Chapter 386: Trivial Matters at Work

When he pushed open the door of Xi Kua Yuan, the light inside was still on.

Lin Xueqing sat at the sewing machine in the main hall, mending her son's pants.

The needle and thread shuttled in the dim yellow light, making a fine rustling sound.

Hearing the door, she lifted her head.

Seeing her husband return, she also saw the worry she couldn't hide on his face.

"You're back!" She put down her needle and thread, rose to meet him, asking, "How did it go? What did Political Commissar Zhou say?"

Lin Xueqing's gaze swept over his face.

"What happened?"

A woman's intuition is always keen.

Especially toward her husband, whom she lives with day in and day out.

Li Ping'an took off his coat and hung it behind the door.

He turned around and looked at his wife.

"I'm back to work."

Four words, spoken softly.

Lin Xueqing froze.

The apple in her hand almost fell to the ground.

"What?"

"Back to work." Li Ping'an repeated, "Not only reinstated, but also promoted half a rank. Now I'm Deputy Secretary of the Factory Party Committee and Head of the Security Department."

Lin Xueqing opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't make a sound.

Her eye sockets suddenly turned red.

It wasn't sadness.

It was the stone that had been weighing on her heart these past days, finally settling.

Those worries, those anxieties, that fear of waking in the night to see her husband's sleeping profile...

At this moment, they all turned into scalding tears.

She turned her face away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Good thing... this is a good thing."

Her voice choked.

Li Ping'an stepped forward and gently put his arm around her shoulder.

"I made you worry."

Lin Xueqing shook her head and buried her face in his shoulder.

Tears soaked her clothes.

At that moment, the door to the inner room opened a crack.

Li Yaozong rubbed his eyes and poked his head out.

"Dad, Mom, what's wrong?"

The child, half-asleep, panicked upon seeing his mother crying.

Lin Xueqing hastily wiped her tears and forced a smile.

"It's nothing, Mom is happy."

"Why are you happy if you're crying?" Li Yaozong said, even more puzzled.

Li Ping'an waved for his son to come over.

He picked him up and set him on his lap.

"Daddy will start going back to work tomorrow."

Li Yaozong's eyes lit up.

"Really? Does that mean Daddy won't have to go fishing all day?"

Children speak without restraint.

Li Ping'an laughed, and Lin Xueqing laughed too.

"Right, no more fishing all day."

Li Ping'an pinched his son's little cheek, "But maybe I won't have as much time to spend with you."

Li Yaozong tilted his head, thinking.

"It's okay, Daddy is going to catch bad guys. Our teacher said catching bad guys is an honorable thing."

He said this with a completely serious expression.

This made both husband and wife laugh.

The next morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Li Ping'an got up.

He put on the blue Zhongshan suit he hadn't worn in a long time, carefully fastening each button in front of the mirror.

The person in the mirror had a calm gaze and a resolute countenance.

Compared to a few months ago, he seemed unchanged.

Yet it also seemed as if everything was different.

Lin Xueqing brought him breakfast.

Congee, pickled vegetables, two steamed buns.

And a boiled egg.

Today's the first day on the job, have something good. She peeled the eggs and placed them in his bowl.

Li Ping'an did not decline.

He knew this was his wife's intention.

After finishing the meal, he pushed his bicycle out the door.

The dawn light was faint, the siheyuan still quiet.

Just as he reached the front courtyard, he ran into Yan Bu Gui, who was up early watering flowers.

The Third Elder held a chipped enamel basin, carefully watering those few pots of chrysanthemum stamps.

Seeing Li Ping'an's outfit, he froze.

"Ping'an, what are you up to so early?"

The question was casual, but his eyes were fixed on Li Ping'an's clothes.

That Zhongshan suit, washed until faded, but ironed sharp.

And a black synthetic leather briefcase hung from the bicycle's handlebars.

That's not an outfit for leisurely strolling.

Li Ping'an stopped.

"Going to work."

Two words, spoken flatly.

Yan Bu Gui's enamel basin almost slipped from his hands.

"Going to work? You aren't… aren't you still suspended?"

