Chapter 307: Where to Go from Here (Middle)

Xiaojia had just returned from Shanghai. Throughout the entire winter vacation, Hou Weidong had spent only four days at home, rushing around with Zhu Yandong. She complained, her voice tinged with frustration, "The reason I don't want to work in the Construction Commission office is precisely because I dread the social obligations. It’s truly exhausting. I understand that you have your duties, but this is excessive. You’ve been out since the third day of the Lunar New Year. Do the math—how many days have you actually spent with me?"

As she spoke, Xiaojia’s eyes reddened.

Hou Weidong could only listen to her accusations, patiently explaining, "When you’re in the world of officialdom, you’re not always in control of your own actions. I do this for the sake of our family." He generally disliked bringing work matters into the home. Moreover, Xiaojia’s roommate, Sister Luo, was married to the new Divisional Leader of Maoyun Prefecture. To avoid any rumors or gossip, he had not mentioned to Xiaojia that Zhu Yandong was about to be transferred to Maoyun.

Xiaojia pursed her lips and retorted, "'In the world of officialdom, you’re not in control'—that’s just an excuse. Take Director Bu from the Construction Commission, for instance. His rank is higher than yours, yet he prefers to stay at home. I’ve never seen him entertaining guests every single day. It all depends on whether one truly has the family in heart."

Hou Weidong knew he was in the wrong, so he treaded carefully, trying to coax her to prevent her from bursting into tears.

After a few more words of bickering, Xiaojia’s anger gradually subsided. She then turned her attention to Hou Weidong’s career prospects. "I heard from Sister Zhou that the province is planning to adjust a batch of cadres. I wonder if there’s any possibility of Zhu Yandong getting promoted this time."

Hou Weidong replied vaguely, "Rumors are flying everywhere. There are too many whispers. Perhaps there’s no smoke without fire."

Xiaojia was merely making casual conversation and did not press the matter further. After cuddling with Hou Weidong for a while, she said, "The house renovation is finished. We need to let it air out for two or three months. Then we can move Mom and Dad in. I’ll be leaving in a few days, so let’s find some time to look at furniture."

Hou Weidong had been running around with Zhu Yandong for over ten days and had barely attended to his own affairs. Deputy Directors Zhang Jin and Zhang Xiangyu, along with Office Director Yang Liu, had all joked about coming to pay New Year calls. He said, "Director Zhang and the others agreed to come today, but I’m afraid I can’t get away. Let’s just give them money directly. Let Mom and Dad buy the furniture themselves. We’re not sure what the elders prefer anyway."

Xiaojia took out her mobile phone and called home. "Mom, the house is renovated. You don’t need to keep those old pieces of furniture. Go out and choose new ones yourselves. Don’t worry about the cost."

Chen Qingrong had taken early retirement several years ago. When Xiaojia and Hou Weidong first started dating, she had been firmly opposed. Her reasoning was simple: Hou Weidong worked in Yiyang County. Over the past few years, with the bankruptcy of numerous state-owned factories, old concepts had been severely challenged. Household registration was no longer as important. As long as one had money, life could be comfortable.

Upon receiving Xiaojia’s call, Chen Qingrong said to Zhang Yuanzheng, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV, "Old man, let’s go look at furniture. Don’t just sit around all day. Your blood pressure is high, and look at your belly—it’s getting bigger."

Zhang Yuanzheng was watching the NBA. After his retirement, since the family’s financial condition was decent, he had not taken up any outside work. His favorite pastime was watching television. Sitting for long periods, his belly had gradually swollen. He glanced out the window and said, "It’s so cold outside. Let’s go tomorrow morning."

Chen Qingrong issued an unquestionable command, "You just watch the NBA all day, even the recorded tapes. You’re going to watch yourself into a fool. Come with me to the mall." In their household, Chen Qingrong’s word was final. Although Zhang Yuanzheng was reluctant to go out, he dawdled for a moment before finally standing up.

The couple went downstairs. A group of elderly neighbors were chatting enthusiastically at the corner. A thin old man greeted them proactively, "Old Zhang, where are you heading?"

"Just going for a walk." Zhang Yuanzheng handed the thin old man a cigarette and chatted casually for a few sentences. Seeing that Chen Qingrong had walked ahead, he bid farewell to the thin old man, quickened his pace, and caught up to walk alongside Chen Qingrong.

