Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 63 Chen Hui is a second-generation...

Chen Hui shouted, "Temporary maintenance, power outage. We're telling you to evacuate the crowd, understand?"

Director Qin's face turned pale. He pointed at Chen Hui and said, "How dare you do this? Who gave you the authority? Do you know what kind of thing this is? Restore it immediately, immediately!"

Chen Hui laughed and said, "You're right, I am pretty bold, and sorry to say, I have the fucking authority. I'm informing you now that there's a power outage on Taiyuan Street. This area will be temporarily shut down for three days, including the shopping mall. If three days isn't enough, we'll give you further notice. Got it?"

Director Qin was truly dumbfounded: "Including shopping malls? Are you crazy? Do you even know what you're doing? What do you even do?" The old man was really going crazy now.

Chen Hui said, "My name is Chen Hui, from the power bureau, understand? My dad is Chen Jianguo, remember? Let me tell you straight, you can sue me wherever you want, as long as this Huang Laoliu is in the market, I'll shut him down. You want to put me in jail? Are you coming or not? I'll go with you."

Director Qin's hands trembled as he pointed at Chen Hui and said, "You're committing a crime."

Chen Hui said, "You're not committing any crime, yet you blindly help these unscrupulous dealers rip off outsiders. They dare to ask for 1200 yuan for something that costs only ten or twenty yuan, and you dare to force me to pay? I'll pay. I'm telling you right now, if this electricity doesn't go off for ten days or half a month, I'm your grandson, and no one can help you."

Before 1998, the domestic power sector was the most powerful and complex department in China, bar none. Governments at all levels had virtually no jurisdiction over the power sector; personnel appointments were handled directly by the power sector itself, with little regard for local governments. Legally, the highest jurisdiction over the power sector rested with the central government, but in reality, the central government only provided guidance and regulation, rarely interfering in the internal operations of the power sector.

Xiao Wei whispered to Chen Hui, "Are you really alright? Don't do anything reckless, it's not worth it."

Chen Hui lit a cigarette and said, "It's fine. At worst, my dad will beat me up. I don't believe I can take that."

Ignoring the blood on his face, Director Qin broke free from the young man supporting him and walked up to Chen Hui, his eyes bloodshot. He glared at Chen Hui and said, "What exactly do you want? Do you know how serious this is? Tomorrow, no, not even tomorrow, the district, the city, even the province will all know. Do you know what kind of situation this is?"

Chen Hui, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, squinted at Director Qin and said, "I know, the market management office helps unscrupulous merchants cheat out-of-towners. They arrest people and send them to the police station at the slightest disagreement. You guys are so powerful, but we have to accept our fate."

Director Qin asked, "Who cheated you? Huh? Who? Did they buy something and not pay for it?"

Chen Hui exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "Sure, I have to pay a thousand for something that costs ten or so yuan, right? Is this what your management office set? The night market is such a mess, what's the point of keeping it open? Hey brother, see this? He's from Kaiyuan. He just took a look at it and Huang Laoliu and his gang cornered him and beat him up. They took two hundred yuan for a fifteen-yuan lighter. If I hadn't been here today, my brother would have had to pay twelve thousand yuan for something that costs a hundred yuan. Is this the market you manage? District, city, make a scene, the bigger the fuss, the better. I'll see if there's anywhere to reason with them."

Director Qin said, "Do you know this is a crime? You dare to cut off the electricity to Taiyuan Street over a personal matter? Do you know what kind of place this is? Tomorrow the whole country will know, and you'll be going in, understand?"

Chen Hui said, "Fine, put me in there. I admit what I did. So what? If we don't get things sorted out today, you'll see if the electricity can even be turned on."

Within moments, another group of people came running over, carrying a ladder, wearing safety helmets, and holding five-section flashlights. As they approached, the leader asked, "What happened? How did it break?"

Director Qin visibly relaxed upon seeing the newcomer, pointing at Chen Hui and saying, "This man was deliberately killed. This area is a key zone at the district, city, and provincial levels. Xiao Wang, you recover immediately. You don't need to worry about him. I'll definitely get him arrested."

Xiao Wang shone his flashlight in Chen Hui's direction and said, "Hui Zi?" He walked over and pulled Chen Hui aside, whispering, "What happened? Why did you cut this? This is a big deal, you know?"

Chen Hui handed a cigarette to Xiao Wang and said, "Brother Wang, don't get involved in this. This bastard is bullying me. I'm not letting Dian Tong go without an explanation. Does he want to put me in jail? Go ahead and do it."

Xiao Wang turned to look at Director Qin and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Chen Hui pulled Xiao Wang a few steps toward the building and whispered, "These two new buddies of mine came to the night market today, but all the stalls looked like they were run by out-of-towners. They were asking for 300 yuan for things that cost ten or so yuan, and I couldn't refuse. I was just talking about it when this bastard, Chief Qin, came over and demanded 1200 yuan from me. He even called people to take me in. Is there no justice in this place? Luckily, I had my keys with me today, otherwise they would definitely be in the station by now. Would I be better off than them?"

Xiao Wang glanced at Director Qin and asked Chen Hui, "Really?"

Chen Hui nodded and said, "Would I dare lie about this? Besides, I'm just lazy; when have I ever lied and caused trouble?"

Xiao Wang nodded, threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped on it, saying, "Then I have to report it to my superiors; I can't suppress it."

Chen Hui nodded and said, "Okay, do whatever you want. Oh, and give my old man a call so we don't really make a big deal out of this."

Xiao Wang laughed, turned around and beckoned to his men, "Let's go, let's go back. We'll come back tomorrow during the day. We can't see clearly at night, so we can't do anything."

Director Qin grabbed Xiao Wang and said, "What's wrong, Xiao Wang? I haven't treated you badly, have I? You can't just ignore this!"

Xiao Wang glanced at Director Qin, licked his lips, and looked troubled. He looked at Chen Hui and whispered to Director Qin, "Director Qin, it's not that I don't want to help, but that's our bureau chief's son. He's also a full-time employee of the power company and has the right to cut off the power if he discovers something wrong. Now he says he wants to report it for inspection, and I have no choice. If I force it, I'll lose my job. Director Qin, it's no use talking to me now. Just talk to our bureau chief; one word from him is all it takes."

With a wave of his hand, several people from the power bureau carried the ladders and grumbled as they walked back. In those days, aluminum alloy folding ladders and telescopic ladders were not yet common; they were just big bamboo ladders with two iron hooks on the top, extremely heavy, requiring two people to carry them.

Director Qin was dumbfounded. His henchmen were also dumbfounded; they hadn't expected the guy to be so powerful, and now they were in deep trouble.

The group of people who came over looked at each other, and the leader leaned close to Chief Qin and whispered, "Chief Qin, shall we go back first? This is hopeless, there's no point in staying here." These people were community security officers, nominally under the jurisdiction of the police station, but actually working at the market management office. However, they received their salaries from the police station and were considered temporary workers.