In the evening, in a manor in the north of Jincheng, County Magistrate Li and the squires in the city invited all the famous chefs in Jincheng and set up more than thirty banquets on a lawn of the manor to welcome Commissioner Liu Te. All the squires and wealthy businessmen with some reputation in the city were invited to accompany him.
Shanxi's finest Fenjiu wine, exquisite Shan cuisine, and enthusiastic local folks made the banquet atmosphere extremely lively. At the main table, County Magistrate Li looked at Liu Ruoshui's radiant face and cheerful expression. He raised his glass and toasted again: "This time the special commissioner came to Jincheng as his first stop. It is really a blessing for us Jincheng folks. Isn't this true? , we just received the news that you were coming, and the snitch who had been causing trouble in Jincheng for half a month was caught that night. You said, why is this not because of you? "
Liu Ruoshui laughed loudly and said: "This has nothing to do with me. It is the credit of your county, and I don't dare to take it. Besides, you just caught a thief, why should you rely on me?"
County Magistrate Li eagerly added food to Liu Ruoshui's plate and said, "Commissioner, you don't know that this is no ordinary thief. He is as light as a swallow and as quick as a rabbit. How can he walk through walls and doors, fly over eaves and walk over walls?" It’s no big deal. Moreover, he is as cunning as a fox, has no rules, and is hard to guard against.”
Zhou Wen, who was sitting next to Liu Ruoshui, didn't want to attract attention and didn't talk much after arriving in Jincheng. Liu Ruoshui took care of all the entertainment. Other than others knowing that he held the official position of Director of Security Division of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Headquarters, Liu Ruoshui didn't say much else. Everyone just speculated that he was probably the son of a wealthy family and high-ranking official, and he was here to get gold-plated qualifications.
But after listening to County Magistrate Li's words, Zhou Wen became curious about this snitch. He is a person who likes martial arts, and he knows that this snitch is probably also a martial artist. He smiled and asked casually: "Then how did he steal it? County Magistrate Li can tell you in detail, and how he was caught in the end?"
County Magistrate Li has been secretly guessing the identity of the young colonel. Xunsi thought that such a young colonel must have a rich family background. It was rare for him to hear Zhou Wen's question and he quickly replied: "Director Zhou wants to understand the situation. I'd better call the person involved to give you a detailed report directly."
Zhou Wen declined: "Then there's no need. I'm not investigating a case. It's inappropriate to call several families here."
"There is only one family, Zhang Minghui's family. He is at the next table. I will ask someone to call him." After saying this, the person next to County Magistrate Li got up and left.
Zhou Wen was even more curious now. He had previously thought that if there were burglaries for half a month, at least several families would suffer, but only one family would suffer.
I saw a rich, fat old man walking over, nodding and bowing to everyone with a smile and saying hello. County Magistrate Li smiled and said: "Boss Zhang, Director Zhou of the Provincial Party Headquarters Security Department is very interested in the case of snitches in your home. Come and talk about it."
Boss Zhang quickly bowed to Zhou Wen and saluted. Zhou Wen respected that the other person was an old man, so he asked him to sit down next to him and said with a smile: "Boss Zhang, I don't mean anything else, I'm just curious. You don't want to You’re too polite, let’s talk while we eat.”
Boss Zhang looked at this colonel officer who was younger than his own son. He spoke kindly and had an easy-going attitude, which actually made him feel close and friendly. He secretly praised him in his heart. When he thought about his unworthy son, he couldn't help but feel sad.
Suddenly he saw the young officer smiling and waiting for him to speak. He immediately blushed and quickly collected his thoughts and said: "The little old man has an unscrupulous son who is studying at Beiyang University in Tianjin. He suddenly came home more than half a month ago, and he brought him with him A few professors and scholars from Japan."
Zhou Wen became wary when he heard this. At this time, anything related to the Japanese was mostly not a good thing. On the surface, he remained calm and continued to listen to Boss Zhang’s introduction.
It turns out that Boss Zhang’s son is named Zhang Jiaju. He brought three Japanese back to Jincheng more than ten days ago. According to his son’s introduction, he is a Japanese archaeologist and specially invited him as an assistant to come to Jincheng to investigate and study the tomb culture of the Song and Jin dynasties. . When I arrived, I stayed at Boss Zhang’s house. As a result, a snitch came that night and stole Zhang Jiaju's personal belongings and several gold and silver utensils for ancestor worship in the Zhang family ancestral hall. From that day on, the snitch visited his house several times. Sometimes I even went there in the first half of the night and again in the second half of the night. Sometimes there is no movement for several days.
This snitch is very clever at stealing, specializing in stealing from warehouses and cash boxes. The guard was obviously awake, but the things were still missing. Zhang Jiaju's bedroom was the most visited, and even the dozens of oceans he had begged for from his mother the day before were gone overnight. All the clothes and belongings in the room were stolen, and Zhang Jiaju finally had to wear servants' clothes.
The snitch was very courageous. He seemed to be demonstrating and made a noise every time he left. When the servants ran out of the room, they could only see the distant black shadow on the roof. The cat burglar sneaks in and out, but never enters a room with a female family member. He looks like a righteous thief.
On the tenth day, the snitch began to steal the Japanese's things, but the Japanese did not say what was stolen. They just asked the Zhang family to report the case and the snitch must be caught. Boss Zhang had to report it to the county, which caused a sensation in the county. How could someone be so bold as to steal from a family for ten days in a row and still not be able to guard against it? What if you start attacking other people’s homes? As a result, everyone in the wealthy compound is in danger and every house is on guard against thieves.
County Magistrate Li was also worried that the burglars would expand the scope of their thefts, which would make it more difficult to prevent, so he asked the security team to send people to ambush and guard the Zhang family residence overnight. The snitch is not afraid either, he still comes and steals at night. If you're on the inside, I'll sneak in and even pry away the two gold-plated pull rings on the Zhang family's door.
Later, a Japanese came up with an idea. He used thin fishing lines to form a dark net in every corner of the Zhang family's house. It was not easy to detect after dark. Bells were hung on the net, which would ring when someone touched it. The people fired their guns.
This trick worked really well. That night, the security team who was squatting at Zhang's house heard the ringing of the bell. They fired their guns at any time. More than a dozen guns were fired at the same time. The snitch was actually hit in the leg. He couldn't get up to the roof without exerting any strength on his feet. As a result, he was blocked in the alley outside the Zhang family compound and was captured without any help.
After listening to this, Zhou Wen felt that the Japanese who came up with the idea was quite smart. This trick worked well for ordinary people to guard against highly skilled thieves.
Zhou Wen was a little strange. This thief seemed to have a personal enmity with the Zhang family. He stole from his family and deliberately wanted to let people know about it and make the Zhang family panic.
He asked Boss Zhang softly: "Boss Zhang, why didn't you report the crime to begin with? If you had reported it earlier, wouldn't you have caught it earlier?"
Boss Zhang's expression changed and he hesitated, looking embarrassed. Zhou Wen smiled and said: "It's okay, I was just curious and asked casually. If it's inconvenient for Boss Zhang, don't tell me."
