PDLP Chapter 1 Suicide by Drowning
Chapter 1 Suicide by Drowning
"Hmm...don't do that."
"Dawei, let me go, please stop."
In a three-bedroom apartment on the 7th floor of the Dushi Garden residential complex in Yuanshan County.
Chen Dawei hugged his wife, who had just returned home, and started kissing her passionately.
His wife, Xie Liting, hadn't been home for over half a month, and Dawei, a man in his early thirties and full of vigor, was already impatient.
"Hey, let go of me!"
Xie Liting pushed Dawei away forcefully, her face darkening.
David was taken aback. What was wrong with her today?
They haven't been together for so long, doesn't she miss it?
Don't they say absence makes the heart grow fonder?
Perhaps she was a little tired...
"Let's eat first. Go wash your hands, the food is ready."
David wanted to calm down first, have a meal, take a shower, and then...
Xie Liting, however, slammed a document onto the coffee table in the living room.
"I'm not eating anymore, David. Why don't you sign this divorce agreement?"
Chen Dawei looked at the divorce agreement on the coffee table, somewhat bewildered.
"What does this mean?"
His wife, Xie Liting, works at the county television station.
I've been living in the company dormitory for the past two weeks, saying I'm busy.
They suddenly called today saying they need to come back.
Chen Dawei bought the groceries early and carefully prepared a table full of Xie Liting's favorite dishes, waiting for her to come back.
I had thought we could have some quality time together tonight.
But I didn't expect...
Xie Liting tossed her hair, revealing her stunningly beautiful face. Her long legs were crossed, and her black-faced, red-soled high heels, which she hadn't had time to take off, looked incredibly shiny under the lights.
A slight smile played on her lips, her expression carrying a hint of mockery.
"Dawei, don't you even know why you got divorced?"
Wearing an apron and standing in the living room, Chen Dawei's heart sank.
This young man, who is 1.78 meters tall, somewhat slender, with well-proportioned features and an extraordinary temperament, was once the most dazzling star in the Yuanshan County government.
He graduated from Sun Yat-sen University, the highest institution of learning in Guangdong Province, with a postgraduate degree.
After graduating from school, I joined the Yuanshan County Government Office and became a deputy section-level cadre.
Because of his outstanding academic qualifications, abilities, and character, he became the target of public criticism.
It is very difficult for someone with no background or connections, yet who shines brightly, to survive in the officialdom of Yuanshan County.
Therefore, in the first few years after entering officialdom, he suffered a lot of exclusion and suppression.
County Party Secretary Zhou Xiangzhang ruled with absolute authority, resulting in an extremely poor atmosphere in Yuanshan County's officialdom, with officials at all levels colluding with each other.
For a clean person like Dawei, refusing to compromise his integrity is his original sin.
After several years, my position hasn't changed at all.
Last year, a new county head named Qiao Yong came to the county.
This person is decisive and efficient, fearless of authority, and unconventional in his use of people.
David finally got his chance.
He, the youngest person with the highest education in the Yuanshan County government, was promoted by Qiao Yong to the position of director of the county government office, a substantive position at the level of section chief.
For a time, David was the envy of everyone.
His wife and her family doted on him.
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long.
Qiao Yong's vigorous promotion of pollution control in local enterprises and his large-scale economic transformation have harmed the interests of some people.
Not long ago, County Chief Qiao was framed by County Party Secretary Zhou Xiangzhang and was taken away.
As the director of the county government office, whom Qiao Yong had personally promoted, Dawei was not spared either.
Dawei was first assigned to the county's Bureau of Veteran Cadres, and then he was taken away and detained in the detention room for 7 days.
Those people framed Dawei with fabricated charges and even made Dawei falsely accuse County Chief Qiao.
Dawei held firm and didn't say a bad word about County Chief Qiao.
That was the benefactor who had promoted him.
This kindness is heavier than Mount Tai.
Even if you beat Dawei to death, he would never falsely accuse County Chief Qiao.
He started urinating blood, and the people didn't dare to force him anymore, so they had to let him out.
She's only 30 years old.
A tuft of white hair had appeared on his forehead, a mark left from his recent time in the detention room.
Those people pushed him so hard that his hair turned white overnight.
After Dawei came out, he learned that County Chief Qiao had committed suicide by drowning himself in the Reshui River next to the county government because he could not withstand the pressure.
The current situation in Yuanshan County can be described as chaotic and disorderly.
For a college graduate like Dawei from a rural area, with no connections or even friends in the officialdom, and with his former boss in such a predicament, it's obvious that his future is very bleak.
He understood, of course, that Xie Liting wanted to cut ties with him.
"Our relationship over so many years..."
Xie Liting immediately raised her hand to stop Dawei from speaking.
"Stop!"
David, we're both adults. I hope we can both be more level-headed.
