Chapter 250: The Investigation (Part 2)

Hou Weidong recalled the details of his phone conversation with Ji Haiyang earlier that day. He reflected to himself: "As the Deputy Director of the Commission Office, I must keep my tail tucked and behave with humility. Otherwise, it is all too easy to offend people."

Becoming the Deputy Director of the Commission Office came with corresponding status and benefits. First, he now had a private office within the County Party Committee. In that imposing, blue-grey building, many senior clerks had spent ten or even twenty years without ever having a room of their own. Second, the County Party Committee Office originally had a reserve vehicle. It remained a reserve car, but Hou Weidong now had the authority to call it up whenever necessary.

Regarding these changes, Hou Weidong felt a mix of pride and the unease of standing at the center of attention.

Ren Xiaowei, the Deputy Section Chief of the Comprehensive Section, walked to the doorway. Although the door was open, she politely knocked before speaking. "Director Hou, Standing Committee Member Ji has asked you to come to his office."

"Alright, I’ll be right there," Hou Weidong replied. In his mind, he wondered, "Standing Committee Member Ji usually calls me directly. Why is he acting so unusually today, sending Ren Xiaowei to deliver the message?" As he walked, he continued to think, "Standing Committee Member Ji is a very important figure. I must remain low-key in his presence. I should report when necessary and ask for instructions when needed. I cannot let my tail wag just because I am Secretary Zhu Yan’s dedicated secretary."

Upon entering the office, Ji Haiyang said to Hou Weidong, "Sit for a moment. Let me finish reading this document."

Seeing that Ji Haiyang was acting as usual—neither particularly polite nor particularly cold—Hou Weidong felt slightly reassured. He sat opposite Ji Haiyang and casually picked up a copy of Half-Monthly Talk.

A few minutes later, Ji Haiyang finished editing the draft. He placed his fountain pen back in the holder, tossed a cigarette to Hou Weidong, and said, "Weidong, you are now the Deputy Director of the Commission Office. You have a burden on your shoulders, and your responsibilities are different. In the future, you will gradually need to write some major documents, such as the speech materials for the Plenary Session or the thematic reports for the Party Congress. You must participate in these."

Hou Weidong replied, "Since graduating from university, I have been doing specific tasks. I have written few articles."

Ji Haiyang said, "I have read several speech drafts you wrote for Secretary Zhu. Your writing foundation is good, and your logic is clear. However, your literary flair is a bit lacking. Secretary Zhu has high standards for articles; they must be both profound and elegant. In the future, you need to hone your skills in writing."

Hou Weidong pondered silently. "It seems Ji Haiyang is normal. Was I being too sensitive?" Out loud, he said, "I will practice more in the future. Please guide me, Standing Committee Member Ji."

Ji Haiyang gently flicked the ash from his cigarette, his slender fingers moving with particular dexterity. "Secretary Ji Daolin will be coming tomorrow. Make good use of your time today to revise the report material sent over by the Discipline Inspection Commission. This article was written by Liu Kai. His viewpoints are not problematic, but there is too much boilerplate language. Feel free to cut it down boldly. Secretary Zhu prefers a concise writing style, and the content must have substance."

"Substance" referred to solid, practical content. This was a common term used in the Yiyang government offices.

He added, "Writing articles helps mature one’s thinking and allows for a faster entry into one’s work role. You are still young. You must take the opportunity while you are in the Commission Office to write more articles. You will slowly appreciate the benefits later."

Hou Weidong left Liu Kai’s draft in the office, but his mind was still working. "Standing Committee Member Ji asked me to write major articles. Is there some deeper meaning behind this?" After turning the thought over in his mind for a while, he basically concluded: "From the situation just now, Ji Haiyang still trusts me. Asking me to try writing major articles is actually a way of placing a burden on me."

Having clarified Ji Haiyang’s attitude, Hou Weidong carefully studied Liu Kai’s article. It was indeed a standard bureaucratic piece. The opening consisted of a long paragraph of boilerplate language such as "Upholding Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory, deeply understanding the spirit of the Yiyang Party Congress." This alone took up more than half a page before getting to the main topic.

Overall, the material was quite detailed, containing data, facts, problems, and work suggestions.

Hou Weidong chewed on the end of his pen for a while, then boldly crossed out the large introductory paragraph, keeping only the most classic sentences. He then read through the main body carefully.

Liu Kai’s article praised Yiyang’s anti-corruption construction highly. A series of data carried some weight. However, the problems listed were generic issues that applied anywhere, such as "some unit heads do not pay enough attention to anti-corruption construction."

"If anti-corruption construction is going so well, why was Public Security Bureau Director You Hong placed under shuanggui? Why have there been consecutive incidents at the Procuratorate? These problems indicate that there are issues with Yiyang’s anti-corruption construction, or perhaps with the Public Security Bureau team itself."

Hou Weidong thought about these issues. When it came time to write, he hesitated considerably. After all, this was exposing internal scandals. In the end, he did not mention these matters. He trimmed parts of Liu Kai’s article, typed it up on the computer, and sent it back to Ji Haiyang.

