Chapter 357: Waiting (Part 2)

Note: Due to the year-end inspection, this chapter took two full days to write. What a relief!

Secretary Chang Quan took off his glasses, paused for a moment, and then picked up the newspaper to read it again. He muttered to himself, "This young man, Hou Weidong, is quite good. He has real capability."

Recently, he had been in the provincial capital studying the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 15th Central Committee. During this period, many former leaders and old friends had recommended potential secretaries to him through various channels. These young men all had solid backgrounds, each with their own strengths and unique qualities, making it difficult for him to make a final choice.

Secretary Chang Quan placed great importance on his personal secretary. Precisely because he valued this role so highly, he was extremely cautious. After weighing the options over the past few weeks, he had decided to choose Hou Weidong.

Previously, the fact that Hou Weidong had served as Secretary Zhu Yan’s secretary had given him some hesitation. However, after chatting with Huang Zidi for over an hour the previous night, the scales in his mind had tipped in Hou Weidong’s favor. Still, he hadn’t made a final decision until this morning, when he saw the report in the Lingxi Daily. He ultimately decided to choose Hou Weidong, a man of outstanding talent and rich grassroots experience. He did not need a secretary who merely carried bags; he needed one with policy insight and practical experience.

Secretary Chang Quan picked up the phone. "Hong Ang, come here for a moment."

Hong Ang, the newly appointed Member of the Municipal Standing Committee and Secretary-General, had previously been the Party Secretary of Linjin County. The former Secretary-General, Huang Zidi, had been promoted to Deputy Party Secretary, allowing Hong Ang to move from county secretary to municipal secretary-general. He was in his office reviewing drafts when he received the call from Secretary Chang Quan. He immediately put down his papers and hurried toward Secretary Chang Quan’s office. Upon reaching the door, he slowed his pace and knocked steadily.

Secretary Chang Quan instructed, "Hong Ang, as the general manager of the Municipal Party Committee, you are usually quite busy. I have decided to relieve some of your burden. I am transferring Hou Weidong, Director of the Science and Technology Commission of Yiyang County, to the Municipal Party Committee Office to serve as Chief of the Comprehensive Section."

Hong Ang did not speak much. After noting the decision, he asked, "Guo Yongguo has been in the Comprehensive Section for several years. It might be time for him to move on as well."

Secretary Chang Quan waved his hand. "These are minor matters. As Secretary-General, you have full authority to handle them. There is no need to ask me."

Yang Liu had accompanied Deputy Party Secretary Gao Yonghong, who was on secondment from Lingxi to Shazhou, to several departments that morning. She returned to her office in the afternoon. As soon as she entered, she sensed that the atmosphere was different. Several pairs of eyes from the Comprehensive Section were fixed on her.

Du Wei said, "Yang Liu, we have a candidate for our section chief. It’s Hou Weidong from the Yiyang Science and Technology Commission. You worked in Yiyang before. What do you think of him?" Du Wei had only been transferred to the Comprehensive Section for a little over a year and had never interacted with Hou Weidong before.

Yang Liu suppressed her inner excitement. Instead of answering Du Wei directly, she pretended to be calm and said, "Really? I haven’t seen any official document yet."

Du Wei replied, "The Secretary-General has already arranged for the document to be drafted. He went out with Secretary Chang Quan. Once he returns, they might call Hou Weidong in for a talk. So, what do you think of him?"

Yang Liu said, "Hou Weidong has served as Deputy Town Mayor, Deputy Director of the County Party Committee Office, and Director of the New Management Committee. He is a very capable person."

Guo Yongguo, a senior clerk in the Comprehensive Section, spoke up. "I have interacted with Hou Weidong before. He was Secretary Zhu Yan’s secretary. This guy has really good luck. He served as Zhu Yan’s secretary, and now he’s becoming Secretary Chang Quan’s secretary." In his heart, he thought, Hou Weidong was Zhu Yan’s secretary, and now he’s becoming Secretary Chang Quan’s secretary? The world has truly gone mad.

He added resentfully, "Zhu Yan was transferred to Maoyun and didn’t take Hou Weidong with him. It seems Hou Weidong isn’t that impressive after all."

Seeing the disgruntled expression on Guo Yongguo’s face and hearing his sour remarks, Yang Liu rolled her eyes at him without hiding her disdain. She thought, Guo Yongguo has no grassroots work experience. He is all talk and no substance. He dreams of becoming Secretary Chang Quan’s secretary. Keep dreaming.

Yang Liu had only been transferred to the Comprehensive Section for a short time. The province had sent a female comrade to serve as a deputy party secretary on secondment, and Yang Liu had effortlessly become Deputy Secretary Gao Yonghong’s secretary. Another colleague in the section, Du Wei, was now the secretary to another deputy party secretary. Meanwhile, Yang Teng, formerly the Deputy Chief of the Information Section, had become the Deputy Chief of the Comprehensive Section and served as Huang Zidi’s secretary.

Currently, in the Comprehensive Section, Guo Yongguo was the only clerk who had not served as a secretary to a municipal party leader. Two years ago, when he was transferred to the Comprehensive Section, he had briefly served as a secretary. However, after only three months, Deputy Party Secretary Liu of the Prefectural Committee died in a car accident. Due to this twist of fate, Guo Yongguo had remained suspended in the Comprehensive Section ever since.

Having sat on the cold bench for two years, he was naturally full of complaints. Since Hong Ang became Secretary-General, he had heard Guo Yongguo complain several times. Hong Ang had already decided to transfer Guo Yongguo out. After consulting with Secretary Chang Quan, he had resolved to move Guo Yongguo to the History and Local Chronicles Office to slowly grind his pen.

