Chapter 319: Night Shift

It turned out that the commotion just now was the arrest of several “notorious bandits.” The lead was not taken by the police, but by the Australians’ “Xingren Si” (Pedestrian Division). It was said that these notorious bandits were very formidable, each with high martial arts skills, and had been lying low in the East Gate Market after infiltrating Lingao.

“…I didn’t expect their movements to have been discovered by the Australians long ago. It’s just that they didn’t want to alert them, so they let them make contact and rendezvous. When everyone was gathered, they launched a coordinated attack. It’s said they were all caught in one fell swoop!” Wang Xinglong said, spittle flying from his mouth, very excited. “Among them was a very capable female criminal, said to be a female flying thief from the north. With a single leap, she could get on the roof and over the walls, breaking through several layers of blockade. Then the policeman raised his gun, and guess what…”

He even left a cliffhanger at this point.

“Could it be that she was killed on the spot, her fragrance faded and jade perished?”

“Haha, it wasn’t that dramatic. The gun shot out a fishing net, which immediately caught the female flying thief, and she was captured without a fight.”

Lin Ming cursed inwardly, “Nonsense!” But on second thought, the short-hair rebels were known for their “strange skills and obscene crafts,” so it wouldn’t be surprising if they had a gun that could shoot out a net.

The clerk next to him was heckling, “What did the female flying thief look like? Since she’s a flying thief, she must have been wearing tight clothes, her figure must have been revealed…”

“I didn’t see clearly. It was too far away, and the street was cordoned off, no one was allowed to get close. Besides the police and the Xingren Si, the militia and the public security army were also mobilized. I heard that a Japanese from the public security army killed a strongman and was scolded by the police who came after him.”

“Scolded for killing a thief?”

“You don’t understand. Since such a large force was mobilized, it must be a major case. Only by capturing them alive can they be interrogated. What’s the use of them being dead?”

“Being killed by a Japanese is lucky. These notorious bandits and flying thieves, falling into the hands of the Xingren Si, that’s what you call a fate worse than death…” Wang Xinglong said with relish, spittle flying from his mouth.

“Could they have been sent by the court?” a clerk asked. “Could they be the Embroidered Uniform Guard? I hear they specialize in investigation. Could it be that the court is going to use force against the Australians?”

Lin Ming’s heart skipped a beat. From what he had seen and heard along the way, the short-hair rebels were already “like a rival state” in Qiongzhou and other places. They had established their own government, trained an army, registered the population… not only were there imitation short-hairs everywhere, but even the people of the Ming Dynasty regarded them as the “government.” The court had almost no presence. It was only natural that there would be discussions in the court about “punishing the short-hairs.”

He was not familiar with how the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the capital operated, but normally, it was unlikely that people would be sent from other places for this kind of enemy reconnaissance. Otherwise, they would be unfamiliar with the local conditions, geography, and accent, and would not be able to be spies. If there were such an order, it would certainly be selected from the Embroidered Uniform Guard within Guangdong province.

He thought for a moment. He had never heard of this matter before leaving. Of course, it was possible that the activity had started after he left, or that he was of low rank and had no right to hear this news… In any case, these unlucky fellows were definitely not as simple as “notorious bandits.”

“The court can’t even take care of itself, and it has the heart to meddle in the Australians’ affairs,” Wang Xinglong shook his head. “When I came south from Shandong to Jiangnan, the road was truly a living hell. When I reached Jiangnan, I felt like I had returned to the human world. When I arrived in Lingao, it was simply like paradise…”

The clerks burst into laughter. Someone teased, “You’re laying it on a bit thick with the flattery. There are no cadres here to hear your profession of loyalty.”

“Loyalty my ass. You are all Guangdong natives, you haven’t suffered the hardships I have,” Wang Xinglong shook his head. “Not just a living hell… it’s the bottom of the eighteen hells…”

As they were chatting, Wang Jinchun came in and shouted, “It’s almost ten o’clock, lights out! Everyone go back to your rooms and rest early.”

“I’d love to sleep, but my bed is cold and lonely…” a clerk said, feigning emptiness and loneliness to tease her.

“If you’re empty and lonely, go find your ‘fifth lady’ (a euphemism for masturbation). Make sure to use good toilet paper, don’t get the sheets and bed dirty and make me wash them again!” Although Wang Jinchun was a girl, she was very feisty, which made Lin Ming look at her askance. Wang Xinglong was from a middle-class family after all, and his cousin couldn’t be that bad. She should at least be considered a “girl from a good family”…

The clerks all dispersed to sleep. The Haixing Firm stipulated that all lights were to be extinguished at ten o’clock every night. Except for a single oil lamp kept in the gatehouse, everyone had to return to their own rooms to rest. All doors were locked, and even going to the toilet had to be done using the chamber pot in the room. It was still the old-fashioned way of a traditional firm. Lin Ming wanted to chat more with Wang Xinglong about the East Gate Market, but there was no opportunity. He had to wait until they worked together tomorrow.

