Chapter 275: The Bright Spot

It wasn’t until the National Army, in cooperation with the police, launched several crackdowns, executed a batch of criminals for “sabotaging strategic communication lines,” and sent hundreds of men, women, and children to labor reform that this trend was finally curbed.

Just as the trend of stealing telegraph wires was halted by harsh laws, Shao Zong suffered the biggest blow since his transmigration. He had already set his eyes on a maid student at the maid school, preparing to take her as his “second life secretary.” However, when allocating housing, he had underestimated his physiological needs. He had bought a small apartment and had no space to accommodate the newcomer. His current maid’s room was already small enough, only able to fit a single bed and a cabinet.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible to replace the bed in the maid’s room with a bunk bed or simply set up a makeshift bed in the living room. Many Elders with a second secretary made do this way. But Elder Shao Zong had always been very concerned about the quality of life of his staff. While he was hesitating on how to come up with the most suitable plan, this student was actually bought by someone else.

Of course, no one was to blame for this, neither the maid school authorities nor the Elder who bought his intended. No one knew his intentions. The most baffling thing was that at a time when maids were in low demand and hundreds of A-grade maids had been waiting for years without any takers, such a low-probability event would occur.

Since she had already been bought by someone else, there was no reason to ask for her back. Shao Zong had to endure it, and with that, he lost all interest in expanding his household.

Starting from this dramatic event, coupled with the hardship of taking turns on the construction sites, Shao Zong gradually changed his attitude and became—in his own words—a “doomsayer.” Shan Liang often complained about his petty-bourgeois weakness: a self-motivated five-coupon supporter who, because his enthusiasm was not valued by the “Executive Committee,” swung to the other extreme. He was just short of shouting at the Executive Committee’s door every day: “Wen Zong, Governor Ma, it’s me, Shao Zong!” However, having one less opponent in the department wasn’t a bad thing. The relationship among the Elders in the telecom department became harmonious again. Li Yunxing was no longer worried about personal conflicts affecting work; now he had to hide from the Executive Committee that this place had become a den of slackers…

“What big news can I make? I’m almost a past-due product,” Shan Liang said, pulling out a pack of Holy Ship cigarettes and tossing one to Shao Zong.

“I’d rather have a cigar.”

“What kind of smoke do you call it if you don’t inhale?” Shan Liang lit his own and took a deep drag. “What news am I supposed to make now? Everyone’s pretending they don’t know me.” He blew a smoke ring. “This Yang Jihong case seems to have deep waters. A lot of people are eyeing it.”

“Everyone’s excitement lately is focused on Yang Jihong’s big boobs case. I see you’re not talking to Yang Bailao and just bumping around everywhere. Seems like you haven’t found the right path.”

Shan Liang hadn’t really paid much attention to the Yang Jihong case. He had read the weekly bulletin about it. There was some potential for gain, but not much. In his current state, even if he jumped in, he probably couldn’t stir up anything new.

Of course, if connected to the rumor he was currently working on about the abolition of the maid school, it could be seen as part of the same thread, both involving the issue of maids in Lingao.

The current situation was that the rumor of the school’s abolition was baseless. Further action on his part was unlikely to lead to a breakthrough. It might be better to return to the Yang Jihong case and see if there were any “bright spots.”

However, besides reading the official announcements from the Elder Council, Shan Liang lacked firsthand information on the matter. Coincidentally, Shao Zong had brought briefings, internal communications, forum discussions, and records of various word-of-mouth rumors since the incident occurred.

Shan Liang silently looked at the documents in the manila envelope, shaking his head inwardly. It wasn’t that the information was messy—why the hell are you using official ‘Lingao Telecom’ letterhead to record this stuff, and this handwriting… did you have a secretary copy it?! Shan Liang facepalmed. This guy has the self-awareness not to be in the opposition…

“This thing, I don’t see much to it.” During this time, Shao Zong had only ordered a glass of watermelon juice to pass the time. Seeing that Shan Liang had put down the documents and had been thinking for a while, he let out a sentence in Sichuan dialect.

“Oh?” Shan Liang looked up, a little curious. Judging by the richness of the information Shao Zong had collected, he even began to suspect who really wanted to make big news, only to receive such a suggestion.

“Old Shan, you have your own ideas, so I’m just talking nonsense,” Shao Zong said casually. “I heard Yang Xinwu is complaining about having nowhere to turn, that he can’t even protect his own woman when something happens, and that this is a manifestation of the marginalization of ‘soy sauce’ Elders, and so on.”

“I think that’s bullshit.” For a moment, Shan Liang thought Shao Zong had gone back to being a self-motivated supporter. Shao Zong quickly explained, “Old Shan, don’t look at me like that… Think about it. If Wen’s or Ma’s maid had committed such an act, wouldn’t there have been an impeachment case against them long ago? To clear their own names, would that maid have any chance of being saved? Elder Yang’s thinking is just not clear.”

Shan Liang frowned but didn’t interrupt Shao Zong.

