Chapter 258: Spring Festival (Part 2)
“Wait, did Old Zhuang take leave?” Ji Haiyang asked, looking puzzled. He relied heavily on Zhuang Weiguo for drafting official documents.
Hou Weidong explained, “He needs to go to Lingxi to have his eyes checked.”
“Old Zhuang has severe astigmatism; he should have sought treatment long ago. However, the workload at the Committee Office is heavy before the Spring Festival. I’m worried about whether we can maintain the quality of our writing if he’s gone.”
Although Hou Weidong was young, he replied confidently, “It’s time to give the younger staff some responsibility. I’ve assigned Section Chief Yin Dahai to handle the drafting. If Director Zhuang returns before the holiday, he can still review the final drafts.”
“Very well. You handle it as you see fit, but keep a clear head. The quality of the materials must improve. The documents produced by the County Office represent the literary standard of Yiyang County; they are the face of our county. You must attach great importance to this.”
“Secretary Ji, please rest assured.”
After Hou Weidong left, Ji Haiyang watched his straight-backed figure for a moment, lost in thought. Although this breaks with the County Committee Office’s conventions, it’s not a bad method to try. Young people have drive and fewer rigid preconceptions.
His brow furrowed as other matters crossed his mind.
Hou Weidong was not particularly skilled at writing, but he wasn’t panicked. In his spare time recently, he had typed Zhu Yan’s speech drafts into the computer. He had completed two-thirds of them. Through this tedious work, he had gained a solid understanding of the style and tone.
Back in his office, he gathered all the secretaries and assigned specific writing tasks to each person. These secretaries were the best writers selected from various townships and units. They were capable, but since Zhu Weiguo had always handled the major documents, they were relegated to minor tasks, which had bred some resentment.
This time, the young director’s new approach gave everyone a specific responsibility. The feeling of being valued was uplifting. Most of them felt a quiet excitement and a sense of duty, determined to write well.
Section Chief Yin Dahai was responsible for reviewing the drafts. Yin Dahai had formerly been a Chinese teacher at Yiyang Middle School and had published numerous articles in newspapers and magazines. After being seconded to the Committee Office and securing his official position, he had waited four years to become Section Chief. He was proud of his writing and looked down on Zhu Weiguo’s old-fashioned methods. However, he had little leverage against the senior Deputy Director Huang Niu, so he had contentedly played the supporting role for years.
Hou Weidong understood Yin Dahai’s mindset during his time in the office. He kept Yin Dahai behind after the meeting and said, “Senior Brother Yin, you are a talent from Shazhou College. I read many of your articles when we were students. Since Director Zhuang is away in Lingxi for his eye checkup, and there are many important speeches to draft for the Spring Festival, I am entrusting this task entirely to you.”
Hou Weidong’s rapid rise in the County Committee Office had once made Yin Dahai feel unbalanced. Now that Hou Weidong was in charge, the gap between them had widened further. Yin Dahai realized that Hou Weidong’s ascent was unstoppable, and this realization had actually brought him a sense of equilibrium.
Hearing Hou Weidong’s arrangement, Yin Dahai sensed an opportunity. “Director Hou, please rest assured. The Spring Festival speeches follow a certain pattern. I will supervise the team to produce the first drafts within the next two days.”
The 1997 Spring Festival fell on the 27th. After Yiyang County officially entered the holiday period, most units suspended their main business activities. Drinking small rounds of wine, visiting leaders, and offering New Year greetings became the primary tasks.
On the 24th, Hou Weidong prepared a 1,000 yuan holiday allowance for Li Yongguo, along with a generous haul of cured pork, sausages, and large bottles of oil.
When they arrived at Li Yongguo’s door, Zhu Yan greeted him with a cheerful拱手 (hand-clasp greeting). Li Yongguo was not particularly enthusiastic. He took out a pack of cigarettes, offered one to Zhu Yan, and said, “At my age, I dread birthdays and New Years. A birthday means another year older; a New Year means another year closer to that day.” Seeing Hou Weidong busy carrying down the New Year gifts, he walked over and handed him a cigarette. “Young man, stay for lunch here.”
