Chapter 16
The night was dark and thick, and the cemetery was silent.
When Ye Manzhi was dragged out alone by Captain Wu, he was mentally prepared to be interrogated.
Unexpectedly, after Wu Zhengrong led her to an open area away from the cemetery, he changed his solemn expression and asked in his usual gentle voice, "Didn't I remind you not to go out at night? What's going on with your patrol team?"
"We're a patrol team temporarily formed by the subdistrict office and the police station," Ye Manzhi said sternly. "Our main mission is to prevent further armed conflicts and protect the lives and property of the people!"
Wu Zhengrong raised his eyebrows slightly and tapped her ash hook. "Is this what you're going to use for protection?"
"Those involved in the fight are all ordinary people. Even if we were given a gun, we couldn't point it at the crowd. I'm not carrying this thing to protect myself..."
He only said half of the words, but Wu Zhengrong understood them.
If the ash hook doesn't protect you from people, then it can protect you from ghosts.
This is really like going to the tiger mountain even though you know there is a tiger there, and running to the cemetery even though you are afraid of ghosts.
The flashlight flickered across her hands, tightly gripping the weapon. Wu Zhengrong averted his gaze and spoke in a voice only they could hear: "We invited people from the Buddhist Association to perform a ritual at the cemetery. The deceased's souls have long since been liberated. This is just a wasteland, devoid of ghosts."
"Ah? Really?" Ye Manzhi was shocked.
"Um."
"How could the factory leaders allow such a thing?"
If this matter is not handled properly, it may be linked to feudal superstition.
Looking at her delicate eyebrows that were knitted together, Wu Zhengrong said seriously, "After all, we're going to expand the new factory on this land. Just ask for peace of mind."
"Right, right, right. I just want peace of mind. The factory leaders are so wise!"
Considering that Captain Wu always behaved maturely, wisely, steadily and reliably in front of her, and most importantly, he was a great beauty, Ye Manzhi never thought that he might be lying.
When she learned that the cemetery had been cleaned by professionals, she felt the temperature around her rise several degrees in an instant.
I still feel that the leaders of Factory No. 656 are still very humane.
Of course, Captain Wu was also very nice, actually willing to tell her such a big secret!
The good man Wu Zhengrong solemnly warned: "Just keep this to yourself, don't spread it to anyone else."
"Don't worry, I will keep it a secret and won't tell anyone!"
She's very tight-lipped!
"Well, you guys..."
Wu Zhengrong was just about to ask her to evacuate with the patrol team when a wailing sound suddenly came from the woods not far away from the two of them.
Immediately afterwards, a figure suddenly rushed out from the woods and ran towards the two of them at a desperate speed.
There was a military dog behind them, barking wildly and chasing them relentlessly.
Seeing this, Wu Zhengrong vigilantly pulled Ye Manyi behind him and reached for his waist.
The identity of the man who appeared here in the middle of the night was difficult to identify. Ye Manzhi thought that his fighting ability was average, so he thought that if he couldn't help, he would rather not cause trouble. So he hid behind the tall man without saying a word.
Unexpectedly, just as she was hiding quietly, the man running in front suddenly shouted, "Ye Manzhi, Ye Manzhi, get someone to stop the dog!"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Wu Zhengrong turned around and asked, "Do you know him?"
"I know you!"
Wu Zhengrong whistled, signaling the military dog not to bite anyone.
With this buffer time, the man being chased by the dog ran over at the speed of a 100-meter sprint in the blink of an eye, and pounced on the leaf-filled branch like a young swallow flying into the forest.
"Oh, help me, I'm scared to death!"
Seeing that he was holding Ye Manzhi's arm tightly and almost leaning against the girl, Wu Zhengrong couldn't help but frown, grabbed the other person's wrist, and pulled him down forcefully.
"Qin Xiang," he waved to the messenger, "bring him back for questioning!"
Ye Manzhi hurriedly said, "Captain Wu, this is my fourth brother! He might be here to see me, he's not a bad guy!"
“…”
Wu Zhengrong's gaze lingered between the two of them for a while.
This fourth brother is not good-looking and not very smart, and he doesn’t look like Ye Manzhi’s biological brother.
"What is he doing here so late at night?"
Ye Manzhi also wanted to ask.
"It's all for you!" Fourth Brother muttered, rubbing his aching wrist. "You're a girl, running to a cemetery at night. Who at home would be worried? Dad was afraid you wouldn't be happy, so he asked me to secretly follow you and watch over you."
After Ye Lai Ya became a small cadre, he always regarded himself as an adult.