Her expression turned serious, more like a leader lecturing a subordinate. She put down her crossed legs, put her hands behind her back, and paced back and forth in the living room.
"He's thirty years old and still doing odd jobs at the old cadres bureau."
I told you to stand in the right line, understand the situation, and follow Secretary Zhou's lead, but you wouldn't listen.
They insisted on clinging to Qiao Yong, this outsider cadre.
childish!
it's good now.
Qiao Yong is dead.
You haven't even had a chance to warm your seat as the director of the county government office before someone knocked it off, have you?
I'm so disappointed in you.
Chen Dawei glanced at his former wife, his eyes filled with a chill.
Ok.
You even dare to lecture me now.
Have you forgotten how diligently I tutored you when you were preparing for your civil service exam?
Have you forgotten how much you and your mother fawned over me when I became the director?
Have you forgotten how you thanked me when your brother asked me for money for his wedding dowry?
Have you forgotten all those sweet, sticky things you said to me in bed?
villain!
"Please address him as County Magistrate Qiao."
Xie Liting, who was pacing, stopped, turned her head and looked at Dawei in surprise, then suddenly sneered.
"Does he still think he's some kind of chief director?"
I'll just call him Qiao Yong, okay?
Oh right, there's something I forgot to tell you.
I'm about to take up the post of director of Yuanshan County Television Station.
With a smug smile on his face, he sat down again on the sofa, waved the back of his hand to wipe the barely visible dust off his pants, and when he crossed his legs, a bit of his underwear was visible.
"It's a directly affiliated public institution, and the station director is also at the level of a section chief, just like you used to be."
They're already getting arrogant before anything's even been confirmed.
She's someone who can't even write a decent year-end summary, yet she's become the station director.
David was speechless.
However, in Yuanshan County now, anything can happen, so he wasn't surprised.
"So it's a promotion."
No wonder they're in such a hurry to get a divorce...
Congratulations!
In Yuanshan County, you have to choose sides.
Only by choosing the right side can one get promoted.
Presumably, she has sided with Zhou Xiangzhang, the county party secretary.
Therefore, it is natural to distance oneself from Zhou Xiangzhang's confidant.
David can understand.
There was no point in trying to persuade them to stay, so I picked up the agreement on the table and started reading it.
Xie Liting felt nervous, afraid that Dawei wouldn't sign. She whispered, "Sign it quickly. For the sake of the past, I can spend some quality time with you later."
David quickly glanced at the agreement. The house and car were paid for by his family and belonged to David. The two had no children. The agreement was very simple.
After quickly signing the papers, I sat back down at the table, ready to enjoy dinner alone.
"No need. I haven't had a good appetite lately and can't eat anything too salty. Take your agreement and get out of my house."
A real man does not eat food that comes from outside.
Dawei is confident in himself. You, Xie Liting, have your market, and I, Chen Dawei, have mine.
Two-legged women are everywhere.
Xie Liting angrily grabbed the agreement, stuffed it into her bag, and got up, but stopped at the door.
"See you at the Civil Affairs Bureau at 10 a.m. tomorrow. I've already made arrangements, so I can get the divorce certificate as soon as I get there."
"Hmm." David replied expressionlessly.
"There's something else. I heard you're going to the city to file a formal complaint against Secretary Zhou."
I advise you to stop trying; it's pointless.
Don't forget, your mother is still in the hospital.
Upon hearing this, Dawei, who was picking up food with his chopsticks, froze in mid-air, his face growing increasingly gloomy.
While he was in custody, his mother was involved in a car accident that resulted in a fractured leg. The driver responsible for the accident has not yet been found.
David had always suspected that this was the work of Zhou Xiangzhang's group.
Those people will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
Their methods were so despicable that they were utterly outrageous.
Now, Xie Liting's words sound more like a warning, which further confirms David's suspicions from back then.
"We're strangers now that we're divorced. My affairs are none of your concern."
"Whatever you want."
It's like a rock in a latrine—stinky and hard. It seems like getting a divorce was the right thing to do.
Xie Liting slammed the door shut and left without looking back.
After having dinner, Dawei went to Yuanshan County People's Hospital.
I first went to visit my mother who was hospitalized.
Then, carrying the local honey his father had brought from his hometown, he went upstairs to the cadre ward to visit an old man surnamed Wang.
This old Wang is interesting.
I feel a connection with Chen Dawei's family.
At that time, Dawei was assigned to the Old Cadre Bureau.
The first assignment I received was to visit and comfort Old Wang at the county hospital.
David was still puzzled.
The leaders of the old cadre bureau were constantly finding ways to make things difficult for him, dumping all sorts of hard and tiring work on him.
Why is it so good this time?
Why did they assign him such an easy job?
Moreover, it involves contacting retired cadres, which is a valuable resource.
When I got to the hospital, I realized that this was not a good thing at all, but a huge trap.