Chapter 27

Part One: Turbulent Waters of Officialdom - Chapter 27: A siren brings trouble

When the car reached Xu Si's house, Zhang Ke saw that the courtyard gate was ajar and walked straight in. Xu Si's parents were sitting in the main room, talking to a middle-aged man. A stack of banknotes lay on the table, looking to be around two or three thousand yuan. He heard the middle-aged man say, "This is all I managed to borrow for you today. Hurry and hand it in first. It'll help Xiao Si. If it really comes to it, put it in writing. Whatever amount we're short, we'll sell our blood and kidneys to scrape together the money and pay it back. We can't let Xiao Si suffer any more. Xiao Wei absolutely mustn't find out about this. That child is proud too. If she learns her sister did this for her, who knows what foolish thing she might do?"

Seeing Zhang Ke peering into the courtyard, Xu Si's father hurriedly put away the money on the table and asked warily, "Why is it you again?"

Zhang Ke pointed at the middle-aged man, who looked somewhat like Xu Si's mother. "You're Xu Si's uncle, aren't you?" When the man nodded, he emptied the money from the document envelope onto the table. "This is the money Xu Si asked me to borrow for you. One hundred and twenty thousand in total, all from perfectly legitimate sources. Please write me a receipt..."

Xu Si's parents stared, dumbfounded. Her uncle was a shrewd man and still remembered to pick up the money and rub the notes between his fingers. They weren't counterfeit.

"We desperately need this money, but this money..."

Zhang Ke remembered that Xu Si's uncle was called Shi Weizhong. Like her father, he worked at the City Agricultural Machinery Factory. Nothing in the files had suggested he was so shrewd. Seeing that her parents would not accept money of uncertain origin, Zhang Ke spun a story off the top of his head. "Xu Si tutored me and helped me place third in the West District in the high school entrance exams. This money is all pocket money my parents gave me as a reward. I told them that if Xu Si could keep tutoring me through high school, I'd lend her the money for now. Just write me a receipt. My family's driver is still waiting outside..."

Xu Si's father craned his neck to look outside. A brand-new Jetta stood across the courtyard entrance. He couldn't tell an expensive car from a cheap one, but in those days, anyone with a private car was a boss. He thought that a child with a family driver to ferry him around must come from a wealthy family, yet the money's origins were still unclear. Then he heard his brother-in-law, Shi Weizhong, say, "Brother-in-law, this is a loan. Remember to pay it back first when you can..." In a daze, he wrote an IOU and watched the teenage boy stride away.

Zhang Ke tore the IOU to shreds and scattered them out of the window. Seeing his uncle's knitted brows, he smiled. "Uncle, you can't resist asking, can you?"

Seeing that his nephew had read his mind, Zhang Zhifei chuckled. "Was that the woman's house? The woman inside poked her head out. She looked a little like her." He had only seen a photograph of Xu Si, and the thought had suddenly occurred to him, so he asked.

"Uncle, do you know that Xu Si was actually the turning point in this whole affair? Zhou Fuming, Tang Xueqian, my dad, you-all of you will benefit from it. To put it bluntly, you all owe her. I'm helping you repay that debt. We can't let her suffer too much. Paying the money back can at least help her get a suspended sentence..."

"So the statement you gave the Special Investigation Team was true?"

"Of course it was." Zhang Ke lied without so much as blinking, even looking curiously into his uncle's eyes. "Why? Did Dad tell you about it?"

"Heh, he did." Zhang Zhifei gave a mischievous grin. "We're just worried that your mind isn't the only part of you that's matured. I haven't met her in person, but I hear there isn't a man in Haizhou who dares look her in the eye."

Naturally, Zhang Ke wasn't about to show weakness in front of his uncle. He put on an innocent face. "What are you talking about? How could that be? Though now that I think about it, Xu Si really is quite pretty. And thinking about it some more, there really isn't anyone who can compare."

Zhang Ke rested his head against the seat back, remembering Xu Si's enchanting eyes. That siren is trouble. I haven't even started my grand money-making plans, and I'm already up to my neck in debt. He glanced sideways at his uncle, Zhang Zhifei, whose hands were on the wheel while a delighted smile lingered at the corners of his mouth. He was probably thinking about meeting Tang Xueqian over dinner.

Cao Guangming, director of the Political Education Office at Haizhou No. 1 Middle School, personally delivered Zhang Ke's high school admission notice. Unfortunately, neither of his parents was home that day. Zhang Ke could see the disappointment all over Cao Guangming's face beneath his slightly thinning crown. After Cao Guangming left, he called Tang Jing and asked whether Wang Yanbin had personally delivered her admission notice.

Amazed that Zhang Ke could hit the mark every time, Tang Jing pressed him. "How did you know? Are you downstairs from my place?"

Zhang Ke counted off the hierarchy on his fingers. Principal Wang Yanbin had delivered Tang Jing's notice, while Political Education Office Director Cao Guangming had delivered his. Between those two in rank were Vice Principal Ma Yue and Academic Affairs Office Director Li Zhifang. That meant Du Fei and Wan Tiancai, the son of Foreign Economic and Trade Commission Director Wan Yong, had also entered Haizhou No. 1 Middle School without any surprises.

