Chapter 25: It Turns Out to Be an Exile (Part 2)

*Chapter 25: It Turns Out to Be an Exile (Part 2)*

Unlike Hou Weidong, who was still waiting for his assignment, Zhang Xiaojia had already started her official duties at the Shazhou Garden Management Office on July 12.

The Shazhou Garden Management Office was a public institution under the Construction Commission, holding secondary legal person status. It oversaw the landscaping and greening efforts across the entire city of Shazhou. Xiaojia served as one of the internal administrative staff. Her workload was light; her primary tasks were answering the phone, receiving documents, and printing materials.

While Hou Weidong remained at home waiting for his placement, the two had agreed to speak on the phone once a day after her six o’clock finish. Although Wu Hai County belonged to Shazhou City, calls between the two locations were still classified as long-distance, which was exorbitantly expensive. The director of the Garden Management Office was an old-fashioned miser who had locked the long-distance function on the office phones. Consequently, only Hou Weidong could call Xiaojia. This daily conversation became their happiest time, though it made Hou Weidong’s mother grind her teeth in frustration.

Xiaojia was always the last to leave the office, primarily to ensure she could speak with Hou Weidong. This habit, however, had an unintended positive effect. The old director of the Garden Management Office was highly satisfied with Zhang Xiaojia’s apparent dedication to working overtime. After just one week, he praised her extensively during an office meeting.

This period of happy phone calls lasted until August 4. On the morning of August 5, at six o’clock, Hou Weidong boarded an early bus from Wu Hai County to Yiyang County. He arrived in Yiyang by nine, transferred to a shuttle bus heading to Qingyang Town, and finally reached the Qinglin Town Government at eleven-thirty, looking dusty and disheveled.

Yang Feng was sitting in a chair, eating sunflower seeds with great relish. The shells were piled high on a newspaper beside her. Seeing Hou Weidong, her expression brightened. "You’re lucky today," she said. "Secretary Zhao just returned from Village Five and asked about you."

Hou Weidong handed over all his registration paperwork to Director Tang. He casually asked, "Is Director Tang not here?"

Yang Feng blinked. "Director Tang? I have no idea where he is."

Yang Feng led Hou Weidong up to the second floor. There were only six or seven rooms on this level. From the nameplates, it was clear that the leaders of the Qinglin Town Government worked here. Yang Feng stopped in front of an office without a sign, knocked, and announced, "Secretary Zhao, Hou Weidong has come to report for duty."

"Come in."

The voice from inside was slightly hoarse. Despite the roughness, the tone carried a certain bearing. Hou Weidong couldn’t quite define what this bearing was, but hearing it, he immediately sensed that the person inside was full of confidence—the self-assurance and authority of someone who held real power.

Hou Weidong’s parents both had jobs, and he had grown up in Wu Hai County with little experience of life in a township. Influenced by public opinion, his mental image of a township cadre was of someone wearing a straw hat, rolling up their trouser legs, swearing constantly, acting recklessly, and reeking of alcohol—a "field ridge cadre." However, upon meeting Secretary Zhao, his impression of township cadres shifted instantly.

Secretary Zhao was in his mid-to-late forties, with a fair complexion and a distinctly official look. He wore a high-quality gray shirt. His appearance and demeanor bore a slight resemblance to Ji Daolin. Sitting on the sofa, he wrote a line of text on a document with a fountain pen and said to Yang Feng, "Take this to Mayor Chao. Tell him to handle it immediately; do not delay."

Yang Feng took the document without looking at Hou Weidong and hurried out.

Only then did Secretary Zhao look up and speak gently to Hou Weidong. "Please, sit." He pulled out a cigarette and offered it to Hou Weidong. "Which school did you graduate from? What was your major?"

Before coming to Qinglin Town, Hou Weidong’s brother had given him a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes, which he carried with him. Seeing Secretary Zhao offer a cigarette, Hou Weidong quickly took out his lighter, lit the cigarette for the Secretary, and then lit one for himself.

Secretary Zhao took a drag and remained silent for a long time. This silence exerted a significant pressure on Hou Weidong. Smoke curled upward in the room, dispersing as it neared the ceiling.

"After discussion by the Party Committee, we have decided to assign you to Qinglin Mountain. The Qinglin Government has a working group stationed on Qinglin Mountain, responsible for the work in Dushi Village, Jianshan Village, and Wangri Village. Once you have settled in, we will assign you specific tasks."

Hou Weidong had no experience with rural life. Hearing Secretary Zhao’s words, he felt a sense of confusion.

Secretary Zhao was keenly observant. He caught the subtle change in Hou Weidong’s expression and realized the young man had no concept of what Qinglin Mountain entailed. He explained, "Last year, the county underwent a township merger. The upper Qinglin Township on the mountain and the lower Qinglin Township at the foot of the mountain were merged into the Qinglin Town Government. There is an old market town on Qinglin Mountain, which was the former seat of the upper Qinglin Township Government. The housing conditions there are much better than at the foot of the mountain. You will live there."

Secretary Zhao paused and spoke seriously. "Do you have any requests? You can voice them, and the organization will consider them."

Hou Weidong truly had no concept of Qinglin Mountain. Since he had come to the township, he had prepared himself for hardship. He had no further demands and immediately stated his position: "Secretary Zhao, I have just graduated from school and am unfamiliar with the work. Once I am on Qinglin Mountain, I will definitely learn from the older comrades, work steadily, and strive to adapt to my role as soon as possible."

