My spy diary

Chapter 459 Explosion (asking for monthly ticket)

Bureau headquarters, Judicial Department, Director's Office.

The sunny office is filled with the warm March sunshine, and the bonsai on the windowsill forms a beautiful shadow in the center of the office.

The leather sofa, mahogany desk, filing cabinet, safe, and phonograph are all very impressive. This is the new office of Acting Director Zhang.

At this time, Acting Director Zhang was sitting in his office chair, reading the newspaper boredly, thinking about the scenes that had happened in the past two days.

Being a leader is much more comfortable than you imagine. Someone cleans the office and wipes the desk every day. There is a driver to take you out. Even if there is a case, you just need to yell a few times and the people below will naturally handle it. You don't have to worry about it at all.

But his situation is different after all. He was promoted in name only but demoted in reality, and he is a newcomer. The core interrogation department and prison management department are still controlled by others, so it is impossible for him to intervene easily. The next task is mainly to rescue the detained comrades. In his situation, is there really any loophole he can exploit?
Thinking of this, Zhang Yi felt a gloomy feeling in his heart.

At this time, there was a knock on the door. He quickly sat up straight, maintaining the dignity of a director, sorted out the newspapers on the table, and then cleared his throat and shouted:
"Enter."

The door opened, and it was not a colleague from the department who came to report, but an unexpected visitor.

The acting chief secretary of the bureau is Mao Qiwu.

The two looked at each other calmly, but it was definitely an act. Mao Qiwu gently closed the door, sat on the sofa next to him without being invited, and stared at him for a long time, as if he was not going to speak at all.

Zhang Yi was even more pretentious than him, and had not prepared to speak. After a pause, Mao Qiwu smiled and said, "Brother, you are becoming more and more cunning."

"Why does this sound like an insult?" Zhang Yi said with a smile.

Mao Qiwu waved his hands and sighed: "Brother, the facts have proved that Xu Yedao is the traitor hidden in the bureau. I was wrong about what happened before, and I apologize to you."

"No, no, no, I don't deserve it. Just don't doubt me again in the future."

Zhang Yi looked very pleased and smiled. After that, he asked:
"Director Mao, I am sorry to see you here. What advice do you have for me?"

Mao Qiwu smiled faintly, and the knock on the door sounded again.

"Come in."

Zhang Yi saw that Mao Qiwu didn't even turn his head, as if he knew who was coming.

The door opened and a young and handsome lieutenant secretary came in. He looked at Zhang Yi and smiled ingratiatingly.

When Zhang Yi was puzzled, Mao Qi pointed at his secretary:
"This is Secretary Liu. He used to work for Xu Yedao. After investigation, the bureau found that he was not involved in the affairs of Xu. Since the secretariat was short of staff, he was retained. He is very familiar with the situation here, so he can serve as your assistant and assist you in your work."

Secretary Liu saluted respectfully: "Director Zhang."

Zhang Yi came back to his senses and smiled at him. Using the name of assistance to monitor someone was an old trick that was not surprising to anyone.

Seeing through it but not saying it, he smiled and said:
"Okay, since it's Director Mao's good intention, I won't refuse it."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Mao Qiwu nodded, stood up and said:
"The most important thing right now is the group of prisoners. The boss wants to eliminate them completely before April 1st. Director Zhang will have to worry about it."

"Okay, I understand." Zhang Yishen nodded. He knew very well that this was another test.

As soon as Mao and Qi left, Secretary Liu immediately stuck to them like a dog-skin plaster:

"Director, I will be at your service from now on. Please leave all the chores to me. Please don't treat me as an outsider. You can tell me anything and I guarantee that I will handle it properly."

Faced with Secretary Liu's courtesy, Zhang Yi had no reaction.

The other party continued in a tactless manner: "Deputy Director Ruan proposed to hold a welcoming banquet for you tonight. What do you think?"

Zhang Yi was a little surprised and wanted to refuse directly, but then he thought that this might be an opportunity to observe the personnel relationships in the department up close and see what the temperaments of colleagues from different factions and circles in the department were like, so he asked:

"Who have been invited?"

"Deputy Director Ruan, Deputy Director Yang, and several section chiefs."

"Okay, you decide."

"Okay, don't worry, I'll take care of everything." Secretary Liu responded respectfully, paused, and then said:
"What do you think of Shancheng Hotel? The private rooms there are very full, so you need to call ahead to reserve one."

