Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

Bao Shun ran faster than a rabbit and disappeared in a flash, but the shouts outside the gate never stopped.

Before the onlookers in the alley had dispersed, they saw Bao Shun leading a man in a blue uniform back in.

The man was about forty years old, with a greasy belly, a briefcase under his arm, and an arrogant, swaggering gait. He exuded an air of superiority.

"Section Chief Zhou, look, this is the place!" Na Baoshun, hunching over and with a fawning expression, led the way, pointing to the newly painted red gate of the Gu family's house to complain.

"This family's background is unknown. They bought the house and started doing haphazard renovations. Look at this paint smell; it makes me want to vomit. They haven't even opened for business yet, and they've already choked the neighbors with the stench. It's definitely a fire hazard!"

The man called Section Chief Zhou stopped, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and covered his nose, then pretended to look around the gate.

"Hmm, is this acceptable? These old houses left over from the Qing Dynasty are cultural relics. Who gave them permission to renovate them without authorization?" Section Chief Zhou's voice wasn't loud, but his tone was affected, revealing a condescending disdain.

Lin Wanrou was about to tell the bricklayer about the water trough in the backyard when she heard the noise and frowned. She dusted off her hands and stepped into the front yard.

Niu Dan, who was sharpening his knife, stood up and hid the cast iron boning knife behind his back. His eyes were fixed on Section Chief Zhou, like a wild beast ready to pounce at any moment.

Ya Ya was sitting on the steps, holding a chocolate ball in her hand. She tilted her head and looked at the two uninvited guests, muttering, "Where did this blue monkey come from? His face looks like it's been kicked by a donkey."

Section Chief Zhou stepped over the high threshold, entered the courtyard, and stood boldly in the middle of the room.

"Who owns this place? Come out and answer me!" He didn't even look at the person, and just pulled a stack of papers out of his briefcase.

Lin Wanrou stepped forward and calmly said, "I am the homeowner. This house was sold with proper paperwork, and the renovations were done by carpenters and bricklayers. No load-bearing walls were touched, so where does the safety hazard come from?"

"Who knows more about firefighting, you or me?" Section Chief Zhou raised his eyelids and glanced sideways at Lin Wanrou.

"I am Zhou Quan from the Industry and Commerce Bureau. We received a report from the public that you are carrying out construction without a permit and that you have piled up too many flammable materials, which seriously threatens the safety of the surrounding alleys. I hereby order you to stop construction immediately and accept the investigation."

Na Baoshun was rubbing his hands together with glee, his face, smeared with mud, grinning like a rotten chrysanthemum.

"Did you hear that? Section Chief Zhou has spoken: stop work! And you'll be fined!" Bao Shun leaned closer, lowering his voice and glaring fiercely at Lin Wanrou. "Weren't you pretty tough just now? Try moving again! This is official business; let's see who dares to stop us!"

Jiang Guo walked over with an abacus and glanced at the number on Section Chief Zhou's collar insignia.

"Section Chief Zhou, right?" Jiang Guo asked calmly. "This building was handled by the housing management office, and the construction application was filed. You're in charge of industry and commerce; when did you become the sole decision-maker regarding fire safety and cultural relics?"

Section Chief Zhou was taken aback by the seven-year-old boy's remark, and his old face immediately turned red. He noticed that although the family was dressed reasonably well, they had a poor boy in a tattered cotton-padded coat and a little girl of five or six years old with them. He immediately concluded that they were just a few nouveau riche from out of town with no real backing.

In Beijing, saving face is paramount. Who in the Wangfujing area wouldn't give him some respect? If he got stumped by a kid's question, how could he ever face Bao Shun and his cronies again?

"Hey, where did this bastard come from? Who gives you the right to speak?" Section Chief Zhou slammed his briefcase down, his voice suddenly rising.

"I said it's a hidden danger, and it is! We suspect you're involved in illegal operations, so produce all your permits and licenses! If you can't, we'll seal your premises today!"

Lin Wanrou took out the folded house and land deeds from her bag and handed them over.

Section Chief Zhou didn't even take it; he simply flicked his wrist and slapped the paper to the ground.

"I've seen plenty of this kind of worthless paper. What I need to see is the business license and the approval from the health bureau. You don't have those, do you?"

Section Chief Zhou sneered, "If you don't have it, it's considered unauthorized operation. Not only will the shop be shut down, but all production tools will also be confiscated."