He stammered, his eyes behind the glasses wide open.

"Reinstated." Li Ping'an said, then pushed his bike onward.

He left Yan Bu Gui standing alone in the courtyard, dazed for a long moment.

The news spread like it had grown wings.

Before Li Ping'an had even left the alley, the siheyuan was already abuzz.

Jia Zhangshi was brushing her teeth at the sink, mouth full of foam.

Hearing Yan Bu Gui's tangled account, her toothbrush went "pat" and fell to the floor.

"What? Reinstated? How so fast?"

Her sharp voice drew the neighbors on either side to peek out.

"No way? Wasn't the problem said to be serious?"

"That's what Li Ping'an said."

Yan Bu Gui lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously: "Last night Li Ping'an went… went, came back only at midnight. This morning he was reinstated—you say this…"

That was said vaguely.

But everyone understood.

Yi Zhonghai walked out from the central courtyard, still holding that economy cigarette.

Hearing the news, he fell silent for a while.

The cigarette burned down to a long ash on his fingertips, ash falling to the ground, unnoticed.

Finally, he took a deep drag and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"This kid Ping'an is capable."

Those words carried weight.

It was both praise and a reluctant acknowledgment.

Liu Haizhong was brushing his teeth in the back yard; hearing the commotion, he came running out, mouth full of foam.

"Reinstated…?"

He repeated those words, his face shifting again and again.

From surprise, to envy, to resentment.

Finally he squeezed out: "That's a good thing—our courtyard now has another leader."

He said it reluctantly.

Anyone could hear the sour note in his words.

Qin Huairu silently washed clothes at the sink; hearing the talk, her scrubbing motion slowed half a beat.

She lowered her head and continued scrubbing hard.

Water splashed, wetting the collar.

Sha Zhu lifted his empty lunch box from the house, ready to go to work.

Hearing that, he snorted.

"Yo, Brother Ping'an's reinstated? Our courtyard's going to be lively."

Ma Dongmei pulled him: "Say less."

"I'm speaking the truth."

Sha Zhu shook his lunch box: "He's capable—suspended only briefly, then reinstated. What do you call that? Ability."

Between the lines, it's unclear whether he admires or mocks.

The steel rolling mill's gate is still the same.

The red-brick gateposts, the characters "Red Star Steel Rolling Mill" gleam gold‑red in the morning light.

The gatekeeper saw Li Ping'an at the entrance, first startled.

Then he jumped to his feet, stood at attention, and saluted.

Li Chief!

His voice was loud, filled with surprise.

Li Ping'an nodded and pushed the cart inside.

Along the way, he met many acquaintances.

There were veteran workers, young apprentices, and agency officials.

Seeing him, their reactions varied.

Some were surprised, some happy, some evasive, some pretended not to see.

Li Ping'an treated them all equally, nodding in acknowledgment.

He kept walking, heading straight for the Security Department office building.

On the second floor, the Chief's office.

The door was open.

Wang Dahu and Chen Jianghe were talking inside.

Hearing the footsteps, the two turned around simultaneously.

The moment he saw Li Ping'an, Wang Dahu sprang to his feet.

The dark‑faced strongman stared with eyes like copper bells.

"Chief! You... you have returned?"

His voice trembled with emotion.

Chen Jianghe also stood up, his face full of surprise.

"Brother‑in‑law!"

These past months, they had been running around for Li Ping'an's affairs.

"Sit down," Li Ping'an entered the office and placed his briefcase on the desk.

He looked around.

The office was still the same as before.

Documents were stacked neatly, and the desks and chairs were spotless.

Even his frequently used fountain pen remained in the most convenient spot in the pen holder.

Obviously, Wang Dahu and Chen Jianghe had kept the office unchanged.

They had been waiting for his return.

"Chief, you really have resumed your post?" Wang Dahu still seemed a bit incredulous.

"The documents have already been issued," Li Ping'an took the red‑header file from his briefcase and handed it to the two.

Wang Dahu took it and leaned together with Chen Jianghe to read.

They saw the official seals and the directives.

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing the other's excitement.

