Chapter 28: Garbage Dump in Residential Building (2)
"No children?"
"She has a daughter who lives in the capital," the director said. "I don't know the specifics, but her relationship with her isn't good, and she hasn't visited her in years."
Jiang Ningyue nodded, her expression a little serious. She knew this was going to be a very tricky situation. "The old lady just refused to cooperate when we tried to communicate with her before? Then why didn't she sell it? After all, the scrap we pick up is meant to be sold for money."
"I don't know!" The neighborhood committee director also looked helpless. "After chatting with her for a few minutes, she said we were going to harm her and steal her things. Maybe she had a bad impression when we cleaned up the garbage she had piled up in the community before."
The neighborhood committee director sighed as he spoke. "We didn't dare push her too hard. On the one hand, the old lady is seventy years old. If she gets emotional and has health problems, we can't afford it. On the other hand, when she gets impatient, she says she'll hang herself at the office door if anyone dares to touch her things."
"Yeah, I kind of understand."
Jiang Ningyue nodded, then turned to look at the young couple, "I'll interview you now."
"good."
The young couple nodded immediately and said, "Let's go to our house for the interview."
"Can."
Following the young couple upstairs, Jiang Ningyue smelled a foul odor as soon as she entered the corridor. This stench was undoubtedly coming from the door of 101. Even though the door was closed, it still couldn't block out the smell.
The male member of the young couple complained: "It's still autumn. If it rained in the summer, the smell would be unbearable. We could even smell it in our own bedroom."
"Oh my God." Jiang Ningyue sighed.
Arriving at 201, the young couple could tell at first glance that the house was newly renovated. Not only was the security door replaced with a new one, but it also had a fingerprint lock. The house was also very bright and clean, and it was obvious that the young couple were very clean people.
"Do you need to change your shoes?"
“No, no.”
The couple waved their hands quickly, and Jiang Ningyue walked in with her shoes on.
The girl said, "Reporter Jiang, look at our windows. I've put tape over the gaps, but look at the gaps. They're full of cockroaches."
Jiang Ningyue walked to the window and saw that the cracks in the window were all covered with thick transparent tape, but the tape was covered with countless small cockroach corpses, densely packed. If someone with trypophobia saw this scene, they would probably faint.
The boy said, "We both come from ordinary working-class families. We settled in Haining after graduating from university. We couldn't afford a house in the city center, so we chose this one in the old town. This house is a thousand yuan cheaper per square meter than the nearby residential areas. The previous owner mentioned it when we bought it. We also knew there were cockroaches in this building, but we bought it for the sake of the price."
"We bought our house last year and renovated it right away. During the renovation, we had the contractor install backwater valves in all the drains to prevent insects from crawling out. We also carried out a comprehensive disinfection. But we didn't expect these cockroaches to be so omnipresent, not just in the drains, but also in cracks in windows and doors. There's simply no place they can't get in. Now we can barely make a living, and we spend hundreds of dollars every month on insecticide."
Jiang Ningyue listened and nodded. This was indeed despairing.
The girl said, "Reporter Jiang, we are your fans. We are all following you, so you have to help us."
"Even if you don't pay attention to me, I will still help you." Jiang Ningyue replied with a smile, "It's just that our TV station is not a law enforcement agency and has no law enforcement power. We can only do our best to coordinate."
"We really have no other choice."
The boy sighed, "Neighborhood committee, street office, fire department, police station, 12345... We tried everything we could think of, but nothing worked."
"Yeah, it all depends on you."
Jiang Ningyue smiled after hearing this and didn't say much.
When they went downstairs, they found two policemen talking to an old lady.
The old lady was about 70 years old, with short black hair and a thin body, almost skin and bones. While the two police officers were talking, the old lady sat on a wooden leisure chair near the corridor, her face dull and unresponsive.
Jiang Ningyue walked over and called the two police officers aside. "Officers, I'm Jiang Ningyue from the provincial TV station."
The older officer smiled wryly and nodded at Jiang Ningyue. "Hello, Reporter Jiang. A resident called the police, so we're here. But we've tried to talk to this Grandma Li many times, but it's no use. If you say something mild, she'll ignore you. If you say something harsh, she'll start yelling and threatening to hang herself at our door. We really can't do anything about it."
Jiang Ningyue looked at the old lady not far away. It was already the end of September and a bit chilly, but the old lady was still wearing a black short-sleeved shirt. Her short hair was very messy, her eyes were dull, and her expression was a bit dull. Jiang Ningyue guessed that the old lady might have some mental problems.
Come to think of it, would a normal person make his home look like a garbage dump?
"If you ask me, it's just a habit!"
A young police officer, who had been following behind the older officer, became inexplicably agitated upon seeing Jiang Ningyue. He angrily shouted, "They should just arrest her and have the locksmith break down the door and clear out all the trash!"
"The police officer is right!" The residents nearby immediately gave a thumbs up when they heard this.
"That's right, this is the black sheep, he should be arrested and locked up."
Some residents fanned the flames.
The older officer's face fell when he heard this, and he scolded, "Zhao Kai, as a police officer, how can you say such nonsense? What right do you have to break into residents' homes and dispose of their private property without permission? I think you should go back to the police academy and study for another three years!"
The young police officer Zhao Kai's face flushed instantly after being scolded. He didn't dare look at Jiang Ningyue. He stiffened his neck and looked at the older police officer and said, "Master, that's not private property, that's garbage! She has already affected the normal lives of the masses."
"Shut up!"
The old police officer scolded him angrily, then smiled apologetically at Jiang Ningyue, "Reporter Jiang, he's new here, don't listen to his nonsense."
Jiang Ningyue smiled and said, "I'll go talk to the old lady."
As she spoke, Jiang Ningyue walked towards Ms. Li.
The old police officer watched Jiang Ningyue walk away before he cursed in a low voice, "Did you get kicked in the head by a donkey? Or are you trying to show off your masculinity in front of Reporter Jiang? I'm telling you, this is just a conflict between citizens. Do you really have to turn it into a conflict between citizens and public authority? If this gets out, will the people's police bully an elderly widow? Is that honorable?! I think you really don't want to do this anymore!"
"Master!" Zhao Kai was still not convinced. He didn't understand why it was so troublesome to do the right thing.
Jiang Ningyue ignored all this, but she also disagreed with Zhao Kai's words. The old lady looked mentally unstable, and if she was provoked, something serious might happen. While the old lady's behavior of piling up garbage at home was wrong and had caused considerable trouble for nearby residents, it wasn't a capital offense.
Coming to the old lady's side, Jiang Ningyue glanced at Tian Jun. Tian Jun gestured from a distance, indicating that the filming had begun.
Jiang Ningyue sat down next to the old lady. The old lady tilted her head and glanced at Jiang Ningyue, but her face remained expressionless. Jiang Ningyue was about to say something when she saw a cockroach crawling out of the old lady's collar. The old lady casually reached out her hand, grabbed the cockroach, and stuffed it into her mouth.
Stuffed it into his mouth.
Stuffed it into his mouth.
Jiang Ningyue's brain froze at this moment. She got goosebumps all over her body and wanted to escape from this place very much.
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