Chapter 130: Deep Love (Part 7)

*Chapter 130: Deep Love (Part 7)*

Liu Kun came from a comfortable family background. As an only son, he had been pampered by his relatives throughout his life. From middle school through university, he had never encountered any significant setbacks. Because his path had been so smooth, his tolerance for hardship was limited, and his willpower was somewhat weak.

The failure in the election for the township government leadership in Qinglin Town was the first major setback of his life. The experience was painful and left a deep, indelible mark on him. At this moment, facing Hou Weidong’s olive branch, he struggled internally for a brief moment. Ultimately, reason triumphed over emotion. He accepted Hou Weidong’s gesture of goodwill and raised his glass. However, looking at the large cup, he frowned and said, “Township Head Hou, this liquor is too strong. If I drink this cup, I’ll collapse.”

Hou Weidong responded with a magnanimous tone, “Then I’ll drink from the large cup, and you can drink from the small one. Let’s clink glasses.”

Yan Daoli, standing nearby and seemingly eager to stir up trouble, interjected, “One is the Party Secretary, and the other is the Township Head. We should treat everyone equally. Both of you must use the large cups.” Several village cadres chimed in, supporting his statement.

Liu Kun gritted his teeth and swallowed the liquor. It was only his second drink, but after two liang of alcohol went down, he felt a fire burning in his stomach. A flush of redness spread across his fair face, and it seemed as if alcohol were seeping from every pore.

Hou Weidong set down his glass and proactively said, “Secretary Yan, Director Liu, don’t just watch us drink. Everyone should eat some dishes first to line your stomachs.”

Seeing that Liu Kun had already lowered his head onto the table, Yan Daoli made a slight concession. “Let’s eat some dishes first.” He had a unique way of eating. He piled shredded meat, cold appetizers, and soup dishes into his bowl, stirred them vigorously with his chopsticks, and then ate with great relish.

Hou Weidong stared at him, eyes wide, and said, “Secretary Yan, how can you eat like that? You’re completely ruining the food. It looks like you’re eating pig slop.” Having lived on Shangqinglin Mountain for two years, Hou Weidong had spent every day with the village cadres and understood their temperaments perfectly. He knew that if he spoke casually or even coarsely, they would interpret it as a sign of closeness. Therefore, even though this was his first meeting with Yan Daoli, he spoke his mind without filter.

Yan Daoli clearly enjoyed Hou Weidong’s joke. He grinned broadly and said, “You just don’t understand. This way of eating mixes all the flavors together. It’s the most authentic method.”

After everyone had eaten for a while, Yan Daoli began to speak again. He poured liquor into every glass on the table and said, “Since the Town Party Committee has designated Xingping Village as a backward village, our village’s Party Branch and Village Committee would like to make a statement here to Secretary Liu. We hope that under the leadership of the Town Party Committee, we can soon shed the label of a backward branch. Secretary Liu, the collective leadership of Xingping Village, a backward village, offers you this cup of wine. You must not refuse it.”

After finishing this speech, Yan Daoli proactively stood up beside Liu Kun. All the village cadres rose as well, holding their glasses and gathering around Liu Kun.

Hou Weidong thought to himself, This Yan Daoli has many tricks. It seems he is extremely dissatisfied with Xingping Village being listed as a backward branch. This won’t do. I must strike first to prevent him from getting me drunk.

Fu Jiang, seeing that Liu Kun was indeed unable to handle more alcohol, advised, “Secretary Yan, Secretary Liu really can’t take any more. Let him rest for a while.”

Yan Daoli replied with dissatisfaction, “Director Fu, you are the grassroots civil servant stationed in Xingping Village. After we toast Secretary Liu, you must also offer a toast. Otherwise, if we fail to remove the label of a backward branch next year, you will bear full responsibility.”

Fu Jiang was an old hand at these situations. He smiled and said, “What kind of responsibility is that? It’s not that big.”

