Power and Wealth - C.1615

Afternoon.

Houhai.

The alley was crowded with people and cars.

Dong Xuebing couldn't stand the noise. It was too chaotic. He greeted Mrs. Zheng and Aunt Ci and then returned to his courtyard.

Into the house.

Closed the door.

Turned on the movie.

Dong Xuebing hoped to block out the noise with this method, so he continued to eat duck necks with gloves on. He even turned the movie's volume to the maximum. The bass effect suddenly exploded in the study of the east courtyard, muffled but very atmospheric. He couldn't hear the honking and cursing outside very clearly anymore. He leaned back in his chair and put his legs on the computer desk, using another method to achieve "peace."

Ten minutes...

Half an hour...

One hour...

It was already past two o'clock. He checked the time on his watch and turned off the music at the end of the movie.

As soon as the sound was gone, Dong Xuebing's ears were immediately filled with the sound of dripping horns, which made him slightly stunned. His face looked a bit terrible!

It's been over an hour!

What's going on? Is the alley still blocked?

So, after all this time, have those few cars not moved yet??

Dong Xuebing's temper also flared up a bit. There were scientific studies that showed that this kind of noise could affect people's moods and even cause illness. After listening for so long, it would be strange if he didn't get annoyed. He was already bored at home these days; entertaining two new neighbors made him very happy; you can imagine how bored he was; he was so bored that he almost scratched the wall by himself. Now, he was annoyed by this; he would be strange if he had a good temper!

What's going on?

Let's see it!

Dong Xuebing walked out of the courtyard and opened the door.

Instantly, the noise outside got louder and hit Dong Xuebing's face.

At this moment, there were not as many cars in the alley as before, but only two or three were blocked on this side, constantly honking, and some people stuck their heads out and cursed loudly at the three or two Audi cars. Most of the cars had probably reversed or turned around and left from the other side of the alley. Although it was a long way, everyone couldn't just keep waiting there. Many car owners who were here before had no choice but to leave. Who has time to waste? Most of the old residents in the alley, densely packed, dozens of people, old men and old ladies, middle-aged men and women, and quite a few young people, all gathered in front of the Audi cars at the mouth of the alley. Their emotions were heated!

"Where are they?"

"Why haven't they come yet?"

"It's been over an hour!"

"Bastards! Isn't this infuriating?"

"The district government's cars can just park wherever they want? Who decided that?"

"This matter must be resolved today! Otherwise, it won't end!"

"Right! It must be resolved! Otherwise, they'll block our way in the future!"

"What kind of officials are these? What kind of quality is this?"

"They think they can bully us, ordinary folks! Brothers and sisters! We must clarify things with them today!"

"Good! Let's all unite! Don't be afraid of them!"

"That's right! This has seriously affected our daily lives, and we can't let it go!"

More and more people entered the alley; almost all the residents came out. The neighbors had been living here for decades and, naturally, were quite united. The scene suddenly became a bit uncontrollable. But it's not surprising that everyone reacted this way. Even Dong Xuebing, who had just moved here a few days ago, was getting annoyed. His car was parked there, and an Audi blocked his Xia Li car's front. There was no space left for Dong Xuebing at all. There were cars behind him, too, which meant Dong Xuebing couldn't even use his car; he couldn't get out at all. In addition to the noise pollution caused by these three Audi cars blocking the road, Dong Xuebing couldn't stand it after just one listen, let alone these old residents. Mrs. Zheng said that this kind of thing was not the first time. It had started several months ago. If there were elderly people at home, they would suffer a lot at such times. It was not impossible to trigger heart disease. So this matter angered everyone too much!

Suddenly, a police car came into the alley from outside. Looking at the license plate, it should also be a vehicle from the transportation department of the west city district.

"Hey, the police are here!"

"Why did they take so long!"

"Yeah, we called the police over half an hour ago!"

"Hmph! When the leaders are in trouble, they come quickly!"

The police car stopped outside. It's not that they didn't want to come in, but they couldn't get into the alley at all. Two Audi cars had already blocked the intersection, leaving only a barely passable space for tricycles. Motor vehicles, except for motorized tricycles, couldn't get in.

Two traffic policemen exited the car and walked through the gap between the Audi cars. "Who called the police?"

A middle-aged man with a serious face said, "I did. Look at how these cars are parked! Look!"

But the traffic police didn't look at the Audi cars. Instead, they said, "Why are so many people crowding around? Disperse! Disperse!"

The traffic police in the back saw the license plates of these Audi cars, probably also knew whose cars they were, and whispered to the traffic police in front, "Our department's cars."

The front traffic policeman nodded, "I know."

