Chapter 417: Family Life (Part 2)

Hou Weidong sat in his office, sensing that the air smelled slightly off. He sniffed around until he realized the scent was the milky fragrance clinging to his clothes from Xiao Jianjian. Before becoming a father, he had thought all babies smelled roughly the same. But now, with both Xiao Chouchou and Xiao Jianjian, he noticed their scents were distinct, yet both intoxicated him in their own way.

Thinking of Xiao Chouchou’s cute face, a pang of tenderness struck his heart. Taking advantage of the fact that Zhou Changquan was not in the office, he called Li Jing.

“Is Xiao Chouchou doing well?” Even though the office was empty, Hou Weidong lowered his voice.

Li Jing was sweating profusely. Although she was still breastfeeding, she had gradually resumed work. In addition to reviewing reports, she insisted on going to the company office every morning and exercising regularly, hoping to restore her figure as quickly as possible.

Upon receiving Hou Weidong’s call, she wiped the sweat from her face with a towel and walked into the bedroom while answering. Xiao Chouchou had just finished feeding and was kicking his legs and waving his arms on the bed, cooing happily. Li Jing placed the phone near the baby. Xiao Chouchou reached out, trying to grab the phone. After several failed attempts, he grew frustrated and began to cry loudly. Hearing the vigorous cry on the other end, Hou Weidong couldn’t bear to hang up. A moment later, Li Jing called back.

“Your son has a powerful voice,” she said with an admiring tone. “When he cries, it shakes the roof.”

Hou Weidong felt a brief surge of joy, but then his thoughts turned to the messy situation at home in Xinyue Village, and his mood sank. “Xiao Jing, you don’t hate me, do you?”

Li Jing had been happy to receive his call, but this sudden, context-less question caught her off guard. Being intuitive, she understood the reason behind it immediately without needing to ponder. Instead, she comforted him: “Don’t take it to heart. This was my own choice. As long as you have us mother and son in your heart, that is enough.”

“I feel uneasy because I cannot give you a complete family,” Hou Weidong said. These words had been buried deep in his heart for a long time, suppressed until now. Using Xiao Chouchou’s cry as a pretext, he finally voiced them.

Li Jing was silent for a long moment before speaking. “If you can say that, I am satisfied. You know my history best. After graduating from vocational school, I struggled in society. After my father passed away, my mother remarried in less than six months. At that time, I felt I had no relatives left in this world and never considered marriage again. You are the star of my destiny. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had a child.”

She continued, “But things are different now. We have Xiao Chouchou.”

Li Jing had a deep bond with her father. When he fell ill and died, she had woken up crying several times in the middle of the night. The image of her father tossing on his sickbed, with not a penny left in the house, remained etched in her mind like a knife cut. After handling his funeral, she managed to transfer from a small public institution to Shadaosi, which was booming at the time. This move laid the foundation for what would become the Jinggong Group.

Li Jing found it hard to forgive her mother for “betraying” her father. Aside from sending money regularly to support her, she had not seen her mother for years. Her mother in their hometown was unaware of major events in Li Jing’s life, such as her “marriage” and the birth of her child.

Because Hou Weidong understood Li Jing so well, he knew how deeply she longed for a family, which only added to his psychological burden.

They talked for about twenty minutes. When Secretary-General Hong Ang walked into the office, Hou Weidong casually put his phone in the drawer, stood up, and said, “Secretary-General.” Seeing that Hong Ang was looking for someone, he added, “Secretary Zhou, Secretary Huang, and Secretary Ji are discussing matters in the small conference room.”

Hong Ang sat opposite Hou Weidong. “The affordable housing project in the West District has started. The construction is halfway done. Secretary Zhou once promised Old Liang he would inspect it. Old Liang is impatient and has urged him several times.”

“Secretary Zhou mentioned this just now. He has arranged to visit the affordable housing site after the meeting,” Hou Weidong replied.

Affordable housing, often abbreviated as such, refers in China to social security housing funded and supported by the government, characterized by both economic affordability and practical utility.

In 1998, the State Council issued a guiding document on housing system reform, titled Notice on Further Deepening the Reform of the Urban Housing System and Accelerating Housing Construction. This notice decided to stop the allocation of physical housing units in line with the goals of commercialization and socialization of housing. Simultaneously, considering the economic and psychological承受能力 (capacity to bear) of residents at the time, it established a multi-tiered housing supply system centered on affordable housing: high-income earners would buy or rent market-rate commercial housing; middle- and low-income earners would purchase affordable housing; and the lowest-income earners would rent low-rent housing provided by the government or their units.

Shazhou began constructing its first batch of affordable housing in the West District in the spring of 1999. Now halfway built, the general outline was visible. Liang Yong, the Party Secretary of the West District, had invited Secretary Zhou to inspect the site several times, partly to showcase his achievements and partly to争取 (seek) more policy support.

After the meeting ended, Hou Weidong reported to Zhou Changquan, “Secretary-General Hong Ang visited earlier.”

