Aoba Office

It was still very early when I woke up, so I went directly to the Sixth Village of Workers and Peasants.

The office in the early morning was not much better than at night, and the feeling of coldness and desolation was still strong.

I told the dream again, and for a long time, all I could hear was my own breathing.

I felt empty in my heart, so I called Guo Yujie listlessly and asked her to meet directly at the Sixth Village of Workers and Peasants.

Guo Yujie asked casually: "You won't come to the office?"

"Well, I won't come." I didn't say anything about the dream.

"Okay, I'll go directly to the Sixth Village of Workers and Peasants."

About an hour later, Guo Yujie arrived at the Sixth Village of Workers and Peasants, and together we went to the neighborhood committee to find Director Mao.

Director Mao was on the phone. He suppressed his anger and said to the person on the other end of the phone: "This has nothing to do with whether it will be demolished or not. The residents are still living here and they all need water. How can we not repair it?"

Guo Yujie asked a staff member of the neighborhood committee, "What's wrong? What happened to the demolition?"

"A water pipe burst in a building. I asked the property management people to repair it, but they refused." The man was full of resentment. "This is not the first time. The water pipes are blocked, leaking, there are insects in the greenery, and the parking spaces in the community are open to outsiders. vehicles...that property is very rubbish!"

Guo Yujie's eyes showed sympathy.

Director Mao finished the call and smiled apologetically when he saw us, "Sorry to keep you waiting. We'll go find Tao Hai right now."

"Sorry to trouble you, Director Mao." Guo Yujie and I thanked him.

"Hey, no trouble. Just be mentally prepared. This Tao Hai is not as good as..." Director Mao was vague in the middle of his words, with an ugly look on his face.

I guess she wanted to say "Uncle Wang" because she felt a sense of fear just thinking about Uncle Wang's death.

"As long as he's short of money, it shouldn't be difficult to convince him," I said.

Director Mao sighed, "Tao Hai is short of money. Will he come to our neighborhood committee to ask for subsidies as soon as he comes back?"

"What subsidy?" Guo Yujie asked doubtfully.

"The subsidy for the lonely elderly people includes some grain, oil, food and daily necessities every month. It's not much, but it's worth hundreds of dollars." Director Mao said, "He has a son who didn't meet the requirements, but he worked with us. For a long time, special treatment has been given to special circumstances. I told him about the demolition yesterday, and he seemed reluctant."

"You said last time that he was unwilling to sell the house, but you never said the reason. Is there any special situation?" I asked.

Don't let us meet another Uncle Wang who gives us problems.

"I don't know about that either. He's always shameless and can't talk about business." Director Mao shook his head.

As we talked, we walked to the building where Tao Hai lived.

Tao Hai lives on the second floor. Director Mao knocked on the door, but there was no response for a long time. He shouted several times, but there was no movement in the room.

The person next door opened the door and greeted Director Mao: "Xiao Mao, where are you looking for Tao Hai?"

"Yes, Aunt Xu."

"I saw him going out when I came back from grocery shopping in the morning."

"Are you going to buy breakfast?" Guo Yujie asked.

Director Mao and Aunt Xu denied it at the same time, "It's impossible."

Director Mao added: "He doesn't eat outside."

"Is there something wrong?" I don't know Tao Hai, so I can only analyze it from the usual way.

Aunt Xu pouted, "What can happen to him?"

No matter what happens, there is nothing we can do if people are not here.

Director Mao complained about Tao Hai, and then apologized to us, "Your trip was in vain."

"It's nothing. You helped us a lot." I said quickly.

As he was walking out, Director Mao suddenly pointed ahead and shouted: "Tao Hai!"

A little old man walked towards him. He was dark and thin, with sparse hair and a wrinkled face. He was wearing old clothes that had been washed white and had burrs on them. He looked very poor.

Hearing Director Mao's shout, Tao Hai looked up and saw the three of us. Tao Hai turned around and ran away.

I hurriedly caught up with him, but I didn't expect that the old man was very athletic and he happened to be located not far from the entrance of the community. He left the community, turned a corner, and disappeared into the crowd.

I was stunned and stood there for a while, then walked back in a daze.

"Why don't you chase me?" Guo Yujie was furious.

"He's gone." I shook my head.

Director Mao comforted him: "Don't worry, that Tao Hai was collected for debts when he was young, and he has developed his skills long ago."

Guo Yujie and I looked at each other.

"Does he still have this kind of experience?" I sighed, "Director Mao, you have to tell us about Tao Hai."

Tao Hai's decisive escape was too suspicious. After all, Uncle Wang knows the basics and is willing to communicate with us. Tao Hai's refusal to communicate is not conducive to our work.

Director Mao scratched his cheek and said, "I heard what people said. When he was young, he gambled and owed a lot of money. His wife divorced him and took their son away. He was often collected for debts, but they never came to collect debts. His family, so it’s just hearsay from neighbors in the community.”

"Isn't he an employee of the Third City Steel Plant?" I heard some questions.

"He is not, the house was allocated to his parents. At that time, he was buying and selling outside and did not enter the steel factory." Director Mao said this with certainty.

We asked Director Mao to help us keep an eye on it and call us if Tao Hai comes back.

"This is difficult to handle." Guo Yujie sighed.

The four houses in Qingye could still say that they could not find the property owners, so they finally put up a notice to deal with it. However, there was a real owner of the house in Tao Hai, so this method could not be used to solve the problem.

"Grind it slowly." I said.

Unfortunately my words are true. From then on, Guo Yujie and I began to chase Tao Hai. He seemed to have been honed by the debt collection agency. Neither of us could catch this old guy who was older than us combined.

Guo Yujie became furious and decided to stay at his door all night.

Although Guo Yujie is a woman with extraordinary strength and can lift me up with one hand, she is also an out-and-out girl. I couldn't let her squat alone, so I risked my life to accompany the gentleman.

All night long, we didn't wait for Tao Hai to come back, and we didn't know whether he was a pauper sleeping on a park bench or hiding under a bridge.

"I don't believe he will never come back!" Guo Yujie said angrily.

"Okay, don't go too far." I yawned.

Guo Yujie glared at me.

"If he really doesn't come back, do you want to be on the headlines of social media?" I asked her.

Guo Yujie wilted.

We are not a debt collection agency, and even a debt collection agency will not force people to death.

Tao Hai is an old man who stays out all night. Who knows what will happen? Then we will definitely be blamed.

This kind of squatting method can only be given up.

I've been frustrated at work. I haven't been able to sleep well in the past few days. I always dream about the scene of Zhang Shanmei hanging.

Her falling posture keeps repeating itself, and her dreams become increasingly grotesque. After Zhang Shanmei fell, she initially moved her fingers and kicked her legs a few times, then turned into a frantic struggle, twisting in mid-air, her face twisted and painful, reaching out to desperately grab the rope around her neck, and letting out a shrill howl. , the sound echoed in the theater.

I subconsciously wanted to rescue her, but when I wanted to move, I realized that I was just a bystander in this dream and had no "body" at all.

Zhang Shanmei struggled in her dream all night. Until I woke up and the dream disappeared, she did not give up or die.

I kept my eyes open for a long time, dragging my tired body after a night of nightmares to Qingye again.