Chapter 48: Being Watched

Lu Fan briefly assigned tasks to several people, including shift schedules, patrol routes, and patrol frequencies. He also handed 100 yuan to one of them, instructing her to go and buy a few high-powered flashlights.

Afterward, Lu Fan found a few wooden boards and completely sealed the warehouse doors before driving away from the factory in the Crown sedan.

By the time he finished bustling about all afternoon, it was already past five o'clock.

In the car, Bai Lu asked, "Lu Fan, aren't we going to take some clothes to sell at the night market? We already owe people three or four hundred pieces of merchandise."

Lu Fan shook his head. "No selling yet. It's not time."

Seeing the puzzlement on Bai Lu's face, Lu Fan explained further: "The customer-attracting method we're currently using actually has certain flaws. This approach heavily emphasizes marketing while neglecting the product. It takes advantage of consumers' habit of loving petty gains to get them to sign up."

"Their focus isn't on the clothes, but on the daily increasing gifts. If we release the goods today, it will dampen their excitement, and the effectiveness of this method for drawing people in afterward will be significantly reduced."

"That's why in the early stages, we must hold back. Only when the customer base is large enough will we release the goods all at once. That's the only way to maximize our profits."

Bai Lu nodded, seeming to understand yet not quite grasping it, while Liu Yue'e was even more clueless. What customer-drawing? What holding back?

Still, she felt too embarrassed to ask.

When they reached the entrance of the alley where the Bai family lived, Lu Fan parked the car and said, "Auntie, you go home first. Don't you still need to deliver food to my uncle?"

"Oh!"

"Also, once you get back, you'd better change back into your regular clothes. Don't let people see you dressed like this."

"All right!"

Liu Yue'e got out of the car and walked toward the alley entrance with a cat-like stride.

Crown sedans were rare at this time. Wherever one stopped, it immediately attracted gazes. Seeing someone looking over with curiosity, Lu Fan whispered, "Auntie, someone's coming. Run a few steps."

Then he and Bai Lu watched as Liu Yue'e kicked off her high heels, held them in her hands, and ran at lightning speed.

Lu Fan laughed. "Your mom runs pretty fast!"

Bai Lu replied, "I run fast too. During the junior high school sports meet, I even won the school sprinting championship."

"Well, you both have a pair of long legs."

Returning the car to the rental agency, Lu Fan paid an extra 50 yuan for fuel.

The round trip hadn't been far; it was just that Liu Yue'e had spent the entire afternoon sitting in the air-conditioned car, which consumed some extra gas.

His motorcycle had been left right here, so he hadn't needed to leave a deposit in the first place.

Retrieving his motorcycle, he took Bai Lu and headed straight for the Baoshan Night Market.

Sticking to yesterday's routine, upon arriving at the night market, the two of them first purchased the gifts. Since there were quite a few sign-ups yesterday, they had to sweep through three grocery stalls just to collect enough stainless steel basins.

While buying, they arranged with all three stall owners to have them prepare even more stainless steel and enamel basins by tomorrow, as he would be buying in bulk.

Today's first batch of customers was collecting their third gift, valued at eight yuan. This couldn't be treated casually and had to be carefully selected.

Only when the gifts were well chosen would new recruits have the motivation to sign up.

Lu Fan was hesitating when he happened to pass by an egg wholesale storefront. He directly bought fifty catties of eggs, had the owner pack them neatly in four-catty bags, and arranged for them to be delivered to his stall.

The egg shop was run by a young couple. Hearing that the location was not far away, they readily agreed.

Back at the egg shop, the two cross-checked the name list once more and checked the quantity of gifts. Confident everything was in order, they headed toward the stall.

He rode the motorcycle at a slow crawl with his feet supporting him on the ground, while the stainless steel and enamel basins were placed at the back, steadied by Bai Lu.

Walking alongside them was a short man carrying a crate of eggs.

It was not yet seven o'clock, but a long queue had already formed in front of the stall.

As soon as everyone saw Lu Fan arrive, they quickly cleared a path for him.

Someone asked, "Are we giving out eggs today?"

Lu Fan smiled. "I honestly couldn't think of anything suitable to give. An eight-yuan gift standard is rather awkward. I looked at a lot of things at the night market and felt none of them were quite right, so I bought some eggs instead—four catties per person."

