Chapter 18

Gao Changxing and two others escorted the tall thug out of the alley, panting and asked, "Chief Han, is the person okay?"

"Just a scratch, nothing serious."

"What about the other one?"

"We caught him, he’s in the car."

"Chief Han, they were armed with knives, attempted robbery and rape, and committed the crime during the crackdown. There’s no need to send them to the police station; contact the criminal investigation team directly and have them send people to investigate the scene."

"Alright, you take care of it."

"Xiao Yan, hand over the person to me. You ride the bicycle to the factory to call the police and inform the police station. Move quickly, we’ll wait here."

"Yes!"

Having caught two criminals and saved a female worker from the factory, no one would dare say the security department was just a bunch of slackers. Xiao Yan’s blood was boiling as he ran over to the bicycle and pedaled quickly back to the factory.

The two suspects were separated to prevent them from colluding. Wu Yongliang interrogated in the car, Gao Changxing at the bridgehead, and Han Bo comforted Ji Xiaojun.

After about ten minutes, the deputy head of the production department on night duty and several workshop directors arrived. Yang Xiaomei, who had come with them, took over Han Bo’s work, hugging Ji Xiaojun with lingering fear, saying, "This is what happens when you don’t listen to the elders. Chief Han has reminded you many times to have family members pick you up when you work the night shift, but you didn’t take it seriously. If Chief Han hadn’t been vigilant and brought people out to protect you at night, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

"Speaking of which, it’s quite a coincidence. It turns out you patrol every night," Director Xu realized, and the workshop directors were deeply moved.

Han Bo sighed lightly and said solemnly, "The routes for night shift workers are different, and our department is short-staffed. We can only patrol the areas in the city where incidents are likely to occur. We were lucky today and caught them. But what if we’re unlucky and they commit a crime while we’re at the bus station? The key is to have a sense of prevention. Either have family members pick you up or stay at the factory during night shifts. Otherwise, something will happen sooner or later."

"Chief Han is right. We need to take preventive measures."

Such a major incident naturally had to be reported to the factory leadership. Before the police arrived, Party Secretary Ding, Director Qian, and the union chairman Liu had already arrived. They first comforted the workers, then praised the security department, and finally went to see the captured suspects.

"You little bastards, dare to harm our workers. If this happened in the past, I would have shot you!" Director Qian, who was hot-tempered, kicked the tall suspect several times.

He wasn’t exaggerating. Before the police reorganized, social order was maintained by the militia. The silk factory’s armed department had a militia battalion, an armory, pistols, rifles, machine guns, and even anti-aircraft machine guns. They often practiced shooting, and the factory still had a rifle and machine gun training manual compiled by the Jiang Province Military Region.

Party Secretary Ding looked back and, gripping Han Bo’s hand, smiled, "Xiao Han, well done. The comrades have worked hard and made such a significant contribution. In principle, they should be commended and given a bonus. Considering that you are already so well-off and have your own petty cash, you can distribute the bonus yourselves, and the factory will only give commendations."

"Party Secretary Ding, there’s no need for that. This is our duty."

"Very high awareness."

Feeling that mere commendations were not enough, Party Secretary Ding pointed to the minivan, "From now on, Car No. 7 will officially belong to your security department. You are economic police and can apply to the police for a police car license. Send it to the auto repair shop to be painted like a police car, and install a police light. It will be more convenient and more intimidating for your work."

The police couldn’t be blamed for their slow response. The West City Police Station was far away and had no police car. The on-duty officer, Old Xia, and a security guard rode bicycles and were drenched in sweat. The criminal investigation team was the main force in the crackdown, and every officer had a task, with some responsible for multiple cases. It was already quite good that they could find someone in the middle of the night.

Party Secretary Ding had been the deputy director of the county government office for several years and was now a full-level cadre. The deputy head of the criminal investigation team hurriedly saluted and greeted him.

They were late, having waited nearly half an hour.

If it weren’t for the security department’s combativeness, who knows what would have happened, and who knows where the two captured thugs would have fled to.

Party Secretary Ding didn’t care about their difficulties and asked impatiently, "What are the higher authorities’ requirements for the crackdown? Solve major cases, catch fugitives, apprehend criminals, combat gangs, and eradicate drugs. How do you catch criminals? By patrolling. But you, the patrol police, don’t patrol. What’s the point of having a patrol police force if they don’t patrol?"

"Party Secretary Ding, I am a criminal investigator, I can’t manage the patrol police."

"Criminal investigators are the same. What do you do all day? The security situation has deteriorated to such an extent, and criminals are so rampant. They dare to rob with knives and attempt to rape our female workers. This happened in the city, right under your noses, not in a remote rural area!"

"Party Secretary Ding, you are right. We didn’t do our job well, I will reflect on it." As a full-level cadre and the deputy party secretary of the county’s wealthiest enterprise, he could speak to the party secretary and county magistrate, so Zhu Yongmin maintained a proper attitude and humbly accepted the criticism.

Director Qian lit a cigarette and added, "Our security department caught the criminals. You can take them, but you must handle them strictly. Keep us informed of the progress of the case. It’s no use talking to you; I’ll call your chief tomorrow."

Getting up in the middle of the night to respond to the call, only to be scolded upon arrival, Zhu Yongmin was in a difficult position. Fortunately, the three factory leaders didn’t want to waste time, comforted Ji Xiaojun again, and got into the car to go back to rest.

After seeing off the factory leaders, Gao Changxing took out a cigarette and greeted, "Chief Zhu, why did you come in person?"

"Are you making fun of me?"

"You are my old superior, I wouldn’t dare. Let me introduce you. This is Deputy Chief Han of our security department, and this is Deputy Squad Leader Yang Xiaomei of our team."

In the county, only the silk factory and a few banks had economic police. The banks had fewer security personnel and formed small teams. The silk factory’s security department had more people and formed a squad.

Zhu Yongmin had heard of Han Bo and extended his hand, "Chief Han, I’ve heard a lot about you, but I didn’t expect you to be so young. I am Zhu Yongmin from the criminal investigation team. It’s a pleasure to meet Chief Han. Changxing worked in our team before and is now transferred to the silk factory. Please criticize and guide us, Chief Han."

"Chief Zhu, you are too kind. Instructor Gao has more experience than me, and we work very well together. There’s no need for criticism or guidance. I’m sorry to have disturbed you so late, Chief Zhu."

"It’s part of my duty, no need to apologize. What’s the situation? From Secretary Ding’s tone, it seems quite serious."

The interrogation results were out. Han Bo shone a flashlight on the tall suspect and introduced, "This is Jing Xiaojun, twenty-one years old, from Jinhong Township, with no formal job, and has been loitering in the county for a long time. The one in the car is Tang Guishan, nineteen years old, from Zhangdian Town, who learned some masonry but found it too hard and tiring, and has also been loitering in the county.

They met while playing pool and have been hanging out together since. Around 9 PM tonight, they watched a video in an illegal video hall. According to their confession, they watched a pornographic video, which aroused their lust. Jing Xiaojun suggested finding a woman to play with, and Tang Guishan agreed. They came to Liu Damiao Bridge, planning to target our factory’s night shift female workers and also to steal some money..."