Chapter 257: Spring Festival (Part 1)

The trip to Tianling West felt like a dream.

Hou Weidong returned to Yiyang with a mix of lingering enchantment and underlying anxiety. Previously, he had found the night view of Yiyang quite pleasant. However, after witnessing the dazzling lights of Lingxi, Yiyang’s nightscape seemed pale by comparison, its vibrancy dimmed. Even the busiest pedestrian street in Yiyang felt no more significant than the suburban outskirts of Lingxi.

The next day, Hou Weidong met Zhu Yan outside the gate archway. Only then did he readjust to the environment of Yiyang and reclaim his sense of role and identity.

In 1996, Yiyang’s annual work proceeded steadily. The gross domestic product and fiscal revenue rose according to plan, and there were no major safety accidents in the coal mines. Many units began hanging lanterns on their main gates, celebrating both New Year’s Day and preparing for the upcoming Spring Festival.

New Year’s Day passed like a roaring freight train, leaving 1996 in the rearview mirror. After the holiday, some personnel changes occurred in Yiyang:

The former Party Secretary of Wu Hai County was transferred to a sinecure at the Shazhou Political Consultative Conference. Zhao Lin, Deputy Party Secretary of Yiyang, was directly appointed as the Party Secretary of Wu Hai County. The former County Mayor of Wu Hai was also transferred out, replaced by a section chief from the municipal organs.

Typically, a Deputy Party Secretary seeking promotion would first serve as County Mayor before becoming Party Secretary. Zhao Lin’s appointment caught many off guard. A few days after he arrived in Wu Hai, Ren Lindu was transferred to the Wu Hai County Party Committee Office to serve as Deputy Director.

With Zhao Lin’s departure, a vacancy opened for the Deputy Party Secretary position. With strong support from Zhu Yan, Ji Haiyang, a member of the Standing Committee, won the competition against Liu Jun, the Propaganda Minister, and Old Liu, the Organization Minister. Ji Haiyang succeeded Zhao Lin, becoming the Deputy Party Secretary of Yiyang.

Hou Weidong had been transferred from the Organization Department to the County Party Committee Office just half a year earlier. He first served as the Chief of the Comprehensive Section, then quickly rose to Deputy Director of the County Party Committee Office. This pace was considered the "Shenzhen Speed" of Yiyang. Therefore, after Ji Haiyang became Deputy Party Secretary, the County Party Committee temporarily did not appoint a new Director of the County Party Committee Office. Instead, Hou Weidong, as Deputy Director, was put in charge of the office’s operations.

Thus, Hou Weidong became one of the standout young cadres in Yiyang County. Although his official title remained Deputy Director of the Committee Office, and Liu Kun had been a town head for a year, the importance of their positions differed significantly. While a town head held real power, the Deputy Director presiding over the County Party Committee Office wielded considerably more influence.

To adapt to his new role, Hou Weidong threw himself into his work with full enthusiasm. His planned trip to Shanghai was postponed several times. Xiaojia, who had once served as Deputy Director of the Construction Committee Office, understood Hou Weidong’s situation and supported his work. However, she lived in a dormitory with four female colleagues from different regions of Lingxi. The husbands of the other three women had taken various opportunities to visit Shanghai one by one. Only Hou Weidong had yet to appear. For Xiaojia, who possessed a certain bourgeois sensibility, this brought a slight sense of disappointment.

By mid-January 1997, with only ten days left until the Spring Festival, the wanderers of Yiyang County—those working, studying, or doing business elsewhere—began returning home. The county town was much livelier than usual. In addition to government units, many households pasted Spring Festival couplets and hung red lanterns.

At 11:00 AM on January 27, Hou Weidong had just accompanied Zhu Yan to a symposium for retired cadres. His seat hadn’t even warmed up when Ji Haiyang called. Hou Weidong hurriedly took a sip of hot tea, stretched in his office, and did a few chest exercises before heading to Ji Haiyang’s office.

Ji Haiyang’s office was not the one previously used by Zhao Lin. The Committee Office had renovated a storage room, purchased a new set of office furniture, and set up a new office space. Zhao Lin’s former office was temporarily locked.

Hou Weidong had personally selected the new furniture. Knowing that Ji Haiyang valued taste, Hou Weidong had taken Ren Xiaowei to Shazhou’s largest furniture city to choose a set with a Nordic style. The price was reasonable—15,000 yuan. The furniture arrived without the pungent paint smell common in ordinary pieces. Upon seeing it, Ji Haiyang simply remarked, "Weidong has good eye."

Hou Weidong entered the room with his notebook and pen. Seeing Ji Haiyang leaning back in his swivel chair smoking, he said, "Secretary Ji, what are your instructions?"

Ji Haiyang pointed to the chair opposite him. "We’ve rolled through the same trenches together, so no need for formalities. I’ve called you here mainly to arrange and explain some matters regarding the Spring Festival."

Since Ji Haiyang was giving specific instructions, the matter must be important. Hou Weidong immediately focused, opening his notebook to take notes.

"You should keep this in your heart, not in your notebook," Ji Haiyang said, tapping his head. "It is a custom since ancient times to visit relatives and friends during the Spring Festival. There are some leaders whose influence is crucial to Yiyang’s development who need to be visited around the festival. This not only strengthens relationships but also allows us to receive guidance from them. This is a very important task; do not take it lightly. As you preside over the County Party Committee Office, you must think ahead for the leadership and grasp the details. Only then can you be considered competent."

