Chapter 64: Serve the People!

Hou San staggered, lost his balance, and lunged directly toward Li Xiangdong, who was standing on his front right.

"What the hell!"

Li Xiangdong never expected that he would get caught up in the crossfire just by standing around watching the drama. He pushed Hou San off himself and stood up with the help of Erguazi.

Looking at the wincing Li Xiangdong, Hou San was deeply moved. To have someone cushion your fall when you are getting beaten—what a wonderful feeling!

Brother Dong really is a great brother!

Hou Jianshe looked at Li Xiangdong and said with an awkward expression, "Dongzi, why didn't you think to dodge? Now Uncle Hou feels rather embarrassed. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Uncle Hou. Between us uncle and nephew, we don't need to stand on such ceremony. Besides, you didn't mean to do it."

Li Xiangdong sounded magnanimous, but the truth was he hadn't reacted in time; otherwise, he would have jumped out of the way long ago!

"Good, as long as you're okay."

Hou Jianshe nodded with a smile. His anger had subsided, and now, completely satisfied as he accepted a full tin of pre-Qingming Longjing tea from Wang大海 [Wang Dahai], he strolled away with a smile on his face.

Liu Erdan repacked his loose Jasmine tea back into his own tin. Without saying a word to Hou San, he turned around and walked out of the office together with Wang Dahai.

Hou San let out a long sigh of relief. "That scared the living daylights out of me. It's finally over."

Erguazi walked over and said with a chuckle, "Cooking tea eggs with Tieguanyin tea, Hou San, you are truly something else! I, Erguazi, am thoroughly impressed."

As soon as Hou Jianshe left, Hou San grew cocky again. Rolling his eyes at Erguazi, he snapped, "What's it to you? Your master has already left, why aren't you scramming?"

"Pfft!"

Erguazi scoffed mockingly, "Don't get full of yourself too early, Hou San. Who knows, your old man's anger might not have completely cooled down yet. Better watch out, or he might pick up right where he left off when you get home."

Just as Hou San and Erguazi were bickering, a crowd of a dozen or so people trooped past the office doorway, and Ah Zhe was among them.

Li Xiangdong asked, "Where are they off to? Don't we depart at ten-thirty?"

Hou San replied, "Train attendants have to board at least an hour and a half before departure. They need to clean the carriages beforehand."

Li Xiangdong glanced at Hou San's watch. "Isn't it still quite early?"

Erguazi explained, "I haven't seen a few of those people who just walked by; they must be newbies. Boarding this early is definitely to get them familiar with the work routine ahead of time."

Li Xiangdong nodded, turned to Hou San, and asked, "Do the two of us need to go along?"

"No..."

Before Hou San could finish, he grinned and said, "Brother Dong, do you want to go watch how Ah Zhe does his chores?"

Li Xiangdong had originally intended to say he didn't want to go—what was there to see about cleaning? How wonderful it would be to just sit in the office and sip tea.

However, seeing Hou San's eager expression, and remembering that Hou San had taken a kick on his behalf just moments ago, he lied and said, "I am actually quite curious. Lead the way and let's go take a look."

The two of them said goodbye to Erguazi, and Li Xiangdong supported the limping Hou San as they walked toward the platform.

"Hou San, are you alright?"

"What's a little thing like this? Brother Dong, didn't you cushion my fall? If you're completely fine, what could possibly happen to me?"

Li Xiangdong felt as though his heart had been pierced...

"Besides, when my old man beats me normally, it's way worse. He always uses the feather duster. This time was pretty mild by comparison."

"You know, is it possible that your old man was just in such a rush to beat you that he didn't even have time to grab the feather duster?"

Hou San's heart was pierced as well. "Hiss—Brother Dong, please stop talking, my backside hurts!"

Arriving at the platform, Li Xiangdong, guided by Hou San, found the train bound for Tianjin. The two of them peered into the carriage windows one by one until they reached Carriage No. 1, where they finally spotted Ah Zhe and the others.

They crouched down as they boarded the train from the rear, hiding at the joint between two carriages to eavesdrop.

Hou San pulled out a pack of Mudan cigarettes and quietly handed one to Li Xiangdong. Li Xiangdong waved his hand to refuse and signaled for Hou San not to smoke either, but who would have thought that Hou San would strike a match and light up right away.

"The current environment is clear to all of you, regardless of whether you're checking tickets at the boarding gates, you must never be sloppy or careless..."

"To the few of you who are new, let me remind you again: the toilets on our train are of the direct-discharge type. When stopping at stations or passing over large bridges, you must remember to lock the toilets in advance so that waste doesn't pollute... Who is smoking?"

"Who is hiding in the back smoking? Get out here right now!"

Seeing that everyone's eyes were fixed on the two of them, Li Xiangdong pushed Hou San forward and stepped out.

Noticing that Hou San was still holding the cigarette without throwing it away, Li Xiangdong muttered under his breath, "Quickly put it out!"

"Oh."

Hou San casually tossed the cigarette onto the carriage floor and ground it out fiercely with the sole of his heavy shoe.

Seeing the large black smudge left behind, Li Xiangdong felt his heart skip a beat. That blockhead Hou San, wasn't he practically offering his face for people to slap?

"Hou San!"

"What is it, Brother Yang? The two of us were just curious and wanted to come over and learn a thing or two. If you're busy, the two of us will be leaving now."

Seeing the black mark on the carriage floor, Brother Yang looked at the two suddenly appearing figures with extreme hostility. "Leaving? Now that you're here, you might as well stay and help us clean up."

Hou San protested anxiously, "Cleaning isn't my job! What right do you have to make me do it?"

Seeing Hou San grow flustered, Brother Yang instead took his time and drawled, "No particular reason, just that if you dare to walk away, I dare to go find your old man. Why don't you try taking a step and see what happens?"

Hearing that Brother Yang would go find his father, Hou San instantly wilted. Letting out a huff, he stomped into the carriage and plopped down onto a seat.

Brother Yang turned his gaze to Li Xiangdong. "And you are?"

Li Xiangdong announced his affiliation, "Hello, Leader. I am Li Xiangdong from the Water Supply Team."

Brother Yang nodded. "Ah, the big loudspeaker Li, right? You've been quite notorious lately."

"Hahaha!"

Hearing this, everyone in the carriage laughed louder than the last.

Li Xiangdong stared straight ahead, assumed a solemn expression, and shouted loudly, "Serve the people!"

Hearing those words, the people in the carriage instantly wiped the smiles off their faces.

Li Xiangdong glanced at them out of the corner of his eye and felt utterly triumphant inside. Laugh? Go on, keep laughing! Why aren't you laughing anymore?

Who would dare laugh at the words of the Chairman? Whoever did would clearly have a problem with their ideological stance!

Although it wasn't a few years ago anymore, in service-oriented positions facing the entire country like this, ideological awareness remained crucial; otherwise, how could one do a good job of serving the broad masses of the people?

Brother Yang looked at Li Xiangdong with a complex expression. "Go sit next to Hou San and join us for the cleaning in a moment. You don't have any objections to that, do you?"

"I have no objections at all. I will completely follow the leadership's arrangements."

After walking over and sitting down, Li Xiangdong glared fiercely at Hou San!

Hou San first cupped his hands in a plea for forgiveness, then grinned sheepishly at him, and finally closed his eyes, tilted his head, and fell sound asleep right then and there...