Zhou Changquan smiled. “It’s probably about the affordable housing. This Old Liang is like a sticky rice cake—once he latches onto something, he won’t let go.”

This remark was ostensibly critical but actually complimentary. The West District was now the location of the municipal party committee and government, and Liang Yong, as its Party Secretary, held considerable status in Shazhou. Previously, when Shazhou needed a vice mayor, Liang Yong and Zhu Yan were the hottest candidates. They had engaged in a covert struggle, with the outcome uncertain. No one expected a dark horse to emerge: Gao Rong, who had been relatively unknown, was suddenly chosen by the Provincial Party Committee to become the Vice Mayor of Shazhou.

After Gao Rong became Vice Mayor, he was in charge of science and technology. In terms of actual power, he was arguably less influential than Liang Yong, who controlled an entire district. Liang Yong had missed his opportunity, and in the second round of competition, Hong Ang had taken the lead.

As the saying goes, “One step ahead means always ahead; one step behind means always behind.” In officialdom, these sixteen characters summarize historical experience and the reflections of countless talented individuals on their wasted years.

Liang Yong had fallen behind by one step. Years later, he was still a district Party Secretary at the department level. In contrast, Zhu Yan had taken the lead, becoming the Deputy Secretary of the Maoyun Prefecture Party Committee. When Maoyun was upgraded to a city, he became the first Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. Now, he was the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Acting Mayor, a full department-level cadre.

When Liang Yong saw Zhou Changquan, Hong Ang, and Hou Weidong, he greeted them with a broad smile. Journalists carrying cameras followed closely behind.

Zhou Changquan glanced back at Hong Ang and said, “We’re just here to look. Why make it so formal?”

Hong Ang laughed. “It’s definitely Old Liang’s idea.”

Zhou Changquan showed no sign of blame. “Affordable housing is a major policy. It deepens urban housing reform and improves living conditions for citizens. Extensive publicity is appropriate.”

Liang Yong had put considerable effort into the affordable housing project. It was one of his main achievements in 1999. Having spent a lot of time on it, he was very familiar with the details. When introducing it to Zhou Changquan, he spoke clearly and accurately, with every data point correct.

One building had just been topped out. Liang Yong led Zhou Changquan upstairs to carefully inspect the interior. Zhou Changquan examined it closely and said, “Affordable housing is called ‘economic,’ but it is actually supported by government funding. It is housing for the people’s hearts and a policy-driven project. There must be absolutely no quality issues.”

These remarks, along with the footage of him entering the building, were recorded. However, since Zhou Changquan had brought very few people and went directly up the stairs, the dim lighting in the stairwell made the footage look less than ideal.

As they were coming down, they encountered another group inspecting the affordable housing. It was officials from the Land and Housing Bureau accompanying Mayor Liu Bing, who had also come to inspect.

Liu Bing was startled when he saw Zhou Changquan coming down the stairs. The two shook hands politely and met with the provincial officials before parting ways.

In the afternoon, while Hou Weidong was accompanying Zhou Changquan at a large meeting, Zhou was speaking from the podium, and Hou was sitting bored in the reception room outside, letting his mind wander. Suddenly, Zhu Jielin, Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department, hurried over.

Hou Weidong saw that Zhu Jielin was sweating profusely, with his clothes soaked. “Director Zhu, is there an emergency?”

Zhu Jielin wiped his sweat and said, “It’s not exactly an emergency, but I need to ask for instructions. This morning, Secretary Zhou and Mayor Liu Bing inspected the affordable housing separately. When we reviewed the program for broadcast, we found some issues.”

“What issues?”

“Normally, Secretary Zhou’s footage would be placed first, and Mayor Liu’s second. During the review, we noticed that Secretary Zhou’s footage was very short, with few people and dim lighting. Mayor Liu, on the other hand, inspected with the provincial and municipal Land and Housing Bureau officials. When the two segments are played together, it looks awkward. Director Chen asked me to seek Director Hou’s opinion.”

Seeing that Hou Weidong didn’t fully grasp the nuance, Zhu Jielin added, “Please come to the TV station to take a look, Director Hou.”

Thinking the meeting would last a while longer, Hou Weidong followed Zhu Jielin to the Broadcasting and Television Building.

After watching the TV program, Hou Weidong understood the dilemma of the Propaganda Department. Both Zhou Changquan and Liu Bing had inspected the affordable housing, so the program had to be broadcast. However, Zhou Changquan had brought only a few people, made no speeches, and simply walked around the community. The footage was rudimentary. In contrast, Liu Bing had first attended a large meeting where provincial experts spoke, and then arrived at the site surrounded by a large entourage.

In comparison, Zhou Changquan appeared to lack the demeanor of a Party Secretary, looking somewhat shabby. The Propaganda Department felt very awkward about this and quickly reported it. Deputy Director Zhu Jielin also felt troubled and came to find Hou Weidong.