Hou Weidong and Xiaojia returned to the Xinyue Building at ten o’clock in the morning. As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Back in their own home, they enjoyed another sweet moment together. By the time they got up, it was nearly eleven.

Xiaojia lay on Hou Weidong’s arm and said, "Tonight, we are inviting Director Xie and a few colleagues from the bureau to dinner. If you want to join, you can."

Hou Weidong had no interest in their mahjong friends’ gatherings. He said, "It’s just a few women eating together. I won’t bother joining in."

As the couple were chatting in bed, the mobile phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated violently. Hou Weidong answered the call and immediately sat up. His expression turned serious. "The document has been issued."

Yang Liu, sounding jubilant, said, "I have already seen the document. It was issued very quickly. They will probably call you in for a talk soon."

Xiaojia lay on the bed, watching Hou Weidong put down the phone with a solemn face. She asked with concern, "What’s going on?"

Becoming Secretary Chang Quan’s secretary was something Hou Weidong had been striving for during this period. He had made some efforts, but whether he succeeded depended entirely on Secretary Chang Quan’s whim. Now that it had actually become reality, Hou Weidong felt somewhat silent.

"I am being transferred to the Comprehensive Section of the Shazhou Municipal Party Committee Office to serve as Secretary Chang Quan’s secretary. The document has been issued."

Xiaojia was startled and also sat up. She was still naked, her chest proudly upright. She excitedly hugged Hou Weidong and said, "This is great news. Why are you so serious?"

Hou Weidong said, "It should be good news, but after serving as the head of the New Management Committee and the Science and Technology Commission for more than two years, suddenly having to serve Secretary Chang Quan makes me worry that I might not adapt well."

Xiaojia advised, "At the grassroots level, it is too difficult to become a county-level leader. Even if you work yourself to death and achieve results, you can only rotate at the level of bureau or department heads. Serving as Secretary Chang Quan’s secretary for a few years means you will emerge as a county-level cadre. This is the reality of the Lingxi officialdom."

Xiaojia’s excitement was evident. She picked up the phone on the table and called home. Her mother, Chen Qingrong, answered. When she learned that her son-in-law had been transferred to the Shazhou Municipal Party Committee, she was happy and advised, "Shazhou is a big place, unlike a county town like Yiyang. Since Hou Weidong could be transferred up, you must have pulled many strings. Tell him to cherish this opportunity."

"Come home on Saturday. I bought a free-range chicken at the market two days ago. I will stew it. Have Hou Weidong come over to eat with us."

Zhang Yuanzheng returned from buying cigarettes and heard the news. Happy but with a hint of regret, he said, "Hou Weidong looks quite smart. Why does he end up being a secretary again? I think if you want to be a leader, it’s better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix."

Chen Qingrong rolled her eyes at Zhang Yuanzheng and said, "What do you know? Although a secretary is not an official, it is the easiest position to get promoted from. Do you remember when several college graduates came to our factory? One stayed in the factory office as a secretary. That secretary is now a big boss, while the other graduates were laid off."

Zhang Yuanzheng, who had always been afraid of his wife, took Chen Qingrong’s words as truth. Hearing that she thought the secretary job was good, he nodded and said, "The girl had good judgment back then. Although Hou Weidong is from the county, he is indeed very smart."

Chen Qingrong said, "If it weren’t for Xiaojia having many friends, it wouldn’t have been so easy to transfer from the county to the city."

When Xiaojia returned for the Spring Festival, she had treated Director Xie of the Landscaping Bureau, Sister Zhao, and her old colleagues from the Municipal Construction Commission to dinner. Chen Qingrong had accompanied them twice. Zhang Yuanzheng and Chen Qingrong had worked in the factory all their lives, so their understanding of the officialdom was vague and mostly based on hearsay. After hearing about these people’s positions, Chen Qingrong felt full of pride for her daughter.

Of course, they only talked about this behind the scenes. They were still very nice to Hou Weidong.

At twelve o’clock, Hou Weidong and Xiaojia dressed neatly and waited at the entrance of the Xinyue Building for the Su Mingjun family.

When the two families met, Sister Zhao affectionately linked arms with Xiaojia and said, "Our Xiaojia is finally back. Tonight, let’s invite Director Xie and have a good game of mahjong." Xiaojia’s home in the Xinyue Building had once been the fixed venue for Sister Zhao and Director Xie to play mahjong. When Xiaojia went to Shanghai for study, this fixed group had disbanded. Sister Zhao was naturally very happy about Xiaojia’s return.

Xiaojia said, "It won’t be convenient in the future. Weidong has been transferred back. This time, he competed for the position of Secretary Chang Quan’s secretary. Hou Weidong went through Huang Zidi’s channel, and it had been kept quite secret. Su Mingjun did not know about it. Hearing this, Su Mingjun asked Hou Weidong, 'What? You’ve been transferred to Shazhou? Which department?'"

"The Comprehensive Section of the Municipal Party Committee Office."

Su Mingjun turned his head sharply and said in surprise, "Brother, are you becoming Secretary Chang Quan’s secretary?"

Hou Weidong nodded, acknowledging it.

Su Mingjun was the Executive Deputy Director of the Organization Department, so he naturally knew what this meant. He patted Hou Weidong’s shoulder hard and said, "There are so many people in the Municipal Party Committee compound eyeing this position. You’re impressive, brother. You took the lead quietly."

Hou Weidong humbly said, "I only heard from Yang Liu that the document has been issued. I haven’t seen it yet."

Su Mingjun said, "There is a meeting this afternoon. I originally planned to just have a drink, but since you have this happy news, I’ll have two cups. Let’s have a good drink together another day."

When the hot dishes were served, before anyone had even picked up their chopsticks, someone came over with a wine glass to offer a toast.