Chapter 6 (Part 1)
Cheng Zhao is a man who can't sit still. It's rare for his butt to stick to the boss chair in the office. And there's a strange rule: if he sits in this chair for more than an hour, something bad is very likely to happen. That day, Cheng Zhao was in the office calculating profits and costs with the project manager, finance staff and other personnel for a bidding matter for a client company. Unknowingly, the whole morning had passed. Since it was time for lunch, he had to express his gratitude and couldn't just run away without saying a word. "What do you want to eat for lunch? Japanese, Western, Sichuan or Cantonese? It's my treat!" Before he could collect opinions, his cell phone rang. It was Ding Lou, the manager in charge of community maintenance. Old new villages such as Changhe and Changwang were recently undergoing renovation projects, and the construction period was very tight. Ding Lou was patrolling back and forth in several communities throughout the day, so that any problems could be solved in a timely manner. If he encountered a problem that he couldn't solve, he would call Cheng Zhao. "Brother Cheng, I'm in Changwang New Village, right below the building where your hometown is. Your hometown is Building 24, right?" Cheng Zhao frowned, "Is it worth it for you to call me to tell me? Do you want to carve "Ding Lou was here" on the wall?" Everyone else in the office was amused and said that Ding Lou was indeed a fool sometimes. Ding Lou quickly explained, "No, no, I ran into trouble in Building 24." "Then tell me!" "There's a stutterer named Mai in Building 24. Do you know him?" "No impression. A tenant?" "A local. I don't know where he came from." "Speak to the point!" "Aren't our people repairing the green belt here? This old Mai lives on the first floor and has an electric car. He built a charging parking space at the door without permission, which is inconsistent with the construction drawings we got." "Of course we have to follow the construction drawings, otherwise how can we do the acceptance?" "That's what I said. The workers flattened the piece of land that he blocked yesterday and laid the fence bricks. When I came over this morning, hey! It was all knocked down by old Mai. I asked the workers to lay it again, and halfway through, old Mai came back. He was so aggressive! He came up and kicked all the bricks. If I hadn't warned the workers in advance, the two of them would have started fighting on the spot!" "So what's the situation now?" "The situation is, Old Mac won't let us do it, he's not even going to work, he's just squatting outside his house! There's a whole row of neighbors watching the fun, and they heard this guy is really stubborn and won't listen to his wife or his father. I'm just waiting for your opinion, Brother Cheng, are you going to teach him a lesson?" "Teach him a lesson? How are you going to teach him a lesson? Beat him up? With so many people watching, it's not a good influence." "I'll wait until tonight! I'll find two people to...
Cheng Zhao is a person who can't sit still. His butt rarely sticks to the boss chair in the office. And there is a strange rule: once he sits in this chair for more than an hour, something bad is likely to happen.
That day, Cheng Zhao was in the office calculating profits and costs for a client company's bidding project with the project manager, finance staff, and others. Unconsciously, the entire morning had passed. Since it was time for lunch, he had to show his support and couldn't just leave without saying anything.
"What do you want to eat for lunch? Japanese, Western, Sichuan, or Cantonese? It's my treat!"
Before opinions could be collected, the cell phone rang. It was Ding Lou, the manager in charge of community maintenance. Changhe, Changwang and other old villages were recently undergoing renovation projects, and the construction period was tight. Ding Lou patrolled back and forth in several communities throughout the day to solve any problems in a timely manner. If he encountered a problem that he could not solve, he would call Cheng Zhao.
"Brother Cheng, I'm in Changwang New Village, right below the building where your old home is. Your old home is Building 24, right?"
Cheng Zhao frowned. "Is it worth it for you to call me to tell me this? Do you want to carve a "Dinglou was here" on the wall?"
Everyone else in the office was amused and said that Ding Lou was indeed a bit of a fool sometimes.
Ding Lou quickly explained, "No, no, I ran into trouble in Building 24."
"Then you tell me!"
"There's a stutterer named Mai in Building 24. Do you know him?"
"No impression, tenant?"
"A local guy, he came out of nowhere."
"Get to the point!"
"Aren't our people working on the green belt here? This old Mac lives on the first floor and has an electric car. He built a charging station right outside the door without permission. It doesn't match the construction drawings we got."
"Of course we have to follow the construction drawings, otherwise how will we handle the inspection?"
