Chapter 45: Why on Earth? (Part 7)
Amidst the curses from the crowd in the He family courtyard and the venomous hexes from Yin Xiaohong, Mayor Su still managed to bring the grain and the pig to the Qinglin Old Town. The grain was stored in an empty office on the ground floor, while the pig was handed over to the canteen to be kept in their existing pigpen.
Chi Ming, who served as both the head and the sole member of the canteen staff, was thoroughly unwilling. He complained to Mayor Su, "I’ve never raised a pig before. If this fat pig stays here, it will only starve to death."
Mayor Su remained calm and did not get angry. "Who in the upper Qinglin town doesn’t know how to raise pigs? It’s even more convenient for the canteen. Stop making excuses. Just keep it there temporarily. In a few days, I’ll have someone come to handle it."
Meanwhile, in the conference room, Director Tian from the Agricultural Office, Station Master Huang from the Agricultural Economics Station, Secretary Qin of Dushi Village, and Director Jiang were sitting together playing cards. Recently, a game called "Double Knockout" had become popular in Shazhou. It used two decks of cards, with four players divided into two teams competing against each other. Hou Weidong and Li Yong stood by the side, watching them play.
Secretary Qin was in high spirits. He had dealt himself a good hand, knocked out his opponents' bottom cards, and doubled his score. Laughing loudly, he said, "University Student Hou, last time you came to Dushi Village, we didn’t treat you to a drink. Today, Dushi Village will host, and we’ll welcome you properly."
Li Yong added, "I’ve already made the arrangements. Same old place."
Director Jiang looked up at Hou Weidong and asked, "University Student Hou, have you been assigned to a village for residency yet?"
Village residency was a work system of the township government, where cadres were dispatched to villages to assist with work. These were commonly referred to as resident cadres. Li Yong was the resident cadre for Dushi Village.
Hou Weidong mocked himself inwardly: "There was once a movie called The Corner Forgotten by Love. Now, I am a cadre forgotten by work." However, in such a setting, he was unwilling to make sarcastic remarks. Instead, he smiled and said, "I’ve just arrived in Qinglin Old Town and am still getting familiar with the work. The leadership hasn’t assigned me to a village yet."
Director Jiang held a bad hand of cards. As he played, he chatted with Hou Weidong. "Getting familiar with the work? How can you get familiar with it just sitting in an office? Rural cadres are field-ridge cadres. Only by walking the ridges can you do the job well. How about this? Later, I’ll talk to Mayor Su and suggest you come to Dushi Village for residency. Secretary Qin and I welcome you with open arms."
Secretary Qin also chimed in, "University Student Hou, you handle things well, much like a transferred military cadre. If you and Li Yong come to our village, you’ll surely improve the village’s work."
Hou Weidong thought to himself: "Town Mayor Qin promised to transfer me to the Family Planning Office. If I’m assigned to Dushi Village, I’ll have to frequently climb up and down the steep slopes of Upper Qinglin Mountain. It’s exhausting." He replied tactfully, "The leadership hasn’t given the word. I don’t think I can go to Dushi Village even if I wanted to."
Director Jiang was eager. "That’s not difficult at all. Mayor Su went to Township Mayor Gao’s house. I’ll mention it to him during dinner."
After a few rounds of cards, Mayor Su and Township Mayor Gao came down. Mayor Su said, "Secretary Qin, let’s eat early. We have a joint party and government meeting this afternoon."
Having successfully dealt with the major arrears case of He Hongfu that day, Mayor Su was in a noticeably good mood. At the dinner table, he drank frequently. After the others had left, he engaged in a drinking contest with the burly Secretary Qin. One was a large man, the other a small one, but in the end, both were like a tiger and a bear, neither gaining an advantage. Remembering the meeting in the afternoon, Mayor Su voluntarily called a truce.
Before the meal, Li Yong had proactively invited Station Master Huang and Director Tian to play cards. After drinking, Station Master Huang proposed to inspect Bai Chuncheng’s work, so he and Director Tian from the Agricultural Office stayed behind.
Mayor Su headed down the mountain alone.
As he stepped out, his hand instinctively touched the wall for support. Hou Weidong noticed this detail. Seeing Station Master Huang and Director Tian heading toward the Agricultural Economics Station, he followed Mayor Su and Township Mayor Gao toward the small courtyard, and then followed them to Yang Xinchun’s house to buy three bottles of mineral water.
Township Mayor Gao took a hard swig and said, "University Student Hou, Mayor Su is going down the mountain to attend the joint party and government meeting. He’s had a bit too much. You accompany him down. Remember, you must ensure he gets there safely."
Although it was his first interaction with Mayor Su, Hou Weidong had a good impression of him. He immediately agreed, "Township Mayor Gao, rest assured. I will definitely ensure Mayor Su gets down safely."
Mayor Su, hearing that Hou Weidong would escort him, tried to decline repeatedly. However, under Township Mayor Gao’s insistence, he finally agreed to let Hou Weidong accompany him for a while.
