The entire courtyard is full of villains

"Second Uncle, last time he said they were from Qianmen Street," Ma Yunduo whispered from the side.

"Qianmen Subdistrict, right?" Zhang Erhe stared at the old woman. "You wait here, I'm going to find your subdistrict office director right now. This isn't over!"

Seeing Zhang Erhe driving and speaking with such conviction, the older woman was already panicked, but she still tried to appear strong: "I'm not afraid to find the director, I'm doing this for work!" With that, she took the lead and hurriedly ran away. The man next to her smiled awkwardly and followed them away. Zhang Erhe remembered their expressions.

"Yunduo, open the kitchen door," Zhang Erhe said.

Ma Yunduo quickly opened the door, and Zhang Erhe walked in carrying two bags of flour. Qiqige, with her sharp eyes, recognized the flour as white flour. She wanted to speak but held back, and after he entered the yard, she quickly closed the door, picked up Ma Yue, and went into the house.

Zhang Erhe threw the flour into the kitchen, and Qiqige had already brought over water: "Second brother, wash your face."

"Okay." Zhang Erhe took it and wiped it clean. "Is there anything you need at home lately?"

“I don’t need anything, Second Brother,” Qiqige said. “A couple of days ago, Sister-in-law Guan Xue came over and brought Ma Yue some milk powder, saying it was prepared by you.”

"Okay, you can eat these two bags of flour first. When you're done, tell your second sister-in-law and I'll bring them over."

"Second brother, this is too much..." Qiqige looked at the flour. Having done business before, she knew how high the price of grain was now. These two bags were worth at least two or three hundred yuan. "I'll give you the money."

Zhang Erhe's face hardened: "Qiqige, what did Lao Si say when he left? He said he would take care of you three. Giving money means you think I'm not taking good care of you?"

"No, no!" Qiqige quickly waved her hands, "I just..."

“Don’t think about it,” Zhang Erhe interrupted her. “Your task now is to raise the two children. When Ma Yue is one year old, I’ll talk to Lao Li and you can go work in the logistics department of the steel rolling mill. Find a relaxed job and you can take care of the children.”

Qiqi nodded and wiped away her tears: "Second brother, I'll listen to you."

"After I leave," Zhang Erhe instructed, "if those two come to the door again, ignore them. I'm going to the neighborhood committee right now to ask them how they're doing their job!"

"Second brother, please don't..."

"Alright, don't worry about it." Zhang Erhe waved his hand, after all, it wasn't convenient for Qiqige, a woman, to argue with the neighborhood committee.

After a brief chat, Zhang Erhe got up and left. Leaving Qiqige's house, he went straight to the neighborhood committee office—he wouldn't be able to let this go until he got to the bottom of it. Ma Qianli hadn't even been gone a year; his body was barely cold, and the neighborhood committee dared to bully the family of a martyr like this? Did they really think the martyr's plaque was just for show? Even without the plaque, his brother's wife wouldn't be subject to such treatment. Did they really think he'd become a pushover just because he joined the factory? A tiger that doesn't eat people is still a tiger!

Chapter 213 Why would I give him any face?

At the Qianmen Subdistrict Office, Old Zhou, who was guarding the gate, was about to close the gate as usual, just as it was getting close to the end of his workday. As soon as he reached the gate, he saw a jeep rushing straight towards the Subdistrict Office without slowing down.

"Hey, comrade!" Old Zhou had just shouted when the jeep, instead of stopping, stepped on the gas and crashed through half of the gate with a loud bang, rushing straight inside.

With a loud commotion, all the people from the Qianmen Subdistrict Office rushed out and surrounded the courtyard: "What happened? What happened?"

"It looks like a car rushed in!"

Zhang Erhe jumped out of the car and looked it over—no wonder it was a military jeep; the front bumper only had a few scratches on it. Looking at the street office gate, half of it was smashed to pieces, and the gatekeeper, Old Zhou, stood there dumbfounded.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses came out of the east wing and strode over: "Comrade, which unit are you from? Don't you know how to drive carefully?"

"Who are you?" Zhang Erhe looked him up and down.

"I am Song Laiyong, the director of Qianmen Subdistrict Office."

"So you're the director of the neighborhood committee?" Zhang Erhe said in an unfriendly tone.

"Comrade, how can you talk like that?" Song Laiyong's face turned bright red, and he wondered to himself, whose family member is this, so arrogant.

"That's what I said!" Zhang Erhe retorted, "So you're allowed to do nothing, but we're not allowed to question you?"

"How are we doing something inhuman?" Song Lai asked, barely suppressing his anger.

"I ask you, forcing a widow whose husband died less than a year ago to remarry, is this the kind of thing you've done?" Zhang Erhe walked over, aggressively pressing his finger almost to Song Laiyong's forehead.