The next day, after lunch, there was a short break. Lin Ming asked about the events in the East Gate Market. Wang Xinglong, seeing that someone was willing to listen, enthusiastically boasted about what he had seen and heard again.

However, what he knew was also limited. He only knew that these notorious bandits had settled in various places in the East Gate Market. Some stayed in inns, and some rented private houses. One group pretended to be nobles who had come to Lingao to “see the Australian scenery,” while the others disguised themselves as merchants. They thought they were seamless, but they didn’t expect the Australians to have already known their whereabouts. Last night was a coordinated roundup. It was said that they were all caught in one fell swoop, with three killed on the spot and ten captured.

“If it weren’t for the skills of those few flying thieves, the market would not have been disturbed,” Wang Xinglong said. “But no matter how good their skills are, one shot and they’re down. I heard that one of them was a martial arts master. In the end, he was shot to death by multiple guns, his body full of bloody holes, and so much blood flowed out, it was too tragic…”

Lin Ming asked with concern, “I heard they are from the court…”

Wang Xinglong shook his head repeatedly. “Absolutely not! How could the court have such loyal and brave men who would take such great risks? I think they probably just heard that Lingao is rich and wanted to come here to do some big business.”

Lin Ming cursed inwardly: Who says the court doesn’t have such loyal and brave men? You’re looking at one right now. But then he thought that he hadn’t come here on official business either, but for his own affairs.

“Yesterday on the street, I saw that among the public servants… no, the police, there were actually women,” he said, feigning surprise.

“What’s so strange about that?” Wang Xinglong laughed. “The Australians are quite fond of using women for official duties. As long as you are willing to be ‘purified,’ what’s so special about being a female police officer? Many of the minor officials in the baojia system here are women, and there are many who hold high positions. Take this Australian police station, for example. Many of those in charge of household registration are women. Didn’t you see them when you went to register your household, brother?”

“I did see a few, but I didn’t see any female constables.” Lin Ming deliberately steered the conversation in this direction. From what he had seen last night, Li Yongxun was a “constable.” Although there were many women working here, there couldn’t be many women who could engage in fighting and killing. Maybe he could get some news.

However, Wang Xinglong knew no more about this than he did. They chatted about many irrelevant things, but never mentioned the “female constables,” let alone Li Yongxun. Lin Ming was very disappointed. It seemed that it would be difficult to get news of Li Yongxun through ordinary channels.

“Sister-in-law, oh sister-in-law, where are you?”

---

Just less than two kilometers in a straight line from the Haixing Firm, in the newly built government office area, there was an unremarkable, square, red, three-story brick building. This was the National Police Lingao County Police Station. Of course, it was also currently the headquarters of the National Police.

The iron door of the basement opened with a clang. Li Yongxun walked out. Stepping out of the dark basement for a moment, she found the light dazzling. She had to cover her eyes with her hand and hold on to the railing of the stairs to slowly walk up.

The bluestone floor of the atrium had been washed clean. The morning sun shone down from the glass roof above. Li Yongxun stood with her eyes half-closed for a while before she could adjust.

Although it was only seven in the morning, this place was already operating at full capacity. Female clerks carrying file boxes bustled back and forth. The air was filled with the smell of food from the canteen and the choking smell of tobacco. Police officers in black uniforms were discussing cases in low voices. Like her, many of them had wrinkled clothes and dark circles under their eyes.

On the bulletin board in the center of the atrium were many notices. At the top were the changing date and the weather forecast for the day. Below, in the most prominent place, was the latest alert level: today was orange. The period around the lunar new year was always a high season for all kinds of cases. The entire National Police system was operating at full capacity.

Li Yongxun rubbed her sore shoulders, wondering if she should go to the infirmary to get a few plasters from Runshitang after work. Recently, after every secondment, her shoulders and arms would be very sore. After seeing a senior doctor at the general hospital, he said it was due to overuse and she had developed “tennis elbow.”

Li Yongxun had no idea what tennis was, but she understood overuse. But she had no choice. If it weren’t for this ancestral skill, how could she have established herself here with the Australians? She would have been sent back to Guangzhou long ago, and perhaps she would have been forced by her family to return to Nanjing to get married.

She wasn’t opposed to getting married, but the young master of the commander’s family her family wanted her to marry was truly unsightly. It was said that he had some mental problems and had even wet the bed as an adult. But if not for that, how could the son of a dignified commander be willing to marry the daughter of a mere banneret’s family like hers?

She first went to the canteen and had a free breakfast that was sumptuous by the standards of this era—a bowl of rice noodle soup. This was one of the benefits that Ran Yao had fought hard for. Ordinary agencies did not have this kind of benefit.

After her stomach was full, drowsiness set in, but she couldn’t get off work yet: last night’s overtime was a “loan,” and she still had to do her regular job this morning. Li Yongxun didn’t even have a chance to complain about this kind of continuous overtime. After all, the household registration office where she worked was one of the few day-shift jobs in the National Police system. There was no three-shift system, and if there were no sudden tasks, she could get off work on time at six every evening.