Chapter 43: Why, After All? (Part 5)

*Chapter 43: Why, After All? (Part 5)*

At the entrance of the bus station, a sudden wave of bad premonition surged through Hou Weidong’s heart. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the source of this feeling, but the closer he got to the station, the stronger it became. As he stepped inside, he glanced at the video rental shop outside the gate. A petite woman sat there, her eyes vacant, staring blankly at the pedestrians on the street.

Once inside the station, Hou Weidong immediately spotted Chen Qingrong. She stood with her arms crossed, her face stern. He scanned the area quickly but found no sign of Zhang Yuanzheng. There was no point in avoiding the situation now; he squared his shoulders and walked straight toward Chen Qingrong.

“Auntie Chen, hello.”

Chen Qingrong kept her arms folded, looking grave. She waited for Hou Weidong to speak before she began. “Hou Weidong, you are a man. You are a man who understands emotion and bears responsibility.” Her voice suddenly choked up. “We only have one daughter. We do not wish for her to marry into Yiyang County. If you truly care for Xiaojia, for her happiness, I beg you—do not come here anymore. Do not disturb our lives again.”

In Chen Qingrong’s eyes, Hou Weidong was like an exotic species from distant South America that had accidentally wandered into Shazhou, only to turn their lives into a tangled mess.

Hou Weidong stood frozen, at a loss for words. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. “Auntie Chen, my feelings for Xiaojia are genuine. Breaking up like this would cause me pain, but it would hurt her even more. Please give us some time. Xiaojia and I will work together; we can certainly change our current situation.”

Chen Qingrong wiped away her tears. “I believe in your ability. But in this society, ability alone is not enough. Xiaojia’s youth comes only once. As parents, we cannot let her gamble with her future. People have hearts of flesh and blood. Put yourself in our shoes, and I hope you can understand.”

Hou Weidong had to admit that Chen Qingrong made a very reasonable point, spoken from the bottom of her heart. This made his position extremely difficult. After hesitating for a while, he firm up his resolve. “Auntie Chen, I cannot break up with Xiaojia.”

Chen Qingrong’s expression grew even uglier. Her face was a mix of tears, anger, and helplessness.

Her demeanor made Hou Weidong feel like an invader. He said, “Give me three years. I will definitely transfer to Shazhou.”

Chen Qingrong perked up. “Three years. If you cannot transfer to Shazhou within three years, you must break up with Xiaojia. I promise you on behalf of Xiaojia’s father: if you transfer to Shazhou after three years, we will no longer oppose you.” She immediately added, “We keep our word, but you must also make a promise. Do not meet Xiaojia during this period. You have both just started working; you should focus your main energy on your jobs. Young people must cherish opportunities.”

“A delaying tactic,” Hou Weidong thought.

He tried to bargain. “We can meet on weekends. It won’t affect our work.”

Chen Qingrong’s attitude was unyielding. “I am not negotiating conditions with you. For these three years, Xiaojia’s father and I forbid her from seeing you. Otherwise, I will cut off relations with Xiaojia. If you truly want what is best for Xiaojia, you had better not come to Shazhou.”

Hou Weidong ultimately did not agree to Chen Qingrong’s conditions, and the two parted on bad terms.

The meeting with Chen Qingrong left Hou Weidong in a foul mood. Throughout the journey back, he struggled with intense internal conflict. Thinking of Chen Qingrong’s words and her sorrowful expression, he felt that this situation was somewhat cruel to the two elders. But if he was not cruel to them, he would be cruel to his love.

One cannot have both fish and bear’s paw; it seemed the ancients had long settled this conclusion.

The trip to Shazhou had made Hou Weidong feel the immense pressure on his shoulders. The path was his own choice, so he could blame no one. Only by breaking through the siege could he repay Xiaojia’s deep affection. And breaking through the siege had to be done step by step. The first step was to establish a firm foothold in Qinglin Town, then return to the Yiyang County government, and finally charge toward Shazhou. This goal sounded simple, but it was not easy to execute. Stepping from the bustling city of Shazhou onto the rustic soil of the ancient market town, Hou Weidong immediately felt the vast gap between ideal and reality.

Monday and Tuesday passed without incident.

There was still no news of a transfer. Hou Weidong told himself to strive hard, but reality was so helpless. He had been exiled to Shangqinglin Township, with no assigned work. Even if he wanted to work desperately, he had nowhere to start.

“Opportunity favors the prepared mind.” Supported by this belief, Hou Weidong prepared a notebook. Every time he read an article in the People’s Daily, he took careful notes, striving to thoroughly understand the spirit of the central government.

At ten o’clock on Wednesday morning, Hou Weidong was still sitting alone in the office studying the People’s Daily. He wasn’t sure if this kind of study was useful, but not studying meant just loafing around all day in Shangqinglin Township. He carefully read the editorials, flipped to page four, and read a diplomat’s diary of travels in Africa.

Voices came from the courtyard. There was a postal agency on the ground floor of the building, and people often came in to make phone calls. Hou Weidong paid no attention and continued to focus on the People’s Daily.

“University Student Hou, this is Town Mayor Su.” Li Yong, the man with the large sideburns, entered and introduced them in a casual manner.

