Chapter 2052 - The Unexpected Incident
This matter could be made big or small. If escalated, Liu Cuihua would be facing several months of "study sessions" followed by "waiting for reassignment."
But she couldn't be entirely blamed. After all, Guangzhou had been liberated for nearly two years, and the security situation had improved dramatically. Even Elders like himself could wander the streets freely provided they carried weapons and personal guards. Naturalized citizens enjoyed even more freedom. Most of the naturalized citizens in Guangzhou were in the prime of their lives—seventeen, eighteen, in their twenties—and it was common for them to request leave, return late, or not return at all. As long as they could explain themselves upon return, the Elders in various departments generally turned a blind eye. Besides, to address the problem of couples living apart, departments were acquiring land and preparing to build dormitories for cadres and their families. At this point, only the leave-application requirement in the so-called system still served any real purpose.
"We can't keep these young men and women penned up like slaves. Human nature must be understood." Liu Xiang had said this at some meeting, and Wang Qiyi deeply agreed. Recently, he'd adjusted the after-work training schedule to two sessions per week, shortened to an hour and a half each.
Naturally, he had no interest in pursuing Liu Cuihua's responsibility. Besides, Chu Xiaoran was a local—her leave form said she was visiting relatives, and staying overnight with family without returning on time wasn't a serious matter. At most, it counted as tardiness with a pay deduction.
"Remember to report leave situations on time from now on. Don't let it happen again." Wang Qiyi dismissed Liu Cuihua with a few mild words and sent them out.
As they closed the office door, Liu Cuihua looked grateful. "Sister Nan, thank you so much."
"Thank me for what?"
"If not for your connections, how would I have gotten off so easily..."
"Not at all." Nan Wan'er smiled, then reminded her, "But you really must follow through on what Director Wang said. Don't let it happen again."
"Of course." Her worries forgotten, Liu Cuihua reverted to her usual young self, linking arms with Nan Wan'er and saying softly, "Sister Nan, let me treat you to dinner. There's no class tonight—let's go to Guihuayuan East Street. I heard from Shitou that there are new stalls."
"Guihuayuan" sounded the same as "Planning Institute," but they were entirely different things. It was originally a residential area in northern Guangzhou. Close to the Greater and Lesser North Gates, it was an inexpensive district with much wasteland and low property prices. Various departments had purchased or rented many houses here to accommodate cadres and families from Hainan, forming a small residential cluster. The Guangzhou Elders jokingly called it the "dormitory district," while local Guangzhou natives called it "Guihuayuan"—"Naturalization Quarter."
Because the area was so remote, some enterprising naturalized citizens and their families, following the principle of convenience, had cut windows in their street-facing walls and begun making and selling snacks or trinkets to nearby cadres. Most hailed from Lingao or neighboring counties, so whether the food or the little items for sale, everything carried a distinctly Australian character. Being cheap as well, word gradually spread among Guangzhou locals that this was a place to buy and eat Australian goods without traveling all the way to the Great World outside the city. More and more merchants came to set up shop, and this narrow little street grew into something substantial.
Because of its remote location, it wasn't in the area where Liu Xiang focused his "street-clearing" efforts. And since it had originally been meant to serve naturalized citizens who drew Australian salaries, with stalls opening mostly after work in the evening, the Grand Prefect pretended not to notice. Fortunately, the naturalized citizens from Lingao understood what the leaders liked and disliked. Though the street with its shop windows was crowded, it remained clean and tidy. Families with shops took turns sweeping the street each day, even forming their own volunteer patrol teams. Australian candles flickered in the windows. As more shops opened, the lights grew denser. The ordinary Guangzhou folk, who had lived by the rhythm of sunset, were gradually influenced by the naturalized cadres' habit of strolling the streets at night. Compared to the Great World outside the city walls, this narrow alley was clearly more approachable. So even if they weren't buying anything, many people began to enjoy walking around to look. This nameless alley came to be known as "Guihuayuan East Street," and "going to Guihuayuan East Street for a taste of Australia" gradually became a favorite post-dinner pastime for many Guangzhou locals. The night market—something that practically every county had in the old timeline—had thus effortlessly wormed its way into the seventeenth century.
But speaking of this little street becoming "official," that was only just over three months ago. One evening in late May, Zheng Shangjie and Mu Min were strolling there when they saw the street bustling with people, so lively and animated that they felt a long-missed sensation. At the subsequent Guangzhou Elders' meeting, they proposed making the street a model for stimulating small-scale private commerce, officially designating it a commercial street with priority for infrastructure development. The name was written in the finest calligraphy among the Guangzhou Elders—by Daoist Cui—"West City Pedestrian Street." However, this bright and thoroughly Australian-sounding name didn't win acceptance from the common people or even the naturalized cadres the way Australian goods had. Beyond the natives' complaints that the calligraphy was only marginally better than an entry-level scholar's, most people simply felt "Guihuayuan East Street" sounded more familiar and natural.
