Chapter 159: Entangled in Past Affairs (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Looking at Shao Wenguang’s cautious demeanor, Ning Zhiheng couldn't help but smile and say, "Old Shao, just tell me straight if you have anything on your mind. If I can help, I will. If not, don't I still have my senior brother?"

Shao Wenguang was Wei Liangbi’s confidant, so logically he should have discussed matters with Wei Liangbi first. Judging by the look of things, however, Wei Liangbi was likely in a difficult position regarding this matter!

Hearing Ning Zhiheng’s words, Shao Wenguang stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Zhiheng, as you know, some time ago I managed to secure that position as a Police Inspection Commissioner!"

Ning Zhiheng nodded. Indeed, that had happened. This position was essentially a setup where the Military Statistics Bureau pulled aside a group of men, ostensibly to inspect, investigate, and supervise the work of the police department, but in reality, to shake down various police units for money and raise funds for the Bureau. It was a lucrative post, and Shao Wenguang had skimmed quite a few benefits from it.

However, such a job could not be done constantly, or the police departments wouldn't be able to bear the extortion; it could only be done occasionally, and the one-year inspection period had already passed.

"What? The inspection period is over, and you're still looking for a gig like that? If so, I'll keep an eye out for you!" Ning Zhiheng said. This wasn't a particularly difficult task. There were plenty of places where the Military Statistics Bureau could pick easy pickings. With just a random excuse to make the rounds through the military, police, and gendarmerie departments—none of which dared to slack off, and given that no official's hands were completely clean these days—the Bureau's capabilities meant that if they wanted to investigate, they could find airtight evidence. Arresting anyone under such pretexts wouldn't be an injustice!

Therefore, whenever they went down to investigate, the profits were still quite substantial, provided such things weren't done too often so as to avoid turning everything upside down and making everyone lose face.

Even with Ning Zhiheng’s current rank, he could easily find a pretext to audit a subordinate department, so securing a lucrative gig was no trouble at all. It seemed that Shao Wenguang was still too embarrassed to approach Wei Liangbi directly; otherwise, an issue like this wouldn't have required Ning Zhiheng to step in.

"It's not about that. Just hear me out," Shao Wenguang shook his head. "During my inspection period, I got to know Du Qian, the Chief of the West City Police Station. This fellow and I hit it off wonderfully, and he is very sensible. We got along quite well! But this time, he’s run into a bit of trouble, and he’s come knocking on my door. You know how it is—I only hold a nominal title with no real power or influence, so I can't help him with much. Yet I couldn't brush him off, which is why I came running to you!"

Both held the rank of major, but how could Shao Wenguang possibly compare to Ning Zhiheng? He had the military rank, but possessed no actual power.

Ning Zhiheng, on the other hand, was entirely different. He had background, status, real authority, and men at his command. Though they shared the same rank of major, the difference in their standing was as vast as heaven and earth.

Thus, if a problem truly needed solving, Shao Wenguang still had to turn to Wei Liangbi and Ning Zhiheng!

After listening to this account, Ning Zhiheng remained unimpressed. Old Shao was beating around the bush and had glossed over quite a few internal details.

Talk of a great friendship and hitting it off! It undoubtedly meant that the police chief had provided Shao Wenguang with a substantial amount of bribery money, and now that he was asking for help, how could he not offer more benefits?

As for running into "a bit of trouble"? Use a little imagination—it certainly wasn't a trivial matter. Before coming to see him, Shao Wenguang had undoubtedly approached Wei Liangbi first, only to hit a wall there, which was why he had come to Ning Zhiheng. Shao Wenguang was Wei Liangbi's confidant; if it were a simple, minor matter, Wei Liangbi would never have rejected him so flatly.

Thinking up to this point, Ning Zhiheng waved his hand to signal Shao Wenguang to sit down, and said with a smile, "Old Shao, I'm afraid this is far more than just 'a bit of trouble'! You'd better tell me the truth and lay out the stakes clearly. If things are murky, I won't dare make any promises to you!"

Shao Wenguang knew that Ning Zhiheng was exceptionally sharp and that such a small trick couldn't possibly fool him, so he confessed directly, "This Du Qian doesn't know what kind of bad luck he ran into—he's been targeted by the Central Party Affairs Investigation Bureau."

"What did you say? The Central Party Affairs Investigation Bureau? The police departments fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Military Statistics Bureau. How could the Central Party Affairs Bureau meddle in this?" Hearing this, Ning Zhiheng felt somewhat puzzled. For the past few years, the Central Party Affairs Bureau had been suppressed by the Military Statistics Bureau and had consistently been at a disadvantage. They usually avoided crossing paths whenever possible; why would they go out of their way to spark a conflict with the Military Statistics Bureau?

Shao Wenguang let out a long sigh and said helplessly, "Sigh! It's just bad luck—he got mixed up with the underground party. Du Qian had a good friend who was a pharmacy owner. You know how strictly medicines are managed these days; many good drugs are classified as controlled substances. Which pharmacy doesn't maintain its own channels to smuggle a few private goods? Otherwise, they couldn't stay in business!

"Du Qian just did his friend a small favor—a simple matter of convenience. But who could have anticipated that the Central Party Affairs Bureau would suddenly claim this pharmacy owner was an underground operative? They botched the arrest, and the target slipped away! That made the Central Party Affairs Bureau lose an enormous amount of face. Since they couldn't catch the main target, they started biting everyone in sight, and somehow or other, they locked onto Du Qian.

