Chapter 96: At the End of the Road, Yet a Path Appears (Part 4)

*Chapter 96: At the End of the Road, Yet a Path Appears (Part 4)*

The Yinggang Quarry was located quite far from the town center, so Hou Weidong took Xiaojia to inspect the Goubewan Quarry instead.

Goubewan was Hou Weidong’s proudest achievement. Today, he wanted to show it off properly in front of Xiaojia. She had already become a deputy section-level grassroots civil servant in Shazhou City and even dined at the same table as mayors. This made Hou Weidong feel somewhat ashamed. He hoped that showcasing the Goubewan Quarry would boost his confidence and help him save some face in her eyes.

Xiaojia linked her arm through Hou Weidong’s, acting extremely affectionate. Suddenly, she said, “I’ve discovered a serious problem.”

Walking along the smooth road, Hou Weidong’s steps were light. He asked, “What problem? Why do you look so serious?”

After their intimate moment, Xiaojia had changed out of her stiff, professional suit. She was now wearing Hou Weidong’s oversized shirt and a pair of old-fashioned sweatpants she had bought at Shangqinlin Primary School. The loose clothing hid her figure, but it felt comfortable and casual.

“Husband, your investment in the quarry wasn’t small. You made over a hundred thousand on the first try, and now you’re facing a huge crisis. Yet, you didn’t think to tell me about any of this.” As she spoke, tears welled up in Xiaojia’s eyes. “This shows that I’m not in your heart. We are already separated by distance, and trust is the prerequisite for solving all problems. By doing this, you’ve hurt me deeply.”

Women view problems from a different angle than men. For instance, in a war movie, men remember the scenes of blood and gore, while women focus on the protagonist’s love story. At that moment, Hou Weidong’s mind was full of how to find money, but Xiaojia sensitively detected the potential issues in their relationship.

With Xiaojia’s gentle reminder, Hou Weidong realized that when he encountered difficulties in Shangqinlin, he indeed rarely thought of her. He pondered the reason and honestly admitted, “It’s probably my pride talking. When I graduated from university, I considered myself a chosen one. But after starting work, I found that being a ‘chosen one’ was worthless. Liu Kun got into the government office and is doing well. Ren Lindu, who was hired through public recruitment, became the Town Youth League Secretary. Meanwhile, I’m stuck in Shangqinlin, doing nothing. I had ideas, but no power to execute them.”

“To change this situation, I pushed hard to build the Shangqinlin road, which led to opening the quarry. Before graduation, my ambitions were high. I never imagined I would become a local boss, so I was embarrassed to mention it to you. I was afraid you would look down on me, or that I would lose face for you.”

Hou Weidong spoke sincerely, and Xiaojia’s eyes gradually moistened. She held his arm tightly, resting her cheek against his strong shoulder, and said, “I am your woman. You are not allowed to hide anything from me. Sharing blessings and hardships is not just empty talk. I’ll forgive you this time, but if you do it again, I will really be angry.”

Shangqinlin was located deep in the mountains, always remote and closed off. The local customs were bold and simple, and it was rare to see men and women holding hands in public. Therefore, passing villagers stared curiously at the couple, while familiar villagers greeted them with meaningful looks.

“Husband, I didn’t expect your mass base to be so good. So many people know you. Why do they call you ‘Madman’?”

“When building the road, I acted like a madman, wandering around the road all day, and did many detestable things.”

Hou Weidong recounted the incidents of digging up the forestry farm road and the fortune teller. Xiaojia laughed as she listened, saying, “Many cadres promoted from townships to our Construction Commission say that township cadres must practice the art of telling big lies, fake promises, and harsh words. I didn’t believe it, but now I see they were telling the truth.”

When they arrived at the Goubewan Quarry, Xiaojia was surprised by its scale. More than thirty workers were all down at the bottom, concentrated on loading trucks. Vehicles came and went, and the noise was deafening, far exceeding her imagination.

Hou Weidong said proudly, “This is called the Goubewan Quarry. It was opened in my mother Liu Guangfen’s name. The other quarry is called Yinggang Quarry, opened in the name of my second sister, Hou Xiaoying, and a village cadre named Zeng Xiangang. The money earned previously was from Yinggang Quarry. Most of the gravel for the Shangqinlin road came from there, earning over a hundred thousand, which has now all been poured back in.”

Xiaojia had always been full of confidence in Hou Weidong. Seeing him create such a stir on his own, she thought to herself, “No wonder my husband isn’t too focused on career advancement. He seems to want to become an entrepreneur in the future. All roads lead to Rome. Being an entrepreneur is not bad either.”

Having figured this out, she also felt a sense of responsibility toward Goubewan. Drawing on her experience running around construction sites for the past six months, she noticed a safety issue and said, “I have a suggestion for you. Quarrying is dangerous work. It’s best to provide workers with safety helmets to increase the safety factor.”

