Chapter 2 Who Will Make You Reluctant to Let Go

  There are too many things in this world that can't be let go, and if one were to fall from a high place and die at that moment, what Shen Huai couldn't bear to part with would certainly be his little sister Xiao Li, who would be left all alone...

  The urn was sent to the mausoleum and the mourners soon came out again.

  Seeing Xiao Li's pale and transparent face again, her eyes red and swollen from crying, Shen Huai's heart was pierced again.

  Zhao Dong, a good friend for many years and also a colleague at the municipal steel plant, drove the truck borrowed from the factory to send Xiao Li and the relatives who came to mourn back to Meixi Town.

  Shen Hua felt uneasy and had no excuse to get close, so he could only drive far behind the truck, following it to Mei Creek Town.

  Mei Creek Town belongs to Donghua City under the jurisdiction of Xiapu County, but is adjacent to the urban area of Donghua City in geographical location.

  Meixi Town and Donghua City are separated by a wide Meixi River, with a cement bridge built in the late 1960s connecting to the city.

  Shen Huai just followed him to the old house at the east end of Meixi Town and stopped the car under the shade of a tree by the roadside.

  At this time, what else can he do besides watching from afar?

  Back in Mei Creek, it was almost dark, relatives and friends left one after another, Zhao Dong also drove back to the city with a few colleagues.

  Shen Huai sat in the car, seeing that everyone else had left, but Tang Shu was still accompanying Xiao Li, and only then did he feel slightly at ease. He lowered the back of his seat and lay down in the car, still not feeling secure enough to leave.

  Also for these three days, his mind has been in a state of confusion, physically and mentally exhausted, Shen Hua didn't know when he fell asleep...

  After possession, Shen Huai still retains most of the memory fragments of the original owner's body.

  For Shen Huai, these memories were unfamiliar, they belonged to the previous Shen Huai.

  Even if he could replay these memories like a movie, the sense of unfamiliarity couldn't be eliminated. It was as if he was watching someone else's life play out on screen - just an observer. This sense of unfamiliarity made Shen Hua certain that the previous Shen Hua no longer existed.

  In his sleep, Shen Huan heard his phone ringing and thought it was just a sound in his dream.

  In '93, a pager in Donghua City could attract people's attention, let alone a mobile phone?

  The phone rang with a "ding-dong" sound, Shen Hua just hugged his arm tightly, wanting to make his body lie more comfortably for a while, subconsciously thinking that the phone ring had nothing to do with him - for about five or six seconds, Shen Hua suddenly woke up with a start, realizing that he had rushed from the hospital to the municipal government to pick up the car and had indeed left one phone and wallet on the dashboard...

  Shen Huai suddenly sat up, patting his head, and secretly warned himself: What are you thinking? From now on, you can only live as Shen Huai!

  Shen Huai narrowed his eyes to look at the sun, didn't expect to sleep until eight or nine o'clock, the old house had been locked from the outside, and he didn't know where Xiao Li went early in the morning.

  Shen Huai picked up his phone with some hesitation and answered it.

  The voice on the other end of the phone was both familiar and strange to Shen Hua.

  Familiarity is due to past memories, while strangeness is something Shen Hua himself clearly knows - he's living with a replaced identity.

  "Secretary Shen, where are you? Besides the mayor's cars, there are only three vehicles available for use in the municipal government. You took out car 927 and didn't return all night. Have you considered what would happen if someone urgently needed a car today? If your injury is not serious, hurry back to the city immediately."

  The other party's voice was low and hoarse, and Shen Huai's mind flashed a round face with a big fat nose, which was the voice of Ge Yongqiu, the secretary-general of the municipal government.

  Ge Yongqiu, who was over forty years old, had a fair complexion, but there were several white moles on his face. Everyone behind his back called him Ge Mazi (Ge the mole).

  It can't be said that he came out of the hospital, parked his car outside Meixi Town and slept for a night; Shen Huai's voice was hoarse, and he replied evasively: "I know, I'll go back..."

  Ge Mazi didn't say anything else and hung up the phone.

  Shen Huai also didn't take Ge Mazi's insipid questioning to heart.

  Official circles are often composed of different circles. If you don't belong to this circle, then you belong to that circle. And each circle usually has only one boss.

  Ge Mazi is a man of Mayor Gao Tianhe, while Shen Huai is the secretary of Chen Mingde, Standing Committee member and Vice Mayor.

  Shen Huai's level is slightly lower than Ge Mazi, but they belong to different circles and follow different bosses. Normally, Shen Huai and Ge Yongqiu don't interfere with each other.

  Nor did he know where Xiao Li went early in the morning, Shen Huan could only drive back to the city first.

  Shen Huai had just driven into the municipal government compound when he saw Ge Mazi standing on the steps of the city hall waiting for him.

  Just as Ge Mazi was about to get on his high horse, Shen Huan cursed inwardly and stopped the car instead. He rolled down the window and asked, "Secretary Ge, you're not waiting here specifically for me, are you?"

  Ge Yongqiu's face was gloomy, as if he hadn't heard the provocative tone in Shen Huai's words, and said: "The falling death accident that occurred at the municipal steel plant four days ago has already had a preliminary conclusion. Mayor Chen wants me to go over and listen to the report. If you don't have anything else to do, Mayor Chen asked you to come with me, after all, you are also a victim, and you know the situation at the time."