She was reluctant to have her family accompany her on patrol, fearing that the public would think she was immature and distrust her.
Old Ye was worried about his daughter and afraid that she would refuse, so he arranged for her brother to follow her from a distance.
Who would have thought that there would be a military dog in the cemetery? He pounced on him like crazy and his butt was almost bitten by the dog!
Fourth brother quickly reached into his trouser pocket, but no, the katydid jar was gone.
The little green bird I just raised ran away again!
Ye Manzhi pulled her fourth brother up from the ground. She thought it was a bit funny and embarrassing to see him being chased by a dog, but she still felt warm in her heart.
In front of outsiders, you have to maintain your fourth brother's face.
Ye Manzhi brushed off the dust and grass debris clinging to him and formally introduced him, "Captain Wu, this is my fourth brother, Ye Mangui. You know the saying 'Guilin Yizhi'? My fourth brother is Mangui, and I have a fifth brother named Manlin. I'm Manzhi. We're truly one family!"
Wu Zhengrong thought that the nine sons of the dragon were all different. Ye Manzhi was quite smart, but the fourth brother was a bit silly.
"Since he's here to see you, forget it. Ask him to write a statement and submit it to the military representative office."
Ye Manzhi held back her fourth brother who was about to argue, and agreed with a smile: "Okay, I'll write it when I get home tonight."
Fourth Brother caused such a big commotion, was chased by dogs, and was caught by people, and there were so many eyes watching him. It would be unreasonable for Captain Wu to let him go without any pain.
The alarm was lifted. Ye Manzhi said goodbye to Captain Wu and dragged her fourth brother to reunite with her patrol team.
And tell everyone that this place has been taken over by the military representative office, and there is no need for these small fry.
The three people from the street office breathed a sigh of relief as they no longer had to patrol the cemetery.
Before leaving, Ye Manzhi looked back.
Captain Wu seemed to still be at the place where they had just stood, and a tall figure could be vaguely seen in the night.
After struggling in his heart for a while, Ye Manzhi asked his companions to wait for a moment and ran towards him again.
Her heart was pounding as she thought, he was the one who brought this upon herself, so she couldn't blame her for taking advantage of him. She pondered for a moment how to start the conversation.
Wu Zhengrong seemed to sense something and stopped and looked back.
"What's wrong?"
The flashlight fell on the fourth brother. Ye Manzhi was afraid that he would not recognize her in the dark, so she called out "Captain Wu" first.
"Um."
"Our street patrol will no longer need to patrol this area. I came to say thank you."
"You came back just for this?"
"Ah, there's something else actually."
He only said this, and then there was no movement.
Wu Zhengrong was very patient and waited tolerantly for her to speak again.
However, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, twenty seconds, and half a minute passed, and the other party still didn't say anything.
Darkness easily breeds fear and also easily breeds ambiguity. In this short half minute, Wu Zhengrong used his divergent thinking to imagine many unspeakable possibilities, and was even prepared to accept the little girl's confession next to the cemetery.
"Just tell me what you have to say."
He still spoke in that gentle voice, giving people the illusion that he was easy to talk to.
Ye Manzhi couldn't see his expression clearly.
But she was bewitched by the gentle voice, and her confidence suddenly increased. She mustered up the courage to ask, "Captain Wu, can I confirm something with you?"
"Can."
"Well, I've been helping my fifth brother find a house recently, and I heard from the comrades at the Housing Management Office," Ye Manzhi paused for a moment, deciding to use some verbal tricks and assuming a fait accompli, "It seems that our military representative office has a temporary apartment for subletting, right?"
Wu Zhengrong, who had been waiting for a long time, said: "..."
It feels like the finale dish is steamed cornbread.
"Captain Wu?"
Not hearing any reply and unable to see the other person's expression, Ye Manzhi had no choice but to remind him.
From the moment she decided to chase him, she had been feeling uneasy.
Wu Zhengrong's "establishing authority" and "regret" were just her guesses. Other people's temporary housing might have other uses.
If it wasn't for the need to help her fifth brother leave Yueya Hutong as quickly as possible, and if the opportunity to confront the military representative was so obvious right in front of her, she really didn't want to be so shameless as to ask him about it.
Hearing the uneasiness in her rapid breathing, Wu Zhengrong was silent for a while and asked, "What do you mean by turnover housing?"
"It's the yard opposite the east gate of our compound..."
Wu Zhengrong thought for a moment and asked, "Is this urgent?"
"No hurry, no hurry."
It will take at least four or five days for Fifth Brother to pull the honeycomb coal.
"Then come to my office on Monday afternoon. I haven't paid attention to the turnover housing you mentioned. I need to go back to the factory to understand the situation."