Li Yongguo was the most important retired leader residing in Yiyang. Zhu Yan and Hou Weidong arrived at eleven, prepared to eat lunch there, following the usual custom.
Hou Weidong smiled and held up a bottle of wine. “Old Leader, I’ve prepared the wine. This is authentic Moutai from the Guizhou distillery.”
Li Yongguo was older and his tolerance had decreased, but half a jin of high-proof liquor was still manageable. “If we’re talking about authentic Moutai, ordinary people can’t get it. Just look at the production volume. We just look for what comes closest to the real thing.” He turned to his wife, who was directing the unloading of gifts. “Old woman, stop watching. Go prepare some dishes to go with the wine.”
When Li Yongguo was in power, many people tried to curry favor with him. Now retired, although the main leaders of the County Committee visited him regularly and some old friends dropped by, the reality of “the tea cooling when the person leaves” was inevitable. His household was much quieter than before. Therefore, he attached great importance to this annual meal with the County Party Secretary and had prepared early.
The table featured Qinglin cured chicken, pig ears, homemade sausages, two vegetable dishes, and a small soup. The spread was modest but hearty.
During the meal, after some small talk, Li Yongguo asked, “I heard the Yiyang Native Produce Company is undergoing restructuring. Is it really that desperate?”
Zhu Yan poured Li Yongguo a glass of wine and explained, “According to the audit, the company has been insolvent for a long time. This year, we planned to introduce a Japanese enterprise to inject capital, management technology, and sales channels. However, the workers’ opposition was too strong. They surrounded the government building several times. The Japanese side saw this situation, had many concerns, and ultimately, the negotiations failed. The joint venture fell through.”
“Yi Zhongling, the former head of the Native Produce Company, has resigned. Gu, the Deputy Director of the Planning Commission, is now in charge. Gu is capable in economic matters. Currently, they are conducting a thorough restructuring, converting the enterprise into a joint-stock limited company, with the factory workers buying shares.”
Li Yongguo fell silent. After a long pause, he said, “In my understanding, after restructuring, it is no longer a state-owned factory. Does this count as the loss of state-owned assets? If this continues, will the county and township levels cease to be socialist? After the festival, Changquan will come to Yiyang. He is more educated than I am; I want to ask him for a clear answer.” During his tenure, he had poured his heart and soul into the Yiyang Native Produce Company. He never expected its glory to last less than ten years, and now it was caught in a storm.
Hearing the name “Changquan,” Hou Weidong subtly glanced at Zhu Yan with his peripheral vision.
Zhu Yan’s expression remained calm. “‘Grasp the large, release the small’ is a major national policy. It’s not just in documents; it’s promoted everywhere in newspapers and on the radio. The state’s attitude is clear: it only manages large state-owned factories that are vital to the economic lifeline. All county-level enterprises must be pushed into the market. In plain terms, county-level enterprises are left to sink or swim. In the future, there will be no enterprises at the city or county level. It’s a separation of government and enterprise functions.”
Li Yongguo had read the newspapers and understood the policy of “grasping the large, releasing the small.” However, when it came to specific enterprises, he still felt a surge of anger. “If the enterprise has reached this state, is there really no corruption? I heard Deputy Factory Manager Yang Weige died in the Procuratorate. Besides him, are there no other corrupt elements in the Native Produce Company?”
Zhu Yan said, “This matter is complex. I will explain it slowly to you, Old Leader.” He placed his wine glass on the table and served Li Yongguo a slice of pig ear.
Hou Weidong understood the unspoken cue. He had eaten most of his meal, so he politely excused himself from the table. Old Liu, seeing Hou Weidong leave, followed him out. They stood in the courtyard looking at the flowers and vegetable garden. There were about ten potted plants, most with brown spots on their leaves, looking wilted. Hou Weidong thought, It seems Old Master Li likes gardening but lacks the technique. He’s far behind Old Xing from the Grain Station. Next spring, I can buy two large bonsai trees for him. Thinking of this, he自嘲 (mocked himself) internally: What’s wrong with me? Why am I always thinking about gift-giving? Has it become an occupational disease?