The thin old man took a drag of the cigarette, examined the brand closely, and remarked, "Hey, Zhang Yuanzheng has really made it now. He’s smoking Hongtashan. I guess the taste isn’t much different from Hongmei cigarettes." Someone nearby laughed, "Hongtashan costs ten yuan a pack, while Hongmei is only three yuan. That’s a threefold difference in price. I don’t believe Hongmei tastes any better."

The thin old man and Zhang Yuanzheng had been colleagues at the same factory. He was a skilled fitter. After taking early retirement, his family’s financial situation was poor, and his wife was ill. He had taken a job at a township enterprise. The pay was decent—1,500 yuan a month—but the workload was heavy. He worked from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day, with only a one-hour break at noon. This clearly violated national labor policies, but when money was needed, who cared about such regulations?

Looking at Zhang Yuanzheng’s slightly plump figure, he sighed, "Back at the factory, both Zhang Yuanzheng and I were as thin as bamboo poles. Now he’s put on weight. It’s better to have a daughter. She can marry a wealthy man, and you won’t have to work for farmers at this age."

Someone nearby said, "The year before last, when others got married, you were still mocking the Zhang family for their daughter marrying into a prefectural county. Now you’re starting to envy them?"

The thin old man replied, "Times change. I heard his son-in-law is some official in the county. He must have embezzled quite a bit of money. Who knows, he might end up in prison someday. I work honestly, sleep soundly at night, and eat well during the day."

The surrounding group of elderly people burst into a fit of scoffing laughter.

As they walked, Chen Qingrong suddenly thought of something else. "Old man, since we have nothing better to do, let’s have Xiaojia and Hou Weidong have a baby after she graduates. We can take care of the child."

Zhang Yuanzheng said, "Hou Weidong’s mother is also retired. She’s a primary school teacher. If she wants to raise the grandchild, what will we do?"

Chen Qingrong stated firmly, "The most important thing for a child is education. The educational resources in Shazhou are definitely much better than in those prefectural counties. Wu Hai County doesn’t even have parks, children’s palaces, or decent cinemas. This is very unfavorable for a child’s growth. So, we must raise the child."

Zhang Yuanzheng muttered, "If Teacher Liu comes to Xinyue Building to raise the grandchild, your argument falls apart."

Chen Qingrong said dissatisfiedly, "The Liu family has three children, and we only have one daughter. It’s only reasonable for us to help raise the child."

In reality, Hou Weidong had no intention of having children yet, so he naturally hadn’t considered that his mother-in-law was already fully set on raising the grandchild. His mind was still focused on the New Management Committee. After all, it was his first time holding such an important position, and there were too many matters requiring his attention.

In the afternoon, Zhang Jin and Zhang Xiangyu, Deputy Directors of the New Management Committee, along with Office Director Yang Liu, Finance Section Chief Shen Yonghua, Investment Promotion Section Chief Yi Tianyun, Infrastructure Section Chief Yang Zhong, and several others, arrived at Xinyue Building on time in two cars.

Most of the mid-level cadres of the original New Management Committee were present, except for Research Office Director Yi Zhongcheng and former Project Section Chief Du Tiejun. Du Tiejun had originally been the Project Section Chief. After Hou Weidong joined the New Management Committee, he found a pretext to restructure the Project Section into the Investment Promotion Section, making Du Tiejun the Deputy Section Chief. Du had been resisting Hou Weidong over this matter ever since. Zhang Jin and the others were well aware of this situation, so they had not invited him when they came to Shazhou.

Hou Weidong waited for them at the main gate. As everyone got out of the cars and walked into Xinyue Building, Zhang Xiangyu looked at the spacious atrium and praised, "I’ve heard for a long time that Xinyue Building is well-constructed. Indeed, it lives up to its reputation."

The group entered Xinyue Building. As the host, Hou Weidong introduced, "Xinyue Building is the best residential complex in Shazhou. With the completion of Xinyue Building, the era of single-building housing in Shazhou has come to an end. Nowadays, those with better economic conditions in Shazhou prefer to live in community housing. If every building developed by the New Management Committee reaches this standard, the New Management Committee will surely become the true backyard of Shazhou."

Zhang Jin and the others had only heard of Xinyue Building’s fame; none had ever entered it. Standing in the wide atrium, they saw extensive greenery, excellently planned lawns, and various fitness equipment, pavilions, streams, and rockeries, making the atrium resemble a park.