Hou Weidong praised her, “No wonder my Xiaojia can be an office director. A man changes after three days, and you must look at him with new eyes. When you paged me, I was discussing safety standards with He Hongfu. There are several large quarries in Shazhou. Can you use your position to get some standard regulations?”

He Hongfu was worrying. They needed to blast again tomorrow, but the explosives hadn’t arrived yet. He saw the Madman and a woman standing elegantly on the high platform. He took three steps as two and climbed up to the platform.

“Madman, we must get the explosives back tomorrow, otherwise we’ll have to stop work.”

“This is He Hongfu, the deputy manager of Goubewan Quarry.” Hou Weidong introduced, “This is my wife, Zhang Xiaojia.”

He Hongfu said, “Sister-in-law, hello. Welcome to Shangqinlin. There are many trees and the air is good here. After living in the big city for a long time, it’s perfect for cleaning your lungs.”

Zhang Xiaojia looked at He Hongfu with interest. This deputy manager spoke quite appropriately, unlike the rural people she had imagined. She smiled and said, “What ‘Sister-in-law’? It sounds like a term from the triads. Just call me by my name, Zhang Xiaojia.”

He Hongfu chatted with Zhang Xiaojia for a few sentences, then got straight to the point, saying, “Madman, hurry up and find a solution, otherwise we really will have to stop production tomorrow.” Hou Weidong smiled bitterly, “I only have sixty yuan left. Forget buying explosives. In a few days, I won’t even have money for phone calls.”

Xiaojia took out her wallet from her oversized shirt. Inside was a bank card. She said, “There’s three thousand yuan in here. I don’t know if it’s enough.”

Hou Weidong knew this three thousand yuan was Xiaojia’s private savings, so he said, “Forget it. If you put this money in, it will be like a clay ox entering the sea, not even a bubble will rise.”

Xiaojia said angrily, “The Transportation Bureau’s contract is completely bullying. Paying according to progress is the industry rule.” She pointed to the quarry platform that had been dug nearly ten meters deep. “With such a large volume, they should have given some advance payment.”

Hou Weidong spread his hands and said, “We several quarry owners collectively went to the Transportation Bureau, but there was no way. The Transportation Bureau is too big; we small bosses can’t move them.”

He Hongfu complained a few more times, then went down to continue directing the loading. As the deputy manager, Hou Weidong generously gave him a monthly salary of one thousand yuan, which was an absolute high salary in Shangqinlin. Therefore, he worked diligently at Goubewan Quarry, dedicating his youth, sweat, and even blood (note: his finger was cut by gravel and bled continuously) to the construction and production of the quarry, becoming Hou Weidong’s most relied-upon capable assistant.

Hou Weidong’s face had turned slightly dark from the sun. He looked at the quarry with great focus, like a Siberian tiger patrolling its territory.

Over the past year, Xiaojia had also been greatly impacted deep in her heart, especially after moving to the office in the Construction Commission. The people and things she encountered were very different from before, and her horizons had suddenly opened up. Her perspective on problems was quietly changing. She firmly guarded her romance with Hou Weidong, rejecting Bu Gao’s pursuit.

Subconsciously, Xiaojia also compared Bu Gao and Hou Weidong. In terms of education, family background, and career, Hou Weidong was inferior to Bu Gao. This made her very afraid and worried. Having a beautiful romance was the dream of most girls. She was lucky to meet Hou Weidong in university and believed she had found the legendary great love. So, even with her parents’ firm opposition, and even with the attention of other excellent men, she still carefully maintained this precious flower of love.

This trip to Qinglin Town was initially a casual invitation from Zhao Xiaojun. Xiaojia had a sudden thought and took leave to come over. Using Zhao Xiaojun’s connections, she thoroughly changed Hou Weidong’s relationship with Zhao Yongsheng, laying the groundwork for his future development. However, standing on this quarry platform, she clearly realized that Hou Weidong seemed to have given up pursuing a political career and was starting to focus on managing the two quarries.

“If my man wants to be an entrepreneur, let him be.”

Xiaojia’s mind kept turning. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck. She asked, “Husband, how much more money do you need?”

“Do you have a way?”

“How much?”

Hou Weidong pondered for a while and said, “We’ve invested so much in the early stage. We can temporarily delay paying the villagers’ wages and land fees. We probably need another thirty thousand yuan to get through.”

Xiaojia held Hou Weidong’s arm tightly and said, “The older sister Liu in our office has a husband who works at the Yiyang Industrial and Commercial Bank. I’ll give her a call to see if we can figure out a way to loan thirty thousand.”

The two stood on the high platform. The mountain wind blew up from the quarry. A worker with sharp eyes whispered, “Look what the Madman is doing.”

On the high platform, Hou Weidong hugged Xiaojia tightly and kissed her face and forehead wildly. After being pushed away by Xiaojia, he laughed, “Just when I thought there was no way out, a new village appeared beyond the willow bank.”

Hou Weidong was anxious and said, “Let’s go back quickly. You contact Sister Liu. It’s best to settle this tomorrow to avoid any unexpected changes.”

Qinglin Days