The Special Investigation Team's sudden action had uncovered a large amount of evidence at Ding Xiangshan's home and his villa at the northern foot of Xiangshan, bringing a crucial breakthrough in his case within a very short time. Ding Xiangshan readily confessed to supporting Jiang Mingcheng's appointment as general manager of Xinfeng Group and accepting bribes from him. He also admitted without reservation to the matters Xu Si had voluntarily reported to the Special Investigation Team, and acknowledged that he had used words and actions to coerce her into framing Tang Xueqian. This testimony was particularly favorable to Xu Si.

Whatever else could be said of him, with death looming, Ding Xiangshan had shown a little conscience and had not dragged Xu Si into the mire.

The case involving the massive loss of Xinfeng Group's assets was far more complicated, entangled as it was with Zeng Jianhua's unexplained disappearance. It involved ten years of chaotic finances at Xinfeng Group and would take months to unravel.

What concerned Haizhou's officials most, however, was Ding Xiangshan's case. With such a major earthquake shaking Haizhou's official circles, the Province was particularly eager for the city to maintain a degree of stability. Once preliminary conclusions had been reached in Ding Xiangshan's case, the Provincial Party Committee swiftly discussed and approved Zhou Fuming's appointment as Municipal Party Committee secretary and Tang Xueqian's appointment as deputy Municipal Party Committee secretary and acting mayor.

On the very day the Provincial Party Committee announced the decision, Zhou Fuming and Tang Xueqian summoned Zhang Zhixing to the Municipal Party Committee for a talk. Their meaning was clear: there were no vacancies in the districts or counties, and there might not be any for quite some time. He could choose between becoming Municipal Government Secretary-General or heading one of the subordinate municipal agencies.

Although the Municipal Government Secretary-General had a broad range of contacts, he was effectively the Municipal Government's chief housekeeper, burdened with tedious affairs without being able to direct the overall situation. Heading a municipal agency would restrict his perspective to a particular field and narrow his future path upward, making it difficult to become a locality's top Party and government official.

Why did there have to be a choice? Watching his father pace around the living room, Zhang Ke supposed that was probably what was troubling him.

Zhang Ke beckoned his mother over. "Mom, which sounds better: the secretary-general's wife or the bureau director's wife?"

"Stop fooling around. What nonsense are you talking? As far as I'm concerned, they're the same..." Despite her words, Liang Gezhen couldn't help considering which title sounded more imposing.

"Thinking about useless things when you've nothing better to do." Zhang Zhifei gave his wife a gentle push, interrupting her idle thoughts. "Be more careful from now on. Don't let just anyone through the door. Everyone in the compound is watching."

"When people come to visit, I can't exactly shut the door and refuse to let them in..." Liang Gezhen looked aggrieved.

"Do you think they're really coming here to make friends with me, Zhang Zhixing? Some things can't be explained away just because our consciences are clear. If Xiao Ke hadn't spotted the problem in time, Mayor Tang would have had a hard time getting through this ordeal. Do you understand..."

"All right, all right. Dad hasn't even become a leader yet, and he's already holding himself to a leader's principles..." Grinning, Zhang Ke propped his feet on the glass coffee table and looked teasingly at his father. "Have you decided yet? Everyone behind you in line is waiting anxiously."

Zhang Zhixing flushed and sat down on the sofa beside Zhang Ke. "Xiao Ke, do you think I should stay at city hall or go down to one of the bureaus...?"

"I'm just a kid. How would I know which is better?" Zhang Ke turned his head. "I think if Uncle Xu believes you should be secretary-general, then secretary-general is better. If he thinks bureau director is better, then bureau director is better."

In his thinking, Zhang Zhixing had always regarded himself as someone Tang Xueqian had promoted, and he had never considered moving beyond Tang Xueqian in planning his career. Tang Xueqian was only forty-four and already mayor of a city, while he was forty-two and only just about to be promoted to full division rank. Counting the many district and county heads, thirty or forty people stood between Zhang Zhixing and Tang Xueqian. That gap of thirty or forty people might not look like much, but the vast majority would never cross that seemingly modest distance in their entire lives.

However highly Tang Xueqian regarded him, the room for advancement through relying on him was actually very limited. The key still lay with Xu Xueping.

Zhang Zhixing tapped his head. "How could I bring myself to ask him about that?" He walked away smiling.

Liang Gezhen, however, had not understood the father and son's cryptic exchange. From beside them, she said, "Isn't Xiao Ke going to stay at Secretary Xu's house for a few days before school starts?"

"Once I've registered and paid the tuition and miscellaneous fees, I only need to get back before August 18 for military training. Dad, will you take me to the Provincial Capital tomorrow?"

Zhang Zhixing nodded. "All right. I'll make a special trip to take you to the Provincial Capital tomorrow. I'll call Mayor Tang now and ask for leave." He thought he would be trying his luck, too. He might not run into Xu Xueping tomorrow, and he couldn't stay overnight in the Provincial Capital, but he would only feel at ease after meeting Xu Xueping.