Chapter 58: Investigation (Part 2)

Comrade Cai Yihe, our Supervision Office received an anonymous letter of complaint regarding you. We are here today precisely to verify some of the issues listed in the letter, and we hope you will cooperate fully and withhold nothing.

Rest assured, Director Yang.

Then let's begin. Xiao Zhang... Director Yang tilted his head and signaled to his subordinate sitting on the opposite sofa.

Understood, Director Yang. The young man addressed as Xiao Zhang nodded, opened the notebook in his hand, glanced at it, and then looked up at Cai Yihe sitting across from him.

Comrade Cai Yihe, the first question is: how many members are currently in your household, and where do they each reside?

Uh... Hearing this question, Cai Yihe's eyes narrowed slightly, and his heart sank involuntarily.

So it really was about the house. At that moment, he truly wanted to skin his wonderful son and daughter-in-law alive. There had been no issue to begin with, yet they had stubbornly managed to stir one up out of nothing.

There are currently five people in our family altogether. However, if we go by household registration, my household registration book currently lists three people including myself: myself, my wife, and my daughter. My son has already split his household registration away due to his marriage.

Currently, my wife, my daughter, and I live in the residential compound of the Yangchao Sub-Bureau, while my son and daughter-in-law live in Courtyard Number 20, East Alley, Meishan.

What is the floor area of the residential compound apartment?

About... about forty square meters or so.

And the one at East Alley, Meishan?

That place... that place currently has only one room...

Wait a moment. Xiao Zhang directly interrupted Cai Yihe.

Comrade Cai Yihe, you just said you would cooperate fully with our questioning. How is it that after only a few words, you have already started talking nonsense?

I... I am not talking nonsense.

How many rooms does your family actually have in East Alley, Meishan?

There is only one room right now.

Do you mean to say that you intend to surrender the other room?

That room... that room is not... hasn't the Meishan Street Office already... already arranged for someone else to live in it?

Although he felt a wave of panic inside, Cai Yihe's thoughts remained extremely clear. His family's housing allocation standard had definitely exceeded the limit, and by quite a wide margin at that. Therefore, no matter what, he had to brush aside that lent-out house first.

Fine.

Xiao Zhang nodded, wrote something in his notebook with his pen, and after finishing, he looked up at Cai Yihe and said, We will reply to the Meishan Street Office tomorrow regarding that room—the south room of the east wing in Courtyard Number 20, East Alley, Meishan—stating that they may reclaim it.

Comrade Cai Yihe, remember to go over and handle the procedures with the Street Office. That house is still registered under your name.

Damn it!

Cai Yihe could not help cursing inwardly, while his heart also began to bleed continuously. Just like that, a room was simply gone.

Yet at this moment, other than nodding in agreement to cooperate, he was utterly incapable of saying anything else.

That room had to be surrendered. The moment housing was brought up, he understood that it was certainly irrecoverable.

Which was more important, the house or his position and career? There was simply no need to choose between the two.

I understand.

Then the second question: what do you plan to do about the north room?

The... the north room? That is currently being lived in by my son and daughter-in-law. They have separated their household registration from mine, and residing there complies with regulations.

That is correct. If they were actually living there, it would indeed comply with regulations. But the problem is, they are not living there at all right now; the house is just sitting empty like that.

Not living there?

Cai Yihe's eyes widened into twin saucers.

He genuinely had no idea that his son and daughter-in-law had not been living there for the past month.

They are not living there. Your son, Cai Fangchao, and your daughter-in-law, Fu Xiuli, requested a single dormitory from the Meishan Post Office under your name, and the two of them have been living there recently.

This... this...

Cai Yihe was truly panicked now.

This kind of matter could be big or small. In ordinary times, it might amount to nothing at all, but in the current social climate, even if he were merely the deputy director of the Yangchao Sub-Bureau—no, even if he were the director of the Municipal Bureau—he would still lose a layer of skin.

He should consider himself fortunate that the bureau's own Supervision Office was investigating. If it had been those committee members instead,呵呵... then it would not be a conversation like this, but rather being directly taken away first.

Director Yang... Director Yang, I really knew nothing about this matter.

Cai Yihe sprang to his feet and hastily explained to Director Yang beside him.

Comrade Cai Yihe, do not be excited. Do not be excited. Sit down first, sit down and talk slowly. Director Yang pressed his hand downward.

How should I put this matter? Whether you knew or not is something we currently have no way of verifying, as this is, after all, a subjective matter.

Seeing Cai Yihe open his mouth as if to say something, Director Yang once again extended his hand to press down, signaling him to remain calm.

The objective fact right now is that your son and daughter-in-law have indeed occupied a single dormitory at the Meishan Station.

The director of the Meishan Station, Zhang Zhicheng, has also confessed that had they not invoked your name, he absolutely would not have given that newly renovated room—originally intended for another household with housing difficulties—to them.

Comrade Cai Yihe has already deeply recognized his own error and expressed his willingness to accept any punishment from the organization.

Comrade Cai Yihe, my perspective is this: since the matter has already occurred, let us actively think of ways to remedy it. Punishment is not the ultimate goal.

As a cadre, failing to properly educate your children indicates that there is a problem with your family upbringing. You must take this as a warning.

Yes, yes, yes. Director Yang is entirely correct. I will definitely discipline them properly from now on.

Good. Now, how should this matter be resolved?

I will make them vacate the house immediately and return to live in their own home.

Very well. Let us conclude our discussion on housing for the moment, and next, let us address the other issues mentioned in the letter of complaint.

Director Yang reached out, took the notebook from his subordinate, and lowered his gaze to scan the contents written within.

Upon hearing that there were still other issues, Cai Yihe's legs turned to jelly, and he nearly slid straight down to the ground.

According to his judgment, the lightest matters were generally discussed first, while the heavy artillery came later.

A single housing issue had almost driven him to his grave, and there were more?

Before he could continue his train of thought, Director Yang spoke up once again.

Comrade Cai Yihe, according to archival records, your son Cai Fangchao graduated from senior high school and has never attended a vocational or regular college. Therefore, how did he acquire his cadre status? Please provide a reasonable explanation.

Furthermore, your daughter-in-law Fu Xiuli became a regular worker after serving as an apprentice for only two years. How did that come about? We hope you can explain both of these matters together.

Gululp...

There was no need for explanation. At least, there was temporarily no need to explain anything.

For before Director Yang's voice had even faded, Cai Yihe rolled his eyes back, fainted in a most magnificent fashion, and collapsed from his chair straight to the floor.

The office dissolved into a scene of utter chaos.