Chapter 253: Peace (Part 2)

*Chapter 253: Peace (Part 2)*

Since becoming Secretary Zhu Yan’s aide, Hou Weidong had rarely encountered obstacles in Yiyang. Yet, he had just bumped into a hard wall with Principal Duan. He thought to himself with a touch of self-mockery, “I have only met Principal Duan once; perhaps he doesn’t even remember who I am.”

Su Yajun stared intently at Hou Weidong. Hearing that the matter had not been resolved, his face showed a mix of anxiety and disappointment. For a moment, he was speechless.

Hou Weidong comforted him, “If the water route is blocked, we take the land route. Yiyang Middle School is ultimately under the leadership of the County Party Committee and the County Government.” He dialed Vice County Head Zeng Zhaoqiang, explained the situation, and said, “Su Qiang was just acting out of brotherly loyalty; he wasn’t the organizer. Expelling him would ruin this boy’s future. His grades are good enough to rank in the top fifty at Yiyang Middle School.”

Seeing how casually Hou Weidong spoke with Zeng Zhaoqiang, Su Yajun realized their relationship was no ordinary one. He thought to himself, “Others used to say that the Xiaowan Stone Quarry was controlled by leaders of the Transportation Bureau. I didn’t believe it then, but today it seems true indeed.” Understanding this connection, hope rekindled in his heart.

Zeng Zhaoqiang was in the middle of a mahjong game. He laughed, “You called at just the right time. I’m playing with County Head Wang and Director Gong. I’ll call you back in a moment.”

A short while later, Zeng Zhaoqiang called back. “It’s done. County Head Wang is very concerned about your case and personally called Principal Jiang. Regarding this group fight, only the organizers will be expelled. The others will receive demerits. After all, education should be the primary approach for students.”

Hearing that the matter was resolved, Su Yajun was filled with gratitude toward Hou Weidong. He said excitedly, “Director Hou, I don’t know what to say. Su Qiang will remember you for the rest of his life.” The heavy stone pressing on his heart was finally lifted. A smile finally appeared on his face, and he said sincerely, “Director Hou, I’ve leased a fish pond outside the town. The fish are fed entirely with grain, no commercial feed at all. You must find time to come fishing.”

Seeing Su Yajun’s emotional state, Hou Weidong said, “What kind of relationship do we have? Helping Su Qiang with a small matter is only natural.”

For Hou Weidong, handling this matter required little effort; it was indeed a trivial task. However, Su Yajun had worked at the grassroots level for a long time and was not familiar with officials at the county level. If he had tried to handle this himself, it would have been as difficult as climbing to the sky. Su Yajun fully understood this, and his gratitude toward Hou Weidong was genuine.

Hou Weidong insisted on walking Su Yajun down to the bottom of the building. He watched Su Yajun’s figure disappear into the glow of the streetlights, then turned back to head upstairs.

At that moment, the north wind swept across the lake surface, which reflected the lights. The cold, damp air stimulated Hou Weidong’s nostrils. He rubbed the tip of his nose, feeling that something was missing from the mountain scenery along the lake shore.

“Why is there no piano music?”

Perhaps due to the cold, the music department’s piano hall was silent. Standing on the upper floor, he could only hear the sound of lake water lapping against the shore.

“I haven’t heard Guo Lan’s piano in several days. Has she gone on a business trip?”

Although Hou Weidong and Guo Lan were neighbors, his schedule was irregular since he followed Secretary Zhu Yan, so they only occasionally met in the mornings. Previously, sharing an office with Ren Lindu, he often heard news and stories about Guo Lan from him. Now that Ren Lindu had moved to the Comprehensive Section office, Hou Weidong rarely heard anything about Guo Lan.

Thinking that he would be alone when he got home, Hou Weidong decided to walk down the stone path to the lakeside. The small path by the lake had once recorded many footprints of him and Xiaojia. Their first hand-holding was by this lake, and their first kiss was in a thicket by the lakeside. He walked aimlessly along the shore. The cold wind blowing from the lake made him feel particularly clear-headed. After thinking about Xiaojia for a while, he recalled the various events that had happened around Zhu Yan and Ma Youcai in the past few days. He couldn’t help but sigh, feeling that his way of thinking was gradually aligning with these leaders.

The lovers at Shazhou College were always passionate. Braving the December cold wind, they lingered by the lake. Hou Weidong brushed past two couples and unconsciously arrived at the music department’s practice rooms. It was an old building, with walls covered in green leaves that added much elegance and charm. However, at night, the greenery was invisible, making it feel somewhat eerie.

Hou Weidong strolled up, turned several corners, and was about to leave the corridor.

Under a cluster of trees, a young girl sat on a stone bench, sobbing softly. Such scenes were common in the college. Girls crying in the dark were usually not for other reasons, but mostly for love within the campus.

“Love is a difficult problem, dazzling and confusing. For love, perhaps one can do anything, but for you, it is too hard.” Hou Weidong hummed this tune involuntarily. He did not try to comfort the young girl. Perhaps after crying today, there would be bright sunshine in the future.

After walking a large circle around the lake, he returned home feeling refreshed. When he had seen off Su Yajun, his mobile phone had been left under the coffee table. Upon opening the door and entering, the phone was still vibrating violently inside the room.

