Tang Zhengde is a middle-aged black man in his forties. He looks very honest, with big eyes and thick lips. He looks a bit like the funny black guy in Rush Hour.
Tang Zhengde belonged to the Renmin coalition forces of Mo Nan. He was a genuine colonel and a field brigade commander of the official army. He claimed to have 6,000 soldiers, but his actual combat strength was good enough with 4,000 people.
Perhaps it is because the Chinese in Longcheng have often been active in the Sinaloa and Casaro areas in recent years, passively exporting some Chinese culture, so Tang Zhengde also gave himself a Chinese name, but his actual name is Donald Johnson.
The last time Su Tianyu met Tang Zhengde was before the arms business was launched. At that time, Zhao Weihu brought his Tongji brothers to meet many senior officers in Sinaloa and Casaro to promote the smooth transportation of goods in the future.
After the two sides shook hands, Tang Zhengde said in fluent Beijing dialect: "Today we are having Sichuan hot pot. The base is prepared by a southern chef. It tastes good and authentic!"
Su Tianyu nodded and walked to the dining table with Tang Zhengde. The other party did not arrange anyone to accompany them. Perhaps no one in his brigade was proficient in Chinese, so it would be awkward to sit down.
The two of them sat down. Tang Zhengde used his rough, dark hands to pour some cheese and stinky mandarin fish sauce into the seafood sauce, making a bowl of dipping sauce that tasted almost like shit. He smiled and said, "This is the taste. Come and eat!"
Su Tianyu did not move his chopsticks, but said in a flattering manner: "Sir Tang, I am here to ask you a favor."
"Oh, you mean the goods?" Tang Zhengde picked up a piece of mutton that had only been boiled in water for two seconds, mixed it with the dipping sauce, and swallowed it in one gulp: "Oh, authentic!"
"Yes, our goods were lost last night, with a total value of more than 40 million." Su Tianyu pointed at his head and said, "I came here to beg you with my head on my shoulders. If the goods cannot be found, I will definitely jump off the tallest building in Longcheng."
"More than 40 million?!" Tang Zhengde asked in astonishment.
"Yes, more than 40 million, all the principal and interest are gone, Commander Tang!"
"Then we have to find it!" Tang Zhengde took a sip of white wine and said, "Brother, the goods were lost here. I'll take care of it."
"Thank you, Commander Tang!" Su Tianyu blinked, stretched his neck and asked weakly: "But... I have to ask, how long will it take to get the goods back? If it takes too long, I'll just jump off the building!"
Tang Zhengde rinsed the sheep's blood and turned to look at Su Tianyu. His dark face showed an embarrassment. "Recently, the rebels were beaten and cried for their parents. We have recaptured a large area of enemy-occupied areas, which has directly led to an increase in the number of refugees. Many people who used to help the rebels in the enemy-occupied areas have entered our garrison areas. They are mixed in with the people and do bad things, but it is really hard for us to distinguish them."
Su Tianyu frowned and thought hard for a while, then suddenly asked, "Can it be solved by spending money?"
"How do you spend the money?" Tang Zhengde looked surprised.
"We can give some reporting rewards to the public and let them report it themselves, so that we can find the person." Su Tianyu said very cleverly.
"That's a good idea." Tang Zhengde gave a thumbs up and said, "No wonder General Zhao praised you so much, you are really smart! Okay, I'll have someone lead the way, and you go distribute the rewards yourself. If you catch the robbers, I'll kill him right away."
"No, no, you don't need to lead the way. The money is given to you. Your brigade can pay it directly, Commander Tang." Su Tianyu replied humbly.
"This is not good," Tang Zhengde immediately waved his hand, "Brother Xiao Su, the money cannot pass through my hands. This will ruin my reputation. I, Old Tang, still have to survive in this area! It's better for you to pay for it yourselves. This way it will be more reasonable and convincing."
When Su Tianyu heard this, he slapped his thigh and said, "Commander Tang, my elder brother Zhao Weihu said that he has the best relationship with you among the government troops, and you are the most meticulous in doing things, so I can trust you. Let's hurry up and get the goods back, that's the real business, after all, it's more than 40 million!"
Tang Zhengde hesitated for a moment, then asked with his thick lips pursed, "Is this okay?"
"Okay!" Su Tianyu nodded heavily.
"Then how much will be given?" Tang Zhengde asked.
"Give out five hundred thousand?!" Su Tianyu asked tentatively.
Tang Zhengde turned around and immediately shouted to the guard in Spanish: "Add water, add water!"
"One million!" Su Tianyu said again.
"Add meat, add meat!" Tang Zhengde rubbed his chopsticks and shouted with sweat on his forehead.
Su Tianyu frowned and said, "Give out a bonus of 1.5 million!"
