Chapter 50

This generation of college students' love is so cruel.

You can persist, but the result of persistence is a long-term separation, like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, only meeting a few times a year.

Transferring from Sige to the capital is harder than going abroad, and transferring from the capital to Sige is equally difficult. Going into business can keep you together, allowing you to reunite every day, but people don't live in a vacuum; you have to consider your families, especially your parents who have worked hard to raise you.

Every year, countless couples face separation at graduation. Seeing this often, one is mentally prepared.

It doesn't matter if it's for a long time; what matters is that you once had it.

They lingered until after 6 PM, only stopping to shower and change clothes when the pager kept ringing. They then went to the lobby to meet two old acquaintances.

Zhuang Xindong, a classmate from the same year but a different major, was the former head of the Student Union's External Affairs Department at Jiangcheng University. His family lived in the suburbs, and he was assigned the best job, working in the Provincial Party Committee's Confidentiality Bureau. Ma Zhigong was not as enlightened as him; he was neither a student party member nor a student union official. They were classmates and roommates for several years and one of his best friends.

"Doctor, postdoc, I knew you guys would be here. If you don't come down, I'll call the police to check the room."

He is in his late twenties, not a teenager.

Moreover, they had been together for more than a day or two. Li Xiaolei, without blushing or feeling nervous, hugged Han Bo's arm and laughed, "Minister Zhuang, my man is a police officer, and I'm a future police wife. All police are one family. If you call, the police station will only invite us to dinner, not do anything to us."

"How did he become a police officer? Wasn't he the deputy head of the security department?"

"He just transferred to the Public Security Bureau. Now he's a police commissioner in a township, a second-level police officer, a genuine police officer."

"Police commissioner, sounds like a guerrilla in the plains. How is your new job? Are you always catching gamblers and prostitutes?"

"I'm in the countryside. Farmers don't have much money to spare for gambling or prostitution."

Zhuang Xindong couldn't help but tease, "Postdoc, I'm not deliberately criticizing your man, but among this batch of student union officials, it seems your postdoc is the worst off. Some have entered local government, some have joined state-owned enterprises, some have entered customs, and some have been admitted to graduate school. He's the first to join the police, and he's in a township."

In terms of appearance, girls from the capital don't rank high nationally. Though they're not ugly, they are rarely naturally beautiful. Their faces aren't as open as those of girls from the northwest, their figures aren't as delicate as those of girls from Sichuan, their skin isn't as good as that of girls from Hunan, and their voices aren't as gentle as those of girls from the south.

When you put all these flaws together and place them on a girl from the capital, they have a special quality, which in the local dialect is described as "spirited," or in more formal terms, "charisma."

They don't suffer any loss, not even a little.

Few are truly introverted; everyone can say a few words in social situations. Their mouths are a weapon, and they can win without a fight.

Li Xiaolei's appearance and personality far exceed the average for girls from the capital. She raised her neck like a swan and asked, "What's wrong with being a police officer? What's wrong with being in a township? At least my postdoc has a gun. Minister Zhuang, you have a high position in the Provincial Party Committee. Do you have a gun?"

"I don't, I'm not as good as your postdoc."

"That's right. Treat us to dinner. Since you're a leader in the Provincial Party Committee."

Arguing with her is asking for trouble, so Zhuang Xindong quickly said, "It's all arranged. The usual place, just waiting for you two."

"You're a leader in the Provincial Party Committee. Why the usual place? Can't we go somewhere a bit more upscale?"

He likes to see her stand up for him and loves her tough exterior and soft heart, but unfortunately, they have no future together. In a few days, they will part ways. Han Bo touched his chin and smiled, "Xiaolei, the usual place is fine, it's close."

"Did you hear that? The guest is the postdoc, and I respect the guest's opinion."

It was still the "usual place," the same private room as at noon, and the dishes were almost the same.

He can't drink, but Li Xiaolei can. The two rascals kept drinking cup after cup. She appeared to be chatting and laughing, but she was actually in a bad mood, wanting to drown her sorrows. She didn't refuse any drinks, raising the bottle with the two rascals, and a box of beer was quickly finished.