"That's what I said. The workers leveled the piece of land he was blocking yesterday and laid the fence bricks. But when I came over this morning, hey! Old Mac had knocked it all down. I asked the workers to rebuild it, but when they were halfway through, Old Mac came back and, like, what a jerk! He came up and kicked all the bricks over. If I hadn't warned the workers beforehand, they would have started fighting right there!"
"So what's the situation now?"
"The situation is, Old Mac won't let us do it, and he's even skipped work, just squatting outside his house! There are all these neighbors watching the fun. They heard this guy is incredibly stubborn and won't listen to his wife or his father. I'm just waiting for your opinion, Brother Cheng. Are you going to put this guy in a good place?"
"Clean up? How are you going to clean up? Beat him up? With so many people watching, it will have a bad influence."
"I'll wait until tonight! Find two people to catch him and have a good talk with him. I don't believe he's that stubborn!"
"Why are you being so naive again? I've told you so many times, we're running a company and doing business now, so we need to be as formal as possible. Did it come easy for me to get this project? We can't let anyone catch us!"
"Well, what do you say we should do now?"
"Call the police! Act according to the law, okay? Okay, I'll go report it—that guy's still in Building 24, fighting with Old Mac."
"Well, the bricklayer is Old Chapman."
"Got it. Go ahead and do your thing, and leave this to me."
Putting down his phone, Cheng Zhao spread his hands towards the others, "Nothing can be done. I have to go deal with a dispute. You guys can eat yourselves. Old Tang, you pay the bill and I'll reimburse you later!"
After leaving the company, Cheng Zhao went to the parking lot to pick up his car. On the way, he dialed 110 and told the police the truth about the dispute that took place downstairs of Building 24, Changwang New Village. The police promised to respond within half an hour.
When Cheng Zhao arrived at Changwang New Village, he happened to see a police car entering the community gate in front of him, with red and blue police lights flashing. After turning two corners in the community, it stopped in front of Building 24. The car door opened, and out came the police officer Lao Dong, whom Cheng Zhao had known for more than ten years.
The arrival of the police car shocked the onlookers, and everyone immediately made way for Lao Dong and others. In the center of the crowd, Lao Mai, the victim who was defending the parking space, and Lao Cha, a construction worker, were still arguing, but both sides seemed weak.
Old Dong walked up to the two of them and asked, "What's going on?"
Old Dong had been a police officer in this area for many years and was well known to the neighbors. As soon as he asked, someone eagerly explained the situation. Old Dong waved his hand and said, "Let them talk."
Old Cha stood up, still clutching the construction blueprints. "Officer, I was assigned by the property management to do renovations in the residential complex. When I came across this building, this guy came out to cause trouble. He knocked down the fence I built twice. We pay by the number of tasks, and he did this to me, and I lost a day's salary!"
When Cheng Zhao pushed his way through the crowd, Old Dong had already understood the entire incident and was scolding Old Mai, "Don't you understand such a simple truth?"
Old Mai stiffened his neck and said, "I have the final say on the land in front of my house!"
"You have the final say in your family, but the area in front of your home is public land, and it should be in everyone's interest. You can't do whatever you want!"
"I don't care! If anyone dares to lay bricks here, I'll keep kicking them!"
Cheng Zhao was delighted to hear this. This Old Mai was really a strange guy. He dared to confront Old Dong. It seemed that he was definitely not an old resident of Changwang New Village. His eyes involuntarily slid to Old Dong's waist, where a pair of shiny handcuffs were attached.
As expected, Old Dong's face darkened and he reached for his waist. "Alright! Since this doesn't make sense here, I'll take you where it does. Come here, why are you hiding?"
Old Mai desperately clung to the wall with both hands, staring at the handcuffs in Old Dong's hands in horror. "What's the big deal? What did I do?"
Old Dong said sternly: "You have damaged public facilities and violated the Public Security Administration Punishment Law. I have the right to arrest you!"
When the neighbors saw that it was true, they all tried to persuade Lao Mai.
"Forget it! It's not worth going in for such a small thing!"
"That's right! Going to jail will definitely leave a stain on your reputation, and it will affect the younger generation!"
"If you go in, my son and daughter won't be able to hope to become civil servants in the future!"
Old Mai quickly gave in, not only admitting his mistake but also paying Old Cha one thousand yuan for materials and lost wages. The matter was satisfactorily resolved, and the onlookers dispersed contentedly. It was time to go home and cook.
