Chapter 55: 054 Emergency Incident

Bai Ou’s father, Bai Chuanzhe, could drink, as Fang Qingye had heard from his father, Fang Jianwen.

Back when both had enrolled at Jinghai Normal College and were later assigned to teach at the same township middle school after graduation, they were both single and often drank together.

Fang Jianwen was no match for Bai Chuanzhe.

But later, for some reason, their relationship cooled, and they rarely saw each other—drinking together became a rare occurrence.

Now, hearing Bai Ou say this, Fang Qingye felt relieved.

“Alright, Ye Zi, let’s ride back. If I’m late, my mom will scold me.” Bai Ou added.

“Fine, I’ll take you.”

After dropping Bai Ou off, Fang Qingye took a taxi home, took a shower, played a few rounds of Warcraft, then went to sleep—his parents weren’t home, and no one was around to supervise him.

This afternoon at work, Fang Qingye assumed it would be as usual—nothing to do—and prepared to slack off, but at 8:30, Wu Shengli hurried into the office and told him: “Director Xia is coming to inspect the Jiangwan Road Savings Office; you’re to accompany him. Also joining is Director Yu Bingshan from the Finance and Accounting Section.”

Such inspections were routine for the bank, nothing unusual—usually, Xia He would bring Wu Shengli or Mu Youzhi along, but today it was him.

Fang Qingye packed his notebook and gel pen into his briefcase and walked out of the office.

Driver Lao Zhang had already started the Passat and was waiting in the courtyard. After Fang Qingye and Yu Bingshan got into the back seat, a few minutes later they saw Xia He coming downstairs with her briefcase and taking the front passenger seat.

The car left the compound and headed west. The Jiangwan Road Savings Office was on the western edge of the county town; after driving over ten minutes, they spotted the savings office’s sign. Lao Zhang was about to slow down when Xia He said: “Lao Zhang, we’re not going to Jiangwan Road Savings Office. Head to the Liulin Town Sub-branch.”

“Yes.”

Lao Zhang immediately accelerated, and the car sped past the savings office entrance.

Fang Qingye and Yu Bingshan said nothing, but both understood: Xia He was pulling a surprise inspection.

Liulin Town was the largest township in Nanxin County, located west of the county town, with the greatest area and population—it had been formed by merging three former townships. The Taiyun River flowed nearby, earning it the nickname “Western Gateway of Nanxin County.”

The Nanxin Branch had one business hall, three savings offices, and one sub-branch. The sub-branch was located in this township; the car drove over forty minutes southwest before arriving in town.

The sub-branch stood on the town’s main street. The Passat pulled over to the curb, and the three got out. Before they even stepped through the savings office’s front door, they heard loud arguing inside.

What a coincidence? The three exchanged glances, then entered.

A crowd had gathered around the counter; a male customer was shouting at a teller, drawing murmurs from onlookers, and chaos reigned—the security guard was nowhere to be seen.

“Fuck, with this attitude of yours, I’m filing a complaint! Get your boss here right now!” The man’s face was flushed, his anger blazing.

Xia He frowned and stepped forward.

What are you doing?

Fang Qingye was startled.

At a time like this, you dare to step forward? Do you think you’re a county official?

The man is clearly out of control—aren’t you afraid he’ll scream at you until you’re covered in spit?

At a moment like this, you should stay as far away as possible...

Fang Qingye muttered under his breath.

He glanced at Yu Bingshan beside him—standing still, not moving to stop Xia He.

This guy wants to see Xia He humiliated!

Fang Qingye understood.

But he felt uneasy and quickly stepped forward, gently tugging Xia He’s sleeve, whispering:

“The man’s emotions are out of control—he’s about to explode. If you go up now, you might not solve anything, but you’ll definitely get screamed at!”

Xia He snapped back to awareness and stopped.

I was only thinking of solving the problem—I got too eager!

“You go out first...”

Xia He followed his advice and returned to the entrance, only to find Fang Qingye hadn’t followed.

What is he doing?

He took off his tie and shoved it into his pant pocket, then walked straight toward the shouting man.

“Comrade, I’m a reporter from the Jinghai Daily stationed in Liulin Town. A concerned citizen reported a dispute here, so I came to investigate.”

He then pulled out his press card from his briefcase and flashed it: “This is my reporter’s credential.” But before the man could clearly see it, he calmly slipped it back into his pocket.

Upon hearing a reporter was here, the man immediately perked up: “Comrade, you’re right on time! You must expose this in the paper—damn, this bank’s service attitude is terrible!”

“Comrade, I’m interviewing you now, so watch your tone. Otherwise, it won’t look good for you when it’s printed.” Fang Qingye warned seriously.

“Right, right, I need to be more civilized.” The man suddenly realized.

“Comrade, please come to the VIP room and explain your situation in detail. Don’t worry—exposing malpractice and protecting consumers’ legal rights is our newspaper’s duty.” Fang Qingye sounded patient.

“I like hearing that. Today, I’ll tell you everything.” With that, the man followed Fang Qingye into the nearby VIP room.

A few minutes later, Fang Qingye and the man emerged from the VIP room. The man gripped Fang Qingye’s hand tightly: “Reporter comrade, thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome. Rest assured, we’ll report this fairly and objectively.” Fang Qingye smiled.

Watching the man leave, the customer manager suddenly appeared and slipped into the VIP room, looking at Fang Qingye, eager to explain: “Reporter comrade, let me explain—it’s not as he said... Wait, no—you’re not a reporter! You’re Fang Qingye from the General Office!”

The customer manager recognized him.

“Yes, I’m Fang Qingye.”

“Thank you, thank you for helping us out!” The customer manager realized and beamed.

“You’re welcome... but you’d better shape up.” Fang Qingye smiled and patted the manager’s shoulder: “Look at the door.”

The manager, confused, turned around and saw Xia He standing at the entrance, face icy, with Yu Bingshan behind her.

He naturally recognized Xia He—his face turned pale, and he hurriedly greeted: “Director Xia, Director Yu, hello!”

Xia He’s expression remained cold. She simply asked: “Where are your two directors? Why weren’t they here?”

“Director Luo went to Lixing General Steel Ball Manufacturing to solicit deposits. Director Duan...”

The customer manager stammered, unable to explain clearly.

Xia He grew even angrier: “Get Director Duan here immediately!”

“I’ll go find him right away.” The customer manager wiped sweat from his forehead and hurried out of the VIP room.

Xia He and the others didn’t linger. They went inside to the savings office’s back office, where the branch group leader, Jing Chunling, gave Xia He a detailed account of what had happened that day.

The man’s name was Zhang Baoguo—he came to close his accounts. Bank procedures for closing accounts were extremely cumbersome, so Zhang Baoguo kept complaining: “I’m just closing a few accounts—why is this so complicated?” He kept pressing for speed.

The teller handling him was Yang Yue. She tried explaining, but Zhang Baoguo ignored her and kept complaining. Finally, she couldn’t hold back and snapped: “I’m doing everything myself—you just sign your name. What’s so hard?”

That enraged Zhang Baoguo. He began shouting insults—harsh, vulgar ones. How could a young girl like Yang Yue endure that?

And that’s when Xia He saw the scene.