Gift-giving was indeed an art, with many subtleties. When Hou Weidong worked at the stone yard, he thought he had mastered it. This Spring Festival, he realized there was much more to learn.
At 1:30 PM, Zhu Yan finally finished drinking with Li Yongguo. Li Yongguo was slightly intoxicated, holding Zhu Yan’s hand tightly. Observing Li Yongguo’s expression and actions, Hou Weidong thought, Has Old Master Li really changed his tune? But judging by this, he certainly has no objections to Zhu Yan.
In the car, Hou Weidong asked with concern, “Secretary Zhu, you drank about half a jin of wine at lunch. Why don’t you rest at the guesthouse for a while?” Zhu Yan had a private room at the small guesthouse. Sometimes, when he needed quiet, he would go there to avoid endless interruptions.
Zhu Yan’s fair face was slightly flushed. He checked his watch. “Wait until the draft for the New Year Greeting Assembly is delivered. I need to review it. Also, remember to depart at four o’clock. I have already arranged with Director Gao Zhiyuan to have dinner with him and the Secretary-General of the People’s Congress tonight.”
Back in the office, Hou Weidong reviewed the draft for the New Year Greeting Assembly that Yin Dahai had submitted. The quality was high, the logic clear, and the data sufficient. Hou Weidong admitted to himself, I couldn’t write an article of this caliber. However, upon a second reading, he felt the article was too cold and lacked the festive atmosphere specific to a greeting assembly.
Although Hou Weidong’s writing skills were inferior to Yin Dahai’s, he had an advantage: having followed Zhu Yan for a long time, he understood his preferences clearly. He added a few powerful parallel sentences to the article and opened the computer to reuse the ending from the previous year’s speech. Then, he invited Yin Dahai over.
Yin Dahai had previously disliked Zhu Weiguo deleting large sections of his articles. Hearing on the phone that the article had been slightly modified, he felt a small knot of resentment in his heart. After hanging up, he went to Hou Weidong’s office.
Seeing that his draft’s pages were relatively clean, without aggressive red marks, his suppressed dissatisfaction diminished. He carefully studied Hou Weidong’s modifications and found that the tone was remarkably similar to Zhu Yan’s, and the momentum was significantly improved. He thought, Hou Weidong has some real skills. I must not underestimate him.
***
Chapter 258: Spring Festival (Part 3)
They went to Gao Zhiyuan’s house to offer New Year greetings. The red envelopes and New Year gifts totaled 5,500 yuan. Compared to previous years, this was a minor matter, and Hou Weidong did not mind.
Gao Zhiyuan was quite pleased and brought out a bottle of Wuliangye he had stored for ten years. Hou Weidong drank little, consuming about three liang. Gao Zhiyuan drank two liang, while Zhu Yan drank more than half a jin.
They left Gao’s house at 8:30 PM. Zhu Yan had drunk two rounds of wine and had a splitting headache. “Let’s stay at the Shazhou Hotel tonight. There’s a massage parlor downstairs with excellent technicians. I need to relax; otherwise, I won’t be able to handle tomorrow’s drinking battles.” He added helplessly, “People say being an official is good, but I feel it’s a bitter job. Especially during the Spring Festival, drinking every day soaks the liver, stomach, kidneys, and intestines. It’s only a matter of time before something goes wrong.”
Hou Weidong had booked rooms at the Shazhou Hotel several times and knew the ropes. He quickly arranged the room. After letting Zhu Yan rest for half an hour, Hou Weidong went upstairs.
Secretary Zhu’s fair forehead was flushed red. He rubbed his temples with his fingers. “Let’s go down.”
Zhu Yan usually did not invite Old Liu along when he went out, even for meals. Most of the time, Old Liu found a place to eat alone, and the Committee Office reimbursed his meal expenses. From New Year’s Day to the Spring Festival, Hou Weidong had signed off on over 1,000 yuan in meal allowances for Old Liu, which was higher than his salary. Naturally, Old Liu liked this policy.
Of course, this was a special policy formulated by Ji Haiyang of the Committee Office; other drivers could not enjoy it.