*
A military representative office took over the cemetery, and the street patrol team was disbanded on the day it was established.
The subsequent impact of this armed fight was indeed not small. All the staff of the street office worked overtime to comfort the families of the injured while also dealing with inspections from higher authorities and handling subsequent compensation matters.
Ye Manzhi was busy for two days, but he did not forget the agreement with Wu Zhengrong.
She and her fourth brother wrote a statement of the situation and took it with them to the appointment near the end of get off work on Monday.
At this time, in the military representative office of Factory 656.
Wu Zhengrong had just returned from a meeting at the factory and called Qin Xiang over.
"How many turnover houses do we have?"
"Three sets, one in the family compound, and two in the carriage shop outside the factory."
Wu Zhengrong frowned and asked, "Do we still need so many turnover houses now?"
Transition housing is for temporary accommodation of new comrades. If you meet the requirements, the factory will quickly arrange formal housing for you.
In the early days of the factory, new employees reported for work every month, so temporary housing was naturally in short supply.
But now the team of the military representative office has basically stabilized. Occasionally, comrades on business trips will come to stay for a month or so, but the office is vacant the rest of the time.
So, why keep so many turnover houses?
Seeing that he acted as if it was a matter of course and was not involved, Qin Xiang couldn't help but complain in his heart, didn't you ask to keep the temporary housing?
You ask me, who should I ask?
But Qin Xiang, the communicator, knew very well what kind of temper his commander had.
It's good enough that he knows the situation of his own house. We can't expect him to care about any temporary housing.
To put it politely, this is called focusing on the big picture and letting go of the small details, focusing on the main contradictions. To put it simply, he is just too lazy to worry about trivial matters.
Qin Xiang tried to remind him subtly, "Last year, one of our temporary housing units was almost sublet by Deputy Director Liu, but you disagreed at the time, so it didn't go through. Then, at the beginning of this year, the factory logistics department allocated us another temporary housing unit in the staff quarters."
Originally, two sets of temporary housing were enough for the military representative office to use, but his regimental commander became famous in one battle, and the logistics department was probably afraid that he would settle the score with them later, so when allocating temporary housing to other departments, they also gave one set to the military representative office.
The military industrial compound has better conditions and is closer to the factory area, so new comrades are generally arranged to stay in this temporary housing.
After he reminded him, Wu Zhengrong also remembered that such an incident did happen when he first came to the factory.
Several senior officials wanted him to be a military representative who was only responsible for signing, and did not want him to interfere in the production of military supplies, so they gave him a warning shortly after he arrived.
The other party slapped him in the face and wanted to sublet the military agency's house. If he acquiesced, he would have no chance of working in the factory in the future. Therefore, he rejected Lao Liu's face at the meeting.
However, this matter had actually been put behind him and Lao Liu long ago.
"What's the current situation with the two temporary housing units outside the factory? Have the rents been paid?"
"The house is rented from the street housing management office, so of course I have to pay."
Wu Zhengrong pondered for a moment and then instructed, "Go ask the logistics department if they can allocate another temporary housing unit in the family compound. There are historical reasons for renting the inn. If there's a vacant unit in the factory now, we can use it. There's no need to spend money renting one from outside. Besides, the factory already has a guesthouse, so if the temporary housing is insufficient, we can use the guesthouse."
The fact that Qin Xiang was able to stay by Wu Zhengrong's side shows that he is not a stupid person.
After all, all the idiots were sent away by his team leader.
But he really didn't understand what Wu Zhengrong was doing today.
Why are you suddenly concerned about turnover housing?
After receiving the order, he ran to the logistics department in a daze, and after getting a positive reply, he ran back happily.
As soon as I entered and reported the situation, there was a knock on the office door.
I thought it was another rough guy coming to visit, but when I opened the door, I saw a young and beautiful woman standing outside. She had curly hair and a snow-white puff-sleeved shirt tucked into her skirt, which vaguely showed her waist.
So fashionable!
The military representative office rarely has the opportunity to receive female comrades. The people who come most often are Chairman Zhang of the trade union, who is in his forties, and Chairman Yao of the Women's Federation, who is almost fifty.
Although he didn't know why Ye Manzhi was here, Qin Xiang still smiled cleverly and said, "Officer Xiao Ye is here? Welcome, welcome, please come in!"
Ye Manzhi had seen him drive for Wu Zhengrong, but didn't know what his specific position was, so she politely said, "Hello, Comrade Qin. I'm here to see Captain Wu. Is he available right now?"
