Chapter 21 - 19 The Sound and the Fury

Chapter 21: Chapter 19 The Sound and the FuryThe shipyard had hemp ropes, but running back to get them would waste too much time. Han Yu was not familiar with the police from his own bureau, but he was on good terms with the police from Bailong Port Police Station, so he quickly sought out Old Liu, who had just gotten his ten-day permit aboard the ship. The harder Xu Sanye cracked down, the happier Old Liu was, and immediately had the station's driver take Han Yu in a jeep to get the hemp ropes. By the time Han Yu got the hemp ropes and arrived at the waiting room entrance, loudspeakers at the port were repeatedly broadcasting a notice urging suspects involved in ticket scalping to surrender themselves. "As early as November 1985, the central leadership already gave important directives regarding the illegal acts of selling tickets on the black market, 'For ticket scalpers like these, catch one and send them for re-education through labor. This is essentially the underworld, we need to issue a notice, similar cases nationwide have to be cracked down on.'" "In order to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people, and maintain public order, the Linghai County Police Bureau Yanjiang Police Station and Bailong Port Police Station of Binjiang Port have decided to begin rectifying the ticket sales order on September 17th and crack down on the illegal and criminal activities of ticket scalping." "For those caught ticket scalping, deal with each one as they're found; for those who habitually scalp tickets, form gangs, collude internally and externally or repeatedly scalp tickets using their position, focus on crackdowns, arrest and sentence those whose amounts are significant or whose circumstances are serious in accordance with the law." "For those who repeatedly scalp tickets and do not change after repeated education, detain them for re-education through labor; for those with general illegal behavior in ticket scalping, in addition to confiscating their illicit gains, penalties will be imposed in accordance with the 'Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security', and for major 'ticket tyrants' they will be severely punished according to the law..." This time the police were serious! Hearing the announcement on the radio and seeing those armed plainclothes police officers, the twenty or so ticket scalpers who were caught were scared witless, even the notorious Wang Hongmei, known for her obstinacy, was shaking like a leaf. "Put them in line, string them up!" "Yes." Following Xu Sanye's order, the police involved in the operation lifted all the suspects and strung them into a long line, starting a parade down the street in front of thousands of onlookers. There were too many travelers, even the villagers from nearby came to see the excitement. A sea of people, accidents could easily occur. Old Gu, the police officer from Bailong Port Bus Station, took the initiative to help maintain order. The vendors at Bailong Port who sold tea eggs, fruits, zongzi, staff from the few state-owned stores, the State-owned Travel Inn, as well as freelancers who pulled customers and goods and did small business couldn't feel happy, because they had already been mentioned in the broadcast. "Suspects who have not yet been apprehended, especially those who helped ticket scalpers buy tickets, must recognize the situation, cherish the opportunity, and turn themselves in quickly within five days from the date this notice is issued, in hopes of leniency." "Due to objective reasons, those who cannot surrender to the police authorities within the specified time can entrust someone else to surrender on their behalf." "Family members should actively persuade the criminal suspects to surrender themselves. Those persuaded by relatives and friends to surrender with them, or those who are brought to the police authorities by relatives and friends after proactive reporting, will be considered voluntary surrenders..." You have to surrender at Yanjiang Police Station within five days, otherwise, if you don't, you're an accomplice and you might end up facing re-education or even sentencing! The scalpers who collected the tickets had already been caught, and it was almost certain they would confess after going in. Moreover, the notice called on the public to report crimes, so there was no escape; it wasn't worth it to go on the run for such a thing. seaʀᴄh thё novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Anyone who had ever been tainted by the small gains of queuing to buy tickets could hardly afford to take chances, each person became worried and anxious, as if bereft of loved ones. Xu Sanye paraded the suspects in the streets not only to assert authority but also to warn others by making an example. He deliberately let the parade get as close to the street-side shops as possible, staring murderously at those who were suspected of colluding in ticket-scalping as he passed by, leaving them trembling with fear. Following the procession, Han Yu had just reached the post office entrance when a middle-aged woman burst out from the crowd, grabbed him urgently, and asked, "Xiao Han, you're a policeman..." "Aunt Liu, what's the matter." Han Yu stopped, feigning ignorance. The woman selling tea eggs clutched at him and cried, "Why did you arrest my Liu Er, he didn't sell that many tickets. Can you help, please let him go, I beg you. If he gets arrested and sent to jail, what are my child and I going to do..." She was in tears, looking very pitiful. If you didn't know her, you might really sympathize with her plight. In fact, she didn't deserve sympathy, her husband sold the most boat tickets, and their family made several thousand a month from scalping tickets. When people toiled to become ten-thousandaires, her family could make ten thousand in at most three months. They bought a color TV, a motorcycle, they even opened a brick business, and bought steel and cement, preparing to build a house. Han Yu gently pushed her hand away: "We wouldn't arrest your Liu Er without evidence, right now attitude is everything, looking for someone else is useless." "I'm not looking for others, I only know you." "It's the same with me, it's useless. Now don't worry about Liu Er, think about yourself and those two kids of yours." "What happened to me?" The woman asked, wiping tears. Han Yu glanced back and reminded, "You know what you have done. Better hurry and listen to the radio, if you can't hear it clearly go read the notice. There are only five days to surrender, once it's past, not only will Liu Er go to jail, but you will too!" The woman, scared and uncertain, collapsed on the ground, howling in tears. Not wanting to be misunderstood by the leaders and colleagues, Han Yu hurriedly caught up