Chapter 305: The Changing World (Part 2)

The next morning, Hou Weidong and Li Jing sat by the window, enjoying the view while eating a famous local snack in Shazhou: Shazhou-style Goubuli buns. Although they were imitations, the taste was quite good. Since neither of them had ever tasted the authentic version, they ate with great enthusiasm.

Hou Weidong savored the flavor and praised, "Even without the Goubuli brand name, these buns would still sell well. After all, taste is the foundation of any household snack."

Li Jing sipped her congee slowly, her mind elsewhere. She said, "If you want to take another step up in your career, you need more support. Relying solely on Zhu Yan is risky. If he were to fall from power, you would be implicated as well. There is wisdom in the saying that a cunning rabbit has three burrows."

In Hou Weidong’s heart, Zhu Yan was as healthy and vibrant as the sun at ten in the morning, full of upward momentum. He had never considered the possibility of Zhu Yan’s downfall. "Have you heard any rumors?" he asked.

"I haven’t heard any specific rumors yet. It’s just that no one can have good luck forever. Fortune turns like a wheel; it’s only natural. When I was at the Shazhou Investment Company, I saw three general managers rise and fall. It just occurred to me."

The faint blush on Li Jing’s face had not yet faded, appearing like a light layer of rouge. A slanting beam of sunlight streamed in from the window, making her look as delicate and beautiful as a flower.

Hou Weidong quickly reviewed the powerful officials in the capital whom he considered reliable. County Party Secretary Zhu Yan ranked first. Next was Su Mingjun, Su Tang’s father. Then came Deputy County Party Secretary Ji Haiyang. Although Zeng Zhaoqiang was a deputy county mayor, he had little say in personnel matters. As for Ji Daolin and others, although their official positions were high, Hou Weidong had no special rapport with them. It would be difficult for them to help him at a critical moment.

After thinking for a while, he sighed, "I used to think I had made some friends. But upon serious reflection, they are all merely drinking buddies. When it truly comes to a critical moment, I fear none of them would be of use."

"In a person’s lifetime, having just a few reliable friends is enough to pass the test of character. Most people around us are nothing more than passing clouds. Especially in officialdom and business, relationships are extremely pragmatic. Don’t expect to have many true friends."

Since entering society, Li Jing had relied on her own experiences to understand the world, rising step by step from a young girl at the bottom to the chairman of Jinggong Group. She understood the rules of society better than Hou Weidong.

She added, "Over the past few years, I have also gotten to know some provincial officials. At a critical moment, I could use them like grenades. They might come in handy."

Hou Weidong had been smooth sailing since his earlier setbacks. He was not overly anxious about his career path. "It’s not needed for now. I will still follow Secretary Zhu’s advice, work honestly, and trust that there will be rewards in due time." He thought proudly, "What’s the point of rising through a woman’s connections? Only those without ability do that."

Li Jing looked at Hou Weidong’s slightly proud expression, a trace of tenderness appearing in her eyes. Over the past few years, she had seen many people who stopped at nothing to get promoted. She thought to herself, "He is still young and hasn’t been deeply tainted by the habits of officialdom. Who knows what he will be like in a few years?"

At the time of parting, Li Jing took the initiative to hug Hou Weidong and straightened his collar. "Take care of your health. Drink less alcohol, and quit smoking in the future. Otherwise, you’re not allowed to kiss me."

The previous night had been one of indulgence, and they had fully released their pent-up passion. The current embrace lacked lust but held more intimacy.

Sitting in the car, thinking about their increasingly close relationship, a thread of unease surged in Hou Weidong’s heart. "Why does this parting advice sound almost identical to what Xiaojia says?" When Li Jing and Hou Weidong began their relationship, she always insisted she would never marry. But as their relationship deepened, she still said those words, yet her behavior and demeanor were so good that it made Hou Weidong feel guilty.

"If Li Jing changes her mind, with her skills and financial resources, what will happen to Xiaojia?" Thinking of this, Hou Weidong felt very uncomfortable, as if his body had been drained, leaving him empty and without support.

Soon they arrived in Yiyang. After getting off the highway, he immediately saw the rather spacious construction site. More than ten trucks were driving busily, creating a vibrant atmosphere. On a plot of land very close to the highway, large deep wells appeared on the stepped terrain, looking like missile launchers staring at the sky.

The person in charge of the construction site saw Hou Weidong appear and immediately scurried over, accompanying the new head of the Management Committee as he toured the site.

There were several construction sites under construction within the new Management Committee’s jurisdiction. The heads of these construction teams all knew Hou Weidong and were aware of his habit of wandering around the sites. This forced the client representatives to keep a close watch on the sites as well. Therefore, on the new Management Committee’s sites, the construction teams did not dare to blatantly falsify visible aspects such as the quality of steel reinforcement or the grade of cement.

Watching these patches of wasteland transform into construction sites before his eyes, Hou Weidong felt a sense of pride. The slight annoyance in his heart was cast aside. He thought, "Capital power is indeed the greatest. It takes tens of millions of years for the blue seas to turn into mulberry fields, but in just a few months, the new Management Committee has completely changed its appearance."

"In a year, the new Management Committee will definitely be even better." Hou Weidong was very confident about this.

Time flowed quickly. In the blink of an eye, summer passed, and autumn arrived.

When firecrackers exploded everywhere in the sky, 1998 arrived.

Since the second half of 1997, County Party Committee Secretary Yang Senlin had become much more low-key compared to when he first arrived in Yiyang. He tried to follow Zhu Yan’s approach and did not want to highlight his own ideas too much.

