Mu Zhu entered the room and pulled out a person’s photo, using the small frame as a footrest. Before putting it up, he checked the photo and said: “The weather is getting hot, everything is developing. Here the atmosphere is heavy, and the journey will be tough for you. When the old man leaves, no one will come.”
“I often dry things, and I’ve also killed insects,” Ah Pu’s wife walked over to look at the photo, “You’ve been sick for days, but nothing happened.”
Mu Zhu turned to look at the wild boar eating, seemingly trapped in the room with nowhere to go. She stood at the doorway for a while, met the summer’s gaze, then lowered her head and went to the study room. The TV in the room was still on, playing a noisy song: Singing… mountain facing mountain, bees collecting flowers deep in the mountain, bees not yet collecting flowers, Mu Zhu’s mountain for offering heroes.
Mu Zhu tried calling the section chief but couldn’t get through. The section chief’s phone was hard to reach; he should have another 24-hour emergency line, but Mu Zhu didn’t know it. Finding such a thing publicly, the section chief couldn’t possibly be caught off guard. Standing there, the police were very busy, the procedures were complex, time was long, making people exhausted before getting any results. He wondered if he was too anxious. Actually, as long as there was a reasonable place, wouldn’t it be a fair world? What else could he think?
Summer felt he had changed, his brain constantly turning, or turning but unable to turn out a name. He had tried to set his own rules, not knowing the rules would have been nailed down early; he had tried to challenge conventions, not knowing he was ultimately not that good a Han.
But he was actually a good Han. Even if he fell, he had been a good Han before. Only this kind of goodness had no one to appreciate. In Mu Zhu’s view, those who dare to play with life are good people, while good and evil are another matter.
Summer wondered why he didn’t dare kill more evil people. What if he first met Zhao Yan instead of Wu Ke? Mu Zhu had no headache, her sharp angle touching his side. Summer noticed she had gained some weight. The sharp angle’s gaze was keen, meaningfully smiling: “Men don’t like skinny people, so I’ve gained weight. I’m already 90 pounds now!”
Mu Zhu nodded: “That’s good, little fatty, blessed. You’ve gained weight compared to before.”
“I didn’t look like a woman before?”
“Originally, you looked like nothing special.”
Xie Rui got excited, stepping forward and saying: “Do you want to try with me? Look at your face being grabbed by Empress Wu, I know you’re holding back. You haven’t been to the general’s office for a long time, right? I know, come with me. You’re really a fool. I’m doing well in the shop, I can’t wait to go back.”
Mu Zhu had no face. So he came. If the sharp angle tried another method, he might have followed, but Xie Rui looked at his smile, he must show something.
“You’re not being smart. What’s annoying is Empress Wu! Because I didn’t handle it well, she grabbed me like this,” Summer said.
“But you know, don’t say it out. This is just human nature,” Xie Rui said.
Xie Rui was about to believe or doubt. She had several reasons to be somewhat confident: she knew Summer liked Empress Wu for many years, but had never been particularly close to her. Today’s events might not be what she imagined. Empress Wu was a young middle-aged woman, and in the sharp angle’s eyes, Mu Zhu was indeed quite attractive.
Those who know Xie Xun said: “You should respond to her. I won’t say anything. Sitting like this, you two are not thinking. Although you can’t compare to Ah Ge, you’re still good.”
The deputy director felt relatively relieved. He said: “I’ll consider it again.”
As Ah Pu’s milk passed behind them, the deputy director was worried about whether the old man had heard anything. Looking back, he met Ah Pu’s milk’s sharp eyes, and the deputy director quickly turned his head back, continuing to look at the wild boar. The food on the ground had been swept away, and the wild boars who hadn’t eaten their fill and those who had eaten until their bellies were round were making noises that made one’s hair stand on end.
Xie Xun said: “If you want to negotiate with the director, I’ll find someone else to stand. I’ll definitely find someone, I now have family connections.”
Xie Xun’s tone again displeased the deputy director, who no longer wanted to deal with him. With an empty look, he hung his head and walked away.
Since exposing a side earlier, Zhang Ju’s director had disappeared for two entire months. When the sound was quiet, no one had returned. His disappearance made the deputy director suspect that the old Zhang team had been arrested. The larger the scale of the action, the more it became a serious matter. When they entered the special action group, they had already violated the confidentiality agreement. Once gone, it would vanish like smoke, and no one would know when it would reappear in the world. There were high-ranking officials falling from power in the provincial city, with several tens of thousands of wealthy people being arrested. The provincial leadership was in a state of emergency, so Zhao Yi also went in.
For the Jianghu people, it was clearly a chaotic period. They didn’t know if the old Zhao had been arrested. He was a small character, not like a big shot. Zhao Yi mentioned the case as news, with newspapers and television reporting everywhere. The old Zhao’s information might only be known after Zhang Ju completed the task.
Dong Minyang quickly learned of the turmoil, and the citizens began to show a relaxed mood. Some people even bought things in the supermarket, with cars parked outside the shops, which was unimaginable in the past.
Rumors spread that Dong Minyang was described as a package, a clock, and a type of criminal. Some citizens began to mock Zheng Zhengyang’s car, shouting slogans. For the deputy director, it seemed the tight rope had finally loosened, and he could barely breathe. Not only did the heavens wash the heart, but the old Zhao’s affiliated companies, mines, and industrial groups were also under investigation. Zhao Yi’s horizontal stance this time was unavoidable. So the director and the others didn’t need to stay in Beijing anymore.
The deputy director was very cautious. He believed that before getting a definitive response from Zhang Ju, he couldn’t forget what happened. He gathered the staff who collected intelligence and sent them to Ah Pu’s milk’s travel society, providing accommodation. The director arranged them on the second and third floors, with staff already returning to their units, only looking for the principal’s form shadow, planning to have him stay for a while longer and find the principal.
Every day, everyone gathered in the courtyard to pick mushrooms, and when it was almost mealtime, the women would go to the kitchen to cook, like a small village with a human atmosphere.
Song Gang’s promotion was a sign, and some situations had changed: after this small house incident, Song Ruoer would no longer be alone with the deputy director. She would keep Ah Xiao Ruo by her side at all times. The corner was restless, loving to watch TV and having bought many comic books to watch anime. She would open the TV when picking mushrooms, though she was serious, her eyes still focused on the mushrooms. Only when hearing movement would she reluctantly look up. So getting Xie Xun away from the TV was basically impossible, with only Ah Xiao Ruo being trustworthy.
Su Xiaoruo was Song Ruoer’s loyal little follower, even on the ward, she would not leave her. This time she guessed in Song Ruoer’s heart that her current image was just a flowing mouth. The director only occasionally chatted with her, still smiling, though no longer staying or talking to her.
