Chapter 20

Duxiaohu stood to one side, dumbfounded, watching as Lu Zhen helped Tong Susu lay out the new bedding. He had no idea where this pretty girl had suddenly come from. He had wanted to help, but this pretty girl was very domineering and wouldn't let him touch her things, saying that men were dirty except for Zhenzi.

Isn't Brother Zhenzi a man too? Duxiaohu thought to himself, puzzled.

It was a very ordinary rural courtyard with a row of houses. The hall was the kitchen, but Lu Zhen and Duxiahu rarely cooked there.

Lu Zhen usually slept in the east room, which also served as a living room. Around a glass coffee table was a circle of beige fabric sofas, and against the wall was a TV cabinet with a 14-inch black and white TV.

Tong Susu smiled and said, "Zhenzi, you two live quite comfortably." She hadn't expected that these two soldiers would be so good at enjoying life. Not only did they have a TV in one room, but Lu Zhen had also told her that there was a shower in the side room, and the black cylinder on the roof was for heating water.

"What do you manage? Oh, right, speculation and profiteering, right? You must have made a lot of money, haven't you?" Tong Susu's eyes scanned Lu Zhen and Duxiaohu, thinking that it must be this little Duxiaohu who was good at making money. This guy looked sly, not like a good person, while Lu Zhen was straightforward and often got taken advantage of by him.

If Duxiaohu knew what Tong Susu was thinking, he would probably cry out in protest.

"Alright, you should rest early." After Lu Zhen finished laying out the bed, he threw her a white shirt and said, "There are no women's clothes, so you can change into this after your bath."

Tong Susu nodded. Seeing Lu Zhen and Duxiaohu about to leave, she hesitated for a moment and said, "Zhenzi, can you stay and chat with me?"

Lu Zhen knew she must be very agitated today and smiled, "Alright." He gave Duxiaohu a look, and Duxiaohu left, closing the door behind him.

Lu Zhen turned on the TV and sat back on the sofa. It was time for "Huo Yuanjia," and the characters were fighting with shouts. After a moment, Lu Zhen turned off the TV.

Tong Susu sat on the edge of the bed, her posture as graceful and alluring as if she were hosting a talk show, her delicate, white legs forming a beautiful curve. She bit her lip and said, "Zhenzi, can you go to my cousin's place tomorrow and bring my things? I don't want to go back. I'll stay here for a while." She quickly added, "Don't worry, I'll pay rent. I think staying at a hotel is too expensive, and I don't have a job to get a referral letter. Besides, I have some money, which you returned to me. It's the savings I've accumulated from school to work. I want to use this money to find out if I can help my father, even a little bit." Her eyes welled up with tears.

At first, Lu Zhen instinctively wanted to refuse when Tong Susu said she wanted to stay for a while, but he couldn't bring himself to say no when he heard her last words. He sighed and said, "You can stay, but regarding your father's matter, I think it's best not to meddle. Otherwise, you won't help but cause more trouble!" His tone became serious, "You must listen to me on this. This is not a game."

Tong Susu's eyes welled up again, and she said, "But, I can't just stand by and watch."

Lu Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll help you find out from the side. You know what I do, it's better than you running around aimlessly."

Tong Susu knew she couldn't do anything about her father's matter. She gently wiped her eyes and nodded, but in her heart, she knew that Lu Zhen was just saying this. How could he have the means to find out about city matters?

Lu Zhen thought for a moment and said, "You should take some time to rest and then find a job. You can't let your life be ruined because of your uncle's matter."

As he spoke, Lu Zhen stood up, "Alright, rest easy. I'll help you find out about your matter." Feeling Tong Susu's closeness, Lu Zhen naturally treated her as one of his own, with the intention of protecting and taking care of this childhood friend.

...

The next day, Lu Zhen went to Tong Susu's cousin's place to get her things. As he passed the county government compound, he saw that the county guesthouse was being demolished with a loud noise. Lu Zhen was surprised; Liu Baojun's actions were too quick. Clearly, many of his words had struck a chord with him.

