Siheyuan: Sizhu starts blindly and takes a new path

Chapter 263 Xu Damao's Accusation

Li Zhenhua tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes falling on Xu Damao's file. The greasy face in the photo reminded him of the servile propaganda officer he had seen in the military compound many years ago.

"Xiao Wang," he suddenly asked, "What is the relationship between Xu Damao and Li Huaide?"

Secretary Wang pushed up his glasses. "On the surface, there is no direct connection. But..." He flipped open another document. "Xu Damao's wife, Qin Jingru, is Qin Huairu's cousin."

Li Zhenhua's eyes suddenly became sharp. He picked up a red pen, circled Xu Damao's name, and wrote seven words next to it: "This boy can be used but not trusted."

"Chief, would you like to meet Xu Damao?"

"No hurry." Li Zhenhua closed the file, "Arrange someone, no, go there in person, find out Xu Damao's current situation, and ask him if he has any other evidence of Li Huaide's crimes." He stood up and walked to the window. "Zhao Tong really thought that he could save the Zhao family by pushing Li Huaide out to take the blame, but he didn't know..."

Outside the window, a dead leaf was caught in the wind and stuck to the glass. Li Zhenhua reached out and pressed lightly on the glass, and the leaf immediately shattered into pieces.

"Get the car ready." He suddenly turned around. "I should go see Zhao Tong."

Secretary Wang stood in front of the dilapidated office building of the Yi County Machinery Bureau, squinting at the newly painted red slogan on the wall. He took off his glasses and wiped them, and the lenses reflected a brand new Shanghai car in the distance - it was the special car of Director Wang of the Regional Revolutionary Committee.

"Comrade, who are you looking for?" The security guard Lao Zhang looked at the unfamiliar face wearing a tweed coat and carrying a briefcase.

"I'm looking for Comrade Xu Damao." Secretary Wang smiled kindly and took out a bag of Daqianmen from his pocket and handed it over. "I heard he got a promotion?"

Lao Zhang took the cigarette and immediately became more enthusiastic: "Chief Xu is now a favorite of Director Wang!" He lowered his voice and said, "Yesterday he even took the director's car to..."

Before he could finish his words, a sharp brake sound interrupted him. Xu Damao got out of the Shanghai sedan, his brand new dacron shirt tucked into his trousers, and in his hand was a bulging black imitation leather bag.

"Lao Zhang! Go quickly..." Xu Damao suddenly stopped and stared at Secretary Wang. The man was well-dressed and had an extraordinary temperament. "Lao Zhang, what is this..."

Secretary Wang smiled unchanged, took two steps forward and shook Xu Damao's hand: "Chief Xu, my last name is Wang, I'm from Beijing, I want to ask you something."

"From Beijing?" Xu Damao was a little suspicious, "I am... I am just a deputy section chief..."

"Oh, you're too modest." Secretary Wang shook the other person's hand affectionately, "Didn't Director Wang agree to make you a regular employee?"

Xu Damao was even more shocked after hearing this: "Who is this person? Is he behind Li Huaide or Director Wang?" Xu Damao didn't say anything. He had been in Yi County for a year and had come into contact with many leading officials. His vision was no longer comparable to that of a year ago. He kept smiling.

Secretary Wang also noticed Xu Damao's precautions. "I'm here to investigate Li Huaide's problem. You provided evidence before, so this time I came to you to learn more about it. After all, he hasn't paid the real price for his mistakes yet."

Xu Damao blinked his eyes. "I know he has told me everything he said before, and the notebook has been handed over to Director Wang. If you want to check, just go to Director Wang directly..."

Secretary Wang quickly interrupted and said, "No, no, no, that book is not important. I want to hear more details from Li Huaide, even if it's just hearsay."

Xu Damao's eyes turned when he heard this, and he immediately understood about 70% of what was going on. He wrapped his cotton jacket tightly around him and said, "Comrade Wang, it's too cold here. Let's go to the office and talk."

After entering the office, Xu Damao moved closer to the stove and said in a low voice: "Comrade Wang, I just remembered something..."

"Last winter, Li Huaide transported three train cars of materials to Shanxi, saying it was to support construction. But later, I had a drink with Lao Liu, a buyer who had just returned from Shanxi. He said after getting drunk that the goods had not been received at all." Xu Damao rubbed his hands, his eyes gleaming, "Later, Li Huaide said that the Ministry of Industry had transferred the materials away..."

Secretary Wang took out his notebook and wrote quickly, his pen rustling on the paper: "Which month did it happen?"

"Let me think about it. I drank with Lao Liu in early December. He usually goes to Shanxi for about a month, so this matter..." Xu Damao slapped his thigh, "probably in October or November!"

"Okay, the clues you provided are very useful." Secretary Wang wrote them down and nodded in affirmation, "Can you remember anything else?"

Xu Damao raised his head and rolled his eyes, thinking for a long time, but he couldn't think of anything useful. But he changed his mind and said, "In fact, He Yuzhu, the canteen director of the steel mill, is close to Li Huaide. He Yuzhu was a cook before, and he was promoted to canteen director because Li Huaide liked the food he cooked. You can arrest him and interrogate him, and you should be able to get a lot of information about Li Huaide's crimes."

"The canteen manager is He Yuzhu, right?" Secretary Wang quickly wrote it down in his notebook. "Okay, I'll take note."

"There's nothing else. The main reason is that Li Huaide is too good at hiding things. If I hadn't paid attention, I wouldn't have known about all the bad things he did. But it was also because of this that he brought me here."

Secretary Wang smiled and said, "The Party and the country would like to thank you for your attention. Otherwise, more national assets will be lost. The people will thank you." After Secretary Wang closed the notebook, he was about to stand up.

"Comrade Wang, are you going to...?"

"I have to hurry back. Time is short and the task is heavy."

"Why are you in such a hurry? Stay and have a meal. You have finally come to Yi County. As the host, I should treat you well."

"No, maybe next time. I'll come again. I'll definitely come then."

Sha Zhu was politely "invited" to a secluded courtyard. He pushed the door open and went in. There was a table, two chairs and a desk lamp on the table. The light was dim, making the whole room dim.

Secretary Wang was sitting behind the desk. When he saw Sha Zhu coming in, he nodded slightly and motioned him to sit down. Sha Zhu looked around, feeling confused, but he didn't show it on his face. He sat down on the chair and said with a smile, "Comrade, what do you want to talk to me about so late at night?"

Secretary Wang didn't rush to speak. He poured him a cup of hot tea, pushed it in front of him, and said slowly, "Comrade He Yuzhu, don't be nervous. I just want to find out something from you."

Sha Zhu took a sip of the tea and smacked his lips, "Okay, ask me, I'll tell you everything I know."

Secretary Wang stared at him and said slowly: "I heard that you have a good relationship with Li Huaide?"

When Sha Zhu heard this, his heart skipped a beat and a serious expression appeared on his face: "Li Huaide, he was the director of the Revolutionary Committee of the steel mill before, and I am just a small canteen director. The leader likes the dishes I cook, so I will cook for him. There is no question of whether we are related or not."

Secretary Wang smiled and said, "Really? But some people reported that Li Huaide took extra care of you and even promoted you to be the canteen director. Is there any special reason behind this?"