Ji Haiyang had already read Liu Kai’s draft. Seeing that Hou Weidong’s revisions were standard and without major issues, though lacking brilliance, he considered it a mediocre bureaucratic article. Knowing that tomorrow’s matters would be troublesome, how the report was written was crucial. He personally took the article to Secretary Zhu Yan.

***

Secretary Zhu Yan attached great importance to tomorrow’s reporting work. After receiving the draft, he read it seriously. He was not very satisfied with this lukewarm piece. "This draft does not resemble your writing style. Moreover, there is too little substance. Secretary Ji Daolin has a rigorous work style. We cannot fool him."

Ji Haiyang smiled. "I asked Hou Weidong to write this article. He is now the Deputy Director of the Commission Office. I plan to have him gradually write some documents so that he can participate in the production of major files in the future."

Secretary Zhu Yan said, "No wonder it reads so dry and lacks literary flair. So it is Hou Weidong’s handiwork. He studied law, so he focuses on logic. There are no problems with the article’s line of thought."

He paused briefly in thought. "Secretary Ji Daolin did not state his purpose for coming. I estimate it is most likely related to two matters. First, the issue of You Hong. He must have confessed to some things within the Procuratorate, though I do not know who is involved. Second, the matter of Yang Weige at the Procuratorate. The poisoning incident at the Procuratorate has caused a significant stir within the procuratorial system, and we cannot suppress it."

Ji Haiyang took out a cigarette. "Secretary Zhu, would you like one?"

The political and legal system in Yiyang was quite special. From the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission to the heads of several key departments, they were mostly the legacy left by the previous County Party Secretary. After Secretary Zhu Yan took office as County Party Secretary, he had tried several times to move the heads of the Public Security, Procuratorate, and Court systems. However, since he had just arrived in Yiyang and had not yet firmly established his footing, he had not made a move. This time, with the Shazhou Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission intervening, Secretary Zhu Yan seized the opportunity to exert force. He replaced the Public Security Bureau Director with Shang Guanghua and the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission with Cai Heng. With Li Du, whom he trusted considerably, the main leadership of Yiyang’s political and legal system was largely settled and smoothed out.

From a philosophical perspective, good things and bad things transform into each other. Secretary Zhu Yan enjoyed studying and had a deep understanding of this.

Secretary Zhu Yan waved his hand. "Don’t try to tempt me. I am preparing to quit smoking. I will first reduce the amount, and then quit completely. This is just like our reforms."

"Secretary Zhu, according to your meaning, should we add the matter of You Hong to the article? This is an open secret. Reporting it to Secretary Ji should be no problem. However, should we mention Yang Weige’s matter here? If we do, the internal problems of the Procuratorate will be exposed."

A thoughtful expression appeared on Secretary Zhu Yan’s face. "Secretary Ji Daolin was formerly the Vice President of Shazhou College. He is not unfamiliar with the situation in Yiyang. I believe he can see our efforts in team building and anti-corruption construction."

Ji Haiyang took the draft and returned to his office. He polished the article, adding a few witty remarks that Secretary Zhu Yan liked to use, and then called Hou Weidong over.

"The section on work achievements is acceptable, but the section on problems is a bit thin. What problems do you think we should add?" Ji Haiyang had already communicated with Secretary Zhu Yan and had a clear idea. He intentionally tested Hou Weidong.

Hou Weidong glanced at the draft, which Ji Haiyang had revised in beautiful running script. He thought to himself, "My skills are still not good enough. A single draft was revised so much?"

He carefully considered the question Ji Haiyang raised. "You Hong was placed under shuanggui personally by Secretary Ji Daolin. This matter恐怕 cannot be avoided. Additionally, Yang Weige’s family has been causing a stir at the Municipal Party Committee for a long time and has continuously submitted petition letters. The Shazhou Discipline Inspection Commission likely knows about this. If we do not mention these two matters in the report, I worry Secretary Ji Daolin will think we are avoiding the heavy issues and focusing on the light ones."

Ji Haiyang praised him silently: "Hou Weidong is quite smart." He asked again, "Since you have this idea, why didn’t you write it in the draft?"

Hou Weidong answered honestly, "This matter can be big or small depending on how it is handled. I could not make up my mind, so I did not dare to write it."

Ji Haiyang thought to himself: "This Hou Weidong has good judgment. However, I need to observe him for a while longer. If he can remain calm as Deputy Director, and be modest and cautious, then he will truly be a talent worth cultivating."

"Weidong, you rarely write major materials. This document is basically acceptable. Go ahead and add the matters of You Hong and Yang Weige, but be careful with the分寸 (measure/proportion)."

Hou Weidong returned to his office and chewed on his pen again. In between, he was notified by the Propaganda Department to attend a meeting. It was not until four in the afternoon that he handed the article to Ji Haiyang.

Ji Haiyang read it through, made a few minor changes, and then wrote at the bottom: "Print and send to Secretary Zhu."

Hou Weidong handed the draft to Ren Xiaowei. He thought to himself: "Ji Haiyang must have discussed this matter with Secretary Zhu Yan; otherwise, he would not have signed it so decisively. In the future, I must be careful. I should report my work to Ji Haiyang more often and stay clear-headed."