Chapter 152 Do Not Be Unappreciative

Director Tian also noticed Liu Xing. After waving and smiling, he didn't exchange pleasantries with Liu Xing. Instead, he took several portraits from the female police officer beside him and walked under the pomelo tree to compare them with the three tied-up human traffickers.

After taking a closer look, he couldn't help but gasp.

The accompanying female police officer was also somewhat startled: "Chief, these... aren't these the nationwide wanted human traffickers Ma Xiaomei, Zhuang Dihu, and Luo Bamian?"

"It's the three of them." Director Tian handed the portraits to the female officer: "You, Xiao Li, and Xiao Wang take them to the vehicle. Be careful; these three are cold-blooded monsters."

"Got it!" Hearing this, cold sweat broke out on the female officer's forehead, and she hurriedly called the other two officers to start untying the three traffickers. Fearing they might escape, she specifically had handcuffs put on them first.

However, upon seeing that the dwarf Luo Bamian had already passed out and Ma Xiaomei was also heavily injured, they let out a sigh of relief.

Director Tian watched as the three traffickers were safely escorted into the jeep, then walked straight over to Liu Xing: "How did you figure out that these three traffickers were abducting Zhao Jing?"

Normally, human traffickers are extremely cunning.

Even for professionals specializing in such cases, tracing their movements is very difficult.

Earlier when Gouzi reported the case to the Donghe Police Station, he said that Liu Xing had noticed something amiss with Ma Xiaomei even before Zhao Jing was abducted. To him, this was a thoroughly bizarre matter, so he had to ask clearly before leaving.

Liu Xing was slightly startled upon hearing this. After recovering his wits, he smiled bitterly and answered Director Tian's question: "At the time, when I was leading Zhao Guong in inspecting the market's road sanitation, I noticed something off about the female trafficker, but I had no evidence. So I told Zhao Guong and Gouzi to keep a close eye on them, who would have thought..."

Saying this, Liu Xing stopped. After all, Director Tian should have already learned all the subsequent events from Gouzi's mouth.

Yet Director Tian remained doubtful: "The female trafficker was holding an infant, and beside her followed a chattering little boy, Luo Bamian. Under such circumstances, you could spot that something was wrong with them?"

To be honest, even if beaten to death, he would find it hard to believe.

After all, the camouflage of human traffickers is comprehensive and flawless.

"Director Tian, do you really want to know the inside story?" Liu Xing smiled.

"Of course." Director Tian said affirmatively.

"Actually, there's nothing much to tell. It's just that the little boy exposed something he shouldn't have," Liu Xing replied teasingly.

"What thing?" Director Tian pressed on.

Liu Xing did not answer, but instead reached out and touched Director Tian's Adam's apple.

This action left Director Tian frozen in place.

After regaining his senses, he couldn't help laughing: "So the biggest flaw was right here! You really are meticulous; these three traffickers didn't fall into your hands unjustly."

"Come on, the three of them weren't caught by me, and it has nothing to do with me. At best, I just played a tiny little role in this," Liu Xing quickly refuted Director Tian's words.

"What are you afraid of? The people are caught now." Director Tian said helplessly.

This Liu Xing! In his view, everything about him was good, except for one thing: he was too cowardly.

He wouldn't even dare to take credit for such a massive achievement; if it were him, he'd probably be happily broadcasting it everywhere.

How could Liu Xing not know what was on Director Tian's mind? Hearing this, he shook his head helplessly: "My dear Director Tian, now that the three traffickers who abducted Zhao Jing have been caught, do you really think they could abduct three children at the same time without accomplices?"

"This..." Director Tian's expression changed.

Indeed, human traffickers usually operate in rings.

And the syndicate of three traffickers led by Luo Bamian had committed numerous major crimes all over the country.

To say they had no accomplices—let alone himself, even a three-year-old child wouldn't believe it.

In other words, it was still a bit too early to celebrate; he could only truly smile once all the traffickers were swept into the net.

Thinking of this, Director Tian lost all desire to chat with Liu Xing. He turned to look at the bustling crowd around him, and seeing a man in black with evasive eyes, he couldn't help pointing and shouting: "You! Come here for a moment."

At these words, the man in black turned and bolted.

Under the cover of night, he quickly vanished.

Director Tian slapped his forehead in annoyance, and seeing a few more suspicious figures in the crowd preparing to leave, he immediately drew his gun and gave chase.

