I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

In June in Beijing, the heat hadn't yet reached its peak, but the atmosphere on campuses had already reached its zenith. Red Guard organizations were springing up everywhere, criticizing teachers and posting big-character posters, creating a huge uproar. They were like wild beasts kept in captivity, just waiting for an opportunity to break free and change the world.

The atmosphere was even more lively in a private room of the guesthouse restaurant.

"Brother Li, Xie Hui is really overestimating himself and asking for trouble. Doesn't he even know who he is, daring to come and inspect our guesthouse?" Xu Damao, his face red and neck thick, continued to flatter the host, Li Jing'an, with a thick tongue.

"Hey, Da Mao, you can't say that. This is a lesson for him, to teach him not to be so arrogant in the future. The most important thing is that you have to be strong yourself. We haven't done anything wrong, so we have nothing to fear," Li Jing'an replied with a smile.

Meanwhile, inside the Beijing Municipal Grain Bureau, Xie Hui was leading a group of people inside.

An employee approached and asked, "Excuse me, what do you do for a living?"

"We're from the Municipal Procuratorate. Here are our credentials and a letter of introduction. I'd like to speak with your director about something." The man took the credentials and examined them carefully, then led Xie Hui inside. "Alright, please follow me."

The atmosphere in the guesthouse continued.

"Da Mao, things are in chaos at school right now, the teachers are suffering. How's Old Yan from your department doing?" Li Jing'an suddenly remembered something and asked Xu Da Mao.

"Hey, Brother Li, this Yan Bugui, he's just a primary school teacher. And their primary school didn't even have a Red Guard, so this guy is really lucky. With his personality, he'll never get anything good out of him," Xu Damao chuckled, sounding a little regretful.

"By the way, speaking of this matter, everyone, let me tell you something. Look at the trend and atmosphere at school, it seems like another movement is about to begin, I don't know if it's good or bad. We don't know which way the wind will blow, so everyone should be careful with their words and actions," Li Jing'an said.

"Hey, Brother Li, we got it." Everyone quickly agreed.

Inside the grain bureau, Xie Hui explained his purpose to the bureau chief, who then carefully reviewed the list.

"Director Xie, you want to take away the head of our supply department. We really have no reason to stop you, but I'd like to ask, what exactly is going on? Could you allow us to conduct an internal investigation first?" The director of the grain bureau put on a smile, walked out from behind his desk, and offered a cigarette to Xie Hui and the other people from the procuratorate, his tone suggesting negotiation.

"Director, I understand your feelings. But I want to say that we're not here for some minor disciplinary matter; it involves grain reserves for famine and war preparedness. Can you conduct an internal investigation?" Upon hearing that it involved war preparedness, the director of the grain bureau turned green and quickly waved his hands, "No, no, you can investigate yourself. I wholeheartedly support and endorse it. I'll call the head of the supply department to come see you right away." With that, he hurried back to his desk.

---

The bureau chief, watching through the window as the supply department head got into the procuratorate's car, panicked. He had no idea what the procuratorate was investigating that involved war preparedness and famine relief. He prayed silently, "Please don't involve me." He cursed the man who had been arrested, "You son of a bitch! How dare you lay your hands on that!"

The director of the grain bureau looked worried and was filled with anxiety. He didn't know how many people would be implicated this time, or which unit the supply department had messed up with. These kinds of unknowns are truly frightening.

"The chief prosecutor is busy right now." Section Chief Han pushed open Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang's door, went in with a grin, and then casually closed the door behind him.

"What's wrong? Is there something you need?" Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang glanced at Section Chief Han, then continued to look through the documents in his hand.

"Something's up. I wanted to ask you something. Today, our institute dispatched several vehicles and a lot of people. It seems like something's going on, and it was Director Xie Hui who personally led the team. I haven't heard anything about it," Section Chief Han said.

"What? There's a mission today?... " Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang frowned, put down what he was holding, and looked up at Section Chief Han.

Seeing the change in Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang's expression, Section Chief Han continued, "Oh, right, how come you didn't know either? That shouldn't be the case, right? Even if I didn't know about any operations our office is conducting, you should at least know. I just saw Xie Hui come back with someone, and I was a little suspicious, so I came to find you."

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang's face was gloomy, and he kept tapping his pen on the table, muttering to himself: What on earth is going on? The court usually doesn't hide anything from him about cases, so why is he acting so strangely today? He didn't even know that he was out handling a case.

"Have you inquired? Asked anyone? Does anyone know what case Xie Hui is handling?"

"Chief Prosecutor, I did inquire. All I found out was that Xie Hui led a team to the Grain Bureau and brought one person back, and then another team went to the Food Company. Nobody knows the specifics. I think you should know," Section Chief Han replied.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang's face darkened further. He felt this was a sign that he was about to be sidelined, and that it was probably the Chief Prosecutor and Xie Hui's doing, trying to get rid of him.

"I understand. Go to the interrogation room in a bit and quietly find out what they were talking about. Just say I asked you to ask, and report back to me as soon as you find out. Do it secretly, and don't let Xie Hui find out."

"Alright, Chief Prosecutor, I'll get right on it. I know the interrogation room pretty well; I have a friend there. If anything happens, he won't be able to keep it from me." With that, Section Chief Han left. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang remained in his office, his face ashen.

The director of the grain supply department looked at Xie Hui and another recorder opposite him and asked in confusion, "Comrade, what exactly is going on? Why all this fuss? It's not that serious, is it?" He felt that he had nothing to do that warranted such a big fuss from the procuratorate and was completely baffled.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you. I won't beat around the bush, I'll get straight to the point." Xie Hui asked, "At the beginning of this year, you approved the famine relief grain application submitted by the steel mill's first guesthouse, and your department handled all the subsequent approvals and procedures, right?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" The head of the supply department felt a pang of anxiety, but then responded calmly, adding, "There's no problem. The grain did indeed leave from here, and all the paperwork is in order."

"The paperwork is fine, but I'd like to ask if the date on the paperwork matches the actual date?" Xie Hui pressed.

"Comrade, I don't know what you mean. It's been too long, and I can't remember clearly. But it should be fine, right?" the supply department director replied with a frown.

"Then let me try to recall for you. According to our investigation, your bureau's fleet did not have any attendance record for the date of shipment on your document. How do you explain that? Did their factory come to pick it up themselves? I hope you can tell me the whole story, after all, I still need to go to the steel mill's fleet to verify, and I hope you can be responsible for your words." Hearing this, the head of the supply department's expression changed slightly.

"Okay. It's true that the grain wasn't delivered that day, but I didn't embezzle it. Some time later, the steel mill sent trucks to take it all away. As for what happened afterward, that's none of my business. At most, this is considered a violation of regulations," the supply department director argued.

"The guesthouse said the basement for storing the grain wasn't finished yet, and if we sent it there then, the grain definitely wouldn't survive and would inevitably get moldy and damp. They said that in order not to waste the grain, we should go through the procedures first and come to pick up the grain when the conditions were met," he continued to explain.

"Oh, I see. Okay, then let me ask you the next question. What does this form mean? Two months after the grain was delivered, why did the First Guesthouse apply for another batch of grain?" Xie Hui picked up a form and waved it around.

"That's because the guesthouse said the first batch of grain suffered considerable damage, including dampness and loss, and needed to be replenished. The first batch of grain reserves wasn't enough either, so they added another batch."

"Have you verified this? Have you checked the reported losses of this batch of grain?"

"No. They said their unit handled the damaged grain themselves, so I didn't verify it."

"Then why didn't you verify it? That's your responsibility."

The head of the supply department blushed and could no longer speak.