Chapter 55: Yan Da Protected Him (First Update!)

Zhou Yan returned to the kitchen to continue cooking. The security department of a state-owned factory nowadays was quite different from the elderly security guards seen in later generations.

Luo Weidong and the security officers were armed; they were also known as economic police, managed jointly by the public security bureau and the enterprise. They were responsible for handling public security cases such as theft and brawling within the factory and residential areas, while major criminal cases were handed over to the public security organs.

With the crackdown in full swing over the past two years, the textile factory's security department had handled numerous public security cases and had even been rated as an advanced unit.

When a lowlife like Wang Mazhi, who specialized in petty theft, was caught, they could strip him of all his secrets in just a few moves.

"I still can't figure it out. How did Wang Mazhi not know you opened this shop? How did he dare?" Zhou Jie asked, holding a crucian carp in his hand, looking puzzled.

"Exactly. I could take on ten of those small-time punks," Zhou Hai added with a simple laugh as he sat behind the stove stoking the fire.

The Zhou family had many sons, and each one was more physically robust than the last. They didn't look for trouble, but when trouble found them, they never held back. They were exceptionally united and protective of their own, so few people had dared to provoke them since their father's generation.

By the time it reached Zhou Yan's generation, he had six elder cousins: three were cattle slaughterers, two were soldiers, and one was studying martial arts on Mount Emei. Growing up, Zhou Yan had never been bullied at school.

It was only after entering the textile factory canteen that he had to endure some hardships.

Workplace suppression is often a silent killer.

"Maybe Wang Mazhi thought the crackdown would protect him," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Releasing a cockroach and making a scene—even if they couldn't extort money, they could still disgust the owner and damage the restaurant's reputation.

It was a low-level tactic, but it was indeed effective.

Wang Mazhi likely never expected Auntie Zhao to be so fierce, wielding a knife to strike without even bothering to argue whether the cockroach belonged to the restaurant or not.

When faced with the question of how many bowls of noodles were eaten, it is very easy to fall into the trap of having to prove one's innocence.

Zhou Yan felt that Auntie Zhao possessed great wisdom.

Of course, he probably hadn't expected that the restaurant also had two fierce warriors, Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie, meaning the thugs ended up taking a beating for nothing.

Zhou Yan had established a relationship with the security department in advance specifically to prevent such incidents.

By sending Zhou Momo—a "reserve" little police officer—to call for reinforcements, the little girl's milky voice as she explained the situation made everything sound so pitiful that it naturally positioned the restaurant as the victim in Luo Weidong's eyes.

From there, everything proceeded naturally.

Zhou Yan's intuition was that someone was directing Wang Mazhi from behind the scenes; it just remained to be seen if the man would crack under interrogation.

Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai pondered Zhou Yan's words and both laughed.

"That's true. If it weren't for the crackdown, I'd beat them until they shat themselves," Zhou Jie said, agreeing deeply.

"If he dares to cause trouble again, I'll go to his house and lie in wait for him," Zhou Hai joked.

While Zhou Yan and the others chatted in the back kitchen, Auntie Zhao was out front, smiling as she boiled Qiaojiao beef for everyone.

On the surface, things seemed the same, but when the workers addressed Auntie Zhao, there was a noticeable increase in respect.

Once the workers headed off to their shifts, Zhou Yan and the others began their lunch.

"Fourth Aunt, you told us not to get physical, so why did you grab a knife and go at them yourself? Weren't you scared?" Zhou Jie asked, unable to help himself as he held his rice bowl.

Zhou Yan and the others also looked toward Auntie Zhao.

"Scared of what? When I was a militia member taking first place in target practice, those lowlifes were still playing in the mud," Auntie Zhao said nonchalantly. "When a restaurant's business improves, people will inevitably get jealous and come to cause trouble. You have to hit them hard enough the first time so they don't dare come back a second time."

"To use the Great Leader's words, it's 'strike one punch to prevent a hundred punches from coming.'"

"I knew you were a female militia member, Fourth Aunt, but you actually took first place in shooting?" Zhao Hong asked in surprise.

"My aim is excellent. A few years ago, before the guns were handed in, I could go for a stroll in the mountains and easily hit rabbits and pheasants. I even hunted wild boars with them," Auntie Zhao said, a hint of pride appearing on her face when discussing shooting.

