Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 811, 810 News Revealed
Monday, April 5th.

Tang Zhitong planned to go to the security office today to process the backlog of documents, and then write a proper letter to Tang Rong.

Last night after taking a shower, I was so busy chatting with my classmate Xiao Wang that I didn't have time to do anything else.

As soon as Tang Zhitong arrived at the escort point, the gatekeeper stopped him.

Besides handing over the letter forwarded by Zhou Zheng, the gatekeeper also told Tang Zhitong about Ma Wei's injury. Finally, he stammered out his request, hoping that Tang Zhitong could say a few words to mitigate his mistake.

Ever since the day the incident happened, although the security guard and his own unit haven't said anything, he's been feeling uneasy and constantly worried about being punished.

"Let me find out what's going on and I'll get back to you later." Tang Zhitong took the letter, thanked the gatekeeper, and didn't immediately agree.

This matter not only involves me, but also Ma Wei. With Ma Wei's family background, she can pursue the matter however she wants, and it's not my place to speak.

After this incident, Tang Zhitong didn't even go into the finance department; he packed up the letter and went directly to Fang Yuan.

"Oh! You're finally back. I hope nothing happened on the way?" Fang Yuan looked Tang Zhitong up and down as he entered, then patted him on the shoulder and asked him to sit down.

When Fang Yuan returned from the hospital that day, he did try to contact Tang Zhitong. The fact that no one was on duty in the finance department was secondary; the main thing was to warn Tang Zhitong.

However, Fang Yuan did not know Tang Zhitong's specific itinerary, and Tang Zhitong did not go to the commune's residence where the goods were unloaded at the transfer station. He mostly went to the remote corners of the countryside, so they were unable to contact him in the end.

"It's alright, it's quite safe. I just heard from the security guard about Ma Wei's injury. This whole thing has been making me uneasy. How is Ma Wei? Is it serious?" Tang Zhitong asked Fang Yuan after sitting down.

"No bones were broken, but he'll probably have to rest at home for a while."

"Damn! Did they catch that Qin guy? He's a real piece of work! If he has a problem, come at me. What's with throwing a knife at a little girl?! I shouldn't have left in such a hurry either. If I were here, I would have broken both his legs!" Although the escort department had equipped him with Type 54 rifles, Tang Zhitong had never thought of using them against his own people. This was the first time he had ever considered killing someone. Qin could no longer be called a "comrade." This kind of bastard was just wasting air by living.

“This isn’t your fault, don’t try to take the blame. That old man’s got some nerve; I heard he escaped to Tianjin that same day. But Lao He said the relevant departments upgraded the case, and the police were very attentive and acted quickly, bringing him back early the next morning. It involves selling state secrets, so I reckon he won’t be around for long.” Fang Yuan patted Tang Zhitong’s shoulder again, making his judgment based on his years of experience.

Since the case involved employees of the escort department, Fang Yuan had been paying close attention to its progress. However, the case was confidential, and there was a lot he couldn't find out. All he knew was what the municipal bureau could tell him, but they hadn't said how the verdict would be.

According to Fang Yuan, selling state secrets is a serious crime, and the only outcome is death.

Allowing such a traitor to walk out of prison alive would be irresponsible to all the people of the country, and anyone who lets such a person out alive would be derelict in their duty!
"Tch! That old bastard got off easy!" Hearing Fang Yuan point out that the man surnamed Qin had betrayed state secrets, Tang Zhitong regretted going to the grassroots level too early.

The only thing that could connect him to this matter and cause someone surnamed Qin to come looking for revenge was the supermagnetic thing.

The man surnamed Qin is capable of selling out super magnets, and he's also capable of selling himself. It's just that he doesn't know if there's any potential threat to the personal safety of his family members.

Family is Tang Zhitong's bottom line. If he had been at the escort post at the time, he would have shot the kid twice and crippled him.

Thinking of his family, Tang Zhitong quickly extracted the information from Fang Yuan's words. The relevant department should be the Science and Technology Commission, and he planned to ask about it later. However, before that, he had to visit Ma Wei first.

"Sister Chen has been wanting to visit Ma Wei for the past few days and has been waiting for you to come back. Since you're here today, let's go together later." Ma Wei is an employee of the security escort department. Although the cause of her injury was bizarre, it was still a work-related injury. The security escort department had to go there for both reason and duty. However, Ma Wei's injury was related to Tang Zhitong, so when Sister Chen told Fang Yuan that she was going to visit Ma Wei, Fang Yuan stopped her and asked to wait until Tang Zhitong returned before going together.

"Okay! Thanks, Brother Yuan. I'll go home first to pick up some things. See you at the city bureau entrance later?" Tang Zhitong understood Fang Yuan's implication: he was waiting for him on purpose, and she had to accept his kindness.

"No need to go home to get the gifts, Sister Chen has already prepared them."

"I'd better go back and get some. Ma Wei was injured because of me, so I should at least show my appreciation." Tang Zhitong shook his head, speaking firmly.

"Alright then, you go back first, I'll go tell Sister Chen." Fang Yuan glanced at his watch; he had plenty of time.