Qin Xiang had a vague feeling that she had some unusual relationship with his own leader. Just as he was about to say it was convenient, Wu Zhengrong's voice came from behind him, "Don't be polite, please come in."
Ye Manzhi greeted Captain Wu, and was then welcomed into the office by the enthusiastic Comrade Qin like a VIP.
The interior furnishings were somewhat different from what she had imagined a factory leader's office to be.
Apart from a large desk and filing cabinets covering two walls, there were only two chairs.
She remembered Zhou Mu saying that there was a sofa and coffee table in Deputy Director Zhou's office.
But this office does not have such a style. The overall style is simple and neat.
Combined with the powerful words "All actions must be under command" on the wall, it seems to be in line with his identity.
While she was looking around the office, Qin Xiang had already made her some tea and said warmly, "Comrade Xiaoye, the tea is a little hot, so just drink it. If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared some iced soda in advance!"
"No, no, tea is fine."
Comrade Qin was so enthusiastic that Ye Manzhi felt uneasy.
"Alright," Wu Zhengrong interrupted Qin Xiang's attentiveness. He didn't like false politeness and got straight to the point. "I've just learned about the situation of the turnover housing..."
Ye Manzhi quickly sat up straight, his black and white eyes full of anticipation.
However, Wu Zhengrong said, "The Military Representative Office does have two temporary housing units rented from the street, but we cannot sublease them to your fifth brother."
"Ah..." Ye Manzhi was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and said, "Okay, I understand."
It would be a lie to say that she wasn't disappointed. She thought Captain Wu asked her to come to the office because there was room for improvement.
She could take this opportunity to help her fifth brother move out of Yueya Hutong as soon as possible.
If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have dressed up so beautifully. She also wanted to treat everyone to a meal to express her gratitude after the matter was done!
Wu Zhengrong didn't miss the disappointment in her eyes and explained, "It's not appropriate for me to approve a lease for you. If I really approve a sublease, it might cause some people to make unnecessary associations."
Ye Manzhi nodded to show her understanding.
Director Mu said that a leader who values his reputation will not easily approve notes for others. Perhaps Wu Zhengrong is such a leader.
The success or failure of the matter is 50-50, and Ye Manzhi is mentally prepared for this result.
As she was thinking this, Wu Zhengrong on the opposite side spoke again.
"Our military representative office is ready to vacate all the temporary housing outside the factory. Xiao Qin will personally go to the street housing management office to handle the vacancy procedures. If you want to rent a house, just make an appointment with Xiao Qin. He will vacate the lease and you can take it. This will save you the hassle of subletting."
“???”
Ye Manyi couldn't help but exclaim, and was surprised by this sudden turn of events.
"Captain Wu, does the factory really not want that temporary housing anymore?"
"Well, we've arranged temporary housing in the family compound, so we won't have to pay for rent anymore." Wu Zhengrong looked at Qin Xiang, who was standing nearby, and said, "Find some time to complete the check-out procedures for the two apartments. This will also help conserve housing resources."
"Oh oh." Qin Xiang's expression was not much smarter than Ye Manzhi's, and he agreed stupidly.
He was saying, how come the boss, who had been a hands-off boss for years, suddenly became concerned about logistics and the issue of turnover housing?
So that’s it, so that’s it!
He looked at Miss Xiaoye, who was as bright as a pearl in the morning dew, and then looked at his own leader who was doing his job impartially. After his eyes moved back and forth between the two of them for a few times, he suddenly said "Oh~~~" as if he had suddenly realized something.
Hearing this convoluted and meaningful "Oh~~~", Ye Manzhi was embarrassed at first, and then her face turned red.
He quickly lowered his head and took a sip of tea.
The last time he blushed, he could say it was because he was drunk, but this time he couldn't find a suitable excuse.
She thought that since the matter had been done, she might as well say goodbye.
Deliberately ignoring the burning sensation on her cheeks, she politely and sincerely thanked Captain Wu for his help.
The invitation to dinner that I had originally prepared could not be brought out in this awkward situation.
She temporarily changed it to, "Thank you for your help this time, Captain Wu. If there's a chance, can I ask my dad to treat you to a meal?"
"Well, I think you mentioned asking your dad to buy me a drink last time."
When Wu Zhengrong talked to people, he always looked focused and was used to looking straight at them, so he did not follow the trend of placing a sofa for guests.
At this time, the two of them sat opposite each other, and Ye Manzhi's embarrassment and shyness were clearly visible.
His eyes fell on her flushed face, and Wu Zhengrong asked half-jokingly and half-seriously, "So, when is your dad going to treat me to a drink?"
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