Chapter 85: Unintentional Willow (Part 7)

Chapter 85: Unintentional Willow (7)

This is a realistic novel. Conflicts will gradually erupt as the plot unfolds. I hope readers will continue to follow the protagonist’s fate. Today is March 1st. To those who support Xiao Qiao, please cast your valuable monthly votes for him. Xiao Qiao is deeply grateful.

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Hou Weidong had not enjoyed the singing session at the Yiyang Hotel earlier, so the mere suggestion of going out to sing again made him feel nauseous. It was even worse that Liu Kun was inviting him, accompanied by Duan Ying. With an apologetic expression, Hou Weidong told Liu Kun, “I’ve had too much to drink today and my head is spinning. Let’s talk about it another time.”

Duan Ying knew that Hou Weidong had no place to stay in Yiyang and would inevitably have to sleep in a hotel alone. The thought stirred an unexplained sympathy in her heart, along with a thread of tender affection. However, these complex emotions could only be buried deep within. She waved goodbye to Hou Weidong together with Liu Kun.

As they passed each other, she couldn’t help but glance back. Seeing Hou Weidong get into a taxi, she felt a faint sense of disappointment.

Liu Kun, however, was in high spirits. “Let’s go to Shazhou this Sunday,” he said. “I’ll go borrow a car from the Transportation Bureau.”

Duan Ying replied with a hint of irritation, “I want to sleep in on Sunday. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

In front of Duan Ying, Liu Kun’s temper and patience were impeccable. “How about this: I’ll treat you to fish for lunch. There’s a new fish restaurant near the Transportation Bureau, and the food is quite good.”

Duan Ying was half-rejecting and half-accepting Liu Kun’s pursuit, so she didn’t refuse further. “I know that restaurant. I’ll go directly there at eleven.”

Hou Weidong got into the taxi and soon arrived at the guesthouse of Shazhou College. The guesthouse was old, and its facilities were somewhat dilapidated, but it was quiet and clean. He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a while, and his restless mood gradually settled.

“What path should I take in the future? What am I truly pursuing?”

He silently pondered these complex questions of life. For the past half year since leaving school, he had been like a kite with a broken string, drifting aimlessly in the air without roots or direction.

“Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.” This was the life motto of Chinese intellectuals. Hou Weidong admitted he wasn’t quite an intellectual, but subconsciously, he still harbored a strong desire to engage with the world. In underdeveloped areas like Yiyang and Wu Hai, there was only one metric for a man’s success: how high he climbed in the official hierarchy. Ultimately, Hou Weidong had taken the public recruitment exam for party and government cadres in Yiyang because he wanted to realize his life’s value in the political arena. Yet, half a year had passed, and he had plunged headfirst into the deep waters of Shangqinglin, swimming desperately. He could vaguely see the other shore, but he had yet to step onto solid ground.

After thinking it over repeatedly, Hou Weidong clarified his thoughts once again: “I am just an insignificant person. Governing the state and bringing peace to the world is too distant. For now, I can only focus on cultivating myself and regulating my family. My most urgent goal is to find a way to transfer to Shazhou within three years.”

This was a very practical goal. Although there was no clear lead on the transfer, Hou Weidong was not willing to give up.

The next day, Hou Weidong deliberately indulged himself, sleeping in until 10:30 a.m. By the time he returned to Qinglin Town on a bus that moved as slowly as an old ox, it was already 2:00 p.m.

Hou Weidong planned to report to Su Ming. After all, County Mayor Ma had expressed willingness to provide one million yuan, and he needed to clarify the next steps. He ordered two dishes at a restaurant outside Qinglin Town, ate them hastily, and then entered the township government building.

Several people were sitting in Su Ming’s office, the air thick with smoke. Seeing Hou Weidong appear outside, Su Ming said, “Hou Weidong, you’re just in time. I was looking for you.”

Su Ming introduced the others to Hou Weidong: “This is Secretary Yang, Director Ling, and Clerk Li from Hongheba Village. And this is ‘Madman Hou,’ the one who built the road.”

Secretary Yang tossed a cigarette to Hou Weidong and continued addressing Su Ming: “The main reason Hongheba Village doesn’t have a road is the need to build a bridge. However, the bridge only needs to span twelve or thirteen meters, and the cost won’t exceed two hundred thousand yuan. Town Mayor Su, Hongheba is the only village in Xiaqinglin without a road. Since the mountain road in Shangqinglin could be built, the town should also consider building a road for Hongheba Village. Both palms and backs of the hand are flesh; we need to treat everyone equally.”

Seeing Secretary Yang’s agitated emotion, Su Ming said, “The town didn’t spend a single penny on the Shangqinglin road. Hou Weidong knows the road-building process best. Let him explain it to you.”

Hou Weidong then realized that the village cadres of Hongheba also wanted to build a road. Since he had single-handedly initiated the project, he recounted the entire process to the village cadres in detail, like a merchant listing his wares.

After explaining the situation, Town Mayor Su added, “The town’s funds are indeed tight. The Shangqinglin road relied mainly on the labor contributions of the villagers, including the land compensation fees, which were all contributed by the villagers.”

Secretary Yang remained silent for a long time. After smoking a few puffs, he said, “Yesterday, I led the village cadres to walk along the Shangqinglin road. It’s really well-built. They even constructed eight culverts.”

Hou Weidong smiled with a sense of achievement. “Culverts are essential facilities for roads, mainly for drainage. There are many mountain gullies on Shangqinglin Mountain. Whenever it rains, mountain water flows down, so culverts are indispensable. Actually, eight isn’t enough.”

