Chapter 67 The Road-Building Madman (21)
Qin Feiyue was an eloquent speaker with a natural flair for persuasion. After laying out the broad principles, he began calling on individuals for their input.
"Tan Guiyuan, do you agree with this approach?"
Tan Guiyuan was known as a man of few words. He sat on a long bench, waiting a long moment before finally speaking. "I will follow the township government's arrangements."
"Zeng Xiangang, what do you say?"
Zeng Xiangang had already favored the eastern route. He spoke up loudly. "No problem. We just need to start construction sooner. Once winter arrives and the continuous drizzle sets in, we won't be able to work at all."
"He Hequan, what is your opinion?"
He Hequan was the Party Secretary of Wangri Village. A few days prior, in an effort to secure road access from the western end, he and Village Director Sun Hu had traveled to the township government to meet with Secretary Zhao Yongsheng and Mayor Qin Feiyue. They had made a firm demand: if the road did not connect to Wangri Village first, the village would contribute neither labor nor funds.
Although the new plan still prioritized starting construction from Dushi Village, it did achieve some of Wangri Village's objectives. He Hequan responded, "The township government's plan is good. I agree with it. However, the town must contribute some funds. We cannot just have lively discussions without financial backing."
Qin Feiyue called on a few more people. Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, he said, "The township government's finances are very tight. Even teachers' salaries are in arrears. If we wait for the town to cover these costs, who knows when this road will ever be finished."
"The Shangqinglin Highway must rely primarily on self-reliance. We need to mobilize the strength of seven thousand people. Those with money contribute money; those without contribute labor. Once the road is completed, the township government will provide subsidies to each village in the form of performance-based rewards. Let me be clear: these subsidies are merely a drop in the bucket. The main effort must come from everyone."
The village leaders were well aware of the town's economic difficulties and had not expected Mayor Qin to cover the entire cost. The fact that the mayor was personally organizing the road construction was already considered a significant effort.
After the village cadres headed toward the restaurant near the Agricultural Economics Station, Qin Feiyue kept Mayor Su, Township Head Gao, Hou Weidong, Ouyang Lin, and others behind. Sitting in the chair at the head of the conference room, he took a drag from his cigarette and said, "The disputes between the villages have been largely resolved. Mayor Su will lead the specific operations. Due to limited financial resources, the Qinglin Highway can only be built as a large-scale tractor track for now. However, with minor modifications later, it can be paved with cement. This was Mayor Su's suggestion, and I think it is excellent. We must explain this clearly to the villages: although the surface will be gravel and stone, the width must be sufficient to allow for future cement paving."
"Mayor Su, as the person in charge, please say a few words."
Su Ming continued from where Qin Feiyue had left off. "The current lack of town funds does not mean we will lack them in the future. Last year, I visited the south and Shandong. Their road construction is booming. We will inevitably move in that direction. Qinglin Mountain has abundant stone and coal, so heavy trucks will certainly increase in the future. Our work must be forward-looking. Although we are building a tractor track now, we must strictly follow the blueprints. The road width should ideally be six to eight meters, with complete shoulders, curbs, and drainage ditches. This lays the foundation for future hardening. We must explain this to the villagers so they do not cling to their land and hold back in their efforts."
After the small meeting, the group went to eat.
During the meal, the village and commune cadres addressed Hou Weidong as "Director Hou" and enthusiastically toasted him. Hou Weidong, straightforward and honest, drank more than twenty cups of liquor. Fortunately, the villagers were focused on dealing with Mayor Qin and Mayor Su, so they did not pay excessive attention to纠缠 (entangling) with Hou Weidong.
This session of the Three-Cadre Conference for the district was a success—a united and effective meeting that cleanly resolved the dispute between Dushi Village and Wangri Village.
Hou Weidong had previously expended considerable mental energy trying to mediate the conflicts among the three villages, but the results had been poor. However, once Qin Feiyue stepped in and announced the policy, all disputes vanished like smoke.
