The person in the corner froze for a moment upon hearing the director's words, but quickly masked it and ran over: "What do you need me to do?"
This person's clothes were very similar to Xiao Gengwu's: a white shirt that had been washed until it was yellow, faded black pants, and black leather shoes that had come unglued.
Xiao Gengwu was very satisfied with the man's appearance, as it seemed his attire perfectly suited the requirements of the time. He took the documents from the director's hands and handed them to the man, saying, "Take this document; we'll check the household registrations together!"
While this person was checking household registrations, Xiao Gengwu and the others were mainly observing people, not knowing whether the people hiding would give themselves away.
As the group of four was about to leave, the director was still somewhat reluctant: "Why don't you let Xiao Xue go with you? She knows everyone around her very well!"
Xiao Gengwu shook his head: "Five people are too many, four people are just right."
After being repeatedly rejected, the director would have lost his temper long ago if it were anyone else, but since the person in question was from the Beijing Military Region, he could only hold back and reprimand his subordinates: "What's wrong with your clothes? Dressing like this is a disgrace to our neighborhood office!"
Xiao Gengwu: "........" I suspect you are making veiled accusations, and I have evidence because my clothes are exactly the same as other people's clothes.
The director was just angry and wanted to yell at someone. After he finished yelling, he noticed Xiao Gengwu staring at him intently. He was a little embarrassed and said, "The people under me are dressed sloppily. I had to yell at them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that Xiao Gengwu's clothes were exactly the same as those of his men. His heart skipped a beat, and he tried to smooth things over: "His clothes are too embarrassing, but your clothes are not!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the director covered his mouth. What was he doing? Was he trying to kick him while he was down?
Xiao Gengwu gave the director a deep look before dismissing him. The director was inwardly fretting, but kept talking: "What's with the attitude? Wearing such shabby clothes, he's just a menial worker!"
But he was just the director of a neighborhood office, and even if he was just a handyman, he was someone she couldn't afford to offend. Last night, Xiao Xue listened to her uncle and deliberately dressed up nicely today.
She didn't even get a chance to show her face before being rejected. She came over pouting and said, "Uncle, he's dressed so shabbily, how come the other two listen to him?"
Xiao Xue disliked Xiao Gengwu as soon as she saw his clothes. She found the other two people more pleasing to the eye, but that annoying person didn't give her a chance at all.
He must be self-aware enough to know that he doesn't think much of him, so he simply blocked the other two people's paths. How despicable!
Xiao Gengwu had no idea that someone was being presumptuous. As soon as the four of them came out, the person who had been timid and hesitant in the office suddenly straightened his back and his whole demeanor changed!
Then, in a very familiar manner, he asked, "My name is Wu Tianxiang. What are your names, the three of you?"
Xiao Gengwu, of course, wouldn't directly say their names: "I'm Xiao Geng, this is my friend, this is Xiao Shan, and this is Xiao Hai!"
After the four of them got to know each other, Xiao Gengwu pointed to the documents in Wu Tianxiang's hand and asked, "Which side should we start with?"
Wu Tianxiang pointed to the farthest corner: "We'll start from that end, then we can zigzag around to get back here without missing a single place!"
Xiao Gengwu wanted nothing more than to leave no one out, so of course he had no objections and agreed!
The four of them began checking the permanent residents. Wu Tianxiang was clearly someone who was always out and about, and he was very familiar with the people on the street.
He could call out the names of every family he visited, even their newborn children; that ability was truly remarkable.
You have to understand that although it's just a neighborhood office, there are still a hundred or so households here. You can't remember them all without some skill, Xiao Gengwu muttered to himself.
This person is so capable, how come they don't seem to be doing very well in the neighborhood committee office?!
The four of them had already checked the street and found nothing unusual, but Xiao Gengwu wasn't in a hurry. He hadn't reached his target street yet, and he planned to stay here all day!
After finding out that they had taken a break for lunch in the afternoon, they immediately started working and soon arrived at the target street. Xiao Gengwu pointed to the target courtyard and asked, "Why does this courtyard seem to be deserted?"
Wu Tianxiang sighed: "He was arrested, but I don't know why he was arrested!"
Xiao Gengwu feigned curiosity: "How was he arrested? Who arrested him?"
Wu Tianxiang shook his head: "I only have what my informant here told me. He only said he saw him being arrested, and that's all I know!"
"You have informants?" Xiao Gengwu was genuinely surprised this time!
Wu Tianxiang, however, thought it was normal: "Everyone says that those in a position should do their job. Now that I'm a clerk in the subdistrict office, I have to be very familiar with everything about the people in the subdistrict."
"But I can't just wander around here forever, so I gave some older women a little something in return, asking them to tell me all sorts of things, big and small, and I wrote them down in a notebook."
"That way, if needed, I'll know everything!"
Xiao Gengwu was truly impressed by Wu Tianxiang; this man was genuinely serious about his work, and he would have to help him out in the future.
This is the kind of person the people need. Xiao Gengwu sincerely praised him: "You are very good. Keep up this original aspiration, and I believe you will achieve great things in the future!"
Wu Tianxiang didn't care: "I just follow my heart. I only need to do things in a way that I can be true to myself!"
Xiao Gengwu steered the conversation back on track: "Is this courtyard only for the person who was arrested? It's such a big courtyard!"
"He lives alone; this is their ancestral home!"
"Ancestral home? He's lived there for a long time?"
"Yes, I heard that his family has lived here ever since this street was built; you could say they are native inhabitants of this area!"
It's quite normal for indigenous people to have hidden rooms, cellars, or even tunnels under their houses!
What kind of person is he?
"I heard he's very reclusive; once he enters the yard, he's completely silent, except when he's at work?"
"So how do you think he managed to do it so quietly?"
"One of them slept as soon as he entered the yard, and the other didn't even live in the yard!"
"Where did he go?"
"He might be in a cellar, or they might have a well-soundproofed darkroom. These kinds of things are common on this street. Before, when there was nowhere else to hide things, everyone had a place to hide something!"
Xiao Gengwu's heart tightened: "Are there hidden rooms or cellars all over this street?"
“Every household has a cellar, but cellars are generally used for storing things. They can only hide people for a few days at most, so they are not suitable for long-term living. Therefore, I guess his house must have a secret room!”
"Only a dark room can be considered for living, and is suitable for people to stay in for a long time!"
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