Watching Song Qiao’s receding back, Xia Xueqing’s face was filled with disdain. As she entered the house, she said to her mother, “I don’t believe a word that gambler says. If he shows up on the weekend, the sun will rise from the west.”
Her mother nodded and, after a moment of hesitation, asked, “Song Qiao said the money he earned was from opening a shop in the market selling stinky tofu?”
“That’s what he said, but who knows if it’s true,” Xia Xueqing replied dismissively.
“Whether it's true or not, since he said he opened a shop in the market, the three of us can just go check out his shop tomorrow,” she said, turning to her elder daughter, Xia Yuqing.
She wanted to confirm her attitude.
“Okay, let’s go to the market first thing tomorrow and see. I want to see what expression this scoundrel man will have when I expose him,” Xia Xueqing’s eyes lit up, and she immediately agreed.
Xia Yuqing felt that her mother’s and sister’s decision was reasonable. Moreover, she also wanted to confirm whether Song Qiao had continued gambling.
She gritted her teeth and nodded in agreement.
…
The next morning, Song Qiao rode his bicycle and rushed to the Administration for Industry and Commerce.
The weather was somewhat hot, and the hall was crowded, with many people showing signs of impatience.
After waiting in a long line for over an hour, it was finally his turn.
“Processing the business license takes three days,” the service staff member behind the counter said expressionlessly, leafing through the application materials Song Qiao had prepared.
“Three days?”
Song Qiao’s heart sank. In this era, the efficiency of many departments was extremely low. Sometimes, it took several trips to handle a single procedure. It was very troublesome.
He could wait, but his shop couldn't.
The shop being closed every day would not only lead to the loss of hard-earned business but also incur significant losses in rent and labor, which he could barely afford.
With nearly a third of the month already gone, he was still a long way from saving thirty thousand yuan.
No, he had to get this business license processed immediately, otherwise, his losses would only grow.
Just as he was about to say something to the clerk, they ignored him and continued to call the next person in line expressionlessly.
Song Qiao shook his head helplessly and made way for the person behind him.
Not only was the efficiency of this era low, but in an era where the internet was not yet developed, the quality of many department staff was mediocre.
They treated the citizens seeking services very rudely.
After thinking for a moment, Song Qiao bought some gifts at a nearby supermarket and went up to the second floor of the Administration for Industry and Commerce.
In his past life, he had gone through too many such processes. Often, troublesome issues could be resolved with a bit of money.
Money makes the world go round, and a lot of money makes it spin faster. This saying was applicable in any era.
He gently knocked on the director’s office door and waited for a moment without speaking.
“Please come in.”
About two or three seconds later, a middle-aged man’s voice came from inside the room.
Song Qiao took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
“Director Yang, hello. I’m a merchant applying for a business license. According to regulations, it takes three days, but due to some special circumstances, I urgently need it. Could you…?”
As he spoke, he placed the prepared cigarettes and alcohol on the director’s desk.
“What is this? What are you doing?”
The director looked up at him, his face immediately fell, and he questioned him.
“Who told you to test our cadres like this? Take your things back quickly. I don’t accept gifts here, and I don’t take bribes. Don’t think about using backdoors.”
After a pause, he added:
“Everything must be done according to the rules.”
Recently, the city leadership had repeatedly stressed the prohibition of government staff accepting bribes or extorting money.
Who knew if this young man was an investigator on a secret visit?
At such a critical juncture, Director Yang felt it was better to be cautious.
Song Qiao felt a surge of helplessness. Looking at the righteous director in front of him, he felt he had seen him somewhere before; he looked familiar.
“Right, his surname is Yang.”
Song Qiao’s body suddenly trembled, and he recalled an incident from his past life.
In his previous life, in this very month, a Director Yang from the Administration for Industry and Commerce had caused a major traffic accident, a rare one in decades, due to a car malfunction. The accident resulted in 11 deaths, and the director himself was seriously injured.
The news broadcast had reported on it continuously for three days, and the gruesome photos of the accident scene were still vivid in his memory.
According to the information in the news, it was likely the person in front of him.
Just then, the director’s young female secretary entered, wearing high heels, and walked to the director’s side. She leaned down and whispered to him, “Director Yang, the city meeting starts in an hour. The car is ready for you. Shall we go?”
Director Yang nodded, ignoring Song Qiao, and instructed the secretary beside him, “Tell the driver to bring the car to the entrance of the hall to wait for me. I’ll be down shortly.”
“Young man, stop thinking of these crooked ways. Honestly go down and follow the rules.”
The latter part was naturally directed at Song Qiao.
“Oh, right, remember to take your things with you.”
Finally, he couldn’t help but glance at the gifts on the desk and reminded him.
He put on a show of being strictly professional.
Song Qiao, however, was completely stunned. He hadn’t heard a word the director said.
Because, the moment the director stood up, he saw the calendar on the desk, which clearly showed July 7th!
And according to his memory, the date of the car accident was very special, also on July 7th.
It was officially classified as the "7.7 Major Traffic Accident Case."
Could it be that coincidental?
Song Qiao felt speechless.
Even a novel wouldn’t dare to write something this absurdly coincidental.
Regardless of whether he could get the business license now, the most pressing matter was to prevent the director’s car from leaving. This was about the lives of more than a dozen people.
Having been given a second chance at life, while making money was important, he couldn’t stand by and let such a thing happen.
With this thought, a surge of heat went through Song Qiao, and he didn’t care about anything else.
He immediately warned the director, who was about to leave, “You cannot take the car today. Your car must not go out.”
His voice immediately drew the attention of the director and the secretary. They exchanged glances and looked at Song Qiao with confusion.
“You absolutely cannot take the car today. Your car has a tire malfunction, and it will cause a car accident on the road!”
Seeing them staring at him in a daze, Song Qiao, fearing they wouldn’t believe him, quickly explained.