Chapter 261 162: Zhang Niu: Chao Zi, You'll Live in the Capital City From Now On, and Your Big Bro Will Arrange Everything

To be honest, Wang Tao had had his sights on Xu Huo for a long time.

Why?

Because as time went on, the Special Fifth Bureau would inevitably transition from the shadows into the light. This was something everyone in the Special Fifth Bureau understood clearly.

But once they were in the open... what form would they take?

It wasn't that they would abandon their original duties; those would certainly remain unaffected.

Rather, it was about what the new recruits would do after the Special Fifth Bureau expanded its ranks and went public!

If they interfered with foreign spies, they would be encroaching on National Security's territory.

That left getting involved with the police departments.

Police departments across the country had more cases than anyone could handle, and that was true even in the Capital City!

But then another problem arose.

Criminal investigations were different from their previous fields. To crack these kinds of cases, there were only two methods.

One, deploy massive resources.

This was obviously impossible. First, there weren't enough resources to do this for every case, and second, the higher-ups would never allow it.

That left only the second option.

Two, professional criminal investigators!

In other words, talent.

Talent wasn't a resource; it couldn't be bought with money. The number of top criminal investigators in the entire country could be counted on one's fingers.

If they wanted to recruit people, they had no choice but to poach them, but that would inevitably offend their colleagues in other departments.

But if they didn't, they'd have no one to use. Zhang Liang and his guys were all in the business of fighting and killing; you couldn't rely on them for investigative work...

Until.

Zhang Liang signed a consultant.

"Hmph, what do you mean 'poaching'? Is he your man to poach? How can you have the gall to say that?"

Zhao Wei looked at Wang Tao, a very displeased expression on his face.

"Besides, this is a matter of mutual consent. Since when is it your turn to make trouble, you old ghoul?"

"You're really trying to poach him!?"

Wang Tao was shocked, staring at the other man in disbelief.

"Let me correct you again. This isn't poaching. This is called 'negotiating'!"

Zhao Wei replied again.

"Besides... is he your man?"

"Show me the contract."

Wang Tao's face tensed. He thought back to the consultant contract in the records room, and his cheeks burned with shame.

"I..."

He was at a loss for words, racking his brain but unable to find anything to refute or attack the other man with.

Zhao Wei wasn't about to let this hard-won opportunity slip away.

He added:

"What? Can't produce it?"

"No problem. You can just recite his service number."

"Yes, just tell me his Special Fifth Bureau service number. No need to trouble you to run all the way back."

Zhao Wei said with a broad smile.

"No, we already agreed! Xiao Xu was going to join the Special Fifth Bureau sooner or later!"

Wang Tao's blood was boiling, his face flushed red.

"'Sooner or later' is still sooner or later. At least right now, he isn't."

Zhao Wei said with a chuckle.

He was about to say more, but unfortunately, in the next second, his phone suddenly started vibrating.

BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT~

Zhao Wei took out his phone and glanced at it. The caller ID read: Sun Yu.

He paused, then answered the call, deliberately putting it on speaker. He said with a chuckle, "Hey, how did it go?"

Zhao Wei asked.

"Boss, it's half done."

"Advisor Xu agreed, but he didn't agree to join the police force."

Sun Yu's voice held a hint of resignation but not disappointment. On the contrary, there was a touch of pleasant surprise in it.

"I talked with him, and we signed a consultant contract."

"The contract is for about eight years. During this period, if we have any problems, we can go to him for guidance!"

A con...

A consultant!?

A consultant too!?

Wang Tao paused, then let out a long sigh of relief. After a moment's thought, a broad laugh spread across his face.

"A consultant?"

"Not bad, not bad. I knew it. Why would Xiao Xu ever be interested in you police guys?"

"All that talk about recruiting him, and you still couldn't get him, huh?"

"You scared me for a second there! And you even revealed your own despicable nature, you old rascal. Truly contemptible!"

Wang Tao felt completely refreshed and invigorated. He looked at Zhao Wei and let out a long, deep breath.

He reached out and patted Zhao Wei's shoulder.

"Tsk, you police guys must be broke, huh? Only got him for eight years... The Special Fifth Bureau signed him for ten."

"Alright then. You can stay in this restroom all you want. I'm heading back. Gotta go to the records room and make sure there are no typos in our contract."

Wang Tao walked over to the side, washed his hands, and slicked back his hair with his wet fingers.

Then, with his head held high, he strode out majestically.

The temperature in the Capital City was frigid. Pedestrians on the street hunched their shoulders, shoved their hands in their pockets, and their skin felt ice-cold.

But Wang Tao felt warm all over inside.

Watching his departing figure, Zhao Wei's eye twitched.

Then, he clicked his tongue and shook his head.

But then a smile returned to his face.

"Yes, you did very well. Excellent work."

With that said, he hung up the phone with a sigh of emotion.

'Sometimes, you really ought to listen to the wisdom of scholars.'

'Just like Lu Shuren's original words:'

''The temperament of the Eastern Country People is always to seek compromise and mediation. For instance, if you say, 'This room is too dark, we must open a window here,' everyone will surely refuse. But if you propose tearing off the roof, they will come to compromise and agree to open the window.''

'Yes,' Zhao Wei thought, 'that makes a lot of sense.'

'For instance, if I had tried to directly sign Xu Huo as a consultant, the Special Fifth Bureau would naturally have been upset—like a man whose wife suddenly took another lover. They'd naturally throw a fit.'

But.

'If I proposed signing Xu Huo directly into the police system, giving him a badge number, making him an official officer, and letting him ignore his previous consultant contract whenever he pleased...'

'Then the Special Fifth Bureau naturally would have been unwilling.'

'And at that point, if I took a step back, retreating to the position of a consultant...'

'Then the Special Fifth Bureau, which would have originally disagreed, would now be laughing their heads off and gladly accept the outcome.'

'As for the contract duration...'

'Eight years?'

'It is a bit short, true. In eight years, Xu Huo will only be thirty-one or thirty-two.'

'But...'

'Haven't they ever heard of a 'contract renewal'?'

"That old brute..."