Xiaojia’s slightly annoyed voice came through the phone, “Why didn’t you answer? It’s so late, where did you run off to?”

“I took a walk around the lake. I left my phone at home.”

“What’s there to walk around the lake for alone?”

“Retracing our romance.”

—

Xiaojia suppressed a smile and said, “That sounds so cheesy.” Hou Weidong teased back, “Before, we held hands and looked at the scenery by the lake. Now, we go straight to bed and get to the main topic.”

“Pah, you foul mouth.” Xiaojia had been somewhat displeased because she couldn’t reach him, but after a few playful exchanges with Hou Weidong, she had long forgotten her minor irritation.

“I’ve been to many places recently—Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou—and it has indeed broadened my horizons. I’ve settled down to study landscape gardening and gained a lot. It seems my choice was correct. For women, learning professional skills makes life easier. How are things on your end?”

Hou Weidong generally disliked discussing work at home, and besides, the situations involving Zhu Yan and Ma Youcai were too complex to explain briefly. So he said, “It’s just like that.”

Xiaojia hadn’t expected her husband to become the Deputy Director of the County Party Committee Office in such a short time. Having served as Deputy Director in the Construction Commission Office, she knew that while this position seemed to have few responsibilities on the surface, it was actually filled with miscellaneous tasks and was extremely exhausting. She asked with concern, “Sister Zhao asked me if you still want to transfer to the Organization Department now that you are Deputy Director of the County Party Committee Office. In mid-December, the municipal organs will begin selecting personnel.”

Hou Weidong was thriving in Yiyang, gaining much from all aspects. He hesitated for a moment. “I’m not sure. Working with Zhu Yan, I feel I’ve gained a lot. If I transfer to the Municipal Organization Department, I’d have to start from scratch.”

Xiaojia paused and reminded him, “Following Zhu Yan ties your future to his. If he develops well, you will rise with him. But if he declines one day, you will find it hard to achieve anything.”

Hou Weidong comforted himself, “Even if I have no political future, at least I will be a wealthy man. It doesn’t matter. Using fashionable terms, this is personal freedom gained through financial freedom.”

Xiaojia agreed with Hou Weidong’s view. “As long as you like it, there isn’t much difference between Shazhou and Yiyang. My parents have also come around.”

She added, “I bought a computer, but I haven’t installed the internet line yet. In the future, we can chat online. Portal sites like Sina have chat rooms, and I can apply for an email address. This is the most trendy online life. Don’t fall behind.”

After chatting with Xiaojia on the phone for a while, until the phone grew hot, he finally ended the call, feeling truly relaxed.

He slept soundly without dreams.

After returning to Shazhou from Yiyang, Ji Daolin immediately reported Ma Youcai’s situation to Zhou Changquan, the Municipal Party Secretary, and Liu Bing, the Acting Mayor.

Upon learning that Ma Youcai had not even opened the watch’s packaging and had simply thrown it in his office, Zhou Changquan laughed, “You Hong wasted his efforts. He gave a watch worth twenty thousand yuan, but Ma Youcai didn’t know its value. He probably thought the watch was worth only a few hundred yuan.”

Liu Bing, the Acting Mayor sent down from the Provincial Party Committee, joked, “In the future, we should find a jewelry expert to teach county-level leaders what valuable things are. Otherwise, these county leaders, who don’t know goods, will unknowingly fall into traps.”

With the two leaders holding this attitude, Ji Daolin knew what to do. He had a special talk with Ma Youcai, and the matter was minimized. Ji Daolin knew that the Party Secretary and the County Head of Yiyang were not on good terms. Zhu Yan’s proactive attitude in this incident had left a good impression on Ji Daolin. Therefore, as a member of the Municipal Party Standing Committee, he intentionally discussed the topic of unity between the Party Secretary and the County Head with Ma Youcai, and subtly mentioned Zhu Yan’s actions and attitude in this matter.

After this conversation, Ma Youcai’s attitude began to change slowly. During the period of opposition between Zhu and Ma, many decisions of the County Government were made without going through the County Party Committee, including some major expenditures of tens of millions. Regarding matters actively promoted by the County Party Committee, Ma Youcai shifted from his previous passive attitude and began to proactively offer advice and plans.

On December 7, the County Government held its 26th Executive Meeting, specifically studying how to broaden investment channels for the South City New District. It proposed using funds from the Development Bank to build the new district, suggesting that five billion yuan of the ten billion yuan credit line granted by the Development Bank to Yiyang County be used for the basic construction of the first phase of the South City New District, covering approximately five square kilometers.

After receiving the minutes of the 26th Government Executive Meeting, Hou Weidong read them carefully and realized this was Ma Youcai showing goodwill toward Zhu Yan. He immediately delivered the meeting minutes to Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan had already known the content of the meeting. After reading the official minutes, he smiled, “Money is like time; as long as you are willing to squeeze, there will always be some. To summarize, having money or not is not the key; the key is attitude.”

Hou Weidong smiled in understanding, but another sentence came to his mind: “Time is always like a woman’s breasts; as long as you are willing to squeeze, there will always be some.”