Mei Creek Bridge is a cement bridge built in the mid-1960s, after nearly thirty years of wind and rain, the bridge surface is uneven, the exposed steel bars on the bridge piers are also rusty, the railings are incomplete, and the narrow bridge deck makes it difficult for two large trucks to pass each other on the bridge.

  The Meixi Bridge, which has silently served the people on both sides of the lower reaches of the Mei Creek River for nearly thirty years, now looks a bit overwhelmed.

  Shen Hua pushed his bicycle and stood on Meixi Bridge.

  The land west of the bridge belongs to Tangzhai District, with a spacious asphalt road built by municipal finance; east of the bridge is Meixi Town, where the sand and gravel road is dusty.

  Relying on the convenient and affordable river transportation of Meixi River, going down from the bridge, there are many river ports distributed along both banks of the river, with some sand and stone shops, wood shops and transportation stations.

  However, the area east of the bridge belongs to Meixi Town, and due to the lack of hardware facilities and management, it looks chaotic from the east bank of the river to both sides of the Sandstone Road, with domestic garbage visible everywhere.

  Mei Creek Town developed again, looking messy and dirty. Every time Shen Hui stepped onto this land, he felt a sense of intimacy from the bottom of his heart. The chirping insects, flying birds, walking chickens, jumping dogs, and those little girls squatting by the roadside with their buttocks exposed, urinating, all reminded Shen Hui's soul that he belonged to this land.

  No matter how old and worn out she looks, no matter if the people living on her are kind, honest, evil, greedy, hardworking or lazy, he must love her.

  "Secretary Shen!"

  Shen Huai's reverie was interrupted by a soft, crisp cry. He turned his head to look over. A bus was driving onto the bridge from the west end, and Chen Dan was sitting by the window inside, looking at him with some surprise.

  Although Mei Creek River is no longer clear and has become turbid and yellow over the years, Chen Dan still likes to look at the sparkling river water every time she crosses the bridge. At this moment, the setting sun was shining obliquely, scattering a sparkling golden light on the surface of the river. When the bus crossed the bridge, Chen Dan was staring at the distant wide river surface, and Shen Huai, who was standing at the head of the bridge with his bicycle, suddenly appeared in her line of sight, giving her a sudden surprise. That one cry, almost unconsciously, shouted out.

  But then I thought of Shen Hua's behavior that day when he parked his car in front of that small shop, and I thought to myself that he was a lustful person who chased after women. Even if he hadn't had any improper thoughts about me yet, I should still keep my distance from him. So I regretted calling out to greet him again.

  Shen Huai had no idea what Chen Dan was thinking in her heart, but seeing that familiar and endearing pale face, as well as the bright and evasive eyes, made his heart stir with ripples, and he couldn't help but curve up the corners of his mouth, giving a clear and definite smile. He then got on the bus and followed behind the public transportation vehicle, heading towards Mei Xi Town.

  Shen Huai had been to Meixi Town several times before to see Xiao Li, but he always kept a distance and didn't dare to disturb their peaceful life. Therefore, Chen Dan had never seen Shen Huai in Meixi Town before.

  Chen Dan turned her head, her face against the car window glass, watching Shen Hua ride a broken bicycle behind them into Meixi Town. She didn't know that Shen Hua was going to take office in Meixi Town, nor did she know about the sudden death of Vice Mayor Chen Mingde. These things were always far away from her, and seeing Shen Hua riding a broken bicycle to Meixi Town, how could it not make her feel strange?

  At the same time, Chen Dan felt that his previous smile was especially intimate, as if an old friend he hadn't seen for a long time had met and smiled, it was so natural, and also made people unforgettable; how could she have this feeling towards him?

  Chen Dan didn't want to bother with Shen Huan, but thinking that he had helped him a lot in the past, not greeting him when they met would be too impolite. Seeing the bus arrive at the station, she got off and waited for Shen Huan to come over, intending to formally greet him.