"This young man is quite down-to-earth! Eggs are fantastic. Four catties of eggs can last a family a whole month. It's practical and a great deal."

Everyone's face beamed with smiles.

"All right then, from now on, for our eight-yuan standard, we'll give out eggs. Does anyone have any objections?"

"None!"

The crowd was thoroughly pleased.

Lu Fan patted the short man who was arranging the eggs and said, "Brother, did you hear that? I'll be needing eggs in large quantities after a while. You need to stock up more—don't let me empty out your shop."

The short man cheerfully replied, "Thank you, Boss. May the Boss make a fortune!"

"In a few days when I buy several hundred catties, bring your wife over and let her hand out the eggs for me here, alright?"

"Sure, of course it's alright! Whatever the Boss says goes."

Seeing that the gifts were all neatly arranged, Lu Fan waved his hand grandly and said, "Today we don't even have to wait until seven. As long as you're here, you can collect your gifts, but remember to sign your name. Once you've collected your gift, please don't linger around here; head straight home, okay?"

"Okay!"

Seeing the crowd growing larger, Lu Fan instructed Bai Lu to speed up the pace a bit.

Once the gifts were distributed, the sign-up process began. Today's number of sign-ups was exceptionally high. Two parallel queues formed as people continuously paid money and registered. As the lines shortened, new recruits immediately stepped up to fill the gaps.

Although the registration process was fast, the length of the queue showed no signs of diminishing.

Meanwhile, across the street from the stall, two figures half-concealed themselves behind a tree, staring at the scene.

"Master, look, I wasn't wrong, were I? They start collecting money as soon as they finish giving out gifts. I reckon this is a new type of criminal scam."

"When I went home yesterday, my grandmother was spreading the word about this everywhere in the residential compound. The moment I heard about it, it felt a bit weird—it seemed like they were using human greed to pull in bodies. After getting home, I asked around carefully: this stall owner sold a batch of shirts on the very first day, and hasn't sold a single item since."

"All you do is pay 10 yuan, and then collect gifts every day—2 yuan the first day, 4 yuan the second, 8 yuan the third, 16 yuan the fourth, continuously doubling. Master, either this guy is an idiot, or he has an ulterior motive."

The middle-aged man addressed as Master nodded. "Xiao Yi, I have to admit, your observation skills are quite sharp. Based on my years of experience solving cases, this kid definitely has issues."

"Look at how seasoned his methods are for controlling the crowd and maintaining order. At his age, unless he has experienced such scenes many times, he wouldn't be able to make these people obediently follow instructions with just a few words."

"This isn't really a novel criminal method; it's just a scheme set up by exploiting the ignorance and greed of the masses. Although 10 yuan is a small amount, once the paying crowd becomes large enough and the total far exceeds the amount spent on gifts, he will suddenly vanish."

The middle-aged man lit a cigarette with an expression of having seen through it all.

"Then Master, let's go catch him right now! Save him from scamming everyone's money."

The middle-aged man shook his head. "Xiao Yi, cases aren't solved that way. How much do you know about the suspect right now? Does he have a previous criminal record? Can you find victims he has swindled?"

"If you can't find these things, you really can't arrest him right now. Because he hasn't demonstrated criminal intent yet, you can't secure the evidence, and the court won't convict him."

Yi Yi frowned and asked, "Then Master, what if he runs away?"

"Rest assured, fraudsters like this swindle small amounts each time—never too much. He won't stay quiet for long; he'll only grow greedier. Do you have your camera? Go take a photo of him. As long as we know his appearance, he won't be able to run."

"Yes, I have it with me."

"Once you've taken the photo, forward it to the economic crime investigation department. This case doesn't fall under our jurisdiction."

"Master, this is the first case I've ever discovered."

Faced with his apprentice's spoiled, pleading tone, the iron-willed veteran criminal police officer felt his heart soften. Remembering the bureaucrat's instruction to take good care of newcomers, he relented.

He had no choice but to say, "All right then. I'm very close to Lao Liu from economic crimes; we worked in the same department two years ago. We'll handle the case properly before handing it over to him."

"Thank you, Master!" Yi Yi smiled sweetly.