  Donghua City is neither big nor small, with a population of over 1 million in the urban area.

  As a pillar enterprise of Donghua City, the Municipal Steel Plant has always occupied a large proportion in the city. Since its establishment in the 1950s, it has produced more than a dozen municipal and county leaders for the city and affiliated counties.

  Mayor Gao Tianhe, Secretary General of the Municipal Government Ge Yongqiu, and Deputy Director of the Policy Research Office of the Municipal Party Committee and Government Xiong Wenbin, all came from the Municipal Steel Plant; while Gu Tong, who was then the director of the Municipal Steel Plant, was also a trusted aide to Mayor Gao Tianhe.

  This tragic accident happened right under the nose of Vice Mayor Chen Mingde, that's why the city is taking it so seriously. Otherwise, if a factory had killed one or two workers, not even a ripple would have been raised in Donghua City.

  Ge Yongqiu also serves as the deputy head of the municipal government's safety production leading group. Although it is said that he should be in charge of this matter, Shen Hua thinks about his relationship with the municipal steel factory and counts on her fingers that it is likely to be a mere formality, how can they possibly investigate the responsibility of the municipal steel factory?

  Shen Hua was somewhat reluctant to enter the city steel factory at this time, whether it was his past life or his new life, he needed time to adapt.

  Ge Yongqiu thought Shen Hua wouldn't refuse the instructions of Deputy Mayor Chen Mingde, so he didn't dare ask if Shen Hua was willing or not, and directly opened the car door and got in.

  Ge Yongqiu glanced at his phone on the dashboard and furrowed his brow:

  He, the secretary-general of the municipal government, wanted to replace "Big Brother" with a new mobile phone. The application report was still being suppressed on Chen Mingde's desk, but this beast had already started using the mobile phone in front of everyone...

  They can't just drive Ge Yongqiu away, so Shen Huai can only reluctantly accompany Ge Yongqiu to the municipal steel factory first, starting his "new day" in a true sense.

  The steel factory is located in the northern part of the city, covering an area of over 2,000 mu. After entering the main gate by car, it takes some time to arrive at the magnificent office building of the steel factory.

  No one saw the city steel plant manager Gu Tong come out to greet them, so Shen Huai and Ge Yongqiu walked directly into the office building and headed straight for the manager's room.

  When passing by the office of the production safety department, a fierce quarrel was heard coming from inside.

  "How did the accident happen, Zhou Dazui, you know it in your heart. How you shirk responsibility with the city and muddy waters, I won't intervene; but if you want to deduct Haiwen's compensation, Zhou Dazui, touch your own chest, do you still have a conscience?"

  This is Zhao Dong's voice, Shen Hua did not expect to catch up with Zhao Dong in the production safety department to fight for compensation.

  Shen Huai stopped in his tracks and looked at Ge Yongqiu:

  Zhao Dong's "Big Mouth Zhou" happened to be Ge Yongqiu's elder uncle, and it was precisely by relying on Ge Yongqiu's connections that he managed to climb up to the position of head of the production safety department at the municipal steel factory.

  "Zhao Dong, don't spout nonsense. The nature of the accident and responsibility were concluded by Director Gu - Sun Haiwen was showing off in front of the city leaders, violating regulations by climbing high, which led to his fatal fall. This is what dozens of people on the scene saw with their own eyes. The factory paid for Sun Haiwen's funeral expenses, and his sister can replace him at work; what else do you want compensated?" This was Zhou Dàmǔ's voice.

  "Zhou Dazui, what are you talking about? Xiao Li is only 16 years old, can't she go to school instead of entering the factory? Even if she replaces Haiwen in the factory, shouldn't she get the compensation that's due to her?"

  "Zhao Dong, you're also from the municipal steel factory," said a voice that Shen Hua found somewhat unfamiliar, perhaps a new employee from the production safety department, standing up to help Zhou Dàmǒu, "What kind of situation is in what factory, you're also clear about. Don't mention that now we can't take out too much compensation money, even if we could take it out - if later on someone dies at the factory and their family members come to the factory to extort 100,000 or 800,000 yuan, will the factory still be able to operate?"

  "What's the point of talking nonsense, just kick him out and if he comes back again, call the police..."

  Shen Huai heard that Zhou Dazui seemed to have lost his patience, and before he had even finished speaking, the office door was opened from the inside.

  The little Li who had gone missing since early morning was suddenly pushed out from inside, her clothes and sleeves caught on the door handle, "ripped" off a piece, and her thin arm also scratched with a blood mark...

  At this scene, Shen Huai's evil fire suddenly surged up, and he punched Zhou Dadao's face with a punch:

  "What the f**k! I saw with my own eyes that the handrail broke and someone fell off, but you can still distort this fact and turn black into white?"

  Zhou Dazui opened the door and pushed people out, where did he think he would face a punch?

  Zhou Dazui's nose and forehead were in severe pain, stars were flashing before his eyes, and he stumbled backward.

  Shen Hua didn't think of letting him off with just one punch, and instead followed up with a series of punches, his left shoulder not being able to exert much force, but his right fist came down again and again on Zhou Da's face, sending him tumbling to the ground, before switching feet to kick...

  This scene made Ge Yongqiu, Zhao Dong and others standing beside him stare blankly. The people around them didn't come to their senses until after a long while, then they remembered to hold Shen Huai in a bear hug to calm him down.