"What?" Song Laiyong, who was already furious, was now stunned, and then somewhat frightened. "Comrade, is what you're saying true?"

"Whether it's true or not, you can check it yourself and find out," Zhang Erhe said, noticing a guilty-looking figure trying to slip away—it was the old lady who had blocked Qiqige's door earlier.

"Hey, you in the red armband, don't run away! It's you!" Zhang Erhe shouted, "Don't look at anyone else, I'm talking to you, come here!"

The middle-aged woman wearing the red armband looked around awkwardly, then pointed to herself: "Are you talking about me?"

“Yes, it’s you.” Zhang Erhe stared at her. “I remember your face very clearly.”

Song Laiyong looked at the old woman, then at Zhang Erhe, and quickly said, "Comrade, why don't we talk inside?"

"No, let's say it right here!" Zhang Erhe raised his voice. "The more people there are, the clearer things will be! I want to ask you, is your Qianmen Subdistrict Office still a government of the new society?"

Suppressing his anger, Song Laiyong beckoned to the middle-aged woman wearing a red armband: "Aunt Bai, come here."

Aunt Bai slowly walked over and asked softly, "Director..."

"Tell me, what exactly happened today?"

Aunt Bai's eyes flickered: "I'm in charge of matchmaking in the neighborhood, you know. I saw that Widow Ma was having a hard time without a man, so I helped her find a partner. I didn't expect... I didn't expect to be misunderstood."

Zhang Erhe sneered: "You brought people to block the door and called her a 'widow who caused the deaths of two men.' Is this the attitude of your street office? Also, Director Song, I'd like to ask, which national regulation stipulates that widows must be forced to remarry?"

Song Laiyong's face immediately darkened—it turned out this whole mess was caused by this old woman, Bai. He glared at her fiercely, then turned to Zhang Erhe and forced a smile: "Comrade, you are…"

"Want to probe? I'm not afraid to tell you." Zhang Erhe raised an eyebrow. "Zhang Erhe, Purchasing Department, Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill."

“Comrade Zhang Erhe,” Song Laiyong murmured the name, “this is most likely a misunderstanding. Please don’t be angry. We’ll investigate…”

"How are you going to investigate? Are you telling me to go back first?" Zhang Erhe turned and walked towards the car. "I think I should go to the Armed Forces Department and ask them. Is this how you 'take care' of the widows of martyrs?"

"What?" Song Laiyong panicked. "You mean...that's the widow of a martyr?"

“Yes.” Zhang Erhe stopped in his tracks. “Your street office staff, along with some random man, blocked the door of a martyr’s widow, forcing her to remarry, and even accusing her of bringing bad luck to her husband. I’m going to ask the Armed Forces Department, is this how you handle the work for the families of military personnel and martyrs?”

"No, no, no!" Song Laiyong was in a panic. How did this involve the families of martyrs? This Aunt Bai had really gotten herself into big trouble! He quickly grabbed Zhang Erhe, "Comrade Zhang Erhe, don't worry, I will definitely give you an explanation!"

Zhang Erhe turned to look at him: "I'm not in a hurry. But if this matter doesn't escalate to the Armed Forces Department and become known throughout Beijing, I'll be ashamed of my name!"

"No, please don't!" Song Laiyong waved his hands anxiously. "Don't worry, I'll handle it right away and make sure you're satisfied!"

Zhang Erhe snorted coldly, crossed his arms, and stood there, coldly observing Song Laiyong's performance.

Seeing that he no longer insisted on going to the Armed Forces Department, Song Laiyong's expression instantly turned extremely serious, and he shouted sternly, "Xiao Wang, Xiao Li!"

The two officers immediately replied, "Here!"

"Lock up Aunt Bai!" Song Laiyong then said to another person, "Xiao Liu, go to the Qianmen Police Station and ask Chief Zhao to send two people over. This matter involves the family of a martyr, so we must investigate it thoroughly!"

Just as Xiao Liu was about to leave, the woman surnamed Bai suddenly knelt down, crying and shouting, "Leader Zhang! Director Song! Please spare me! I'll confess! It was that man surnamed Wu who took a fancy to Widow Ma. He gave me 10 yuan and asked me to introduce her to him in the name of the neighborhood committee. He promised to give me another 20 yuan if it worked out! I was wrong, I was blinded by greed!"

"You really came here on purpose to bully people!" Song Laiyong's vision blurred, cursing inwardly for having such an idiot under his command who so bluntly abandoned the matter. He quietly turned around and met Zhang Erhe's ambiguous smile. His heart skipped a beat—if he didn't satisfy this master today, this matter might not be over.

Seeing that the two men didn't speak, the old woman thought she hadn't explained enough, and cried out again, "Director Song, you have to save me! I was the one who introduced your son to his marriage, so we're related in some way. You can't arrest me for a widow you don't even know!"