  Chen Dan wore a crimson thin woolen coat, with tight jeans underneath, her legs appearing slender and straight, standing tall on the platform. She simply tied her raven-black hair back at her shoulders, and under the gradually setting sunset glow, her pale face had an indescribable soft charm, giving her an extraordinary beauty that was not commonly found in women.

  Shen Huai saw Chen Dan standing at the bus stop from afar, but a truck behind him was impatiently honking its horn. He didn't let the truck pass until he rushed to the front of the bus stop.

  At this time, he was almost close to Chen Dan, and when he looked up, he saw her eyelashes trembling slightly in the evening sunlight, long and dense, casting a shadow that made her eyes look particularly deep. For a moment, Shen Hua looked a bit dazed.

  For a moment, Shen Hua's distraction made Chen Dan feel a little uncontrollable pride and disappointment. She put her bag in front of her body, feeling a bit embarrassed, and asked softly, "How did Secretary Shen end up in Meixi Town?"

  "Oh, I was bored in the afternoon and rode my bike around aimlessly, and before I knew it, I had ridden across the bridge," Shen Huai made up a reason that sounded suspiciously like an excuse, and then asked, "Does your family live nearby?"

  "We still have to walk a bit further, but it's not far from here. Just turn the corner and you'll see it. I just thought of Secretary Shen and the compensation for Haiwen, I haven't even thanked him properly yet..." Chen Dan changed the subject, becoming more relaxed and composed.

  "Is that so?" Shen Huan roughly understood Chen Dan's complicated feelings of not wanting to owe anyone a favor, yet not willing to get too close. He just smiled and said, "I still have to go to the town, I won't delay..."

  "Secretary Shen, take care, and thank you again for Haiwen's matter. I happen to have something on today, so let me invite Secretary Shen to my home as a guest another day." Chen Dan smiled sweetly, thinking she had sent Shen Hua away, and slightly bowed her head to watch him ride his bike away.

  Shen Huai also had his own understanding, Chen Dan was a person from Linzhen Hetang, she married to Meixi and worked at the town's reception office, many people in the town knew her. If she walked shoulder to shoulder with a "stranger" on the street and then invited him home as a guest, who knows what rumors would spread out the next day.

  Shen Hua rode forward for a while and stopped the car in front of a hardware store, seeing Chen Dan turning south into a small alley.

  Shen Huai was so familiar with Mei Xi Town that he could walk through it with his eyes closed, and knew that the small path Chen Dan took could lead to the old street of Mei Xi Town. From the old street, they would pass through the town and head to the east end.

  Shen Huai wasn't angry at Chen Dan for deceiving him, but rather found it somewhat amusing. He thought to himself that since her vigilance was so strong, why bother getting off the bus two stops early and taking a detour from Old Street? Now she's avoiding walking in the same direction as him.

  Shen Hua was originally going to take a detour to the Meixi Steel Factory in the south, but now he's afraid of running into Chen Dan on Old Street and embarrassing her. So he turns north at the intersection in the center of town, pushing his bicycle under the sunset, walking and looking around.

  Shen Huai, as a native of Mei Creek, cherished every blade of grass and tree in the town; this time, when he walked into Mei Creek Town again, perhaps his perspective or angle of observation had changed, Shen Huai found that many people and things that were previously overlooked due to distraction now appeared clearly before his eyes.

  He walked north all the way to the public toilet, thinking that Chen Dan should have returned and wouldn't be in town to cause any awkwardness, so Shen Hui turned back and headed south. After passing through the old street, he arrived at the southern end of the town, where the Meixi Steel Factory was located. Once the leading collective enterprise in Donghua City's subordinate towns, it had declined rapidly in recent years, just like the city's steel factory, and its situation was even worse than that of the city's steel factory.

  They hadn't even reached the Meixi Steel Factory when Shen Hua saw a large crowd of people gathered at the intersection of Xuetang Street and Old Street, with some people shoving and fighting inside.

