Hancheng, Central China Fruit Wholesale Market.
Zhang Hui and Qin Feiyang sat in a Cayenne, staring at the truck they had been tracking for two thousand kilometers, twenty meters away.
The truck was unloading, and some of the fruit was being directly transferred to the vehicles of some vendors and driven away.
"Captain Zhang, the target is moving. It should be on that rickshaw."
Qin Feiyang held the locator display, finding that the tracker installed on the canvas bag was moving slowly, and a mobile fruit vendor was leaving the fruit wholesale market.
"Team One, keep an eye on the truck driver and his wife. Wait for orders to net them. Team Two, pay attention to the rickshaw. She's the one receiving the goods. Track her separately and don't let her find out."
Zhang Hui immediately relayed the orders. Whether they could take down this major drug trafficking ring depended on this.
The person pedaling the rickshaw was a rural woman in her forties, with graying hair and a weathered face, no different from the other mobile vendors hawking goods along the street. If it weren't for the tracker indicating eighty thousand poppy seeds on her cart, no one would have believed she was a member of a drug trafficking ring.
The female vendor left the fruit market, crossed two streets, and began selling fruit at the entrance of a residential complex.
Many people entered and exited the complex, so there were also many selling vegetables and fruits. The female vendor's stall was soon patronized.
Zhang Hui and Qin Feiyang dared not get too close, so they could only closely monitor the tracker's movements while having other team members disguise themselves and monitor the vicinity.
A silver Cadillac stopped in front of the female vendor, and a young man with a small braid got out.
"Hey, fruit seller, how much are mangoes per jin? Do you have them by the box?"
The young man looked around and then asked loudly.
The woman nodded, "Yes, boss. Mangoes are twelve yuan per jin, and a box has ten jin. How many boxes do you want?"
"Give me two boxes, and help me load them into my car."
As the young man spoke, he opened the trunk.
The female vendor seemed very pleased and obsequiously loaded two cardboard boxes into the trunk.
The young man did not open the boxes to check. He counted out two hundred and forty yuan, gave it to the vendor, and then drove into the complex.
The Cadillac drove all the way to the entrance of Building Six of the complex and stopped. Two young men got out, first looked around, then opened the trunk. One carried a cardboard box labeled "Mangoes" upstairs.
The elevator stopped on the fifteenth floor, and the two men knocked on the door of unit 1503. Baoguo personally opened the door for them.
"How was it? Did you notice anything unusual when picking up the goods?"
Baoguo held binoculars. When the two young men parked downstairs, he had been observing the residents moving around upstairs.
The braided young man placed the fruit boxes on the coffee table. "Brother Bao, nothing unusual. We followed them from the fruit market, the delivery person didn't contact anyone, and we didn't notice anyone following us."
Baoguo nodded, sat on the sofa, and used a dagger to cut open the fruit box, taking out a canvas bag from inside.
He didn't rush to open the canvas bag. Instead, he took a photo with his phone and sent a text message. Then, he pulled open the zipper. Inside were eight bright red poppy seed bags.
"Brother Bao, this shipment is so large, it's just enough to meet the sales demand during the New Year."
The braided young man's eyes lit up. The New Year was the peak sales season for poppy seeds. The wholesale price, usually thirty yuan per seed, could now be sold for over fifty, with retail prices of eighty, and now fetching between one hundred and two hundred. If this batch of poppy seeds were sold wholesale at fifty yuan each, it would bring in over three million yuan in profit.
Baoguo was also a little excited. From receiving Cat Brother's call, knowing that the poppy seeds were on their way, to them safely arriving in his hands, he had been on edge, fearing something might go wrong on the road.
The phone rang. Seeing it was Cat Brother, Baoguo quickly answered.
"Master, the goods have arrived, everything went smoothly. I just sent you the pictures. Are there any problems?"
"No problems. The canvas bag was brought by Wu Laizi from Meng La. It hasn't been touched in transit, so it seems Wu Laizi is fine. He's on his way home. Transfer twenty thousand yuan to him."
"Oh, I'll arrange for someone to transfer the money immediately. Why is Wu Laizi coming back? Don't you need him there?"
"No, his mother is sick, and he's going back to see her. Arrange for two people to protect him. He's a bit worried that Yang Jian might have people monitoring near his home."
"Okay, I'll make arrangements when he gets back."
"Sell this batch of goods as soon as possible. There's been a bit of a change in Meng La, and I need a large sum of money to find a new backer there."
Sister Nan had been missing for several days with no news. Cat Brother felt uneasy about his situation. If there was any disturbance in China, Meng La would be his last refuge.
"Don't worry, Master. The New Year is approaching, and this batch of goods will be wholesaled in a few days."
After hanging up, Baoguo prepared to taste the quality of the seeds. Just as he took out his smoking tools, he heard someone knocking on the door.
He quickly told the braided young man to hide the canvas bag.
Baoguo himself walked to the door and looked through the peephole. "Who is it?"
"It's from the property management. You haven't paid your property fees for a long time, and I've come to deliver a notice."
Outside the door stood a property management lady, whom he had seen before.
"I'll pay it tomorrow. You can go."
"Sir, you've said that many times. If you don't pay now, I'll immediately cut off your water and electricity."
"Damn it, you're quite arrogant. See if I don't cut off your water and electricity."
Baoguo was furious. When did a minor property manager dare to act tough in front of him? He casually pulled open the door.
The property manager seemed startled and recoiled.
Before Baoguo could curse, he saw a tall figure lunge over from the side, grabbing his neck. The immense force threw him down.
Then, four or five plainclothes officers rushed in with handguns. "Don't move, get down on the ground, all of you!"
The two young men inside were terrified and obediently put their hands on their heads and crouched down.
Baoguo was pinned to the ground, unable to move. He knew he was finished. With so many poppy seeds in his home, they couldn't be hidden. Such a large quantity meant a death sentence was certain.
He just couldn't figure out how the police found him so quickly, less than half an hour after he received the goods. Where had something gone wrong?
Qin Feiyang handcuffed Baoguo before pulling him up.
Zhang Hui walked in, took out a photo, and compared it carefully. "You're Baoguo, right?"
Baoguo knew he couldn't deny it. "Yes, I'm Baoguo. Officer, can you tell me how you found me?"
"I can answer your question, but can you cooperate with us in catching your subordinates and gang members?"
"I can cooperate. Will that count as a meritorious service?"
"It depends on your performance."
"I will definitely cooperate fully. With such a large quantity, if I don't get credit, I'll surely die. So, I want to seize the chance to survive."
Zhang Hui smiled. "Smart. You know what's good for you. To tell you the truth, I tracked this shipment all the way from Meng La to here, just to catch your entire gang. Unfortunately, this time, I couldn't catch Cat Brother."
"Do you mean Wu Laizi sold us out?"
"You guess. Take him away."
Zhang Hui had no leisure to chat with him here. After days of long-distance travel and constant tension, he was exhausted. After completing this arrest mission, he wanted to sleep for three full days.