Yan Daoli and Fu Dongji were very familiar with each other and often joked around. He turned back with a mischievous smile and said, “In that case, Director Fu, you will be responsible for collecting the retention and统筹 (统筹) funds from the Ninth Cooperative.” The Ninth Cooperative was the most remote section of Xingping Village. This year, the vast majority of the retention and统筹 funds from this cooperative had not been paid. Three cooperative heads had resigned one after another, making it an extremely difficult task to handle.

Fu Jiang cursed, “Yan Daoli, you bastard, open your own mouth.”

Yan Daoli ignored Fu Jiang. The members of the village’s Party Branch and Village Committee collectively stood in front of Liu Kun to offer their toasts. Forced into a corner, Liu Kun had no choice but to accept another cup of wine. As soon as this drink went down, Liu Kun covered his mouth and rushed out of Zhang’s Restaurant. Just as he reached the door, he vomited violently. Since he hadn’t eaten much food, he only brought up some clear, watery liquid.

Hou Weidong had been observing Yan Daoli closely. Seeing the faint, barely noticeable smile on Yan Daoli’s face after Liu Kun got drunk, Hou Weidong became even more vigilant.

When everyone returned to the table, Hou Weidong spoke up before Yan Daoli could say anything. “Today is my first time meeting Secretary Yan. We must do this properly.” He grabbed the wine basin, ladled out ten cups of liquor, and took two large bowls. He poured five cups into each bowl and said to Yan Daoli, “Secretary Yan, since this is our first time drinking together, let’s do it boldly. Finish this bowl of wine.”

Yan Daoli had already drunk three cups. If he drank this half-jin of liquor, he would definitely have problems. He dared not accept the challenge and said, “I’ve already drunk with Township Head Hou. Now it should be Director Liu and Township Head Hou who drink together.”

Hou Weidong was stubborn. “No, I must drink these two bowls with Secretary Yan. Others can wait.”

The two began to argue. Hou Weidong did not yield at all. From Yan Daoli’s previous series of actions, he had realized that Yan Daoli was a village Party Secretary with a very strong personality. Village Director Liu Yong acted entirely based on Yan Daoli’s mood. If he could not subdue Yan Daoli, his future days would be difficult.

“Secretary Yan, since this is our first meeting, you must drink this bowl.”

“You drink with Director Liu first.”

“We drink first. If you don’t drink, I won’t drink today.”

Yan Daoli’s alcohol tolerance was average. He wanted to use a “wolf pack” tactic to get both Liu Kun and Hou Weidong drunk. This was actually a way to vent his dissatisfaction with Xingping Village being designated as a backward village.

He knew that the main responsibility for designating a village as backward lay with Zhao Yongsheng and Su Ming. However, Yan Daoli was not stupid. He would never act recklessly in front of the two top leaders, Zhao Yongsheng and Su Ming. Liu Kun and Hou Weidong were both newly appointed young deputy officials, making them the best targets for his frustration.

Having gotten Liu Kun drunk in the name of friendship, Yan Daoli thought he had succeeded. He did not expect to be targeted by Hou Weidong. Drinking half a jin of high-proof white liquor in one go was far beyond his capacity.

After a stalemate, under Hou Weidong’s insistence, Yan Daoli was forced to raise his wine bowl. The two men drank the half-jin of strong liquor in one gulp. Waves of fire surged up from their chests. Hou Weidong quickly drank a large bowl of chicken soup to suppress the alcohol’s effects.

Yan Daoli could not withstand such a heavy dose of alcohol. His face turned dark as he sat at the table, calmly eating a few bites of food. Suddenly, his body went limp, and he slid from his chair to the floor under the table. When everyone dragged him up, Yan Daoli could no longer speak. His eyes were tightly closed, he was breathing heavily, and his face was frighteningly dark.

Seeing this state, Hou Weidong was also somewhat worried. “How many cups can Secretary Yan actually handle?” Village Director Liu Yong said, “His tolerance isn’t high. At most, he can handle half a jin. Today he has already drunk eight liang, and he drank too quickly.”

“Never mind. Take him to the health center for an IV drip to avoid any accidents.”

