Chapter 53 Liu Haizhong Squeals

Early the next morning, Liu Haizhong was waiting in Wang Lin’s office for him to arrive.

Upon seeing Wang Lin, Liu Haizhong hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

"Director Wang, Xu Damao came to see me yesterday and asked me to ransack Lou Zhenghua's home."

Wang Lin nodded, a cold sneer playing at the corner of his mouth.

Lou Zhenghua was a clever man. Under Wang Lin's guidance, he left only a fraction of his cash and antiques at home. The vast majority of his wealth had been converted into grain through the Shadow International Group and donated unconditionally to the state.

"Go tell Director Li about this, and then proceed according to his instructions."

Wang Lin's words baffled Liu Haizhong, giving him the impression that Wang Lin completely disregarded the life and death of his own father-in-law.

However, since he was now following Wang Lin's lead, he would do whatever Wang Lin told him to do. As for the fate of others, it was none of his concern.

"Very well, Director Wang."

Watching Liu Haizhong's retreating figure, Wang Lin wore a faint smile.

He was quite satisfied with this lackey, Liu Haizhong. No matter what happened, Liu would report to him first and only inform Li Huaide after receiving his approval. Furthermore, Liu followed his instructions blindly; the only drawback was Liu's limited capability.

Liu Haizhong arrived outside Li Huaide's office and gently knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Upon receiving permission, Liu Haizhong pushed the door open softly.

"Director Li, there is a matter I need to report to you..."

Liu Haizhong recounted what Xu Damao had told him the day before. Hearing this, Li Huaide did not even hesitate and spoke immediately.

"Have Xu Damao arrested and locked up for a few days so he learns the consequences of making reckless accusations."

Liu Haizhong quickly acknowledged the order and withdrew from the office.

Today must have been Xu Damao's "lucky day." Just as he had collected his equipment from the propaganda department and was preparing to go to the countryside to show movies, he was intercepted right there in the office by Liu Haizhong and his inspection team members.

"Xu Damao, following an investigation, it has been found that you made reckless accusations against Lou Zhenghua's family. Come with us!"

Xu Damao was dumbfounded, panicking as he stammered, "No, Second Uncle, I was just offering you an idea! I didn't report anyone, I really didn't report anyone!"

No matter what Xu Damao said, Liu Haizhong remained unyielding and directly ordered his men to take him away.

Turning to the head of the propaganda department, Liu Haizhong smiled and said, "Sorry to trouble you, Section Chief Liu, but you'll have to find another projectionist to go to the countryside."

"It's no trouble at all, no trouble at all."

Section Chief Liu of the propaganda department quickly replied.

He was no fool; how could he not know that Liu Haizhong's action had been arranged by Li Huaide? If Li Huaide hadn't given the order, Liu Haizhong would never have dared to touch Xu Damao.

At the same time, Section Chief Liu felt a twinge of fear, as he belonged to Factory Director Yang's faction.

Under Li Huaide's suppression, Factory Director Yang had already been demoted to cleaning duties. As a mere section chief of propaganda, he certainly dared not cross Li Huaide.

Liu Haizhong nodded, turned around, and walked out of the propaganda department with a swagger.

As soon as Liu Haizhong left, the staff in the propaganda department began to whisper among themselves.

"Xu Damao totally deserved this. Is Half-City Lou someone he can afford to provoke?"

"Half-City Lou is a patriotic capitalist. Now that there's a famine, I heard he used his own overseas channels to buy food and donated it all to the state. Nowadays, his own family barely has enough to eat from one meal to the next. For Xu Damao to report a man like that—he must be out of his mind."

"Sigh, if only there were more capitalists like Lou Zhenghua, we wouldn't be facing food shortages right now."

"Indeed, indeed. That Xu Damao is truly scum. Just when there's finally a decent capitalist around, he goes and turns him in."

Because of Xu Damao's arrest, the atmosphere in the propaganda department was far from gloomy; instead, it buzzed with lively chatter.

Meanwhile, after closing his office door, Wang Lin stepped directly into the Shadow Realm.

"Wife, I'm back."

Qin Huairu and the other two women rolled their eyes.

Qin Huairu smiled and said, "What do you mean you're back? How long has it been since you left us?"

Wang Lin chuckled foolishly, walked over to the three women, gently pulled Qin Huairu and Lou Xiaoe into his arms, and motioned for Chen Xeru to sit on his lap.

"What can I do? Who asked my three wives to be so gorgeous? Even being away for a single second feels like a year to me!"

Chen Xeru smiled and playfully pinched Wang Lin. "You only know how to flatter us."

Lou Xiaoe's gaze was filled with worry as she asked, "Brother Lin, when are you going to bring Sister Fengxia in here?"

Wang Lin sighed helplessly. "I'd love to, but Fengxia is still young. I'm afraid she might accidentally blurt something out while playing with other kids and give away the secret of the Shadow Realm."

His words left all three women in silence.

Although they were very fond of You Fengxia, she still couldn't compare to Wang Lin in their hearts.

"Darling, Fengxia's brother hasn't been bullied at the rolling mill, has he?"

Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Chen Xeru quickly spoke up to break the awkwardness.

"Don't worry, I arranged for him to work in logistics, guarding the warehouse. It's an easy job—he just has to log incoming supplies and track who uses what," Wang Lin replied with a smile.

Hearing this, Qin Huairu and the other two felt much more relieved.

At the same time, Qin Huairu rubbed her large belly. Thinking of how Qin Min had already given birth to棒梗 (Banggen) for the Jia family, she softly murmured, "Oh little one, I wonder when you'll finally be born?"

Wang Lin gently stroked Qin Huairu's lustrous hair and replied gently, "There's no need to rush. You wouldn't want our baby to be premature like Banggen, would you?"

"Hmph, our baby is definitely not premature," Qin Huairu pouted playfully.

"Hehehe," Wang Lin chuckled foolishly.

While premature babies didn't always face severe problems, one thing was certain: all premature babies had extremely weak constitutions and were prone to illness.

Case in point: over at Courtyard 95, the Jia family was in a state of chaos.

"Aiyah, Qin Min, you useless piece of trash, why aren't you getting up yet? Banggen has a fever, and you still aren't taking him to the hospital!"

Qin Min felt bitter inside. She wanted to ask Jia Zhangshi to take Banggen to the hospital, but the thought of Jia Zhangshi pinching her in response made her too terrified to speak.

Regret flooded Qin Min's heart. She never imagined Jia Zhangshi would be such a lazy and ungrateful old hag. Moreover, she was still in confinement and her body was extremely weak—how could she possibly have the strength to take Banggen to the hospital?

"Aiyoh, Old Jia, look at this daughter-in-law of ours! Our eldest grandson is sick, and she refuses to take him to get treated. Come on up and drag this bitch away!"

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's "spirit-summoning ritual," the Second Aunt directly pushed open the door and entered the Jia home.

"Jia Zhangshi, what are you howling about? The moment you get back, you start screaming inside the house."

Outside, standing right behind the Second Aunt, a crowd of neighborhood women had gathered, pointing and chattering incessantly.

Despite the pointing and gossip, Jia Zhangshi was thick-skinned enough not to care in the least. She pointed angrily at Qin Min and yelled, "Look at this useless trash! Banggen is sick, and she's too stingy to spend money to take him to the hospital!"

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, Qin Min was utterly dumbfounded, never expecting Jia Zhangshi to reverse and distort the truth so shamelessly.