"Mountain City Hotel?"

"Yes, Deputy Director Ruan meant that the venue should be the VIP room of Shancheng Hotel, with a price of 2,000 yuan per person. They will provide an imported whiskey, and they said that Deputy Director Yang likes that flavor."

Two thousand yuan a day? Zhang Yi was shocked. These people really knew how to enjoy themselves. Even if it was French currency, this meal would probably cost ordinary people decades of hard-earned money.

But these days, the front is always tight, the back is tight, and banquets are overflowing. He is used to it. He glanced at Secretary Liu and asked with a smile:
"You only care about what Deputy Director Ruan and Deputy Director Yang like. Why don't you ask me what I like?"

"Director, you..." Secretary Liu immediately took out a notebook in panic.

Zhang Yi just smiled and looked at him without saying anything. Secretary Liu was frightened by his gaze and could only awkwardly save the situation for himself:

"I forgot. Director, please tell me what you like. I will communicate with the hotel right away."

"What do you think I like?"

"This..." Secretary Liu laughed dryly twice, speechless and not knowing how to answer.

"Aren't you Xu Yedao's secretary? How did you arrange it before? How do you arrange it now? Hmm? Go ahead."

"Yes." Secretary Liu responded in confusion and quickly retreated.

"Another master who is difficult to serve!"

Secretary Liu left Zhang Yi's office, complaining to himself as he walked away.

In the past two days, with the downfall of Xu Yedao, his life has also experienced great ups and downs, it is simply a mixture of sadness and joy.

Thinking back to the time when he was the director's secretary, he followed the director around. Every day he saw endless smiling faces, heard endless nice words, and ate endless delicious food. His house was also full of people coming and going and guests.

However, with the death of Xu Yedao and the news that he was a member of the Red Party, suddenly, everything returned to calm. Those classmates, friends, colleagues, and fellow villagers who had surrounded him in the past suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Secretary Liu, who was in a panic, immediately went to Deputy Director Ruan to beg for mercy like a pug, but he was kicked out before he could say a few words or hand over the negative evidence on Xu Yedao that he had collected with great effort.

Now, Secretary Liu was even more frightened.

He curled up in the office like a snail for the whole day. Finally, with a desperate mentality, he reluctantly gave all the small yellow croakers he had saved over the past two years to Director Mao's nephew, just for a chance to meet and appeal.

However, what happened next went unexpectedly smoothly.

Director Mao received him cordially, asked about his well-being, and also gave him a secret mission.

To be fair, this mission was extremely dangerous and one could be crushed to pieces if one was not careful. Naturally, he was extremely terrified, but he kept reminding himself not to do anything too dangerous. Since it was Director Mao's order, he must do it carefully.

Moreover, there was one thing that made him feel particularly fortunate and confident - although the mission was dangerous, he could rely on Director Mao, so it was still a gain in the end.

As long as I complete the task assigned by Director Mao, how can I treat myself badly?

With this in mind, Secretary Liu walked towards Shulu in high spirits. When he opened the door of an office, he saw a businessman with a big brain waiting there.

They were all acquaintances, so the businessman didn't say much and just said:
"Secretary Liu, the hotel has just received a batch of top-quality Shifeng Longjing tea, all of which are special products made exclusively for the chairman's residence. How about we get some for you?"

Secretary Liu smiled and said, "Forget it. Your special tea is not cheap. I, a small secretary, cannot afford it."

The businessman also laughed: "Why can't we afford it? A pound of tea is only a few thousand yuan, not even enough to cover half a table of food. A few days ago, Secretary Xiao Mao entertained guests and took two pounds away."

Secretary Liu hesitated, but his heart was like a cat's claw. His status was naturally not as good as Secretary Xiao Mao's. Moreover, the new director was obviously not easy to serve. Before he was familiar with his character, it was naturally not good to reach out so blatantly.

However, thinking that the yellow croakers that he had saved with great difficulty were presented to Secretary Mao, greed still overcame reason, and he smiled and said:
"Then one pound?"

The businessman nodded, smiled knowingly, and handed over a list of food and beverages.

The Shancheng Hotel was nominally rebuilt on the basis of a guesthouse after the Guo Party government moved west. It was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Shancheng government, but in fact it had long been contracted and many projects, such as catering, guest rooms, dance halls, tea rooms, etc., were allocated to people with connections, who then hired people to manage them. Most of the people who could contract the Shancheng Hotel were people with connections to important Shancheng officials such as the mayor or director, and some even had the support of a powerful leader at a higher level. The purpose of the contract was naturally not to improve service, but to allow these people with connections to legitimately reap more benefits.