"Let me start with the general overview. Before the Spring Festival, we need to arrange for New Year’s cards to be sent." He took out a confidential directory issued by Shazhou City. "Everyone listed here must receive a card, sent in the name of the County Party Committee and County Government. This is the surface-level work. It’s not particularly difficult; a staff member with good handwriting can complete it in one or two days. Remember, they must be handwritten, not printed."

"There are several key figures you must remember. On the second or third day of the Lunar New Year, Secretary Changquan must be visited. Coordinate the specific details with Standing Committee Member Huang Zidi. Consult Secretary Zhu on what gifts to bring; he personally decides this every year. Deputy Party Secretary Yinbo of the Municipal Party Committee is in charge of organization and was a classmate of Zhu Yan at the Party School, so they are familiar. He can be visited after the third day. Within the Municipal Party Committee, these three are the top priority and must be visited. For other members of the Municipal Standing Committee, consult Secretary Zhu for arrangements."

"The newly appointed Mayor, Liu Bing, is still unpredictable in his temperament, so a courtesy visit is sufficient."

"There are also some powerful figures in the municipal organs: Director Kong of the Finance Bureau, Director Fang of the Public Security Bureau, and Director Niu of the Transportation Bureau. They have good relations with Secretary Zhu. We can invite them out for an activity—dining, playing cards—to foster friendship."

"Director Gao Zhiyuan of the People’s Congress and old leader Li Yongguo need to be visited before the New Year. Arrange 5,000 yuan worth of New Year goods for Gao Zhiyuan, and 2,000 yuan for Li Yongguo. By the way, Gao Zhiyuan particularly loves new tea; make sure to send him a box of pre-Qingming tea."

"There are also several key figures at the provincial level. You are not familiar with them, so just make brief notes in your notebook."

Ji Haiyang’s instructions were extremely detailed, and he repeated his warnings. He spent over an hour just explaining how to conduct New Year visits. "Alright, that’s enough for today. Before the Spring Festival holiday, prepare a complete plan for these visits. I’ll review it first."

Hou Weidong’s head was spinning. Back in his office, he took out his notebook and recorded the names of the leaders Ji Haiyang had mentioned, without writing down their titles. He counted them—about twenty names. He thought to himself, "Secretary Zhu isn’t just celebrating the New Year; he is busier than ever."

After sitting silently in his office for a while, the other Deputy Director, Zhuang Weiguo, walked in. Zhuang Weiguo was the old ox of the Committee Office, having handled writing tasks for years. In the Committee Office, most of Secretary Zhu Yan’s speeches were drafted personally by Ji Haiyang, while other articles were written by Zhuang Weiguo. He was a behind-the-scenes hero.

Due to his excellent writing skills, Zhuang Weiguo had worked in the Committee Office for over ten years. Now older, he had few ambitions for further promotion. Since the Committee Office offered decent benefits, he had no desire to transfer to other departments and was waiting to be assigned a non-leadership position within the office.

Zhuang Weiguo sat opposite Hou Weidong, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes continuously. "Director Hou, I need to report something to you." Hou Weidong quickly replied, "Director Zhuang, you are flattering me. What are your instructions?"

"I’m getting old, and my eyes are failing. Reading and writing have become blurry recently. I plan to take leave to go to the provincial capital of Lingxi to have my eyes checked and get a pair of glasses to correct astigmatism. Only in Lingxi can such glasses be made properly."

"When do you plan to go? The Committee Office will send a car to take you."

Zhuang Weiguo put his thick glasses back on. "I won’t write the speech for Secretary Zhu at the retired cadres’ networking meeting. I’ve been writing for over ten years; my eyes are ruined, and I have problems with my lumbar and cervical spine. I’m becoming a cripple."

Although there were many skilled writers in the Secretariat Section of the Committee Office, important articles were always written by Zhuang Weiguo or Ji Haiyang. On one hand, Zhuang Weiguo was exhausted; on the other, other colleagues harbored resentment because they lacked opportunities to showcase their skills.

Hou Weidong was riding a wave of success and had high spirits. He thought, "Does Zhuang Weiguo want to drop the ball? Hmph, does the show stop without the carrot? This hurdle will have to be crossed sooner or later." He smiled and said, "Director Zhuang, don’t worry about this. Let’s discuss it. You can oversee the major materials in the future, and we’ll leave the smaller materials to the Secretariat Section to handle."

Seeing that Hou Weidong agreed so easily, Zhuang Weiguo was secretly pleased. "Hou Weidong is indeed not as shrewd as Ji Haiyang. He thinks writing materials is an easy task. Finally, I am escaping this sea of bitterness." He stood up and said, "Thank you, Director Hou, for your concern. I’ll go write my leave request now."

Shortly after, Zhuang Weiguo brought the leave request for Hou Weidong to sign. After Hou Weidong signed "Agreed, please show to Secretary Ji for review," Zhuang Weiguo produced another sheet. "This is the schedule for pre-New Year activities. The responsibilities for several items may need to be reassigned."

This schedule had been prepared after New Year’s Day and detailed the arrangements for major pre-Spring Festival events. Zhuang Weiguo was responsible for the materials for four events: the retired cadres’ networking meeting, the city-wide enterprise and banking sector tea party, the Spring Festival group greeting, and the tea party for Yiyang people working outside the county.

Hou Weidong paused briefly, then agreed readily. "Director Zhuang, go to the provincial capital with peace of mind. When you return, you can help oversee the quality."

Zhuang Weiguo left Hou Weidong’s office with a broad smile. Back in his own office, he felt physically relaxed but emotionally conflicted. He had always prided himself on his writing skills, but now that the Committee Office no longer relied on him for major materials, he felt as if he had been abandoned.