In the past two years, three college graduates had come to Qinglin Town. The first two had disappointed Secretary Zhao greatly. Especially Gou Lin, who lacked discipline and organization, unable to handle major tasks and unwilling to do minor ones, had been a source of both disappointment and headache for him. The newly arrived Hou Weidong seemed decent in his speech and behavior, but it was still too early to judge; he needed to observe his words and actions over time.

"I have asked Director Tang to handle your organizational and personnel transfers. Once you are in Qinglin Town, you must be prepared to endure hardship. If you cannot endure hardship, you cannot do the work well." Secretary Zhao made a phone call. "Director Tang, take Hou Weidong up the mountain. Ask Mayor Gao to arrange the accommodation. Hou Weidong will stay in the second-floor room previously occupied by Zheng Bing."

He then turned to Hou Weidong. "Gao Changshan is the former Deputy Township Head of the upper Qinglin Township. Due to his age, he has stepped back to the second line. He has rich work experience and great prestige in the upper Qinglin Township. Once you are there, you must follow his arrangements."

Secretary Zhao had just hung up the phone and taken a sip from his teacup when Director Tang appeared at the door as if by magic. He was slightly out of breath. "Secretary Zhao, what is the task?"

Secretary Zhao instructed, "Arrange a lunch on Qinglin Mountain. Let the comrades in the working group meet Hou Weidong."

"I have to go to the county for a meeting, so I won’t talk much longer." Secretary Zhao shook hands with Hou Weidong. "If you have any difficulties, you can call Director Tang in the office."

Director Tang led Hou Weidong to the office and slumped into a chair. "Where is your luggage?"

Hou Weidong pointed to a small briefcase he had brought with him. "That’s all. Once I get to the Qinglin Mountain working group, I’ll see what’s missing and buy what I need."

Yang Feng, standing nearby, said, "It’s already twelve o’clock. Let’s eat and then go up the mountain. We’ll give Hou Weidong a welcome dinner."

Director Tang had a round face and a slightly protruding belly. He thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. We’ll talk later. Secretary Zhao has already called Mayor Gao, and they are preparing the food. Besides, drinking alcohol and then climbing Qinglin Mountain would really kill me."

Hou Weidong picked up his briefcase and said to Public Security Officer Huang and Yang Feng, "Officer Huang, Director Yang, I’m leaving."

Yang Feng’s eyes were naturally small, and now they were squinted into slits with laughter. She joked, "Hou Weidong is a genuine college graduate. After a few years of grassroots training, he’ll be promoted. You’ll need to look out for your big sister in the future."

Hou Weidong thought to himself, Big sister? She looks more like an aunt.

Officer Huang was a man of few words. He picked up an old thermos and said, "Young Hou, have a drink. When you come down the mountain, I’ll treat you to a meal."

Hou Weidong took a bold, large gulp and then followed Tang Shugang up the mountain. Along the way, Director Tang introduced the basic situation of Qinglin Town to Hou Weidong.

The name Qinglin Town was derived from Qinglin Mountain. Before the township merger, the area on the mountain was the upper Qinglin Township, and the area at the foot was the lower Qinglin Township. Due to transportation issues, the new Qinglin Town Government was located at the foot of the mountain. Currently, there were three villages and one old market town on Qinglin Mountain, with a total population of over seven thousand. Because transportation on the mountain was inconvenient, there was only one tractor road leading to Dushi Village. Since Dushi Village was far from the upper Qinglin market town, the only way to travel up and down to the Qinglin market town was by hiking on footpaths. After the new town government was established, most of the staff from the upper Qinglin Township Government moved down the mountain, leaving only a working group on the mountain.

Hou Weidong was fortunate enough to become a member of this working group.

As they ascended the mountain path, Hou Weidong sucked in a breath of cool air. Qinglin Mountain did not look particularly high, but the terrain was quite steep. The path was paved with bluestone slabs. Large trees blocked out the sky, and mountain streams flowed continuously from small gullies. Sometimes the bluestone path ran parallel to the stream. The water was clear enough to see the bottom, and it felt refreshingly cool to the touch.

Having studied in Yiyang for four years, people often said that Yiyang had no scenery. After walking through Qinglin Mountain, Hou Weidong realized that it wasn’t that Yiyang lacked scenery, but that his own horizons had been too narrow.

Director Tang was in his thirties and overweight. Walking this mountain path was quite strenuous for him. He had to stop and catch his breath after every short distance, having no mind to appreciate the scenery. Hou Weidong, being young and fond of exercise, found this mountain path effortless. When he felt particularly cheerful, he took off his shirt, revealing a body of solid muscle. Seeing Hou Weidong remove his shirt, Director Tang also took off his. His body, covered in fat, was drenched in sweat, with droplets as large as soybeans.

Halfway up the mountain, they saw a woman carrying goods, taking a rest. Seeing Director Tang, she exclaimed happily, "Tang Shugang! I’m so glad to run into someone I know."

Director Tang introduced, "This is Sister Yang from the working group." He then pointed to Hou Weidong. "This is the newly assigned college graduate, assigned to the working group."

Sister Yang looked puzzled. "Why was a college graduate assigned to the working group?"

Director Tang did not answer. He stood under a tree to cool off.

"Director Tang, I’m so glad I ran into you. I was actually feeling scared. A few days ago, a family was robbed by a group of rascals. Please report this to Secretary Zhao and Mayor Qin. We need to find a way to catch these people."