"I am indeed of little consequence. Wearing out my tongue was no match for the mayor holding a single meeting." Hou Weidong felt a bit depressed, but then he thought again: Qin Feiyue represented the Qinglin Township Government. He had the backing of the "mountain" (authority), so his words naturally carried weight and confidence. The villagers were more likely to believe him. As for himself, he was a commoner with no official title, essentially speaking empty words. The difficulty of his work was understandable.
Thinking this way, Hou Weidong felt slightly more balanced.
After the meal, Hou Weidong still accompanied Mayor Qin and the others to the mountain pass. As they were heading down the mountain, Qin Feiyue patted Ouyang Lin on the shoulder, burped, and said, "Ouyang Lin, your work is good, but compared to Hou Weidong, you lack a bit of initiative. You should learn from Hou Weidong."
Hou Weidong quickly responded with humility. "Mayor Qin, I don't have anything worth learning from."
Qin Feiyue said seriously, "Ouyang Lin's working conditions are much better than Hou Weidong's. Yet Hou Weidong has taken the initiative to carry out his work creatively in such an environment and has integrated well with the village comrades. This is truly something Ouyang Lin should learn from."
Ouyang Lin had been smiling, but seeing Qin Feiyue's serious tone, he gradually became uncomfortable. "I will learn more from Hou Weidong in the future."
Receiving the mayor's personal praise swept away Hou Weidong's gloomy mood. Once Qin Feiyue, Su Ming, Ouyang Lin, and the others had gone down the mountain, Hou Weidong was eager to go to the village immediately to resolve the issue of Old Man Li's graveyard. However, Dushi Village Secretary Qin Dajiang and Director Jiang Quande seemed to be thoroughly drunk. Hou Weidong restrained his inner impulse and sat quietly in the office reading People's Daily.
Since the postal agency had been established in Laochang Town, newspaper delivery had become much more timely. Previously, daily newspapers had arrived like monthly magazines; now they arrived like weekly magazines. More importantly, the postal agency had installed a program-controlled telephone. This single phone connected Shazhou and Yiyang closely. For this reason, although Hou Weidong had taken over Yang Xinchun's miscellaneous tasks, he was still grateful to Yang Xinchun and her postal agency.
After reading several issues of the newly arrived newspapers, Hou Weidong gradually emerged from his vanity. Another question surfaced: "Who is trying to exile me? Who is intentionally or unintentionally making me a marginalized person? And how are the other nine doing?"
Thinking about it over and over was annoying and yielded no clear answers. Finally, Hou Weidong simply threw all his worries aside and focused intently on thinking about how to dig up someone else's ancestral grave.
The next day, according to Mayor Su's arrangements, Ouyang Lin and Zhao Dengyun would go to Dushi Village with Hou Weidong to clear the obstacles for road construction.
Hou Weidong got up early. It was past ten o'clock before Ouyang Lin and Zhao Dengyun arrived on the mountain. By the time the three reached Dushi Village, it was nearly eleven. Qin Dajiang saw them and said, "University Student Ouyang, Officer Zhao, you must have come to eat lunch."
Ouyang Lin was very familiar with Qin Dajiang and did not get angry. He said, "I got up at seven in the morning, sat in the office for a while, asked the director for leave, and assigned the tasks for the day. I didn't have a moment to rest. I hurried up the mountain as fast as I could."
This was the truth. Qin Dajiang understood this in his heart. He said, "Then let's hurry down the mountain, find Old Man Li, and talk to him again."
Thinking of Old Man Li, Ouyang Lin felt angry. He said, "Old Man Li just wants money. Give him a few hundred more yuan, and the problem will be solved. Ideological work is not as effective as money."
Qin Dajiang disagreed with Ouyang Lin's statement. "Ouyang Lin, you are thinking too simply. First, we cannot arbitrarily raise the standards for moving graves. Second, Old Man Li's ancestral grave has good feng shui. His family has produced two cadres. If you want to dig up this good feng shui, Old Man Li will definitely fight you to the death."
Sure enough, when Old Man Li saw Qin Dajiang and the others, he picked up his hoe and walked up the slope, refusing to speak with Qin Dajiang at all. Qin Dajiang chased after him. Old Man Li threw out a sentence: "Whoever dares to dig up my ancestral grave, I will kill them. At worst, one life for one life."