"No wonder the villagers call you the Iron Lady," Zhou Jie said, realizing the truth.

"Old stories, let's not dwell on them. Eat," Auntie Zhao smiled. "Look at how happily Momo is eating; she hasn't said a word."

Everyone looked at Zhou Momo, who was buried in her rice, and laughed.

Zhou Yan placed two pieces of pork rib in her bowl; the little one had worked hard today as well.

"Thank you, Brother," Zhou Momo said indistinctly, her mouth full of rice as her small, greasy hands grabbed the rib.

"You're welcome. Eat slowly," Zhou Yan smiled.

After lunch, Zhou Yan made a list.

Auntie Zhao was still feeling bad about the table that had been nicked by her knife.

"I'll have a carpenter come to fix it tomorrow. Besides the cost of the meal, I've also charged them five yuan for the damage to the table and chairs," Zhou Yan said, walking over with a smile.

"Four lowlifes, and they can't even scrape together eighty cents between them. How could they possibly pay for a hammer?" Auntie Zhao sighed, touching the nick in the wood. "But we still need someone to fix it and apply a new coat of clear lacquer. Otherwise, the grease will seep in and it'll rot through in a few days."

"Will do," Zhou Yan agreed with a smile. Taking the handwritten list, he stepped out and turned into the adjacent security department.

Luo Weidong was away interrogating suspects and was not in the office.

However, he had informed the duty officer, Xiao Wu. Seeing Zhou Yan standing at the door, Xiao Wu greeted him with a smile: "Zhou Yan, just leave the list on Section Chief Luo's desk."

"Okay." Zhou Yan entered, placed the list on Luo Weidong's desk, and asked casually, "Brother Wu, haven't they finished the interrogation yet?"

"These lowlifes don't dare commit major crimes, but they've done plenty of petty theft. Section Chief Luo is taking them in separately to interrogate them; it'll probably take half the day," Xiao Wu said with a smile. "Don't worry, we just searched them. They have dozens of yuan on them, which is enough to cover your losses. It's just that we have to follow procedure, so it won't be that fast."

"Alright, then I'll leave you to it. I won't disturb you." Zhou Yan pulled out two cigarettes and handed them to him before turning to leave.

He didn't smoke, but he always carried a pack of Yuxi on him; offering a cigarette could quickly build rapport between men.

These cigarettes had been given to Old Comrade Zhou by Xia Yao; his mother wouldn't let him smoke, so she handed them to him.

Since these cigarettes were hard to buy without a permit, he didn't sell them, but kept them to build connections.

He had originally prepared for this meal to be a loss, and the list was meant to ensure Wang Mazhi and his gang received harsher sentences. He hadn't expected to actually get the money, so he was naturally pleased.

Including the damage to the table, it was twelve yuan and sixty cents—anyone would be upset to lose that much.

However, the fact that the lowlifes had dozens of yuan on them confirmed his suspicion: someone had likely paid them to cause trouble.

It was either Wang Defa or Huang Fusheng; given the interests involved, it wasn't hard to guess.

Wang Laowu couldn't even keep his noodle stall running; he wouldn't have dozens of yuan to hire people to mess with him.

"Zhou Yan is quite sophisticated." Xiao Wu tucked a cigarette behind his ear, pulled out a match to light another, and exhaled a smoke ring. He nodded while looking at the cigarette in his hand. "This is definitely much better than Hongmei!"

...

After Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai finished eating and headed back, Zhou Yan rode his bike out. He took a quick glance at his panel

[Side Quest: Qiaojiao Beef Inheritance. Apprentice: Zhou Jie, Learning Progress: 2/3]

[Main Quest: Dominate the Textile Factory. Task Progress: 552/1000]

The progress for dominating the textile factory was halfway through, with a significant increase today due to the factory director's recruitment efforts.

The Qiaojiao Beef inheritance quest was progressing steadily and would be completed tomorrow.

"Boss Gao, send another twenty crucian carp to the shop," Zhou Yan said, parking his bike in front of the fish stall and speaking to the bearded young man dozing in a bamboo chair.

(End of Chapter)