Chapter 37 Cutting the Gordian Knot

Earlier, the department head had given him a harsh dressing-down over the phone.

The head had said that two days had already passed, yet he still hadn't managed to relocate the common folks. How could people still be living in those dilapidated houses? Who would take responsibility if a disaster struck?

The cardboard factory was an enterprise under the jurisdiction of the sub-district office. It was currently idle, its workshops standing empty. It would definitely be no problem to accommodate a hundred or so people there. Although it would certainly be inconvenient for the four families to all live inside, and a bit cold during winter, it was the only possible solution.

Vice Director Meng took a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. Upon hearing the director’s instructions, he agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

One must cut the Gordian knot; sometimes, work simply had to be done this way.

He had already made up his mind: if the Qian and Yang families were dissatisfied, he would swap them with any of the other four families. The factory workshop was spacious—let’s see if they would prefer living there.

As for the Cai family...

Cai Fangchao and his wife, Fu Xiuli, were standing in their office’s small meeting room, receiving a reprimand from Comrade Old Cai, who had rushed over from the Yangchao District.

Whether or not to lend that room should have been a simple phone call for Old Cai. After all, he was a deputy bureau chief at the Post Office; he had at least that much influence.

However, his daughter-in-law had been quick to run her mouth that morning. She had felt satisfied, but Director Liu certainly had not. Liu had made a phone call to the district office the moment he returned.

By the time Old Cai received the call from his superiors, the request had turned into an administrative order. In other words, he had no choice but to lend the room.

In fact, after hearing his son’s account that morning, he knew the room was as good as gone. To him, the house issue was trivial; the East City Branch was already drafting a proposal to build staff housing, and his son and daughter-in-law would surely be allocated a unit in the future. What infuriated him was that the young couple didn't know how to conduct themselves.

They had not only offended their neighbors in the courtyard and the neighborhood committee staff, but also the leadership of the sub-district office.

What started as a minor matter had, just for the sake of a sharp tongue, resulted in them offending everyone up and down the chain of command. In the end, they had put in all that effort only to achieve nothing—what was the point?

...

Jin Wenning, who had stayed at Li Yancheng’s place playing until after three in the afternoon, was stopped by Zhao Mingming, the third child of the Zhao family in the front courtyard, as soon as she entered.

"Jin Wenning, go take a look! Some people came just a moment ago and hung a sign on Brother Dacheng’s door."

"What kind of sign?" Hearing Zhao Mingming’s words, Jin Wenning quickened her pace, jogging through the inner gate and into the rear courtyard.

"It says: 'Liaison Office of the First Inspection Division of the Beijing Municipal Committee.'"

Zhao Mingming followed her. As soon as they crossed the inner gate, he pointed toward the main house.

Jin Wenning had already seen it before he even spoke.

It was a medium-sized rectangular wooden sign, about forty centimeters long and thirty centimeters wide. It looked very conspicuous, painted with a white base and black lettering, hanging from the pillar next to the main entrance.

Jin Wenning was stunned for a moment when she first saw the sign, but she quickly realized it must have been something Brother Dacheng arranged during his phone call earlier.

"Jin Wenning, is Brother Dacheng moving away?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Brother Dacheng wouldn't move away."

"Oh." Zhao Mingming nodded, seemingly understanding yet not, and quickly put the matter out of his mind. He turned and headed toward the front courtyard. "I’m going to go play, Jin Wenning."

"Still playing? You should be focusing on your studies!"

"I’m already done studying. Bye!"

"Hmph, tell that to the ghosts. As if you could actually study properly," little Ningning muttered at Zhao Mingming’s retreating back.

...

Li Yancheng did not yet know about the sign hung on his door. After sending Jin Wenning off, he saw patients when they arrived, and when there were none, he read books or chatted with colleagues who stopped by. The afternoon passed quickly.

After finishing dinner at the canteen, he took a stroll around the courtyard to digest, made a round of the ward in the back, greeted the nurse on duty, and returned to his office to continue studying.

The internal medicine department had no inpatients at the moment. With the New Year approaching, even if there wasn't much of a festive atmosphere, no one wanted to spend the holiday in the hospital if they could help it; those who could be discharged had all gone home.

At 8:20, Luo Yang arrived right on time.

"Yancheng, I had someone hang a sign at your place, and I’ve already spoken to the leaders in your district. I believe no one will dare to set their sights on your house from now on."

As soon as he entered, Luo Yang spoke, eager to claim credit.

Through their interactions over the past five days of treatment, their relationship had moved beyond that of a simple doctor and patient; otherwise, Li Yancheng wouldn't have thought of him first.

"A sign?" Li Yancheng was slightly taken aback and asked curiously, "What kind of sign?"

"I had someone go over and hang a sign for our division's liaison office at the door of your house. It means that the room has been requisitioned by us. If anyone still wants to target that house, fine—they can come find me."

"Haha."

Hearing this, Li Yancheng smiled and shook his head.

"Thanks, Luo Yang."

"Don't mention it. It was just a small favor, no trouble at all. It’s your house anyway; it’s not like it was seized."

Luo Yang had his own bottom line. Although he worked for this unit, the name of his division indicated it was for internal affairs. He hated those who used their power to bully others; whenever he found someone like that, he would deal with them.

"By the way, Yancheng, is your neighbor Jin Zhihai working for the Municipal Bureau’s special task force right now? The one handling the case where those four people from our side were killed?"

"That’s right."

"Do you know if there’s been any progress in their work lately?"

"Uh... you’ve asked the wrong person. Although I have a good relationship with Zhihai, we don't discuss work matters when we chat, especially since this case hasn't been solved yet. It should still be under confidentiality, right? Why did you think to ask me this?"

Seeing that the time was about right, Li Yancheng gestured toward the hospital bed in the room for Luo Yang to lie down, while picking up an alcohol-soaked cotton ball to disinfect his acupuncture needles.

Upon hearing his question about the case, Luo Yang paused, glancing at Luo Yang, who had already taken off his coat and was preparing to lie down on the bed.

"After all, those who died were our people, and a large sum of money went missing along with them. Everyone up and down the ranks is watching. If this case isn't solved, many people will be on edge, and it makes it hard to carry out our work."

Li Yancheng pursed his lips and said nothing, thinking to himself: That’s because they weren't doing anything good; those who walk the straight and narrow have nothing to be on edge about.

He didn't dare say this out loud, though. He had just asked the man for a huge favor to solve a major problem; to say something like that would be like biting the hand that feeds him.

Seeing his silence, Luo Yang seemed to guess what he was thinking and said with a faint smile, "Yancheng, I know what you’re thinking. But even if a person is evil, their crimes should be listed and judged by the law. If everyone acts like a vigilante, who do you think will suffer in the end?"