I started out as a criminal, and the police relied on me to solve countless cases.

Chapter 250 Jiangcheng
Jiang Hanwen's crew went out for filming this time in a big way.

We brought all the gear we could and the whole crew was present.

As usual, they held a meeting at Jiang Hanwen's home, the crew's small hideout. Other people held meetings in offices, but they held meetings at the boss's home.

Everyone acted like they were at home, sitting on the sofa as soon as they entered the door, touching the kitchen or opening the refrigerator.

Fortunately, Jiang Hanwen has the habit of stockpiling supplies, and there are quite a lot of snacks and drinks at home, but most of them were eaten up by the crew, and he himself did not eat any fruits and vegetables.

In fact, the studio rented an office space, but except for the accountant Wang Xiaolu, no one else had ever been there.

According to Fatty Wang, the office was too formal and not suitable for their kind of family gang-style organizational activities.

The most important thing is that you can’t cook or have hotpot in the office. But it’s different at home. After a small meeting, we can have a meal together and everyone can cook their own specialties, creating a great atmosphere.

"In today's meeting, as the boss and director, I will give a brief introduction to our crew's next film."

Jiang Hanwen brought a boss chair and the crew members sat on the sofa, each holding a handful of melon seeds in their hands.

"It did take us quite a while to get back from Hong Kong."

Jiang Hanwen looked at Fatty Wang who was sitting on a small stool.

The latter immediately understood: "Brother Jiang, if you hadn't stepped in, I, Fatty Wang, would have died at the hands of that quack doctor. It's already been seven days since my death. Please take care of me. I'm leaving my 200-pound body to you, Brother Jiang. From now on, if you let me go east, I won't dare go west. Please let me go."

“Stop, stop, stop~~~”

Jiang Hanwen really couldn't stand this guy's nonsense.

"I didn't ask you to kill or burn anything. This time our destination is Jiangcheng. As usual, you and Sun Xiaoyi will go ahead. One will be responsible for finding the venue, and the other will be responsible for arranging the itinerary."

"It's Jiang Cheng, why are you looking at me?"

"Brother Jiang, didn't you say last time that we were going to the northwest? Why did you change the location?"

After Fatty Wang finished speaking, he felt that his question was wrong and immediately covered his mouth. He had just expressed his determination, but now he started to sing a different tune.

"Butler Wang, it's not that Director Jiang doesn't want to go to the northwest, it's just that our crew has been in the spotlight recently. I don't think Director Jiang wants to make such a big fuss, so let's just shoot a short film first."

Zhang Songwen is indeed a veteran in this field, and he hit the nail on the head.

It is true that Jiang Hanwen's crew has had too busy schedule recently and the attention has been too high.

The Northwest is nothing more than the desert or the northern border. Firstly, the scale of filming must be large, and these places are relatively sensitive, so the crew really needs to lie dormant for a while.

I’m afraid that the leader Jiang Hanwen will become afraid and hesitate to move forward.

Although Zhang Songwen did not go to Guangzhou, the famous case of Director Song's nanny, the wife of Lao Ding, caused a sensation and spread throughout the whole province of Guangdong.

Although he didn't speak much, he could feel the disgust and fear in the young leader's heart.

The sentence Jiang Hanwen said most often on the crew was: We are the crew and the actors. The first priority of an actor is to make good works for the audience, and the second is to realize social value and fulfill social responsibilities.

Although these words sound noble and righteous, everyone in the crew knows that these are Jiang Hanwen's true thoughts.

Zhang Songwen deeply agreed with this. Their crew only shot crime films and they dealt with police and government officials all year round. If you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet.

If you offend someone and get banned one day, it’s just a matter of a word.

"Director Jiang, why are you looking at me?"

Zhang Songwen saw Jiang Hanwen rolling his eyes at him and scratched his head embarrassedly.

Director Jiang is good in every way except that his eyes are too sharp. It is impossible to hide your thoughts in front of him.

