of the gamblers are employees of other factories, Lao Guo stayed at the scene to wait for the security personnel from those factories to come and take them away. After they have all been taken away, Lao Guo will lead the patrol team to conduct a surprise search of the courtyard that we have already taken control of."

Jia Dongming was relieved to learn why Guo Jianguo hadn't returned. He then asked Li Aijun, "Comrade Aijun! Did you catch the owner of this casino? Were there any casualties during the raid?"

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's question, Li Aijun immediately remembered his backup plan and respectfully reported, "Chief! Because of our thorough reconnaissance, we know the situation inside the casino like the back of our hand. When we arrived at the casino's perimeter, we immediately took control of the casino's lookouts. By the time we were discovered, the casino was already completely surrounded. During the raid, we encountered no resistance whatsoever."

"As for whether the casino owner has been apprehended?" Li Aijun reported, glancing instinctively at Uncle Qian and the others hidden among the gamblers, before continuing, "Chief! It's quite lucky, really. Our comrades, who were in charge of the reconnaissance, hardly encountered the casino owner during their time infiltrating the casino. Perhaps because of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the casino owner actually came to inspect the casino tonight, and we caught him red-handed. Now, the casino's mastermind is disguised as a gambler, hiding among the gamblers."

Upon hearing Li Aijun's report, Jia Dongming glanced at the gamblers brought into the detention room and smiled, saying to Li Aijun and the others, "Comrade Aijun! Comrade Jianguo! You've worked hard. First, arrange for people to conduct a surprise interrogation of the casino's management personnel. Make sure to find out the casino owner's true identity as soon as possible, and then send people to thoroughly search the owner's residence." Hearing Jia Dongming's instructions, Li Aijun immediately replied respectfully, "Director! Don't worry! We guarantee to complete the mission."

"Director! I didn't expect tonight's operation to be so fruitful. In the short term, I won't have to worry about the department not having enough money anymore." After completing the handover with Li Aijun, Zhang Guoping walked into Jia Dongming's office with an excited look on his face and said happily to Jia Dongming.

Upon hearing Zhang Guoping's words, Jia Dongming, thinking of the gambling funds seized that evening, reminded Zhang Guoping, "Comrade Guoping! Although we seized tens of thousands of yuan in gambling funds, don't forget that all the seizures must be turned over to the public. These gambling funds do not all belong to our Security Department."

Jia Dongming's reminder was like a bucket of cold water poured over Zhang Guoping's head, chilling him to the bone. Thinking about how he would soon have to hand over the lion's share of the money to the municipal bureau, Zhang Guoping's face immediately showed a frustrated expression. He quickly asked Jia Dongming, "Director! So, how much do you think we should pay this time?"

Upon hearing Zhang Guoping's question and seeing his dejected expression, Jia Dongming pondered for a moment before instructing Zhang Guoping, "Guoping! We'll hand over the gambling money in full, according to the stipulated amount. As for the 'yellow fish' confiscated at the casino, we'll keep it to exchange for supplies later. Also, remember to tell Aijun not to mention the 'yellow fish' when taking his statement."

Zhang Guoping felt his heart bleed at the thought of having to hand over the gambling money he had painstakingly seized. But when he learned that Jia Dongming planned to keep the yellow croaker for purchasing supplies, Zhang Guoping's eyes lit up. He quickly said to Jia Dongming, "Director! The value of those yellow croakers is no less than that of the gambling money. If we keep them, the pressure on our logistics department when purchasing supplies will be much lighter."

Upon hearing Zhang Guoping's words, Jia Dongming said to Zhang Guoping with a serious expression, "Guoping! It's not that I wanted to keep these yellow croakers, but the person who provided us with the supplies recently proposed that we could only use yellow croakers for transactions in the future. This time, the steel mill also used yellow croakers to purchase supplies. For the sake of the department, I risked asking you to keep the yellow croakers."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's answer, Zhang Guoping finally understood why Jia Dongming had risked keeping the yellow croaker. Thinking about the responsibility Jia Dongming would bear if discovered by his superiors, Zhang Guoping pondered for a moment before quickly suggesting to Jia Dongming, "Director! Everyone in the department already knows about the yellow croaker we confiscated tonight. How about we take a few small yellow croakers to hand over? That way, if word gets out that we confiscated yellow croakers, the higher-ups won't suspect us of illegally keeping them."

Upon hearing Zhang Guoping's suggestion, Jia Dongming felt that it was the safest approach. He nodded and instructed Zhang Guoping, "Guoping! After Jianguo's side finishes investigating that courtyard, see if they find any more yellow croakers. If they do, we'll discuss it further and see how much we should hand over."

(End of this chapter)