Chapter 405: New Life (Part 2)

“Director Hou, you were out having fun last night, weren’t you? You’re just now back.” Ma Bo smiled.

Hou Weidong had made up his mind to keep the matter of Li Jing completely hidden, so he certainly wouldn’t let any hint slip in front of Ma Bo. He acted as if nothing were wrong. “Where would I have time for fun? I was called out early this morning. I went to bed late last night and got up early today. I’ve only slept three or four hours. I really need to find a place to catch up on some sleep.”

He yawned twice in succession. “Have you had breakfast? I was planning to eat at the Small Guesthouse this morning. I heard their breakfast is quite good. I’ve been wanting to try it for a while.”

Ma Bo’s eyes shifted slightly. “Director Hou, if Secretary Zhou doesn’t have any arrangements for tonight, I’d like to treat you to dinner.”

Ma Bo had been asked by someone to invite Hou Weidong to dinner. Moreover, deep down, he wanted to strengthen his personal relationship with Hou Weidong. In Ma Bo’s eyes, Hou Weidong was not only Secretary Zhou Changquan’s favorite but also had very close ties with Huang Zidi and Hong Ang. Such a person was bound to hold significant power sooner or later. Therefore, Ma Bo was quite eager to curry favor with Hou Weidong.

Hou Weidong leaned his head back against the chair, and his thoughts immediately drifted to the little clown-faced baby. “Is this really my son?” He felt as if he were in a dream.

Ma Bo, of course, had no idea what Hou Weidong was thinking. “Director Hou, I am the squad leader of the motor pool. According to the precedent in many regions, the motor pool squad leader is given the title of deputy section chief or even section chief. You are the leader of the office. Could you mention this matter during the meetings?”

Hou Weidong was still thinking about his son when he heard Ma Bo directly asking for a promotion. He smiled. “That’s easy to arrange. You already manage the motor pool, so you are more than qualified to be a section chief. It’s just that this section-level position is roughly equivalent to the scope of work you currently manage.”

Ma Bo laughed. “Then I hope Director Hou will speak well of me.”

Ma Bo had driven for leaders at the Municipal Party Committee for several years. He had seen a lot and had a keen sense of political timing. Given Secretary Zhou Changquan’s age, he would definitely be transferred when his term ended. The new Secretary would generally choose a new driver. Having been a driver for so many years, Ma Bo was tired of it. He wanted to secure a section chief or deputy section chief position first. With this stepping stone, he could transfer to a bureau or department before Zhou Changquan’s term ended.

Hou Weidong’s mind was entirely on Little Chou Chou in Lingxi. He didn’t pay much attention to Ma Bo’s thoughts. “This is a minor matter. There’s no need to thank me. You’re being too polite.” Hou Weidong was speaking the truth. Promoting the dedicated driver of the Municipal Party Secretary to a section-level position was indeed a simple matter. No one would obstruct it.

The two men, each with their own thoughts, arrived at the Small Guesthouse. Secretary Zhou Changquan was standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the flowers in the garden.

Zhou Changquan was getting older. After finishing playing Doukou at 1:00 AM, he had tossed and turned in his room like a pancake in an iron skillet. He barely fell asleep around 3:00 AM. At 5:00 AM, someone shouted outside the guesthouse wall, waking him up. Once awake, he was like a pancake in the skillet again, flipping back and forth. It wasn’t until 7:00 AM that he finally ended his painful sleep.

Zhou Changquan sighed somewhat sentimentally to Hou Weidong. “I remember when I was young, I was famous for falling asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. Now, if it’s past midnight, I can’t sleep well. Time spares no one.”

Such words could only be spoken by the person experiencing them. Although Hou Weidong had a close relationship with Zhou Changquan, he dared not say such things. He simply smiled beside him, admiring the flowers and plants with Zhou Changquan. The varieties of plants at the Small Guesthouse were ordinary, far inferior to the flowers and plants of Old Xing at the Qinglin Town Grain Station back in the day. However, they benefited from ample fertilizer. Everywhere was lush and green, appearing full of vitality.

Although he hadn’t slept well and felt somewhat tired, Zhou Changquan still maintained his good mood from the previous day. He took the initiative to say, “The congee and pickled vegetables at the Small Guesthouse suit my taste very well. Can you join me for two bowls? Do you think you can still eat?”

Hou Weidong had been traveling all along and was starving. He said, “I happened not to have breakfast this morning. I heard the breakfast at the Small Guesthouse is good, so it’s the perfect time to try it.”

The Small Guesthouse restaurant was spotless, with soft background music playing. The heads and subordinates of the guesthouse were all present in the restaurant, supervising the service to ensure that Secretary Zhou Changquan ate comfortably, healthily, and happily.

After dismissing the chatty director of the Small Guesthouse, Zhou Changquan and Hou Weidong began to enjoy the breakfast carefully prepared by the guesthouse’s top chefs. After a night of travel, Hou Weidong was ravenous. He drank three large bowls of congee, ate two eggs, and ten steamed buns. His stomach filled with hot food, he felt a sense of comfort spread through his whole body.

“I wonder if Little Chou Chou has enough milk?” Hou Weidong’s thoughts unconsciously drifted back to Li Jing and Little Chou Chou in Lingxi.

“What an appetite!” Zhou Changquan couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration as he watched Hou Weidong eat like a hero from Liangshan, sweeping everything away.

