Chapter 86: Unintentional Willow (Part 8)

After posting a chapter in the morning, Xiao Qiao’s monthly ticket count rose rapidly, currently sitting in the middle of the second page. I hope friends will continue to vote, striving to get Xiao Qiao’s Official Path Romance to the top of the monthly ticket rankings.

…………………………………………………………………………

Since Zhao Yongsheng and Qin Feiyue had openly broken ties, public disputes at meetings had become increasingly frequent. However, a confrontation this direct and intense was unprecedented in history.

Deputy Secretary Jiang Xingcai kept his head down, idly drawing circles on a piece of paper. He remained silent, strictly adhering to the creed that silence is golden.

Seeing both leaders lose their composure, Su Ming could no longer bear it. “I suggest we postpone the meeting. Everyone needs to calm down first.”

Zhao Yongsheng drank a glass of water in sullen silence, then took his teacup and left the conference room. Back in his office, still seething with anger, he closed the door and paced back and forth like a trapped beast.

Qinglin Town was a place where two tigers could not coexist on one mountain. Zhao Yongsheng was a homegrown cadre, personally promoted by the former county party secretary. When that old secretary was transferred to Shazhou, Zhao lost his patron in the county. Qin Feiyue, on the other hand, was a direct protégé of Deputy County Party Secretary Zhao. Transferred from the Township Enterprise Bureau to Qinglin Town, he had taken a circuitous route to power. Backed by Deputy Secretary Zhao, Qin Feiyue did not fear the local strongman, Zhao Yongsheng.

“Hou Weidong, I originally wanted to give you a chance, but you brought this upon yourself. If I don’t teach you a lesson, you won’t know that King Ma has three eyes.” Zhao Yongsheng began plotting how to deal with Hou Weidong. However, after Hou Weidong was stripped of his position as Deputy Head of the Working Group, he was reduced to an ordinary soldier with no rank or power, already exiled to Qinglin Town. There was nothing left to take from him.

A college graduate reduced to such a state. As Zhao Yongsheng cooled down slightly, recalling Hou Weidong’s words and deeds, he felt he had been too harsh and demanding. Yet, the final few words Hou Weidong had spoken had deeply wounded him, hardening his heart like the stones of Shangqinglin.

News of the incident at the Party-Government Joint Meeting spread quickly through Shangqinglin. Village cadres were pragmatic. They saw that Hou Weidong had run around tirelessly for the road project, doing substantial and effective work. Cadres like Qin Dajiang, Jiang Shangshan, Zeng Xiangang, He Hequan, and Tang Guiyuan kept this in mind. Secretly, they felt injustice on Hou Weidong’s behalf. Without making a fuss, they took turns treating him to drinks, and whenever issues arose at the construction site, they still consulted him.

Having weathered this storm, Hou Weidong felt somewhat disheartened about his career advancement. Previously, he had devoted most of his time to the highway. Now that the rough structure of the road was more than half complete, he spent only half his time on the highway, dedicating the other half to the newly opened quarry.

Opening a quarry required numerous procedures. Hou Weidong persuaded Zeng Xiangang to start handling the main paperwork before the official opening.

Before becoming Town Mayor, Qin Feiyue had served as Deputy Director of the Township Enterprise Bureau and was extremely familiar with corporate maneuvers. At a glance at Hou Xiaoying’s ID card, he knew this was Hou Weidong playing a borderline game. Qin Feiyue now considered Hou Weidong one of his own; he chose not to expose the trick and instead put in a good word with several departments.

With Qin Feiyue’s help, the main procedures for Hou Weidong’s quarry were handled smoothly, with costs cut by nearly half. However, before the Spring Festival, the police station froze the supply of detonators and explosives for safety reasons, meaning they would only be released after the holiday.

Before the Spring Festival, the rough highway finally reached Wangri Village. The villagers set off firecrackers for half an hour at the village entrance, celebrating properly.

Hou Weidong got drunk again.

After the holiday, Hou Weidong returned to Wu Hai County, carrying deep disappointment. He hid the truth from his parents, forcing a smile in front of them.

On the fourth day of the lunar new year, Hou Weidong went to Shazhou. Since Jin Lingli’s brother had returned to Shazhou, Hou Weidong and Zhang Xiaojia no longer had a secret meeting place. He spent 280 yuan to book a standard room at the Shazhou Hotel. The air-conditioned room was warm as spring, and the two enjoyed each other’s company to their heart’s content, relieving their longing.