Downstairs was a legitimate massage parlor. The lobby had six beds and no private rooms. The woman massaging Zhu Yan was tall and slender, with a crisp demeanor, and seemed to know Zhu Yan. After a few jokes, Zhu Yan let out a cry, “Ah!”
The man massaging Hou Weidong was a truly handsome burly man. “Is this your first time? Full body or partial?” Hou Weidong nodded toward Zhu Yan. “Same as the boss.” The big man grinned, a smile full of sunshine. “Alright, I’m starting. Call out if it hurts.”
Hou Weidong didn’t understand what he meant and didn’t care. However, when the big man’s elbow suddenly pressed against his back like a hard stone, he couldn’t help but cry out. The four people in the massage parlor cried out in turn, sounding like they were in a slaughterhouse. The massage lasted about forty minutes. Through conversation, Hou Weidong learned that the owner couple were retired athletes. He thought, No wonder they are athletes; their strength is incredible.
Although it hurt a bit, his whole body felt comfortable, as if he had lost ten jin in weight. Walking felt much lighter. Zhu Yan’s drunkenness vanished. “It’s really comfortable.” He joked, “My popularity in Yiyang is too high. Once, my body was too stiff, and I went to a blind massage parlor. As soon as I entered, someone recognized me. I became a panda.”
It was just past nine o’clock. Zhu Yan said, “Go upstairs with me first. I need to contact Standing Committee Member Huang. If I can’t reach him, we’ll just sleep. If I can, we might have to attend some activities.”
Hou Weidong made tea for Zhu Yan and sat on the sofa waiting.
“Standing Committee Member Huang, this is Zhu Yan. Hey, where are you enjoying yourself?”
Huang Zidi was busy at the time and lowered his voice. “Old friend, how can I be as carefree as you? People from the province have been here for two days, and I’ve been serving them front and back.”
“You’re the big housekeeper, managing millions of people. Let’s talk business. I’m in Shazhou. Are you free tomorrow, little brother? Let’s get Old Kong and Old Fang out. Let’s celebrate the Spring Festival early. It will be too busy after the festival, and it won’t be easy to get together.”
Huang Zidi was a smart man. After a few “hems and haws” on the phone, he said, “Brother Zhu, we can meet anytime. I suspect you want to see Secretary Changquan. You’ve come at the right time. Secretary Changquan is going traveling after the Spring Festival. If you want to offer New Year greetings, you’ll have to grab the time before the festival. This news must be kept absolutely confidential.”
Zhu Yan became anxious. “Can I see Secretary Changquan tomorrow?”
“That’s hard to say. The provincial officials leave tomorrow, but I don’t know if it’s morning or afternoon. Just wait at the Shabin Hotel. The meeting time won’t be long. Listen for my call.”
After hanging up, Zhu Yan said, “Let’s try to see Secretary Changquan tomorrow.” He asked, “How much money do you have on you? Standing Committee Member Huang might not be in Shazhou after the festival.”
Hou Weidong said, “Money is not a problem. I’m well prepared.”
Zhu Yan didn’t say more. “Go home. Come over early tomorrow.”
Back at Xinyue Building, Xiaojia was not home. Without her, the house felt cold and empty. Hou Weidong watched TV for a while, then turned on the computer. There was an email in his inbox, sent by Xiaojia.
Letters were an ancient method of transmitting information. In ancient times, due to inconvenient transportation and poor communication, letters became the most important means for people far away to convey messages. Beautiful stories like “carrying letters on carp” or “swans delivering letters” essentially described the longing of ancient societies with poor information flow—missing family or missing one’s homeland.
Now the earth had become a village, and information could be transmitted in N ways. In the quiet house, reading the letter filled with Xiaojia’s words of longing, the opening phrase “My dear” felt like a warm tropical turtle slowly crawling across his heart.
After finishing the letter, he browsed the news casually. There was nothing interesting, so he prepared to turn off the computer. He saw the icon for “Securities Star” on the desktop but was too lazy to open it.