Old Dong was also preparing to go back, but when he turned around, he saw Cheng Zhao standing behind him with a respectful look on his face.
"Uncle Dong."
Old Dong nodded at him, "Did you call the police?"
"Um."
"Very good. If you encounter such a scoundrel, there's no point in getting into a fight with him. Last week, there was a dispute in Yongsheng New Village, similar to today's. The workers couldn't help themselves and beat up the other party. Now one is in the hospital and the other has been detained. Why bother?"
When Cheng Zhao was in his twenties, he was defeated by Lao Dong in a fight. Lao Dong taught Cheng Zhao a lesson and let him go.
"This time it's because the situation is not serious, but next time I catch you, no matter what the situation is, I will not let you get away with it easily."
From that time on, Cheng Zhao learned to control his anger and not resort to violence easily. Of course, there were still times when he couldn't control himself, and even though he was discreet and measured in his attacks, some rumors inevitably reached Old Dong's ears. Cheng Zhao understood that Old Dong was really doing this for his own good when he scolded him.
"I know, Uncle Dong, if you want to work, you still have to follow the law."
A smile finally appeared on the old boss's tense face. "You've become much more sensible—let's go!"
"Uncle Dong has worked hard."
Worker Lao Cha came over to greet Cheng Zhao. He was cheered up by the successful resolution of the matter, but he couldn't help but confide in Cheng Zhao about the grievances he had suffered. Cheng Zhao chatted with him for a while, urging him to hurry back to work. Lao Cha agreed and went back to work.
Cheng Zhao looked up at Building 24. He lived on the fourth floor, Gan Ling's on the third. There was a protruding area on the second-floor landing, with two glass windows facing outward. Sitting by the window, one could see everything happening within a hundred meters, making it perfect for keeping watch. Gan Wenkang often sat there. He had limited mobility, but he didn't want to stay cooped up at home all the time, so that area became his window to observe the outdoors.
Gan Wenkang wasn't on the platform right now; he'd probably gone back to eat. Cheng Zhao didn't want to see him either. Teacher Gan was one of the few people in the world he feared.
Before he could turn around, a figure suddenly stretched out from the platform window and yelled at Cheng Zhao, "Zhao, wait a minute! My water heater is leaking again. Can you come up and take a look?"
Without even looking up, Cheng Zhao could tell the hoarse voice belonged to Old Chen on the fifth floor. He was the most troublesome person on the 24th floor. But Cheng Zhao agreed out of courtesy. They were from the same village, and since he didn't come back often, he would always help the neighbors if they asked for help.
He climbed up the stairs slowly and passed by Gan's house on the third floor. The door was surprisingly open. Gan Wenkang was standing inside the door with the help of a cane, looking out thoughtfully. It seemed that he had heard the hustle and bustle downstairs from inside the house, but because of his mobility problems, he could not go there physically but yearned for it in his heart.
Cheng Zhao's chest was beating like a drum, pounding hard a few times. He slowed down, licked his lips, and whispered, "Teacher Gan."
Gan Wenkang opened his mouth, perhaps wanting to ask him something, but then felt Cheng Zhao was unreliable. He hesitated for a few seconds, then gave up, nodded, and said nothing. Cheng Zhao lowered his head and walked past him cautiously.
Cheng Zhao stayed at Old Chen's house for seven or eight minutes without accomplishing anything. He patted the broken water heater that had been used for decades and said, "Uncle Chen, get a new one! This one is completely scrapped!"
Old Chen sighed and groaned as he stood around the water heater, unable to hide his reluctance to leave.
"I've been saying it's time to change! Old Chen refused, so now he's giving up!" Old Chen's wife, Aunt Kang, brought the food to the table and enthusiastically called out to Cheng Zhao, "Ah Zhao, stay and have dinner!"
Cheng Zhao scratched the bridge of his nose. "Thank you, Auntie. I have something else to do! Maybe next time!"
"No matter how busy you are, you still have to eat, right?"
Old Chen said, "Azhao is used to eating meals cooked by chefs. How could he be impressed by your cooking skills?"
Cheng Zhao suddenly felt embarrassed. "Uncle Chen, don't talk nonsense. I love the food cooked by Aunt Kang the most."
"Then stay and eat together!"
"OK!"
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