Tang Zhitong wasn't really going home; he was just using the excuse of going home to steal some insignificant things from the space.

Eggs cannot be brought along, because the family's chickens have already been sold openly at the transport depot.

After thinking it over, Tang Zhitong took some cherries and mulberries from his spatial storage, and finally added a bag of cicada nymphs.

Cicada nymphs are good; their nutritional value is no less than that of eggs. Although they appear a bit early in the season, we can make do with the ones the vendor "dug up himself" yesterday.

Tang Zhitong entered the outer city through Yongding Gate, then headed north all the way to Chongwen Gate, before turning left to go to the Municipal Bureau.

Along the way, Tang Zhitong slowed down in the first half of the journey and pedaled hard in the second half. When he arrived at the city bureau, he was slightly sweaty, which made it seem as if he had been in a hurry the whole way.

After arriving at the city bureau entrance, they waited for about two or three minutes before Fang Yuan and Sister Chen appeared at the front gate, and the three of them successfully reunited.

Tang Zhitong didn't know where Ma Wei lived, nor did he ask; he relied entirely on Sister Chen to lead the way.

Sister Chen had clearly done her homework; she arrived at Ma Wei's house with ease. As soon as she entered, she put down the gifts and greeted Ma Wei in a very friendly manner: "Little Ma, are you feeling better?"

"Thank you for your concern, Sister Chen. I'm feeling much better now. I'm planning to go back to work in a couple of days." Ma Wei's steps were still a little unsteady, but she could walk without much difficulty.

He gestured for the group to sit down and then asked the nanny to pour water.

“No, you must be fully recovered before going back to work. Don’t worry about things at work, Xiao Tang is here to help,” Fang Yuan said, rejecting Ma Wei’s idea.

“Yes, I’ll be at work these days. You should focus on getting better first. There’s no rush to go back to work.” Tang Zhitong said as she took things out of her handbag. The bag was full, but it deflated after she took things out.

Before leaving the escort office, Tang Zhitong made a special trip back to the finance department to leave the lunchboxes on his desk.

"Your section chief feels very guilty about your injury. He just got back to the office today and when he heard about it, he made a special trip home to bring this to you," Sister Chen added appropriately from the side.

"Oh dear, I can't accept that. We're all so busy right now. Section Chief, I appreciate your kind intentions, but please don't bother with the gift," Ma Wei immediately declined.

"You got stabbed because of me, so you should at least give me a chance to apologize, right?" Tang Zhitong's attitude was firm; she didn't want to take the things she brought back with her. "Huh? Cicada nymphs, where did you find these?" Fang Yuan asked curiously, looking at the cicada nymphs rolling out of the soaking wet newspaper.

"When I went to the countryside, I saw the villagers digging for these things. I dug some up myself after I came back yesterday." Tang Zhitong lied without batting an eye. If the villagers could dig them up, he could too. It made perfect sense.

To make it more realistic, Tang Zhitong not only cleaned the cicada nymphs using a space-based method, but also killed them and got them wet, making them look like they had just been fished out of a basin.

If it weren't for this, these cicada nymphs, wrapped in newspaper, might not have fallen out.

“Then you dug it up perfectly. In my hometown, this thing is called ‘Golden Cicada.’ Legend has it that it was this before Tang Sanzang was reincarnated. Eating Tang Sanzang’s flesh can grant immortality. We locals all say that eating this helps with recovery. Xiao Ma, this is a token of your section chief’s goodwill, so please accept it,” Sister Chen chimed in from the side.

"Well... thank you, Section Chief. I was just thinking of getting to work early. I really miss working with everyone at home." Seeing that everyone was trying to persuade her, Ma Wei didn't refuse anymore and accepted the gift without hesitation.

"As expected of our city bureau's model worker, even after a work injury, all you can think about is your job." Sister Chen praised Ma Wei, then immediately introduced the progress of the case: "The murderer has been caught, and he will face the full force of the law. Ma, do you have any other requests? We will try our best to meet them."

"No, no. It's good that the person has been caught. The security guard was very responsible. If it weren't for him, the murderer might have been even bolder." Ma Wei understood the implication in Sister Chen's words and answered smoothly.

Regarding this issue, Ma Wei's family has reached a consensus. Although her parents are heartbroken, they have no intention of pursuing any further responsibility from others.

Sister Chen nodded. She wasn't surprised by the result. As a high-ranking official, she was naturally more concerned about the impact. However, this matter couldn't be left unresolved; there still had to be an explanation: "No one wanted to see something like this happen. The security department has already communicated with the station, and the number of staff on duty at the gate will be increased to three per shift to minimize the chances of similar incidents happening again."

"That's great, my mom was a little worried about it." Ma Wei accepted the result readily, intending to use this reason to dissuade her mother from trying to transfer her to a different job.

After I got injured, although my father didn't say anything, my mother wanted me to go back to work in the inner city, where it was closer to home and safer.