"Excellent!" Wang Dahu slapped his thigh, "These past months, the department has been on the brink of chaos. You don't know about the acting manager..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Li Ping'an understood.

People leave, tea cools; it has always been so.

"Let's not discuss that."

Li Ping'an waved his hand, "Tell me about the current situation."

Wang Dahu composed himself and began his report.

"Last night's capture operation involved one person from our plant, Deputy Section Chief Zhao Dehai of the Logistics Department. This morning he was taken away, and his home was searched."

Li Ping'an nodded.

This was within his expectations.

He was the seventeenth name on the list, Zhao Dehai.

"Also," Chen Jianghe added, "the atmosphere in the plant hasn't been good lately. Some workers, hearing that you were suspended, have become lax. Some officials have also started small schemes."

He said it politely.

But Li Ping'an understood.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when the wall falls, everyone pushes.

Since this "tree" fell a few months ago, some people have begun to stir.

"I understand," Li Ping'an mused briefly, "This afternoon we will hold a plant‑wide Security work meeting. All Team Captains and above cadres must attend."

"Yes!" Wang Dahu and Chen Jianghe responded together.

"Also," Li Ping'an looked at Chen Jianghe, "you take a team and investigate Zhao Dehai's situation thoroughly. In the years he has been at the plant, who he dealt with, what he did—every detail must be uncovered."

Chen Jianghe nodded heavily.

"Understood."

"Furthermore," Li Ping'an paused, "as of today, plant security is upgraded. All entrants and exits will be strictly checked, night patrols doubled, especially in the warehouse, Workshop and other key areas."

Wang Dahu's face showed difficulty.

"Chief, we lack personnel. Our department was already understaffed, and in recent months several people have been transferred away."

"Draft a report and apply for expansion."

Li Ping'an said succinctly, "The reason is last night's case and the current security situation of the plant. I will write the report; you prepare the materials."

"Understood!"

The two answered in unison, their voices now confident.

With the Chief present, everything will be different.

The briefing lasted a little over an hour.

Li Ping'an got a rough sense of the factory's situation over the past few months.

After seeing Wang Dahu and Chen Jianghe off, he sat alone in the office.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a bright patch on the desk.

Dust danced in the beam of light.

He picked up the steel pen on the desk.

The barrel was icy, but holding it felt solid.

Half a month ago, he used this pen to sign the final document, then left this office.

Now he has returned.

The things remain, but the people have changed.

No, the things are, and the person is not unchanged.

He is still himself.

Only the burden on his shoulders has grown heavier.

So has the responsibility.

The clamor of the plant drifts in from outside the window.

The roar of machines, workers' shouts, and horns of vehicles entering and leaving.

This ten‑thousand‑person factory runs smoothly in the new day.

And his task is to guard this operation.

Eradicate pests, deter petty criminals, and protect safety.

Li Ping'an opened a drawer and took out a brand‑new work diary.

He turned to the first page.

He lifted the pen, filling it with ink.

The nib touched the paper, writing today's date.

Then came the work plan.

One item, two items, three items…

The handwriting is firm and strong, just like him.

When he wrote the last item, he paused briefly.

The nib hovered over the paper, ink droplet falling and spreading into a tiny blot.

He thought for a moment, then still wrote the sentence.

"Coordinate with superiors to hunt down fugitives."

After writing, he closed the diary.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The whole plant lay before his eyes.

Smoke stacks billowed white smoke, the Workshop's machines roared, and workers bustled at their stations.

All of this looks so calm, so orderly.

Yet Li Ping'an knows.

Beneath the calm, undercurrents have never ceased flowing.

The Shopkeeper may have fled, but his remnants remain.

Those fugitives are like four timed bombs.

Uncertain when or where they will explode.

And he must be fully prepared.

To face the storm that may come.

Sunlight bathes his face, warm and bright.

Li Ping'an squinted and looked into the distance.

There, the outline of Four Nine City appears.

It is also the battlefield of this smoke‑free war.

He took a deep breath.

He turned and returned to his desk.

He began work.

The new journey has already begun.