"Mr. Zhang, why are you worrying so much? I'm in my twenties, not sixties, so it's still a long way to go before I retire. Even if I feel lazy, I won't ruin everyone's job. Don't worry, with the quality of our movies, it won't take many movies for everyone to make a name for themselves."

Jiang Hanwen is not good at painting big rosy pictures or feeding chicken soup to his employees. He said this and thought so too.

The biggest obstacle to the development of Jiang Hanwen's crew has been dealt with by the bigwigs and unspoken rules in the circle.

From now on, as long as you don’t cross the red line, what you shoot and broadcast is in your own hands, and the road ahead will be smooth.

"I'll send the script to everyone. We'll set off tomorrow. This time the script is very short, and the main platform for release is Tik Tok. But as usual, the shooting cycle is short, so everyone should be mentally prepared."

Jiang Hanwen turned around, took out a stack of prepared scripts from the drawer, and distributed them one by one.

After getting the script, everyone looked up at Jiang Hanwen almost at the same time.

The title of the play is Jiangcheng Mystery, and the cast list is attached on the title page.

What’s different from the past is that this time the number one villain is Zhang Songwen and the male lead is Jiang Hanwen.

Jiang Hanwen's character is a wealthy businessman, 46 years old.

Zhou Nana’s role is the wife of a wealthy businessman, and the rest are villains.

This role allocation has really changed a lot from before.

It has become a standard for the crew for Jiang Hanwen to play the villain.

Zhang Songwen is of a decent age and looks, and he always plays good guys.

As a result, the two sides swapped identities this time.

"Director Jiang, I have always wanted to play a villain, but this~~~"

Zhang Songwen never commented on the script.

What he was worried about was that the soul of Jiang Hanwen's crew was the villain played by Jiang Hanwen.

Only he could act out the crazy and terrifying temperament of a villain. Although he wanted to hone his acting skills, this happened so suddenly that he was really unsure.

What if I don’t perform well and ruin the show?

"Brother Jiang, I also think you are suitable to play the murderer."

Sun Xiaoyi suddenly said something. Although he didn't have the script in his hand, he saw everyone's reaction.

People are not questioning Jiang Hanwen's acting skills. With his level, it is not difficult for him to play a wealthy businessman in his forties.

The point is, there is an actor named Zhang Songwen who fits the role better, so why make a replacement?
And there are too many villains. Zhang Songwen, Wu Lei, Wang Pangzi and several other actors in the crew all have the murderer's script.

What kind of case is this? Why are there so many murderers?

"Brother Jiang, your book is too fierce. One victim and almost ten murderers. Don't tell me it's that one~~~~"

The handsome young man Wu Lei raised his eyebrows. He really couldn't think of any case where so many murderers would torture one victim.

Even if it is a kidnapping of a wealthy businessman, there doesn't need so many kidnappers.

"Sister Nana, what are you laughing at? You two are the only good people. This play is interesting."

"It's none of your business. I'm happy when I play the role of Hanwen's wife."

Zhou Nana ignored Wu Lei and started reading the script.

"Hey, you guys, can you stop thinking so much? Aren't you tired of thinking about it all day long?"

Jiang Hanwen held his forehead with his hand, looking speechless.

"Everyone has been filming major unsolved cases for so long, or cases of extremely serious nature. This time I really want to be low-key, so I specially made a fictional case. The main point is to give it some free play and hone my acting skills!"

Jiang Hanwen shook the notebook in his hand.

"I guarantee that this case is absolutely fictitious. You don't have to feel any psychological burden. The script I gave you is very simple. You can give full play to your subjective initiative and hone your ability to respond to situations on the spot."

This time, the script was indeed carefully selected by Jiang Hanwen. Although there was a prototype of the case in the previous life, there definitely was no such case in this world. He specially asked Liu Mingyang to check the archives of the department, and there was indeed no such case.

