Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 443 Full of Harvests
"How many results have you achieved so far?"

After finishing his work at the desk, Zheng Mingxing raised his head, rubbed his neck, and then stood up and swayed his waist to the window.

Only a handful of cats remained in the yard, and apart from Mimi, the others had all returned to rest after completing their tasks. Everyone knew that these cats couldn't be expected to work all day like humans; each cat helping out even once was already a great achievement. In addition, the yard received cat food, treats, and toys as rewards from the city management and industry and commerce departments, so the cats could return to receive their reward after finishing their tasks.

Yes, this is also a little trick of the Zhanghe Police Station.

As Mimi's retinue of cats grew larger and larger, even if he could afford to support them with his meager salary, the expenses were becoming increasingly unsustainable. The police station didn't usually need them, and they couldn't just let them eat and drink without doing any work. Therefore, finding them alternative employment opportunities and additional sources of income became Nie Guoqiang and Zheng Mingxing's second plan. It seemed to be working well; the urban management officers were quite generous with their pay!

Watching a female city management officer below, laughing as she petted a cat while pouring a large bag of cat food into a basin in front of her, Zheng Mingxing nodded in satisfaction.

Yes! The ownership of the cat army still belongs to Zhanghe Police Station. Other departments need to go through the police station and Mimi (the cats) if they want to use them. Otherwise, which cat would take people seriously, and why would its owner want to assign them work?

Think beautiful!
Qiao Yaohua's idea was indeed quite rosy!

What was originally a routine patrol task was turned into a special operation by the Zhanghe District Urban Management Team of Zhangzhou City to crack down on illegal restaurants and food delivery services. In the end, he made a huge profit.

Based on the current results, more than eleven illegal restaurants have been dealt with, which is a significant achievement. Nine of these are unlicensed restaurants specializing in takeout, and another is an unlicensed restaurant without a business license. The last one was found on a food street; it was a mala tang (spicy hot pot) shop with a legitimate business license, but it failed to meet hygiene, food sourcing, and fire safety standards. This last shop had the most complete documentation, but its behavior was the most egregious. All its ingredients came from substandard, unlicensed workshops, and none of its food items had production dates, production licenses, or complete ingredient lists. Whether or not consuming this food will cause any problems depends entirely on the consumer's physical condition and digestive capacity. Anyone unlucky or with a weak constitution will likely suffer from diarrhea for several days.

If just two or three such restaurants are caught, the urban management department will have material to report their achievements to higher authorities in the first half of the year. Moreover, since this is a joint enforcement action, even if it's just out of consideration for the fire department, the industry and commerce bureau, and the police, the higher-ups will still give them some praise.

"Captain, we've caught another bastard!"

Xiao Yunteng rushed over excitedly, grinning, "This time it's a real bastard! You'd never guess how many unethical things he's done! Holy crap! There are still people who dare to sell gutter oil these days, and he even got it from pre-cooked food! You'd never guess, he even boiled the oil in the pre-cooked food first, consuming every last bit of nutrition before using it to make fake oil! The pre-cooked food was already profitable enough, but he had to burn his hands on top of that!"

"Such a thing really happens? Where did he do this kind of thing?"

Qiao Yaohua felt like he was listening to a story.

"Inside a residential community! The master bedroom is used for catering, and the second bedroom is used for refining gutter oil! There are no safety measures or hygiene management whatsoever! This bastard even kept a huge rat nest in the bathroom!"

Xiao Yunteng said angrily, "Luckily, that cat helped us find this shop, otherwise it would have been a huge problem! Let's not even talk about the plague, just that bastard was walking around there smoking..."

"Didn't the firefighters kill him?"

Qiao Yaohua took a deep breath.

"hey-hey……"

Xiao Yunteng grinned.

"Phew... Luckily, we found this early! It's all worth it, even though I'm stuck here like a statue and my underlings are working so hard alongside me. This kind of illegal workshop in the neighborhood is a huge problem if it catches fire! Not to mention the possibility of it igniting the gas pipelines, what about the residents upstairs if a fire breaks out on the first floor, or even an oil fire or explosion that's difficult to handle? Damn it!"

