Chapter 1845 - Honoring Ancestors
That afternoon, Li Ziyu's work enthusiasm soared. After copying documents, he went out on two missions with the team, both involving arrests at brothels. Recently, there had been an especially large number of anonymous reporting letters arriving from various establishments. A trove of old cases—madams and managers abusing and persecuting prostitutes to death—was being unearthed.
These letters arrived at the police station and were all forwarded to the Security Section, which was currently handling the sex industry rectification case. After simple sorting and analysis, arrests proceeded according to the list.
Neither naturalized citizens from Hainan nor locally retained recruits possessed any concept of the modern legal system. Moreover, those working in the brothel trade were almost universally unsavory characters—there was no injustice in arresting them. Mu Min also intended to maintain a posture of relentless pressure on the sex industry, so apprehending anyone with leads became the sole standard for case handling.
Those arrested were thrown directly into temporary detention centers for slow interrogation. Li Ziyu was so busy his feet didn't touch the ground: registering, recording statements, handling procedures. Though exhausted, he still hadn't seen the Section Chief, which left him somewhat anxious. Only near the end of his shift did Lian Nishang return, dust-covered from travel. The moment she entered, she patted the documents in her hand toward Li Ziyu and said, "Ayu, congratulations. You've been named by the Bureau Chief to go to Lingao for training. Here's the notification."
"Thank you, Section Chief Lian!" The stone in Li Ziyu's heart finally settled into place. He took the notification from the Section Chief's hand and snapped an "Australian-style" attention.
"No need to be polite—it's all the Senate's grace." Lian Nishang looked at the young man before her with mixed feelings, actually sensing a tiny pang of envy in her heart. "The departure time hasn't been set yet, but it will be within the next few days. Spend a day handing over the matters in your charge."
"Yes!"
Li Ziyu held the transfer document. The Security Section suddenly came alive. Colleagues crowded around him, everyone congratulating Li Ziyu. Some said his luck was remarkable, some said he was a lucky general, some said he had been elevated by a noble patron. Everyone urged Li Ziyu not to forget them after he returned from training and got promoted. While socializing with his colleagues, Li Ziyu kept glancing at the notification. Though he tried hard to wear a calm expression of "unmoved by favor or disgrace," the corners of his mouth still turned up with joy.
The brief lines of simple, unemotional words on the notification read like an exquisite embroidered essay to him—refreshing the heart and spleen like nectar and jade liquor. He suddenly understood why his teacher at the community school had said "good articles can also accompany wine."
Unable to help himself, he read the transfer order dozens of times until he had practically memorized every word and sentence. Only then did Li Ziyu reluctantly tuck the notification away close to his body. Quitting time had arrived—normally he would linger a bit past the end of his shift, but today he decided to share this good news with his family early and let them share in his joy.
Before he even reached home, Li Ziyu's voice was already carrying far into the courtyard.
"Dad! Mom! I'm back!"
Li Ziyu's mother came out to welcome him. She had barely reached the courtyard gate when she saw Li Ziyu trotting in like wind and fire.
Though his family were military household people, they still stressed "abiding by rules and walking properly," with upright conduct. Since entering Australian service and becoming a policeman, which required "bearing," he rarely behaved this way. It surprised Mother Li considerably.
These were times of dynastic change. Her heart was always somewhat uneasy. She looked nervously at Li Ziyu.
"Yu'er, what happened? Why are you so early today?" Before she could finish, Li Ziyu pulled her into the main room. Seeing his father sitting by the long table reading a newspaper, Li Ziyu turned and pressed his mother into the chair by the tea table. He addressed his paired parents: "Dad, Mom—your son has truly prospered this time. Just now a notification came: they want your son to go to Lingao for training. When I come back, it'll be with an official position. Surprised? The very thing we were hoping for a few days ago has happened today. Would you say your son's luck is good or not?" As he spoke, Li Ziyu produced the transfer order from his bosom and waved it in his hand.
"What? Truly?" Father Li set down the newspaper and stood. In his excitement, he nearly knocked the cup off the table.
"Dad, look." Li Ziyu handed the transfer order to his father. Father Li studied it up and down several times and asked, "This training?"
"Dad, it's like this: according to Great Song officialdom rules, one cannot be an official without undergoing training. Even if you're already an official, before being promoted a level, you must undergo training again before taking office. So that means your son—I—am about to become an official. A small official, granted." Li Ziyu repeated in detail what he had heard from Gao Chongjiu.
"Aiya!" Father Li's face turned thoroughly red. He turned to Mother Li. "Wife, go quickly! To the alley mouth, find Butcher Tian. Buy two catties of pig head meat—no, buy a whole pig head, and get another two catties of wine! Our Li family is going to prosper again! This is all our ancestors' blessing! Go quickly—why are you just standing there? Go, go! When you return, we'll offer sacrifice to the ancestors!"
Mother Li responded repeatedly, hastily taking a basket and heading out.
Father Li was so overjoyed that his words tumbled out in disorder. Watching the equally tearful Mother Li turn out of the main room, he turned back to Li Ziyu. "What big official, small official—this is official status! Official status!"