When he returned in the evening, Tong Susu was gone, leaving a note saying she had gone to Wushan.

A few days later, Lu Zhen discovered that an envelope of money in his bedroom was missing. He guessed that Tong Susu had taken it without asking, not even mentioning it in her note. It was almost like theft.

Lu Zhen wasn't angry. The envelope contained about a thousand yuan, which was a huge sum in those days. Tong Susu must have felt hopeful, thinking she could use this money to help her parents. Lu Zhen understood her reluctance to mention taking the money in the note.

For a once proud and strong girl to fall from a princess to a thief, what a cruel blow it must have been.

For over half a month, there was no word from Tong Susu, while the county guesthouse underwent rapid changes. The new entrance was gradually taking shape, and the first neon sign in Guangning County was erected, attracting many people's attention.

On a cloudy afternoon, Lu Zhen was in his office, studying how to help a suspect accused of speculation and profiteering. Since he became the deputy director of the Strike Office, he had handled a few cases involving officials from other regions and power units engaging in speculation and profiteering. However, he was very lenient with the small-time traders who were resourceful and ran their own businesses. Of course, he couldn't openly protect anyone, but he handled these cases with great leniency. After all, these people were capable.

The case in front of him involved a private sunflower seed workshop from another region. The workshop was in a difficult situation because it employed many workers and was shut down by the local government due to public complaints.

Employing workers was a characteristic of capitalists, and the relationship between factory owners and workers was one of exploitation. This should not happen in a socialist country, right?

If the sunflower seed workshop were in Wushan, a coastal open city, it would have special policies and be more tolerant of private enterprises. However, the country was still far from a unified ideology on how to proceed with reform and opening up, and there was no clear theoretical basis. Therefore, policies varied from province to province, city to city, and county to county, depending on the leaders' positions and personal preferences.

Why was the sunflower seed factory located in a region where the leaders were both red and specialized? So, when the "public anger" was heard, the workshop was quickly sealed, and the factory manager was arrested. They also sent documents to neighboring counties and cities, asking for cooperation in confiscating the workshop's products.

The sunflower seed workshop was small, and its main market was the nearby Wushan City. The main target of the document was the relevant regions and departments in Wushan.

The suspect involved in the case in Guangning County was a middleman who resold the sunflower seeds. In Lu Zhen's eyes, this person was the general agent of the sunflower seeds in Guangning.

Lu Zhen thought to himself that although the sunflower seed factory was small, its sales concept was quite advanced.

While Lu Zhen was pondering how to help this middleman, the door to his office was knocked on. A tall and robust police officer, Deputy Chief Sun Jie of the Public Security Department, entered.

Recently, the police officers in the bureau, regardless of necessity, liked to wear their uniforms. There was no other reason; this red-collar, blue police uniform wouldn't be worn for much longer. Last year, the police in the capital had already changed to new uniforms, and this year, the first-tier cities were also changing. Politically, Wushan wasn't considered a first-tier city, but as a coastal open city, it had special policies. There was news that by mid-next month, the Wushan police system would change from the blue uniform to the new olive green uniform.

However, since Lu Zhen came to the Administration for Industry and Commerce, he often wore civilian clothes during office hours. The few police officers who followed him also liked to wear civilian clothes, only changing into their uniforms when going out on duty. As the political commissar said, most of the cases they handled were internal disputes among the people, and wearing civilian clothes was more approachable.

So, when Sun Jie entered with a spirited look, Lu Zhen was a bit surprised. Police officers looked more official in their uniforms.

Sun Jie's face was not very good. After sitting down next to Lu Zhen, he drank a few gulps of tea and said angrily, "Commissar, Gao Zhikai said you should hand over your gun."