There were two reasons for this. On one hand, he was only the deputy county party secretary in charge of work. His status limited him from carrying out work boldly. He had to wait until he was officially appointed to realize his political ideals.

On the other hand, he had encountered an invisible net in Yiyang that prevented him from exerting force. After losing the last important personnel appointment battle, the heads of the bureaus and banks in Yiyang were all veterans who had survived years of political struggles. They strictly adhered to the principle of "not drawing the bow until the enemy is seen, not releasing the hawk until the rabbit appears." They maintained a respectful but distant attitude toward Yang Senlin, neither offending nor getting close to him. Without the cooperation of the subordinates’ heads, Yang Senlin’s words had little effect in Yiyang.

Yang Senlin understood the problem and chose to hide his light and bide his time, waiting for the right opportunity.

During this half-year, Ma Youcai had built good relationships with several standing committee members, including Old Qian, Old Liu, and Old Liu. He and Yi Zhongling made several trips to the province and vaguely heard some rumors. He then visited the Provincial Party School several times, sharing drinks and pleasant conversations with Zhu Yan. At the same time, he reported his work to Mayor Liu Bing multiple times and went on inspections to the coastal areas with Liu Bing, even taking a trip to Hong Kong.

Yang and Ma were both biding their time, waiting for opportunities, so they did not spend much energy focusing on the heads of their subordinates.

Hou Weidong took advantage of this rare historical opportunity to focus heavily on practical matters. By January 1998, the factory buildings of Xiuyun Pharmaceutical Factory, the Beer Factory, and the Bearing Factory had all been erected. Although there was still some time before production began, the sight of more than ten factory buildings rising from the ground simultaneously was quite imposing.

Six buildings of Bugao’s residential project had also been built. Although they were not yet topped out, the general outline was visible. Large propaganda posters covered the county town. The slogan "Yiyang New Life, Right Here in the Capital of Charm" was as ubiquitous as family planning slogans, catching people’s eyes everywhere. Although sales had not yet started, nearly six hundred people had already registered at the sales office.

The situation was even better than expected, and Bugao was beaming with joy.

Li Jing had originally looked down on the county town’s real estate market. She had bought the land intending to flip it. However, seeing how popular Bugao’s properties were despite the harsh overall environment, she became interested. She decided to seriously develop real estate directly opposite Bugao. Bugao’s community was called "Capital of Charm," while Li Jing’s community was named "Clear Mountains and Beautiful Waters," highlighting the concepts of mountains and water.

However, as the international and domestic situation developed, the pressure on the new Management Committee increased. Hou Weidong went to Lingxi for investment promotion once and to Guangdong for investment promotion once, but both times he returned empty-handed.

The 1998 Southeast Asian financial crisis intensified. Starting in Thailand, it spread to Southeast Asian countries and then moved north, sweeping Japan and South Korea into the turmoil. China had previously admired the South Korean chaebol model. For example, the Daewoo Group had once been a role model for Chinese people. This was why the central government had the Top 500 Plan, selecting six enterprises such as Baosteel and Haier as seed companies to enter the global Top 500. After the bankruptcy of Daewoo, the chaebol model was immediately strongly questioned, and the plan to enter the Top 500 was naturally abandoned.

In January, Hong Kong experienced an outbreak of avian influenza. Eighteen people were infected, six of whom died. The entire city fell into panic, and the Special Administrative Region government culled 1.3 million chickens.

Against this backdrop, in order to defend the non-devaluation of the RMB, the export growth rate, which had always been favorable, began to decline. Domestic commodity inventory surged, and consumer demand was severely sluggish.

Given this context, the achievements of the new Management Committee were truly not easy to come by. After receiving reports, the Provincial Development Bank sent personnel who were still skeptical. A deputy president led a team to inspect the capital investment situation of the new Management Committee. Upon seeing the land leveling and the construction of factory buildings and commercial housing, they praised the new Management Committee as a typical example of the Lingxi Development Zone.

To secure more funds, the Shazhou Municipal Government specially hosted a banquet for the Provincial Development Bank. To show his重视 (importance/attention), Secretary Chang Quan also specially attended the dinner. At the banquet, the deputy president of the Development Bank drank a few too many cups and, holding onto Secretary Chang Quan, greatly praised Hou Weidong, the director of the new Management Committee. After the banquet, Secretary Chang Quan asked, "Who is Hou Weidong?" Huang Zidi replied, "He is the director of the Yiyang new Management Committee. He was previously the director of the County Party Committee Office. He is a very young man." Secretary Chang Quan said, "Zhu Yan knows how to use people."

During the Spring Festival of 1998, Hou Weidong personally served as Zhu Yan’s driver, accompanying him to pay New Year calls to various powerful figures. On the sixth day of the lunar new year, while having dinner on the outskirts of Lingxi, the guests were the same group as last year.

Old Ding from the Organization Department saw Zhu Yan and smiled, saying, "Brother, congratulations. Let’s have another drink today." Zhu Yan had also heard some rumors. With a smile on his face, he said, "It’s not even a stroke of the character 'eight' yet." Deputy Secretary-General Old Zheng said, "We are not outsiders. We heard that you are going to Maoyun Prefecture to serve as deputy secretary. Congratulations, congratulations. This is a proper deputy department-level position."

Hou Weidong’s heart skipped a beat. "Secretary Zhu is going to Maoyun to be deputy secretary?"