Volume 2 [135] Publication of Demolition Documents
Zhao Qiang had no intention of having a gathering, but he couldn't resist Sun Gang and Zhao Hai's enthusiasm, so he had to agree. He figured he would probably finish his business and return to Donghai City on New Year's Day, which would save him from meeting everyone. Judging from Su Su's performance, the gathering would probably just be a performance show, with everyone showing off their achievements over the past few years. Zhao Qiang didn't think he had anything to show off, and he was also afraid that Zhao Hai might say something inappropriate after having a few drinks.
Zhao Qiang walked back to the village. When he passed the village entrance, he took a special look. The civil engineering project on a small hill in the west of the village had been completed. Two large factory buildings, an office building, and several large tanks stood on the hillside. A dirt road under construction passed through several farmlands and connected to the road into the village. Zhao Qiang had seen this project when he returned home last time, but he hadn't paid any attention to it.
When they returned to the house where their grandfather lived, they only found their mother. It turned out that their father, Zhao Weiguo, had gone to a meeting at the village committee. Liu Huilan said, "It's probably about the compensation issue for your grandfather's house. The town issued a document, and your father went to listen to it."
Zhao Qiang was suddenly shocked when he heard his mother's explanation. They came so quickly. If Liu Wei's explanation was true, and each room was only compensated 2,000 yuan, then his grandfather's three and a half rooms would only receive 7,000 yuan in subsidies. By then, they wouldn't even have enough to cover the labor costs for rebuilding! Zhao Qiang couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Mom, I'm going to the village committee to take a look."
Liu Huilan didn't stop him, "Go ahead." At this moment, Zhao Tiancheng, lying on the bed, shouted, "I'd rather die than leave! They've taken my land and now they want to demolish my house. What kind of world is this? Is there no justice or law left?!"
Liu Huilan glanced at Zhao Qiang, sighed, and didn't explain. Zhao Qiang didn't ask any more questions either. He left his grandfather's house and headed towards the village committee. The village was brightly lit. Whether they were involved in the demolition or not, everyone had come to watch the spectacle. Zhao Dayou, the village committee secretary and village head, was giving a rousing speech to the villagers in the room with his hands on the table.
"The establishment of the Zaolin Chemical Plant is a great opportunity for our village. It will increase our village's employment rate and economic income. Moreover, the establishment of the guesthouse will help sell our village's agricultural products. According to the chemical plant's plan, they will create a farmhouse-style catering business in our village in the future, which will bring a huge leap to our village's economy!"
Someone below said, "Secretary Zhao, can you stop with this intangible stuff? Just tell us how much the housing subsidies will actually be." That's what everyone cares about most. As for the future prospects, who knows if it will even be realized?
Zhao Dayou pressed heavily on the table, his expression solemn, and said, "Based on the research and decision of the town party committee, and taking into account the actual situation of our village and the current price standards, it has been decided to provide a subsidy of two thousand yuan per room."
These words immediately caused an uproar in the house. "What? Two thousand yuan a room? My four new rooms cost a full eighty thousand yuan to build! Damn it, go to hell!"
"You won't even work for 20,000 yuan a room, Zhao Dayou, you motherfucker are a traitor! You're helping outsiders persecute the villagers!"
"You son of a bitch, Zhao Dayou, why don't you just die!"
Zhao Dayou's face was flushed and bruised. He shouted, "Everyone, calm down! Let me finish. First of all, this decision was made by the town party committee in a meeting and has nothing to do with me, Zhao Dayou. Secondly, the 2,000 yuan compensation for the house is a relocation fee. You don't need to pay anything for choosing a new site. Moreover, all the materials for the demolished houses belong to you. You just need to hire a few bricklayers to rebuild them. Furthermore, the villagers involved in the demolition have the privilege of priority in working at the industrial park."
Someone continued cursing, "Zhao Dayou, can you bring your wife and kids to build for us? We'll give you two thousand per room, and if you don't finish, I'll fuck all the women in your family to death!"
"Working in an evolution factory? I've heard that these factories have occupational diseases, and workers don't live past fifty! Are you cursing us?"