Tang Zhengde turned around and immediately said with a fierce face: "Brother, I'm not talking about you."
"Is this money enough?" Su Tianyu asked bluntly.
"It's almost done. People here are poor and have never seen money. One million and five hundred thousand is enough." Tang Zhengde paused, took Su Tianyu's arm and said, "Brother, your idea is good. I estimate that I can find the goods in three days. It won't take too long."
"We have to hurry, otherwise if some of the goods are sold secretly, I will suffer a huge loss." Su Tianyu replied anxiously.
"Don't worry, if the goods are not complete, you will slap me in the face." Tang Zhengde said seriously: "You have already paid the bonus, how can it be incomplete!"
"Thank you, Commander Tang. Come on, let's eat hotpot!" Su Tianyu also picked up the chopsticks.
“Bang!”
At this moment, Zhao Weihu, wearing a military uniform, strode in through the door, pointed at Old Tang's guards and yelled, "Get out!"
As soon as Tang Zhengde saw Zhao Weihu, he immediately waved to the guards.
Zhao Weihu came to the dining table, took off his military cap, and sat down next to Su Tianyu without saying a word, just looking at Tang Zhengde.
"Long time no see, Brother Zhao!"
"…!" Su Tianyu saw Zhao Weihu's gloomy face and immediately said, "Brother, I have finished talking to Chief Tang."
"How did the conversation go?" Zhao Weihu asked.
"Chief Tang said that the bandits are hiding among the people and are hard to find, so I'm offering a reward of 1.5 million to people who report the crime." Su Tianyu immediately explained, "This will make things much easier. Chief Tang also promised that he can find the goods in three days."
"Yes, spreading the news and spending money, three days should be enough." Tang Zhengde lit a cigarette, a specialty of the Chinese area.
When Zhao Weihu heard this, he was furious: "Fuck, the goods are lost, and I still have to pay 1.5 million. Old Tang, are you bullying my brother?!"
"Look at what you said. I told him to post it himself, and he said he believed me." Tang Zhengde spread his palms: "This makes me... a nobody! Brother Xiao Su, why don't you come and post it yourself."
Su Tianyu urgently poked Zhao Weihu's ribs under the table and said, "Brother, just send it. I'm done talking."
"What a reward!" Zhao Weihu pointed at Tang Zhengde and said, "The goods were lost at your place. You must find them for me. No reward! Is it easy for my brother to make some money with his life on the line? One million and five hundred thousand, how many wives can he marry?"
"... If you don't send it, it will be difficult to find the criminals in a short time, Brother Zhao!"
"You can't find it, right?" Zhao Weihu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's indeed difficult. You know that all the refugees are running here. Bandits are civilians and civilians are bandits. How can we find them? Use a magnifying glass to look for them?" Tang Zhengde asked with a smile.
"Okay, if you can't find it, I'll find it." Zhao Wei's eyes were filled with murderous intent: "Tomorrow I will send a regiment into Nuza. If I find a criminal, I'll kill him on the spot! If I find a regiment of criminals, I'll kill the entire regiment! Just give me the go-ahead!"
"Brother Zhao is so domineering. This is how we should deal with these gangsters. I will definitely approve your application if it passes!" Tang Zhengde gave a thumbs up and immediately turned around and shouted, "Guards, where is the arms dealer I asked you to catch this morning?"
Su Tianyu glanced at Zhao Weihu and blinked at him, but the latter just sat there without moving.
Two minutes later, a black man was brought in, tied up and forced to kneel beside the dining table.
Tang Zhengde pointed at the man and angrily said, "To be honest with you, I am also very worried about the loss of the goods. After all, this batch of goods is for our army! So I am also investigating, and I caught a second-hand dealer who was smuggling military equipment this morning!"
"Him? Does he know about it?" Zhao Weihu asked.
"Brother, brother, whether you know it or not has nothing to do with us!" Su Tianyu said while pulling Zhao Weihu.
Hearing this, Tang Zhengde looked at the black man, frowned, and asked in Spanish: "Do you know?"
The black man shook his head in fear.
"Fuck!" Tang Zhengde pulled out the pistol from his waist and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!!"
A gunshot rang out, the black man was shot in the head, and blood splattered on half of Su Tianyu's right leg.
"Ouch, what happened? There's blood all over the place!" Su Tianyu immediately stood up and wiped his trouser legs with a tissue.
“Bang!”
Tang Zhengde slammed the gun on the table, laughed and said to Zhao Weihu: "Brother Zhao!! Your method is a good one. If you catch one person, execute him on the spot. If you catch a whole regiment, just kill them all! I'll show you an example first, and you do it this way. If you don't have enough machine gun bullets, I'll replenish them for you. Let's look for the goods together! We will definitely find it!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent.