Chapter 29: Targeting the Honest Ones

How to run a successful video channel clearly wasn’t part of the curriculum at the Police Dog Training Base. The trainers were usually too busy working with the dogs to care about short videos, and their understanding of the medium stopped at casually scrolling through clips for laughs. None of them had any experience making content.

So when the video channel started gaining attention and no one stepped up to manage it, Director Li was so stressed he was losing handfuls of hair every day.

Left with no choice, Director Li reached out to the most popular official account in Anyang City: the Anyang Traffic Police. Humbly, he asked for advice, hoping to learn how to produce engaging short videos that could retain fans and help with future promotions.

Since both departments were branches of the public security system¹, the Anyang Traffic Police were quite friendly toward Director Li. In response to his questions, they sent two young staff members to help.

These two were the actual operators behind the Traffic Police’s video channel. The guy specialized in editing, the girl in creative planning. Every video they produced was both educational and entertaining, teaching viewers traffic rules while keeping them laughing. Their content was so engaging that people couldn’t help but like, comment, and follow. After two years of steady work, they had amassed over 1.2 million followers—a remarkable feat for a local government account.

Unfortunately, while Director Li could talk endlessly about dog training, the world of short videos left him completely lost. After the whole conversation, the only thing he remembered was one line: “It has to be interesting.”

But what did “interesting” even mean? To him, their previous dog training videos were already pretty interesting. Still, he knew he was getting older, and what he liked might not appeal to today’s youth. Realizing he couldn’t keep up with young people’s tastes, he suggested sending a couple of younger staff from the base to learn from the experts.

The two young Traffic Police officers checked with their superiors and agreed. Generously, they even said the trainees could bring a police dog along. They offered to help shoot a video or two to test the waters, saying it was no big deal since they were all part of the same system.

Director Li was overjoyed and thanked them profusely. As soon as he hung up, he called a meeting to encourage everyone to go learn from this advanced experience and come back ready to improve their own video channel.

The moment he brought it up, everyone over thirty stood up first, claiming they were too old. Watching videos was fine, but making them? Not their thing. Director Li couldn’t argue with these seasoned slackers. Technically, thirty wasn’t that old, but these guys clearly weren’t reliable. Better to let them go than waste time getting nothing out of them.

Half the meeting room emptied in an instant. Even some who were only twenty-eight or twenty-nine stopped fussing over their exact age and quietly joined the exodus.

Staring at the nearly empty room, Director Li felt his blood pressure spike.

Just then, Dezi offered a suggestion. “Director, we’re all busy training dogs. Who has time to run a video channel? Why not pick a few sharp-minded assistant trainers to go learn? They’ve got potential.”

His words drew a round of applause. It was true—assistant trainers were all young, usually just helping with equipment and record-keeping. They didn’t have much else to do, so why not send them?

Director Li thought it over and agreed it was a decent plan. The only issue was that assistant trainers didn’t have much experience with the dogs. They could handle filming, but interacting with the police dogs would still need a proper trainer.

“In that case, let’s get the assistant trainers in for a meeting,” Director Li began, but before he could finish, the rest of the room stood up, ready to leave. He quickly shouted, “Sit down, sit down! I’m not done talking!”

Zhou Zihang said, “Didn’t you say we’re picking assistant trainers?”

Director Li shot him a glare. “Assistant trainers have their role, but the dogs still need to be in the videos. That’s the whole point of the channel. Which assistant trainer can take a police dog out alone? One of you has to go with them and be responsible for the on-camera work.”

Zhou Zihang immediately lowered his head and slouched a bit in his seat. He had zero interest in filming videos. The others avoided eye contact too, afraid of being picked.

“Since none of you are volunteering, we’ll draw lots. Whoever gets picked goes.” Director Li’s tone turned stern. He walked out to his office to prepare the draw.

“Ugh! I’ve got the worst luck. It’s definitely gonna be me. What do I do?” Zhou Zihang slumped in his chair, eyes dull with despair.

Dezi laughed. “Aren’t you always saying you’re the face of the base? If not you, then who?”

Li Xi chuckled too. “Exactly. Who else has your charm? You might even attract more female fans to our channel.” The others burst out laughing.

Zhou Zihang glared at his two jokers. “Get lost! I never said that. With Song Changfeng around, who dares call themselves the face? Wait, where is Song Changfeng anyway? Didn’t see him earlier. Damn, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have shown up either.”

“He probably hasn’t checked his phone yet. He’s with Aofeng at the small training field up front. No one told him. I’ll give him a call,” Dezi said, picking up his phone.

“Hold on!” Zhou Zihang grabbed his hand, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Let me do it.”

Dezi, puzzled, handed over the phone. Zhou Zihang dialed the number. It rang only a few times before connecting. “Hey, Song bro, it’s me, Xiao Zhou. Yeah, yeah, something came up. Director asked me to let you know—he wants you and Aofeng to come shoot a short video. No joke. Aofeng’s famous, right? If you two don’t show, there’s no one else. Hurry up, Director’s waiting.”

He hung up right after and shouted, “What are you guys waiting for? Run!”

By the time the others realized what was happening, Zhou Zihang had already bolted. The rest scrambled after him. With someone else on the hook, who’d stick around to draw lots?

Before long, Director Li walked in holding a bunch of lots. He looked around the empty conference room, blinked in confusion, then threw his head back and howled, “You little brats, where is everyone? Where did they all go?!”

…

Elsewhere, Song Changfeng stared at his phone in confusion after the call was abruptly cut off. He and Aofeng were supposed to shoot short videos? But he barely even watched short videos himself!

Aofeng rolled his eyes. The moment he heard Zhou Zihang’s voice, he knew something was off. That guy had a knack for roping in the honest ones. Back when he was with Dezi, Zhou Zihang always targeted Dezi. Now that he was with Song Changfeng, he still ended up getting dragged into it. Apparently, Zhou Zihang had no problem fleecing even a dog like him!

Translator’s Notes