Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 62 Director Zhang's Reprimand

Wang Xia had a miserable ten days.

The X-ray showed a needle lodged diagonally in her right knee joint, embedded in the synovial membrane. It was removed surgically. Her husband had the same needle in the same spot on his left leg.

The couple lay side by side on their respective hospital beds, each with one leg in a sling. The surgeries themselves weren't major; they were performed under local anesthesia, and each required four or five stitches. However, the pain was so intense that their entire legs cramped up.

The night the anesthesia wore off, neither of them could sleep. The lights were off in the ward, and moonlight shone in through the window.

Wang Xia's husband stared at her and asked, "Who exactly did you offend?"

Wang Xia remained silent.

Her husband's voice was low and menacing. "A letter appearing on our pillow in the middle of the night feels like needles in our knees. This is clearly someone trying to get rid of you. Don't you know what you've done at the neighborhood committee, or who you've offended?"

"I don't know." Wang Xia's lips turned pale.

"You don't know? They've warned us to this extent, and you say you don't know?" Her husband's voice rose considerably, and the patient in the next bed turned over.

He lowered his voice again, his tone becoming even more somber, "I don't care who you've messed with outside, just settle this matter quickly. This time it's a needle, next time it'll be a knife. Today it's a knee, tomorrow it might be a neck."

Wang Xia shuddered when she heard the word "neck".

My son, Weidong, came home on Saturday, his day off, and stayed with them in the hospital all day, fetching water and buying them food. The next day, he rushed back to school. Before leaving, he stood at the door of the hospital room and asked, "Dad, Mom, who did you offend?"

No one answered him.

On the afternoon of the third day, the ward door opened. Director Zhang stood at the door, carrying neither fruit nor canned food, and his face showed no sign of visiting the patient.

Wang Xia's husband was leaning against the headboard reading the newspaper when he saw Director Zhang come in. He put down the newspaper and tried to sit up.

Director Zhang waved his hand, pulled over a chair, and sat down next to Wang Xia's bed.

"Comrade Wang Xia, I'm not here to visit you today," Director Zhang said calmly.

Wang Xia leaned against the pillow, the color draining from her face little by little.

"Old Sun confessed to me. It was your idea that he secretly took people to He Yuzhu's house. And you were the one who connected him with Deputy Director Yang of the steel rolling mill."

Director Zhang glanced at Wang Xia and continued, "You used the name of the subdistrict office to force a worker to rent out his room. When the worker asked you for documents, you couldn't produce them. You were publicly questioned about whether you represented the Beijing Municipal Government or the State Council, and the three subdistrict officials were rendered speechless. Dozens of onlookers witnessed it all. You have completely disgraced the subdistrict office."

Wang Xia's husband folded the newspaper and placed it on the bedside table.

"I've already dealt with Lao Sun. He's been stripped of his real authority in fieldwork. From now on, he's only allowed to copy materials and do odd jobs in the office. He has to stay inside all day and isn't allowed to go out in public. He'll have to attend internal meetings to give self-criticisms, write reflections, and have it recorded in his personal file."

Wang Xia's lips trembled. "Director Zhang, I..."

"Let me finish," Director Zhang interrupted, waving his hand. "Also, Yang Honglin was beaten by He Yuzhu. It happened not far from the steel mill entrance. He had his leg broken and is now in the hospital. He Yuzhu got away with it without any problems. Why didn't Yang Honglin even dare to report it to the police?"

Wang Xia's husband suddenly turned his head and stared at her. All color drained from Wang Xia's face.

Director Zhang stood up. "Comrade Wang Xia, you are a senior member of Jiaodaokou Subdistrict and also the Women's Director. You should abide by the rules and do your job properly."

Now, when street officials go door-to-door to solicit rent without authorization, they are publicly ridiculed for violating policies. The whole alley is buzzing with gossip, and our street's reputation and the prestige of our officials have been completely ruined.

Without concrete evidence, I will not pursue legal action against you, will not hold you accountable for any wrongdoing, and will not remove you from your position.

But let me make this clear: this is a one-time exception. If it happens again, I will not let it go so easily.

He turned back as he walked to the ward door. "Think it over carefully while you recover. Some things, once done, can't be forgiven simply by writing a medical report."

The door closed behind him.

A long silence filled the ward. Someone pushed a medicine cart down the corridor, the wheels making a rumbling sound as they rolled on the floor.

Wang Xia's husband slammed his hand on the bedside table. "Tell me. What exactly happened?"

Wang Xia closed her eyes, tears seeping out and streaming down her cheeks. She spoke, her voice hoarse like sandpaper.

The old lady owed a favor to her former boss, Deputy District Chief Zhou, so she asked the woman to help take care of her. The old lady had a feud with He Yuzhu in the courtyard, and the woman had stood up for her twice.

Back in the military control commission, she was demoted from a staff member to a regular clerk because He Yuzhu reported her for protecting an old lady. Now, after finally becoming the women's director, she's stumbled again because of this old deaf man.

Yang Honglin was also asked by the old lady to help, saying that she had saved his life. To repay her kindness, he wanted to cause trouble for He Yuzhu. This time it was her idea to use the pretext of housing statistics to rent out He Yuzhu's extra rooms.

She felt that it was the neighborhood committee's proper job to coordinate housing for He Yuzhu, who lived in so many rooms by himself. Unexpectedly, He Yuzhu was more familiar with the policies and regulations than they were, and easily shut Old Sun down with a few words.

Even more unexpectedly, he broke Yang Honglin's leg. And then he was completely unharmed. This He Yuzhu, she couldn't afford to mess with him.

Her husband remained silent for a long time after listening. He was a section chief in another district, not in the same district as Deputy District Chief Zhou, nor on the same level.

He had never known his wife was involved in so much trouble. Now, he didn't care about being the deputy district head; it was Deputy District Head Zhou who had created this mess, and it was up to him to clean it up.

"Call Deputy District Chief Zhou. This mess arose because of a favor he owed someone. Tell him to settle things with He Yuzhu. Call him now. Tell him Yang Honglin broke his leg and that we were threatened. Tell him to figure something out. If he doesn't help, you'll have to clean up this mess yourself. I can't help you."

Wang Xia wiped away her tears, stood up, and, enduring the pain, limped to make a phone call. The operator connected her to Deputy District Head Zhou's office.

Wang Xia recounted Yang Honglin's broken leg, as well as the needles she and her husband had been given in the knees and the threatening letters. Her voice trembled so much that she could barely speak.

Deputy District Chief Zhou simply said: "I understand, you don't need to concern yourself with this anymore."

He Yuzhu had already scouted the location.

Wang Xia's son attends middle school in the district and rides his bicycle home every Saturday afternoon. He has walked the road from the school to Jiaodaokou many times, and he has memorized every turn and intersection.

The school gate is on a main street, which is not suitable for crowded areas. After the second intersection, there is a narrow alley called Huai Shu Alley. Not far from the entrance of the alley, there is an abandoned courtyard house with collapsed ruins and piles of broken bricks and tiles.

The nearest house is about 30 or 40 meters away, and the child took the shortcut through Huai Shu Lane every time he went back and forth last Saturday.

On Friday evening, He Yuzhu sat in a grand chair in the courtyard, brewing a pot of tea. The pomegranate tree was laden with small fruits, their green skins covered with a layer of white frost in the moonlight.

He took a sip of his tea, taking his time. He'd wait until tomorrow afternoon.