Chapter 5 — The Gateway to Public Service

That woman, Liu Li… she is the niece of Deputy Mayor Chu of this city.

The silence in the meeting room was suffocating. Everyone held their breath. So that was it. No wonder. It was no mystery now how a mere junior clerk at a service window could treat her own superior with such blatant contempt. It made sense why she dared to wield the regulations like a weapon, interpreting them at whim and creating difficulties for people whenever she pleased. She had a backer.

Deputy Mayor Chu?

I repeated the name, tasting the bitterness of it. Chu Van Hai, the deputy mayor responsible for urban construction and city planning.

Did he call to instruct you personally?

Truong Khai Minh nodded with great difficulty. Yes, when Liu Li was first assigned here, Mayor Chu called me. He told me to take good care of her.

So, this care of yours meant letting her run wild? You let her turn the public service window into her own private fiefdom where she could terrorize the public at will?

I… I…

Truong Khai Minh stood speechless, unable to defend the indefensible.

This is the political environment you have fostered! I slammed my hand against the table, the force sending water splashing out of my glass. A single rotten apple spoils the whole barrel! A staff member with a powerful connection dares to trample the center’s regulations underfoot, and you, the leadership, simply watch, listen, and condone it! Do you deserve the national emblem you wear on your chest? Are you worthy of the five words inscribed in our halls: Serve the People?

Every official present bowed their heads in shame. In the corner, Liu Li had transitioned from whimpering to full-blown sobbing, but I ignored her entirely. I took out my phone, found a contact, and dialed. I was calling the Head of the Municipal Party Committee’s Organization Department, Tien Phong. The call connected almost instantly.

Head Tien, this is Tran Duong. I need to ask you about something. How was Liu Li of the Administrative Center assigned to her position? Was the procedure followed correctly? Was there any external pressure exerted behind the scenes? I want you to investigate this immediately. I want the full dossier on my desk within thirty minutes.

I hung up the phone. The room was so quiet that the rhythmic thumping of heartbeats seemed audible. Truong Khai Minh looked at me, his eyes filled with sheer desperation. He knew that this matter had grown beyond his ability to suppress or bury. I fixed my gaze on him.

Truong Khai Minh, I will give you one chance to redeem yourself. First, Liu Li is to be suspended from her duties immediately, pending a full investigation. Second, you and your deputies will begin tomorrow by rotating shifts at the first-floor service counters, working directly with the public yourselves. You will not return to your offices until the rate of citizen complaints reaches zero. Third, draft a report detailing today’s incident regarding the elderly woman and my uncle-in-law, and disseminate it throughout the city. Every department with service counters must conduct a rigorous study and deep self-reflection based on this failure. Fourth, establish a supervisory task force to re-examine all files rejected over the past six months. Any case that was handled with unreasonable obstruction must be resolved within one month. Fifth…

Before I could finish, my phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. I answered and switched on the speakerphone. A calm, masculine voice, tinged with a faint sense of authority, echoed through the room.

Is this Secretary Tran? I am Chu Van Hai.

Chu Van Hai. He had actually called directly. Every nerve in the meeting room tightened. A glimmer of relief and expectation appeared on Truong Khai Minh’s face; the support he had been waiting for had arrived. He likely felt that the situation could still be turned around.

Mayor Chu, is there something you need? My voice remained level, devoid of any detectable emotion.

Secretary Tran, I heard you were inspecting the Southern Administrative Center today. Chu Van Hai’s tone was excessively polite. My subordinates are ignorant and committed errors in their work, causing you trouble. Please accept my apologies on their behalf.

His words were airtight, polished to a shine. He was attempting to downplay a grave issue, reducing a matter of principle to a mere administrative oversight, hoping a simple apology would make the problem disappear.

Apologies are unnecessary. Mayor Chu is a man of many responsibilities; you must be very busy, are you not?

Not at all, not at all, Chu Van Hai replied immediately. Any matter involving Secretary Tran is of the utmost importance. I understand my useless niece, Liu Li, has offended you? She was spoiled by her family since childhood and lacks perspective. I have already scolded her severely. If you could be magnanimous and overlook the mistakes of a young girl, I would appreciate it. How about this: I will have her personally apologize to you and the elderly comrade, and I will have Truong Khai Minh transfer her to another position—perhaps the archives office—where she will no longer have contact with the public. What do you think?

A transfer? To the archives? This was no punishment; it was a blatant attempt to shield her! The archives were the most relaxed position in the bureaucracy—the pay remained the same, yet the workload was minimal. He intended to use this painless, superficial resolution to keep her protected. In the meeting room, the spines of Truong Khai Minh and his colleagues seemed to straighten, hope flickering back into their expressions as they waited for my response to the deputy mayor. I smiled.

Mayor Chu, I think you have fundamentally misunderstood something.