Yan Daoli was taken to the health center for an IV drip. He slept for six or seven hours before waking up. His first words were, “That damn Hou Weidong, he tried to kill me.”

This drinking battle ended with both Liu Kun and Yan Daoli heavily intoxicated. Hou Weidong’s reputation for being formidable when drinking quickly spread throughout all the cooperatives of Xingping Village.

Zhao Yongsheng soon heard about this incident and chuckled inwardly. “Yan Daoli doesn’t have a high tolerance for alcohol, but he always likes to start wars at the drinking table. This time, he kicked a hard stone.”

The next day, Hou Weidong, accompanied by Fu Jiang, went to Xingping Village. This was Hou Weidong’s first visit to Xingping Village. After walking for more than half an hour, they reached the boundary of Xingping Village. After another half hour, they arrived at a small river. The river was not wide; the water spanned only about three meters, with the remaining four meters being the riverbank.

Fu Jiang explained, “Xingping Village has never had a road because of this river. The water volume is usually small, but during the flood season, it becomes very large. To build a road, a bridge must be constructed across the river. The town hired someone to estimate the cost, which would be at least several hundred thousand yuan. The town does not have this financial capacity, and the village certainly cannot afford it.”

Hou Weidong stood by the riverbank and observed carefully for a while. He noticed a large exposed rock wall not far from the bank. Since the opening of the quarry, Hou Weidong had developed an interest in stone and could be considered a semi-expert. Seeing this large, intact block of stone, his eyes lit up, and he walked over to it.

Looking around, Hou Weidong found that the rock wall was quite large and had good integrity, making it valuable for mining. However, by feel, the stone here was not as hard as the stone in Shangqinglin. It would need testing. He roughly judged, “The stone here is most suitable for cutting into stone slabs.”

Stone slabs were essential materials for building retaining walls and slopes. The Shazhou Road Engineering Company also needed to import some stone slabs. Li Jing had once asked Hou Weidong about this. In Shangqinglin, the stone was too hard, making it less suitable for cutting into slabs. Hou Weidong had searched many places without finding a suitable source. Now, after a long search, he had found it effortlessly.

The unexpected discovery of this rock wall gave Hou Weidong an idea regarding the bridge construction, but he did not reveal it to Fu Jiang.

After crossing the river and walking for another ten minutes, they saw a two-story red brick building in a dense bamboo grove.

As they approached the building, two small yellow dogs ran out energetically, sniffing around Hou Weidong’s feet. Yan Daoli was not at home, so Fu Jiang went up the slope to look for him. Hou Weidong waited alone in the courtyard.

Yan Daoli’s courtyard was quite clean. The firewood was stacked neatly, and there was no common chicken droppings in the yard.

A few minutes later, Yan Daoli returned carrying a hoe. Entering the courtyard and seeing Hou Weidong, he said, “Township Head Hou, you made me sleep all day yesterday. I will never drink with you again.”

After drinking some water inside the house, Hou Weidong said, “I’m sorry for delaying your work. The main purpose of my visit to Xingping Village today is to take a practical tour of the village. We can chat as we walk. As far as I know, the main reason Xingping Village was labeled a backward branch is the poor completion of agricultural tax and retention and统筹 tasks.”

Yan Daoli admitted this. “The biggest problem in Xingping Village is the lack of a road. Every year, delivering public grain is exhausting. When we build houses, just hiring horse caravans to transport bricks costs thousands of yuan more than in villages with roads.”

Hou Weidong had his eye on the rock wall, so he steered the conversation in that direction. “So, the main reason for the poor completion of tasks is the lack of a road, and the main reason for the lack of a road is the high cost of building a bridge.”

“That is exactly the reason,” Yan Daoli complained again. “Since the town can spend several million to build a road to Shangqinglin, they should also consider the road for Xingping Village. The palm and the back of the hand are both flesh.”

Hou Weidong pretended to ponder for a while and then said, “The town sent me to Xingping Village. In the next two years, I will focus on only one thing: finding a way to build the bridge. I will not concern myself with other matters.”