This action was rather rash; it not only startled the traffickers hiding in the crowd but also terrified the villagers who were just watching the fun. Shrill screams rang out as the crowd of onlookers exploded into chaos. Then everyone scattered in all directions, running and fleeing, vanishing completely in the blink of an eye.

Liu Xing watched and shook his head, though he kept the facial features of the man in black firmly in mind.

If he remembered correctly, that man in black seemed to be Boss Li, who sold tofu at the market.

Boss Li usually spoke very little, and his reputation in the market was quite good.

He didn't look like a human trafficker, yet now he ran away the moment he saw Director Tian—clearly, he had crimes on his conscience and felt guilty.

Thinking of this, Liu Xing was just about to ask Liu Dongju for detailed information about Boss Li when Director Tian walked up to him: "Liu Xing, I have to head back to interrogate these three traffickers and their accomplices through the night. If we need your assistance, I'll send someone to pick you up."

"Alright!" Liu Xing nodded.

Director Tian reached out and patted Liu Xing's shoulder, then walked straight toward the jeep parked by the roadside.

Liu Xing watched the jeep vanish into the night sky, then waved to Zhao Guong, Gouzi, and Zhao Liang nearby and began giving low instructions.

A moment later, just as he was about to bring up Boss Li, Village Chief Zhao interrupted him while holding Zhao Jing by the hand: "Star-boy, it's getting late, I'll take Jing'er back first."

"Alright!" Liu Xing nodded.

"Goodbye, big brother. The food you cooked was delicious." Zhao Jing waved her small hand at Liu Xing, then followed closely behind Village Chief Zhao, heading toward the path diagonally across the street.

"This child, she's really easy to satisfy." Liu Xing smiled as he watched them go. Seeing Zhao Guong and the others yawning repeatedly, he didn't waste any more words and told them to go back to sleep first.

As for tomorrow's business, he believed tomorrow would provide ample time to handle it.

...

May eighteenth.

It was market day in Old House Village.

Just as the sky was turning pale, Liu Xing was awakened by the loud, noisy commotion.

With no other choice, he got up, washed up, and opened the shoe store's doors.

Seeing that Nai Xinru and little Doudou were also awake, he greeted them and went to the kitchen to have breakfast.

Right after finishing, he heard someone shouting his name on the street.

Stepping out of the kitchen to take a look, he saw Ding Lan and Niu Lianfang arriving in a jeep. Startled for a moment, he hurried forward to greet them.

"Cut to the chase, hurry up and take Zhao Guong, Zhao Liang, Gouzi, and other relevant market management personnel to clean up the market street. Anyone encroaching on the storefronts, and anyone whose rain shelters extend into the middle of the street, tear them all down for me—make it fast!" The moment they met, Niu Lianfang stated her purpose.

This left Liu Xing somewhat bewildered: "Sister, what on earth are you planning to do at the crack of dawn?"

"Don't ask, even if you ask I won't tell. In short, if you do as I say, it'll be of great benefit to you." Niu Lianfang smiled mysteriously.

Ding Lan chimed in: "Originally, I wanted you to mobilize some villagers to sweep the market street, but when I looked earlier as I arrived, it was quite clean, so we'll skip that."

"I hired five cleaners to sweep the place!" Seeing that Niu Lianfang and Ding Lan hadn't brought any other colleagues, Liu Xing asked casually, "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? How about going to the kitchen to toast some rice cakes while I go call Zhao Guong and Gouzi to clear out the encroaching stalls?"

"Alright!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Hearing about toasted rice cakes, Ding Lan and Niu Lianfang were overjoyed. Without waiting for Liu Xing to lead the way, they walked straight into the kitchen.

Liu Xing smiled, instructed Lanlan at the store entrance to keep a close eye on the melon seeds, the little one, and little Doudou, and then set off toward the street.

...

On the street.

The flow of people was like a river, bustling and shoulder to shoulder.

Zhao Guong, accompanied by Gouzi and Zhao Liang, was walking along the street collecting temporary stall fees.

Since most of the vendors were acquaintances, the process proceeded smoothly amidst chatter and laughter.

Meanwhile, Zhong萍 (Zhong Ping) and four women were cleaning the other end of the street, stepping up to say a word or two whenever someone littered. Although quite a few vendors felt resentful, none of them dared to argue with Zhong Ping, given that Zhao Guong was standing not far away.

