Chapter 129: The Autumn Harvest of Sun Xiaoshan (4)

At that month’s party group meeting, Sun Xiaoshan was carefully questioned by the party group leader and members. They asked in great detail—what actions were taken, how did he react at the time, and so forth.

As the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Sun Xiaoshan had reviewed their resumes beforehand and knew that some had been police officers before the apocalypse, particularly fond of interrogating cases of sexual assault.

After being rescued at Dongba following the apocalypse, they planned to start anew and had registered during a recruitment drive, ultimately being accepted.

Their questioning was professional and meticulous. Sun Xiaoshan thought with a shudder, “Even without any answers, these questions alone could fill a bestselling adult novel!”

He recalled his fifth brother, Li Fengyi’s words: “Under normal circumstances, no one could just mobilize an entire military force.”

Now, he truly understood.

Party group leaders were usually older, amiable veteran party members. Seeing Sun Xiaoshan’s pale face flush bright red, resembling the eyes of a zombie, the leader remarked,

“Hmm, so it turns out,” he announced their conclusion, “this matter isn’t Xiaoshan’s fault. That girl was upset about the honor of her sect being overshadowed by Xiaoshan and wanted to reclaim her standing. Under those circumstances, we couldn’t just let Xiaoshan take all the blows without defending himself. The doctor said those first few kicks—well, the legs of the table—left Xiaoshan bruised all over; any harder, and there would have been internal injuries.”

“If he had been seriously injured, not only would oil production recovery have been affected, but it would have also dealt a severe blow to the overall work of the Special Committee going forward.”

At this point, the veteran party member looked at Sun Xiaoshan with the affectionate gaze of an elder watching over children, smiling gently as he asked, “What do you think of that girl?”

Sun Xiaoshan’s face reddened further. He fidgeted awkwardly, stammering, unable to form a coherent sentence.

“If this were the military,” the party group leader said gently, “there would be an absolute ban on romantic relationships with local women. But we’re not the military—we’re civilians. How to handle this matter depends on your feelings... and the girl’s.”

“Strictly speaking, to prevent unfortunate incidents—such as the girl becoming so ashamed or upset she might harm herself—and to avoid any negative impact on our party, the organization needs to step in to mediate with her family and the Martial Arts Association,” the veteran said, clearly familiar with the mediation process, having been a caring person even before the apocalypse.

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“That doesn’t sound right, does it?” Sun Xiaoshan felt a lingering fear and distrust toward the word “organization,” a residue from pre-apocalypse life among ordinary people. He worried this might lead to some unseen dark dealings.

“Well then,” the veteran, understanding the people’s psychology, sighed inwardly. It wasn’t anyone’s fault—regaining lost trust always requires greater effort. He said, “I’ll first reach out to the girl and see what she thinks.”

On September 27, 2015, in Xiaoxinbao Village, veteran party member Chen Moqing was busy organizing recruitment and gathering logistical supplies for the Special Committee.

After arranging his team, he visited Lu Wancai, using the excuse that the Special Committee was checking in to see if they could assist the household in any way.

Lu Wancai appreciated the Committee’s manners. They were nothing like the aloof bureaucrats before the apocalypse. Some of those officials had even tried to find young women skilled in martial arts to accompany them for drinking and dancing, which everyone detested. After a few officials got roughed up, things improved significantly.

Chen Moqing, facing these martial experts, felt quite frustrated. He understood why, before the apocalypse, disarming the populace had been so heavily emphasized. When one is constantly worried about wrongdoing, what meaning does officialdom hold?

But that was not for him to decide. At the next party group meeting, he planned to raise the issue: whether to disarm completely and forbid martial arts practice, or encourage civilians to strengthen their self-defense abilities. How to prevent officials from abusing power was still undecided.

As he chatted with Lu Wancai, he scrutinized him carefully and saw no change. It seemed Lu’s daughter was unaware of the matter, giving Chen some confidence.

He hadn’t met Lu Cuifeng today and felt awkward asking about the girl directly. “After all, we’re not like those former officials who needed girls to serve drinks,” Chen comforted himself, relieved that the purge of corrupt officials had already begun before the apocalypse; otherwise, invoking that pretext now would be too risky.

Determined to meet Lu Cuifeng, Chen returned for visits the next day and the day after.

Lu Wancai grew suspicious. The Special Committee folks were always busy as rabbits—how did they find time to chat with him so often?

He privately asked around; no abnormalities were reported. Someone said the senior sister had gone a few days ago to the Dagang Oilfield Chenghai No.1 artificial well site. Recently, she had been practicing intensively alone at the training ground before retreating indoors to rest.

He pondered, “My daughter’s in trouble again! Most likely, she beat up someone from the Special Committee!”

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Knowing his daughter’s martial prowess, Lu Wancai was certain that a single Special Committee operative was no match for her. He didn’t think she’d actually roughed up Minister Sun from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology—if that had happened, they would have come to arrest her by now.

He called for Lu Cuifeng, who came over with her head lowered when her father called her.

Lu Wancai scrutinized her carefully. She was no longer as spirited and carefree as a few days ago; now she seemed calm and subdued.

“Did you get the short end of the stick?” Lu Wancai wondered, thinking, “My daughter sure isn’t easy to handle!”

“Feng’er,” since his wife had died during the apocalypse, Lu Wancai had taken on both parental roles, watching his daughter’s expression closely, “Did you go to the Special Committee site at Dagang Oilfield Chenghai No.1 the other day?”

“Yeah,” his daughter’s face flushed as if dripping with water.

“What happened? The Special Committee keeps visiting us every day.” It didn’t seem she had beaten them up; rather, it looked like she had taken a loss. Lu Wancai was puzzled, silently exclaiming, “My daughter sure isn’t easy! It’s not the first time she’s roughed up officials—before the apocalypse, several corrupt ones got a beating.”

“...Don’t ask,” Lu Cuifeng said, exasperated, “It’s nothing.” She turned and ran out, just meeting Chen Moqing arriving for another visit.

Seeing Lu Cuifeng glance at him, her face blazing red as she dashed away, Chen chuckled inwardly. This was a promising lead—old Lu’s family was bound to pay dearly.

This time, Chen was less relaxed than before. He circled around Lu Wancai with questions: how old was the daughter, was she unmarried—of course, the Organization’s personnel investigations already knew—but he needed to inquire about whether she had a boyfriend and what kind of match they were seeking.

Lu Wancai thought, “Damn, you organization folks really know how to mess around. What’s this all about? If I’d known you had something up your sleeve, I’d have made you taste the Lu family’s martial skills long ago.”