“Town Mayor Su, this is Hou Weidong.”

Town Mayor Su was very short, barely over one meter sixty, and slender. He proactively extended his hand. “Hou Weidong, welcome to work in Qinglin Town.”

Li Yong continued the introductions. “This is Director Tian from the Agricultural Office, and Station Master Huang from the Agricultural Economics Station.”

Director Tian wore a faded old military uniform, looking very simple and honest. He was dark and thin. Station Master Huang, on the other hand, bore a slight resemblance to Bai Chuncheng from Shangqinglin; he was fair and plump, and his clothes looked high-quality, giving him somewhat of a Shazhou vibe.

Hou Weidong had been in Shangqinglin Town for nearly ten days and had a basic understanding of the leadership in Qinglin Town Government. He knew that Town Mayor Su was the deputy town mayor in charge of agriculture. He politely stood up. “Town Mayor Su, please come in and sit.” He pulled over a rattan chair. “Town Mayor Su, sit here. It’s cooler.”

He then addressed Director Tian and Station Master Huang. “Leaders, please come in and sit.” Director Tian and Station Master Huang chatted as they walked inside.

Town Mayor Su looked around the office and praised, “It’s been a few days since I last came, and this office has changed completely. Before, it was covered in dust everywhere.”

Town Mayor Su was stating a fact. After Hou Weidong took over the office, he had thoroughly cleaned it, sweeping away all the filth. The reasons were simple: first, to show Township Mayor Gao; second, since he was going to work in this office, a clean environment was not a bad thing.

From then on, the first thing he did every morning was to clean the office and the meeting room. It was a trivial effort, so Hou Weidong persisted.

After a few exchanges of small talk, Township Mayor Gao, Li Yong, Secretary Qin and Director Jiang from Dushi Village, Tian Fushen, and others arrived at the office. Town Mayor Su said, “The office is too small. Let’s go to the meeting room for the meeting.”

Entering the meeting room, Town Mayor Su’s eyes lit up at the sight of the tidy space. “Yang Xinchun finally made up his mind to clean the meeting room.” Township Mayor Gao remarked from the side, “Now, Hou Weidong cleans both the office and the meeting room.” Town Mayor Su asked in surprise, “Yang Xinchun is a logistics worker. Why let Hou Weidong clean the office?” Township Mayor Gao explained, “Yang Xinchun is the postal agent for Shangqinglin Township. This was arranged by Town Mayor Tian and Old Jiang from the post office.”

Hearing that it was Town Mayor Tian’s arrangement, Town Mayor Su did not press the issue further. Seeing everyone seated, he said, “Damn weather, it’s really killing us with heat. Township Mayor Gao, have your wife cook some porridge and stir-fried pork belly for lunch. Let’s have a couple of drinks.”

Secretary Qin, sitting below, shouted loudly, “No need to trouble Township Mayor Gao for lunch today. Town Mayor Su came personally to collect the unpaid retention and统筹 (tongchou) fees from last year. No matter how poor Dushi Village is, we can still afford to host this guest.”

“What do you mean ‘came personally’? This is my job. I also personally relieve myself, personally eat, and personally sleep with my wife.” Town Mayor Su made a joke, then his expression turned serious. “Today, we are going up the mountain for one purpose: to collect the unpaid retention and统筹 fees from Dushi Village last year. Director Jiang, please explain the specific situation.”

Director Jiang was the director of the Dushi Village Committee, a middle-aged man with a honest face. He pulled a piece of paper from his bag. “Last year, the total unpaid retention and统筹 fees amounted to 3,412 yuan. The majority was owed by the second cooperative of Dushi Village, with the He Family Courtyard owing the most.”

After Director Jiang listed the specific households, Town Mayor Su said, “The retention and统筹 fees are fees stipulated by the state for collection. However, the collection situation in Qinglin Town last year was far from ideal. The town collected less than 60% of the total. Many farmers refused to pay. Dushi Village in Shangqinglin is just one example. I analyze that the main reasons for the difficulty in collection across the town are threefold: First, some masses have poor awareness of paying fees and are unwilling to bear reasonable burdens. Second, the calculation of retention and统筹 fees is unreasonable, village financial management is chaotic, and there are problems with the collection methods. This has prevented villages from making normal expenditures, affecting the work. In some villages, because they couldn’t collect the fees, they couldn’t pay the village cadres’ salaries, which dampened the cadres’ enthusiasm for work.”

He emphasized his tone. “If we don’t take measures to collect them this year, the number of refusing households will increase, and our work will become even more passive. Secretary Zhao and Town Mayor Qin sent me to Dushi Village to make an example.”

Town Mayor Su had excellent eloquence. His speech was logical and coherent, leaving Hou Weidong impressed. He thought to himself, “Town Mayor Su really has some caliber.”

Since arriving in Shangqinglin, he often heard work group cadres discuss retention and统筹 fees and had a rough understanding. “Retention” referred to the public accumulation fund, public welfare fund, and management fees collected by the village-level organization. “Tongchou” referred to funds collected by the town government for family planning, preferential treatment, militia training, town and village road construction, and private education. These were important sources of revenue for both the town and village levels.