"For a while, he was just being tailed and put under surveillance, which he didn't notice at first. But these past few days, he sensed the wind was blowing the wrong way. After poking around everywhere, he found out that the Central Party Affairs Bureau had targeted him and was on the verge of moving in to make an arrest.

"He does have some connections higher up, but the moment people heard the Central Party Affairs Bureau was after him, they wouldn't even let him through the door. With nowhere to turn and completely desperate, he came running to me. After all, only our Military Statistics Bureau can manage to hold a candle over the Central Party Affairs Bureau!"

The moment he heard this, Ning Zhiheng understood what was going on. He curled his lips and said, "Old Shao, it's not that I'm lecturing you, but if this Du Qian is merely a casual acquaintance, you might as well forget about helping him. Even though our Military Statistics Bureau isn't afraid of the Central Party Affairs Bureau, is it really worth locking horns with them over such a small fry?

"Before coming to me, you went to see Senior Brother first, didn't you? What did he say? If I'm not mistaken, Senior Brother definitely refused to help. He has always harbored deep misgivings about cases involving the underground party.

"Besides, this doesn't even fall under the jurisdiction of our Military Statistics Bureau. The division of labor between our two departments is clear-cut: dealing with the underground party is the job of the Central Party Affairs Bureau. As long as they issue an official notice to us, we won't even have room to argue!"

Ning Zhiheng suspected that this case was just the Central Party Affairs Bureau stirring up trouble. Otherwise, if the Central Party Affairs Bureau wanted to investigate someone, for a mere precinct police chief to notice he was being watched meant he was giving himself far too much credit!

The methods of these professional intelligence agencies made dealing with an ordinary person an absolute breeze. Judging by Shao Wenguang's description, it was highly likely that the Central Party Affairs Bureau was deliberately startling the snake to flush it out—perhaps to draw out underground accomplices, or even to make an example out of a police station to test the reaction of the Military Statistics Bureau. In any case, regardless of the scenario, it was unwise for him to get entangled.

Therefore, he flatly refused, saying, "Old Shao, this isn't a question of whether we can help; it's a question of whether it's worth it. It's better to keep your hands clean of such troublesome affairs. Don't end up fishing for nothing only to stink of dead fish!"

Shao Wenguang must have taken bribes; otherwise, why would he go out of his way to meddle in this idle business? And the sum was likely no small amount, which was why Shao Wenguang was willing to throw away his pride to run errands for it!

"Zhiheng, Du Qian naturally won't show up empty-handed. He said that as long as he can safely weather this storm, he is willing to offer his entire fortune as gratitude. He started the bid at ten thousand legal tender notes, and I'm just a middleman making a quick profit!" Shao Wenguang said with lingering reluctance. He knew that the sum Du Qian had explicitly promised him alone was forty thousand legal tender notes, and it looked like a bit more squeezing could yield even more. This was a plump, juicy sheep!

Unlike Wei Liangbi and Ning Zhiheng, Shao Wenguang had experienced a bumpy official career filled with twists and turns. He had never held a primary command position, mostly serving as an errand boy or helper. The gains he made during ordinary days were quite limited.

Commanding officers like Ning Zhiheng were entirely different; when they cracked a case, the vast majority of the seized loot and benefits belonged to them.

Therefore, when Du Qian piled massive stacks of cash in front of him, Shao Wenguang was genuinely tempted. Forty thousand legal tender notes! That was enough to buy a large courtyard house right in Nanjing. After half a lifetime of grueling toil, he hadn't even managed to set up a decent family estate. In his old age, he probably wouldn't even have a shelter from the elements—just speaking of it felt miserable! That was why he had steeled his heart to take on this task.

Yet, with Ning Zhiheng's current vision, how could he possibly care about a mere hundred thousand legal tender notes? That amounted to little more than ten thousand US dollars. To muddy the waters for such a paltry sum—his brain certainly wasn't fried!

"Old Shao, it's not that I won't help you, but this money is too hot to handle! How about this—in a couple of days, I'll find a case, and you can go down there for a tour to patch up your finances. If you really find yourself in need of money, just say the word. We're brothers; ten or twenty thousand is yours whenever you want," Ning Zhiheng said with a smile.

Seeing that Ning Zhiheng was truly unwilling to step in, Shao Wenguang let out a helpless sigh. What a pity, he thought to himself! This windfall would simply have to slip away!

He had no choice but to stand up and say resignedly, "Alright, if the matter is too hot to handle, then forget it. I did my best, which means I've lived up to old Du. Who told him he had no luck and had to get mixed up with the owner of that Zhongkang Pharmacy? Then again, if he really is an underground operative, getting tainted by it would bring trouble, and we'd all end up taking the fall!

"Well, so be it! Zhiheng, don't forget tonight—at Deyun Grand Restaurant!"

With that, he stood up, waved his hand, and prepared to head out the door!

Zhongkang Pharmacy! The moment Ning Zhiheng's ears caught those four words, a jolt went through his heart! He was far too familiar with that name!

One of the underground party's provincial committee members, Wu Quanjiang, used the hidden identity of the owner of Zhongkang Pharmacy! Over twenty days ago, it was Ning Zhiheng who had pried this secret from the traitor Zhang Pei’s memories, sent out a warning late at night, and personally intervened to eliminate multiple agents from the Central Party Affairs Investigation Bureau, turning the tide and saving Wu Quanjiang and the others.

Why on earth had this Police Chief Du Qian gotten mixed up with Wu Quanjiang? This was about to get troublesome!