"That traitor Zhao Dayou! He and his gang embezzled all the land acquisition and demolition compensation. Let's smash up the village committee building and file a complaint with the district!" Someone stood up and pushed forward.
Zhao Dayou seemed to have anticipated this scene. The two strangers who had been sitting behind him suddenly stood up, reached into their waistbands, and each pulled out a Type 54 pistol. They raised their hands and fired a shot at the roof. Bang! A hole was punched in the house, and the crisp sound silenced the restless villagers.
Zhao Dayou said coldly, "These are comrades from the town police station. They are responsible for assisting with this demolition. First, the comrades from the police station will post the town government's documents, with black and white text and a large seal. If anyone is dissatisfied, they can go to the town government. I, Zhao Dayou, am just a messenger. It is not the behavior of a man to take your anger out on me!"
So one plainclothes officer brandished a pistol to intimidate the villagers, while another efficiently pasted the relevant town government documents on the back wall. Sure enough, they were stamped with a bright red seal. After doing all this, Zhao Dayou, under the protection of the two plainclothes officers, walked through the crowd and left the meeting place. Everyone was afraid of the guns in the plainclothes officers' hands, so no one stopped him. After Zhao Dayou left, the crowd rushed over to examine the official documents.
Zhao Weiguo squatted dejectedly in the corner, smoking a cheap cigarette that cost only a few yuan. Zhao Qiang squatted down next to his father, took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, and handed them to his father. Zhao Weiguo looked up at his son and shook his head: "I can't get used to the taste."
"Dad, I already know about Grandpa's leg injury."
Zhao Weiguo sighed: "Xiaoqiang, we're an honest family. I heard from your mother that your shop was vandalized last time."
Zhao Qiang nodded, and Zhao Weiguo continued, "That's just how the world is. Those with power and influence can do whatever they want, while we ordinary folks can only endure it. Xiao Qiang, you can't be foolish. If anything happens to you, your parents won't be able to survive."
Zhao Qiang calmly said, "Dad, I'm not a child anymore, but you still have to tell me who did it, so I can have a target to curse them."
Zhao Weiguo said, “I heard that the men who did the beating were Song Shiguo’s henchmen, some kind of ‘Four Tigers of Hedian.’ I only know that one of them had a scar on his left eye, and another was bald. I don’t remember much about the others. It was snowing that day, and these men surrounded your grandfather and beat him severely. I was pinned to the ground and couldn’t move. I shouted, cursed, and begged for mercy until my voice was hoarse. Both of my arms were dislocated by them. But they are all beasts. They didn’t care at all about your grandfather’s age. The one with the scar hit your grandfather’s leg with a stick, and he passed out on the spot. But they just left him there and walked away…”
Zhao Weiguo sobbed as he threw his cigarette butt in the corner. This strong middle-aged man had never compromised in the face of life, but he was helpless against those evil forces!
Zhao Qiang wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. He gritted his teeth, but on the surface he remained calm and said, "I understand, Dad. Let's go home. You have to believe that good people are rewarded and bad people are punished. I think they will get their comeuppance."
Zhao Weiguo stood up and pointed to the documents being viewed by a group of people, saying, "What are we going to do? Your grandfather will be furious when he hears this news. Two thousand per room? Even if your grandfather's house is very dilapidated, the cost of demolishing and rebuilding it, just for the food and meals of the craftsmen, won't be enough. Aren't these people talking nonsense? They even said it was decided after research by the Party Committee. Is that damn Party Committee blind and deaf? Didn't they even bother to check the current prices?"
Zhao Qiang gave a wry smile: "Dad, there's no point in saying all this here. Let's go home and talk about it."
Zhao Weiguo said, "I think if this doesn't work, we should all unite and go to the district to file a complaint."
Zhao Qiang revealed some inside information to his father, "Dad, the chemical plant is owned by the district party secretary's nephew. I heard from my classmate's boyfriend that the district party secretary has shares in it. Do you think it will be useful to complain to the district government?"