If a real argument broke out, the ones suffering losses in the end would definitely be them.

Why say that?

Because Zhao Guong's physique stood out like a crane among chickens throughout the entire market.

Of course, mainly because they were in the wrong; after all, everyone shared the responsibility for maintaining clean market hygiene.

It's just that this sudden and drastic change caught many vendors off guard, making them somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Liu Xing, weaving through the crowd, felt no such discomfort.

Noticing that many vendors on both sides of the street had set up their stalls right in the middle of the road to attract traffic, with some even placing temporary frames directly at the crossroads, he couldn't help frowning.

Yet he didn't fly into a rage immediately. Instead, he walked over to Zhao Guong: "Stop collecting temporary stall fees for now. Go find a bag of slaked lime right away—I have a use for it."

"Gouzi could easily go do that!" Zhao Guong replied.

"Why are you talking so much nonsense? Go on, I have other arrangements for Gouzi and Zhao Liang." Liu Xing lightly kicked Zhao Guong.

"Fine!" With no other choice, Zhao Guong handed the collected temporary stall fees to Liu Xing and went off to find the slaked lime.

Liu Xing didn't idle either; he had Gouzi and Zhao Liang follow him along the street to notify vendors occupying the roadway to pull back immediately.

Some disobedient ones who paid him no mind were temporarily left alone. Once the entire street had been notified, he stepped forward, raised his leg, and kicked over one of the illegally placed stalls.

The burly vendor was furious and wanted to cause trouble for Liu Xing, but Gouzi and Zhao Liang weren't pushovers; they immediately stepped forward to block him.

Liu Xing pointed at the burly vendor: "Listen to me, if you don't want to do business properly and orderly in this market, get lost. I have no intention of pampering you."

It wasn't that he was being unreasonable and tyrannical, but sometimes using forceful methods was imperative.

If he spoke in a friendly, polite manner with these stubborn and unreasonable vendors, he knew that clearing out illegal obstructions would be an absolute dead end.

Only by making an example of a chicken to scare the monkeys—letting all vendors know he was not someone to be trifled with—could the work of managing the market proceed.

Sure enough, seeing that Liu Xing meant business and possessed a ferocious temper, the other rule-breaking vendors hurriedly dragged their temporary stalls back to safe positions.

In just a minute or two, the previously cramped and congested street instantly became much wider.

Liu Xing was very satisfied with this effect. Seeing that Zhao Guong had brought the slaked lime back, he took it and used the locations of the former temporary stalls along the street to mark out a clear dividing line.

Actually, doing this was also a helpless measure, just a temporary one.

To completely eradicate illegal road occupation, the only permanent solution was to properly demarcate temporary stalls in the market.

However, although he had the heart for it now, time simply wasn't on his side!

Therefore, with no other choice, he had to make do with a temporary fix first.

Many vendors scoffed at Liu Xing's actions, with some even whispering secretly behind his back.

They claimed Liu Xing was engaging in formalism, purely trying to win favor with the higher-ups.

But they soon realized how wrong they were—spectacularly wrong.

Because not long after Liu Xing left, a long motorcade suddenly appeared in the market.

Led by a jeep from the Donghe Police Station, the motorcade was followed by three large trucks and seven or eight fully armed police cruisers.

On the flatbed trucks, heavily armed armed police guarded a dozen prisoners with wooden boards hung around their necks. Leading them was actually Xiao道德 (Xiao Daode) and the cattle thief Wang Zhuoshi and others.

Upon entering the market, the motorcade slowed its pace, while loudspeakers blared accusations of the crimes committed by the prisoners on the trucks. Seeing this scene, the visiting villagers immediately stood on both sides of the street, applauding and cheering.

Yet the motorcade soon ground to a halt. The reason? Two vendors had once again moved their temporary stalls back into the middle of the road to conduct business. They seemed completely unfazed by the arrival of the motorcade, showing no sense of awe whatsoever.

This infuriated the Donghe police officers driving the vehicles. Jumping out, they overturned the two vendors' temporary stalls and tossed them aside.

When the two vendors tried to argue with the officers, handcuffs were snapped onto their wrists the very next second, and they were shoved directly into a police cruiser.

One tall vendor attempted to resist, only to be struck down to the ground by an officer, sending two of his teeth flying out.