For example, the businessman in front of him is a distant relative of Mayor Wu. The so-called high-end tea he mentioned is priced at several thousand yuan per kilogram, but in reality it is less than a few hundred yuan, but the sales of these teas are surprisingly good. The people who buy tea are naturally not fools, because they don’t have to spend their own money at all. To put it bluntly, the tea leaves fall into the pockets of the people who sign the order, and the cost is naturally included in the meal expenses and reimbursed by public funds.

The businessman came to the door in a hurry, of course, because he had his eyes on Secretary Liu's power to sign orders. Although he was just a small secretary, usually following the director around, and seemed to have no real power, he was actually the object of pursuit and flattery by major hotels and entertainment venues.

According to regulations, for a department-level official like Zhang Yi, no matter what kind of guests he receives, all food, drinks, entertainment and even gifts can be paid for with public funds from the General Affairs Office, regardless of the level, amount or location. After the consumption, all he has to do is sign, and the store will then take the bill directly to the General Affairs Office to collect the payment.

As for whether the General Affairs Office will give money, there is no such question at all. When you sit at the card table, you have to abide by the rules of the game. Moreover, you have to look at the owner when beating the dog. If you make things difficult for these people, the important people behind them will have plenty of ways to deal with you.

Generally speaking, only leaders have the right to sign for reimbursement, but in fact, leaders who have the right to sign generally do not sign the consumption receipt.

First, it is a big spoiler for the guests to hand over the bill and ask you to pay or sign it when they are full and chatting happily. Second, which leader wants to be accused of eating and drinking, so the signature right naturally falls into the hands of the secretary.

When Secretary Liu followed Xu Yedao, he often had such opportunities. He often used this privilege to seek personal gain and often brought cigarettes, alcohol, sugar and tea from some restaurants home.

Of course, in his opinion, this phenomenon is not a big deal, but just an unspoken rule.

At this moment, he was holding the menu and ordering the most expensive items: "Two bottles of Hennessy XO, and one serving of bird's nest and shark's fin for each person."

The standards for banquets in the bureau are divided into several grades according to the status of the guests and the motive for the invitation. The general standard is usually held in ordinary hotels or the restaurant of the bureau headquarters, with 200 yuan per guest, and the guests drink national liquors such as Yujiu or Luzhou Daqu Liquor. The better ones are held in Shancheng Hotel, with 500 yuan or 1,200 yuan per person, and the guests drink Wuliangye or Yunfengzhenghuangjiu, or foreign red wine and foreign liquor.

Today is a welcome party for the new director, so naturally we have to be open-minded and include whatever is good.

As Secretary Liu's lips moved up and down, the smile on the businessman's face grew wider and wider.

In the evening, when the lights came on, the Shancheng Hotel was brightly lit. Dignitaries and ladies in gorgeous clothes came in and out, creating a scene of prosperity and dance.

The two deputy directors and several section chiefs were waiting outside the door in advance, respectfully. No matter what they thought, the new director had to be given the face he deserved.

After a while, Zhang Yi's car arrived.

Except for Deputy Director Ruan and a few people like Yang Zaixing who had dealt with him before, the heads of the Interrogation Section, Prison Management Section and Judicial Section were all strangers. Deputy Director Ruan introduced Zhang Yi one by one, introduced himself, went through the procedures of saluting, shaking hands and greeting, and then walked directly to the private room.

Shancheng Hotel has just changed its chef. It is said that the head chef was hired from the embassy at a high price, and the Chinese chef is a descendant of the imperial chef who was specially brought from Peking.

At 2,000 yuan per meal, there is naturally a combination of Chinese and Western cuisine, such as French steak, Malaysian blood bird's nest, Yangtze eel, and all kinds of delicious dishes. The level is comparable to the private banquet at Boss Dai's house, which opened Zhang Yi's eyes.

He was in a bad mood and his appetite was affected, so he became half eater and half spectator.

Because of their positions and power, Deputy Director Ruan and Yang Zaixing had plenty of opportunities to enjoy such banquets, and they were naturally calm and unperturbed.

