The May sunshine shines through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the county conference center, casting mottled light and shadows on the rostrum.
The breeze blowing in from the window made a whistling sound, intertwined with the sonorous speech of Kuang Tieying, the county party secretary. His voice was calm and powerful, and every word he said was related to the smooth progress of the relocation of the four major teams in the county. From personnel deployment to material transfer, from equipment installation to subsequent support, every aspect required meticulous attention to detail.
As a member of the county party committee, I sat behind a long table covered with maroon velvet, my pen rustling on a notebook, marking key points such as "safety guarantees" and "disciplinary requirements" regarding the relocation to the office building in the new city.
Suddenly, there was a continuous vibration coming from the inner pocket of the jacket, as if there was a restless hummingbird hiding inside.
I glanced at the focused faces of the Standing Committee members on the rostrum and quietly used my thumb to select the phone - the words "Xu Tong" kept jumping on the screen. I quickly pressed the reject button, but before the phone could even warm up in my arms, the vibration started again, and I decisively rejected the call again.
When the third vibration occurred, I felt that Xu Tong must have encountered something urgent, and I couldn't help but feel worried.
"In a meeting!" I sent a text message.
A few seconds later, I received her reply: "Something happened at home, please come back Ma Xiao."
I took a deep breath, and a chill instantly ran up my spine to the back of my head, making me feel very confused. Could it be that something happened to the baby in her belly? As soon as this thought came to my mind, I shook my head desperately, trying to drive this horrible thought out of my mind, but the uneasiness followed me like a shadow and I couldn't get rid of it.
I didn't dare let my wild thoughts go on, and in a panic I picked up a pen and hurriedly wrote in the notebook, "Something happened at home, I'm in a hurry to go back."
After finishing writing, I gently tore off the page of paper and carefully handed the note to Wang Yanshu beside me.
Wang Yanshu took the note, looked down at it, and frowned slightly. She looked up at me with a hint of concern and inquiry in her eyes. I looked at her anxiously, and she seemed to understand the anxiety in my eyes. She nodded gently and signaled with her eyes that I could leave.
I stood up in a hurry, taking every step carefully, trying not to make any noise, and finally walked out of the venue quietly. As soon as the heavy door closed, I could no longer suppress my anxiety and rushed down the stairs in two steps.
I couldn't wait to reach into my pocket, took out my phone, pressed Xu Tong's number with trembling fingers, and called back anxiously.
The phone was connected almost the moment it rang, and Xu Tong's crying and anxious voice came from the receiver: "Hongjun, please come back soon, my mother is crazy!"
My head buzzed, but my heart settled down a little. As long as there was nothing wrong with the baby, I wouldn't be so worried. But I had no idea how complex the information she conveyed on the phone was. Is her mother really insane? Or was she too flustered to express herself clearly? Countless questions exploded in my mind, but I didn't have time to think too much at the moment.
I tried to sound calmer and replied, "Okay, I'll be back soon."
After hanging up the phone, I ran to the parking lot. The moment the car started, I stepped on the accelerator to the bottom, and the car rushed out like an arrow.
I pressed the key against the door lock and paused for a few seconds, pressing my ear against the cold door. The corridor was so quiet that I could hear my own pounding heart, but the house was abnormally quiet.
As soon as the fingertips touched the keyhole, there was a slight "click" sound, and a heart-wrenching howl suddenly exploded in the house, as if someone's throat was torn out. I shuddered and the key almost slipped out of my hand, and I hurriedly turned the door lock.
The moment I opened the door, I saw Xu Tong's mother sitting at the dining table, beating her thighs with her hands, howling with indistinct curses, and her face was covered with tears and snot.
My scalp tingled. I was afraid that the noise would attract the neighbors to look in, so I slammed the door. When he turned around, he saw Xu Tongê¿› holding her bulging belly, her face as pale as paper, her body shaky, and she moved out of the living room tremblingly.
I took two steps at a time and went forward to support her. Just as I was about to ask her something, she suddenly grabbed my arm and said, "Hongjun, something big has happened! Xu He...Xu He has been arrested by the Public Security Bureau!"
My temples were throbbing, and I quickly put my index finger to my lips, signaling her to be quiet. I turned to look at Xu Tong's mother who was still sobbing, and tried to suppress my anger: "Mom, please stop crying. What will crying accomplish? Let me sort things out first."
Her crying stopped abruptly, like a puppet with its strings pinched. Tears were still in her red and swollen eyes, but she stared at me blankly, her lips trembling and unable to speak. I pulled a chair over and sat down opposite her. I took a deep breath and tried to keep my tone steady. "Tell me slowly what happened. Explain it clearly from beginning to end, sentence by sentence."
She spoke in sobs, her voice heavily nasal, piecing together the outline of what happened from the beginning to the end. I didn't understand what was going on. Xu He, as a forest ranger at the town forestry station, had colluded with a few of his cronies to secretly cut down trees in the planned felling area, and the trees they cut down were large tracts of wild forest. When the forest police came to his door, he was directing people to load wood into the truck. The evidence was irrefutable and he was handcuffed and taken away on the spot. He was suspected of illegal logging and was to be detained for criminal offence.
The more I listened, the more my brows furrowed. I couldn't piece together the complete details of the case from her confusing narration. I just felt a surge of anger rising to my body. Xu Heping had always been idle, and relied on his status as a forest ranger to show off his power in the village. I didn't expect that he would be so bold and brazen as to cause such a big mess, and even implicated his entire family.
I was furious and said, "Xu He is a forest ranger but he stole things. Let him learn a lesson from this."
As soon as I said this, Xu Tong's mother was like a lit firecracker, and the wailing that had originally subsided suddenly exploded again. She slapped her thighs with her hands and yelled in tears, "Why is my life so miserable? If anything happens to my son, I won't live anymore!" The voice was sharp and piercing, as if it might blow the roof off the house. I didn't understand what Xu Tong meant when she said her mother was crazy.
Xu Tong's eyes were red and tears were welling up in them. She looked at me pitifully, clutching my sleeves tightly with both hands, and cried, "Hongjun, please help me think of a solution. If he really goes in, my mother will be in great trouble!"
I looked at the chaotic scene in front of me and sighed helplessly. I shook my head slowly, knowing full well that this matter was very difficult, but I still subconsciously reached into my pocket and took out my phone. I winked at Xu Tong, signaling her to take care of her mother.
Xu Tong understood what she meant, and quickly gave her mother a sharp look, and said in a low voice with some authority: "Mom, stop crying first! Let Hongjun calm down and think of a solution. You are making a fuss like this, and what else can you do except to cause trouble!"
Xu Tong's mother was stopped by this shout and stopped crying. She wiped her tears with sobs, but her body was still shaking uncontrollably. I took the opportunity to walk into the bedroom and gently closed the door, blocking out the noisy and distracted person outside.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, swiped my finger through the address book, finally stopped at the number of Director Li of the County Forest Public Security Bureau, and pressed the dial button. As soon as the call was connected, I pretended to be calm and tried my best to make my voice sound steady and confident: "Director Li, it's me, Guan Hongjun. I have something to tell you about Xu He's case..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