This spectacle turned the faces of the other encroaching vendors pale with fright.

They finally understood that when Liu Xing told them earlier not to violate regulations by occupying the road, he was giving them a prior warning. Today was a special day; the market might tolerate them, but the higher-up authorities certainly would not.

After taking such a brutal beating, those guys wouldn't recover for ten days to half a month.

To avoid repeating the same mistake, the vendors who had been saying one thing to his face and another behind his back hurriedly dragged their temporary stalls back, not daring to step even half an inch across the "red line," even if their goods lacked space for display.

Sitting in one of the police cruisers, Bureau Chief Wu couldn't help laughing at the sight: "These vendors really prefer the hard way over the easy way. The state has given them so much convenience, yet they don't know how to cherish it. Don't you think it would be better if they conducted themselves properly and made money lawfully? They always wait until they're given a warning before they know how to feel fear."

"This is actually just a tiny fraction of them; the vast majority are still quite law-abiding." Bureau Chief Ding in the back seat smiled along: "Haven't you noticed that today's market order is far better than it used to be?"

"I have, and this road surface is clean to a ridiculous degree," Bureau Chief Wu said sincerely.

"In other words, our joint insistence on recommending this kid Liu Xing to manage the market was the right choice?" Bureau Chief Ding joked with a hint of gratification.

"Indeed! But don't you feel that arranging for Liu Xing to stay at the market is a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?" Bureau Chief Wu sighed softly.

"Which aspect are you referring to?" Bureau Chief Ding asked with some puzzlement.

"You heard about how the human trafficking ring led by Luo Bamian was completely wiped out last night, didn't you?" Bureau Chief Wu slowly spoke up.

"Mm, I heard about it early this morning. That kid Tian Jun is probably going to be promoted; after all, Luo Bamian was a nationwide wanted criminal whom the Changhe police spent over three years trying to capture to no avail," Bureau Chief Ding said with a smile.

"Your information isn't quite accurate. Luo Bamian wasn't captured by Tian Jun first; he just got lucky and picked up a huge bargain," Bureau Chief Wu shook his head.

"What do you mean by that?" Bureau Chief Ding furrowed his brows.

"What do I mean..." Bureau Chief Wu glanced at the surrounding environment, then recounted the inside story of how Zhao Jing went missing last night, and how Liu Xing led over a dozen members of the Zhao family to locate and capture the human trafficker Luo Bamian.

Bureau Chief Ding listened quietly.

At first, there was a smile on his face, but soon the smile faded, replaced by an expression of utter astonishment.

When Bureau Chief Wu finished speaking, he immediately asked: "How did this kid Liu Xing know for sure that Zhao Jing was abducted by that Ma Xiaomei? He... isn't this too terrifying?"

"According to Tian Jun, Liu Xing happened to spot Luo Bamian's Adam's apple at the time, which aroused his suspicion. So he had Zhao Guong keep an eye on them, and that's how everything else unfolded," Bureau Chief Wu replied.

"Wait, isn't it normal for Luo Bamian to have an Adam's apple?" Bureau Chief Ding was still somewhat confused.

"Given the circumstances, Ma Xiaomei called Luo Bamian her son, and Luo Bamian, being a dwarf, actually played along and called her 'Mom.' An ordinary person definitely wouldn't see through the facade there, but Liu Xing is meticulous, so he spotted the anomaly at a glance," Bureau Chief Wu explained patiently.

"In other words, the reason Luo Bamian fell into Liu Xing's hands this time was because of his Adam's apple?" Bureau Chief Ding asked in shock.

"Mm," Bureau Chief Wu nodded.

"Hahaha... This kid! He's truly a genius," Bureau Chief Ding burst out laughing.

"That's why I now feel that leaving Liu Xing stuck in the market is a waste of his talent," Bureau Chief Wu sighed softly.

"That makes sense, but we have to take things slowly. Besides, Liu Xing's educational background is a bit low—only a junior high graduate—so he can't enter our core circle," Bureau Chief Ding reminded him with a hint of regret.

"You mean we need to find a way to get Liu Xing to continue his studies?" Bureau Chief Wu's eyes lit up in sudden realization. Seeing that the motorcade was slowly pulling up to the shoe store's entrance, he quickly put his thoughts away, told the driver, and stepped out of the vehicle.

—

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