This made Hou Weidong feel a bit embarrassed. Although his appetite was usually large, it had never reached this level of gluttony. Today was truly an exception. He praised, “The breakfast at the Small Guesthouse really lives up to its reputation.” Then he laughed self-deprecatingly, “I ate too much today. I usually can’t eat this much.”

Zhou Changquan appreciated Hou Weidong’s vitality. Putting down his chopsticks, he said, “Now that we’ve eaten and drunk our fill, come with me to take a look at the Southern New District.”

Seeing that Zhou Changquan was getting down to business, Hou Weidong immediately returned to work mode. His expression became serious, and his mind sharpened. “Should we notify Director Gao Jian?” Zhou Changquan waved his hand. “No need. We’ll just take a quick tour of the Southern New District.”

Ma Bo was wiping the car body with a soft cloth. Although the car had designated maintenance and cleaning points, whenever he had free time, he would take a soft cloth to wipe the car. This wasn’t just for show; he genuinely loved the car.

After Zhou Changquan and Hou Weidong got into the car, Ma Bo pressed the accelerator. The car drove out of the Small Guesthouse smoothly and quickly, then accelerated, heading rapidly toward the Southern New City.

They found a small hill, and Zhou Changquan enthusiastically climbed up.

The Southern New District in spring was indeed full of vitality. Green leaves and red flowers competed for attention. However, as a development zone, the large areas of wild green plants made the new district look somewhat incongruous.

Standing on the small hillside, Hou Weidong couldn’t help but think of Li Jing, who was far away in Lingxi. He remembered the nurse’s instructions and the several precautions she had mentioned. The fact that he couldn’t be by Li Jing’s side when she was most vulnerable, but instead was standing on a hillside with Secretary Zhou Changquan looking at the scenery, brought a bitter taste to his heart once again.

Zhou Changquan stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the vast wilderness below. After standing on the hillside for about half an hour, he raised his hand and pointed to the land ahead. “This piece of land is at least several times larger than the Yiyang New Management Committee area. Yet, its driving effect is far inferior to that of the Yiyang New Management Committee. It has not only failed to become the locomotive of Shazhou’s development but has even become a target for some people to attack the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government.”

Hou Weidong had once served as the director of the New Management Committee. He also looked down on the development level of the Southern New District. He spoke tactfully, “The Southern New District still has great potential to be tapped.”

Zhou Changquan was clearly very dissatisfied with the development progress of the Southern New District. “Saying there is potential to be tapped means the current work is not good enough. Is that what you mean?”

Gao Jian, the director of the Southern New District Management Committee, was an experienced leading cadre. He often contacted Hou Weidong, and their relationship was quite good. Hou Weidong intentionally spoke up for Gao Jian. “The slow development of the Southern New District is due to objective conditions. One important reason is insufficient investment. Nowadays, investors not only need policy incentives but also a relaxed development environment and good infrastructure. Compared to the West District, the Southern New District actually has few advantages. Its infrastructure is also much worse. Therefore, investors prefer to go to the West District rather than actively enter the Southern New District.”

Hou Weidong spoke candidly, and Zhou Changquan basically agreed with his point of view. “The Provincial Party Committee has already approved the ‘Rules of Procedure for the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee.’ After the rules are issued, the first major issue to be resolved is the relocation of the offices of the Municipal Party Committee, the Municipal People’s Congress, the Municipal Government, and the Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.”

He laughed heartily. “Mayor Liu only thinks about relocating the Municipal Government building. The idea is not bad, but his vision is not grand enough. Since we want to drive the development of the Southern New District, it doesn’t hurt to make a bigger move.”

Suddenly hearing that the offices of the four major bodies were to be relocated, Hou Weidong was momentarily stunned.

Zhou Changquan ordered, “After we return, please call Secretary Huang and Secretary-General Hong to the office. Let’s discuss this matter together, and then submit it to the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee for discussion. If the discussion agrees, we will proceed with the next steps.”

After Mayor Liu Bing bypassed the Municipal Party Committee to plan the relocation of the Municipal Government office building, Zhou Changquan had been paying close attention to the matter. After long consideration and specifically consulting experts in the province and leaders of the Provincial Party Committee, and receiving affirmative answers, he had made up his mind to launch the relocation project for the offices of the four major bodies.

This session of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee could only discuss whether to initiate the relocation project. Once officially launched, there were still many preparatory tasks to be done and many links to be smoothed out.

Hou Weidong was well aware of the open and covert struggles between Zhou and Liu. For Zhou Changquan’s move this time, he couldn’t help but admire him in his heart. “Secretary Changquan has said many times that the Secretary-General is good at using open strategies. In fact, he himself is most skilled at confronting others openly and fairly.”

The practice of driving regional development by relocating the administrative center had many successful examples across the country. Mayor Liu Bing’s idea to relocate the Municipal Government was not a bad one. However, he had always bypassed the Municipal Party Committee on this matter. Now, Secretary Zhou Changquan was taking action from a global perspective, openly and fairly, and with a larger scale. In comparison, this highlighted Liu Bing’s lack of broad-mindedness and insufficient authority.

After descending the hill, as the car passed by the Municipal Government compound, Hou Weidong glanced at the dignified Municipal Government building and thought to himself, “If Liu Bing learns of this, what will he think?”