"Han Bo, my head hurts, I feel bad, let me lie down..."

"I told you to drink less, but you insisted. Come, lie here."

Han Bo adjusted his position to make her more comfortable, gently patted her back, and asked, "Old Zhuang, how did your inquiries go? Can you find any connections?"

"Police involvement in economic disputes is illegal."

"I'm here as a government official of Liangzhuang Township, not to threaten or arrest anyone. Besides, our township construction company and the client only have a creditor-debtor relationship, with no disputes over the debt."

"You sound like you really know the law. I've been busy writing materials and haven't had time to help you. I can only give you a few business cards. Vice President Sun just transferred to the District Committee, as a member and deputy secretary. He should remember you, and you can ask him for help. These are all street officials I met before graduation, not close friends, but you can try calling them."

As the head of the Student Union's External Affairs Department, he knows many people. He pulled out a dozen or so business cards from his wallet.

Ma Zhigong put down his cup and burped, "Don't look at me. My parents don't deal much with local government, and we're not in the same district, so I don't have any connections."

"It's fine. Even if I have no connections and no one can help, I still have to get the money. Don't laugh, but the entire township of over 300 officials and teachers are waiting for this money to pay their salaries."

This is Jiangcheng, not some remote corner. Zhuang Xindong, fearing he might cause trouble, asked with concern, "How do you plan to get the money?"

"Tomorrow, I'll first talk to them as a lawyer. I really know the law; I just took the bar exam and have a lawyer's license. I'm not joking. If they're willing to pay, I'll take a few hundred thousand and go back to report. The rest can be settled with a repayment agreement. If they still dodge and refuse to cooperate, I won't need to give them any face.

We have a construction site in Jiangcheng. I'll call a hundred or so workers to block their doors, put up banners, and shout slogans. They'll eat, drink, and sleep there. If they still don't resolve it, I'll call home and bring a few trucks of old cadres and construction workers who haven't been paid for years to block the Yangtze River Bridge. That's too extreme, so I'll find a tall building to climb. If we can't live, and they don't pay, we'll jump, scaring them to death."

Ma Zhigong was speechless, and Zhuang Xindong realized he wasn't joking. He warned seriously, "Han Bo, don't be foolish. Causing trouble in the provincial capital, if you do this, not only will you be in trouble, but your leaders will also be held accountable."

"It won't happen. Old cadres and farmers who haven't been paid will petition. My role is to intercept and resolve the conflict. I'll send a few people from the bus station to intercept them one by one if possible. A few officials will go to the scene to do patient work. Who can say we're not doing our job?" Han Bo was well-prepared and confident.

"Do you think the leaders are fools?"

"Debt must be repaid, it's a matter of justice. Farmers have it hard, and rural work is tough. I'll choose officials with weathered faces, calloused hands, and tattered clothes to eat dry food with tap water and do the work. The provincial leaders will understand and forgive us. They might even be moved by our plight and give us a few hundred thousand in poverty alleviation funds."

"You're crazy!"

"I'm forced to do this. Besides, I'm just a small police officer, not from the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau. What do I have to fear? As long as I get the money, I'll be a hero, and the township will praise me, not criticize me."

The police are managed by both the central and local governments, but mainly by the local government.

County officials are less powerful than those in charge. For a grassroots police officer, it's better to offend the provincial department than the local government. As he said, as long as he gets the money, the local government will praise him. If higher-ups hold him accountable, they might just transfer him to another unit.

These days, being a police officer has no future. Perhaps he wants to cause some trouble.

Zhuang Xindong was thoroughly convinced and pointed at him, "Brother, I didn't hear anything, I don't know anything. I don't know you, and you don't know me. If you get the money, I'll be happy for you. If you don't and cause trouble, it's not my problem."

He had just started working in the Provincial Party Committee and had to be cautious. He couldn't get involved in such a serious "mass incident." Han Bo laughed, "Don't worry, I'll take responsibility for my actions. I won't drag you into it."

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