Yang Liu and the others stood in the courtyard, looking around curiously. She asked Xiaojia beside her, "Sister Zhang, how much are the houses here selling for now?" Xiaojia, who had been graciously accompanying the guests from the New Management Committee, replied warmly, "When we bought our house, the price was just over 1,000 yuan per square meter. Now it’s around 1,500 yuan per square meter."

"That’s 150,000 yuan for a 100-square-meter apartment." Upon hearing the price, Yang Liu stuck out her tongue in shock. "My salary is only 600 yuan. Even with savings, it would take me two months to buy one square meter. For a 100-square-meter house, I would have to go without food or drink for 200 months."

Xiaojia had never worried about money or calculated such large sums, so she was also startled by Yang Liu’s calculation.

Bu Gao had known for a long time that the New Management Committee members would come to Xinyue Building to pay New Year calls to Hou Weidong. When Zhang Jin and Zhang Xiangyu’s vehicles entered the Shazhou urban area, he brought several mid-level managers from the company out of the property management office and waited downstairs.

Jiang Jianguo, the Deputy General Manager of Bugao Company, was Bu Gao’s classmate from university. He was technically proficient. According to Bu Gao’s assessment, Jiang had a very high IQ but a very low EQ. With his hands tucked into his sleeves, Jiang said, "President Bu, the New Management Committee is only at the principal section level. Do we really need to wait for them here? If there’s anything, we can just ask the old man to say a word."

Bu Gao smiled, "One must remain low-key. The old man is getting old and will step down in a few years. That’s the natural law of life." He added, "These people may be from a prefectural county, but they all hold real power. Especially Hou Weidong, who is only in his twenties. His future is limitless. Making friends with him means we can secure engineering projects for at least twenty years. Forget it, you wouldn’t understand these things anyway. Just focus on managing the quality well."

This was also a viewpoint that Mayor Bu had long instilled in Bu Gao.

Jiang Jianguo had followed Bu Gao since school. He didn’t get angry at being scolded. Breathing out white mist in the cold air, he watched the main gate.

It wasn’t long before Hou Weidong led a group of people walking in. Hou Weidong was standing at the gate, explaining something to the New Management Committee members.

Bu Gao quickened his pace and said with slight exaggeration, "Director Hou, Director Zhang, Director Zhang, ah, all the leaders of the New Management Committee are here."

He shook hands with Hou Weidong, Zhang Jin, Zhang Xiangyu, and others. While shaking hands with Zhang Xiangyu, the two exchanged a glance.

Bu Gao said happily, "Director Hou, it’s better to meet by chance than by invitation. During the Spring Festival, Bugao Company held a Bugao real estate exhibition at the People’s Square. This exhibition will also be sent to Yiyang. I originally wanted to wait until work resumed to seek your opinions, but since you are all in Shazhou today, please move to our company and give us some feedback on the exhibition."

He made a joke, "Whether Yiyang real estate sells well or not depends largely on this exhibition. Everyone must support us."

Hou Weidong had not expected to encounter Bu Gao here. Subconsciously, he glanced at Xiaojia with the corner of his eye. Xiaojia greeted Bu Gao and then continued discussing housing prices with Yang Liu.

He was unsure of Bu Gao’s intentions. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright, let’s go over there." The project was going well, funds were sufficient, and construction progress was extremely fast. Hou Weidong frequently visited the construction site and was very satisfied with Bugao Company’s operations. This had greatly improved his evaluation of Bu Gao, so he gave him plenty of face in front of everyone.

Everyone got into the cars. Hou Weidong thought to himself, "Is it really such a coincidence? How did we run into Bu Gao?" But then he thought again, Xinyue Building’s property management was handled by Bugao Company, and Bu Gao often came to Xinyue Building. Running into him by chance was quite normal.

Xiaojia originally did not want to go to Bu Gao’s company, as she felt somewhat awkward. However, as the hostess, she thought it over and decided to get into the car with Hou Weidong.

Bugao Company’s exhibition hall was exquisite. In addition to more than thirty display boards, there was a large sand table. A VCD played the growth history of Bugao Company, showing how it developed from a small township enterprise into a construction group with first-class qualifications. The first impression was very good.

Xiao Man was a dancer in the song and dance troupe. She was well-versed in social situations and had good eloquence, so she personally explained to the New Management Committee members. Such a beautiful woman made the New Management Committee members constantly swallow their saliva.

Hou Weidong took a moment to introduce to Xiaojia, "This is Bu Gao’s girlfriend, Xiao Man."