Ma Wei was unhappy with her mother's actions. Although she had only been at the escort office for a short time, she liked the atmosphere there very much. There was no infighting, and it was very peaceful, which suited her taste perfectly.

Next, it was mainly Sister Chen and Ma Wei who were talking, while Tang Zhitong and Fang Yuan were listening.

After chatting for about ten more minutes, Sister Chen and Fang Yuan exchanged a glance and got up to say goodbye.

After leaving Ma Wei's house, Tang Zhitong did not follow the two leaders back to the escort office. Instead, he asked for leave, saying, "Director Fang, Sister Chen, I would like to go back to the unit later. I will go to the Science and Technology Commission first to find out what exactly happened in this case."

"Okay, go ahead, be careful on the road." The gun was provided to Tang Zhitong by the escort department at the request of the Science and Technology Commission. This case was also upgraded due to the intervention of the Science and Technology Commission. Fang Yuan was not surprised at all that Tang Zhitong wanted to go to the Science and Technology Commission. He just told him to be careful. Who knows if there is another person with the surname Qin?
Tang Zhitong walked along Chang'an West Street to the Science and Technology Commission, showed his credentials, and went straight to Ding Hui's office.

"Hey, Section Chief Tang, you're back from your grassroots job? How was it? I've been trying to get in touch with you, but I haven't been able to reach you." Ding Hui didn't seem too surprised by Tang Zhitong's arrival.

"Sigh, there were some gains, but life at the grassroots level is tough." Tang Zhitong shook his head and got straight to the point without saying much: "As soon as I got to work today, I heard that someone came to my workplace to cause trouble and even injured a colleague."

"We've caught him, don't worry, we definitely won't let him out again." Ding Hui subtly revealed this when Tang Zhitong brought it up.

"Director Ding, I'm not worried about the man surnamed Qin, but this matter can't end here, can it?"

It's obvious that this guy surnamed Qin was targeting me. The employee in my workplace who suffered an undeserved misfortune is still lying at home right now.

To whom did this man surnamed Qin leak the information? Did he implicate me? Will my family be implicated?

As the person involved, shouldn't I be aware of these points?

Seeing that Ding Hui didn't want to reveal too much, Tang Zhitong directly stated his position.

Tang Zhitong didn't have the same awareness as Ma Wei's parents. He did his best to make contributions, but he also genuinely cared about his family. These two things were not contradictory.

"Calm down, calm down. That Qin guy won't be able to cause trouble for long. Once this is over, his days are numbered."

As you know, we are not under the direct jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences, but their work is indeed inadequate, and I will continue to follow up.” Faced with Tang Zhitong’s questioning, Ding Hui was not angry. This situation would be unpleasant for anyone, but he also had his own difficulties. He was not someone who could keep his word, and he had to consider the other party’s feelings.

As Ding Hui spoke, he poured a glass of water and placed it in front of Tang Zhitong. He continued, "The Qin family has confessed. Although they mentioned your name, based on the current situation, they can't trace it back to you, let alone your family."

"Here, this is today's newspaper. If things go smoothly, this matter will end here." Ding Hui didn't say much after all. He took a newspaper from his desk, pointed to a news article, and handed it to Tang Zhitong.

Tang Zhitong didn't say anything, but picked up the newspaper and started reading.

The news headline Ding Hui was referring to was "Super Magnet Successfully Developed - A Major Leap Forward in China's Magnetic Field!"
The following content describes how, under the guidance of a certain ideology, a certain unit, after countless days and nights of hard work and trying numerous formulations, finally successfully produced a super magnet and directly reported its magnetic force value, highlighting its world-leading status.

Finally, the article looked ahead to the application prospects of super magnets in various industries.

The entire report made no mention of Tang Zhitong, as if the super magnet had nothing to do with him and was entirely the result of the collective research and development by a certain "unit" whose real name was not given in the newspaper.

"They just announced it like that? They're not keeping it a secret anymore?" Tang Zhitong was a little confused after reading it. He couldn't even get the magnets when he wanted to make a hair dryer for his classmate Xiao Wang. Why was the Science and Technology Commission being so generous this time?
"What needs to be kept secret should still be kept secret. We have our reasons for releasing this information, but we can't tell you those details."

All you need to know is that if anyone tries to find out anything in the future, they will most likely follow the clues in the newspaper to investigate, and no one will try to find you.

If you find someone trying to learn about supermagnets from you, pretend you don't know anything, and tell me later so I can handle it.

"Of course, I think that's unlikely," Ding Hui emphasized in conclusion.

"Alright then." Tang Zhitong scratched his head. This "certain unit" was certified by the supervising unit and the newspaper. With this certain unit drawing attention, his family would be relatively safe.

Tang Zhitong didn't believe that the Science and Technology Commission had arranged this whole thing specifically for him, but he did indeed benefit from it.

The matter was not perfectly resolved, but Tang Zhitong felt it was no longer appropriate to pursue the matter further and demand an explanation from the Science and Technology Commission.

Now and in the future, the system will emphasize that individual interests must be subordinate to collective interests, and for now, this is the only way things can be.

(End of this chapter)