Original subtitles

[Episode 29]

Uncle Zhou?

You finally caught up.

What did he tell you?

The progress of the case.

I'll go see him tomorrow.

The two of us will go see him.

Wasn't it closed as an accident a while ago?

Now there's new progress.

They suspect it was arson by a former Kuangxia employee.

But they want to use it to bait Zhang Bin, so they're keeping it quiet.

Let's go.

Come back.

What?

Nothing.

Let's go.

Hurry up.

Run faster.

What?

What? Is the police here?

Keep an eye on him.

How is it?

They're coming.

Where? Which way?

They're not in plainclothes?

I don't know.

If you hadn't been so impulsive, we wouldn't be in this mess.

What did you say?

Hu was just provoked.

If you ask me, Zhang Bin is a real scumbag.

We're being chased like stray dogs.

Yet he's doing just fine.

Things have come to this, and we can't go back to the site.

What's the point of this nonsense?

Think of a way out.

If Zhai were still here...

Sit, sit.

Keep it low.

Mr. Zhang heard that you and Manager Chen had some misunderstandings.

You're all brothers. Why make things so ugly?

He still hasn't paid us back!

Who's his brother?

What are you doing?

I know things are tight for you all.

Mr. Zhang doesn't intend to hold a grudge.

The original 160,000 yuan severance pay, plus bank interest at three percent.

Here is 180,000 yuan in cash.

There's a catch, isn't there?

Don't be like that.

I just need you to do one last favor for Mr. Zhang.

[Haoyun Logistics]

Morning, Boss.

- Morning, Ms. Miao. - Morning.

[Records Room]

Come in.

Hello. I'm from the audit team.

I'm here for the shipping department's contracts.

Let me check.

I don't see the approved request for the files.

Our director has already submitted the request.

Maybe it's still in the middle of the process.

Then we should wait for the approval.

The request hasn't reached me yet, so I can't just give them to you.

The team needs them urgently. How about I take them now?

I'll call my supervisor to ask about it.

It's for the shipping department, so Manager Chen should be in charge.

You can call him.

Hello, Manager Chen.

I have someone here from the audit team. She's...

Miao.

Ms. Miao from the audit team.

She's asking for the shipping contracts.

Has the request been approved on your end?

Hold on.

I see it. Everything looks fine.

All right.

Hold on.

[Liu Bin Bo, Zhang Bin] [Cargo Details]

[All relevant personnel are bound by confidentiality obligations]

[Cargo Details]

[A New Message]

Jing.

Cen wants to see you in his office.

Come in.

Let's play a round.

That's quite aggressive.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

But you can't just ignore the consequences.

The Archives Department asked you, right?

I found a way to fix the paperwork for you.

But being this reckless isn't like you at all.

If I had told you beforehand, you would've told me to be cautious.

By acting first and reporting later, you're forced to clean up my mess.

While it wasn't exactly proper, it was certainly the most efficient way.

Violating protocol is a fact.

But I had a reason for doing it.

You have an answer for everything.

I'll submit a violation report.

Deduct my pay as you see fit.

I didn't call you here just to hold you accountable.

In their accounts, there's been a hidden deficit.

But because the cash flow was decent, for all these years, it went undetected.

I looked at the raw data.

The shortfall dates back to the year they turned a profit after Hongshen invested.

But that's normal.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul.

High turnover can't be stopped.

But now Hongshen is going public.

If something goes wrong with Haoyun at this critical juncture,

Hongshen will hold them accountable.

They might even cut their losses and pull out.

Then Haoyun will surely be crippled.

So, Zhang Bin will definitely find a way to fill this hole.

Kuangxia was Haoyun's predecessor.

Zhang Bin got the funds and built it to Haoyun's current scale.

Zhang Bin wanted to open up a new transportation route.

But this route isn't exactly clean.

The police are already suspicious and are watching closely.

So, he can only take the risk of shifting the blame.

Therefore,

even if the arsonist is found, they won't find any connection to Haoyun.

Yes.

There's no direct evidence yet.

And since it involves a Lingang company,

the police have no grounds to issue a search warrant directly.

Going through all that trouble just to balance the books?

I don't think so.