There were only a few section chiefs, who had seen larger occasions, but rarely participated in such a high-profile banquet, and their eyes frequently showed surprise. Especially Lai Guomin, the head of the Judicial Section, who drank most of the glass of imported foreign wine in one gulp, and kept frowning and saying it was too sour and tasteless, which made Yang Zaixing call him a "country bumpkin".

Lai Guomin didn't take it seriously. Instead, he smiled and said, "It doesn't cost any money anyway, so I'd rather drink it."

It's hard to say anything about this rogue attitude.

Seeing Zhang Yiduo looking at this person a few times, Deputy Director Ruan introduced him in a low voice:

"Section Chief Lai came from there and even changed his name to show his loyalty."

That place naturally refers to Pagoda Mountain.

Hearing that this person was a traitor, Zhang Yi took notice: "Brother, is he your man?"

Deputy Director Ruan shook his head: "The boss was transferred here from Chang'an."

Zhang Yi suddenly realized that Boss Dai often said in the bureau's business meetings, "The most effective way to deal with the Red Party is to let the Red Party (traitors) deal with the Red Party." Therefore, there are many Red Party traitors in the bureau, especially in the Party and Government Intelligence Department and the Institute of Special Issues.

Lai Guomin used to be a cadre of the border region government. Unable to endure hardship, he fled to Chang'an and was arrested by the Military Control Commission. After he defected, he specialized in collecting materials related to infiltrating the border region in the Chang'an Detention Center. Later, he was seconded to the Judicial Department, where he was specifically responsible for interrogating arrested Red Party members and suspects. Now he has been promoted to the head of the Judicial Section.

Zhang Yi and Ruan Qingyuan's eyes were very obscure, but Lai Guomin still noticed it. He immediately stood up, poured himself a full glass, and raised the glass to Zhang Yi:
"Director Zhang, please take good care of me in the future."

The man was in his thirties, quite plump, with a round face covered in grease and acne, but his hair was combed meticulously, making him look somewhat wretched and funny.

Zhang Yi glanced at him and said modestly, "I just got here and I'm completely clueless. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Chief Lai often in the future."

As he spoke, he raised his glass and clinked it with his. Zhang Yi took a sip and Lai Guomin drank it in one breath. He smiled and said:
"Don't be polite to me. Just tell me what you want to do."

As he said this, he filled his own glass again and turned to toast Yang Zaixing.

Yang Zaixing was in a worse mood tonight. He raised his glass frequently, and after a few bottles of wine, his face was red. He looked at Lai Guomin and said with a thick tongue:
"I just heard from Deputy Director Ruan that you are a member of the Red Party?"

"Yes." Lai Guomin's face changed and the pimples on his face trembled.

"Okay, Deputy Director Yang is drunk, Deputy Section Chief Lai, don't take it personally." Zhang Yi took over the conversation and said in a gentle voice, "But since we are talking about your identity, I have a question in my mind. I wonder if you can help me solve it?"

"You say, Sir."

Hearing this, several section chiefs who were drinking so much that their tongues were straight and their eyes were dazed also listened attentively.

"It's a commonplace, but what puzzles me is that the bureau has sent so many warriors to try various methods to break into Pagoda Mountain, but they basically never came back. Is the border area really an iron wall that cannot be entered?"

"You mean this?" Lai Guomin breathed a sigh of relief, his eyebrows twinkled, "It's hard to say, but it's also easy to say."

"Oh, what do you mean?" Zhang Yi pretended to be interested.

Lai Guomin played with his wine glass, pondered for a moment, and said, "The difficulty is that the inspection is not strict and the historical investigation is strict, so it is not easy to gain a foothold. The ease is that anyone who is not in a hurry to achieve success, is prepared to lie in ambush for a long time, has a proof of gaining people's trust, tries hard to pretend to be progressive after going there, and does not act immediately, is still easy to gain trust."

After these words were spoken, everyone was thoughtful.

"I see." Zhang Yi sighed, "Now that you have returned to the embrace of the Party and the country, I hope that you will be loyal to Mr. Dai and the Chairman wholeheartedly in the future, work hard and make new contributions!"

"Yes. I will do my best to be loyal to the party and the country. If I break my oath, I will be struck by lightning." Lai Guomin put down his wine glass and saluted respectfully.

boom---
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a faint explosion in the distance. Maybe it was late at night, the sound was particularly clear. Everyone was sobered up and stood there in a daze.

(End of this chapter)