Since it is a fictional case, the crew does not need to follow a routine and has a lot of room for free play, which is also a big challenge for the actors.

The purpose of letting Zhang Songwen play the villain was also to train the troops.

Seeing Jiang Hanwen's firm words, everyone stopped talking and prepared to go home and study the script.

"Nana, you have a lot of roles to play this time, so you must act well and don't let down your guard."

Before leaving, Jiang Hanwen gave Zhou Nana some instructions.

Fatty Wang and Sun Xiaoyi were at the back. They were going to Jiangcheng to scout ahead and to discuss specific matters with Jiang Hanwen. "You two are both experienced field workers. I won't say much. You should choose a place carefully this time and don't think about saving money."

After Jiang Hanwen finished speaking, he waved his hand, asked Fatty Wang to stay, and then talked about the specific requirements of the venue.

"Brother Jiang, just wait and see. I will definitely pick the best place for you."

After saying that, Fatty Wang opened another bottle of happy water and started drinking it while sitting on the sofa.

Looking at the fat man whose belly was gradually inflating and getting fatter, Jiang Hanwen felt that this guy had been in the ICU and had gained weight again after coming back.

"Brother Jiang, you don't know, I went back to my hometown last week, and I was very unhappy."

Fatty Wang seemed to be full and started complaining to Jiang Hanwen.

"Come on, a monthly salary plus bonus of thirty or forty thousand, how can you not be happy?"

Jiang Hanwen was speechless. Fatty Wang still knew how to suffer? He would not hesitate to eat and drink even if a world war broke out in the next second.

"It's true, Jiang."

"I went back to have dinner with my junior high school classmates this time. After all, we haven't seen each other for several years. We met up and had a good time. But then we talked about income. Hey, they only make 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a month in a small county town, which is normal. But when I said that I made 50,000 yuan in salary and bonus last month from working on the crew."

Fatty Wang took a deep breath, his face changed slightly, and he seemed to be still in shock.

"Brother Jiang, you know what? In just a moment, the expressions of everyone at the table turned ugly. Everyone looked at me with the same expression. Or, I couldn't tell what expression it was. Anyway, it was horrible and terrifying."

"I, I, I ran away without even chewing the pig's trotter."

+ + + + +
The case handling hall of Jiangcheng Police Station was still brightly lit at midnight.

Everyone was staring at the surveillance footage on the big screen.

In the picture, a man in sportswear is walking out of a villa. He is walking briskly and holding a wine box in his hand.

Even in the surveillance footage at the intersection, you can see the smile on the man's face.

Clearly, the man was happy.

"Comrades, it's not that I want you to work overtime, but you have to work overtime today!"

Director Li Yongfu had just hung up the phone with a wry smile on his face. It was obvious that he had been severely reprimanded by his superiors.

This is a fat man about fifty years old. His belly is almost ten times as wide as his waist. His face is kind, with a full forehead, a square chin, and big earlobes. He looks like a Maitreya Buddha.

"Liu Mingyuan was one of the richest men in Jiangcheng. He was also one of the top ten young people in the country and an outstanding entrepreneur in Jiangcheng. He was also enthusiastic about charity and had a good reputation. Now that he is gone, the higher-ups are very concerned."

"Hey, come on, come on, Hamabi, just some money. Let's go see if the midnight snack has arrived. Don't order the wrong one. It's the time-honored Dongting Hotpot, the one in the air-raid shelter."

Chief Li glanced at the tired police officer, sighed, and sank down on the chair.

Although the fat man was more tired than a normal person after staying up all night, he still forced himself to smile.

"Everyone take a break, we'll have hot pot later."

"Chief! It's already this late, and you're still making fun of me! If you don't solve the case this week, Mayor Zhu said he's going to shave your head, you know that?"

The criminal police captain standing by shook his head as he listened.