Li Ziyu thought, I'm already in civil service establishment. Moving up is still civil servant. If that's official status, then I already have it. But this was impossible to explain to his father, so he simply replied respectfully, "Father is right."
"Only with this first step can there be subsequent ones. I'll go invite out the ancestral tablets. You call Zhao Gui and tidy up the main room—carry an Eight Immortals Table out."
"Zhao Gui is back?"
"He had the early shift today; he came back in the afternoon," Father Li said. "He told me you were going to prosper. I still thought it sounded a bit vague. Who would have thought what he said was actually true!"
Father Li suddenly remembered something. Pointing at the newspaper, he said, "No wonder—the newspaper published your matter. Seems it wasn't exaggeration at all. The Australians really are going to promote you!"
"Oh? I've been so busy these few days I haven't had time to read the paper. Let me see." Li Ziyu reached for the newspaper.
"What's the hurry—take care of proper business first. Go call Zhao Gui, ask him to come help out. Though he's not of our Li family, he's a loyal and reliable fellow, and has some fortune about him. Since he came to our house, your luck has been consistently good. I think you could become sworn brothers of different surnames with him in the future. Perhaps one day he'll be of help to you."
Li Ziyu agreed. Just as they were talking, Mother Li came in carrying the pig head, saying happily, "Butcher Tian is quite generous. When he heard you're going to Lingao for training, he threw in half a set of intestines and lungs for free. Wait for me to wash them clean and cook."
The incense table was set up, and the ancestral tablets were invited out. Mother Li called, "Come lend a hand." Zhao Gui ran out from the kitchen beside the main room, took the wine and pig head from Mother Li's hands, and turned back into the kitchen.
Mother Li followed Zhao Gui in to work busily. The father and son in the main room had become leisurely: Father Li examined the transfer order over and over, occasionally reciting its contents in a drawn-out tone; Li Ziyu held the newspaper, reading the serialized reports on the Mingnu case. When Mother Li and Zhao Gui had finished arranging the sacrificial offerings, Mother Li came out to say, "Husband, everything is prepared. It's getting late."
Father and son set down what they held. Everyone stood before the incense table to burn incense and kowtow, offering sacrifice to the ancestors and comforting their spirits in heaven. Though Ah Gui didn't kneel or bow, he watched from the side. After worshipping the ancestors, the family plus Zhao Gui took their seats for eating and drinking. The celebration lasted late into the night, ending only when Father Li was thoroughly drunk.
Because there were many matters at the bureau, and he had to hand over his work, several things on hand needed processing as quickly as possible. Early the next morning, Li Ziyu returned to the bureau. Just as he entered the Security Section, he saw someone bringing in a young man. The fellow wore a green silk pleated robe, a pair of finely knotted Chenqiao cloth shoes, black silk knee pads tied over clean water cloth socks, and a tasseled hat on his head—unmistakably the attire of a dissolute city son.
He was shouting "Injustice!" loudly the moment he came in, proclaiming, "I was walking properly, neither stealing nor robbing, didn't even spit a mouthful of phlegm—why arrest me and drag me into the yamen?"
The arresting officers didn't answer, dragging him directly into the registration room to photograph and register. Li Ziyu paid it no mind and continued with his paperwork.
Not a few minutes later, the policeman handling procedures in the registration room suddenly rushed out, shouting loudly, "Quick, quick—find a doctor!"
Ripples immediately spread through the pre-trial room. The part-time hygienist hurried in with a medicine chest. Someone rushed off to fetch the police station's duty doctor.
Li Ziyu walked over to see what was happening. On the registration room floor, the young man who had just been brought in was convulsing, foaming at the mouth. Several officers surrounded him—some held smelling salts to his nose, some unbuttoned his clothes—all in chaos.
The man's consciousness had not yet faded. He clawed violently at his chest, gasping hard, his hoarse throat calling for water. In just a few minutes, his head suddenly lolled to one side, and his whole body seemed to go slack.
Not good, Li Ziyu thought. The body had been convulsing before; now suddenly going limp likely meant the soul had departed.
Sure enough, the doctor who'd been summoned checked the pulse and shook his head—the breath was gone.
"Just our luck!" The policeman who'd caught him stamped his foot. "Finally caught him with such difficulty, and he dies on us! Now how do we explain this to the task force!"
Li Ziyu had originally assumed this was just some dissolute wastrel who'd committed a minor offense. Hearing this, he quickly asked, "Who was the deceased?"
"Who else? One of the criminals being secretly pursued in the Mao Family Inn case—Wang Dong!"
Arresting Wang Dong had taken more time than expected. Ever since Wang Daniao had disappeared and subsequently been killed, he had been a stray dog with no fixed abode, merely "clinging to the brothels" to sponge meals. At night, he mostly slept in concierge rooms or the backyards of various establishments.
After the sex industry rectification campaign began, police frequented the major brothels. Because Wang Dong had been involved in "abducting and trafficking women," he felt increasingly uneasy, stopped frequenting brothels, and went into hiding at a "private door" of a musician household with which he had old ties, muddling through one day at a time.
(End of Chapter)