Qinghe City Construction Bureau has been in trouble again.

These days, there are just so many things happening. It's not surprising which units are involved in incidents, it's the departments that haven't had any incidents that are actually news.

There are just so many things going on with the Qinghe City Construction Bureau, and every single one is strange. Ever since they moved into their new 12-story office building six months ago, the whole city of Qinghe has been buzzing.

The first weekend after the Chinese New Year, the Construction Bureau held a ceremony for the unveiling of the new office building. Leaders from the city and even the Provincial Construction Department were present, making it a lively affair. But no one expected that amidst the celebratory firecrackers, the newly hung alloy plaque, which was mounted on a three-meter-six-high stone archway, suddenly fell down, landing squarely on two veteran cadres... As the sirens of the ambulances wailed, the mayor's face turned ashen with anger, and he stormed off with his entourage.

Less than a month later, a janitor cleaning the glass windows of the director's office on the ninth floor accidentally fell from the window to the front door of the Construction Bureau and died on the spot.

At the end of April, the Construction Bureau held a May Day celebration and commendation meeting for outstanding employees in the second-floor dining hall. After the meeting, there was a buffet-style dinner. It is unknown which dish caused it, but over seventy people, including leaders and their families, among the two hundred attendees, were hospitalized due to food poisoning. The bureau's retiring chief planner ended his career on the hospital bed.

Then, just after Labor Day, people from the city's discipline inspection commission suddenly arrived. Nine people involved in the administrative review were taken away at once, and after nearly a month, only two returned. The remaining five people, ranging from clerks to administrators, were charged with bribery and sent to a labor reform farm located in Binhai County...

Those who believe in good fortune concluded that the new office building of the Construction Bureau must have "offended" the Feng Shui.

As for those things, Tian Liang had only heard about them. He had reported in at the beginning of June and, after being assigned to the office, had been doing odd jobs all along. What difference did it make that he was a college graduate? He still had to start with tasks like fetching water, sweeping the floor, and sorting newspapers.

Speaking less and doing more, this is one of the rules he learned from books.

This time when something happened at the station, Xiang Tianliang was not at the station again. The Construction Bureau had a poverty alleviation point in a large village in the mountainous area of Nanhe County. Xiang Tianliang was temporarily assigned to poverty alleviation and had been in Daci for over twenty days when he received the call from Director Yu Fu.

At that, Bureau Chief Yu didn't say anything else, just said something had happened and asked Xiang Tianliang to return immediately.

Toward Tianliang received a phone call, his heart was not happy. Being stuck in the mountains, guarding an old phone, no TV to watch, he was almost suffocating. Upon receiving Bureau Chief Fu's call, he found a reason to "escape."

At the Construction Bureau, Xiang Tianliang hadn't met many people yet, but his relationship with Director Yu Fu was quite close. Both were natives of Binhai County. When Xiang Tianliang attended middle school, Director Yu Fu was still a teacher and taught Xiang Tianliang history for two semesters.

Three months ago, Tianliang, a recent graduate from the police academy, was turned away by the municipal public security system. When Bureau Chief Fu learned about this, he took Tianliang to the Construction Bureau himself. Poverty alleviation fell under Bureau Chief Fu's jurisdiction, and he naturally trusted Tianliang to handle it.

In the Construction Bureau, Xiang Tianliang had a principle: while he could disregard other people's opinions, he must unquestioningly follow Director Fu's instructions.

It's chestnut season. Big Village is famous for its chestnuts. I borrowed over ten kilograms of chestnuts from Old Branch Secretary Xiang Tianliang, roasted them, let them cool, and packed them in a cloth bag which I then put into my satchel. The next morning, bright and early, I left the village and headed down the mountain.

Set off at seven in the morning and didn't get back to town until two in the afternoon. Getting off the bus as dawn broke, I stood by the bus stop like Bureau Chief Yu, taking a good look at the Construction Bureau building across the street.

No one knows why, including Tianliang himself, but every day when Bureau Chief Yu went to work, he would first gaze up at the towering office building.

It looks normal, doesn't it? Like nothing happened.

The building was eerily quiet. There was no one in the elevator, and even the usually bustling office on the seventh floor, where the Bureau was located, was completely silent.

Strange, where did everyone go?

In the vast office, only Lao Liu was huddled in a corner. Liu Zhengfeng, the veteran of the office, wore his reading glasses and buried himself in a pile of documents. None of the other six colleagues were to be seen.

"Old Liu, you're busy with that." Xiang Tianliang sat down with a fart on the desk opposite Liu Zhengfeng. This was originally his position.

Liu Zhengfeng was fifty-six years old, a year older than the director. In terms of age, he was one of the oldest, second only to the elderly men at the Planning and Design Institute. He was also from Binhai County, a fellow villager of Xiang Tianliang. On his first day working with Xiang Tianliang, Liu Zhengfeng set a rule: in any situation or circumstance, everyone had to call him "Old Liu."

"Hey, you're back? ", Liu Zhengfeng curiously raised his head.

"What are you talking about? The Construction Bureau is my home. I've been in Ducun for almost a month, why would you be angry if I come back?"

Xiang Tianliang said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a large handful of roasted millet, extending his long arm to place it before Liu Zhengfeng. "Here, have some."

Liu Zhengfeng's face darkened. "Cut the jokes, be serious! I'm asking you a question." He swept the chestnuts on the table into a drawer with his hooked hand.

"Is something really wrong?" Xiang Tianliang asked in a low voice.

Liu Zhengfeng nodded, glancing at the office door as he said, "The bureau chief's office was robbed."

"What?" Tianliang was startled and couldn't believe his ears.

Just yesterday at noon, while everyone was having lunch in the cafeteria, the director's office was burglarized.

Xiang Tianliang couldn't help but turn his head back. On the other side of the office was Zhang, the director's private office, next to which was a one-meter wide corridor that led straight to the chief's office.

"No way, it's broad daylight! Who ate a tiger's gall?"

"Hmph, these days, there's nothing strange that can't happen. As long as you can think of it, you can do it."

Xiang Tianliang nodded repeatedly, "That's right... Oh, how is it now?"

"No, I'm looking right now." Liu Zhengfeng pointed upwards with his hand. "They are all having a meeting in the eighth-floor conference room, everyone passed through security like it was nothing."

"Oh." Xiang Tianliang let out a breath of relief. "That's nothing to do with me, by the way, Lao Liu, everyone else is at the meeting, why are you still here by yourself?"

Liu Zhengfeng smiled smugly, "I got lucky. I had a toothache yesterday and took a day off to go to the hospital. There's evidence that I wasn't there. You studied at the Police Academy for four years, you understand."

"So, what was missing from the Chief's office?"

"That's a stupid question, not like someone who graduated from the police academy would ask." Liu Zhengfeng liked to tease Xiang Tianliang about his profession.

Xiang Tianliang gritted his teeth and said, "Old Liu, I'll treat you to a drink."

"Are you sure?" Liu Zhengfeng's eyes lit up. He was a notorious wine addict, with low tolerance but a huge craving for alcohol.

"Come on, don't keep me in suspense."

Liu Zhengfeng glanced again at the office door, flicked his fingers three times, and said in a mysterious tone:

"The Chief's three treasures have been taken."