Once they reached the narrow path, the mountain wind blew, and Mayor Su, who hadn’t seemed very drunk before, suddenly squatted down. He began vomiting onto a pitiful little tree. He had been drinking chilled beer at noon. Despite his small stature, his stomach capacity was large, and the vomit was an exaggeratedly large pile. Hou Weidong watched, feeling both startled and amused.
The little tree by the road had unexpectedly received a large pile of fertilizer. It would surely grow exceptionally lush next year.
Mayor Su sat on a bluestone by the roadside and said to Hou Weidong, "Xiao Hou, find some soil and bury that mess. If passersby see it, they’ll curse the corruption of the Communist Party." After watching Hou Weidong clean up the mess, he added, "Let’s rest a bit before we continue."
"Today we went to pick up the grain and bring the fat pig. What are your thoughts on that?"
Hou Weidong was surprised that Mayor Su, who had just vomited, would suddenly ask such a question. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I suppose it’s a work requirement."
Having vomited thoroughly, Mayor Su felt much better in the head. He smiled and said, "University Student Hou, you studied law and politics, so you might not be very familiar with township finance."
"Indeed, I’m not familiar with it."
"Generally speaking, the total revenue of township finance can be divided into three main parts: budgetary fiscal revenue, township coordinated revenue, and departmental fees."
Seeing the expression on Hou Weidong’s face, Mayor Su explained in detail: "Budgetary fiscal revenue refers to regular tax income recorded in the accounts, as well as refunds and subsidies from higher authorities. Township coordinated revenue is managed by the township Agricultural Economics Station and is generally called the 'Five Coordinations.' These funds are collected from farmers on a per capita basis. There are also labor obligations and accumulation labor. Departmental fees are charges for services provided by administrative or public institutions, such as fees from the Family Planning Office, service fees collected by the Land Office from land developers, and miscellaneous fees charged by schools to students."
Mayor Su was articulate and had a good memory. In just a few sentences, he made the general situation clear. Hou Weidong was secretly impressed and respectfully offered, "Mayor Su, please have some water."
"Qinglin Town is an agricultural town with poor tax sources. The annual fiscal revenue is only over 1.3 million yuan. However, the Qinglin Town government, formed by merging Upper and Lower Qinglin Townships, has a large number of cadres—over 110 administrative and technical staff. Adding the three small stations and one middle school, there are over 200 teachers. The 1.3 million yuan is merely enough to cover salaries, and it’s still tight."
He emphasized his point, "For this reason, the town strictly enforces the collection of retained funds, coordinated funds, and family planning fees. This is not intentionally causing trouble for the common people. If these funds are not collected, the government simply cannot operate. So many cadres and staff are waiting to eat, and they all have families to support."
Hou Weidong did not fully understand how the town’s finances were spent, but he grasped one concept: Qinglin’s finance was a "salary-only" budget. Without finding ways to collect money, the government’s operation would be problematic.
Mayor Su sat for a while, then stood up and said, "Alright, let’s not talk about it today. When you have time, we can chat properly."
"My drunkenness has worn off. Xiao Hou, you don’t need to escort me. It’s at most twenty minutes away. It would be a joke if I still needed someone to see me off."
Hou Weidong tried to insist a few times, but Mayor Su firmly refused. After walking a distance, Mayor Su turned back, saw Hou Weidong still standing on the mountain, and waved to him, saying, "The sun is harsh. You should go back."
After Hou Weidong’s figure completely disappeared, Mayor Su thought to himself: "I really drank too much today and talked too much nonsense. However, this young man is truly excellent. He is far superior to Gou Lin. Although Ouyang Jun is good, he is still not as good as Hou Weidong."
He then recalled Director Jiang’s suggestion and thought: "Placing Hou Weidong in the working group is indeed a waste. After working for a few years, this young man will surely become an expert in township work."
Mayor Su did not expect that at the joint meeting, Secretary Zhao and Town Mayor Qin would argue again over how to place Hou Weidong.
At the joint party and government meeting, Town Mayor Qin proposed transferring Hou Weidong to the Family Planning Office to strengthen its workforce. Secretary Zhao, however, believed that Upper Qinglin had three villages and one town, and the working group’s strength was insufficient. Since a university graduate had been assigned, he should go to where he was most needed.
Hou Weidong was just a minor figure, and his placement was merely a trigger. The two leaders had harbored resentment for days, not just one or two. They slammed the table on the spot. With the two top leaders unable to agree, Deputy Secretary Jiang, in charge of organization, proposed temporarily shelving the issue of Hou Weidong’s placement, making no adjustments, and maintaining the status quo.
Mayor Su then proposed that Hou Weidong serve as the resident cadre for Dushi Village.
Mayor Su’s suggestion was approved by most members of the leadership team. Secretary Zhao and Town Mayor Qin used the issue of Hou Weidong’s placement to test their strength again. Secretary Zhao vetoed Town Mayor Qin’s proposal, gaining a slight upper hand.
Life in Qinglin