Chapter 2054 - Aftermath
"Hahaha..." Though knowing it was just talk, having an old brother firmly on his side still eased Ai Zhixin's mind considerably. "Old Wang, so what do you say—"
"Sigh... let me tell you, instead of trying to slip by quietly, this thing... we need to..." Wang Qiyi turned to look at Zhang Xiaoqi, then turned back, nodding slowly with a half-smile and drawing out his words, "We need to turn this funeral into a celebration—and make it a grand one."
"Someone just died. Be serious!" Zhang Xiaoqi said disapprovingly.
"Yes, yes." Wang Qiyi nodded hurriedly and adopted a solemn expression. He grabbed a sheet of paper and began scribbling as he spoke.
"First, we need to establish the nature of the incident. This matter was serious. It resulted from our inadequate management—the three of us all bear leadership responsibility. Our attitude must be sincere. However! We must also explain that there were objective and force majeure factors that directly led to this tragedy..."
"Tragedy?" Ai Zhixin tapped the table lightly, smiling thoughtfully.
"Isn't it? A loyal, steadfast naturalized cadre who was saved by the Executive Committee kills herself. A child has lost her loving mother, and the Executive Committee has lost an excellent cadre. How is that not a tragedy?" Wang Qiyi smiled too. "No one wanted this to happen. And this tragedy was entirely preventable—if only we'd known beforehand about Chu Xiaoran's connection with Smith. It's just that..."
"It's just that when Chu Xiaoran was hired, her personnel file didn't mention it, and her political vetting showed no problems. Old Wang, you're planning to shift the blame to Wu Mu—shouldn't you give him a heads-up?"
"How can you call it shifting blame? That sounds terrible. This is risk-sharing, also known as responsibility distribution. The law—no, wait—responsibility cannot be applied to the masses." Wang Qiyi enunciated each word. "You can privately notify Wu Mu on your end, but don't go through official channels. This matter should be coordinated with Zhao Manxiong—it's best if Wu Mu pretends to know nothing. Anyway, anyone with a functioning brain can see this isn't Old Zhao's fault either."
"However smoothly he gets through, Zhao Fatty has no reason to take the fall for us. One less thing to worry about is better than one more."
"This isn't him taking the fall for us—it's a burden he was already destined to carry, not something we're shifting to him. Political Security is responsible for political vetting of naturalized employees. Our understanding of Chu Xiaoran depended entirely on the personnel file and vetting materials, didn't it? Now that Chu Xiaoran has had this incident, how could Political Security not be involved? Us bringing him in is weathering the storm together, not simply shifting blame—everyone in this line of work is sharp as a fox. They'll figure it out."
"Director Zhao will definitely help carry this," Zhang Xiaoqi added. "You two just squat in Guangzhou busy with taxes and don't read the memos I send carefully. Starting last year, their special operations funding all goes through off-budget special projects. That portion of money can be significant or not—there's lots of discretionary authority. Would Zhao Manxiong risk offending Wudaokou over something this trivial? Better to do a favor and create a win-win for both our agencies."
Wang Qiyi nodded firmly, flipped over the paper in his hand, and began writing as he spoke.
"Director Ai, let me tell you: First, since the Police Bureau, Qiwei, and Tax Bureau all have people who know about Chu Xiaoran's suicide, Political Security probably knows too. So there's really no need for us to try to cover this up—we couldn't anyway. Our operation is too big now to keep things under wraps with a single order like before. Rather than having rumors flying everywhere, let's open the lid and discuss it openly.
"Second, as for how to handle it specifically, I think we can do the following. First, besides Zhao Manxiong's side, I'll trouble you to urgently coordinate with Director Cheng so he can work with Ma Jia. I'll go find Shen Ruiming and Liang Xinhu. This matter will probably end up in the legal department's hands no matter what. It's best if we can get both the county magistrate and the local official on our side—try to secure their understanding and cooperation. Second, to untie the knot, we need the one who tied it—whether we can turn this funeral into a celebration depends on Chu Xiaoran herself. Since she nearly starved to death back then, her experiences must have been extremely harrowing. I heard she even had children starve to death..." Wang Qiyi turned to Zhang Xiaoqi. "Why don't you first ask around among the girls about Chu Xiaoran, then go through the files—try to dig up as much tragic material as possible. That way, Smith's bowl of food becomes valuable, worth writing an opera about."
"An opera?"
"Right. Then you go find Panpan—remember, go directly to Panpan, not through Ding Ding. Give her all this and emphasize that Chu Xiaoran had children, and one starved to death on the road. With Panpan's personality, she'll definitely help put together a tearjerker of a piece."
"Old Wang, what are you up to?" Ai Zhixin was growing suspicious—it felt like Wang Qiyi was going off on a tangent.
"I'll explain later." Wang Qiyi continued without looking up. "Once Chu Xiaoran's story hits the papers and forms public opinion, Director Ai, you go find Ding Ding—or maybe Ding Ding will come find you. If he wants a press release at that point, I'll write it. Of course, this has to be after the case is adjudicated. But with Smith having fled like this, I think it shouldn't be more than a few days before they close the net."