“What is Yang Bailao really after? If it’s just to save big boobs’ life, in fact, no one wants to kill this maid. He’s already been given assurances that a pregnant woman won’t be sent to prison in the end. It’s said, just said,” Shao Zong’s expression turned sarcastic, “that Elder Yang wants the legal department to arrange some kind of acquittal, saying it’s bad for the child.”

Shan Liang laughed. “Actually, if it’s bad for the child, he shouldn’t be making such a fuss. The more he stirs things up, the more everyone will remember this Yang Jihong murder case… uh, no, intentional injury causing death.” Thanks to the legal education from the old time and space, although the legal department’s discussions hadn’t been leaked on the Lingao BBS, it didn’t stop most people from guessing a rough outcome based on the laws of the old world. No one mentioned things like the Great Ming Code.

“So what Yang Xinwu needs isn’t the law, it’s the Men in Black. A flash of the little stick and everyone forgets this ever happened, then his wish would be granted,” Shao Zong said, finishing his watermelon juice. “By the way, Ji Xin is the defense lawyer in this case.”

“I know that. Old Ji is a good guy, just stubborn.” Shan Liang recalled the slight twitch at the corner of Elder Cheng’s mouth when she mentioned Ji Xin, and he couldn’t help but find it amusing how this man, who was like dead wood and cold ashes, could provoke Sister Cheng to such an extent.

“Now we can only lead it down the path of accountability.” Seeing that Shan Liang was still listening, Shao Zong continued, “Speaking of which, I’m quite dissatisfied with the police department. I heard that to secure a solid case, they waited a whole week for the autopsy even when the evidence was conclusive! You have to be responsible for the involved Elder, but you’re just going to ignore the calls from us residents in this community for a swift resolution? How about you tackle this, Old Shan?”

Shan Liang shook his head. This could only be considered nitpicking. Besides, the other side could easily say they waited for Mu Min to return to handle it because it involved an Elder. And from a procedural legality standpoint, there was no fault to find with the security forces or the General Office. If he went through the trouble of questioning them, he would inevitably be accused of making a mountain out of a molehill.

“And then, the management of the maid school definitely has problems, but well, their principal is Dong Weiwei…” Shao Zong’s meaning was clear: you were the “movement leader” back in the day, after all. Even if you’ve been less prominent these past few years, your first shot back can’t be aimed at a female Elder…

Shan Liang wasn’t too concerned about gender. He said, “There’s not much to gain from Dong Weiwei. At most, if we make a big deal out of it, she’ll be forced to step down and just get another official position somewhere else. What’s the use of that? She might even resign in the next few days.”

For the current Lingao regime, the officialdom had too few carrots and too many holes to fill. Resigning had no practical use beyond its symbolic meaning.

A thought flashed through his mind. Right, if Dong Weiwei resigns in the next few days, it means the school’s abolition is real. According to the usual MO of the Executive Committee, they always had to extract value from everything. Since the maid school was to be abolished, Dong Weiwei could very well absolve herself of responsibility by resigning.

“Going further up, the maid school is under the General Office, so we could bring up Xiao Zishan’s issue…”

“Xiao Zishan has nothing to gain from either. He’s always been good at disguising himself and is a master at winning over Elders. Many people are deceived by him.” Shan Liang shook his head, blowing a smoke ring. “He’s popular, and we don’t have any real dirt. Talking about leadership responsibility is useless except for making enemies.”

After all this, Shao Zong felt that the pile of materials he had collected seemed to have limited significance.

“Let me take a closer look,” Shan Liang thought. My goal right now isn’t to overthrow a committee member or some powerful Elder, nor is it about re-election. The key is to make people remember: Shan Liang is still active, still shouting for the rights of the broad mass of Elders. The sole purpose is to maintain my presence.

Shao Zong shrugged. “Of course, we’ve always been superficial in our views, haha. I’m just saying. Anyway, the legal department is still having their endless meetings. You can just wait and see.”

“This bag of documents?”

“It’s yours for now. Return it to me when you’re done.” A hungry expression had already appeared on Shao Zong’s face. He quickly cleared the table, and Shao Zong impatiently rang the bell, calling in the waitress.

“Come on, waitress, bring the food, bring the food! I’m eating on your tab tonight, hahaha!”

“Eat on my tab then. It’s fine.” Shan Liang cursed inwardly, Your own fieldwork allowance is no less than mine, and you’re still freeloading.

The two ate and drank while chatting idly. Shao Zong started recounting his “painful history,” and then began the usual male boasting:

“If it weren’t for the house being too small, I couldn’t manage a platoon, but I would have assembled a squad’s worth by now. Now I have to make do with just one maid, and I can’t even go at it every day. She says doing it too much is too tiring for her body…”

“What did you just say?” Shan Liang suddenly asked.

“My little secretary girl says doing it too much is too tiring…”

“Not that, the part before.”

“The house is too small.”

Shan Liang nodded. The house is too small. No matter how strong the ability and desire, it’s useless. No matter how uninhibited the Elders were, they were not animals. Necessary privacy and personal space were indispensable. The so-called surplus of maids was actually caused by a housing shortage. To use this as a reason to abolish the school would be putting the cart before the horse.