Chapter 4

This plot of land was bought last year, and the preparatory work before entry has been completed. It's just waiting for the weather to warm up to start construction. The labor, materials, and machinery for the initial phase were all finalized last year, and even the contracts were signed. Zhang Jian, who studied budgeting, now has nothing much to do.

Every day at work, he just clocks in by fingerprint, surfs the internet, eats, and clocks out. Such a leisurely job naturally doesn't pay much; he only earns 2,500 yuan a month. After deducting rent, meals, cigarettes, and bus fares, there's hardly anything left.

Fortunately, the project manager saw that he had a second-level construction engineer certificate and that there weren't enough construction workers. He asked if Zhang Jian was willing to take over as a construction worker, with a salary of 4,000 yuan, but it would be much more tiring.

Zhang Jian thought about it. Since he had nothing to do anyway and was single, he decided to become a construction worker, hoping to save more money and make his parents feel more at ease when he went home for the New Year.

In April, when the materials and machinery began to enter the site, he finally mustered the courage to take on his third task. The first two months, he did receive tasks, but unfortunately, he couldn't complete them. Fortunately, the punishments weren't too severe, but he still lost 5,000 yuan.

The first task to earn 10,000 yuan failed, costing him 2,000 yuan. The second task was to roll a snowball with a diameter of one meter, but there was no heavy snow in Beijing during the New Year, costing him another 3,000 yuan.

This time, he felt the most confident. He didn't dare to take any of the tasks that refreshed at the beginning of the month, except for this one, which gave him hope. The task was to catch a thief.

Catching a thief, how hard could it be? Whether on a bus, in a mall, supermarket, or even a market, there are always some people with unclean hands. With a week left until the end of the month, if he looked hard enough, he couldn't possibly fail to find one.

Unfortunately, he thought it was too simple. When he actually started looking for a thief, he found none. Could it be that the citizens of Ice City had such high moral standards that there were no thieves?

Of course not. Thieves have never disappeared, even during wartime, they were active. It's just that Zhang Jian didn't know who the thieves were, and no one was shouting to catch a thief. Where could he go to catch one?

After work one day, he took the bus home. There were empty seats, but he didn't sit down. Instead, he stood by the rear door near the window, constantly observing the other passengers, hoping to find a thief.

But not only did he not find one, everyone looked at him strangely, and some even clutched their bags tightly.

Damn, he was mistaken for a thief!

Zhang Jian wanted to curse. "I'm doing a good deed, why am I being treated like a bad guy? Thief, where are you? Come out, let me catch you once, I promise not to hit you, and I'll even buy you a meal."

Because he couldn't find a thief, Zhang Jian went home and reviewed "A World Without Thieves" online, hoping to find the characteristics of a thief. However, there's a difference between movies and real life, and he still had no clue.

For five consecutive days, Zhang Jian squatted at the train station for half a night but found nothing. He wanted to shout like Shagen, "Do you have any thieves? Step forward and let me see."

It was Saturday, a day off, and the next day was April 1st. If he didn't complete the task, he would fail again. Even the lightest punishment, a fine, would cost him at least 4,000 yuan. Since he started working, he hadn't received a single paycheck.

Why did the task have to be completed by the end of the month? In the future, he should take tasks at the beginning of the month, giving him more time and a better chance of completing them.

On weekends, there are always more people in the mall. He decided to go to the pedestrian commercial street by the river, which is always crowded on weekends. Thieves must like such places.

Standing at a crossroads, on the left was a McDonald's with many people queuing to use the restroom, and on the right was a clothing store with a discount, also attracting many people.

Yes, this is the place. He would definitely catch a thief and complete this damn task.

Ha ha, his luck was good. Ten meters away, a man was reaching into a girl's pocket. God is so cute, sending a thief right to him. He couldn't let it go, no, he couldn't let it escape.

Just as he ran up to them, he saw the girl put her arm around the man's, and they walked away together.

Damn, they were a couple! Close, but not quite. Otherwise, he would have made a fool of himself.

To make matters worse, it started snowing, and the snow got heavier. The weather forecast was never accurate, always after the fact.

Zhang Jian stood in the snow for ten minutes, and his glasses were covered with snow, making it impossible to see. It seemed he was destined to fail today.

He tightened his down jacket's hood and slowly walked back, looking for a bus stop.

As he passed through an empty alley, a man wearing a hat and mask ran past him at high speed.

"Damn, doesn't he fear falling? The ground is so slippery." Zhang Jian cursed because he was in a bad mood.

"Bag, my bag."

Zhang Jian heard a pleasant female voice and glanced at her. She was covered so tightly that he couldn't see her face. Wait, what did she say? Bag? Thief or robber?

No matter what, he had to catch him first.

Damn, this guy ran really fast. In the blink of an eye, he was already twenty meters away. Zhang Jian bent down, made a snowball, and threw it with all his might.

"Yes!"

It hit the guy's back, and he stumbled and fell to the ground.

Zhang Jian quickly ran over. When he reached the guy, he hadn't gotten up yet. The woman who was robbed finally caught up, and she was surprisingly fast.

"Bag, my bag." The woman panted.

"Don't worry, I've caught him. Call the police." Zhang Jian wasn't sure if he had caught the wrong person, so he decided to call the police first.

"No rush, I'm a police officer." The woman's words made Zhang Jian almost laugh.

"You're a police officer? I'm the chief. I've never heard of anyone robbing a police officer. You can hit me, but when the police come, you have to testify, or you won't get your bag back."

Zhang Jian took out his old Nokia and prepared to dial 110.

"My ID is in the bag. I'm really a police officer, a household registration officer. I was using snow to clean my shoes and left my bag on the ground. When I turned around, it was stolen. I chased him for a whole street. I'll call the police later, no need to go through the command center. This area is under our jurisdiction, so I'll call my colleague directly. The phone is in the bag."

Zhang Jian looked at her shiny boots and believed her. He picked up the bag, opened it, and saw a police ID. The photo looked good, probably photoshopped. Her name was Li Feifei, which sounded nice, but he wondered if she had a boyfriend.

Spit, spit, spit, what was he thinking? He should quickly return the bag to its owner. Li Feifei took off her hat and mask, and he saw that it was her, and she looked even prettier than in the photo.

"Here, take it. You call the police, I'll watch this guy."

This guy was indeed a thief, so the task was completed.

"Host has caught a thief, task completed. Reward: one draw. Please keep up the good work and strive to complete more tasks."

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