Chapter 13

“Xin Qi, your thank-you letter is written so well, but the recipient can’t be just me. Could you change it to the Women’s Federation at the factory instead?”

“Of course.”

“Xiao Qi, your thank-you letter has really helped our work at the Women’s Federation. I should be the one thanking you. But let me ask you first—if the factory agrees to read your letter aloud over the loudspeaker, would you be willing?”

Luo Hongying added, “This isn’t about personal honor. I hope it will inspire other women to come to us at the Women’s Federation when they face difficulties.”

“Our job at the Women’s Federation is to safeguard women’s rights and promote gender equality.”

Luo Hongying’s broad-mindedness surprised Xin Qi a little. It seemed that no matter the era, there would always be scoundrels like Director Ma and Lu Qingshan who abused their power for personal gain, and there would also be public servants like Luo Hongying, who were truly devoted to the people.

The two had a great conversation, and Xin Qi took the opportunity to express how hard it had been for her to find a job. Luo Hongying solemnly promised to help.

But Xin Qi couldn’t rely entirely on Luo Hongying. She kept going out to look for jobs for several days, still with no luck. Most hiring now was done internally; outsiders didn’t even have the qualifications to apply.

No job yet, but the police station finally sent a response.

After a week of investigation, no one had reported losing such a large sum of money, and no evidence was found linking Xin Qi to any illegal activity. The suspicion was cleared, and her bank account was unfrozen.

As soon as she got the notice, Xin Qi rushed to the police station. He Linyuan was already waiting for her.

“The bank people are in the conference room. They’re here to apologize to you,” He Linyuan whispered.

Xin Qi was brought into the mediation room, where, in addition to the bank manager from the other day, a thin middle-aged man was also present.

Upon seeing Xin Qi, the man stepped forward and introduced himself as the bank’s director, Li Changzheng.

Director Li was very sincere. “Comrade Xin, this incident happened due to our bank’s poor handling, which caused you distress and also brought unnecessary trouble to the public security officers.”

“Please rest assured, we will deal with this matter seriously and hold the responsible personnel accountable.”

Then Director Li gave Manager Wang Guiping a look, and the latter immediately stepped forward to offer profuse apologies.

Their humble attitude genuinely surprised Xin Qi.

In those days, banks were notoriously arrogant.

She thought perhaps Director Li was just a conscientious and responsible leader.

In reality, Xin Qi’s deposit wasn’t significant enough to warrant Director Li’s personal involvement. He hadn’t even known about the incident until someone from the branch office personally called to ask about it.

Director Li secretly guessed that Xin Qi must have powerful connections, so he was especially cautious and courteous.

Though Xin Qi found Director Li’s excessive enthusiasm a bit odd, she decided to go with the flow. It was no harm making a connection—relationships like this could grow with time.

No matter the era, having contacts at a bank was never a bad thing.

At the very least, from now on, if she deposited money at this bank, she would receive VIP-level treatment—no need to look for another bank.

Since both sides communicated smoothly, there was no need for mediation by the public security bureau, and the case was closed.

He Linyuan walked Xin Qi to the door and wanted to say a few more words to her, but just then someone called him over to ask about another case. When he turned back, Xin Qi was already gone.

After leaving the police station, it was just noon. With time to spare, Xin Qi decided to continue her job hunt.

She hadn’t been to this part of town before. It didn’t seem to have any factories nearby—just a maze of alleyways and large courtyard residences.

It looked like a residential area. Being from out of town, Xin Qi couldn’t tell whether this place would be considered within the later-era “Third Ring” or not.

Walking through the old streets of Beijing, she temporarily set aside her troubles and found some joy in observing the customs and scenes of a bygone era.

Just then, as she was watching the pedestrians with great interest, someone riding a bicycle in front of her suddenly hit a bump. The front wheel detached, rolled a short distance, and crashed into the curb.

The man riding the bike was thrown to the ground with a heavy thud and cried out in pain, struggling to get up.

People back then were warm-hearted; when someone fell, no one worried about being falsely accused of causing harm.

Passersby immediately rushed over—some helped the injured man, others picked up the fallen bicycle, and someone even retrieved the runaway front wheel.

The man’s chin was covered in blood, and as the crowd gathered, they saw that his front teeth had all been knocked out.

It looked painful, and Xin Qi turned her eyes away uncomfortably.

With blood all over his hands, the man was furious and kept yelling that he wanted to go after the bicycle repair shop that had just fixed his tire.

Everyone, feeling sympathetic and indignant, offered to go with him. Some were just curious to watch. In the end, a crowd of people followed the injured man down the street.

The repair shop was in a narrow alley—just a shabby little storefront with one old man and a younger man inside, both looking like mechanics.

As soon as the younger one saw the angry crowd approaching, he tried to run.

The injured man immediately recognized him as the one who had replaced his tire. Seeing him flee, he shouted, “That’s him! Trying to run, are you?!”

Hu Ping was caught on the spot by helpful citizens. Though panicked, he tried to put up a front. “What do you want? Trying to rob me in broad daylight?!”

The injured man snapped, “You’re the one who changed my tire! The wheel came off while I was riding and nearly killed me! I lost my front teeth because of you!”

“Is this some kind of scam repair shop?!”

The crowd echoed their outrage.

“Poor repair skills are forgivable. A poor character is not.”

“Do you really think someone would fake losing their teeth just to extort a small-time mechanic?”

“I live in this alley. Everyone around here knows—this Hu kid’s skills are trash. He spends more time flirting with girls than fixing bikes.”

“Even when I need repairs, I only go to Master Jin. I wouldn’t trust Hu to fix a wheelbarrow.”

…

Scenes like this weren’t rare. The jokes about “Chunfeng Bicycle Repair” were old news in the neighborhood.

Jin Zhicheng silently picked up his toolbox and walked toward the injured man.

“Comrade, where’s your bike? Let me take a look.”

“What? He took off the front wheel—now you want to take off the back one too?” a burly man in the crowd mocked.

Jin Zhicheng calmly glanced at him. “I’m not like him.”

The injured man hesitated but eventually agreed. The older man in front of him looked confident and trustworthy.

Jin immediately saw that the problem was with the screws and sighed inwardly.

He found the correct screws from his toolbox, secured them in place, and tightened the bolts using the method: three turns to the left, three to the right.

The injured man could tell the difference right away. “This guy over here—” he pointed at Hu Ping, “—took half an hour to replace the tire.”

The crowd saw clearly that this older repairman had taken less than ten minutes, with practiced hands and confident moves.