Chapter 3 — The Gateway to Public Service

At the very end, he looked as though he wanted to bury his face in the dirt. The department heads and office chiefs standing behind him were as silent as cicadas in winter, paralyzed by the sudden shift in atmosphere.

"Open it."

I issued the command. Zhang Kaiming, as if granted a reprieve from death, turned toward window number three and let out a near-roar.

"Liu Li! Open that window! Immediately!"

Liu Li, trapped behind the glass, jolted as if struck by a lightning bolt, her entire body trembling. She fumbled, trying to push the sliding window open. What was once a simple task—something requiring only the slightest touch—now seemed as heavy as a mountain. Her hands shook violently, and she failed to budge it after several desperate attempts. A colleague from the adjacent window rushed over to help, finally prying it open. A draft of cold air, mingling with the faint, stale scent of sunflower seeds, drifted out. Liu Li stood there with her head bowed, too terrified to look at me or even at Zhang Kaiming. The arrogance and haughtiness she had displayed earlier had vanished entirely, leaving only a hollow, cowering fear.

"Secretary Chen, I am sorry. I... I was wrong..."

Her voice was as faint as the hum of a mosquito, choked with the sound of suppressed weeping.

"What exactly were you wrong about?"

She froze, unable to offer a response. Perhaps she fundamentally had no idea where she had erred. In her eyes, such behavior was the daily routine. To her, obstructing the public was merely the exercise of the modest scrap of power she held in her hands, and leaving work exactly on the dot was a benefit she rightfully deserved. She had never once considered any of this to be a fault. Seeing her stumble, Zhang Kaiming scrambled to intervene.

"Secretary Chen, it is an issue with our management! It is clear that our ideological training has been insufficient!"

"We will strictly handle this in the future! We will conduct a deep and thorough self-criticism!"

"Look, why don't you come up to the office upstairs for a moment to rest and have a drink of water..."

"I am not thirsty."

I looked him straight in the eyes.

"Chief Zhang, do you truly believe that today’s incident is solely her fault?"

Zhang Kaiming was left speechless. I turned around to look for the elderly woman who had been driven away earlier. She was still standing not far off, watching the scene unfold with a dazed expression. I waved her over.

"Ma'am, please come here for a moment."

The old woman hesitated, afraid to move. I walked over and gently took her by the arm.

"Ma'am, do not be afraid."

"Today, I am going to see that justice is done for you."

I escorted her to window number three. Then, I turned back to Zhang Kaiming.

"You, you, and you."

I pointed at the deputy chiefs and department heads standing behind him.

"The lot of you, get inside this window."

"Look at her file closely."

"Tell me, now—is her residency registration record actually impossible to cancel, or not?"

The men exchanged panicked glances, their faces turning paler than sheets of paper. Zhang Kaiming, quick to react, shoved Liu Li out of her seat. He was the first to crowd inside. A deputy chief and a department head squeezed in after him. The narrow service counter was suddenly stuffed with three full-grown men, a sight that was as pathetic as it was absurd.

"Bring the file over!"

Zhang Kaiming managed to force a smile at the old woman—a contortion far uglier than a cry. The woman tremblingly handed her documents through the glass. Zhang Kaiming put on his reading glasses and scrutinized the papers one by one. He went over them with excruciating slowness and gravity. Beads of sweat began to erupt across his forehead. The entire hall went dead silent, everyone holding their breath as they watched the dramatic spectacle. The high-and-mighty administrative center chief was now, like a primary school student, sitting at the counter doing the actual work for an ordinary old woman. It was a trial without words.

Zhang Kaiming spent ten minutes reviewing the documents. The stack of papers, not particularly thick, was examined and re-examined three times. The deputy chief and the department head huddled together, whispering and debating in low tones. Finally, Zhang Kaiming looked up at the old woman, then over at me. He held up the death certificate that Liu Li had previously dismissed as useless.

"Ma'am, your file... it is complete."

Tears instantly welled up in the old woman’s dim eyes.

"Complete?"

"Then... then why did I have to run back and forth eleven times..."

Zhang Kaiming could not answer. He turned his head and glared viciously at Liu Li, who was shrinking into a corner. She trembled violently.

"According to the regulations, a death certificate stamped by the sub-district and the police station holds the same legal weight as a formal verification letter from the work unit," the department head whispered, adding his input.

"It is entirely sufficient to process the cancellation of the residency record."

Zhang Kaiming organized the files and handed them to the old woman with both hands.

"Ma'am, I apologize to you."

"It is our failure in duty, our failure to understand the policy, it is our..."

"Enough."

I had no interest in listening to his theatrics.

"If it can be processed, do it right now."

"Immediately."

Zhang Kaiming bowed his head and nodded frantically.

"Yes! Right away!"

He operated the computer himself, while the department head stood by to verify the data. In less than five minutes, a receipt bearing a bright red seal was printed out. Zhang Kaiming presented it to the old woman.

"Ma'am, it is finished."

The woman clutched the thin slip of paper, her hands shaking even more violently than before. She peered at it over and over, as if she could not believe her own eyes. The task that had tormented her for an entire year—running eleven times, begging countless times, and shedding endless tears—had been resolved in five minutes. She suddenly turned, intending to sink to her knees before me. I moved quickly, catching her and holding her upright.