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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Eighty-Two: Eighteen Layers of Hell
A pleasant meal came to an end as Zhang Qiu escorted Wang Jinghan home. The two reluctantly parted ways at the entrance of Wang Jinghan's house. Wang Jinghan lived at her grandmother's place in the outskirts of the county town, in a village called Xiangtang Village, which was originally remote and far from the county seat. At the end of the twentieth century, the well water here needed to be settled for a long time before it could be consumed.
Now, within just three years, Beilan County Town had expanded to the edge of Xiangtang Village. Suddenly, high-rise buildings sprang up all around, and every household had access to running water, greatly improving the living standards of nearby villagers. However, despite the construction of these tall buildings, no one moved in. The villagers were accustomed to single-story houses with courtyards and were daunted by the high prices. Expecting them to live in high-rises while maintaining their traditional lifestyles was clearly unrealistic.
Because of this, the road was rarely traveled; streetlights were not functioning, and occasionally a car would rush by, its headlights piercing through the darkness into the distance. Zhang Qiu twisted the throttle of his electric vehicle all the way down, feeling the cold wind rush past his ears and seep into his collar. He tightened his clothing and continued on.
As he entered the residential complex, Zhang Qiu saw a group of people gathered by the roadside from a distance. He recognized that these were neighbors from within the complex. They were clustered together in small groups discussing something, forming a larger circle. Curious, Zhang Qiu greeted them one by one and decided to stop and listen to what they were talking about.
After listening for a while, Zhang Qiu understood that they were discussing relocation issues. One older worker with a commanding presence waved his hand and said, "The current situation is not optimistic; many residents have secretly signed agreements. It seems they want to break us down one by one. If we want to protect our homes, we must unite closely."
"But members of the neighborhood committee have already taken the lead in signing," Zhang Qiu recognized the speaker as Grandma Li from the third row. It was tough for someone over sixty to worry about such matters in this cold weather.
An uncle from the fifth row stepped forward and said, "No matter what, as long as we resolutely refuse to sign and do not relocate, how can they dare to forcibly demolish our homes? The government has policies now; surely they should exercise some restraint?"
"That's true, but there are countermeasures at every level," an elderly man sitting on a stone platform nearby suddenly interjected with a worried expression.
The crowd immediately became lively again, debating back and forth. Zhang Qiu's mind suddenly wandered; he recalled descriptions of great debates from the sixties that might have been similar to this situation. Just as he was lost in thought, two bright beams of white light shot towards them from afar.
Zhang Qiu squinted his eyes and followed the source of light, only to see two police vans approaching with flashing red and blue lights. The vans stopped under a nearby streetlight, and the noisy crowd turned their attention toward them.
The two vans parked one behind the other, their doors swung open, and a group of sturdy individuals filed out in an orderly manner. Zhang Qiu noticed that they were all dressed uniformly in gray-white uniforms with large-brimmed hats; their batons reflected dazzling light under the streetlamp. The crowd—including Zhang Qiu—was deeply shocked by this scene and stood frozen in place at a distance, too afraid to approach.
Zhang Qiu was stunned for a moment, not knowing what had gotten into him, and instinctively took out his phone, secretly pressing the recording button...
People fell silent for a while before starting to murmur again. Gradually, the noise grew louder, returning to the previous commotion. Some brave souls had already sneaked back home, but more people chose to stay. A dangerous atmosphere hung in the air as Zhang Qiu was mixed in with the crowd, the camera quietly surveying everything in front of him.
The enforcement team did not take any further action; they just stood in place chatting, occasionally glancing over at the crowd. They did not linger long before getting into their vehicles and leaving. They arrived in a hurry and left just as quickly, as if nothing had happened.
People let out a sigh of relief. An older woman spat on the ground and said with her hands on her hips, "Hmph, trying to scare us again, truly heartless."
"Maybe it was just a routine patrol; we should think positively," an elderly man with a thin frame stepped forward, his eyes shining behind his reading glasses.
The older woman scoffed and replied, "I can't see any positives. This afternoon when the Task Force came, they scolded me!"
People chattered away, the noise level rivaling that of a bustling market. Initially, everyone criticized the Task Force in unison, but soon they split into two factions arguing: one side advocated resisting the demolition while the other agreed to it but demanded higher compensation. Suddenly, a neighbor whom Zhang Qiu should have called Grandfather complained, "I heard they're planning to build an eighteen-story building. Who's going to live there? Isn't that Eighteen Layers of Hell?"
Zhang Qiu couldn't help but laugh at this and realized he hadn't turned off his phone yet, so he quickly pressed save. He hadn't captured anything else but unexpectedly recorded this joke, which he considered a precious memory. After listening for a while longer and finding it uninteresting, he decided to head home.
As soon as Zhang Qiu entered his house, he saw a lavish spread on the dining table with Zhang Zhi Hua and He Mei sitting on the sofa. Just as he was about to greet them, he heard Zhang Zhi Hua say, "You could have gone back to class."
"Yeah, okay." Zhang Qiu hesitated for a moment and suddenly realized that after receiving Director Zhao's call, he had rushed to meet Wang Jinghan and completely forgotten to inform his father about it. What a blunder! He thought he couldn't forget his father just because he had a girlfriend—though she wasn't exactly a girlfriend.
He Mei chimed in from the side, "Son, after you go back, study hard and don't cause any more trouble. Regarding the demolition matter, our family needs to sign..."
Zhang Qiu was about to say something when He Mei didn't give him a chance to speak; she continued, "Your uncle called me today about the demolition issue. These public servants must have family support for their decisions. The head of the tax bureau is involved in another district's demolition; even the media reported on it! So our family has to sign."
"Mom, I understand, and I agree to the relocation." Zhang Qiu saw the anxiety on his mother's face disappear and happily said, "Mom, let's eat. You've made so many delicious dishes, I can't resist."
Zhang Qiu helped Zhang Zhi Hua to the dining table, and He Mei served two large bowls of rice for them, cheerfully saying, "It's rare to have dinner at home today, so eat more."
Zhang Qiu quickly raised both hands to take the bowl. Although he had already eaten a meal outside, he still enjoyed the food heartily. Usually, dinner was eaten in the cafeteria, and it was indeed rare for his mother to prepare such a lavish meal at home. If he didn't eat some, Zhang Qiu felt it would be quite rude.
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