Chapter 1604 - The Question of Terms
Qian Shuiting stepped down from the carriage. Qian Xuanhuang was already waiting for him at the dock.
Over the past few years, nurtured by the Qian household's support, Qian Xuanhuang was no longer the dark, skinny little girl she had once been. She had blossomed into a graceful young woman. The maid's uniform that had once looked awkward on her now fit perfectly.
"Master, you're back." Qian Xuanhuang stepped forward and deftly took his briefcase.
"Is Madam home?"
"Madam already called. She has an emergency night shift and won't be back until tomorrow."
Qian Shuiting frowned. It seemed the discord over the Xiaocang incident had not yet passed. Though both parents were concerned for their daughter's safety, husband and wife held different perspectives. Ai Beibei had repeatedly argued that under his indulgent encouragement, Qian Duoduo had become "too wild"—whether it was shooting, hunting, hiking, or her recent obsession with small-boat sailing, all were high-risk activities. They might be "Elders" now, but the medical and sanitary conditions of this era were primitive. If something happened, Lingao General Hospital's meager resources were pathetic indeed.
Well, perhaps it was just as well she wasn't home—it would be more relaxed when he spoke with his guest later. Ai Beibei had no enthusiasm for his political activities.
"Dinner will be served on the upper deck tonight," he said, pausing. "Has Elder Zhou arrived?"
"I just confirmed by phone with his maid," Qian Xuanhuang said. "She said Elder Zhou will definitely come—around seven o'clock."
Qian Shuiting returned to the boat and took a long, satisfying shower. The yacht had a makeshift solar water heater that had completely solved the problem of hot-water supply.
After his bath, Qian Shuiting went up to the deck in beach shorts and a short-sleeved linen shirt, holding a glass of "whiskey on ice" that Qian Xuanhuang had poured for him. Under the sun-bleached awning on deck, she had set up a folding table bearing a large plate of green salad and a platter of tropical fruit.
Qian Shuiting settled into a rattan chair and slowly sipped his blended whiskey, gazing out at the endless blue sea. What a beautiful day! How wonderful it would be to spend a day on the beach with his wife and daughter! But work consumed him—meetings and documents alone took more than ten hours a day. His wife practically lived at the hospital, and his daughter boarded at school. The family was scattered in three different places, and they rarely had a chance to gather together all year. Back in America, whenever he had free time, he used to take his daughter shooting and hunting. Now that had become a luxury...
While he was musing, Zhou Weisen arrived. Since Qian Shuixie and Zhou Weisen had transferred to the Special Reconnaissance Unit, the three core members of the "North American Party" had rarely had a chance to meet. Zhou Weisen was back in Lingao on rotation, just in time for the Umbrella Case. Qian Shuiting decided to talk things over with his "master" before moving to the next stage.
Qian Xuanhuang first brought Zhou Weisen a towel, then poured him an identical "whiskey on ice."
"Xuanhuang, serve dinner."
The meal was simple—light fare suited to summer. Qian Xuanhuang served cucumber soup, lemongrass grilled fish, and finally homemade ice cream. These were all commonplace now.
After Qian Xuanhuang cleared the plates and poured after-dinner drinks, Qian Shuiting got to the point.
He gave a brief overview of the Umbrella Case, the investigation report, and today's meeting.
Zhou Weisen listened in silence, sipping his drink. Finally, he said: "Don't you think your remarks at the Executive Committee meeting today were a bit too aggressive? The Political Security Bureau is the apple of their eye..."
"Qian Duoduo is the apple of my eye. Let's call it even." Qian Shuiting smiled faintly. "I thought my remarks were quite appropriate."
"If you ask me, it wasn't very statesmanlike..."
Qian Shuiting nodded slightly. "If we were facing millions of voters, today would have been reckless. But only five hundred people have voting rights—five hundred people is a small circle, basically a classic acquaintance society."
He took out a cigar case and matches, waved away Qian Xuanhuang who moved to light it for him, struck the match himself, lit a Flowercrown cigar, took a deep drag, and blew a smoke ring before continuing:
"Five hundred Elders is a small circle. Now that something's happened—my daughter was nearly killed—if I showed no reaction, how would the ordinary apolitical Elders see it?"
Zhou Weisen looked thoughtful.
"'His daughter almost got killed and he doesn't dare make a peep? Is he even a man? If he's this afraid of the establishment, how can he stand up for us underdog Elders?'; or: 'His daughter almost got killed and he says nothing? He must be using this as a bargaining chip to make deals with the Executive Committee. If he can trade away his own daughter, he's too ruthless!'"
