Chapter 217: Project (Part 3)

Chapter 217 Project (3)

The banquet atmosphere was warm, and both hosts and guests were delighted. By the time Zhu Yan emerged from the office of the Wu Hai County Party Secretary, it was already past nine o’clock.

Zhu Yan had put on a bit of weight. Standing in the elevator, a look of fatigue crossed his face.

Hou Weidong thought to himself, “With great power comes great responsibility. Zhu Yan manages such a large county; every day, there are too many matters waiting for his decision and too many people waiting to meet with him. It is truly exhausting.”

Upon reaching the hotel lobby, Zhu Yan instructed, “Tell Master Liu to leave first. We’ll take a taxi to the Yiyang Native Produce Company factory to have a look.”

Surrounding Yiyang were several mountain ranges, abundant in “Tonggan mushrooms.” The cap of the Tonggan mushroom resembled a one-yuan coin, and its overall color was brass-like, hence the name. These mushrooms possessed an extremely fresh flavor and were highly popular among Japanese consumers. In the mid-1980s, the Yiyang Native Produce Company was one of the few enterprises in Shazhou capable of earning foreign exchange. Its canned Tonggan mushrooms were bestsellers for a time, serving as a pillar industry for Yiyang. A single enterprise had driven production for at least a thousand farming households.

However, after entering the 1990s, due to outdated technology and singular marketing methods, Tonggan mushroom cans gradually withdrew from coastal cities. Japanese buyers also began to lose interest in canned products. The efficiency of the Yiyang Native Produce Company deteriorated increasingly. With over five hundred active and retired employees accumulated over the years, the once-glorious enterprise had reached the brink of bankruptcy.

Hearing that they would take a taxi, Hou Weidong hesitated slightly and said, “Secretary Zhu, I have a pickup truck. Could we take that vehicle to the Native Produce Company?” Since he was serving as a secretary, effectively part of Zhu Yan’s inner circle, Hou Weidong felt it was better to speak honestly in most matters. This would make Zhu Yan perceive him as more sincere.

Zhu Yan glanced at him. “You have a private car? How is your driving skill?”

Hou Weidong smiled and replied, “Rest assured, Secretary Zhu. My skills are decent. I only ate a working meal outside tonight and didn’t touch a drop of alcohol.”

Old Liu, upon hearing that Secretary Zhu would not ride in his car, displayed a strange expression. He lingered in the car for a while before finally driving away.

Hou Weidong walked briskly toward Liang Bifa’s courtyard. Soon, he drove the vehicle to the front of the Yiyang Hotel. Getting into the car, Zhu Yan sat in the passenger seat and remarked, “The interior of your car is very clean, and the smell is pleasant too.”

Hou Weidong chuckled, “It’s a private car, so naturally, I keep it cleaner.” In his heart, he thought, “Secretary Zhu grew up in a good family environment; he likes cleanliness and tidiness.”

Zhu Yan asked, “Xiao Hou hasn’t been working for many years. How did you manage to buy a pickup truck? I’ve reviewed your file. Your mother is a teacher, and your father is a police officer. Their salaries wouldn’t be enough to buy this car.”

Zhu Yan’s tone was calm and straightforward.

“Secretary Zhu, after graduation, I was assigned to work in Qinglin Town, and subsequently joined the Shangqinglin Work Group, serving as a deputy leader. Shangqinglin contains extremely rich mineral resources, but there was no highway access. It was a treasure mountain that couldn’t be mined. After the Shangqinglin highway was built, I partnered with village cadre Zeng Xiangang to open a quarry under my mother Liu Guangfen’s name. We made some money from the quarry during the construction of the expressway.”

Most of what Hou Weidong said was true, but he didn’t reveal everything. For instance, how many quarries he actually owned, his annual profits, and his shares in the Jinggong Group—these were his secrets, not to be shared outwardly.

Zhu Yan had basically learned these details from Tie Ruiqing. Seeing that Hou Weidong showed no signs of concealment, he thought, “As the saying goes, a selfless heart makes the world wide. What Hou Weidong said is basically consistent with Tie Ruiqing’s description. This young man is trustworthy.”

