The next morning, after Chen Ping'an completed his martial arts training, he rushed to the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office. As he entered the gate of the Zhenfu Division for duty, he ran into Monkey Head who was also arriving.
"Ping... Township Defender Chen..."
Seeing Chen Ping'an, Monkey Head subconsciously wanted to call out his usual address, but forcibly changed it.
"What Township Defender Chen! Just call me Ping'an!"
Chen Ping'an unhappily punched Monkey Head's chest.
that kid was still treating him like a stranger!
It was true that since they hadn't patrolled the streets together, their communication had indeed been sparse.
"Hehehe..." Monkey Head scratched his head and laughed.
"How have you been recently?"
Chen Ping'an and Monkey Head walked and talked.
"It's alright! It's just that the pressure is greater than before!" Monkey Head said.
Indeed, the matter of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect had not yet ended, and the intensity of street patrols in Nanquan Lane was still very high! After all, the Squad Leader and Chief Constable above were also very nervous and dared not relax at all.
"Township Defender Chen is here! Why are you still chatting with your old colleague so early in the morning? Where are your new subordinates?"
As Chen Ping'an and Monkey Head were talking, a voice came from in front of them.
Needless to say, it was Zheng Shiyong!
He didn't know why that kid disliked Chen Ping'an so much, but these past few days, whenever they met, he would always come up and speak in a Yin and Yang manner.
"Monkey Head, I'll go first!"
"En, alright." Monkey Head also sensed that the atmosphere was off. He also felt that Chen Ping'an and Zheng Shiyong didn't get along.
Chen Ping'an said something to Monkey Head and ignored Zheng Shiyong, walking straight away.
For people like Zheng Shiyong, he didn't want to waste time at all! No matter what he said, he could always find a way to disgust you.
To deal with such people, it's better to show them through actions than through words!
"You f***ing..."
Watching Chen Ping'an ignore him and turn to leave, Zheng Shiyong only felt a stifling feeling in his heart!
He was the one who came to mock him! Why was he still the one feeling uncomfortable!
Just as Zheng Shiyong was hesitating whether to go up and mock him a few more times, a Chief Constable walked into the gate of the Zhenfu Division.
"Fine! You'll get what's coming to you later!"
Zheng Shiyong glared fiercely in Chen Ping'an's direction, then returned to his own position.
These days, he and Cheng Yuan and Zhao Hu often drank alcohol, and the two of them had already been bought off by him. Chen Ping'an only had the title of an official Yamen Runner, but he probably didn't have the substance of an official Yamen Runner. If he really encountered trouble, he was sure he wouldn't be able to command his subordinates!
Recalling what his uncle told him last night, Zheng Shiyong only felt a great sense of relief.
"Just you wait!"
...
The atmosphere of the pre-duty meeting that day was a bit more relaxed than in previous days. Master Tian Fuliang did not attend the pre-duty meeting, and the other Chief Constables no longer had stern faces, showing slight smiles.
"Is there a Breakthrough in the Ten Thousand Demons Sect matter?"
Chen Ping'an secretly guessed in his heart.
He had no one above him in the Zhenfu Division, so many pieces of news naturally couldn't be well-informed. Compared to those with deep backgrounds, he was undoubtedly too passive!
Compared to those people, he didn't even care about Zheng Shiyong's identity!
After the pre-duty meeting ended, Chen Ping'an waited quietly in place. As an official Yamen Runner, he naturally no longer needed to personally go to understand today's task assignments.
Although Cheng Yuan and Zhao Hu didn't listen to him, Zeng Jihe did!
that kid was pretty good! He was intelligent and had good judgment.
"Chen Tou, today we are patrolling Liuye Street!" Zeng Jihe quickly understood today's patrol mission.
"En, good." Chen Ping'an nodded. Seeing Zeng Jihe's hesitant look, he asked, "What's wrong? Just say what you want to say!"
"Chen Tou, when I was inquiring at the Errand Office just now, I heard them discussing the annual tax! I was curious, so I asked a bit more, and Old Fan from the Errand Office said that this time, our squad also has a task assigned for the tax collection!"
"What!"
Before Chen Ping'an could react to Zeng Jihe's words, Cheng Yuan and Zhao Hu, who were beside him, couldn't help but jump up.
"Xiao Zeng, you mean, we also have a share in this year's tax collection? Which family is it from? Have you found out?"
The tax was collected once a year, donated by various shops in Nanquan Lane. In essence, it was euphemistically called a tax, but in reality, it was a disguised protection fee. Every year at this time, the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office, from top to bottom, was raking in profits!
The matter was indeed a good thing!
But for the Yamen Runner assigned to collect the tax, that might not be the case!
It was easy enough to ask ordinary shops to hand it over, but those shops operated by Gangs were not so easy to deal with! Every time they went, they had to go through a lot of trouble. It would take several back-and-forth negotiations before the tax could be successfully collected.
In fact, many Yamen Runners who went to collect the tax would be intimidated by some powerful Gangs. Sometimes, Yamen Runners would even get injured.
At this time, the Chief Constable of the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office would also pretend to be deaf and dumb, acting as if nothing had happened. This was a tacit understanding between the high-level Gang members and the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office, as everyone was looking for a balance of interests. They wanted to see what amount of tax both sides could accept!
Some smaller Gangs would pay the full amount, but some Gangs would offer a discount on the collected amount.
"I haven't found that out! I heard that the specific assigned tasks haven't been released yet!" Zeng Jihe said with a bitter face.
For them, whether it was an ordinary shop or a shop operated by a Gang, being sent out to collect the tax was a tough job.
Nonsense, they could get benefits by staying at home, but they still had to go out and collect it. In the end, the amount they received was not much more than the Yamen Runners who didn't go!
"I hope it's an ordinary shop!" Cheng Yuan and Zhao Hu wished each other.
Chen Ping'an said nothing about this.
Thinking of Zheng Shiyong's attitude towards him, and connecting it to Zheng Chatou behind him, this time they were assigned to the task list for collecting the tax. It was likely that what was assigned to them would not be simple!
During the morning patrol, several people kept discussing the tax. Most of the time, it was Cheng Yuan and Zhao Hu communicating with each other. Chen Ping'an could not effectively communicate.
Regarding Chen Ping'an, the official Yamen Runner, the two became increasingly casual with him. It was clear that the experiences of these past few days had made them more and more reckless.
After the morning patrol ended, Cheng Yuan and Zhao Hu disappeared again, and he didn't know where they went.
When they reappeared for the afternoon patrol, a hint of relief appeared on their faces.
Chen Ping'an had a vague guess about this.
The significant change in their expressions between morning and afternoon clearly indicated that someone had spoken to them at noon!
Please, next time, can you not make things so obvious!
Chen Ping'an inwardly complained helplessly.
Even if he was an idiot, he knew someone was preparing to scheme against him!