"Mihaev, someone is investigating our newspaper. They believe that our first report was ordered by someone." The editor probed.
"Oh? Isn't it up to you to decide what your newspaper publishes? "Mihaev said coldly. Even though he knew very well that the editor was referring to the report on the Chinese, as the big boss behind Bucharest's most vibrant local organization, Mihaev didn't believe that he needed to make a fuss about nothing.
The editor didn't give up even though he was rebuffed. He continued to try, "Mihaev, if you can help me solve those problems, or … or if you can give me more money to deal with those people, then there shouldn't be a problem."
Mihaev frowned as he looked at the editor. Although Romania didn't have a saying, "Pretty boys don't have good intentions," there was a similar saying. These people were greedy for money and would do anything for a bit of money. But when they had to bear the consequences, these people were terrified. Regardless of how the editor viewed the so-called "investigation," in Mihaev's opinion, as long as he said, "We only wrote the news based on the information we received," this matter could be covered up.
In order to bribe the editor, Mihaev gave a lot of money. Based on the price of a vibrant organization, as long as he took out 30%, it would be enough to bribe some people who wouldn't change their minds. When the time came, he would make these people admit that he gave them the information, and the editor would admit that he wanted to make a big news. Any problem could be easily solved.
Thinking of this, Mihaev could not help but ask, "Did you use the money for yourself?"
The editor did not expect Mihaev to ask such a question out of the blue. He had indeed used up all the money himself. He had to buy some things for his family, buy some jewelry for his wife, pay for his children's school fees, send them to church schools, and try to make connections with the church so that his children could become priests of the Orthodox Church in the future. All this required money, a lot of money. The windfall this time only gave the editor the courage to try the first step. If they really wanted to push forward, they would need more money.
"Mihaev, what do you mean?" The editor asked.
There was no need to say anything else, Mihaev already knew what kind of person the editor in front of him was. Mihaev started from a powerful family in a local area. Step by step, he became an important member of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce. Step by step, he became the boss behind the scenes of a dynamic local group. Step by step, he had a great say in the Romanian livestock industry. He had seen too many of these kinds of people. And without exception, this kind of trash was eliminated in the cruel competition.
This scumbag dared to ask Mihaev for money? How dare he ask Mihaev to clean up after him? Mihaev just smiled calmly at the editor's request. "Who is investigating you?"
Hearing this question, the editor of Bucharest Izvestia felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He hurriedly said, "Sir Mihaev, it is said that the Kingdom's Army has sent people to investigate me. According to the information I received, they seem to think that I have something to do with the kingdom's navy. "
After all, the editor was a cultured person. When he spoke of this, his voice was both nervous and excited. This kind of attitude made Mihaev frown. Most of those people who read books had this characteristic. It was as if being paid attention to would give them a great sense of excitement.
After getting all the information out of the editor, Mihaev told the editor to wait at home for the next few days. Then, he sent the editor away.
The editor's house was a very small bourgeoisie residence. Like those rich and powerful families, they also had a detached courtyard. If that could be called a courtyard. Small houses, small front yards. Houses of this style were built next to each other, and they were packed densely together. Most of the residents were people who came from the same background as the editor of Bucharest Izvestia. They had a bit of status, but only a bit of status. They were far from the true ruling class.
Just their house, in the mouths of bitter social critics, would be ridiculed as being at the bottom of poverty. No matter how much effort was put into the front yard, they even planted some relatively rare plants. But behind the house, there were still two rows of houses with a small aisle between them. Garbage and other sundries were transported out through this small aisle. Although there was a wall in the direction of this small aisle, people rarely opened windows on this wall. Because this aisle was always filled with an unpleasant smell.
Two days later, a few shadows slipped through this passage to the back door of the Bucharest editor's house. Several of them stayed in the darkness beside the back door. One of them knocked on the door. When the editor opened the door, he only saw one person at the door. He heard the person say in a low voice, "I'm someone sent by Mihaev."