Hearing the loud shouts of the city management officers from afar, Lin Ge breathed a sigh of relief.

As time passed, more and more cats returned, and law enforcement officers came and went in a hurry. The good news was that most of them didn't find anything, proving that the situation of these illegal restaurants in Zhangzhou City, at least in the jurisdiction of Zhanghe Police Station, wasn't serious. But the bad news was that every illegal restaurant that was discovered posed a serious safety hazard. They had virtually no relevant measures in terms of fire safety or business registration, relying entirely on stealth. Even the sourcing of their food ingredients was highly questionable. If they were allowed to continue operating like this, who knows how many people would suffer unfortunate misfortunes as a result.

"Meow!"

"Meow!"

Having exhausted themselves completing their task, the cats, after eating, drinking, and resting their fill, started causing trouble again. But this time, no one complained about them, because they had truly been a great help.

"Ah woo~"

Ringo yawned and pushed away the Welsh cat that had come closer.

This guy was one who failed to gain anything, but he was rather wronged. He looked expensive and was quite adorable, so he was almost snatched away by an old lady not long after he left. Unfortunately, he was also quite foolish; a small fish made him wag his tail and follow it for a long distance. If Li Siyu hadn't intervened quickly, who knows where the old lady would have taken him, or if he would have had a chance to return.

"Meow?"

A Ragdoll cat named 16,000 approached with its tail held high, looking as proud as a grandpa cat. Unlike the Welsh cat, it was unaffected by the outside world and even helped stop several migrant workers carrying several large bags of boxed lunches who were delivering them to the construction site.

Guided by the migrant workers, the urban management officers following behind finally found the mobile lunchbox truck located deep in an alley, and discovered many problems with the cheap lunchboxes.

Expecting these food delivery trucks to have licenses is absolutely impossible. Furthermore, through observation and questioning, it was confirmed that some of the dishes in his truck were leftovers or repeatedly reheated food, and some meat dishes even emitted an unpleasant odor—things that are absolutely not allowed to continue being sold.

To be honest, migrant workers, especially construction workers, do many dangerous jobs. If they feel unwell while working, it's really hard to say what might happen.

Cheap boxed meals are still food for people; they can't be used to harm people!

Lin Ge sighed.

……

"Is 30,000 yuan enough?"

Qiao Yaohua looked at Zheng Mingxing with a smile and tempted him, "30,000 a day, let these cats help out one more time! Of course, I mean all the cats. In a couple of days, let Mimi lead them to come with me again and get the whole thing done. Is that okay?"

"Thirty thousand!"

Zheng Mingxing stroked his chin and said with a smile, "You've almost finished your business here, right? Why do you need to do it again? Let me guess, are the other urban management teams envious? We've made such a big fuss this time, I'm afraid we can't hide it from those people. This time the government wants us to come out on top, looks like they're jealous? Hehe... Thirty thousand yuan! Old Qiao, tell me honestly, how much did you ask for?"

"This has nothing to do with you, right? I think it's quite expensive to spend 30,000 yuan to buy these cats and make this trip. Afterwards, I'll treat everyone from the Zhanghe Police Station to a meal. You can choose any restaurant you like, and after we eat, we can do some exercise, get a foot massage, and sing karaoke!" Qiao Yaohua grinned.

Zheng Mingxing shook his head: "Talking about money is pointless! Singing and washing feet is unnecessary too. How about this? You tell them to set up a stray cat feeding area in your office courtyard, build a shed, and make sure there's always cat food inside—cheap stuff is fine. When the cats come over, don't scare them or chase them away, okay? I've discussed it with Lao Nie and I, and we've also talked to a doctor named Huang Qi. You'll be responsible for the basic feeding, and we'll handle the spaying/neutering to control the stray cat population. Let's work together to manage the stray cat population in Zhangzhou in a more organized and scientific way, giving them a better environment..."

