Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

Chapter 102 The Aftermath

The news that Lin Zhaotang had been arrested and taken to the police station spread like wildfire throughout the county that very night.

The threshold of the police station was almost worn out by the crowds. The county magistrate and the heads of various bureaus rushed over overnight. Even jeeps, which are rarely seen at other times, were parked in front of the police station at that moment, with a total of five of them.

The Secretary for Commerce was the first to be uneasy. The Hong Kong businessman was someone their Commerce Bureau was responsible for liaising with, and now that the man had been arrested and his Hong Kong identity was fake, they were the first to be exposed.

The people from the Education Bureau arrived quickly, a large group of them, among whom Chu Shengli looked the worst.

These days, the "God of Wealth" he's been serving so diligently has turned out to be a fraud. This isn't just a slap in the face; it's a complete loss of face and dignity.

He stood in the police station corridor, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. He knew better than anyone that after tomorrow, the entire county leadership would probably make him the laughing stock of the day.

When Chu Shengli is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is that idiot who was led around like a fool by a fraudster for several days.

Chu Shengli grew angrier and angrier. Perhaps it was his anger that overwhelmed him, but a sudden, crushing pain surged in his chest, as if a hand was about to crush his heart. He instinctively pressed his chest, trying to cry for help, but no sound came out. His vision went black, and he collapsed stiffly to the ground.

The corridor instantly descended into chaos.

And so, the second major event of the night occurred: Chu Shengli suffered a sudden heart attack.

In those days, county hospitals didn't have cardiac angiography, let alone the facilities for cardiac stents. Whether someone with a heart attack could survive depended entirely on how tough their luck was.

Chu Shengli was rushed to the county hospital and treated for a long time. He survived, but he was left with a chronic condition where he couldn't stand getting angry.

The rehearsal hall was bustling with noise. Fatty Qin slapped his thigh, his face showing a mixture of lingering fear and relief: "Dongwa, you're a huge hero to our troupe! If you hadn't noticed something was off about that Lin guy beforehand, our troupe would have been scammed!"

"That's right!" Lin Datou craned his neck and scanned the area. "Ever since that Lin guy came to our troupe, I've noticed something's off about him."

Liu Dezhu, standing next to him, rolled his eyes at him: "Come on! If you saw something wrong, why didn't you say so? Don't just pat yourself on the back."

Lin Datou glared at him and said anxiously, "I...I haven't had a chance to say it yet. I've actually been having doubts for a while, but I was thinking of waiting and seeing—"

"Hahaha, Big Head, you should go and rest." Old Niu laughed so hard he couldn't straighten up, pointing at Lin Datou: "You've been grumbling to yourself for so long, why haven't you said a word?"

Guo Jufu chimed in, "Alright, stop being so hindsight. By the time you remember, it'll be too late."

Lin Datou's face flushed red from being teased, but he still stubbornly insisted, "That's called being cautious! I never cast a net lightly without being absolutely certain, what do you know!"

Liu Dezhu curled his lip: "Careful? You're just a coward, all talk and no action."

The rehearsal hall erupted in laughter again. Lin Datou opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, only snorted and turned his head away.

Surrounded by most of the troupe's staff, Chen Xiangdong scratched his head and chuckled, "Catching that swindler wasn't just my doing. Secretary Zhu already knew about it, and he's been helping me come up with ideas these past few days. And Mancang too—if it weren't for his help today, I wouldn't have even been able to get into Lin Zhaotang's room, let alone find that evidence."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned to look at Zhu Zhengkuo and Li Mancang. Li Mancang, standing at the doorway, felt a little embarrassed by these words, his face flushed, and he rubbed his fingers on the hem of his clothes: "I...I didn't do anything—"

Lu Meiyin teased Li Mancang, "Oh, this kid's shy."

Laughter erupted again in the rehearsal hall.

Zhu Zheng raised his finger and pointed at Chen Xiangdong across the crowd, laughing and scolding, "You kid, you're really going to take all the credit for me without holding back at all."

Then he said with a smile, "But on another note, it's a great thing that we were able to expose the swindlers' schemes and save Dongping County from a huge loss. If you ask me, the county should definitely commend us."

"That's great! If you ask me, Dongwazi deserves to be this year's outstanding individual. He saved people from the fire before, and now he's exposed a scam. We can't agree to anyone else being named the outstanding individual." He Jianshe put his teacup on the table and said with a smile.

"That's right, that's right." Lin Datou, unusually, didn't disagree this time and nodded, saying, "If this doesn't qualify us for the advanced award, then we really have to question the standards for it."

The group of people laughed and chatted for most of the night before finally going back to their own rooms.

But Jia Dafang was lying in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, and barely closed his eyes all night.

As soon as it was dawn, he rode his bicycle to the Education Bureau. When he arrived, he parked his bicycle against the wall and hurried towards the guardhouse.

The old gatekeeper was carrying a washbasin, preparing to go to the water room to get hot water, when he looked up and saw Jia Dafang walking over. He couldn't help but ask with some surprise, "Oh, Commander Jia, so early?"

Jia Dafang rubbed his hands, which were icy cold from the wind: "Old Wang, I'd like to go to work later and ask Director Chu about the situation."

The old gatekeeper looked at him in surprise upon hearing this: "You don't know? Director Chu almost didn't make it last night. He was in the county hospital for most of the night. He survived, but he'll probably have to take good care of himself from now on."

"

Upon hearing this, Jia Dafang was taken aback: "Emergency treatment? What happened?"

"I heard it's called something like angina, or maybe a myocardial infarction? I can't quite remember the name, but it sounded pretty serious." The old gatekeeper sighed, then glanced at Jia Dafang: "The police station was quite a scene last night, didn't you know?"

Jia Dafang's heart skipped a beat, and he panicked for a moment.

Chu Shengli was his biggest backer. He was able to gain a foothold in the education system and remain as the head of the county drama troupe for ten years, always as stable as Mount Tai, all because Chu Shengli was supporting him.

If Chu Shengli falls, Jia Dafang will be completely isolated and helpless in the Bureau of Education.

"Okay, let's put it that way for now. Old Wang, I'm going to the county hospital to check on Director Chu."

Jia Dafang didn't have time to ask any more questions. He hurriedly pushed his bicycle out from behind the wall, hopped on, and started pedaling towards the county hospital.

That evening, the hand-cranked telephone in the county theater troupe director's office rang.

The call was from the Hongzhou Regional Education Bureau, the superior department of the county education bureau.

Jia Dafang was initially puzzled as to why the regional education bureau would call their troupe directly. According to procedure, the region should notify the county first, and then the county education bureau should notify the county troupe.

But as he listened to the voice coming from the phone, the expression on his face gradually froze.

"Could you...could you say it again?" Jia Dafang asked hurriedly, afraid that he had misheard.

The person on the other end of the phone patiently repeated: "The pilot project for the revival of traditional operas will be fully overseen by Comrade Zhu Zhengkuo of your troupe. The Dongping County Troupe will take the lead, so please start the preparatory work as soon as possible to accumulate experience for the revival of traditional operas throughout the region."

After the call ended, only the dial tone remained.

Jia Dafang was still holding the phone, frozen in place, his eyes blankly staring out the window at the sun slowly sinking below the horizon.

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