It seems you already have a plan.

The goods from Baiyou earlier, which fleet were they from?

Bai and Xu's.

Bai drives the Lingang route, handling small cargo.

Xu handles the major retailers, delivering nationwide.

Where is Bai?

The schedule says he's driving today.

Bai took the day off. He asked me to fill in for him.

Yes. Bai has been taking a lot of leave lately. He's missed several shifts.

Actually, lately, a few other veteran drivers have also been missing shifts.

A few newcomers have joined us, though.

Several have been replaced.

Bai isn't feeling well. He'll be here this afternoon.

I don't know about anything else.

You're not driving this day.

For small trucks like yours, you've only made three trips, right?

There's no other dispatch schedule?

That's true. That's how the company arranged it.

Oh, right. The drivers are free, but the trucks aren't.

Didn't Mr. Tao hire some new drivers recently?

I guess it's their turn to drive.

New drivers?

Yes.

[Liu]

[Warehouse A2]

I suspect the route Zhang wants to establish is linked to smuggling.

After the team leaves,

I'll stay in Teng City under the pretext of handling the follow-up work.

Yi, here.

Try this.

I just brought this back from Lingang.

You can't find it in Teng City anymore.

Handmade rice noodles.

Quite old-school.

It's the same flavor as the roast goose stall on Huaihua Street back then.

Exactly the same.

Eat up.

What's wrong, Yi?

It really is the taste of Huaihua Street.

Why have you been absent so much lately?

Me?

My old stomach trouble.

I've been to the hospital a few times.

Look. I even forgot to take my medicine today.

I'll go get it.

- You eat first. - Wait.

Where is the medicine? I'll get it for you.

It's in my cab, in that red bag.

Okay. Wait here.

Thank you, Yi.

Here.

Thank you, Yi.

Haven't I made enough runs this month?

No.

It's just some new drivers. They don't know the rules.

One of them loaded cargo from Baiyou No. Four.

He almost made a mistake.

That small cargo isn't ours.

We always deliver to the docks. We only deliver the No. Seven cargo.

The other numbers... those are all for the large trucks.

Seven?

It's this kind?

Yi. I didn't steal this.

It fell out from under the pallet.

I only found it when I was finishing my shift.

I saw it wasn't dirty or torn,

so I wanted to take it home for my daughter.

Where's the medicine?

It's all gone. I forgot to get a refill.

Yi, I'll try to make more trips next month.

I didn't say I was firing you.

The seal is broken on this. I'll report it as damaged later.

Thank you, Yi.

When did you get stomach problems?

You were fine before.

It's been three or four months.

And I have diabetes, so I don't dare eat just anything.

Besides you, is anyone else in the fleet feeling unwell?

It's nothing much, really.

At most, everyone has headaches and a loss of appetite.

Because lately, everyone's been working night shifts.

Basically, everyone is the same.

Let's get you to the hospital first.

Bai Guo Qiang, right?

This is your bed. This is your hospital gown.

You can go ahead and get changed now.

There's a call bell next to the bed.

If you need anything, you can call us anytime.

Okay. Thank you, miss.

Have you contacted your family?

My daughter is only in elementary school.

Someone has to be home to mind her.

My wife has an early shift tomorrow.

It's just a bit of indigestion.

I don't really need to be hospitalized.

What's this on your back?

It's just some rashes.

I've been applying safflower oil.

It's been over two weeks, but it hasn't gotten any better.

Since it didn't go away, why didn't you come to the hospital?

Driving day and night, we eat and sleep in the truck.

Where would I find the time?

I'll go check the results with the doctor.

Your company is in the transport business.

And you're hauling hazardous goods. Why weren't there safety precautions?

Here, take a look.

White blood cells, platelets... None of the counts is normal.

What's the exact situation?

He already has diabetes.

Judging by the severity, he's been exposed for at least a month.

Are you sure that's the cause?

The others in the fleet don't seem to have much of a reaction.

Let me put it this way.

This patient already has a low white blood cell count.

Even if everyone else is fine, he would be the first to fall ill.

This can't be delayed any longer. He must be hospitalized immediately.

What exactly does your company transport?

Don't you know?

Can you tell what this is?