At nine in the evening, Xiaojia returned home. Her parents, Chen Qingrong and Zhang Yuanzheng, who had been on high alert, were stern and severe. They subjected Xiaojia to a round of interrogations. Unable to bear it any longer, Xiaojia had a huge argument with her parents, casting a shadow over what had otherwise been a joyful and peaceful Spring Festival.

Xiaojia had successfully been seconded to the Shazhou Construction Commission. In Chen Qingrong’s eyes, her daughter’s value had increased further, strengthening Chen’s resolve and confidence to break up the couple. Seeing her daughter in despair, she still held fast to her belief: “This is all for Xiaojia’s own good. Later, she will understand the good intentions of her parents.”

On the sixth day, under the guidance of his brother Hou Weiguo, Hou Weidong went to Yiyang County. He bought two cartons of Hongtashan cigarettes and two bottles of Wuliangye liquor to pay New Year’s respects to Mayor Qin Feiyue. Since Hou Weidong and Zhao Yongsheng had officially become enemies, Qin Feiyue regarded Hou Weidong as a trusted confidant. He kept Hou for lunch and then played mahjong at home.

On the eighth day, work officially resumed.

After the New Year, Yiyang County’s transportation construction year officially launched. The county government finalized two key projects for ’94: the Yizhou section of the Sha-Yi Highway and the Yizhou section of the Yi-Wu Highway. The budget for these two roads reached 200 million yuan. Yiyang County certainly did not have the financial strength for this. The newly arrived Secretary Zhu introduced innovative thinking, bringing in the Guangdong Province Highway Construction Investment Company. The investment company would partially fund the construction of these two roads, and upon completion, it would enjoy toll collection rights for fifteen years.

As for the Shangqinglin Highway, the county adopted the opinion previously held by Mayor Ma. The county finance would provide one million yuan to lay a mud-gravel surface. However, there was a slight change from the original plan. The county finance handed the one million yuan to the Transportation Bureau, which was responsible for laying the mud-gravel surface for the Shangqinglin Highway.

Mayor Ma’s original intention had been to give the one million yuan directly to Qinglin Town for them to execute. However, during this period, the County Party Committee and County Government had received several anonymous letters exposing the conflict between Zhao Yongsheng and Qin Feiyue in Qinglin Town, specifically mentioning their most intense argument. After receiving this letter, Mayor Ma changed his mind and approved the one million yuan for the Transportation Bureau to execute the county government’s decision.

Qin Feiyue had originally hoped to deduct 300,000 yuan from this sum to back-pay teachers’ salaries. This wish was now dashed, and he was reprimanded by Mayor Ma over the phone. His dissatisfaction with Zhao Yongsheng escalated further.

For Hou Weidong, having the Transportation Bureau lay the surface was actually a good thing. Since the Transportation Bureau received the county finance funds, the three villages were required by agreement to provide free labor to help with the road laying. As for materials like riprap and crushed stone, the Transportation Bureau had to purchase them at market price.

This was a major benefit for the newly opened Yinggang Quarry.

Yinggang Quarry: “Ying” came from Hou Xiaoying, and “Gang” came from Zeng Xiangang. Combined, it formed Yinggang Quarry—a very resonant name. Moreover, not only was the name good, but the location was excellent as well. Below the Yinggang Quarry, the stone was generally buried several meters deep in the soil; just digging through the soil would cost a significant amount. Further up, although the overburden on the stone was thinner, the transport distance was farther than from Yinggang Quarry.

Yinggang Quarry could conveniently supply riprap and crushed stone for nearly six kilometers of highway.

Section Chief Liu Wei of the Engineering Section at the Transportation Bureau was Hou Weidong’s good friend. He had already passed all the information along. Through Liu Wei’s introduction, Hou Weidong spent over 4,000 yuan to buy two old crushers. Without waiting for the Transportation Bureau to enter the site, he worked overtime to crush stone.

On March 6, Liu Wei accompanied Deputy Director Zhu Bing of the Transportation Bureau to inspect Yinggang Quarry. Hou Weidong had received the news early and, along with Zeng Xiangang, arrived at the quarry well in advance to wait. He had also prepared some dried wild pheasants as a greeting gift.