There were three main reasons why Zhu Yan wanted to employ Hou Weidong. The primary reason was the story of Hou Weidong building roads, as told by Tie Ruiqing. Tie Ruiqing was not an official, so he naturally wouldn’t use bureaucratic tricks to exaggerate. The image of Hou Weidong independently building roads left a deep impression on Zhu Yan. The second reason was that Hou Weidong, as a deputy town mayor, had performed particularly outstandingly in funeral reform, earning multiple praises from Vice County Mayor Gao in meetings. The third reason was that Hou Weidong graduated from the Law Department of Shazhou College, and Zhu Yan had always wanted a secretary who understood the law.

Since coming to Yiyang, Zhu Yan had been troubled by the rigid thinking of cadres. The system had many flaws, and cadres spent most of their energy networking and arguing rather than engaging in creative work. He was realistic, knowing that under such entrenched habits, substantial change was as difficult as the Foolish Old Man removing mountains. He could only use his authority to make minor adjustments within the system.

Seeing that Zhu Yan remained silent, Hou Weidong added, “Villagers working at the quarry now can earn six or seven hundred yuan a month. Technical roles like blasters earn around a thousand yuan a month. Due to the quarry, many families in Shangqinglin have lifted themselves out of poverty.”

Hou Weidong’s actions on Qinglin Mountain showed the pioneering spirit of a young man. Zhu Yan appreciated this secretly but did not express his opinion verbally.

In official circles, not expressing an opinion is itself an attitude. Hou Weidong had not yet fully understood this principle.

After turning around several small slopes, they entered the territory of the Yiyang Native Produce Company. The scattered residential areas along the slope were housing for the company’s employees. Zhu Yan got out of the car, left the main road, and walked along the street into the residential area.

It was a typical old residential district. The housing was dilapidated, with many illegal structures, sheds, and single-brick annexes. The smell of cooking food wafted directly into the streets. In some places, the sewers were clearly blocked, and residents poured dirty water directly into the street drains.

Frowning, Zhu Yan looked at the messy residential area. When he reached the factory gate, it was locked tight. The factory building was completely dark, without a single ray of light. He stood outside the factory, motionless, lost in thought.

Hou Weidong dared not disturb him and simply accompanied him outside the factory.

“Who’s there?”

Suddenly, three beams of flashlight shone out from the darkness, sweeping over Zhu Yan and Hou Weidong. Three people emerged from the shadows.

“What are you two doing here, sneaking around?” A hoarse voice rang out authoritatively.

Hou Weidong stepped forward, shielding Zhu Yan, and said calmly, “What do you mean by ‘sneaking around’? Hey, don’t shine those lights randomly.” He covered the three beams of light with his hand and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m from the factory security team,” the hoarse voice replied. “Things have been getting stolen from the factory these past two days. It’s pitch black here. Anyone standing here can’t be a good person. Come with us to the police station.”

Zhu Yan stood with his hands behind his back, watching how Hou Weidong would handle the situation.

Hou Weidong had his County Party Committee work ID, issued by the Organization Department, in his pocket, so he wasn’t anxious. He spoke slowly and deliberately, “Do we look like thieves? Besides, what is there worth stealing in this dark, empty factory?”

Hearing Hou Weidong belittle the factory, the hoarse voice became angry. “How can a young man speak like that? Don’t underestimate this factory. When business was good, we received wages of several hundred yuan. Although these machines can’t run anymore, selling them as scrap iron would still fetch some money.”

Another person shone his flashlight over Hou Weidong from head to toe and said, “He’s wearing leather shoes and a white shirt. He doesn’t look like someone who steals scrap iron.”

Hou Weidong thought, “Secretary Zhu must have come to the factory tonight for a deeper purpose. Materials obtained in such situations are the most authentic. I’ll use this to draw out their true feelings.”

“I studied at Shazhou College before and came here. In my memory, this factory was very prosperous. How did it end up like this?”

The hoarse voice cursed, “The officials in the factory have blackened their consciences. They eat and drink extravagantly every day. Their monthly food expenses are over a hundred thousand yuan, and they are picked up and dropped off by cars daily.”

Hou Weidong asked, “How many factory leaders are there? How many cars?”

“One factory director, two deputy directors. All three have cars. The worst is a Santana. These factory leaders have hearts as black as coal. They ride on the sweat and blood of the workers.”

Another person added, “Workers can’t even get their medical expenses reimbursed. A few days ago, Engineer Liu fell ill. His wife went to beg the finance department. A person in his fifties was almost kneeling before those young girls. I worked in finance for sixteen years and was kicked out with one foot. Now, all the big and small heads in the factory have IOUs. If all the privately occupied funds were returned, the factory would have working capital.”

