Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 81 Wealthy People of Zhangzhou
Scammers never lure just one target.

After leaving Zhang Yining's residential compound, the two of them didn't even cross the road, and headed straight to the neighboring compound because they were busy with business.

Lin Ge took a shortcut, squeezing through the iron fence between the two residential areas, and quickly ran ahead of the two men. It was an old man with white hair pacing back and forth, smoking a cigarette. He seemed to have been waiting for quite some time, leaving a trail of cigarette butts on the ground.

Even though there was a trash can less than ten meters away, and the cigarette extinguisher was clearly marked, the old man still carelessly scattered all his cigarette butts and ashes on the ground.

Seeing the two men in suits walking briskly over, the old man threw his cigarette on the ground and stomped on it, then shouted from a distance, "What's wrong with you two? How can you have no sense of time at all! You've made me wait so long, you have no manners at all!"

"Sorry sorry!"

This time, it was another man in a suit who stepped forward. He bowed as he walked, warmly extending both hands to firmly grasp the old man's right hand: "Section Chief Liu, I'm so sorry! We didn't arrange our work properly and took up your precious time. I'm so sorry!"

"Hmph! Young men like you who have no sense of time would definitely have been fined in my previous department. You're so irresponsible!"

The old man snorted coldly and patiently waited for the man in the suit to end the handshake before withdrawing his hand.

The man in the suit smiled, took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, tore it open, lit one for the old man, and then stuffed the rest into the old man's hand. "It was my fault, I deserve to be punished! Section Chief Liu, I don't want to take up too much of your time, shall we go over there and talk?"

The old man raised his chin to indicate that he should lead the way, and then exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

Amidst the flattery and sycophancy of the two men in suits, the three went to the nearby pavilion for resting. Although there was a table and four stools, only the old man sat comfortably, while the two men in suits stood beside him, bowing as if serving an ancestor.

Lin Ge quietly approached from the other side of the flower bed, slipped into a bush, and while feeling sorry for his clothes, he eavesdropped on the three people's conversation.

But to his disappointment, the man in the suit said the same old thing.

This elderly man, who looked like a retired government employee, didn't display the competence and wisdom one would expect. Faced with the man in the suit's explanation, he didn't question anything beyond exaggerating the amount of 100,000 yuan as 200,000 yuan.

Of course, there is also the possibility that he knew there was something wrong with this matter.

But what does it have to do with him? Even if those two are swindlers, it's the collective that gets swindled. As long as he gets enough kickbacks, even if all the neighbors are swindled, he won't suffer any loss.

Even without mentioning the kickbacks, he still paid money in, so why should he be blamed as a victim?

Listening to the old man avoid mentioning key issues such as the elevator's quality and the suit-wearing man's company qualifications, and only talking about getting 200,000 yuan first before using his identity and reputation to help persuade the people downstairs, Lin Ge made this guess in his mind.

Besides this, Lingo could find no other reason that could make the old man so greedy and impatient.

In some ways, he was much smarter than that old lady in Zhang Yining's neighborhood. At least regardless of whether those two were con artists or not, the old man was already in an unassailable position.

The difference in their social status led to completely different attitudes from the men in suits.

After humbly pleading with the old man to become his WeChat friend, he transferred 20,000 yuan without hesitation, creating an enticing bait for the fishpond.

The old man's face instantly filled with kindness.

The agreement was that 200,000 yuan would be transferred immediately upon signing the contract. The old man patted his chest and said that he had been elected to the neighborhood committee and that his building, or even the entire neighborhood, could collectively install elevators from the company that the man in the suit worked for.

The man in the suit readily agreed, offering the old man 200,000 yuan as payment for each elevator ride.

Both parties reached a verbal agreement based on a friendly, kind, fair and just attitude.

No one lost out.

After leaving the residential area, the two men in suits hailed a ride-hailing car and hurriedly left to catch their next appointment.

Lin Ge didn't follow; he wasn't capable of keeping up with the car. Besides, judging from their actions, they would come back sooner or later. Now, the only thing to consider was how to expose this damned scam.

To be honest, it's quite difficult.

Because the two men in suits operated under the guise of an elevator installation company from beginning to end, and the money they gave to the elderly woman and man was given under the name of "kickbacks," it was a commercial transaction from start to finish.

In addition, kickbacks are a common phenomenon in the business world.

