"This certainly isn't a small matter."
Hailan smoothed her hair and spoke slowly to the man across the table. She did her best to maintain a blank, serious expression. "With each passing day, the crystal creeps further into Haidu... If everyone were like your family, ignoring the crystal and shirking their responsibilities, what would become of Haidu? When we, in our supervisory roles, encounter a situation like this, we have no choice but to report it up the chain."
The man opposite her, large and corpulent with a chin that sank into his chest, wiped the oily sweat from his forehead. "It's just a small area where the crystal has grown. We'll just give them a push. There's no need to report it, is there?"
Hailan waved a hand dismissively, as if his words were amusing. "Mr. Ban Jiaming, you've certainly never cleared the contamination yourself, have you?"
Ban Jiaming, Supervisor of the Tower family's Office of Family Affairs, tacitly admitted it with his silence.
"It may sound like just a small area was neglected for two weeks, but this crystal is like it has a mind of its own. It grows like mad wherever resistance is weak, wherever it can find an opening... In the sector the Tower family is responsible for, a man-made path has been completely submerged. It's now entirely encased in crystal—it's a shocking sight. One person can't clear the contamination anymore; they can't even get in. We'll have to get someone to clear the path first." Hailan said, "If you have the time, you're welcome to come see for yourself. Then you'll know I'm not exaggerating."
She and Ban Jiaming both knew perfectly well that he would never set foot in the contamination zone over something like this.
"Of course I believe you," the portly supervisor said, waving a fan. "This is nothing serious. I'll have the girl responsible for that area brought here at once—"
Hailan shook her head. "She's refusing to go, no matter what. What can you do? I met the girl once. Her name was Mi... Mi-something? Her mother died in that very contamination zone just over two weeks ago. Under the circumstances, how can you possibly force her?"
Ban Jiaming frowned, searching his memory for a moment before letting out an "Oh." "I seem to recall something about that. Someone died. So it was from the crystal sickness? That does complicate things."
"Indeed,"
Hailan cleared her throat and lowered her head, composing herself before she continued, "If she keeps dragging her feet, the sector I'm responsible for will spin out of control, and I'll be the one who gets punished. I have to report this as soon as possible... I can't afford to wait for her to change her mind. Once I submit my report, how the higher-ups handle it is out of my hands. I only came to inform you first out of consideration for the Tower family's history of dutiful service, so you could be prepared."
Ban Jiaming immediately understood the subtext. 'If she were really going to report this, she would have done it already. Why bother making a special trip just to show her face and antagonize us? There must be some room for compromise here.'
As expected, he offered a corresponding smile and said a few things along the lines of, "You should reconsider," and, "If there's anything we can do, we'll certainly do it." After a few rounds of back-and-forth, as if locked in a tug-of-war, Hailan finally said, "Well, I certainly don't want to see you get into trouble... If the girl absolutely refuses to clear the contamination, I might have a solution that works for everyone."
Ban Jiaming played along perfectly. "Oh? And what solution might that be?"
"There are plenty of people in my sector who are struggling to get by. Unlike your Tower Family Members, they're poor and more than willing to do the clearing. Why not have that Mi... Mi-whatever girl pay someone to clear the contamination for her?"
Plenty of people did it that way. Hailan was telling the truth, and it was nothing new to the portly supervisor. Not a flicker of surprise showed on his broad face.
"But it seems the girl's family has no money... Oh, what am I saying? The Tower family can surely come up with the funds." She added, immediately quoting a price that was exactly double Yidan's wages. "You can hire someone for just forty copper coins an hour."
Ban Jiaming immediately shook his head, his jowls quivering. The standard wage paid by the Tower family was only twenty copper coins an hour. He would never agree to use the family's funds to cover for some low-ranking child who was crying and refusing to work.
"Well, that does make things difficult," Hailan said, putting on an expression of deep concern for the Tower family. "I could do some legwork for you, find some people, try to negotiate the price down a little... To be honest, I wouldn't even mind chipping in a bit of my own money to make up the difference."