Zhao Weiguo stubbornly said, "Then let's go to the city. We can't let them demolish our house like this!"
Zhao Qiang said in a low voice, "I don't think they can take it down unless they step over me!"
Zhao Weiguo didn't quite understand what his son meant, but after Zhao Qiang's persuasion, he realized that staying there and making a fuss would be pointless, so the father and son went home together.
The next morning, Zhao Qiang carried his laptop bag and boarded a bus to Hedian District. Firstly, his father asked him to get some more medicine for his grandfather, and secondly, more importantly, Zhao Qiang wanted to find out about Song Shiguo's background. If the information was accurate, Zhao Qiang would stay in Hedian District that night to get things done. At this moment, Zhao Qiang's machine-like coldness and ruthlessness took over again.
Volume 2 [136] Su Xiaosu
After getting off the bus at the minibus station, Zhao Qiang looked around. He couldn't think of what to do first. He wasn't familiar with Hedian District. He went to high school in another town, and at that time, he wasn't good enough to get into the district's top high school.
With a bang, a girl suddenly screamed "Ah!" behind him. Then Zhao Qiang felt something coming at him. His super biochip immediately issued a command, and Zhao Qiang jumped to the side to dodge. At the same time, he assumed the best attack posture. However, Zhao Qiang relaxed his nerves immediately. It was a girl who came to pick up goods. Her handcart had overturned, and several boxes were rolling around on the ground in a mess.
Zhao Qiang suddenly shuddered. He couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed them hard and hard. The girl in front of him was clearly Su Su. No, not Su Su of today, but Su Su from three years ago! She was dressed simply, without any fancy clothes. A thick, long ponytail was tied on her back. Seeing that Zhao Qiang had almost been hit, she stared at him with some fear, afraid that Zhao Qiang would be angry with her.
"Su Su?" Zhao Qiang couldn't help but call out to her.
The girl suddenly chuckled: "You know my sister?"
Zhao Qiang was surprised: "You're not Su Su?"
The girl was no longer as frightened as before when she saw that it was an acquaintance. She bent down to help the box up and said, "Yes, you're not the first person to mistake me for someone else. My name is Su Xiaosu, and Su Su is my sister. I'm sorry about earlier, I almost hit you."
Su Xiaosu? Does the Su family have no other names besides "Su"? What would they name their daughter if they had another one?
Zhao Qiang helped pick up the boxes and said, "It's okay, it didn't really hit anything. But you and your sister look so alike, I still can't quite believe you're not the same person?"
Su Xiaosu smiled sweetly: "Do you want me to show you my ID card? I'm several years younger than my sister."
Actually, the two girls spoke in different tones. The current Su Su always spoke with a kind of arrogant feeling, while the Su Xiao Su in front of us was more delicate and elegant than Su Su three and a half years ago, and her voice was sweeter. In addition, she was much thinner and not as sexy and voluptuous as Su Su at all. She was more like a bud that had not yet bloomed.
Zhao Qiang said, "No need for ID, I believe you. You're here to pick up the goods?"
Su Xiaosu said, "Yes, when did you and my sister become classmates?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I'm from a high school. My name is Zhao Qiang. I'm sorry for mistaking you for someone else earlier."
Su Xiaosu said, "It's nothing, this kind of thing happens often. Thank you for helping me move the boxes, I'm leaving now."
Seeing that Su Xiaosu was struggling to pull the suitcase by herself, Zhao Qiang offered to help her. "Your sister and brother-in-law treated me to dinner last night. If I let you leave with such a heavy suitcase by yourself now, your sister will definitely scold me."
Zhao Qiang's words completely put Su Xiaosu at ease, so she handed the handcart to him without worry. Then she greeted him from the side, "Thank you, Zhao Qiang. Do you work in the city?"
Zhao Qiang said, "No, I came to buy some medicine for my grandfather. I live in Zaolin Town and am currently studying at university in Donghai City."
Su Xiaosu said, "Buy medicine? That's such a coincidence. My family owns a pharmacy, and all the goods I pick up are medicines."