It's illegal, but it's become an industry practice, almost an unspoken rule, making it difficult to prosecute. Unless someone insists on pursuing it despite the hassle and time involved, even if it goes to court, it usually only involves the "Unfair Competition Law" or the "Provisional Regulations on Industrial and Commercial Administration," rarely having a clear criminal definition. Furthermore, if handled properly and recorded as a "discount" separately, it's even protected by law, operating in a gray area that exploits legal loopholes.

Of course, government agencies and civil servants are an exception. For these individuals, any involvement with money constitutes a crime of bribery, a completely different offense.

In conclusion, what those two men in suits did was quite complicated!
It is difficult to prosecute them for fraud until they have swindled money and then run away.

why?
Because there is no evidence!

Unless Lin Ge or someone else uses professional recording equipment to record their conversation clearly and obtain sufficient statements, even if they are caught in the act, it will be difficult to arrest them, assuming the other company is qualified and has a clear project plan.

Because installing an elevator is a commercial activity, it can only be pursued through civil proceedings. To put it bluntly, this is a civil matter like failing to check the quality of a product before buying it, resulting in consequences that can only be resolved through negotiation between the two parties. Of course, if the other party is simply a con artist trying to get something for nothing, then that's a different story.

Lin Ge didn't actually want to get involved in this kind of thing.

After all, those two old guys only wanted to take advantage; they were greedy and foolish, so they deserved to be scammed.

but……

The other residents are innocent!
If the woman and the old man had actually used their own vouchers or resorted to thuggish tactics to let the man in the suit get away with it, then it wouldn't just be one or two families that would suffer the consequences.

Those two old guys can be shameless and brazen, but Lin Ge can't just turn a blind eye to it.

If you can stop it but don't take action, you'll have nightmares when you sleep.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ge returned to Zhang Yining's house and found her cell phone in her room. The school didn't allow her to bring it in, so Zhang Yining could only play with it briefly after school and on weekends, and even then, she wasn't allowed to download games.

Lin Ge didn't have Nie Guoqiang's number in his phone, and he didn't want to bother Nie Guoqiang with everything. This matter concerned Zhang Yong's neighbor, so it was best to talk to Zhang Yong about it.

Finding the phone number marked 'Dad', Lin Ge sent a text message.

Some things no longer need to be hidden from the people at the police station.

They, and Ringo himself, had come to trust each other.

Two minutes after the text message was sent, Zhang Yong called back.

Hearing a ringtone that sounded like some kind of anime music, Lin Ge hesitated for a moment before pressing the answer button.

"Hello, is this Mimi?"

Zhang Yong's voice came through the phone. His voice was steady, and he seemed unsurprised that Lin Ge could use a mobile phone and write Chinese characters.

"Ow!"

Lingo responded with his own distinctive call.

"..."

Zhang Yong was stunned for a moment. Hearing the sound up close was really piercing; his eardrums were buzzing.

A slight frown revealed the exhaustion that could no longer be concealed.

Looking at the handcuffed suspect sitting next to him, Zhang Yong sighed and said softly, "I'm already in the car and should be back tomorrow. Leave this to me. Whether he's a fraud or not, I'll find out the truth. You don't need to worry about it."

"Ow~"

Lingo responded again.

Without proper communication, there was no fun in chatting. After reminding Lin Ge to look after Zhang Yining, Zhang Yong hung up the phone.

"Brother Zhang, your cat is amazing!"

The detective in the passenger seat had no idea what was happening; he only heard that exaggerated scream.

"Heh, what a troublesome little thing!"

Zhang Yong shook his head, then glanced at the idiot beside him who was dozing off with his head down. He really wanted to tell these guys that these suspects were only discovered and caught because of that cat. But remembering Nie Guoqiang's instructions, he decided to keep quiet.

Of course, it's best to keep your own secret weapon for your own use.

With Mimi, the Zhanghe Police Station is like a tiger with wings. Zhang Yong has stopped considering transferring to the criminal investigation team; now he just wants to see what his police station can achieve with the help of that cat.

As for Mimi telling him about the two liars, that's a minor issue!
The harm of many things lies in their hidden nature; once exposed, they are easily resolved.

fraud?

Hehe, it's all the same principle that has remained unchanged for thousands of years!

Even more important than arresting them is figuring out how to strengthen people's ability to fight fraud!
What's going on these past few years? People are getting scammed out of tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan so easily. The scams are so simple, and the police have reported them one, two, eight, or ten times, yet people still fall for them. Have the people of Zhangzhou become that rich?

(End of this chapter)