Who’s Up to Mischief chapter 1

{{The Slogans Are Switched

John Smith is the mayor of Hot Springs Town. He has a talent for speaking eloquently and can write beautifully. This Hot Springs Town is well – known in the county as a “little Las Vegas”. Thanks to the development of hot – spring tourism, it has a bit of a special – zone flavor. Not only is the economy good, but the entertainment industry is also booming, and it’s more open than other towns. Mayor John loves drinking, taking hot baths, and getting massages, so he feels right at home here and lives a carefree life.

One evening, Mayor John called in his office director, Tom Brown, and said, “The Party affairs work inspection team will come to our town for the year – end inspection tomorrow. We’re all familiar with these inspections – ‘listen, look, drink, and dine’. The key is to make the leaders happy. Besides arranging activities and preparing souvenirs, I think we should put up two big slogans to create a good atmosphere.”

Tom Brown quickly said, “This definitely requires the mayor’s personal touch.”

Mayor John wasn’t modest. He grabbed a large brush on the table and wrote two slogans in a flamboyant style on the paper that had already been laid out. One read, “Party and government officials should effectively enhance the awareness of serving the people whole – heartedly.” The other said, “All town officials should work hard to ensure that the people get rich as soon as possible.”

Tom Brown praised, “Great! Wonderful! Your calligraphy and the content are both excellent! With your amazing skills, tomorrow’s inspection will surely be even better!” Mayor John looked out and saw that it was getting dark. He waved his hand and said, “Go and put them up outside the door. I have an engagement, so I’m leaving first.”

In winter, it gets light late, and the next day was cloudy. It was almost eight o’clock when it finally got bright. Mayor John’s dormitory was next to the office, but there was no sign of activity in either room. Tom Brown knew that Mayor John would forget things when he drank too much. He quickly ran upstairs and knocked on the mayor’s door. Mayor John complained that Tom hadn’t come to wake him up earlier. As he washed and dressed, he stared out of the window at the front gate. He rubbed his temples; he had drunk too much last night and still had a headache.

There was a crowd gathered around the place where the slogans were posted outside the town government, pointing and chatting. It seemed the slogans were really attracting attention! Mayor John was feeling proud when he saw two cars slowly drive up and stop in front of the government gate. Deputy County Party Secretary Henry and several inspection team members quickly got out of the cars and also craned their necks to look at the slogans! Mayor John suddenly got excited and rushed downstairs with a thud, leading Tom Brown to greet them. He stretched out his hands towards Secretary Henry from afar.

But Secretary Henry had a gloomy face and seemed very unhappy. He coldly said, “You’d better take a look at your masterpiece first!” Without shaking hands, he went straight upstairs.

Mayor John took a closer look at the slogans and almost fainted. Tom Brown’s eyes nearly popped out! On the left, there was a row of red squares, very imposing, which read: “The people should effectively enhance the awareness of serving Party and government officials whole – heartedly!” The slogan on the right was also very eye – catching, saying: “All the town’s people should work hard to ensure that the officials get rich as soon as possible!”

The words were definitely Mayor John’s. Several people had double – checked them repeatedly after putting them up last night. How could they have changed like this? Tom Brown took a closer look and exclaimed, “Mayor John, someone has peeled off the slogans and switched their positions!” “Quick, tear them down!” Mayor John gasped, his voice trembling.

“Not bad, not bad. This time, Mayor John is telling the truth!” The on – lookers were like fish in the water, gathering more and more. Some sneered, and some laughed out loud. Mayor John hung his head and slunk into the town government like a deflated balloon.

In the afternoon, after the inspection team left, Mayor John called in Police Chief Sam. He slapped the table so hard that it made a loud noise and roared, “Investigate! Find out! Those who have had a lot of complaints are the prime suspects! See who’s causing trouble!”