Marrying My Bestie's Ferocious Brother - He Calls Me His Baby!-Chapter 25: Public Execution! The Commissar Kicks Over the Toxic Coal Stove!

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Public Execution! The Commissar Kicks Over the Toxic Coal Stove!

The next morning, in the small meeting room of the logistics division.

Political Commissar Wang sat solemnly at the head of the table, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot. In front of him, side by side, were two brand-new small iron stoves. The staff of the logistics division sat on both sides, each sitting upright, barely daring to breathe.

Mr. Li sat in the most conspicuous position, the sweat in his palms soaking a patch of his pants, his eyelids twitching wildly, constantly feeling like something big was about to happen.

"Light it."

Political Commissar Wang’s voice was devoid of any warmth, and as soon as he spoke, the orderly stepped forward, striking two matches and extending them simultaneously to the two stoves.

In the left stove, there were poor quality coal lumps distributed by the logistics division. In the right stove, there were honeycomb coal briquettes handmade by Lin Wan Yi.

As the flame licked the coal, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The stove on the left suddenly spewed out a thick, choking black smoke with a nauseating sulfuric smell, like a ferocious dragon, quickly engulfing the entire meeting room. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!"

Several staff sitting close by were caught off guard, choking to the point of tears and runny noses. They frantically covered their mouths and noses with their hands and moved their chairs far back, as if avoiding the plague.

Looking over at the stove on the right, once ignited, only a few barely noticeable wisps of blue smoke briefly appeared.

Soon after, blue flames burst from the round holes, without any smoke or odor, just pure, scorching hot waves relentlessly dispersing the surrounding chill, warm and clean.

On one side, the toxic smoke rolled in, making people feel dizzy as if a small portal to hell had opened.

On the other side, blazing flames roasted people into comfort, like a little sun in the winter.

This brutal comparison, needing no words, was like two loud slaps, striking hard on the faces of all the logistics staff. Everyone’s gaze instinctively switched between the two stoves and Mr. Li’s face, which was constantly changing.

Mr. Li’s face, under the swirling black smoke, first turned the color of liver, then blue from red, and finally pale white under everyone’s contemptuous gaze.

Cold sweat dripped down the corners of his forehead, making him feel like he had been stripped naked and publicly executed in the freezing cold.

"Li Jianjun," Political Commissar Wang’s voice was low, yet each word hit Mr. Li’s heart like a heavy hammer, "now, explain to me, what is this all about?"

Mr. Li abruptly jumped up from his chair, the violent motion causing the legs of the chair to scrape against the cement floor with a piercing "screech." He forced a smile harder to make than crying, attempting to bluff his way with his most proficient official tone: "Report to the Commissar! This... this may be due to a slight quality fluctuation during the transportation and storage of this batch of coal we procured, a rare event..."

"Quality fluctuation?" Political Commissar Wang slammed the table suddenly, the thick wooden table making a loud "bang," causing the enamel cups on the table to jump, "The health and safety of dozens of military families in the entire compound, affecting hundreds of people, is, to you, just a nonchalant ’quality fluctuation’?"

He suddenly stood up, pointing at the stove still spewing toxic smoke, his voice rising suddenly with uncontainable anger: "My son Wang Baoqiang nearly lost his life last night because of your damned ’quality fluctuation’! Tell me, is this what you call a rare event?!"

"Commissar, I..." Mr. Li shivered in fear, his legs softened, nearly causing him to kneel, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

Just then, with a "bang," the already ajar door of the meeting room was forcefully pushed open from the outside.

Sister-in-law Zhang rushed in first, hands on her hips, red-eyed, like a mother hen ready to battle. Behind her, a large group of military wives, including Li Xiujuan and Sister-in-law Liu, poured in, blocking the doorway completely. Even the Commissar’s wife, Sister He, was among them, not crying or making a fuss, but staring at Mr. Li with cold, hateful eyes.

"Political Commissar Wang! You have to stand up for us military families!" Sister-in-law Zhang’s loud voice pierced through the smoke-filled room, tearfully shouting, "My boy coughed all day and night, his face turning blue! Our men risk their lives on the front lines to protect the homeland, and we can’t even breathe warm, safe air in the rear? This is killing us!"

