Anti-gang campaign: Female bureau chief

"It was done, minor damage. The shop's glass door and some merchandise were damaged, estimated to be around 30,000."

"So why do you think Zhao Biao would voluntarily turn himself in for a case involving intentional damage to property and minor injury?"

Fang Xuewen paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, clearly not expecting Jiang Ruolan to ask this question.

He chuckled:

"Well, maybe he found out that you called him out at the meeting and felt that he couldn't avoid it, so he decided to take the initiative and try to get a good attitude."

"Good attitude."

Jiang Ruolan repeated herself, then said, "Deputy Director Fang, this case should proceed according to normal procedures. A case should be filed, and an arrest warrant should be issued. No special handling is needed. Also, retrieve all the case records of Zhao Biao from the past three years; I need to see them."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Ruolan leaned back in her high-backed chair, her fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

Zhao Biao's voluntary surrender is unusual in itself.

How could someone who had been running rampant in Yi'an for many years and had Shen Wangshan backing him up so readily surrender to the authorities just because of a single sentence from her?

This can only mean one thing—Shen Wangshan already knew about her arrival and chose to back down.

This concession made her more wary than a direct confrontation.

An opponent who knows how to yield is far more difficult to deal with than one who only knows how to fight head-on.

As she was thinking, Lu Zheng knocked on the door and came in, holding a newly printed document in his hand:

"Director Jiang, there's been progress on the demolition case you asked me to investigate. The shop owner whose property was vandalized is named Chen Desheng. This morning, he went to the bank and suddenly received a transfer of 200,000 yuan into his account. The transferor was an account called 'Yi'an Yongli Trading Co., Ltd.'"

"Yongli Trading?"

Jiang Ruolan took the materials. "What does this have to do with Fengmao?"

"If you check directly, it won't matter. The legal representative of Yongli Trading is a man named Guo Yongli, who used to be the security captain of Fengmao Group. He left the company three years ago and registered this company himself."

But as far as I know, Guo Yongli is still working in Fengmao's building. His so-called company is actually just an empty shell used by Fengmao to handle matters that are inconvenient for them to handle directly.

Jiang Ruolan looked at the materials and sneered:

"Two hundred thousand, buy a letter of understanding, and let Zhao Biao get out sooner. That old fox Shen Wangshan, he's quick on his feet."

"Director Jiang, what should we do? If Chen Desheng really signs the letter of understanding, Zhao Biao's case will be very difficult to handle."

Jiang Ruolan did not answer directly, but asked:

Who else is in Chen Desheng's family?

"One wife, one daughter, the daughter is in the second year of junior high school at Yi An No. 1 Middle School."

"Send someone to Yi An No. 1 Middle School to secretly protect his daughter. Also, you go to Chen Desheng's house in person, but don't wear a police uniform. Just say that a friend introduced you there."

Tell him he can accept the 200,000, but if he signs the letter of understanding, no one will protect him anymore.

Lu Zheng was stunned for a moment:

"Director Jiang, that's not proper etiquette."

"I know it's against the rules."

Jiang Ruolan looked at him. "But do you have a better idea?"

Lu Zheng was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head.

"Then do as I say. Rules are meant to protect good people. If bad people use rules as weapons, then we have to find a way to circumvent them. Once we've dealt with the bad guys, we can come back and talk about the rules properly."

Looking at the young female bureau chief in front of him, Lu Zheng felt a mix of emotions.

He learned at the police academy to act in accordance with the law, and he has been doing so for the past eight years as a police officer.

But Yi An's reality taught him that when you're dealing with a group of people who have completely disregarded the law, sticking to the rules will only make it difficult for you to move forward.

He gritted his teeth and said:

"Understood, I'll go right now."

Lu Zheng turned to leave, but Jiang Ruolan called him back:

"Wait a minute, find the information on Zhang Dayou and He Yongfu as well. I'm going to see them this afternoon."

"Yes."

After Lu Zheng left, Jiang Ruolan opened her laptop and began to organize the clues she had.

She used a mind mapping software to input all the known information—Shen Wangshan and his Fengmao Group were in the very center, with countless lines branching out from them, connecting Zhao Biao, Qin Chuan, Fang Xuewen, Gu Changhe, and all sorts of companies and people, big and small.

Each line is marked with the relationship type and the status of evidence. Some lines are solid, representing solid evidence; some are dashed, representing only indirect clues; and some are question marks, representing pure speculation.

There are very few solid lines on this map.

But Jiang Ruolan believed that it wouldn't be long before these dotted lines would turn into solid lines one by one.

At noon, Shen Wangshan was having lunch with several trusted confidants at the Golden Coast Club in the east of the city.

The table was laden with dishes, but almost no one touched them; everyone's attention was focused on Shen Wangshan.

Sitting to Shen Wangshan's left was a man in his early forties, with a burly build, a buzz cut, a thick gold chain around his neck, and a tiger's head with its mouth open tattooed on the web of his right hand.

His name is Ren Pengfei, and the people of Yi'an call him "Boss Ren." He is nominally the boss of a construction company, but in reality, he is Shen Wangshan's right-hand man, in charge of all of Fengmao Group's underground businesses in Yi'an—casinos, loan sharking, illegal sand and gravel mining, and "necessary violent means."

Sitting to Shen Wangshan's right was a thin man in his fifties, wearing old-fashioned black-rimmed glasses and a faded shirt, looking like a retired teacher.

His name was Qian Shouyi, and the people of Yi'an called him "Master Qian." He was Shen Wangshan's chief advisor, specializing in handling legal and financial matters.

The complex shareholding structure, the secretive flow of funds, and the seemingly flawless contract terms of Fengmao Group were all the work of this person.

"Brother Shan, Biaozi has already gone in."

Ren Pengfei said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "This kid has been with us for so many years, and we just arrest him like that. The brothers are a little uncomfortable."

"If you feel uncomfortable, just hold it in."

Shen Wangshan picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. "I made this move for him, not the police who arrested him. He went in on his own. Do you know the difference between the two?"

Ren Pengfei was stunned for a moment and couldn't answer.

Qian Shouyi answered for him:

"The difference lies in the pace. If you are arrested by the police, it means that the police have the initiative. They can arrest you whenever they want and whoever they want."

But if we voluntarily send them in, it means the rhythm is still in our hands—we decide who goes in, when they go in, and how they go in.

Jiang Ruolan wanted to arrest Zhao Biao to establish her authority, so we gave her Zhao Biao, letting her think she had won the first step. This kind of victory was one we wanted her to win, not one she won on her own.

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