  Shen Huai hastily walked over to the scene, only to see three or five robust men pinning a young man with a shaved head to the ground. Chen Dan awkwardly squeezed in, trying to shield the fallen youth from further blows and kicks, shouting: "If you want to fine him, fine! If you want to confiscate his things, that's okay too! How can you hit people?"

  The road was littered with scattered goods and rolls of plastic sheeting.

  Shen Hua was too familiar with the situation in Mei Creek, and the current situation must be that the joint defense team violently cleared the roadside stalls. It's possible that this young man bumped into the muzzle and was publicly cleaned up by the joint defense team.

  Chen Dan wanted to squeeze in and protect the young man, but he was too weak and was pushed out by someone. He sat on the ground with his buttocks, unable to get up for a long time. The young man who had been beaten saw Chen Dan being bullied and roared loudly as he stood up. He grabbed the person who had pushed Chen Dan from behind and threw him to the ground. Ignoring others' punches and kicks, he focused on punching that one person fiercely.

  It wasn't until then that Shen Hua realized the young man was actually Chen Dan's younger brother, Chen Tong: This kid has returned after being discharged from the army? After being discharged, he should have a job, so why is he setting up a small stall on the side of the road and even getting into conflict with the town's defense team?

  "Stop!" Shen Huan squeezed in, saw someone taking out a baton to hit Chen Tong's head, grabbed it and pulled it out, shouting "What are you doing? Beating people to death, who can afford it?"

  "Who's your mother, Mei Xi Lun? You're just a chicken feather duster, what are you doing meddling in other people's business?" The guy who was holding Shen Huan's arm saw his companion still pinning Chen Tong to the ground and punching him, his eyes were red with rage. Seeing someone standing up and interfering, he immediately reached out to grab Shen Huan's collar, his eyes wide with anger, as if he wanted to punch him in the face the next second.

  "This is my work ID. I don't want to interfere with your business, but you're being too ruthless, trying to beat someone to death. Who's going to take responsibility?" Shen Huai didn't eat the loss and squeezed in while holding his work ID, timely flashing it in front of the man's fist.

  The man was stunned for a moment and took Shen Hua's work permit over.

  "Who's your mother?" A short young man in the crowd, apparently in charge, saw someone intervening and first directed the joint defense team members to pull Chen Tong away and press him to the ground. He rescued his own people before walking over with his hands in his pockets, looking at Shen Huan slantingly, "The joint defense team is enforcing the law and tidying up the city. This little guy knows the law but breaks it, setting up a stall on the street and not listening to discipline. He even dares to fight back and injure our team members. Even if we beat him to death today, it's just self-defense. Who are you, daring to come to Mei Creek's territory to intervene?"

  Shen Huai recognized this person, called Wang Gang. He was a small hooligan in the town since he was young, with a short and small face like a cat's, and his complexion was always sallow, earning him the nickname "Yellow Face Cat". His mother was a female cadre in the town, and somehow she had an affair with Du Jianrong, the town party secretary. From then on, Wang Gang wore a grass-green uniform and became the deputy captain of the town's joint defense team, becoming even more the little overlord of Meixi Town.

  Wang Gang snatched Shen Hui's work permit from his subordinate and slammed it to the ground. He had been standing in the crowd, watching Shen Hui push his bicycle over, and he had never looked down on this little white face. He said sternly: "What kind of thing are you, dare to come to Mei Creek Town to pretend to be a big shot?"

  "Who am I?" Shen Huan smiled. "I'm nobody, just passing by. But you're killing people, afraid it's not easy to explain, right?"

  "It's none of your business, today I'll let you off with a warning, otherwise you'd be taken away too," Wang Gang glared at the annoying person in front of him with an ugly expression, then turned around and pointed at Chen Tong who was being held to the ground, instructing his team members, "Tie him up, take him back to the team, lock him up for two days first, give him a good lesson, see if he can learn to behave..."