Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 357 Director Qin is Coming to Fengtian (Monthly Tickets+)

Upon entering the building, there was a guardhouse on the left and a reception room on the right. Xiao Wei walked to the guardhouse, lowered his head, and peered through the open window, asking, "Excuse me, where is Director Qin's office?"

Several policemen were sitting inside, smoking and talking. An elderly man in a police uniform sat by the window, holding a large enamel mug. He glanced at Xiao Wei and asked, "Where are you from? What do you need Director Qin for?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'm his friend. I need to talk to him about something. He just came back from my place."

The old man sized up Xiao Wei a few times, then pointed behind his head and said, "Go upstairs, turn left on the second floor, and it's the second room from the back."

Xiao Wei said thank you and walked down the somewhat dark corridor. After walking about ten meters, he saw the stairs. He went up to the second floor, turned right, and found the office the old man had mentioned. He could faintly hear people talking inside. Xiao Wei knocked on the door, and someone inside called out, "Come in."

Xiao Wei pushed open the door and went inside. It was a cubicle; the inner door was closed, and in the outer room, there were three desks with several police officers sitting on them. One of the officers looked up and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Xiao Wei said, "Where's Director Qin? I need to speak with Director Qin." The male police officer pointed to the closed inner room door and glanced at Xiao Wei a few times.

Xiao Wei walked over and knocked on the door. He heard Director Qin's voice: "Come in." Xiao Wei pushed the door open and went in. Director Qin was sitting behind his desk talking to a policeman sitting in front of him. Seeing Xiao Wei come in, he smiled and stood up, saying, "Why did you come over? Is something wrong?"

The male police officer also stood up and said, "Then, Director Qin, you're busy. I'll go down first." Director Qin nodded and gestured for Xiao Wei to sit down.

Xiao Wei walked over and sat down in a chair, looking around the office. The only word to describe the boss's office at this moment was "simple." There was an old-fashioned desk, several wooden filing cabinets against the wall, and a washbasin and towels on an iron shelf in the corner of one of the cabinets. A map of Andong City hung on the wall. A row of nails was nailed to the wall near the door, with several notebooks and folders hanging on them.

Director Qin went back to his desk, grabbed a cigarette, and sat down in the chair, asking, "What's wrong?" He then took out a cigarette and handed it to him.

Xiao Wei took the cigarette, placed the leather bag and bullet box on the wooden coffee table, and said, "After you left, the workers and I went inside and looked around. We found them in the drawer of the head of the table on the second floor. Actually, I wanted to keep them for myself, but after thinking about it, I didn't dare."

Director Qin asked, "What is it?" He put down his cigarette case and reached for it. The bullet case was placed on a leather cover. He tried to pick it up but couldn't move it. He then pried open the cover, revealing the gleaming yellow bullets. Director Qin was stunned for a moment, then cursed and said to Xiao Wei, "Close the door."

Xiao Wei stood up, went over and closed the door. When he returned to his chair, Director Qin had already taken everything out of the leather bag and laid it on the coffee table. He was examining the gun, clicking to remove the magazine, then pulling the bolt to eject the cartridge, saying, "You didn't touch it, did you?"

Xiao Wei said with a wry smile, "I didn't know anything about this thing when I first saw it, so I didn't dare to touch it."

Director Qin said, "Luckily you didn't touch it. Although it's been stored for more than ten years, it shouldn't have affected its function. This isn't a mass-produced gun; its performance is excellent." He then removed the bullets from the magazine one by one, bringing the total to five, which filled the magazine perfectly.

Xiao Wei looked at it and asked, "What do you mean by 'not a mass-produced gun'?"

Director Qin put the bullets back into the ammunition box and said, "These are just a few prototypes made for testing. The workmanship is much more refined than the mass-produced ones. Many parts were hand-ground, and the performance is much better than the mass-produced ones. You've got some good luck, kid." He reached into the handkerchief pouch, took out the money and food coupons, looked at them, and put them aside. He then picked up his passport and photos.

The passport was red with yellow lettering, without a plastic cover; it was just a thick red cardboard booklet. The national emblem was on top, surrounded by the seven characters for "People's Republic of China," and below were the two large characters for "Passport," all in traditional Chinese characters. Director Qin gently tugged at the edge, then picked up the photo and looked at it, saying, "It's been too long. It got damp and then dried, and that's how it is now. This must be from Russia. Back then, Russia had good relations with Eastern Europe, and many places were visa-free."

After looking at the money and grain coupons again, Director Qin said, "You don't want the grain coupons? These things are still being collected; you can sell them for some money." Xiao Wei laughed and said, "Forget it, how much can I get for them? I don't want to cause any more trouble; it's not worth it."

Director Qin thought for a moment and said, "Keep your mouth shut about this. You can't tell anyone anything that happens in that room, understand? Although it's been over twenty years, quite a few of the people from back then are still alive, and many of them are still in office. Back then, things were chaotic, and there were so many grudges and feuds that no one could untangle them. If you bring them up again, it will cause a lot of trouble. You might get involved even if you weren't originally involved."

Xiao Wei nodded, and Director Qin smiled and said, "Aren't you excited to have found a gun? Didn't you think about keeping it for yourself?"

Xiao Wei was a little embarrassed, smiled and said, "I thought about it, and I took it back to the hotel. Nobody knows except me. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn't right. I was afraid something might happen if I kept it for too long, so I decided to leave it here and put my mind at ease."

Director Qin laughed heartily, put the handkerchief, photos, and passport into his leather bag, handed it to Xiao Wei, and said, "Find a place to burn them. Take the money and food coupons back with you. I'll keep the gun. This matter ends here. Forget about it from now on."

Xiao Wei asked, "What happened to those things we took out of the house?"

Director Qin said, "The higher-ups didn't even look at it; they just told me to send it to the incinerator, and everything was burned. Nobody wants to create trouble for themselves."

Xiao Wei picked up the leather bag and said, "Okay, I'll be going then. How about I treat those comrades who went today to dinner tonight?"

Director Qin shook his head and said, "No need for you to invite me. I'll arrange it tonight. Don't come over. We'll talk about it after this matter is over." He handed the money and food coupons to Xiao Wei and said, "Alright, you've made a small fortune. Go back now. You can treat me when I get to Fengtian. Your cooking is amazing, delicious."

Xiao Wei took the money and food coupons and said, "Go if you like. You don't get many chances to go to Fengtian, so don't be shy with us."

Director Qin said, "Director Liu wants me to go to Fengtian and be promoted directly to the criminal investigation team. They say they're short-staffed. I've been conflicted these past few days. The key issue is my sister-in-law and her child. Getting a house there won't be a quick fix, and there are all sorts of problems with her household registration, job, and the child's schooling. You're not an outsider, so I can't refuse. Director Chen has already made an introduction, and Director Liu has also spoken up. What kind of person would I be if I didn't go? The relationship would be ruined, and it'll probably be over by now. If I don't appreciate the favor, what kind of job would I get?"

(End of this chapter)