Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 397 - 108: Mobilization, The First Task_1

Chapter 397: Chapter 108: Mobilization, The First Task_1

Yan Fei didn’t expect the benefits of catching thieves to pay off so quickly, and he had no qualms about accepting the money and stuffing it into his pocket, he didn’t think much of a hundred yuan, but the militia members below were watching enviously.

One hundred yuan!

These days, farming wasn’t like the future, where one mu of land could subsidize over a hundred yuan. Now they still had to contribute public grain and pay various taxes. If the harvest was good, they could spare some money, but if the harvest was bad, it was hard to say whether they were making a profit or a loss, it all depended on the weather.

So one hundred yuan was really not a small amount, and many young men were coveting it.

Seeing the effect, Old Pan began mobilizing. It was nothing more than the precautions during patrol, with safety as the primary concern. What everyone was most concerned about were the rewards, there was ten yuan reward for catching a chicken thief and fifty yuan for catching a cattle thief.

This matter of rewards was mentioned before, except for Yan Fei, everyone knew about it. However, nobody had seen this money before, but today they saw someone receive a hundred yuan, the atmosphere instantly heated up.

After Old Pan said a few words, he promised that in the future, when militia families were handing in grain, cotton or tobacco, he would try his best to help. This made the atmosphere even hotter as this was something he hadn’t mentioned before.

Submitting grain was not as straightforward as just delivering it, those few days were when the entire township came to submit it, the queues were long and some could wait by the roadside for one or two days. Most of it was transported by flatbed trucks, and the more remote the village, the more difficult the road was. A single trip was not easy, the worst thing was when it rained or if the grain didn’t meet the standards, you would have to take it back and dry it again, everyone’s intention was to submit it as quickly as possible.

Grains were only divided into acceptable and unacceptable categories, but cotton and tobacco were graded, and each grade had a different price, and not a small difference at that!

The standard for all grading was the purchaser’s judgement, thus, if they said it was grade three, then it was grade three, if they said it was grade one, then it was grade one, if they said it was not in accordance, you would have to take it back and dry it!

Hence, Old Pan’s promise was indeed more heartening to the militiamen from remote areas than getting a reward.

In the end, everyone received a simple little booklet - a militia certificate. There was also a shiny stainless steel whistle - as the gear. Everyone would hang it around their neck during patrols. If there was an incident, you could blow as hard as you could, which was much more effective than shouting.

In reality, the whistle was just a symbolic item, rural areas had gongs, which were more effective, but not as convenient.

As people were receiving their items here, the militiamen over there had already surrounded Yan Fei, inquiring about the thief he caught last night. When they heard it was from the Guo Building area, two young men instantly became excited as they were from there.

Everyone was curious about how he caught the thief, Yan Fei had experience and explained it methodically. There wasn’t much to say, previously, if Yan Fei saw a suspicious person and wanted to question him, it would’ve been considered unreasonable. Now everyone was a soldier, questioning when doubtful. Thieves usually had feelings of guilt, and it was impossible for them to be familiar with every household. Asking a few questions would certainly give them away.

When everyone had dispersed and went home, on the way back, Old Pan explained the reward situation to Yan Fei.

Militiamen didn’t have a fixed salary, the funds were insufficient, so to motivate everyone, they had to do it this way.

Sancha River Township had about forty administrative villages and 150-160 natural villages. Such a small number of militiamen scattered everywhere, without effective restrictive measures, how to mobilize everyone’s enthusiasm and prevent laziness from preventing patrols?

Yan Fei wasn’t particularly interested in these matters, however, he was indeed interested in one thing that Old Pan mentioned: Old Pan could help him make up for the missed militia training – he could teach him how to use a rifle if he had spare time.

Although the chances of using a gun after learning might be slim, who can be sure what will happen these days? There weren’t many militiamen in the town. In case something happened, a capable man like Yan Fei would be a valuable asset. How could he treat a rifle as a fire stick?

However, after returning to the cattle farm, Yan Fei put this matter aside.

The winter preparation work at the cattle farm was much more important in his eyes. Every aspect had to be checked. Cold-proofing and feeding provisions were both major issues, neither of which could be done poorly.

Busy with various tasks for several days, no one expected that Yan Fei, who had just become a militiaman, would receive his first mission so quickly.

That day, a portion of the militiamen were summoned. Old Pan said there might be a fugitive passing through the area and asked everyone to pay extra attention to those with foreign accents. Not much else was said.

Afterwards, Old Pan emphasized again to a few militiamen in the town and Yan Fei that they should patrol around town more frequently, paying special attention to those with foreign accents, and to report any abnormalities immediately, without taking any rash actions.

The militiamen shared a characteristic – they were all retired soldiers. Despite Old Pan’s vague statement, it alerted them. Meanwhile, Yan Fei was confused and asked, "Aren’t you going to give us a description of who we’re looking for? We can’t just go and question everyone we see with a foreign accent!"

Old Pan laughed, "My job is done here, go find your uncle. He is the one who asked for you."

"What’s all this secrecy about?", Yan Fei expressed his frustration, while the rest of them just laughed behind him.

When he found Lin Baoguo, Yan Fei was still irritated, "Look at how busy I am, and you still make things difficult for me. We are tasked to catch a fugitive without any description or knowledge of what he did, what sort of mission is this?"

Lin Baoguo treated him exceptionally kindly this time, "Have a seat first, do you want some water?"

Yan Fei was immediately startled, "Uncle, don’t scare me, just say it. I’ll stand and listen, there’s no need for formality!"

Lin Baoguo laughed whilst scolding him, "Look at you. I’m your uncle, I won’t hurt you, will I? Come, come, sit down and let me explain slowly."

The more insistently he was invited to sit, the bigger Yan Fei realised the problem was going to be.

As expected, when Yan Fei sat down, Lin Baoguo began to reveal the nature of the fugitive he was supposed to look out for.

Yan Fei was taken aback after hearing it and asked, "This guy must be crazy! Such a major case, why don’t they explain it to everyone, so we can all be on high alert?"

Lin Baoguo explained, "That’s just it – the case is too big and we don’t want to cause public panic, so we can’t openly discuss it. Old Pan gave you a task suited to what you’re supposed to understand now, and those who aren’t aware, will understand in due course."

"I don’t understand", Yan Fei admitted bluntly. "So, you’re saying we should look out for one to four people with a distinct foreign accent, with one of them being notably shorter?"

"Yes!" Lin Baoguo nodded. "You heard before, this group has been on the run through three provinces, with the two most recent crimes committed in the county west of our city. They are likely lurking around here, and they are ruthless – they murder every witness to their crimes, extremely dangerous. Now, do you think revealing this information to normal folk, other than increasing their fear, will serve any purpose?"

Yan Fei nodded in understanding, "So, you’re only telling people who are capable of catching them?"

Lin Baoguo praised him, "Correct, as long as you understand. Even professionals need to be careful in apprehending such criminals, let alone ordinary people!"

The implication was clear - ordinary people who encounter these criminals and are reluctant to act decisively, are just courting death.

Seeing that Yan Fei understood, Lin Baoguo added, "Your cattle farm is located on the outskirts of the town, and there are no neighbouring houses, you need to be extra careful. You just need to be aware of this situation, don’t go spreading it around."

"Don’t worry! I can keep a secret," Yan Fei blurted out. It’s like keeping the secret about my dinosaur world, I’ve been keeping that secret since I was a kid, and I’m still doing it. Isn’t that just not telling anyone? It’s a simple task.