pertwk Chapter 31: Falling Out with the Director
Chapter 31: Falling Out with the Director
PS: The previous chapter was rejected, and I had to revise it beyond recognition. It was tough!
The peaceful days didn't last long. Early one morning, Lin Chen had just arrived at the entrance of the water supply station when he saw a figure blocking the way.
It was Hu Chou from Stone Village.
This guy is a notorious scoundrel. He spends his days loitering around the streets, and has been caught stealing chickens and dogs several times. He has a terrible reputation.
At that moment, he actually used a brick as a pillow and a tattered plastic sheet as a blanket, lying stiffly on the ground, motionless like a dead dog, blocking most of the doorway.
"Hu Chou, what are you doing here?" Lin Chen called out to him twice, but the other man didn't even lift his eyelids.
Tang Yuwei caught up from behind, stomping her foot angrily: "That guy, he really did what he said he would do."
Lin Chen frowned: "Yuwei, what's wrong with him?"
Tang Yuwei shrugged, looking helpless: "What else could it be? They said our water quality improvement project passed by their ancestral graves, affecting the feng shui, and they want compensation. They came to cause trouble once when you were away on a business trip taking an exam, but we ignored them."
"Wasn't the compensation already calculated?" Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. "Was it verified on-site?"
"Monkey and I went to measure it ourselves," Tang Yuwei immediately assured. "The water pipe is at least thirty meters away from his ancestral grave, with a ditch in between. It's completely out of reach."
The monkey standing nearby sneered, "This guy is just jealous that others are making money, so he's trying to scam us. If we even acknowledge him, we've already lost."
Lin Chen walked up to Hu Chou and looked down at him: "Hu Chou, get up. If you have something to say, say it. What's the use of lying here pretending to be dead?"
Hu Chou then slowly opened one eyelid: "Squad Leader Lin, don't scare me. I have a heart condition. Anyway, since I'm not going to pay any money, I'm not getting up."
Is this some kind of scoundrel?
"What money are you going to pay?" Lin Chen's tone turned cold.
"Squad Leader Lin, don't play dumb."
Lin Chen: "They've verified it. If it doesn't meet the regulations, they might compensate you. Do you think the water supply station is a charity where whoever makes a fuss gets paid?"
"Whether there are regulations or not is up to you to decide," Hu Chou rolled over, his tone defiant. "The ancestral graves of Li Fugui's family in Plum Blossom Village are about the same distance from the water pipe as my house, right? How come he got compensation? So only my ancestors had no face?"
Li Fugui is actually related to the director. This guy takes advantage of his position as village chief to do all sorts of underhanded things, and Lin Chen has been turning a blind eye to it. But now, even a scoundrel like Hu Chou has caught wind of this and followed suit.
"I will reinvestigate Li Fugui's case," Lin Chen said firmly. "I will make him return every penny he shouldn't have taken. Are you satisfied?"
"Who would believe empty words?" Hu Chou simply closed his eyes. "Anyway, you've ruined our family's feng shui. If a water pipe bursts and floods our ancestral graves, who will compensate us for the loss? We have to pay you."
Lin Chen suppressed his anger: "You're just being unreasonable."
"Who's being unreasonable?" Hu Chou retorted, "If you don't pay me, I'll lie here every day."
"I suggest you go lie down in the county; nobody will pay attention to you if you lie down here."
"I'll just lie here."
"Then you can relax." Lin Chen said this, turned around and went into the office, ignoring him.
Not long after, Director Lin Kaidong arrived leisurely, carrying a thermos.
Upon seeing the scene at the entrance and hearing Lin Chen's report, he immediately flew into a rage.
"Damn it, this is never going to end." Lin Kaidong slammed down his cup, rolled up his sleeves, rushed over, and kicked Hu Chou in the ribs.
"Ouch!" Hu Chou was caught off guard and curled up in pain, groaning miserably.
"Go die somewhere else, don't get me into trouble here." Lin Kaidong was still furious. Last time, Wang Ping brought a snake and disturbed Director Tan, making him lose face in front of his superiors. Now, someone is blocking the door again. He is really frustrated as the director.
Hu Chou winced in pain, but still stubbornly said, "Hit me, if you have the guts, kill me. Let's see if you have the courage."
