Chapter Thirty-Four Go to a Good Place

  As soon as it dawned, Luo Xiaotong let Xiao Ye go home. Xiao Ye was very tired and said to Luo Xiaotong: "I'll come find you again." Luo Xiaotong didn't say anything, just smiled and saw him off, then waited for the government officials to arrive at work.

  The first to appear was still that Qi Zhanlong. Luo Xiaotong had now figured out what kind of person this was. This Qi Zhanlong's full name was Qi Tian, and when Luo Xiaotong first learned of this name, she thought it was funny, thinking that his parents must have been inspired by the TV series "Journey to the West" when he was born, and had given him this name. It would be better to call him Qi Tian Dasheng, it's very foreign-sounding, a Western-style name. This guy didn't live up to his name for nothing, always thinking about climbing up, following behind the town mayor and secretary, like a little lackey. And it was quite effective, he became the director of the forestry station early on, and reportedly had new ambitions, wanting to become a deputy mayor, so he performed enthusiastically, worked hard, came in early every day, and did a lot of voluntary labor.

  Lu Xiaotong resented him for looking down on her, and every time she saw him, she would curse him in her heart, but still put on a smiling face. This was called being ruthless in her heart, just waiting for the opportunity to speak out. Seeing him arrive, Lu Xiaotong smiled: "Director Qi is early." Qi Tian's hair was still sleek with oil: "You're even earlier." On the surface, it sounded polite, but upon closer analysis, it was still an insult. This guy looked down on Lu Xiaotong.

  Lu Xiaotong pretended to be nonchalant, watching him leave with a hint of resentment. Then people started appearing one after another, Chen Hua also arrived, just gave a greeting and then went into the office.

  Luo Xiaotong used to get off work at 8 o'clock, but because of burning the boiler, he didn't have a specific time to get off work. He remembered that after riding his bike back home and eating dinner, he had to come back. However, since there were still three or five days before starting to burn the boiler, and most of the previous work was done, he went back home, ate dinner, and took a short nap. When he woke up, it was already 11 o'clock, and he remembered that he should go to Chunxiang Institute to burn paper and then get his money back. He got up and asked his mother for 100 yuan. Not seeing his father Luo Huan, he asked his mother: "Where's my dad?" His mother said: "He went up the mountain to drive a car." In rural areas, at this time, everyone was busy preparing firewood for winter, so Luo Xiaotong didn't ask any more questions and rode his bike away.

  Arrived at the town, spent eighty yuan, bought a large bundle of mourning paper, thought it was enough for one million, finally tied up in the car with great difficulty, panting and arrived at the tomb of spring green.

  It's different from what I saw at night, it's not as crowded. However, after searching carefully, I couldn't remember where the Chunxiang Temple was, and I thought the cave entrance in front of the tomb might be the entrance to the Chunxiang Temple. As I walked closer, without looking closely, a stack of money was placed there, with a lump of mud pressing down on it. The gentle breeze blew, making a rustling sound, as if someone was counting money.

  He took the money and placed the hell paper in front of the grave. Luo Xiaotong vaguely remembered the rules for visiting graves, drew a circle, and said, "Yan sister, Xiaotong has come to repay the debt." He lit the paper on fire, and it burned fiercely for a moment. Suddenly, a whirlwind suddenly rose, picking up the burning hell paper that had not been extinguished. The surrounding trees were lush, with many dry branches and leaves. Luo Xiaotong was so frightened that he quickly picked up a branch to put out the hell paper, saying, "Yan sister, I am a trustworthy person, don't harm me, if the fire burns the mountain forest, the consequences are unthinkable." As soon as he said this, the wind disappeared immediately.

  After a long time, the flames died down, leaving only ashes. Luo Xiaotong bowed towards the grave and left without saying a word. Back at the town government office, there was nothing to do, so he took a nap in the boiler room. Just as he was getting comfortable, his phone in his pocket started ringing loudly. Groggily, Luo Xiaotong woke up. He pulled it out and saw that it was from home. Putting it to his ear, it was his mother: "Xiaotong, come back quickly, something's happened at home."

  "What's up?" asked Luo Xiaotong while putting on his shoes.

  "Your father brought back a truckload of firewood, just got home, and some bastard reported it to the town forestry station. Now they're at our house demanding a fine." Mother was almost in tears as she spoke.