Aunt Ci was also in the crowd, "Quickly tow the cars away!"

A neighbor echoed, "Yes! Otherwise, let them move the cars! And make sure they don't park randomly in our alley in the future!"

Someone said, "Hurry up and get them here!"

Someone else shouted, "It's been over an hour! Look how many cars are blocked!"

Mrs. Zheng also joined the clamor, "My husband wants to ride a tricycle to buy groceries, but he can't get out!"

The old traffic policeman looked at everyone and pressed his hand down, "Everyone, lower your voices and calm down. We will communicate with them; don't be anxious!"

Aunt Ci shouted, "What's there to communicate about? An hour is not enough! Do they want to block us for another two or three hours? Huh? Just tow the cars away!"

The young traffic policeman pushed one of the Audi cars, but it didn't move. "The handbrake is on. We can't tow it."

The old traffic policeman looked at them and said, "We didn't bring a tow truck either. Everyone, wait a moment. We'll go check."

The two traffic policemen stayed on the scene for a while, made a few phone calls, and then started talking to each other beside the police car. They didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. Although we couldn't hear what they were saying, judging from their expressions, they were more likely chatting casually!

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

The residents were getting impatient!

"What's wrong with you guys!"

"Are you going to solve this or not?"

"Why hasn't the owner of the cars come yet?"

Another car, unaware of the situation, rushed into the alley and got stuck at the entrance. Seven or eight more cars piled up behind it, and the honking continued incessantly!

The traffic police said in official tones, "Please be patient. We are resolving the issue. We have already contacted them."

The owner of a car that had been stuck here for an hour and a half was furious and stuck his head out of the car, shouting, "Patient, my ass! How long has it been blocked already? I have urgent matters to attend to!" He could understand if it was a regular traffic jam on the main roads. After all, the roads in Beijing were not easy to navigate, and there were too many cars. But this was an alley, and those Audi cars were parked illegally. It had been almost two hours of this ordeal, and they still hadn't resolved it. Anyone would be furious; there's no way traffic could be blocked like this!

Hearing his foul language, the young traffic policeman's face darkened, and he stared coldly at him, ignoring him completely, and continued chatting with the old traffic policeman.

The people feared the officials, especially those wearing police uniforms.

But this time, someone wearing a police uniform came out.

Although the ordinary folks were angry, they didn't start cursing.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man squeezed into the alley from outside. Judging from his attire, he was also a long-time alley resident. After coming in, he glanced deeply at the two traffic policemen and said to everyone, "They are still having a meeting over there! I just inquired! These cars belong to the transportation department! They are the cars of the district transportation department cadres!"

The transportation department's cadres?

The cars of the traffic police leaders?

No wonder the two traffic policemen weren't dealing with it!

When the residents heard this, they all turned red with anger!

"I wondered why they didn't tow the cars away!"

"Is there no law and order left?"

"The transportation department's? The transportation department's cars are parked like this?"

"Isn't this breaking the law? Where do you see roads being blocked like this?"

"What kind of cadres are these? There's no exemplary behavior at all!"

If it were cadres from other departments, it might have been tolerable, but it was the leaders of the district transportation department. This behavior was as outrageous as a criminal investigator leading a robbery. It was even more infuriating than ordinary car owners parking illegally!

The common folks started shouting!

And many of them started cursing directly!

Seeing this, one of the traffic policemen, with a black face, called for backup, while the other one, with an even more stern face, shouted louder than them, "What's going on?!"

"Spit! What a piece of trash!" An old man spat fiercely!

The old traffic policeman was also angry. Spit almost landed on his shoes. "Who said we weren't going to solve it for you? We're just waiting for someone to come!"

Dong Xuebing couldn't bear to watch any longer. He squeezed forward from behind. He was also a resident of the alley now and naturally stood together with everyone else, "Where is the person?"

The old traffic policeman looked at him, "Wait!"

Dong Xuebing sneered, "Your efficiency is just like this. Forget it. I'll do it myself. I'll get the person for you!"

In just two days, Dong Xuebing became quite famous in the alley; well, maybe his courtyard was famous. When everyone heard him speak up, they all looked over, and many looked at him suspiciously.

The traffic police didn't understand what Dong Xuebing meant. Get someone? Where would you go to get someone? The leaders are all over there having a meeting!

But the next moment, everyone understood!

They saw Dong Xuebing walking up amidst everyone's astonishment. Before the traffic police could react, he kicked one of the Audi cars hard!

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The alarm of the Audi car suddenly sounded!

But it didn't end there. Dong Xuebing took another step forward and kicked the door of the second Audi car!