With its new "official status," East Street didn't disappoint Director Zheng. Over these three months, business on the street grew ever more brisk. For naturalized citizens and their families who understood "political sensibility," the street name sign commissioned by the city government at the intersection was like a reassurance pill. More local merchants also caught wind and came—those who moved fast could still rent street-facing houses; those slower had to set up stalls on the open ground beside the street. Given the Australians' nearly harsh requirements and punishments regarding street cleanliness, even those setting up stalls on open ground were wise enough to choose spots where buildings receded, creating alcoves. Encroaching on the street itself was absolutely out of the question. So those who arrived even later, finding even the open spaces taken, had no choice but to venture deeper into the alleys.
Now, many successful shops had begun replacing the Australian candles at their doorways with kerosene lamps, hoping to attract more customers. And the offerings on the street were no longer limited to the original few. Speaking just of food, many naturalized families who'd made a bit of money here had returned to Lingao to study "authentic Australian-style snacks." Add to this the various seasonings produced by the Agricultural Committee's state farms across the two Guangs now being supplied to Guangzhou, and everything from malatang to oden to teppanyaki had made its appearance. During the Little Ice Age, Guangzhou spent much of spring, autumn, and winter shrouded in damp cold. Though the natives didn't understand what the leaders meant by "magic attack," at times like these, eating a bowl of malatang drizzled with red chili oil—costing next to nothing and leaving your whole body warm and comfortable afterward—that they understood perfectly.
One evening, Liu Xiang climbed the west city wall and looked out at Guihuayuan East Street—that silver dragon growing ever brighter and longer. It reminded him of his old Sim City days, when his first commercial district lit up at night. He said meaningfully to the person beside him, "Capital has a life of its own. We really don't need to manage too much..."
But to each flower its own tale. After Wang Qiyi saw off Liu Cuihua, he went to Ai Zhixin's office, only to be blindsided the moment he walked in.
"Old Wang! I was just about to find you. Wu Mu just called—that Smith fellow has fled!"
"Fled? Don't they have people tailing him? How could they actually let him escape..." Wang Qiyi appeared unconcerned, plopping down casually in the chair across from Ai Zhixin.
"That's not the key point. Wu Mu warned me to watch out for an insider."
"An insider?"
"Smith has always been very steady, right?"
"Right—ah..." Wang Qiyi seemed to realize something, suddenly sitting up straight. "Just these past couple of days we got a lead on him, and he runs! Turns and runs!"
"It's probably not a coincidence. The problem looks like it's somewhere among our three agencies..." Ai Zhixin said thoughtfully. "Sigh! Please don't let it be another Han Yue."
Just as Ai Zhixin and Wang Qiyi were racking their brains guessing who the "insider" in the Guangzhou Tax Bureau might be, there was a bang as the office door was suddenly pushed open.
"Big trouble!" Before the two men could react, Zhang Xiaoqi came bursting in.
"Wait a moment... water." Wang Qiyi didn't know what his wife was about to say, but instinct made him immediately stand, hand her the cup he was holding, then circle around behind her to close the door.
Zhang Xiaoqi took the cup, gulped a mouthful, and seeing that Wang Qiyi had secured the door, steadied her racing heart and said grimly: "Chu Xiaoran is dead. Suicide."
This news hit like a bomb, leaving Ai Zhixin and Wang Qiyi staring dumbfounded.
"Suicide—suicide?... Really dead?" After a long silence, Ai Zhixin still couldn't quite believe it.
"Dead. Mu Min has already confirmed it..."
"Mu Min? The Police Bureau got there that fast? Where did this happen?" Thinking of Chu Xiaoran's leave form, Wang Qiyi had a sinking feeling.
"I was going with Mu Min to pick up Ai Beibei today. We hadn't even reached Zheng Shangjie's place when Police Bureau people caught up with us, saying the deceased looked like a cadre. Mu Min thought it was serious. Since Ai Beibei has some medical background, the three of us went directly by carriage..."
"I asked where it happened!"
"Qiwei Subsidiary, Tongfu Inn. Hanging..."
"Hanging? You're joking. Those tiny rooms in our inns—where would you even hang a cloth strip..."
"The problem is, this Tongfu Inn was converted from an old house. There are exposed beams inside." Zhang Xiaoqi sighed. "I went to look. The body's still there. It's Chu Xiaoran. Before coming up, I arranged for Nan Wan'er to go through her things and see what there might be."
The room fell silent again, the three of them each with their own thoughts—some grieving, some trying to figure out the cause, some worrying about the aftermath.
Next update: Volume 7 - Two Guangs Campaign Section 166
(End of Chapter)