Chapter 59

At the entrance of the Revolutionary Committee, Li Yuechan happened to see Gu Zhixing walking with a man into the building.

She quickly hid in the space and quietly followed them.

The man showed his credentials, and the gatekeeper immediately nodded and bowed, welcoming him in.

Upon hearing that someone from the committee was looking for him, Wang Xinzhou quickly came out to meet them.

“Ah, Secretary Fang, no wonder I heard magpies chirping this morning! It’s an honor to have you visit today,” Wang Xinzhou greeted with a smile.

Secretary Fang replied, “Director Wang, you are too kind. I wouldn’t bother you if there wasn’t something important.”

Wang Xinzhou’s eyes twinkled, and he quickly said, “Come, come, let’s go to my office. I have some fine Longjing tea, please try it.” He then led the group inside.

After sipping his tea, Secretary Fang said, “I heard that you arrested a few people from the Su family this morning. I came to check on the situation.”

Wang Xinzhou frowned. “How do you know people from the Su family, Secretary Fang?”

“Hehehe, I don’t know them personally. But wasn’t it Feng Chuan who sent me here?”

“Feng Chuan knows people from the Su family?” Wang Xinzhou gulped.

“Yes, when we issued the red capitalist certificates to the old Su family, Feng Chuan was there too. I heard something went wrong, so I came to inquire.”

Wang Xinzhou sighed and said with a pained expression, “Ah, the Su family was reported for hiding banned books. I went to check and, sure enough, we found something.”

Secretary Fang was surprised. “Oh? Do you know what kind of banned books they had? It’s surprising that the Deputy Director personally went to arrest them.”

“Ha, it’s all for the people, right? We received a report, so naturally, we had to investigate.”

Secretary Fang smiled. “I’m curious about the banned books. I’ll go back and talk to Feng Chuan about it.”

“Of course, of course. You go ahead,” Wang Xinzhou said as he gestured to someone beside him. That person immediately left the room.

Gu Zhixing, standing by the door, had been listening to their conversation. When a person came out, he quietly followed.

Li Yuechan hurriedly followed as well. She watched the man head straight for an envelope on the desk. Her eyes narrowed, and she quickly moved toward him.

As the man walked toward the envelope, the basin rack beside him suddenly toppled. He quickly steadied it, wiped the water off his clothes, and cursed under his breath.

He then grabbed the envelope and stepped out of the room.

Gu Zhixing, observing the man’s retreating figure, thought about stopping him with a quick move, but just as he turned, someone patted him on the back.

He turned around but saw nothing. His gaze shifted back to the man who had already walked far away, and he narrowed his eyes.

The man entered the office and handed the envelope to the deputy director.

Wang Xinzhou smiled and said, “Secretary Fang, here’s the book. Take a look, it’s our banned book. The old Su family used to be capitalists, and though they later got the title of ‘red capitalists,’ they can never change their inherent laziness.”

Secretary Fang opened the envelope and was stunned. All the prepared remarks were swallowed back, and he smiled.

“This is the banned book, Deputy Director Wang?” he asked, handing the book to Wang Xinzhou.

Wang Xinzhou took it, feigning anger. “Secretary Fang, you wouldn’t cover up for the wrongdoers, right? This is clearly a banned book.”

He lowered his head, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and looked at the person beside him. That person had the same confused expression, clearly thinking the same thing…

“Deputy Director Wang, I know it’s tough handling cases, but don’t you think it’s a bit strange to call a first-grader’s pinyin book a banned book?”

Wang Xinzhou quickly shook his head. “No, no, this is clearly… this was personally selected by me. How could it be a pinyin book?”

After thinking for a moment, he clenched his fist and laughed. “It’s probably just a mistake by the staff. But the old Su family definitely has issues. We need to investigate further.”

Secretary Fang hesitated. “Well, isn’t this a bit inappropriate? After all, I still have to report to Feng Chuan when I get back.”

“If it was truly a mistake and we all misjudged, we can understand, after all, our unit is indeed busy. But if…”

Wang Xinzhou’s face twitched, and he immediately smiled and said, “Yes, yes, it’s our fault. I’ll release the person right away.”

Li Yuechan raised an eyebrow. This person Gu Zhixing found was quite capable. Maybe she could hitch a ride with him in the future.

Secretary Fang also smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll go visit Old Su. Let’s go!”

Wang Xinzhou smiled awkwardly, “Yes, yes.”

A group of people walked toward the detention room.

Secretary Fang saw the weary faces of Old Su and Mrs. Su and quickly moved forward to help them up.

“Hello, I’m Secretary Fang from the committee. Someone asked me to come check on you both,” he said with a smile.

Su Hongcheng was momentarily stunned, wondering, ‘The man from Luoan—I’ve never met him, right?’

Su Lizhen noticed the young man, Gu, who was following behind, and quickly tugged at her father’s hand. Su Hongcheng immediately realized and said, “Thank you, Secretary!”

“Old Su, let’s go. It’s time to go home.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

…

Wang Xinzhou watched the car drive off with a darkened face. He clenched his fists tightly and cursed inwardly.

He had worked hard all morning, only to bring back 700 yuan. It was such bad luck. Frowning, he muttered, “Let’s see how this plays out.”

Gu Zhixing drove to the committee’s entrance and said to Secretary Fang, “Thank you so much today, Secretary Fang.”

“It’s a small matter. I’m just following orders.”

“Hehe, still, I must thank you.”

“Alright then, Feng Chuan asked me to send his regards to Secretary Gu. I know both of you have the same surname, but I’m not sure what your relationship is.”

Gu Zhixing chuckled, “He’s a distant relative.”

Secretary Fang nodded with a smile but inwardly wondered. Both were secretaries, yet the difference was like night and day!

Meanwhile, in Beijing, Gu Yongchang had just taken a sip of water when he suddenly began coughing violently. His secretary, Secretary Hu, was so startled that he rushed over, patting his back and helping him catch his breath.

“Secretary, are you alright? Please be careful!”

Gu Yongchang waved his hand and smiled. “It’s nothing, nothing. Go ahead and take care of your work.”

“Alright!”

Gu Yongchang picked up his pen again, focusing on the document in front of him. He looked up at the closed door, lost in thought.

Secretary Jiang had been sent away for training a few days ago, and Secretary Hu had been newly promoted by him. He had only been in the position for a few days, but so far, he seemed capable. He was even appointed on the suggestion of his son.

Gu Yongchang shook his head. He couldn’t figure out what the young man was thinking.

Today, he urgently asked for a call to be made to a secretary in Lu’an, insisting that a person be protected. He wasn’t sure how the matter had been handled.

After Gu Zhixing drove out of the committee’s gates, Su Lizhen hurriedly asked, “Xiao Gu, what is going on here?”

“Aunt, don’t worry. Someone is trying to frame you. Rest assured, you don’t need to worry about the follow-up.”

Su Hongcheng quickly asked, “Lizhen, who is this person?”