Qiao Yaohua was stunned, and after a long while, he sighed, "You've really become someone who meddles in everything! Your police station not only manages people, but also wants to manage all those stray cats in Zhang City? What's that term outside? Cat slave! Yeah! You've become a cat slave too, haven't you?"

"Aren't they easy to use?"

Zheng Mingxing didn't care at all about being mocked by Qiao Yaohua, mainly because the results on site had proven many times that Mimi and her cat army were not a scourge to the city, but rather a useful existence for the city.

"They are useful... but once you use them, you have to take care of them for life, which is a bit of a hassle! And to be honest, the main focus of this help is your Mimi. Without her, the other cats don't behave! So why should we worry about them so much? To be honest, shouldn't we just let nature take its course with stray cats? If we do things the way you suggested, and stray cats really become rampant in Zhangshi, this will become a disaster."

Qiao Yaohua still refused to agree, and didn't think there would be any real benefit in doing so. Although the cat army had indeed been a great help this time, these kinds of things were accidental occurrences, and they didn't usually need to use them.

"The fire department has agreed!"

Zheng Mingxing suddenly said, "This time, we uncovered more than a dozen illegal restaurants with serious fire hazards. The fire department is both relieved and satisfied. So they have promised to build shelters for stray cats near all fire stations, providing them with a certain amount of food each day to fill their stomachs but not enough to satisfy their hunger, as well as a simple place to shelter them from the wind and rain. This way, the stray cats won't be allowed to linger, and they can stay there to save their lives when they are in trouble."

"Isn't it because I'm bored!"

Qiao Yaohua shook his head, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "Since the fire department has no objections, there's no need for me to be the bad guy. Let's just do it this way, build them a simple shed or something, and put it in a corner of the yard. Whether they can find it or not, whether they dare to come in or not, is their own business, I don't care. As for cat food and stuff, it's too much work to keep it up. Look at my female urban management officers, they can feed them if they want, and if no one wants to feed them, fine, okay?"

Zheng Mingxing thought for a moment, then nodded with a smile.

He believed that with those cats' ability to charm, wooing a kind-hearted female city management officer would be a piece of cake. Stray cats hadn't dared to do this before because the target was a stranger and it wasn't safe. But once the shelter was established, and more cats went and saw each other more often, the clever cats would gradually become bolder. Then, a little bit of charm and it would be done! Mimi's request can finally be fulfilled; you can go reply to her now.

"So, can we get to work now?"

Nie Guoqiang stared at Lin Ge impatiently, while Zhang Yong, Zhang Ke, and Sun Chang sat beside him with smiles on their faces.

Opposite these people stood an impatient Lin Ge and Bei Bei, the police dog who hadn't been seen in a long time, crouching behind him and wagging its tail frantically. Bei Bei didn't understand what these people were talking about, only excitedly staring at Lin Ge, secretly sticking out its tongue to lick Lin Ge's forehead again and again. Even when Lin Ge turned around and slapped it across the face, it wasn't angry at all. In fact, the more Lin Ge hit it, the more excited it became, a veritable masochistic dog.

"Actually, there's no need to think too much about it. After all, these unlicensed workshops might not even be in our jurisdiction. Even if we have any leads, we'll have to hand them over to the city or even the province. We'll just be conducting a search within our jurisdiction."

Zhang Yong chuckled and chimed in, trying to persuade them, "Mimi, because of your men, our Zhanghe Police Station almost became the laughingstock of the entire city. Haha... Law enforcement helping to feed and protect stray cats—that's probably the first case of its kind in the country, right? If this got out in the news or online, do you know how much criticism Zhangcheng would face? But because they're all under your command, Chief Nie still went out of his way to plead for them. Don't you think that's incredibly kind of you, and you've taken on a huge responsibility? Chief Nie went to such lengths and you're still unwilling to do anything about it? Isn't that a bit much? What we're investigating isn't difficult, and there's no danger involved..."

