The next day, Feng Yu noticed there was a lot of changes in Bing City when he brought Kirilenko out for street foods. Since morning, Bing City residents saw lots of men with red armband patrolling the streets. If the armband did not indicate these people were from the City’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, they would have thought they had returned to that particular era.
“Spitting on the streets, fine 2 RMB!” An old lady with a red armband tore a ticket and gave to a young man who had just spat on the floor.
“What? Fine? 2 RMB? Auntie, can I just wipe it myself?” The young man used his shoes to wipe his spit.
“No. Didn’t you see the City’s news yesterday? There will be a crackdown in our City. The City wants to increase the quality of its residents. Hurry up and pay your fine. There are policemen over there.” The old lady stubbornly said.
Her leader had told her that they had a target to hit and they would also get a part of the fines collected. Each of them had to collect 100 RMB of fines. Of course, these were all internal instructions and were not disclosed to the public.
The young man turned and saw the policemen standing on the other side of the streets. What was happening today? Policemen were patrolling so early in the morning? Since when did Bing City Policemen become so hardworking? Could it be that some great leader will be visiting today?
The young man paid his fine unwillingly and threw his ticket into the trash bin. However, a gust of wind blew the ticket onto the floor.
The young man saw the old lady running towards him, and he immediately picked up the ticket and stuff it into his pocket. He was mumbling to himself: “How come this ticket dropped onto the floor? If I get fine again, I will have no way to answer to my wife for the missing money.”
The old lady could not issue the littering ticket and was disappointed. She could get 10 cents for a 2 RMB fine! If she were able to collect 100 RMB fines, she would earn more than what she usually earned from sweeping the streets. Furthermore, as a road sweeper, she hated those people who spit and litter on the streets!
At a clinic, the health bureau had sealed a clinic. This clinic was opened by an unlicensed doctor. The doctor had got his practicing license suspended for malpractice in the past.
This doctor did not follow the procedures to test a patient for allergies before injecting penicillin into him, and the patient had an anaphylactic shock. This doctor was still the same after he had lost his license. When the people from the Health Bureau arrived at his clinic, there was also a patient suffering from mild allergies.
In the clinic, the health Bureau also found expired medications. This person was too evil. Seems like this could not be settled with just fines.
This was a good arrest, but the people from the Health Bureau were unhappy. This was a severe crime, but they could not fine this unlicensed doctor.
In the evenings, Feng Yu and Kirilenko was standing at a street hawker stall buying some barbeque skewers when a few men in uniforms came running towards the hawker: “How many time have I warn you? Who gives you the permission to set up your stall here? Do you have a permit? Do you have the license to operate? Hurry and pay your fine. 50 RMB!”
Feng Yu’s jaws dropped, and the piece of meat in his mouth fell onto the table. What time was it now? These officers from Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau were supposed to be off-duty and why were they just giving fines to this hawker and not confiscating his stall?
Damn, was it because of my suggestion to Zhang Ruiqiang that caused all these?
This hawker’s life was also not easy. Feng Yu also like his food very much. So, he walked over and passed a 100 RMB note to the hawker’s wife: “Pay the fine with this. With your skills, both of you should set up a proper stall. Being an unlicensed hawker is not a long-term solution.”
“Thank you, young man. We also want to set up a shop, but we could not find a good location. Our loyal customers are all staying in this area, and if we leave this place, we will have to start all over again. Don’t leave first. When these officers leave, I will barbeque some skewers for you.”
The hawker’s wife thought Feng Yu had helped them out of kindness, but she did not know that Feng Yu was feeling guilty.
Kirilenko was not full yet when he was dragged away by Feng Yu. When he left, he was still holding on to two skewers of barbeque kidneys.
Feng Yu does not eat these things, but Kirilenko likes it very much.
That night, a local businessman had brought his client to a bathhouse for some massage when someone kicked opened the door.
“Police, don’t move! Which unit are you from? Call your unit’s leader here to bail you.”
“Sir, I am self-employed.”
“Self-employed? Then call your family over to bail you and pay the fine!”
“Please don’t let my family members know. Can I pay the fines now? How much? 1,000 RMB? How come the fine is so high? Wait, wait, wait. I will pay the fine. I will also pay the fines for that person. Can you release him too?”
This businessman had thought of spending only 50 RMB to entertain his guest, but in the end, he paid 2,000 RMB. Even if he had clinched this deal, there would be no profits.
Were these policemen crazy? Why was there a crackdown suddenly?
Most of the people at the bathhouse paid their fines on the spot. Those proceeds from the prostitutes were also confiscated. This was why the Police department could raise funds quickly. The people they caught were willing to pay their fines without letting their companies, units, and family knows.
“Both hands on your head and face the wall. No one is allowed to talk!”
Four businessmen were playing mah-jong in a private room, and Policemen rushed in. They didn’t even have the chance to say anything and were arrested. One of them tried to call his connections but was pinned down on the floor by one of the policemen.
The money used for gambling were confiscated, and they were asked if they want to pay fines or be in remand. These few bosses did not want to be in custody and chose to pay the hefty fines. They will also not leave any criminal records if they paid their fines. One of the four businessmen took out a handphone and called his brother-in-law to bring 20,000 RMB over to pay their fines.
At a nightclub’s private room, two men had pinned down a hostess and were about to do something terrible to her when the door was kicked open.
“Didn’t I say no one is allowed to enter my room? Who the hell gives you the guts to enter? Ah……. Mr. Policeman, I am not talking to you.” One of the men was about to shout profanities when he saw a few policemen rushing into the room.
“All of you, squat down on the floor. Which unit are you from?”
“Sir, can I don’t tell you my unit? We are not doing anything.”
“Not doing anything? Then why are you not wearing your pants?”
“We are a couple.” The other man shouted.
“Couple? There are 4 of you. This means all of you had committed group licentiousness and will be charged in court. Fine. I will not take the prostitution charge into consideration but we will treat this as a criminal case and will hand you over to the detectives to handle.
“Please, Police Comrade. Please give us a chance.”
“Who is comrades with you, criminals?”
“Mr. Senior Police Officer.”
“I am only 25 years’ old.”
“Brother Officer, I am 20 years old. Errm…… these girls here are prostitutes. I admit to the charges, and we will pay the fines. Can you don’t inform my unit?” A breaded man who looked like he was in his forties, was begging the police officer.
That night, Bing City’s crackdown had left a deep impression on the residents. Most of the residents were happy with this. They had wanted Bing City to be cleansed from all these vices. They praised the City Government for this crackdown. The person that received the most praises was Bing City’s Mayor Zhang Ruiqiang. The residents had heard that this crackdown was instructed by the Mayor.
Of course, those that were fined were cursing the City in their hearts.
Translator’s notes: During China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, the Red Guards wore red armbands. You can read more about the red guards here.
Those guilty of the crime “Group licentiousness” in China could be jailed up to 5 years. An article about this law is in this link. Here is the Wikipedia’s page on Prostitution Laws in China.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_China#Prostitution_law
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