Zhao Qiang then noticed the writing on the box, which was indeed related to medicine. He smiled and said, "What a coincidence! I'll take it back for you and buy some more medicine. My grandfather broke his leg, so you can get some medicine for him."
Su Xiaosu cheerfully replied, "No problem, I guarantee you the lowest price."
The pharmacy owned by Su Xiaosu's family wasn't far from the minibus station, about 1,500 meters away. It was a street-front shop, about 60 square meters in size. Inside, there was a middle-aged man and woman, presumably Su Xiaosu's parents. Zhao Qiang helped bring the medicine into the shop, and Su Xiaosu said to her parents, "Dad, Mom, I ran into my sister's classmate at the station while picking up goods, and she helped me bring the medicine back."
Su Xiaosu's father came out to greet her: "Thank you, classmate. What's your name?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Hello uncle, my name is Zhao Qiang. Could you please get me some medicine for my leg injury? My grandfather broke his leg."
Su Xiaosu's mother said from behind the counter, "Okay, but if the bone is set and a cast is put on, try to supplement with more protein and vitamins. As long as the leg is no longer swollen, there is no need to take any random medicines. You need to let it heal slowly. All medicines have some side effects."
Zhao Qiang nodded: "Thank you for the reminder, Auntie. I'll get some anti-inflammatory medicine first, and then more vitamins and bone-strengthening powder. As for other supplements, please get me a few packets, preferably the effective ones."
Before long, Zhao Qiang had collected a huge pile of medicines, and the total came to over a thousand yuan. Nutritional supplements were too expensive. Su Xiaosu stuck out her tongue at her mother and said, "Mom, I promised them the lowest price."
Su Xiaosu's mother readily agreed, "Then let's do it. I'll give you a thousand. I didn't charge the normal price when we settled the bill earlier. If it's any cheaper, I'll lose money."
Zhao Qiang didn't hesitate and directly took out ten hundred-yuan bills from his bag to pay the bill. However, he couldn't carry these medicines with him. He put them in his bag and left them at the pharmacy, planning to bring them back when he returned to his hometown.
Zhao Qiang was packing medicines on one side, while a woman on the other side was buying cold medicine with her medical card. After swiping the card, a receipt should be printed, which would also show the balance on the medical card. Su's father was operating the computer when he suddenly discovered that the printer was broken. He called out to Su Xiaosu, "Xiaosu, come and take a look, why can't it print the receipt?"
Su Xiaosu was busy making tea. She put down the hot water in her hand and went to check the computer that swipes medical cards. Everything seemed to be working normally. The printer's online light was on, but it just wouldn't feed paper. She checked the connection cable between the printer and the host computer and found no problems. Su Xiaosu didn't know how to do any more complicated checks. She was only slightly better than her father.
Su Xiaosu asked, "Dad, what did you just do? I clearly swiped someone's card and printed a receipt this morning."
Mr. Su said, "Nothing much, just repeating the same procedure as before: read the card, enter the password, calculate the price, and then print. But the printer isn't working. Oh, right, your mother just cleaned the printer. Did she break it?"
Su Xiaosu was skeptical: "Really? Is it that delicate?" As she spoke, she patted the printer, hoping that the pat would make it work again.
Mr. Su turned around and complained to Mrs. Su: "Look at you, I told you not to clean them but you insisted on touching these things. They are all precision instruments, they will break if you touch them. What are we going to do? They are waiting for the order."
The woman smiled and said, "Uncle, swiping the card is fine. I don't need the printed receipt. You can take your time fixing it."
The woman left with the medicine and card. Su's father said, "We've run into an easy-going customer. We can't be without a printer, so let's get someone to fix it right away."
Su Xiaosu had no choice but to start searching for computer repair numbers on her phone. Zhao Qiang put down the medicine he was holding and walked over, saying, "Why don't you let me take a look?"
Su Xiaosu was somewhat surprised: "You can fix computers?"
Zhao Qiang smiled憨厚ly: "I know a little. If I can't fix it, you can find someone else then."
Su Xiaosu stepped aside: "Okay, thank you for your help."