"Hey you, Baoshun, get a few brothers to move all this messy timber in the yard and confiscate it!"

That was exactly what Bao Shun had been waiting for. He turned around and waved his hand, and the thugs who had been hiding in the alley immediately perked up and pushed two carts into the courtyard.

"Let's see who dares to make a move!"

Niu Dan suddenly took a step forward. The blue bricks under his feet creaked with his step, and the large bamboo broom in his hand was placed horizontally at the door. The fierce look in his eyes made the thugs at the head of the group slip and stop in their tracks.

"Section Chief Zhou, this is an abuse of power." Lin Wanrou bent down to pick up the property deed, dusted it off, and her face turned cold. "We haven't even opened for business yet, so where would we get the operating permit? We're just repairing our own house; what right do you have to seize my timber?"

"Because this area is under my jurisdiction!" Section Chief Zhou dropped all pretense. He pulled a white seal with a red stamp from his bag, moistened his thumb with saliva, and gestured it against the lobby pillar. "I think you bunch of outsiders just need to be taught a lesson. Sealing you off, this house can be confiscated for investigation!"

Ya Ya remained silent the whole time. She swallowed the last bit of chocolate and slowly pulled a brown paper envelope tied with red thread from her pocket.

She initially wanted to slap the "get-out-of-jail-free card" right on the other person's forehead, but then she remembered that Gu Changfeng had told her before he left that this thing should be used in a critical moment.

The little girl jumped down the steps and walked with her short legs to Section Chief Zhou.

"Uncle with the big blue belly, if you stick the seal on, you'll have to kneel down and tear it off when my dad comes back," Ya Ya reminded him in her childish voice, tilting her little head up.

Section Chief Zhou seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. He looked down at the little kid who was barely waist-high and burst into laughter.

"Your dad? Even if your dad's the King of Heaven, he has to listen to me in Wangfujing! You want me to kneel down and tear this apart? I'll arrest your dad and throw him in jail later!"

Na Baoshun fanned the flames from behind: "Section Chief Zhou, stop wasting time talking to this little devil, hurry up and put it on! After we're done, let's go have a couple of drinks!"

Section Chief Zhou snorted coldly, holding the seal in his hand, and strode towards the carved wooden pillar of the main room.

Just as Lin Wanrou was about to stop her, Ya Ya grabbed her mother's clothes and winked at her.

"Mom, let him put it up. It's rude of us to stop someone from jumping into a fire pit."

Ya Ya smiled like a sly little fox; her keen senses had already picked up the sound of an engine coming from the alley entrance. It was the distinctive roar of a jeep, particularly noticeable in the quiet alley.

Section Chief Zhou had already slapped the seal onto the wooden post. He was smugly applying glue from the bottle, but hadn't had time to press it down firmly.

"Creak—"

A sharp screech of brakes echoed from the vermilion gate.

It was a large jeep, number 001, painted olive green. The red license plate on the hood gleamed coldly in the setting sun, and the four tires kicked up a cloud of dust as they drove over the cobblestones.

Section Chief Zhou's hand, which was applying paste, froze. Having been in Beijing for so long, he naturally recognized the license plate.

A jeep of this caliber must be carrying at least a high-ranking official of the garrison command.

Before Bao Shun could react, he stood with his hands on his hips and yelled at the door, "Who is it? We're on official business here, move the car! Don't you know a good dog doesn't block the way...?"

Before he could finish speaking, the Jeep window slowly rolled down.

A muscular arm, clad in a military shirt, draped over the windowsill, revealing Gu Changfeng's icy face. He held an unlit cigarette between his fingers, his eyelids drooping slightly as he watched the farce unfolding in the courtyard.

"An errand?" Gu Changfeng's voice was deep, like a muffled thunderclap across the clouds. "Whose errand has come to my doorstep?"

Upon hearing the name "Gu Changfeng," Section Chief Zhou felt as if his heels had been pierced by nails, and he shuddered violently.

Chief of Staff Gu... that legendary killer who killed a hundred or so desert bandits and just received a first-class merit?

The glue bottle crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces. Section Chief Zhou stared at the olive green stain, his teeth starting to chatter involuntarily.

At this moment, Gu Changfeng had already pushed open the car door, and his shiny black military boots slammed heavily onto the bluestone slab outside the threshold.