Silver-gray,

with a metallic luster, and denser than iron.

If I'm not mistaken, this should be germanium metal.

These people have some nerve.

Can we open a case with this?

Evidence obtained through illegal means can't be used to open a case.

Yeah.

It would compromise judicial fairness.

It can't be used as a basis for a case.

That's a pity.

I'll take it back to the station. The forensics will examine it thoroughly.

Look on the bright side. At least now, we're not just talking without proof.

What we're missing now is just one official chance to make an arrest.

It'll be soon.

Dry my hair.

Lean forward.

When you saw Uncle Zhou off just now, what did he say to you?

I updated him on the situation.

Remember when you joined me for the inventory check?

That's when I discovered something was wrong with Haoyun's fleet.

I've mostly figured out their transport methods.

Bai's vehicle is a small truck.

On the rear tailgate, the license plate isn't painted on.

There are two teams like this.

The vehicle models are exactly the same.

Let's call them the black and white cars.

Between the checkpoint and the border, there's a stretch of road.

This is the place where they pull off the switch.

The white truck enters the checkpoint.

The black truck takes a detour to an abandoned parking lot.

The white truck carries no smuggled goods.

The goods are all in the black truck.

[Motor Vehicle Inspection Card Stub] So the white truck passes the checkpoint safely

and leaves a clean record.

They swap license plates there.

So when they emerge,

the black truck is already using the white truck's plates.

Those stuffed toys are their means of transport.

In Lingang, I found that they have only six official production lines.

But plushies with a serial number starting with seven don't exist on the market.

They only circulate within Haoyun's transport routes.

That's how they smuggle the goods.

Don't frown like Uncle Zhou.

Don't worry. They have a plan.

Since you've handed it over to the police, don't get involved anymore.

No more playing the hero. Got it?

Lights off. Time for bed.

You're quite used to lying here.

It's not like I haven't before.

A few days ago, when my sheets weren't dry, I slept right here.

Hurry up.

Let me tell you, when I went to Lingang a few days ago,

I visited so many malls. Cen Ye and I went to every single one.

We were looking for that...

Just go to sleep.

Sleep.

Bai is sick. Who's leading the team this time?

Who knows?

They haven't said a word. They just have us waiting.

Why don't you go ask?

- Go ask. - Go on.

Mr. Tao.

- Manager, when are we leaving? - Yes?

What are we hauling this time?

Just wait.

Don't ask questions. Just drive the route as usual.

Don't delay the job. Off you go.

Yes.

Tired of waiting?

Waiting for nothing.

Who's that?

Let's move out.

Is that the new guy?

He's acting so high and mighty.

Alright. Stop staring. Let's go.

Alright, let's go.

Get out of the truck. Routine inspection.

Open the trunk.

It's just some toys.

Nothing else.

Please show your vehicle registration and driver's license.

The documents are in my truck. Follow me.

Officer.

This is my shipping manifest.

Driver's license.

Vehicle registration.

ID card.

[Sun Hu]

You're a driver for Haoyun.

That's right.

It's me.

Stop! Stop right there!

It has nothing to do with me! Take it easy!

Why are you running?

Officer Zhou, we're all old friends.

It's you.

I just didn't bring my ID today.

- What's in the truck? - We've checked it.

The truck is full of plushies. Nothing else.

- Take him and the truck back. - Yes, sir.

Officer Zhou, I'll get a replacement tomorrow. Is that okay?

Take him away.

Officer Zhou is my friend!

I didn't do it!

Officer, I've been here so many times.

Chen Yi.

- What are you doing? - What do you think you're doing?

- Don't move. - Behave yourself.

Mr. Zhai must have been blind.

He got Zhang Bin a good lapdog.

What's going on? Behave yourself.

- Take him inside. - I didn't do anything wrong!

Get in!

It's fine.

You two have been going back and forth between the hospital and the police station.

Go home and get some pomelo leaves to wash away the bad luck.

Again?

Just listen to me.

This way.

Careful.

Although Zhang Bin has no direct connection to Sun Hu's case,

you still need to be careful.

Officer Zhou, I've caused you a lot of trouble lately.

Thank you.

It's my duty.

Don't mention it.