"No problem."
"Third, as soon as the investigation conclusions are out, we immediately dismiss Chu Xiaoran from public service, transfer the case to Shen Ruiming's office for prosecution under the charge of leaking state secrets, tell him to prosecute as appropriate, and tell Liang Xinhu's side not to go easy either."
"But she's already dead..."
"That doesn't matter. Death may mean no prosecution, but conviction can still be done. Fourth, my dear wife, after Wu Mu's people have seen the letters, go back to Lingao in the next couple of days and quietly arrange things with Principal Zhang for Chu Xiaoran's daughter: she shouldn't stay at Fangcaodi any longer. Bring her back to Guangzhou for school—Guangzhou will have national schools soon. We'll find a reliable, kind-hearted naturalized family to adopt her and change her name—don't let anyone know who her mother was. This letter shouldn't be given to her yet—spend more time talking with her first."
"Actually, I don't think many people at the school would know who her mother is anyway. She might not need to come to Guangzhou..." Zhang Xiaoqi said. "Guangzhou's national school definitely won't compare to Fangcaodi..."
"Chu Xiaoran's final designation will certainly be 'suicide to escape punishment.' If she stays in Lingao, regulations require her to go to the Second Reform Institute. No matter how good Fangcaodi is, it won't apply to her anymore." Ai Zhixin said. "Better to bring her to Guangzhou—at least she'll be under our wing. Changing her name and entering a new family will not only help her development but also avoid future issues with political vetting."
"But the child knows who her mother is... What kind of karma is this—the whole family reduced to just her. Sigh!" Wang Qiyi heaved a deep sigh, full of heartache. Then, recalling Ai Zhixin's earlier question, he sat up straight. "Director Ai, let me explain my second point. What do you think the trolls in Lingao will attack us for?"
"Oh, let's see—inadequate discipline education, failure to properly manage subordinates, chaotic administration, insufficient grasp of subordinates' ideological dynamics... there's plenty. They can attack whatever they want. Who told us to have an incident?"
"Also, failure to strictly implement isolation protocols before important operations. The night before arresting Smith, you let them all go home to rest, right?" Zhang Xiaoqi added another stab at her husband.
"Those are all surface issues—surface, understand? Who doesn't have naturalized citizens under them now? All that talk about poor management and chaotic systems is bullshit." Wang Qiyi seemed unconcerned. "You have to understand their psychology. We're Elders—children of destiny. From hundreds of years in the future, with advanced technology, prescient knowledge, powerful industry, and advanced management systems and philosophies. Facing a bunch of natives, how could we make mistakes? Of course we wouldn't. And the cadres we've trained, especially ones we saved from death's door—they owe us an enormous debt of gratitude. They should be willing to lay down their lives in repayment. How could they make such serious mistakes? How could they work against the Executive Committee? Of course they couldn't. Yes—it's fragile egos. Whoever pricks their fragile egos will get shards of glass stabbed all over them until they're satisfied. Not deadly, but disgusting."
"So..." Wang Qiyi stood up and paced the room with his hands behind his back. "Panpan's article needs to let the natives know that this Executive Committee cadre was a woman of integrity who repaid her debts—a good person. A single woman hanging herself can easily become gossip fodder. Director Ai, aren't you afraid of street rumors saying you drove a widow to her death?"
"Don't... so what about finding Ding Ding?"
"Ding Ding's piece is mainly from our perspective—the law must be upheld. Whether Chu Xiaoran was repaying a debt or killed herself over an impossible dilemma, a crime is still a crime..."
"You're schizophrenic!"
"How am I schizophrenic?"
"Look at what you've written..." Zhang Xiaoqi picked up the paper from the table. "Both are reports from our official media, and you want ordinary people to make sense of it? The same person with totally inconsistent assessments. She's both a good person and a criminal—are the Australians having internal conflicts?"
"Ah, you've hit it exactly. That's precisely the effect I want." Wang Qiyi nodded. "This will spark discussion. For the natives, it's a reminder: the Executive Committee now defines ethics and moral standards. Extenuating circumstances don't matter; what they think is a 'good person' doesn't matter. And more importantly, within the Executive Committee—some people look down on every aspect of Ming society's culture and morality, while others think elements can be integrated and preserved. So how exactly should we transform it? This isn't a management issue or a systems issue—this is a mindset issue. This is a major issue!"
"Exactly, it's a major issue. What killed Chu Xiaoran wasn't Smith and wasn't us—it was the old thinking in her head. If we don't solve this problem, without Chu Xiaoran there'll be Li Xiaoran, Liu Xiaoran, and eventually the hundreds of millions we're going to rule. So this Tax Bureau incident isn't a crisis—it's an opportunity." Ai Zhixin had understood Wang Qiyi's meaning, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Elevating everything to principle again..." Zhang Xiaoqi rolled her eyes at the two men. But the two men exchanged knowing smiles—elevating to principle was exactly how to divert attention. A clash between old and new culture? The Executive Committee would tear itself apart over that!
Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Section 442
(End of Chapter)