"You've gone this far, how can I possibly refuse?"

Lin Ge glared fiercely at Zhang Yong. Did he utter a single word of rebuttal or shake his head from beginning to end?

As for asking the departments involved to show some compassion for the stray cats, that was indeed Lin Ge's idea and request. But to be honest, it's just a shelter from the wind and rain; how much of a problem could it possibly cause them?

Putting everything else aside, just the help the cat army gave them during the day was worth their hard work, right?

Once, twice, and three times, if they ever ask for your help again and need to use the cat army, they'll be more assertive and won't be able to refuse, right?
As for the problem of the overpopulation of cats...

How could they possibly overpopulate? There are many more threats to cats in the city than just hunger and cold! Hunger and cold only make a cat's life a little harder and sloppier; at worst, they can rummage through the trash and starve to death.

For stray cats, the real dangers are various diseases and the complexities of the city!

Cats are susceptible to a wide variety of diseases. Ninety-nine percent of stray cats lack a full vaccination list, and the highly contagious feline panleukopenia is one of the most deadly killers of stray cats. Add to that feline parvovirus and various injuries, and in the increasingly complex urban environment, the vast majority of cats rarely die of old age. Weak cats are naturally weeded out, while healthy cats struggle to reproduce, so humans don't need to worry about a stray cat overpopulation.

Of course, Lingo doesn't intend to become the savior of cats, nor does he intend to turn Zhangzhou into a paradise for stray cats.

All he did was hope that their living environment could be improved even slightly, and that they could have a tiny bit more chance of avoiding death, nothing more.

"Then it's settled! Our Zhanghe Police Station's Criminal Investigation Team's first operation will focus on the substandard food products discovered during this joint operation against the illegal restaurants! The source and producers of these products must be arrested!"

Nie Guoqiang made a decision: even though pre-cooked food is not illegal in China, harmful food and harmful ingredients are undoubtedly things that must be cracked down on!

People take food as their heaven!
They don't even mention health; they only say that if the safety of the food we eat cannot be guaranteed, how can ordinary people live with peace of mind and have any sense of security?

"We still need to discuss where to start the investigation and what the specific steps should be."

It was Zhang Yong's first time leading a team to handle a criminal case, and he seemed a little nervous.

Previously, he was merely a pawn under Nie Guoqiang, following orders and handling only minor tasks while Nie Guoqiang personally steered the overall direction. However, after returning from his training at the Municipal Criminal Investigation Brigade, all the criminal investigation tasks at the police station would be handed over to him. Nie Guoqiang could provide guidance and assistance, but how to solve the case and where to proceed would be entirely Zhang Yong's responsibility. A mistake would render all efforts futile, potentially leading to suspects escaping or even the destruction of evidence. At that point, even if the criminal investigation team established by the Zhanghe Police Station didn't become a laughingstock, Zhang Yong himself would likely be too embarrassed to continue pursuing his criminal investigation dreams.

"First of all, it must be following the logistics, right? The reason we suspect the workshop is in Zhangzhou is precisely because the vehicles transporting these substandard food ingredients all have Zhangzhou license plates. We haven't taken action against the drivers yet to avoid alerting them; otherwise, we might have known exactly where the workshop is just by asking a few questions. What we need to worry about now is how many workshops there are and how widely they are scattered..."

Zhang Ke offered his opinion.

Upon hearing this, everyone else nodded in agreement. Zhu Jun and Li Yiduo, who came in later, also agreed with Zhang Ke's deduction after hearing the details. The entire illegal pre-prepared food ingredient industry was definitely not just a problem involving one or two small workshops.

It has even developed into a nationwide industry, a huge industry with great 'prospects' and 'profit potential'. Such an industry will definitely attract many risk-takers.

It depends on how many people like this there are in Zhangzhou.

Happy Lunar New Year's Eve! Wishing everyone a blessed and joyful new year.

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(End of this chapter)