with the procession, turned around at the entrance of the post office, circled the square, passed Bailong Port lock, and headed straight for the "residential area" of Bailong Port Village. The so-called "residential area" was a colloquial term for the riverside settlements. The villagers' houses were built along the two sides of the river, or in a north-south direction, or east-west, in two long rows, one row by the river, convenient for rinsing rice and doing laundry, with a small road in the middle, and another row of houses beside it. Large vehicles couldn't enter, but tricycles could. Zhang Lan spoke fluent Mandarin. Sitting in the sidecar of a tricycle, she read out a notice urging those suspected of boat ticket scalping to turn themselves in using a portable loudspeaker. Wherever the team went, the police officers following behind would post the prepared notice. Looking up, the header read Linghai County Police Bureau Yanjiang Police Station and Bailong Port Police Station of Binjiang Port, with the stamps of both police stations at the signature area, and the contacts were Xu Sanye and Li Weiguo. Such imposing momentum hadn't been seen in many years. The villagers all came out to watch; children chased after the procession, and even the shipmen from the Bailong River ran over to see the police catching criminals. Escorting over twenty suspects, they walked all the way to the village office, where village cadres who heard the news used the village's loudspeakers to broadcast the notice before escorting the suspects back. By the time the suspects were brought to the station, it was already 10:30 in the morning. There was only so much rice that could fit in the rice cooker; Han Yu was worried about how to feed so many people who suddenly showed up for lunch, when Xu Sanye instructed Captain Wu from the criminal investigation team to take the suspects away in the police car, along with all the paperwork that had been completed earlier. Watching the hard-won suspects being taken away by the criminal investigation team, Han Yu asked in confusion, "Instructor, why are the suspects being handed over to the criminal investigation team?" "There are too many suspects for us to hold here. We can't handle such a big case with just a few of us." "So we don't need to deal with it anymore?" "How could we not? The ones taken away are the main culprits, all eligible for criminal prosecution, and they will be transferred to the criminal investigation team sooner or later. Our main duty now is to handle public security cases that do not qualify for criminal prosecution while also assisting the criminal investigation team with the inquiry and evidence collection." "What about the confiscated fines and penalties?" "You haven't noticed, eh? You've already learned to be calculating," Li Weiguo teased, then explained, "The criminal investigation team will be busy from now on; just going through the paperwork will make their heads spin. When it comes to the main culprits and the fines and confiscations involved, once the money is returned to us, we'll split it with them." Han Yu asked subconsciously, "Are all the fines and penalties from public security cases returned to us?" Li Weiguo patted his shoulder with a bittersweet smile, "Don't underestimate our primary responsibility for public security penalties; dealing with many people can lead to qualitative changes from quantitative changes." There were only a couple of dozen professional ticket scalpers, but many people helped line up to buy tickets. With a substantial amount of fines collected, naturally, there would be a significant return. With money, they could finally repair the boat. Thinking of this, Han Yu grinned and said, "I understand. I'm going to start cooking now." With money in the station funds, the work environment could be improved. Li Weiguo pondered, "Fixing boats is tough, and it's even tougher if you have to cook after a half-day's work. I'm going to talk to Director Xu later and see if we can set up a canteen sooner rather than later and hire someone to cook." "Thank you, Instructor." "There's one more thing." Li Weiguo remembered a notice from the bureau a few days ago and said with a smile, "Xiao Han, the superiors have asked to strengthen educational qualifications and improve the cultural level of the police. This initiative began in 1985, requiring police officers under thirty-five to engage in self-study exams. Those over thirty-five should participate in correspondence learning." "I've just graduated." "I know, but I'm talking about junior college. I'll give you the notice and related materials later; take a good look and decide on a major." "Do I have to study?" "The superiors take this issue seriously, and it's also beneficial for personal growth. A female officer from Dongsheng Police Station got her bachelor's degree in law through self-study and was immediately transferred to the Procuratorate." Self-study exams were nothing new. At the Shipping School, not only did many teachers participate in self-study exams but several classmates who had entered high school also did. They did not get into a university and could only attend a technical secondary school. They utilized the spare time during their secondary school years to obtain a junior college diploma through the self-study exams before getting their secondary school certificates. Back then, he was envious and had thought about signing up. But they were high school graduates, meeting the requirements to enroll in the junior college self-study exams, while he was just a technical secondary school student at that time and could only sign up for a secondary school self-study exam, so getting two secondary school diplomas was pointless. Han Yu didn't expect that after starting work, there would be such a requirement at the unit. He laughed and asked, "Which major should I choose?" "That's up to you. I'm too old for this; I don't have to take part and don't know much about these things." "Director Xu didn't take part?" "He already has a junior college degree, so he doesn't need to." Han Yu was surprised: "Director Xu is a college graduate!" Li Weiguo looked back to ensure Xu Sanye was on the phone in the office and whispered, "Director Xu is not just a college graduate, he's a Beijing University graduate." A Beijing University graduate, that rough fellow... How could he possibly be a graduate of Beijing University... Even if he were a graduate of Beijing University, how could he just be a small police station chief. When he was in school, teachers said that if graduates of Tsinghua or Beijing University came to the county, they would be at least Deputy County Magistrates. Han Yu was skeptical. Li Weiguo didn't care to explain and patted his shoulder before turning to head for the Director's office.