'SEE YOU MORNING' 056 Municipal Secretary Müller

The next morning, Lübeck bid farewell to his family and took a carriage driven by an orderly straight to the town hall in the center of the settlement. The weather was still quite cold, and the navy wool overcoat he wore provided excellent protection against the chill. The journey was not long—Zufluchtsland itself had only been established some twenty-odd years ago, and the town had not yet expanded on any great scale. But the rise of a new generation was already enough to shift interpersonal hierarchies and reshape the social fabric. During the uneventful ride, watching the roadside scenery fly past, Lübeck reflected on the changes of recent years.
The town hall was a simple two-story wooden building. Not all officials came to work here every day; it was only when necessary that those who were needed would gather here. On ordinary days, only a few administrative staff were present.
That morning, when Lübeck walked in, the town hall secretary Fritz Müller came forward to greet him,
"Good morning, Captain Lübeck,"
"Good morning, Müller. Can you add me to the lunch order for today?"
"Of course, I'll go arrange it right away."
"How has work been these days?"
"Not bad. The farmers haven't given me any trouble, it's just that…"
"Just what?"
"Just the other day, different communes got into another dispute over farmland boundaries."
"Serious?"
"Not too serious—just some people got hurt. But the problem is, someone used firearms."
"Oh." As they talked, the two had already reached the mayor's office and taken their seats. Lübeck flipped through the monthly reports from various grassroots officials that had been delivered to the desk. He searched and found the report from the sheriff on the commune farmers' brawl. After reading it, he handed it to Müller. What else could he say? He sighed,
"Sigh, the grudges have been building for a long time. We've talked to them before, but this time even the security team members got caught up in it—gunshot wounds, no less."
Having said that, Lübeck looked somewhat displeased and glanced at Müller.
Müller hesitated a moment, then said,
"Actually, this already amounts to rebellion."
Lübeck and Müller exchanged a look, and he said,
"How about we put Krause on leave for a while? Let his deputy Koch take over for a stretch, and at the same time emphasize strict law enforcement. Make a public announcement about it."
"Yes, that would be a good idea," Müller said, nodding.
"Look, could you draft the administrative order and deliver it to both of them?"
"Sure, I'll get right on it."
"Who are the injured security team members?"
"Ah, take a look inside the report—it should be in there. There's also the hospital's injury report."
"Oh, alright." Lübeck looked up and smiled at Müller, then bent back down to search through the documents.
"Hey, this must be it. Take a look—this is the report from the hospital," Müller said, leaning in to watch Lübeck search and pointing with his finger.
As the two were talking, they heard a woman shouting from the hall downstairs,
"Mr. Müller, are we adding one more person for lunch today? Ah, I'll just add some extra staples to today's menu—that should be enough, right, Mr. Müller?" The voice was rough and casual, very much in the style of a working-class woman.
Müller smiled sheepishly. The people under his command really couldn't keep up with him. Though he had explained in detail just now, it was clear those people didn't always work with their brains. He had no choice but to say to Lübeck,
"I think I'd better go down and sort this out."
"Go ahead, I'll keep looking through things here," Lübeck said, understanding his frustration.
Müller then left and closed the office door behind him. Lübeck could still faintly hear their conversation,
"The mayor is here today, so don't just rigidly stick to the daily menu."
"Oh, oh oh…" the woman replied as she followed him away.
Lübeck continued flipping through the documents, jotting down the names of the injured security team members on paper—it might be useful when he went to visit them at the hospital. He then reviewed some administrative meeting minutes, and seeing nothing of great importance, he left the office and took the carriage to the hospital.
In pre-industrial society, medical institutions seemed to hold no special significance. The people who came here were basically those who had accidentally suffered physical injuries during labor, receiving simple disinfection, bandaging, or wound suturing. There were not many people in the hospital, so Lübeck was quickly led by the staff to the room where the injured security team members were recovering.
"Don't move, lie still."
Seeing someone try to get up and salute, Lübeck stopped him immediately.
"Yes, sir."
Lübeck checked on their conditions. One had a thigh abrasion—a flesh wound, nothing serious. Another had a shoulder blade injury, more severe, but no life-threatening danger. But the third man looked terrible—a penetrating abdominal wound. Looking at the layers of gauze wrapped around his body still showing through with blood, Lübeck felt a deep unease. For a moment he wanted to take him to a more modern hospital, but feared the man couldn't withstand the bumps of the journey. He offered a few words of comfort, then went to ask the other two about what had happened that day, and left in a hurry.
Back at the town hall, it was just lunchtime. There were only a few people at the long table—the town hall secretary, two clerks, and the logistics staff. Lübeck sat on one side of the long table with them, and looking at these colleagues, he spoke first,
"First of all, thank you Mr. Müller for arranging this generous lunch. I don't come here often—today he made special arrangements."
"Haha, you're too kind," Müller said from across the table.
"Alright, thank you to the ladies who prepared our lunch today, thank you," Lübeck said, extending his arm to draw everyone's attention toward them, and nodding again,
"Thank you."
The women who had cooked were a bit shy, smiling and nodding without replying.
"Alright, let's eat," Lübeck said, his gaze sweeping across everyone at the table.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy your meal."
During the meal, Lübeck asked about the food supply sources. They offered their own impressions—about supply channels, food quality, timeliness, and preservation. Lübeck was also curious about which communes and what people they had contact with, and asked whose families they were from, what they looked like, and so on.
Noticing that the town hall clerks were also there, he asked whether they were familiar with the people just mentioned, since they managed the population records.
But the two young clerks didn't seem to care much about these matters, mumbling and unable to say much of substance. Lübeck didn't press them, simply saying that after the meal he would go to the archive room to check the population growth details and also look into the families of the injured security team members, and asked them to accompany him.
Lübeck then brought up with Müller some issues regarding the partial public specialization adjustment work in planting and breeding. To reduce disputes and facilitate comparison and valuation, it was necessary to survey and demarcate the exact boundaries of farmland and pastures. Since previously the farmers had developed these gradually during production, the archival records only contained approximate locations and area figures. Now, after so many years, it was better to clarify the current situation, so that no one would be dissatisfied during transactions and compensation.
Müller agreed and discussed some details.
Their conversation passed quickly, and the town hall lunch was soon over. Lübeck jokingly told the women who had cooked to ask the people in their supply chain for any opinions or suggestions, and very seriously urged them to make sure to ask—as if he truly valued everyone's input.
After the meal, as agreed, Lübeck called the clerk who held the archive room key and went together to look up some population and family relationship records. But once inside, he did not ask them to stay—he was very familiar with everything about the town and Zufluchtsland.