Are you all right?

This whole ordeal has been quite a shock for Yi and his sister.

I've found a place.

I'll take them to play pool to unwind.

If you're interested, why not join us?

No, thanks. I'm on duty.

I'm a bit occupied.

I won't insist then.

By the way, public safety hasn't been great lately.

I have a word of advice for you. Keep a low profile.

Watch your step at night.

Don't worry.

I certainly won't cause the police any trouble.

Let's go.

You two, sit in the back.

What are you waiting for?

I'm asking you to sit in the back so it's easier for us to talk.

Li.

I'll go and reapply for that ID tomorrow. Is that okay?

Officer Zhou.

Step outside for a moment. Let me handle this.

I didn't do anything wrong.

Tell me about the arson.

Confess, and we'll go easy on you.

Maybe you'll get a few years off.

[Surveillance footage showing Sun Hu nearby. Footage showing Sun Hu committing the crime.]

I'll talk.

Officer Zhou has been promoted quickly over the past few years.

He's capable and dedicated.

He won't have to worry about his future in the force.

But I heard that he's still single.

The clerk who died in that fire years ago

was apparently his fiancée.

What a pity.

The wicked prosper while the good suffer. It is a pity indeed.

So what if they prosper for a while?

Once they're wanted, they're just rats scurrying across the street.

Let me introduce you.

This is Coach Hu.

Yi. You should remember her.

You played against her back in the 2000s.

I remember.

Today,

I just want the two of you to come here and relax.

Since there are four of us, let's play American pool.

Do you know how to play?

Chen Yi, you took the heat for me this time.

Regarding Sun Hu, you two helped me a lot.

Thank you.

His target was always me.

He's probably still bitter about what happened to Mr. Zhai back then.

You've shown him enough respect.

Mr. Zhang, you were so focused on the new routes before.

Now that Sun Hu has messed things up, you must have a backup plan.

Do I?

Those routes are being monitored more closely by police.

Many procedures need to be redone.

But the customers' goods cannot be delayed.

As for other ways...

As for other ways, it depends on your brother.

Just like the arson last time.

It was thrilling,

but compared to what he experienced in Country Jin,

that was nothing.

Country Jin?

You've been to Country Jin?

Mr. Zhang, you made the shot!

I forgot.

The eight ball went in.

I was just focused on the eight ball.

Chen Yi, you're not on your game today.

Let's play another round.

I'd better not. We have other things to do. We'll be going now.

Mr. Zhang, I'll be going, too.

Okay.

I'll have Li give you a ride.

A few years ago, he'd just turned 18.

A mere kid made me lose face completely.

I never thought the day would come to get my win back.

Do you know why he lost today?

He let his guard down and got rusty?

After all, he doesn't need to gamble to survive now.

Back then, he was poor. He had no money, and his life was cheap.

So he wasn't afraid of anything.

But it's different now.

Now he has things he values and people he cares about.

So he can't be completely focused.

You know how it is.

When a player steps up to the table,

he has to be absolutely clear about the position he wants

and the pocket he's playing for on every shot.

So,

if you want to clear your mind,

you still have work to do.

Why didn't you tell me about your time in Country Jin?

Chen Yi, what else are you hiding from me?

Can't you just be honest?

- Miao Jing. - I don't want to talk to you.

Why are you back so late?

You're quite obedient, doing whatever Zhou Kang An says.

Stand still.

It's good to wash away the bad luck.

Perhaps I'll have to go see him a few more times.

I'm not necessarily the one he wants to see.

I hope not.

If you want to wade into these murky waters, I can't stop you.

I can stir up the waters, but I can also make them clear.

Do you trust me?

I trust you.

But we both have to make it out alive.

If you're going to risk your life, you'd better do a risk assessment first.

Don't hit my head.

- What? - I said, don't hit my head.

[Haoyun Logistics]

- What's going on? - I haven't saved my work yet!

- I didn't save mine either! - What do we do?

- Was all that work for nothing? - That's strange.

I'm supposed to hand in this form.

Do you think we're cursed this year?

Your zodiac year was years ago! Forget about bad luck.

In Teng City, we say, "Go with the flow." Just think of it as a paid break.