To put it bluntly, if it was just an ordinary missing case, the police would not make such a big fuss about it. The key point is that Liu Mingyuan is a big entrepreneur.

With money and connections, they would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy hot searches and put ads in newspapers when other people’s family members are missing.

His wife directly offered a reward of 50 million.

She spent millions of dollars buying trending searches on various platforms, big and small, such as Tik Tok, Kuaishou, and Tiao.

Not to mention all the major newspapers, all of them had front-page headlines.

As long as any internet celebrity in Jiangcheng who has a few fans helps the Liu family to promote and find people, they can go directly to the Liu family to collect the money regardless of whether they have any clues or not.

This morning, missing person notices were put up on bus stops, taxi signs, and outdoor screens at various intersections.

He said that as long as they released the person, the Liu family would give them any amount of money they wanted, and they would never pursue the matter.

I heard from Liu Mingyuan’s wife that they have rented a hot air balloon and will start distributing flyers tomorrow.

Regardless of whether this thing is legal or not, they just approved it.

This move was going to be really big.

The entire Jiangcheng has a population of 32 million. Even the beggar who stays in his hole all day knows that the wealthy and kind-hearted Liu Mingyuan is missing.

So how do we deal with this?

What should ordinary people think? Are the police still useful?

"I'll just shave my head. At worst I'll just quit."

Director Li patted his big belly and got angry.

"Ever since the Liu family reported the case, everyone in our bureau has been up for three days and three nights. Even the toughest people can't stand this."

“Is this because we didn’t try our best?”

"Jiangcheng has even mobilized the police stations in the outlying towns to search everywhere for people. They want to check all the mosquitoes entering and leaving Jiangcheng. You've exhausted them all. How can they work?"

"Little money! Let's have hot pot!"

Dozens of people of all ages were watching the fight between a fat and a thin man on the stage. It was not until Xiao Qian pushed the food cart in that everyone started to eat quietly with chopsticks.

This kind of scene has been seen too many times.

Director Li is a slow-tempered person who wants to make everything perfect. Captain Cao can tell from his clumsy appearance that he is an impatient person.

Handling a case is an urgent matter, and a thunderbolt like Captain Cao is more suitable to make decisions, but often things are handled by the fat Chief Li Yongfu in the end.

In fact, we worked hard for three days and three nights, and everyone searched everywhere they could.

The speed of solving kidnapping cases and missing persons cases is far different.

What's more, there is no clue in this case at all.

Logically speaking, if a wealthy person goes missing, it is most likely a kidnapping case.

But now, four days have passed since Liu Mingyuan disappeared.

There was no news of the kidnappers demanding a ransom.

This is based on the premise that the Liu family has already spread the news of the missing person to everyone.

Which kidnapper is so patient? Do you think he wants to keep the person for three or two months?

This is obviously illogical.

The villa where Liu Mingyuan lives is relatively old and is located in the city center. Just around the corner from the gate is the pedestrian street, where there is a dense flow of people and vehicles. It is a possible kidnapping location, and the police officers watched the video footage from the surveillance locations over and over again.

Liu Mingyuan left the house, holding the wine, and turned to the pedestrian street. Everyone was there, but when he walked out onto the road, he was gone. It was most likely that he got into a car on the side of the road.

But the section from the pedestrian street to the roadside is a surveillance blind spot.

The police checked with nearby businesses and passers-by based on surveillance footage, but no one could tell what happened.

They said everything was normal at the time and nothing special happened, let alone kidnapping a strong man in the street.

But Liu Mingyuan's cell phone signal was clearly interrupted on the roadside.

This means that after this person got on a car on the side of the road, his phone was taken away, the card was removed and the phone was turned off, or it was directly damaged.

The social relations of the missing persons are complex, including all kinds of people, including politicians and business tycoons. It will take time to find out everything.

"Captain Cao, have you checked the last few phone calls Liu Mingyuan made before he disappeared?"

Director Li

(End of this chapter)