Lu Zhen was slightly taken aback, not because Gao Zhikai was causing trouble again, but because of Sun Jie's tone. In the past, although Sun Jie, as the deputy chief of the Public Security Department, supported his work, their relationship was not particularly close. Today, however, he sounded very angry about Gao Zhikai wanting to take his gun.

At that time, gun management was not very strict, even loose. Not to mention local areas, even in the military, it was common for veterans to bring back a lot of ammunition. With the existence of the militia and reserve forces, guns were not taboo items for ordinary people, let alone the police.

The county bureau's chief, deputy chief, and the heads of each police station all carried guns year-round. However, Lu Zhen's gun was usually carried by Duxiaohu. The few police officers temporarily assigned to the Strike Office's enforcement team also had a Type 54 pistol each.

From Sun Jie's words, Lu Zhen knew that Gao Zhikai was not asking for the Type 54 pistol of the enforcement team but his own gun.

Lu Zhen smiled and said, "Are you here to collect the gun?"

Sun Jie certainly didn't want to collect Lu Zhen's gun. Although he didn't respect his superior much in the past, he had always cooperated with Lu Zhen's work. After all, success was a shared honor. If the Public Security Department did well, the head would have more clout in the bureau, and the officers would stand tall.

Especially after Lu Zhen solved the June 15th case, Sun Jie and his colleagues felt proud and were indignant about Lu Zhen being marginalized.

Now, Gao Zhikai wanted to take Lu Zhen's gun, and Sun Jie was even more upset. Gao Zhikai neither supervised the Public Security Department nor was the chief of the bureau. Why should he order him to collect the gun?

Sun Jie's anger was not just for Lu Zhen but also because of the power struggle. After all, the Public Security Department managed the distribution and supervision of guns in the bureau. Gao Zhikai, who was not the supervisor, was interfering and giving orders, which made Sun Jie very unhappy.

However, Gao Zhikai was a bureau leader, and Sun Jie didn't dare to confront him directly. He came to Lu Zhen to see what he would do.

He also had a bit of a troublemaking mindset. With the young commissar's temper, he might return to the bureau and have a big argument with Gao Zhikai, which would vent his anger.

So, when Lu Zhen asked, Sun Jie's face was full of anger and grievance, "Leader, how can I do that? No matter how much Gao Zhikai pressures me, I can't do such a despicable thing. Not to mention that you are still our leader, even if you weren't, as long as I'm in the Public Security Department, no one can take your gun! Besides, what is Gao Zhikai? If it weren't for you solving the case and cleaning up his mess, he would have blood on his hands! Whether you should carry a gun or not, it's none of his business!"

Lu Zhen nodded slightly, not saying anything. If it were in the past, he would have been furious and gone to the bureau to confront Gao Zhikai. Of course, in the past, he wouldn't have left the bureau after solving a big case.

Sun Jie didn't expect Lu Zhen to react so calmly, feeling a bit disappointed and still a bit hopeful, he asked, "Commissar, what should we do?"

Lu Zhen said calmly, "What can we do? Tell Gao Zhikai that I won't hand over the gun, and it's none of his business. If Ma Yuewu wants me to hand over the gun, let him come and talk to me himself." Ma Yuewu was now in charge of the Public Security Department, and Lu Zhen's stance was clear; he wouldn't tolerate Gao Zhikai's provocation.

Sun Jie was stunned, looking at Lu Zhen. Was this still the same leader he used to have?

Lu Zhen knew that although he had been forced to leave the bureau, he was still a leader. He couldn't act like a pushover, or no one would take him seriously.

In the political arena, one must be soft when necessary and firm when necessary.

In the past, he wasn't not firm, but he was firm in the wrong way, so the bureau leaders, though they all found him a headache, looked down on him.

Sun Jie hesitated, still unwilling to give up, and asked, "So, should I go back now?"

Lu Zhen raised his eyes and said, "Yes, go back and tell Gao Zhikai what I said."

Sun Jie scratched his head and left, still puzzled. How did the stubborn commissar suddenly become so composed?