On the way, since only Wang An and Huang Zhong were in Wang An's GAZ vehicle, Wang An turned to ask Huang Zhong without any reservation
"How about it, Little Zhong? Isn't this way more satisfying than sneaking around and sniping from the shadows?"
Huang Zhong nodded, his face still reflecting a hint of shock as he said
"Yeah, Big Brother, you're just too ruthless. You didn't even have to do anything and you already had them arrested."
Wang An smiled slightly and said
"That's for sure. Unless he doesn't make a mistake, otherwise, dealing with people like Song Ping is much easier than fighting a perimeter."
Hearing this, Huang Zhong said thoughtfully
"True. I saw them standing there all obediently; they didn't even dare use their guns even though they had them."
Wang An chuckled, his face full of disdain
"Pulling a gun in front of a whole bunch of *jingcha*? Oh fuck, even if he had a hundred times the courage, would he dare? Hehe, if they had dared to use their guns, it would have actually made things easier..."
Huang Zhong gave a嘿嘿 laugh and agreed
"That's true. You definitely can't let them raise their guns, hehehe."
In a situation like that, let alone Song Ping and the others not daring to fire, even if they had made a move to unholster their weapons or any other superfluous movement, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance that all four of them would have instantly been turned into sieves.
Those were Type 56 semi-automatics; if those things started spraying, the consequences would be unimaginable. Therefore, shooting them dead the moment they showed any sign of movement was the only way to solve the problem.
Anfu Village wasn't particularly far from Shuangqiao Township, only about ten odd li, so it took only a few minutes for the group to arrive at Anfu Village.
As soon as the convoy entered the village, the roar of the engines and the exhaust fumes caused the dogs who first noticed the situation to bark wildly.
Once one dog started, the other dogs who noticed the anomaly followed suit, and soon, every dog in Anfu Village was barking.
Of course, this was the norm for Northeast rural areas at the time; often, one dog would trigger the entire village's dogs to bark. To the villagers, the sound was nothing, but to outsiders, it felt as if there was nowhere to hide.
The sound of the car engines combined with the village-wide barking naturally alerted everyone in Anfu Village.
Many villagers came out of their homes, running to their gates and staring intently at Wang An and the others' cars, their faces full of vigilance.
Some people began to walk over, clearly wanting to see what Wang An and his group were up to.
Under Huang Zhong's guidance, Wang An parked the car directly in front of the entrance to Song Ping's house.
As Wang An's GAZ came to a stop, Zhang Shuya and the others' cars also stopped one after another.
Soon, the *jingcha* from the two companies jumped out of the cars and lined up in formation outside the gate of Song Ping's house.
Naturally, from the number of people in the formation, it was easy to see that a few people had remained in the cars to guard Song Ping and the other three.
Seeing the group of police lined up at the gate, an old man around fifty years old, holding a very long tobacco pipe, led a few young men over.
Wang An sensed that this person might be the village chief, so he took the initiative to step forward, pointed at the courtyard of Song Ping's house, and asked
"Uncle, we are public security officers from the county. May I ask if this is Song Ping's house?"
The old man looked Wang An up and down, then looked at Zhang Shuya and the other *jingcha*. Instead of answering Wang An's question, he frowned and asked
"You're here because of his business collecting furs and bear gall, aren't you?"
Wang An was taken aback for a moment, then immediately nodded
"Yes. The Investment Office received reports from multiple people saying that Song Ping purchased large quantities of furs, bear gall, musk, and other items. The amount involved is huge, and it has seriously violated relevant regulations. So, the *jingfang* commissioned us to come and handle it."
The old man sighed and said
"Sigh, I told him it was useless to do it this way, useless. If he kept going like this, something was bound to happen sooner or later. But he just wouldn't listen, claiming he had smoothed things over with the township officials. Look at that, just look, it finally happened, sigh!"
Wang An didn't respond but took out a cigarette, handed one over, and lit it for the old man.
The old man took a puff of the cigarette before saying
"This is Song Ping's house. Go on in, sigh!"
After speaking, the old man shook his head, his face full of a compassionate, pitying expression.
Seeing this, Wang An hurriedly offered some hypocritical comfort
"The state has its laws, and the family has its rules. We have no choice either; mainly because there were too many informants and the amount involved is too large. We had to come down and verify the situation."
After speaking, Wang An nodded to the old man and turned to walk into Song Ping's courtyard.
Seeing this, the group of *jingcha* hurriedly followed.
However, after Wang An and the others entered the courtyard, a small incident—or rather, a small interlude—occurred, as they were blocked by a middle-aged woman and three children.
The woman was in her forties and was likely Song Ping's wife. Among the three children, the two oldest were boys—the eldest around sixteen or seventeen, the younger around fourteen or fifteen—and the youngest was a girl, about eleven or twelve.
The woman said with a face full of indignation
"What mistake did the head of our house make? Why are so many of you coming to our house to make a scene?"
The company commander of the Sixth Squad took out his identification, flashed it before the woman's eyes, and said in a poised manner
"Hello, comrade. Please do not obstruct official business. Song Ping has been reported for purchasing large quantities of precious furs, bear gall, musk, and other items. We are now here to confiscate and seal the stolen goods purchased by Song Ping for further processing. Please cooperate."
Clearly, Song Ping's wife knew that Song Ping's actions were not permitted at this time. Facing so many *jingcha*, no matter how fierce she was, she didn't dare truly resist.
Therefore, after the Sixth Squad commander finished speaking, Song Ping's wife knew it was futile and said to the three children
"San Xiao, Si Xiao, Er Ya, clear the way."
And so, the group filed in.
But when Wang An opened the door to the lower room and looked inside, he suddenly felt his scalp tingle, his whole body feeling as if an electric current were passing through it, and his hairs stood on end.
Wang An reacted quickly, stepping back immediately. While retreating, he subconsciously pulled out his Type 54, unable to stop himself from exclaiming
"Holy shit, a big paw!"
Wang An's movements and exclamation naturally alerted the others. Everyone quickly raised their guns to their shoulders or drew them to aim into the lower room, all looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
Once Wang An regained his composure and saw clearly what was inside the lower room, he suddenly felt that his performance had been far too embarrassing.
Because the thing Wang An had called a "big paw" was actually a very complete tiger skin.
Although Wang An felt ashamed internally, he pretended nothing was wrong and lowered his gun. He said
"Not a big paw, not a big paw, it's a big paw skin. I saw it wrong, hehe... saw it wrong."
Hearing this, Zhang Shuya, who was standing not far away, immediately holstered her gun and walked into the lower room.
Tigers were not allowed to be hunted or killed at will!
Even if a tiger injured a person or livestock, it could only be killed after multiple levels of approval.
Furthermore, even if a tiger died, its carcass was not allowed to be kept privately.
With a complete tiger skin hanging there, it was easy to imagine how serious this problem was.