"Yeah! This coal isn’t meant for people to burn! Even pigs would find it too choking!"

"Mr. Li, does your family burn this kind of coal too? Did a dog eat your conscience?"

Sister-in-law Liu, holding a baby, also stepped forward. The child in her arms was sleeping soundly, cheeks flushed. Pointing at Mr. Li, her voice quivering: "Thanks to Lin’s generosity in sharing some good coal with me, my child could sleep peacefully! Otherwise, the one lying in the medical unit today might be my child! Mr. Li, can you sleep at night?"

A group of women poured out their grievances and accusations, turning the meeting room into a denunciation assembly. The opinion pressure formed spontaneously by the families pressed down on everyone in the logistics division like an invisible mountain.

One of Mr. Li’s confidants, seeing the situation deteriorating rapidly, hurriedly stood up, trying to deflect the blame and shift the conflict. Clearing his throat, he spoke in a peculiar tone: "Commissar, everyone, we understand your feelings. But... since Mr. Lin of Mr. Gu’s family had such good coal, why didn’t they bring it out for everyone sooner? Why wait until something happened? Watching everyone suffer while secretly using the good stuff and making a show to exchange for things, isn’t this adopting capitalist methods? Isn’t there a problem with their ideological consciousness too?"

These words, both venomous and cunning, instantly pointed the accusation towards Lin Wan Yi.

Everyone’s gaze suddenly shifted to Gu Yanshen, who had not spoken a word from the beginning, sitting in the corner of the meeting room.

Gu Yanshen was requested to attend as a family representative.

He did not get up, not even uncrossing his legs, just slowly lifted his head, his eyes, like a lone eagle on a snowy peak, piercing through the lingering smoke, precisely locking onto the staff member who had spoken.

"My things," he began, his voice calm yet carrying a chill capable of fracturing bones, "is there a problem?"

The smugness on that staff member’s face instantly froze, as if he had been punched in the face by an invisible fist, his mouth agape, producing a "gurgling" sound from his throat, yet unable to utter a word.

Under Gu Yanshen’s piercing gaze, cold sweat poured down his forehead more than Mr. Li’s, finally causing his legs to soften, allowing him to slink back into his chair, no longer daring to look up.

The entire meeting room instantly fell into a deathly silence, even the coughing ceased.

"Good! Very good!"

Political Commissar Wang slowly stood up in the moment when everyone was silent.

He circled around the conference table, striding to the center of the room, and in the midst of everyone’s shocked gazes, he suddenly raised his military boot and kicked over the stove still spewing black smoke!

"Bang—crash!"

The blazing hot stove, along with the searing coal and sparks, rolled several rounds on the floor, producing a harsh and loud noise.

Everyone was so frightened that they trembled all over.

Political Commissar Wang pointed at Mr. Li, who was already scared out of his wits and limp on the ground, pronouncing each word like winter thunder.

"Li Jianjun! Dereliction of duty, passing off substandard goods as the real thing, trivializing the lives and health of the entire compound’s military families, this is extremely vile in nature!"

"I announce, first! Effective immediately, you are suspended! Subject to disciplinary investigation!"

Mr. Li’s face turned ashen, completely collapsing.

However, it wasn’t over yet.

Political Commissar Wang’s gaze, as sharp as a knife, swept over all the logistics personnel present, causing everyone he looked at to bow their heads in shame.

"Second! All of you, logistics division staff!"

He abruptly pointed in the direction of the door.

"Now, immediately, go to Mr. Gu’s house! Apologize in person to Comrade Lin Wan Yi!"

"Third!" His voice rose again, echoing throughout the entire corridor, carrying an undeniable authority, like a final judgment, "After apologizing, humbly ask for the method of making these honeycomb coal! I don’t care how you do it, whether you plead or learn! Within three days, I want every military family in the entire compound to use this kind of safe coal!"

"Whoever can’t achieve this, get lost with Li Jianjun!"