Volume 2 [Chapter 137] Helping Su Xiaosu Fix Her Computer
Zhao Qiang clicked the mouse a few times, opened the Printers and Faxes option in the Control Panel, the driver was correct, the status showed online, and the port settings were also correct, so the problem must be with the printer itself.
Zhao Qiang has been working on repairs every day lately and has gained a deep understanding of computer peripherals. He glanced around the printer and immediately spotted the problem. This dot matrix printer has two paper feeding methods: flat feed and chain feed. The paper feed switch was set to chain feed, which automatically turned off flat feed. So, of course, it didn't respond when paper was placed on it.
Zhao Qiang reached out and pushed the switch back, then pushed the printing paper forward. The printer, which had already received the print command, clicked and started feeding the paper, then quickly began printing. A three-part card swipe record was successfully printed.
"All done!" Su's father said happily. "Zhao Qiang, you're really amazing. You can even fix the printer. We usually don't even dare to touch it. We treat it like a precious artifact, and sometimes it even goes on strike."
Su Xiaosu was also very happy. "Zhao Qiang, you college students are different. My sister doesn't know anything except eating, drinking, dressing up and showing off. I want to go to college in the future, so at least I can learn to fix computers without having to ask others for help."
Zhao Qiang smiled and said, "Universities don't teach these things. I work part-time off-campus. If you want to learn, I can teach you. They're all simple operations, nothing mysterious about them."
Zhao Qiang didn't understand why he said that. Maybe he wanted to spend more time with Su Xiaosu. Su Xiaosu had stirred up his old memories, a feeling he would never have had with the current Su Xiaosu.
Su Xiaosu pulled Zhao Qiang toward a small room at the back of the pharmacy: "Okay, can you take a look at this computer for me? It boots up so slowly, and after booting up, it always takes a long time to connect to the internet. It makes me anxious every time."
Inside was a very elegant room, presumably where Su Xiaosu would sleep that night. There was a light brown computer desk with an HP desktop computer on it, featuring a 19-inch LCD screen. Su Xiaosu reached out and turned on the power button, and the computer started up.
"Zhao Qiang, look, these letters always appear when I turn on the computer, and it takes a long time to get through."
Zhao Qiang glanced at the screen. It hadn't even started reading the operating system yet. "For Realtek RTL8101E10/100 PCI - ExpressEthernet..." The waiting list didn't end there. "CLIENTMACADDR: 00...DHCP..." A full twenty seconds later, a message returned: "No bootfilename Received Exiting PXERom".
Zhao Qiang smiled. This little problem was easy to fix. It was because the onboard network card's boot chip wasn't turned off. However, he needed to enter the BIOS settings when booting up. Now, he could only wait until he was in the system and then restart.
Seeing Zhao Qiang smile, Su Xiaosu assumed he was laughing at her for not understanding the English letters. She blushed and explained, "I understand the literal meaning of the words, but I know nothing about computers. I don't know how to fix it. The computer outside wasn't this difficult to turn on. Is there something wrong with my computer? I even asked a friend to help me choose it at a big department store when I bought it. Now they want to come and take a look, but they want to charge a service fee. I was so angry that I didn't agree."
At this point, the system desktop was accessed. Su Xiaosu clicked the broadband connection with the mouse. After double-clicking, it took more than ten seconds for the dial-up window to appear. A "limited connection" icon appeared in the lower right corner of the screen. Su Xiaosu said to Zhao Qiang, "See, it's that slow, but everything is normal after dialing up."
Zhao Qiang smiled and took the mouse. He first opened Network Neighborhood, then clicked 'View Network Connections' on the left. Under LAN or High-Speed Internet, he selected Local Area Connection and double-clicked it. Then he clicked Properties to open 'Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)'. He changed 'Obtain an IP address automatically' to 'Use the following IP address: IP address: ; Subnet mask autofill: ; Default gateway: ; Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server are both set to the common values for S province.' Then he clicked OK all the way through and restarted the computer.
Su Xiaosu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Alright? What are these numbers for? You know so much!"