Humanitarian Aid for Families in Distress

After reading the 《Transaction Newspaper》 for a while, Lin Qi picked up the local newspaper. Most of what he learned in the 《Transaction Newspaper》 was about macroeconomic changes, which wasn't very useful to Lin Qi at the moment.

On the contrary, some local newspapers can provide him with important information, allowing him to learn about local changes more quickly.

For example, several more factories have closed down, and a large number of unemployed workers have flooded the streets, making the already unsafe security environment even more unsafe.

For example, a family's male cat suddenly became pregnant, its belly swollen as if it was about to give birth. The cat owner reportedly even hired a special Nurse to take care of the male cat.

For example, a milkman on a farm said he was abducted by aliens who stole a tuft of his leg hair and then released him. With the help of an artist, he even drew pictures of alien spaceships and aliens.

And... Lin Qi glanced at the table of contents and flipped to the middle edition of the Local News, where there was a small news item stating that Michael, the former Tax Bureau Investigation Team Leader who was recently transferred to prisons in other regions, admitted that he had asked his children to take some responsibility for him in order to evade legal punishment.

He has now realized his mistake, turned himself in to prison officials, and was sentenced by the court yesterday.

Little Michael was acquitted, but Michael sentence was extended by forty months, to three years and four months. Combined with his previous sentence, even if Director Johnson wanted to invoke the "Special Talents Recruitment Act" to get Michael out, he probably wouldn't have much of a chance.

Seven years later, Director Johnson was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he was still capable of doing so, for example, he was promoted to the position of consultant in the State Office.

But it's also possible that he doesn't have the ability to do so. We all know that warehouse managers simply can't invoke such regulations, even if he's nominally promoted to the State Office of the Revenue Service.

This is a "deal" that's hard to say whether it's worthwhile or not.

It may have different values in the eyes of different people. For example, in the eyes of Michael and his wife, at least the deal was worthwhile. Little Michael. was released from prison a few months earlier and received such an important verdict of "not guilty".

The State Court, taking into account certain specific circumstances, concluded that if Michael asked his Little Michael to do something, given their father-son relationship and the master-servant dynamic, it would be difficult for the Little Michael to refuse.

Given Little Michael's age, the charges of harboring a criminal and perjury were not upheld, and the State Court judge humanely granted Little Michael a final verdict of "not guilty."

This also means that the stain on Little Michael's life that was originally on his record has been completely erased because of this verdict and the additional three years or so of Michael's sentence.

His life trajectory has undergone some changes.

Just as Lin Qi was expressing his indignation and a limited amount of humanitarian sympathy for Michael's plight, the doorbell rang.

Lin Qi put down the newspaper, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, got up and walked to the Living Room. The maid tidied up the things on the dining table and then went to open the door for Lin Qi.

A good job is hard to come by these days, let alone one that only requires cleaning.

Whenever Lin Qi is not home, she usually lies on the sofa watching TV to pass the time. She also has a good salary every month, and she cares about this job very much. This is why she wants to talk to Lin Qi privately. She hopes to stay here for a while longer.

The front door was quickly opened, and when Director Johnson was standing outside, saw the maid's attire, he paused for a moment before quickly looking away.

Who knows if these people have any embarrassing little quirks? If he angers Lin Qi by glancing at them a few more times, or if something unexpected happens, he really won't be able to explain himself.

After a brief inquiry, the maid led Director Johnson to the Living Room and then left.

"I just saw you in the newspaper." Lin Qi shook hands with Director Johnson Director Johnson and sat back down, crossing his legs and smiling at him. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

It seemed like a perfectly normal attitude, but Director Johnson sensed a certain quality hidden beneath Lin Qi's outward appearance—something indescribable, perhaps aloofness, or maybe even arrogance; it was hard to put into words.

His words and expression were merely perfunctory, a fact that Director Johnson was quite certain of.

He paid no attention to Lin Qi's performance, but instead asked with some surprise, "Am I in the newspaper?"

According to the unwritten rules, the top leader of a certain authority in a region will not voluntarily appear in front of the media and the public without the other party's consent.

On the one hand, it was to maintain and protect their mystery, and on the other hand, it was to avoid causing them trouble.

There are always a lot of crazy people in this world. They never consider whether what they do is in accordance with the rules. They only do what they want to do, including harassing people they think have hurt them, even if that's not actually the case.

Lin Qi nodded. "I saw that Michael's sentence has been increased..."

Upon hearing this, Director Johnson scratched his head and said with a wry smile, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you. It was me, and it's also related to my purpose in coming here."

Lin Qi nodded slightly, indicating that he should continue speaking, and at the same time, he also realized the purpose of Director Johnson's visit.

But he won't say it out loud. Sometimes, if he says it himself, it might be more valuable, but other times, if he says it himself, it won't have a very good effect.

Michael is serving his sentence, Little Michael. is also alone in prison. Michael's wife probably still doesn't know how to face the sudden changes in their lives. No one in this family has the ability to change the status quo.

The only person who could change things, and had the right to do so, was Michael's former boss, Director Johnson.

Lin Qi had no doubt that it was Michael's colleagues who did it. No matter what the circumstances were when they stepped on Michael's foot, they would never allow themselves to have any further contact with Michael, except for Johnson.

He's a very kind person; sometimes being too kind makes it hard to say whether it's right or wrong.

After hesitating for a while, Director Johnson sighed helplessly, "I met Michael a couple of days ago. He said that this matter is over and that he regrets what he did to you in the past. He also asked me to convey his apologies to you and hope that you can forgive him..." Lin Qi nodded to indicate that he understood, but judging from the unchanged expression on his face, he seemed to be indifferent to Michael's statement.

Come to think of it, ten years from now, a prisoner who has just been released from prison and a big shot who may have become even more successful will have no chance to have any connection with each other. Why should he care?

But some things still needed to be resolved, Director Johnson continued, forcing himself to speak, "This matter... has cost us a lot of money. After Little Michael comes back, he will have to transfer to a school elsewhere to relearn, plus some other expenses..."

Director Johnson subconsciously rubbed his hands together somewhat awkwardly. To be honest, he might not be a good person, but he had almost never broken the law, much less done anything voluntarily like he had today.

Hearing this, Lin Qi realized that it was about time. He first stated his position, "I have no benefit or friendship with Michael. Even if his wife and children have to beg on the street, it is what they deserve."

"But..." he changed the subject, "I'm good friends with you, and I'm willing to help you when you're in trouble. It's not because of Michael's bullshit, but because of you, Director Johnson."

Lin Qi's words annoyed him, made him sigh, but also gave him a strange sense of pride.

In fact, anyone will be happy when their value is recognized by others, especially when it is recognized in a higher way.

"I don't know..." Director Johnson, somewhat bewildered.

Lin Qi then took out his checkbook, wrote down a number, and handed it over. "For your sake, and out of humanitarian spirit, I'm willing to help this poor family. But I need someone to oversee how this money is used and to deliver it to them in installments. Do you have time to do that, Director Johnson?"

With a tearing sound, Lin Qi ripped the check from the checkbook and held it in his hand, waiting for the other party's reply.