The hoarse voice said angrily, “What’s the use of saying all this? I heard the factory is preparing to be sold to the Japanese. Then we’ll become slaves to the Japanese.” He shook the door hard, and the iron lock rattled.

He cursed roughly again, “We’re guarding the factory, guarding what? Letting the factory people steal. At least there’s still some money in our own hands.” He seemed to be the leader of the group and waved his hand at Hou Weidong. “It’s no use telling you all this. You’d better leave quickly. There are no streetlights in the factory area. Be careful not to get robbed.”

Zhu Yan said from the side, “Let’s go.”

On the dark street, neither Zhu Yan nor Hou Weidong spoke. Getting into the pickup truck, Zhu Yan said, “Take me from here to the Yiyang Hotel, then to Yiyang Middle School, and finally home.”

“I don’t want to be a ‘Zhu Qingtian’ [a reference to an upright, impartial official]. The ‘Qingtian’ is a tragedy in modern society.” After this sigh, Zhu Yan leaned back on the car seat, silently pondering for a while, then said, “Ice three feet thick is not formed in a single day. If the system doesn’t change, incidents like those at the Native Produce Company will never be eradicated.”

Hou Weidong, having read many economics books to invest in the Jinggong Group, asked in a humble and eager-to-learn tone, “Secretary Zhu, what if we restructure the Native Produce Company according to corporate governance structures? Do you think that would be effective?”

Deeply influenced by his family, Zhu Yan liked reading. He was known as the “reading secretary” among the four county party secretaries and had studied corporate governance. He said, “Corporate governance structures are not omnipotent. Previously, we talked about the contract responsibility system, as if contracting solved everything. Now we talk about corporate governance structures, as if forming a company solves all problems. In fact, in developed capitalist societies, even with proper corporate governance structures, thousands of companies go bankrupt every year.”

He continued, “When I was county mayor, I participated in an exchange activity between Lingxi County Mayors and the British Mayors Association. The British mayors were astonished to hear that county mayors still managed the economy. In their view, the government is the government—the maker and maintainer of market rules, not a participant in the market.”

Hou Weidong drove attentively. Passing the Yiyang Hotel, he saw many vehicles parked outside, including two police cars. Arriving at Yiyang Middle School, he encountered students finishing evening self-study, with many vehicles waiting outside the school gate to pick them up. In Yiyang County town, private cars were not common. People like Hou Weidong who bought private cars were a minority. In other words, most of the cars parked at the hotel and the school were official vehicles.

Hou Weidong glanced at Zhu Yan out of the corner of his eye. Zhu Yan remained silent, offering no further judgment on the matter.

That night, as he went to sleep, Hou Weidong tossed and turned, thinking about one question: “Was it smart or foolish to tell Secretary Zhu about the quarry today?” He thought it over and over but couldn’t find a clear answer. He muttered in bed, “If I die, my balls face the sky; if I don’t die, I live forever. Sleep.”

After uttering this coarse phrase, he turned over and sank into dreamland.

The next morning, Hou Weidong arrived at the office early. Just as he entered the compound, he saw Ren Lindu walking in.

Ren Lindu had bloodshot eyes and looked listless. As they walked up the stairs side by side, he said, “If only I had half your drinking capacity, Weidong. Secretary Zhao drinks too heavily. I couldn’t lose face, so I drank too much. I threw up until heaven and earth turned upside down at home yesterday.”

The two competed to do the cleaning, one mopping the floor and the other wiping the tables.

After finishing the cleaning, the phone on Hou Weidong’s desk rang. He walked quickly to Zhu Yan’s office, where Standing Committee Member Ji was already standing in front of Zhu Yan’s desk.

A thick stack of documents lay before Zhu Yan. He handed one document to Ji Haiyang and said, “Contact County Mayor Ma later today. Find some time for me to discuss recent industrial projects with him.”

He added, “Director Ji, ask for one deputy each from the Audit Bureau, the Finance Bureau, and the Discipline Inspection Commission to hold a meeting in the small conference room. You will preside over the meeting. The specific task is for the three departments to form a joint investigation team. The scale shouldn’t be large—three or four people are enough. Enter the Yiyang Native Produce Company under the guise of routine audits. Pay special attention to investigating whether any factory cadres have misappropriated public funds. Report the results to me.”