"Shut up!" Song Laiyong was furious. This idiot actually brought up their private relationship in public! He forced himself to stay calm and explained to Zhang Erhe, "Comrade Zhang Erhe, don't listen to her nonsense! She and my daughter-in-law are from the same village. She calls her 'Auntie' out of politeness, but we're not really related!"

"Alright, Director Song, may I borrow your street office's phone for a moment?" Zhang Erhe said.

"Alright, alright, this way please." Song Laiyong hurriedly agreed, took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, and led Zhang Erhe into the inner room.

Zhang Erhe picked up the phone and dialed the number of the security department of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

"Hello, is this the security department of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill?"

"Yes, may I ask who you are?"

"I am Zhang Erhe."

The voice on the other end of the phone immediately became enthusiastic: "Section Chief Zhang!"

Is your section chief here?

"He's here!"

"Then tell him that the widow of Ma Qianli, a martyr from our factory, was being bullied, and ask him if he will do anything about it."

"Please wait a moment!" The person on the other end sounded anxious upon hearing this.

Within two minutes, a gruff voice answered the phone: "Erhe? You said Xiao Ma's wife was being bullied?"

"Correct."

"Damn it! Where is it?"

"The person is currently in the Qianmen Subdistrict Office compound."

"You tell them to wait! I'm coming right now and I'm going to skin them alive!" With that, he slammed down the phone.

Song Laiyong stood to the side, sweat pouring down his face. It turned out this man was the section chief of the steel rolling mill, and the woman being bullied was the widow of a martyr from the security department—this time he had really stirred up a hornet's nest.

He had originally thought of getting the police station to intervene, since they were from the same area and might give him some face. But the security department of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill didn't know him at all, so why would they give him any face?

P.S.: What a miserable life! I'm already incredibly busy at the end of the year, and then another book of mine got reported... It's just...

Chapter 214 Exploiting Others

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Erhe returned to the courtyard, where three uniformed police officers arrived, led by officials from the neighborhood committee. Song Laiyong, as if seeing a savior, rushed to greet them.

The head of the police force came over to greet him: "Director Song, what's going on?"

“It’s her,” Song Laiyong pointed at the woman surnamed Bai, “she is suspected of bullying the family of a martyr. Take her back and investigate her thoroughly.”

“No need,” Zhang Erhe interrupted directly. “I’ve already notified the security department of our steel rolling mill, and they’ll be here soon. After all, it’s the family of a martyr who was bullied from our factory. The neighborhood committee thinks there’s a misunderstanding, but I don’t think so.”

"Section Chief Zhang, please don't!" Song Lai pleaded—if the steel rolling mill really got involved, his street office would definitely be criticized.

The police officer who led the way was also in a dilemma. Judging from the conversation, the person who spoke to him was a section chief, while he was just a squad leader. He was caught between the director and the section chief, which was really difficult.

Just as the standoff was reaching its end, and the gatekeeper, Old Zhou, was about to pull the remaining half of the gate shut, a truck came hurtling towards them. A few seconds later, Old Zhou looked at the right gate, which was smashed to pieces again, and couldn't help but mutter, "Are you all bandits? Can't you even push the gate open?" But when he saw more than twenty fully armed men jump out of the truck, he wisely shut his mouth.

As soon as the truck stopped, Section Chief Zhou, who was in the passenger seat, jumped out. The safety of his pistol was wide open, and he looked at Zhang Erhe: "Section Chief Zhang, who bullied Xiao Ma's widow?"

Zhang Erhe pointed to the woman surnamed Bai: "Look, it's her."

Section Chief Zhou glared at the people from the street office and gestured to his subordinates. Two security guards immediately stepped forward, pushing past the police, and walked towards the man surnamed Bai.

The man surnamed Bai panicked—staying at the police station offered some hope, but at the steel mill, he'd be fish on the chopping block. "Director Song, please hurry..."

Before he could finish speaking, a security guard became impatient, took the gun off his back, and swiftly struck Bai with the butt of the gun. Bai's face immediately swelled up, and blood flowed down to the corner of his mouth.

Zhang Erhe glanced at it and thought, "Section Chief Zhou is indeed quite skilled at leading people."

Song Laiyong leaned closer: "Section Chief Zhang, Section Chief Zhou, about this matter..."

Zhang Erhe looked at him and said, "Director Song, you don't need to worry about this. We will explain the follow-up situation to the Armed Forces Department. Just wait and see."

As they were talking, the security guards had already put the man surnamed Bai into the car. Section Chief Zhou got into Zhang Erhe's car, and the group left through the broken-down gate of the street office and drove away.

Only Old Zhou remained standing at the door, muttering under his breath, "You steel mill folks are really... all bandits."