  The bicycle was too slow, so I hailed a taxi and rushed home. In the courtyard, there were already many people gathered, chattering noisily. Pushing through the crowd, Luo Xiaotong walked in and caught sight of Qi Tian, who had a leather bag tucked under his arm, standing tall with an air of triumph.

  Luo Xiaotong walked up to him, stretched out his hand, and Qi Tian glanced at it, stiffly shaking hands: "I heard this is your home?" Luo Xiaotong nodded with a smile. Qi Tian remained stern: "Luo Xiaotong, as someone who works in the government, you should know about the current national policies, closing off mountains to cultivate forests and protect the environment. But look at what's happening - your father is openly defying national policy, recklessly chopping down trees in broad daylight." His tone was fierce, leaving no room for courtesy.

  Luo Xiaotong took a look and saw that the situation was not right, this guy was pretending to be serious. In front of everyone, there was no way to communicate. He pulled him aside: "Director Qi, what you said, how could it be so severe."

  Qitianping had always looked down on Luo Xiaotong, and now that he was in his hands, he wanted to show off even more. He thought to himself, "You think you can just fawn over Chen Hua and ignore us? Today I'll let you know my power." With a snort, he said, "Whether it's serious or not isn't for you to decide, it's up to me."

  "I know, I know," Luo Xiaotong said with a smile: "But, considering we're colleagues, let's not make a big deal out of it."

  Qitian scrutinized Luo Xiaotong, sizing him up like a stranger, then sneered coldly: "We're colleagues? Ha ha, I wasn't aware." Turning around, he beckoned to someone, and an employee came over: "What is it, Station Master?"

  "Hurry up, the fine is 1,500 yuan, not a single cent less."

  Lu Xiaotong heard that such a large amount, it seems that his father was too bold, and must be a car of wood. It's useless to say more, go to the front of the car to take a look. If you don't look, then just look down, anger is burning. A normal load of firewood, which is commonly used by villagers every day. Wanting to reason with Qi Tian, thinking carefully it's not appropriate, still hurry up and find someone. Call Chen Hua, explain the situation, hoping he can communicate with Qi Tian. But Chen Hua is cunning, saying that he can't show his face, suggesting to find Bai Laowang.

  Bai Laowang answered the phone, but didn't immediately agree. He thought that it was just Luo Xiaotong and he shouldn't get involved personally, as their relationship wasn't that deep. However, Luo Xiaotong was clever and mentioned Chen Hua, saying that it was Chen's orders. Bai Laowang became afraid and quickly called Qi Tian: "Brother, let's just drop it. You know that Luo Xiaotong is under Vice Mayor Chen's wing, so going against him would be the same as going against the vice mayor directly." Qi Tian didn't want to give in, but thinking about his own influence not being strong enough to rival Chen Hua's, he softened his tone: "Alright, I'll handle it appropriately, considering White Brother and Vice Mayor Chen's face."

  Bring over Luo Xiaotong, and when they arrived at a place where no one could hear them, he said: "Brother, you're quite clever to find someone to put pressure on me. I have no choice but to admit that you've found the right person. However, we've come with three or four people, and it's also wasted a lot of effort for us to eat and feed our horses. You should at least let me give my brothers an explanation." Luo Xiaotong naturally understood what this guy meant, so he said: "I understand Captain Qi's meaning." He took out 300 yuan and stuffed it into his pocket: "Let the brothers have a drink."

  Here is the translation:

  "Alright, I'll give you face this time, but don't let it happen again." Luo Xiaotong's ears were ringing with anger. He thought to himself: "These bastards, relying on their official uniforms, do things that aren't for the people's benefit, but instead make the people serve them. Now that they've got me in their sights, who knows what will happen next? I need to thoroughly cut off their train of thought." Suddenly, he remembered Chunxiangyuan (Spring Fragrance Courtyard). If he took Qitian there, that guy would be eternally grateful and think him incredibly capable, not daring to underestimate him. Maybe then they wouldn't come to his house causing trouble again. Thinking this, he grabbed hold of Qitian: "Officer Qitian, I'll find you another day and take you to a great place."

  Zhitian didn't ask where he was going, and with a smile, said: "Alright, I understand, I'll wait for you."