Zhu Bing was a graduate of Southwest Jiaotong University. Having spent long years on construction sites, his face was dark and tanned. He wore a sharp, flat-top haircut and looked very energetic. Having just turned thirty, he had already become the Deputy Director of the Yiyang County Transportation Bureau. Young and successful, he appeared full of vigor.

“The location of this quarry is good. How is the hardness of the stone?” Seeing Hou Weidong, he didn’t waste words and went straight to the point.

Hou Weidong, having prepared thoroughly through his insider Liu Wei, carried a canvas bag filled with various documents.

“Here is the inspection report on the stone hardness. Please take a look, Director Zhu.”

Hou Weidong had been in Qinglin Town for nine months. He had served as Deputy Head of the Working Group, only to be dismissed by Zhao Yongsheng. He deeply understood the difficulty of promotion in officialdom. Zhu Bing had become Deputy Director of the Transportation Bureau at such a young age; Hou Weidong admired him from the bottom of his heart.

Zhu Bing examined the documents carefully. It was a genuine inspection report. In fact, he knew that the stone in Shangqinglin absolutely met the requirements for highway construction. His question earlier was merely a formality. Seeing the formal inspection report stamped with a bright red seal, he couldn’t help but become interested in the handsome young man before him.

“Rare. I’ve been building roads for so many years, and I’ve never seen a quarry voluntarily undergo hardness testing.”

Hou Weidong smiled. “Doing business must be based on integrity. You can deceive for a moment, but not for a lifetime. Director Zhu, you can rest assured when using stone from Yinggang Quarry in the future.”

This quarry owner did not look like a typical small boss. Zhu Bing asked, “Hou Weidong, you’re not a local, are you?”

Liu Wei introduced him from the side: “Hou Weidong is a college graduate from Shazhou University, majoring in law. He was assigned to the town government. He was the one who led the construction of the Shangqinglin Highway.”

“No wonder. So he’s a college student who studied law.”

Director Zhu was very satisfied with Yinggang Quarry and asked further, “After the construction team enters the site, the demand will be huge. Can the quarry keep up with the schedule?”

To demonstrate his integrity, Hou Weidong took out all his licenses from the Industry and Commerce Bureau, Land and Resources Bureau, and Tax Bureau. “The principle of Yinggang Quarry is integrity. I have completed all necessary procedures. We have already crushed over 1,000 cubic meters of stone in advance. By the time the construction team enters the site, we should have 6,000 cubic meters of material ready.” He pointed to the empty space ahead. “I have also leveled the ground specifically for stacking materials. We will definitely not delay the project.”

Director Zhu was somewhat surprised. “How did you know we were entering the site?”

Hou Weidong told the truth. “Regarding the Shangqinglin Highway, Mayor Qin took me to make a special report to Mayor Ma and County Magistrate Li before the New Year. The plan was finalized during that meeting.”

Zhu Bing couldn’t help but look at Hou Weidong with new respect.

After inspecting Yinggang Quarry, the group walked up along the Shangqinglin Highway to check the rough road structure. Although they hadn’t brought instruments, Zhu Bing, from a professional perspective, could feel with the naked eye that the road quality was indeed good. The slope and curvature met the standards, and the ditches and culverts, which were crucial for the mud-gravel surface, were complete.

He was surprised again. “Hou Weidong, you majored in law. How do you understand engineering?”

Hou Weidong smiled. “Actually, it’s simple. Just construct according to the drawings.”

Zhu Bing sighed. “Constructing according to the drawings sounds easy, but it’s difficult to do. Many construction units, in order to save costs, try every trick to cut corners. This is one of the reasons why there are countless tofu-dreg projects.”

By the time they reached the Shangqinglin Town area, it was close to one o’clock. The group was tired and thirsty. Hou Weidong quickly arranged a table at a restaurant next to the foundation. After taking their seats, Zhu Bing covered his wine glass. “I have to rush back for a meeting this afternoon. I’ll only have one drink with Hou Weidong.”

After clinking glasses with Hou Weidong, Zhu Bing stated decisively, “After the construction team enters the site, materials will be sourced from Yinggang Quarry. Liu Wei, this is settled. From today on, the quarry must crush more stone and stockpile more materials to ensure the project schedule.”

The days in Qinglin