Chapter 6

As night fell, the area around the factory turned into a night market. There were individual traders, family members of employees from nearby factories, and workers off duty from the silk weaving factory. Fruits, various summer clothes, slippers, sandals, daily necessities, books, magazines, and cassette tapes of the Four Heavenly Kings—everything you could think of, dazzling to the eye.

If you got thirsty from browsing, you could buy cold drinks, and if you got hungry, there were snack stalls ahead.

If you wanted to show off your singing skills, you could sing outdoor karaoke. Two yuan per song, with several song lists being passed around among the onlookers. The boss was busy to the point of being frazzled, with business so good it was almost criminal.

To run this business required a "big investment"—a 25-inch color TV was a must, a VCD player costing several thousand yuan was also essential, along with a sound system, enough CDs, and dozens of benches.

A middle-aged couple was currently singing a Huangmei opera, "The Husband and Wife Return Home Together." Their performance was melodious and emotionally rich, almost professional.

Young people didn't enjoy it much, eagerly waiting to grab the microphone. Older people, however, loved it, cheering and shouting for more songs, more songs.

Yang Xiaomei was envious, not of the singing but of the young couple who took orders and collected money. She couldn't help but grumble, "Two yuan per song, how much can they earn in one night! Truly, those by the sea get rich, those who set up stalls get rich, those who work get tired, and those who are laid off get poor."

"You can't make money without taking risks, Sister Yang. You can also go into business."

"I don't have the capital, and I'm not brave enough."

Han Bo smiled and shifted his attention to a few young men at the street corner. One had a crew cut, two had long hair, all dressed in bright, flashy clothes, wearing slippers, and smoking, their eyes roving over the passersby, especially the pretty girls.

During dinner, Chief Jiang had mentioned that the Chengxi Police Station had very few people. After the economic police squad was established the next day, the factory's gatehouse would also become the People's West Road Police Station, assisting the Chengxi Police Station in maintaining social order in the silk weaving factory area.

Many of the stall owners were factory employees and their families, and many of the night market visitors were factory employees. If they needed to be managed, they should be managed.

"Yongliang, do you recognize those guys across the street?"

"I recognize the one in shorts. He lives nearby, graduated from junior high, and has been unemployed at home, loafing around all day. The others look familiar, they come often, but they don't live in this part of Chengxi. They are probably unemployed youth from the surrounding towns."

"Does the one you recognize have a criminal record?" Han Bo stood under a sycamore tree, observing calmly.

Wu Yongliang, who remembered clearly, said without hesitation, "Yes, petty theft, caught several times by the Chengxi Police Station. He was lucky and didn't get caught during the 'crackdown.' If it were now, he'd be sentenced to at least three to five years."

It was March, and a vice-chairman of the National People's Congress, a national leader, was murdered at home. A few days later, several criminals broke into the home of a deputy director of the criminal investigation department of a county public security bureau in the southwestern province, tied up the deputy director and his wife, gagged and blindfolded them, and stole a handgun and several thousand yuan in cash...

The security situation was severe, and it was necessary to crack down on the rampant criminal activities.

Han Bo weighed his options and said, "Yongliang, Sister Yang, after we change into our uniforms tomorrow, keep the team leaders from the dyeing and printing division and the clothing division for a meeting. We need to discuss and adjust the shift times based on the actual situation to ensure that there are four people on duty from 7 PM to 12 AM every day at the main factory.

One person will guard the main gate, and three will patrol between the main gate and the west gate. The hotel houses clients and leaders, so we need to ensure their safety. We'll also take care of the night market to ensure the safety of our factory employees and the public."

The security situation at the night market was not optimistic. There were unemployed loafers, petty thieves, troublemakers, and even people who lured passersby into alleys for extortion. Vendors selling substandard products often caused disputes, and there were too many tricycles, bicycles, and motorcycles, leading to minor accidents that escalated into fights...

The Chengxi Police Station was too far away, and people often ran to the gatehouse to find the security department.

According to the current shift schedule, there was only one person on night duty, who couldn't leave the main gate. Even if they could leave for a moment, one person wouldn't be enough. By the time the police and the auxiliary police arrived, the petty thieves and troublemakers would have long fled.

The night market was right at the factory gate, and many of the victims were factory employees. The security department should manage it, and as a team leader, Wu Yongliang wanted to manage it, but he still shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Chief Han, the security department employees are veterans, not active-duty soldiers. Out of ten people in the county, only Xiao Yan is unmarried. Who doesn't have family matters? Who would want to work overtime without overtime pay?"

"Do we not get overtime pay in our department?"

"No, we just get a meal for night duty."

Thinking about it, in the eyes of the factory leadership and most employees, the security department was just a group of people who didn't do much work but still got paid. What more could they want?

Without money, nothing could be done.

Han Bo thought for a moment and said confidently, "Funding isn't hard to solve. Others can generate income, and so can we. After we change into our uniforms tomorrow, we'll go out to direct traffic and prohibit stalls in the middle of the road. The curb side belongs to our service company, and the other side is the factory area, all our territory.

The security department isn't the police station and doesn't have the authority to collect public security fees, but we can collect cleaning fees. Two yuan per stall, not much, and we'll help maintain order. If we do a good job, we should be able to collect the fees. If they don't pay, they can go set up stalls elsewhere, not at our gate."

The middle of the road was cleaned by the sanitation department, and the curb sides were the factory's responsibility. The stalls made a mess, and the factory's cleaners complained every morning.

Wu Yongliang thought it made sense and couldn't help but smile, "There are about fifty to sixty stalls on both sides, like a rural market. Small stalls pay two yuan, large stalls pay three yuan, and the karaoke stalls, which take up a lot of space and are noisy, pay eight yuan per night. We can collect at least 120 yuan per night, and with some bad weather, we can generate at least 2,400 yuan per month.

We can give 400 yuan to the cleaners, and the remaining 2,000 yuan can be split, half for overtime pay and half for expenses. By the end of the year, our security department will have its own petty cash fund, and we can have meals together and give ourselves some benefits."

Yang Xiaomei hesitated and asked, "Chief Han, Yongliang, is this considered illegal fees?"

"Would you allow people to do business in front of your house, making a mess and disturbing your family?"

"Of course not."

"Exactly. It's like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai—willing on both sides. If they want to set up stalls here, they have to pay. If they don't want to pay, they can leave." Han Bo paused and added, "We'll also charge the stalls of factory employees and their families, at least to appear fair. We'll explain it to them privately and have them lead the way in paying, and then quietly refund them later."

"What if they tell others?"

"Then they won't be allowed to set up stalls anymore. We'll clean up and maintain order, and the factory gate will be quiet. The factory leadership will be happy, and we won't have to work overtime."

If this worked, it would increase each person's income by a hundred or two yuan a month. With the deputy director's decisiveness, how could Wu Yongliang miss this opportunity? He patted his chest and promised, "Chief Han, leave this to me. You go back and rest. I'll start working on it tonight and aim to open for business tomorrow. As long as we have the funds, we can maintain the security around the factory, and we'll drive away those loafers and troublemakers."

You're very enthusiastic.

Han Bo smiled in satisfaction, "Alright, you handle the work below, and I'll handle the work above. I'll report to Chief Jiang tomorrow and then go to Director Qian together to get the necessary authority by nightfall."