This time, he was relieved. He let the person into the house, and the editor hurriedly closed the back door. The person handed the editor a bag of money. Just by weighing it in his hand, he could tell that it wasn't light. The editor hurriedly opened the bag of money. Looking at the gold and silver in the bag, he couldn't help but smile. This money was enough to continue to open up some joints and bring his son one step closer to the path to the Orthodox priesthood. As long as his son became a priest, or even continued to advance to a higher rank of priest, then the editor's family could truly be considered to have reached the heavens in a single step. Of course, if you wanted to reach the heavens, the best ladder was paved with money.
Too concerned about the future of his family, the editor ignored a trace of odor in the air. He didn't notice that the person who walked out of the dark and dirty aisle had already deftly and inconspicuously circled behind the editor. The person took out a handkerchief from an aluminum box and gracefully leaned forward from behind. The handkerchief covered the editor's nose and mouth, while the other hand tightly grasped the editor's hand and the money bag.
The handkerchief was ether obtained from a friendly hospital established when China and Romania established diplomatic relations. In the entire capital of Romania, only this hospital had a relatively large quantity of this product. It was used for anesthesia during surgery, but high-ranking and active social groups had also discovered other uses of this stuff.
Not long after, the editor was anesthetized. The person held his breath and let the editor fall softly. One of his hands was still tightly gripping the money bag to prevent it from falling to the ground. After making sure that the editor was completely put down, the person took advantage of the last bit of air in his lungs to open the back door. Several of his accomplices quickly slipped in.
They were all very experienced. Amidst the crackling sounds of the typewriter, they finished busying themselves. They carefully closed the back door and slipped away from the dark aisle. When they finally reached a safe place, the leader tossed the money bag he took back from the editor to the leader of the group of brothers. "This is money for your hard work."
After working hard for a while, they received the reward they deserved. Simple smiles appeared on the faces of the few sturdy men. They quickly split up and disappeared into the bustling crowd of Bucharest.
The wife of the editor of the Bucharest newspaper only returned home in the evening with the child. The seminary was a boarding school, so both the wife and child were dressed in the beautiful clothes they had just bought. In their small circle, they were very popular. When she returned home, the wife's excitement had not yet subsided. As soon as she entered, the wife felt that something was wrong. There was a faint stench of feces and urine in the living room on the first floor of the small building. When the wife went upstairs, she found that the smell was getting stronger and stronger. Following the smell, the wife found that the smell was coming from the half-open door of her husband's study.
Opening the door with a frown, the wife saw a chair on the ground. There was a thin rope around her husband's neck, hanging high from a beam on the roof. Perhaps he was shaken by the wife's terrified screams. A soft lump of filth stuck in his trousers slid down and fell to the floor with a plop.
The Bucharest newspaper became the source of big news for the other newspapers in Bucharest. The editor hanged himself. On the typewriter was an unfinished letter. In the letter, the editor admitted that he had received money from foreigners to fabricate the news. Under great pressure, he had no choice but to seek relief. There was also an open bottle of wine on the table. The bottle was basically empty, and there was still more than half of the wine in the glass.
This matter had serious implications, so the medical examiner also got involved. After the autopsy, it was found that there was indeed a lot of wine in the editor's stomach. So, it was very likely that he would drink to relieve his boredom and ultimately choose to walk down a dead end.
Of course, there were no blood tests in this era. If there were, it would have been found that there was wine in the editor's stomach, but the amount of alcohol in his blood was negligible. However, it was obviously inappropriate to use this kind of thing to blame the medical examiners of the late 19th century for not being professional. Their level of technology was only up to this level. With Romania's current level of technology, it was already very rigorous and professional for the medical examiner to be able to examine the contents of the deceased's stomach.
The sensation caused by the editor's death once again shook the recently restless Romanian diplomatic field. This matter undoubtedly helped China solve the problem. The general view was that since the Chinese were the victims of this incident, the matter should have nothing to do with China. As for who the "foreigners who gave money" mentioned in the editor's unfinished letter was, for a long time, the focus of many people in Romania and even in Europe.
But this was no longer important. The competition between the major powers made everyone suspicious. England, France, Russia, the Osman Empire, the Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Various foreign powers were deeply involved in Romania. In a sense, they were all suspects.
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