The next morning, he arrived at the Shazhou Hotel early. After accompanying Zhu Yan for breakfast, Zhu Yan took a walk in the garden behind the hotel. “Go to Xinhua Bookstore and find me a book, 1587, A Year of No Significance. I’ve always wanted to read it. Today, I’ve stolen half a day of leisure, so it’s a good time to read.” He added, “If you don’t have that book, buy me a set of Jin Yong’s The Deer and the Cauldron. Xinhua Bookstore should have it. If neither is available, you decide. Mainly buy history books, not compiled editions.”
Old Liu drove Hou Weidong to the largest bookstore in Shazhou. Hou Weidong didn’t search aimlessly; he asked the clerk directly. Fortunately, both books were available.
The six thick books, held in his hands, emitted the unique scent of printed matter.
Zhu Yan flipped through the new books a few times. “I’ll save 1587, A Year of No Significance for later. For now, let’s read something lighter.”
At this time, Huang Zidi had called with good news: “Secretary Changquan agreed to have lunch together.” Zhu Yan now had a clear idea and waited quietly in the hotel.
“Secretary Zhu, take your time reading. I’ll be in Old Liu’s room.”
Zhu Yan was in high spirits. “Take a book with you. Stealing half a day of leisure is rare. Let’s enjoy the pleasure of reading.”
The morning passed in a flash. As it approached twelve o’clock, Hou Weidong went to Zhu Yan’s room. He saw the County Party Secretary sitting by the window, still reading with great interest. Hou Weidong didn’t ask many questions. “Secretary Zhu, I’ll go arrange lunch.”
Zhu Yan closed the book and said, “No rush. Wait for Standing Committee Member Huang’s call.”
Close to one o’clock, Zhu Yan had checked his watch several times. Finally, his mobile phone rang.
Zhu Yan usually had two mobile phones. One number was public in the Yiyang County confidential phone book. Today, to avoid disturbances, Hou Weidong held that phone. The other number was secret, known to only about ten people. The phone that rang now was the special one.
“Good. I know the place. I’ll be there immediately.”
In less than five minutes, Zhu Yan was in Old Liu’s car, heading straight for Hebin Road. They drove into a house with red tiles and high walls. Hou Weidong handed his briefcase to Zhu Yan but did not get out. “We’ll wait outside.”
Zhu Yan checked his watch. “It’s lunchtime. You two find a restaurant and eat first.”
Hebin Road was a new food street in Shazhou, far from the city center, so having a car was convenient. Therefore, the restaurants on Hebin Road targeted car-owning customers, and the档次 (grade) was naturally not low. Old Liu drove around for a while and saw a sign for authentic boiled fish. “Director Hou, this boiled fish is very popular. Shall we taste it?”
This boiled fish had invaded Shazhou at some point and immediately became a huge hit. The lobby had about twenty tables, all full. The two ordered four jin of boiled fish. Hou Weidong ordered a bottle of beer, and Old Liu ordered a bottle of juice. They slowly enjoyed the feast.
Just as they were eating happily, Old Liu raised his eyes, looking surprised. Hou Weidong turned around and saw Duan Ying standing behind him, holding a glass of beer.
Hou Weidong and Duan Ying had been intimate twice. After each time, they had tacitly agreed not to seek each other out. They had not contacted each other for half a year. “Long time no see,” he said quickly.
Duan Ying had already drunk some wine, and her face was slightly red. “I saw you as soon as I got out of the car. Is this Secretary Zhu’s car?” When she worked at the Yiyang Daily, she had often accompanied Zhu Yan on interviews and was very familiar with Secretary Zhu’s car.
“This is Master Liu.”
“Reporter Duan.”
Duan Ying said, “Hello, Master Liu. I’ve ridden in your car before.” Old Liu smiled. “I remember Reporter Duan. You used to be at the Yiyang Daily.”
After a few polite exchanges, Duan Ying raised her glass to Hou Weidong. “My colleagues are seeing me off today.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ve been transferred to the Lingxi Daily. It’s a secondment.” As she spoke, Duan Ying stole glances at Hou Weidong. After more than half a year apart, Hou Weidong had become even more steady and masculine. As he drank, a fragment of their intimate moments suddenly flashed through her mind.
This fragment usually appeared at night. Seeing the man today, it appeared at an inappropriate time.
She coughed suddenly, her face turning redder.