Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The secretary received a call from the daughter-in-law of the Public Security Bureau who lived in the unit below his. The lady had called his office. She exclaimed over the phone, “Secretary Cui, Secretary Cui, did you forget to turn off the tap in your house? Water is leaking into ours. It is flooding!”
She was not speaking in a friendly tone. However, Secretary Cui did not mind. He knew that lady’s temper. When the troops had returned, even the bureau chief who had gone through all sorts of trials and tribulations could not tame the lady.
That woman had a bad temper. Once someone provoked her, she would not care if that person were a top official or a relative of one. She would definitely shout as loud as she could and pick fights.
Because of that, although the chief of the Public Security Bureau enjoyed a certain prestige, he was a careful man. He could not afford to offend most of the people in the county and if his daughter-in-law created trouble, he would apologize personally.
Taking a deep breath, Secretary Cui said in his practiced calm tone, “What happened? Don’t be flustered, speak slowly…”
“I can’t help it. Secretary Cui, this is an emergency! The house is filled with water, and there’s more every second. What happened at your house? Did you neglect to turn off the tap? You had better come home for a look.”
Secretary Cui looked at the time. It was still afternoon and he would not be able to leave work. He stayed silent for a while and then said to his assistant, “Xiao Song, take a trip to my house. Open the door and check what happened. It seems like we have a water leak.”
Xiao Song, who had a capable look, said, “Alright, Secretary Cui. I will go over now. However, I don’t know how such a thing would happen. Look, it’s not raining today. It might be that someone forgot to turn off the tap, but there’s Manager Lu who looks after your house during the day. He is thorough in his work. He wouldn’t have forgotten to turn off the tap.”
Xiao Song felt bitter as he praised Lu Hai Tao.
Secretary Cui waved his hands. “You go have a look first. Check if there’s a problem somewhere.”
Xiao Song left and Secretary Cui started to frown.
Was it time for him to replace his assistant? It was fine that Xiao Song enjoyed vying for power and favoritism. However, Xiao Song did not even have basic foresight. Were those words something appropriate for anyone to say at all?
However, he could not replace Xiao Song easily. He was someone the committee had arranged to stay by his side. He was the son of a retired leader and had powerful connections.
Initially, when he first interacted with Xiao Song, he noticed his impressive family background and felt that the young man looked smart. He had thought that Xiao Song would definitely be good in his work.
In the end, after a few months of having the fellow in the office, he felt that Xiao Song was little more than an ornament. He couldn’t even take care of his own life. Otherwise, he would not need to have dealings with businessmen like Lu Hai Tao.
He had long learned that Lu Hai Tao was dropping his name here and there to get what he wanted. However, he did not mind much, as Lu Hai Tao was not doing anything bad out there. He led a proper and lawful life.
On the other hand, Xiao Song was mistaken. Xiao Song felt that Secretary Cui did not see him as one of his people. Instead, he believed the secretary was associating himself with other old people. That displeased him.
For convenience, the county leader compound was located near the government building. Xiao Song arrived at the door of the house very quickly.
After locating building number one, he was just about to enter when he noticed a plump lady waiting at the door. Seeing that he was there, the lady waved to him frantically. “Hey, Xiao Song, you’re here? Are you here to look at Secretary Cui’s apartment? Hurry, hurry, oh dear, my home looks like a fish tank!”
Xiao Song waved her off. “Alright, alright. Wait a moment. I will open the door. Don’t be flustered. How much water can there be?”
There were two stories, two duplexes in the small building. The secretary stayed on the second floor while the Public Security Bureau Chief stayed on the first floor.
To avoid rumors, Xiao Song did not enter the first story. Hence, he did not see the situation of the leaking water. He felt that the lady was just blowing things out of proportion.
When he opened the door to the second story, he had barely managed to turn the knob when the door slammed out and nearly hit him in the face!
Xiao Song, stunned, looked at the scene of destruction.
The northern wind was blowing and the house was full of water!
It was true. Once the door was opened, the water rushed out. The huge living room had turned into a pond. There was a clear sheet of water above the elegant flooring and when the wind blew, it actually created ripples on the water!
Besides, there were fish on the floor, big and beautiful. Sadly, all of them were motionless and clearly dead.
Xiao Song was confused. What happened? Did it rain? No, I had just come from outside. The wind is strong and the weather is as good as ever.
Why did Secretary Cui’s room look like a water reservoir?
The voice of the Secretary’s neighbor rang out behind him. In a piercing voice, she screamed, “Oh my god, oh my god. Do they really keep fish here? What happened? Why are all the windows open? And the tap too? Why’s that? Who did this?”
Under the agitation of her voice, Xiao Song perked up and quickly asked, “Ma’am, who came here earlier today?”
The plump lady said, “Nobody did. To enter, you need to scan the card at the door. Unless it’s one of us, nobody else would have the card. They would definitely have to look me up to get a pass. I did not see anyone coming in.”
Xiao Song said, “What about Lu Hai Tao? Didn’t he come today?”
The plump lady replied, “Oh, he definitely came by. He had to clean Secretary Cui’s house, as always. Ah, did he forget to close the windows and turn off the tap?”
Xiao Song felt a surge of satisfaction. Regardless of whether Lu Hai Tao really did that, he would make him the scapegoat.
He whipped his phone out to take a few photos and sent them to Secretary Cui. Then he called and said frantically, “Secretary Cui, something bad has happened, your house is a mess!”
Seeing the photos on his phone, Secretary Cui could no longer keep his composure. He stood up immediately and asked, “What happened? How did it become like this?”
Secretary Cui was not afraid of his house being flooded. After all, it was a house owned by the government, not his private property. However, from the photos, it seemed that all the fish he had been caring for so diligently were dead. The documents that he had spent a few late nights preparing all looked like they have disappeared. Worse, the porcelain that he had prized so highly was all destroyed!
Xiao Song explained his conjectures and then he concluded, “It must be that Mr. Lu forgot to close the windows and turn off the tap. What happened to that guy today? Why did he cause such chaos?”
Although his words expressed sympathy, his tone revealed hints of gloating.
Secretary Cui said angrily, “Contact Lu Hai Tao. Ask him to come over this instant! Ask him to tell me what exactly happened!”
Xiao Song sprang into action to carry out his command at once. He rang up Lu Hai Tao and shouted, “Lu Hai Tao, look what you’ve done! Hurry up and get over to Secretary Cui’s house. D*mn it, you have to give Secretary Cui an explanation. Otherwise, I will not d*mn let you off!”
“And also give me an explanation! My house has also been flooded!” the daughter-in-law of the Public Security Bureau Chief screamed in the background.
Lu Hai Tao, who was busy entertaining his clients, was confused. What exactly happened?