"Fuck you." Lin Kaidong's anger intensified, and he kicked Hu Chou again. Hu Chou was still unable to catch his breath for a long time, but he remained lying there as if he were a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
"Monkey, asshole, dog, come here and throw this thing out!" Lin Kaidong shouted inside. Several old masters quickly came out and tried to pull Hu Chou out, but the kid clung tightly to the door frame, his fingernails digging into the wood, and the men couldn't budge him.
Lin Kaidong panicked and stepped on Hu Chou's hand. "Ah—." With a scream, Hu Chou finally let go, and the others took the opportunity to carry him out and slam the iron gate shut.
But this scoundrel was indeed a tough nut to crack. After being thrown out, he simply lay down again a meter away from the door, still precisely blocking the passage.
Passersby gradually gathered around, pointing and whispering.
Lin Kaidong was embarrassed and dared not make another move, so he could only return cursing.
"Lin Chen, quickly find a way to get rid of this plague!" Lin Kaidong ordered anxiously.
Lin Chen said calmly, "Just ignore this kind of unreasonable rogue. He'll lie in bed for a few days, and he'll leave when he gets bored."
"No way," Lin Kaidong waved his hand, his face grim. "Don't you know Director Song is coming to inspect the completion of the Meihua Village water quality project? What would it look like if he saw this?"
Yes, the Meihuacun project was completed today, and the leaders are coming to share the joy of its completion.
Lin Chen then realized that Hu Chou had come prepared for this, knowing that the leader was coming.
"So what if he sees it?" Lin Chen said dismissively. "It's not like we made him lie there. He's the one causing trouble. It's good that the leaders know how difficult our grassroots work is. They shouldn't be pointing fingers at us all the time."
Lin Chen didn't want to improve and didn't care.
"Lin Chen, you're talking nonsense." Lin Kaidong glared at him, then looked outside. "Hurry up and find a way to get him out of here, or our jobs will be in jeopardy."
Lin Chen scoffed: "I can't do anything about it." What can you do about this kind of trash?
Lin Kaidong gritted his teeth: "Damn it, if all else fails, I'll just give him three hundred yuan and make him write a guarantee that he won't cause trouble again."
"Absolutely not." Upon hearing this, Lin Chen immediately stood up and said decisively, "We can't give him that money. If we give him three hundred today, he'll dare to ask for three thousand tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, all the village scoundrels will be lying at our door. How are we supposed to do this job then?"
"We'll deal with the future later. Right now, we're in a crisis. Why worry about anything else?" Lin Kaidong said impatiently. "Let's get through this first. Go give him the money and tell him to get lost. Director Song will be here soon."
Lin Chen shook his head: "You go if you want, I won't do such a shameful thing."
Damn it, is this how you handle things? You son of a bitch, you're such a coward as the director.
"Tang Yuwei, you go." Lin Kaidong said angrily when he couldn't get Lin Chen to come.
"Oh." Tang Yuwei pouted; she didn't dare disobey her director.
"Tan Yuwei, you're not allowed to go," Lin Chen shouted.
Tang Yuwei froze, looked at the director, then at the squad leader, completely dumbfounded.
"Lin Chen, are you determined to go against me?" Lin Kaidong's face turned pale with anger, and he said angrily to Tang Yuwei, "Tang Yuwei, hurry up, Director Song will be here soon."
Tang Yuwei hesitated for a moment, then bit her lip and walked over to Lin Chen. Looking at Lin Kaidong, she bravely said, "Chief, I also think the squad leader is right. We can't give him the money."
"This is outrageous! This is fucking outrageous!" Lin Kaidong roared, slamming his hand on the table and smashing a teacup. "You think my word as the director means anything? Do you even respect me as your director?"
Lin Chen met his furious gaze, his tone calm yet as firm as a rock: "Trying to save yourself some trouble now will only lead to a lifetime of problems. Giving this money away will mean the Balu Water Supply Station will never have peace. Director, how many more times will you do something this stupid?"
"Fine, fine, Lin Chen, you're very good. Then let's all die together." Lin Kaidong pointed at him, trembling with anger, and finally slammed the door and went into his office.
The large office was deathly silent. Tang Yuwei nervously clutched the hem of her clothes and whispered, "Squad leader, we're in trouble. Did we... really offend the director? Will we still be able to work here?"
Lin Chen sat back down at his workstation with a calm expression and replied indifferently, "It's nothing."
This kind of incompetent director is not only incompetent, but also keeps spouting nonsense. Lin Chen was starting to lose interest in dealing with him.