PCJ – Chapter 363 The Capture

Recently, there have been multiple cases of cattle theft in various parts of our county. The day before yesterday, an extremely serious cattle theft occurred in Gezhuping Town, with Maotouqiao Township losing eight cattle in one night, significantly affecting the local agricultural production. With the harvest season approaching, the absence of cattle could severely impact the production of dozens of households in Maotouqiao Township. Normally, criminal cases are the responsibility of the Public Security Bureau, but this has now begun to affect agricultural production. We must all, across the county, take this issue seriously,” Zhou Baoying said, tapping the table.

Deng Junshan’s expression was also very serious. “The cattle thieves are brazen, and the public security department must quickly solve the case and bring them to justice. This case has already attracted the attention of provincial leaders, and failure to solve it in time will not only affect our county’s agricultural production but also damage our county’s reputation.”

Luo Changjun sat further back in the room, next to the empty seat of Hu Yunjiang, the Party Secretary of the Politics and Law Committee. Hu was often absent due to illness and was nearing retirement, spending most of his time on sick leave.

“County Chief Luo, you’ve worked in public security before, and you’ve been outstanding in solving cases, even serving as the head of the Gezhuping police station. So among the county leaders, you’re the most knowledgeable in these matters. Before the meeting, County Chief Deng and I discussed this, and we believe you are the most suitable person for this task. We hope you can look into the case. You’ve also done an excellent job in the tea industry. Now, who in the province doesn’t know that our county’s tea industry is thriving? Many of our county’s leaders have asked me how we managed it, and I always tell them, ‘You won’t be able to do what we did because Xintian County has a county chief who knows tea.’” Zhou Baoying laughed heartily.

The whole room laughed, except for Luo Changjun, who couldn’t quite smile. He really was the “Tea County Chief” because his job as deputy county chief was solely focused on the tea industry. Luo still hadn’t entered the county’s Standing Committee, and compared to other vice county chiefs who were members of the Standing Committee, he ranked lower. Even the absent Hu Yunjiang, a Standing Committee member, outranked him, so Luo always sat towards the back during meetings.

Deng Junshan added, “Changjun, it will be a bit of hard work for you, but please go to Gezhuping in the next few days and assist with the investigation of the cattle theft case.”

And so, Luo Changjun headed to Gezhuping Town. However, instead of going to the town center or Maotouqiao Township, he went to Meizi’ao, intending to ask Zhang Jiaohua to bring his mountain leopard to help.

Meanwhile, Wang Shuigen had left Zhang Enzhong’s house early that morning. Initially, he had planned to stay a few more days, enjoying the free food and not having to work. His brother’s wife, Wang Fang, had been preparing particularly good meals lately. However, the day before, when he overheard that Zhang Jiwang had hidden money in a clay jar under his bed, he became tempted. In the afternoon, he secretly wandered to Zhang Jiwang’s house and saw through the window that Zhang Jiwang had indeed dug up the jar. Wang thought about stealing it, but with Jiwang and his wife at home, he feared getting caught. So, he waited until nightfall to sneak out of Zhang Enzhong’s house and went straight to Zhang Jiwang’s place.

Wang Shuigen was an experienced thief, known for petty thefts in Maotouqiao. In rural areas, families kept dogs, so being a thief required some skill. Wang treasured a small metal tube he carried in his pocket, which he valued more than anything. It was no ordinary tube—it was a dog whistle. When blown, no sound could be heard by people, but dogs could hear it, and the sound would cause them great discomfort.

The frequency of the whistle was between 5 and 6 Hz, a range that dogs found particularly unpleasant. Each breed had its own sensitivity, but all disliked frequencies in that range. Before stealing, Wang would blow the whistle, leaving the village dogs dazed.

Most village doors were wooden with simple latches. Wang used a thin blade to slowly lift the latch. Choosing the early morning, when people were in their deepest sleep, he made little noise. Luckily, Zhang Jiwang hadn’t re-hidden the jar, so Wang easily took it. He then quietly returned to Zhang Enzhong’s house, emptied the money, and hid it on his person, leaving the jar behind. Thinking he had gotten away with it, he went to bed.

The next morning, Wang made an excuse to leave, eager to gamble with his newfound wealth.

Wang Shuigen hummed a tune as he walked, “I once asked endlessly, when will you follow me? But you just laughed at me, as I had nothing to offer…”

Feeling a bit tired, he sat on a large stone by the roadside and took out the food Wang Fang had prepared for him. Unable to resist, he also took out the bundle of money he had stolen. He hadn’t had time to count it properly last night, and now, eager to know exactly how much he had, he carefully counted it: 1,367.88 yuan. Grinning from ear to ear, Wang exclaimed, “I’ve struck gold!”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” A series of sharp barks startled Wang, almost making him jump out of his skin.

“Oh my God! Where did that mad dog come from?” Wang looked around in panic and saw a large, ferocious dog charging at him from the road. Even Wang, with his experience, felt intimidated. Quickly, he pulled out the whistle and blew it hard.

The dog, known as the mountain leopard, was in full pursuit. Just as it was about to pounce, it suddenly froze, its head throbbing in pain, its ears feeling pierced by the whistle’s shrill sound. This frequency was unbearable for the mountain leopard.

Seeing the dog in such distress, Wang Shuigen laughed triumphantly, “Who’s the mad dog now? You think you can scare me? I’ll show you!”

He calmly stashed the money back on his person and finished the food, paying no mind to the dog. But when he looked again, the mountain leopard had disappeared.

“Where did it go?” Wang looked around, puzzled. He blew the whistle again, but there was no response. Shaking his head, he muttered, “Too bad. I would have loved to eat some dog meat tonight.”

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the bushes, and a dark figure flashed by.

Wang Shuigen immediately grew wary, blowing the whistle non-stop, but the shadow had already vanished.

He sensed something was wrong, feeling like he was being watched.

The rustling came again, and Wang took off running.

“Meeeow!” A black shadow leapt at Wang Shuigen. Just as he was about to blow the whistle again, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist, causing him to drop the whistle. He finally realized that the shadow wasn’t the dog he had seen earlier—it was a large cat. No wonder the whistle had no effect on it.

As Wang reached for the whistle, a fat monkey suddenly darted out of the bushes and snatched it before he could.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

This time, the barking came from a whole pack of dogs, their growls filled with hatred.

Wang Shuigen’s face went pale. Earlier, he had caused immense pain to a dog with his whistle, and now, if these dogs got hold of him, his suffering would be unimaginable.

He sprinted away, but soon stopped short. Blocking his path was the same dog he had hurt with the whistle, standing menacingly on the road ahead.

The mountain leopard took slow, deliberate steps toward him, forcing Wang to retreat. When he turned around, he saw that the pack of dogs was closing in from the direction he had come.

“Oh no!” Wang tried to flee into the mountains, but after just a few steps, he tripped over something and flew into the air, landing headfirst on a rock.

Thud!

Wang’s vision went dark, and everything went silent.

It was unclear how much time had passed when Wang heard voices in the distance. “He’s here!”

“Tie him up so he can’t escape!”

“Yes, tie him up and carry him back. Then report him to the authorities. This guy needs to go to jail!”

“The money’s on him—it’s a lot. Must be from Uncle Jiwang’s place.”

Wang Shuigen knew he was in deep trouble. Caught red-handed, with such a large sum of money, he was looking at a long time in prison.

This wasn’t his first theft, either, so he’d likely face an even harsher sentence.

By the time the villagers tied him up and carried him to Meizitang, Wang Fang was in a panic.

“Let him go! He’s still young! What you’re doing will ruin him!” she pleaded.