Qian Shuiting waved his thick cigar. "But now, Speaker Qian has unleashed a tirade at the meeting—even proposed the entirely unfeasible idea of disbanding the Political Security Bureau. What will the Elders think? 'He's got fire in his blood! He's a real man! But a gentleman can be deceived by his own principles—worth getting to know better. When the opportunity comes, he might be useful'; or: 'A real man! Follow someone like this and you won't get shortchanged.'"
"I see what you mean. Sometimes appearing a bit rash is just an expression of genuine feeling," Zhou Weisen said. "And after all, Duoduo is your daughter—a strong reaction is the right response. Being too calm would seem cold-blooded."
"Exactly, Master. Was George W. Bush really stupid? I don't think so," Qian Shuiting said. "He was beloved by the rednecks precisely because he didn't have that cold, hypocritical 'aristocratic' air of the New England establishment—even though his family was clearly a political dynasty..."
A president who came from a family that had consciously infused Latino blood into its lineage decades earlier was obviously far more intelligent than the ordinary citizens who compared his face to a chimpanzee.
"Everyone knows the Political Security Bureau can't be disbanded. The idea of dissolving it and expanding police powers was just me stirring the pot. If the police got more power, they'd basically become the Soviet NKVD. I'm just putting pressure on them. I had every reason to blow up and say something out of line," Qian Shuiting said. "The Executive Committee members are all thinking about how to protect the Committee's authority, and the Political Security Bureau is their best tool. With my position clear, they'll have to think carefully."
"All right, what's your next move?"
"Next, I'll bring up this issue for inquiry at the Standing Committee. Push our goals forward."
When the Nerds' Party had first been established, its political stance had been deliberately vague in order to build a "united front." The general idea was to "establish a decentralized, balanced, fluid, and transparent system within the collective."
This aim was broad, but it could encompass a great deal. At heart, the core members of the Nerds' Party believed the Executive Committee system was "incorrect"—it had merely changed from a dictatorship of one person to an oligarchy. The ordinary Elders were clearly excluded from this small group, far from the center of power.
"Specifically, what will you do? Should we work within the Standing Committee to first reject the investigation report?"
"No. If we reject the investigation report, there's no basis for investigating the Political Security Bureau. The report has to pass. Otherwise we'll be stuck in a loop of investigation, rejection, reinvestigation. Once time passes and the issue cools off, we'll lose our chance." Qian Shuiting said. "Our demands should be: establish an agency similar to the Political Security Bureau to strengthen oversight of it; require recording and limited disclosure of the Political Security Bureau and administrative decision-making processes; disrupt the existing management structure of the Bureau, insert 'sand into the gears,' strengthen oversight and checks, and regularly rotate principal leadership positions and assignments to prevent independent fiefdoms or an 'intelligence tsar.' In particular, we should remind the Elders of historical figures like Beria and Himmler."
"And Hoover."
"Yes, and Hoover." Qian Shuiting nodded.
"But we've raised these points many times in various settings, with little effect," Zhou Weisen frowned. "Although we can ride the wave of the Umbrella Case this time, the overall direction probably won't change much. Besides, for the average apathetic Elder, the Political Security Bureau isn't directly relevant to their lives. What concerns them most is the VIP protection system of the Security Battalion."
"So we need to give them something to get their attention," Qian Shuiting said. "Did you know the Political Security Bureau is collecting blackmail material on Elders?"
"You've mentioned it. But there's no proof."
"I'm certain they're doing it," Qian Shuiting said. "We'll propose at the assembly: 'We have heard rumors that the Political Security Bureau is systematically collecting materials on Elders—conducting surveillance on Elders.' We'll make this the issue, establish a special committee, turn the Political Security Bureau upside down, and bring the matter into the open in the Elder Council. As long as we can get permission for the Elder Council to conduct an inspection, even if nothing is found, it doesn't matter—setting that precedent will pierce their protective shield, and future oversight and 'inserting sand' will become much easier. If we do find key evidence, we can rightfully demand a completely new agency, directly under Elder Council control."
"The problem is, raising something without evidence—is it appropriate for us to do this rashly?" Zhou Weisen felt it might seem like grasping at straws.
"There are people willing to do it. Just hint at the idea and someone will step forward," Qian Shuiting took a puff of his cigar and leaned back contentedly. "No exposure, no life. For a lot of people, attention and visibility are very important..."
Zhou Weisen nodded. He knew who Qian Shuiting meant. After a moment's thought, he said: "I think we should seize this opportunity to grab personnel and financial powers. Let's ride the wind and set terms with the Executive Committee—don't they want to protect their darling, the Political Security Bureau? We'll name our price too."