Secretary Yang studied Hou Weidong for a while before saying, “Town Mayor Su, I have a request. Once the Shangqinglin road is completed, please assign ‘Madman Hou’ to our village. We aim to build the Honghe Bridge by 1995.”

Seeing the village’s enthusiasm, Su Ming was pleased and laughed, “Alright. Once the Shangqinglin road is finished, we’ll transfer Hou Weidong to Hongheba Village.”

Being valued and respected is a spiritual need for everyone. Hearing Secretary Yang’s words, Hou Weidong felt a sense of satisfaction and said, “Thank you, Secretary Yang, for your trust.”

After the Hongheba village cadres left, Su Ming closed the office door and asked, “What exactly happened yesterday?” Seeing Su Ming’s sudden serious expression, Hou Weidong was momentarily confused. “Town Mayor Su, what do you mean? I’m not quite clear.”

“Yesterday, Town Mayor Qin and you went to see County Mayor Ma. What did you discuss?”

Hou Weidong recounted the events of the previous day.

Su Ming complained, “These two leaders don’t communicate with each other. Now things have become a mess. It’s really troublesome.” He then told Hou Weidong, “Zhao Yongsheng just called Township Head Gao and instructed you to arrive at the township government by four o’clock no matter what. We’ll discuss the Shangqinglin road matter shortly.”

The meeting started promptly at four o’clock.

The conference room had an oval table. Zhao Yongsheng, Qin Feiyue, Jiang Xingcai, Su Ming, Pang Pangzi, Tang Shugang, and two middle-aged men whose names Hou Weidong didn’t know were present. This was Hou Weidong’s first time attending a joint party and government meeting of the township government. He wasn’t qualified to sit at the round table, so he sat on a row of chairs against the wall. He felt nervous because both Zhao Yongsheng and Qin Feiyue wore frosty expressions.

Zhao Yongsheng presided over the meeting. He first discussed two trivial matters, then quickly got to the main topic. “Yesterday, Township Head Gao and I visited Gao Zhiyuan, the Director of the Shazhou People’s Congress, and asked him to intervene to include the Shangqinglin road in the key transportation construction projects for 1994. Gao Zhiyuan is an old leader of Qinglin Town. He agreed without hesitation. In front of us, he called Secretary Zhu of the County Party Committee.”

At this point, Zhao Yongsheng paused intentionally, then raised his voice. “This morning, Director Gui Gang called me to ask what was going on with the Qinglin Town leadership team.” He glanced at Qin Feiyue with his peripheral vision. “The Secretary and the Town Mayor are not on the same page. Regarding the same issue, on the same day, one reported to the County Mayor, and the other reported to the Secretary. What does this mean? Town Mayor Qin, you acted without due consideration.”

Qin Feiyue did not back down. “As the head of the administrative branch, it is normal for me to go to the county to争取 (strive for) key projects.”

Zhao Yongsheng was very angry. “Town Mayor Qin, you knew I was going to see Gao Zhiyuan. Why didn’t you wait a day? Why did you have to go see County Mayor Ma on the same day? What does this mean? If we have different opinions, that’s just a difference of view in work. We can negotiate within the leadership team. By doing this, you’ve exposed our disagreements to the county leaders. Do you still care about unity? Do you still care about the big picture?”

He turned to look at Hou Weidong and said mercilessly, “Hou Weidong, young people should work honestly. If you spend every day scheming and looking for loopholes, you will end up badly.”

Hou Weidong had never expected Zhao Yongsheng to suddenly attack him. Blood rushed to his head, and he wanted to refute him on the spot, but he held back, stabbing his pen hard into his notebook.

Zhao Yongsheng’s criticism of Hou Weidong was actually a warning shot aimed at Qin Feiyue. “Secretary Jiang, issue a document tomorrow to remove Hou Weidong from his position as Deputy Head of the Working Group. These college students are too outrageous. They don’t understand the rules and lack morality.”

Hou Weidong was still young and didn’t realize that Zhao Yongsheng’s blade was actually aimed at Qin Feiyue. He could no longer control himself. He looked up and said word by word, “Secretary Zhao, the masses have their own judgment of what kind of person I am. As the Party Secretary, you have no right to speak without investigation. Is abusing your power impressive?”

Su Ming liked Hou Weidong from the bottom of his heart. Seeing him speak disrespectfully, he stood up immediately and sternly said, “Hou Weidong, get out.” He walked to Hou Weidong’s side, squeezed his hand tightly, and whispered, “Say less. Go back to Shangqinglin first. I’ll come up tomorrow.”

Hou Weidong’s anger had been accumulating in his heart for a long time. Today, he finally found an outlet to vent it.

Zhao Yongsheng was so angered by Hou Weidong’s words that he turned to Qin Feiyue. “The Qinglin Town Party Committee and the government are a single entity. Major decisions must be approved by the Party Committee. Matters involving the whole town cannot be decided unilaterally by the government. They must be studied by the Party Committee.”

Qin Feiyue’s mind was clear. Zhao Yongsheng’s outburst was triggered by yesterday’s incident, but the core issue lay in the township enterprises. Zhao Yongsheng wanted to take this opportunity to strengthen his power as Party Secretary and regain decision-making control over the township enterprises.

He said lightly, “Secretary Zhao, today at the joint party and government meeting, we should discuss matters objectively. Why bring a young person into this? It’s lacking in grace and reason. If you really think I did wrong, I can write a self-criticism. However, I’m not clear on what to write. Please, Secretary Zhao, help me with some reference.”

He said slowly and deliberately, “Self-criticism: I, Qin Feiyue, Town Mayor of Qinglin Town, reported work to the County Mayor without obtaining the consent of the Party Secretary, seriously violating organizational principles.”