Chapter 104: with translation of chapter title

At six in the afternoon, Lu Fan summoned the township head, the People's Congress chairman, the deputy secretary, and the discipline inspection secretary to go to the forest farm to receive Sun Shaojie and the working group of the Discipline Inspection Committee; clerk Li Yinxin waited on them.

Returning to the forest farm again, everything had changed, people were gone; seeing the office where he once worked, Lu Fan recalled many past events, and Lijing had also come here.

Farm chief Li Yifeng, accountant Wang Le, and cadres Hou Qisen, Wang Yulong, Liu Jing all came out to greet the 'old farm chief'; this was Lu Fan's first unit when he formally started work, and it felt very warm and intimate.

Seeing Lu Fan enter the kitchen, chef Chen Tianhao excitedly said, 'Chief, no, Secretary Lu, hello!' It was Lu Fan who originally hired him to the forest farm.

"Tianhao, your skills haven't deteriorated, have they?"

"Secretary Lu, just look, my lamb is so good even my dad can't fault it!"

Lu Fan smiled and said to Li Yifeng, 'The township government kitchen is missing a lamb cook.'

"Since the secretary has spoken, I can only reluctantly give it up!"

Upon entering the private room, the fragrant lamb was immediately served, and Lu Fan personally helped dish out the meat.

After one bite, the flavor was still the same, especially refreshing; this was the most fragrant lamb Lu Fan had ever eaten.

After the meal, the drinking began; Lu Fan raised his cup and said, 'Once again, welcome Director Sun and his team to guide our work in Baishu Bay. On behalf of the township government, I express my thanks—no more pleasantries: drinking reflects character, and drinking style reflects work style. Tonight we'll see who can hold their liquor!'

He downed three cups of opening wine in a row, then Lu Fan picked up a water cup, filled it full of liquor—about two liang—and said, 'Director Sun, when in the village, follow local customs; in Baishu Bay we play by our rules: I'll drink however much, and I'll toast the Discipline Inspection Committee comrades the same amount—deep feelings in one gulp!' Having said that, he drained the cup in one go.

Sun Shaojie laughed and said, 'Calling in outside help would be cheating; with just these people here, everyone has to drink, and we won't back down!'

Then Lu Fan went around, toasting each person one by one, each cup full.

When it was Du Wenlong's turn, Lu Fan deliberately poured him a little less.

Chouchou likewise drained his cup in one gulp and quietly said, 'Drink a little less!' He could see that Lu Fan was forcing a smile; extreme sorrow surpasses even heartbreak, and his smile bore a gloomy hue.

The secretary set the example, and Township Chief Cui Mingliang quickly followed, and the atmosphere began to heat up.

After the township government leaders finished their toasts, Sun Shaojie took the lead in counterattacking, using the same routine.

Lu Fan drank cup after cup without any deceit or evasion; it wasn't that he liked drinking, but he liked the numb feeling after drinking.

By the end, Lu Fan was drunk, but he relied on strong willpower to stay upright; that's how one's drinking capacity is trained.

After the gathering, Lu Fan and Du Wenlong were helped into the forest farm's guest rooms; since they were people who had come out of the farm, they naturally stayed 'at home'.

Lying in bed, Lu Fan spoke his drunken words: 'Chouchou, I feel awful!'

Du Wenlong still had some consciousness, staggered up and said, 'Brother Fan, I'll pour you some water to drink!'

"Why do this? Why abandon me, Chouchou? I feel heartbroken—it's hard for the living!"

In his sleep, Lu Fan choked out: 'I don't want to smile; no one wants me anymore, Chouchou. Do you know how bitter my fate is? Too bitter! But I still have to live!'

"Brother Fan, I know, I know everything!"

Du Wenlong felt the same, lying face down on the bed, tears streaming.

When dawn came, Lu Fan went outside to splash water on his face at the faucet; he had to go to work.

Nothing is harder than living; the heart can break, the feet cannot stop. In the adult world, who doesn't nurse wounds late at night and rush at dawn? Pass after pass, hard to get through but we get through; night after night, hard to endure but we endure; finally, one person bears it all.

Farm chief Li Yifeng heard the commotion and came out to greet, saying, 'Secretary, let me get you your wash-up supplies.'

"No need, a big man doesn't fuss over such things; thanks for the coffin matter—I'll transfer the money to you."

"Secretary, if you keep saying that, it's just insulting; besides, I didn't spend any money—Lao Cao doesn't want a penny, so I only gave him two bundles of materials."

"Another day, let's go see Lao Cao, Yifeng—I'll assign you a task: sort out the procedures for setting up a coffin processing plant, and also look into your forestry department's 'Timber Operation Permit'; clarify the timeline, difficulty, and cost of obtaining the permit, including where you need to make connections."

"No problem, Secretary; I'll go to the bureau today to coordinate. Opening a coffin shop in Baishu Bay is spot on—previous leaders never brought this up."

Lu Fan said, 'Our work efficiency and style in Ningyang—sigh, hard to put into words; an individual acting alone can hardly get things started. My idea is to form a cooperative, recruit farmers who own forest land, establishing a full production-to-sales chain. For now it's just an idea; whether it can be realized depends on how well you coordinate. I'll first go to the township government; please keep me informed of any progress.'

Returning to his unit, Lu Fan began to study the overall situation of Baishu Bay and plan next year's work direction.

Baishu Bay Township lies at the northernmost tip of Ningyang Xian, on the southern edge of the Mu Us Desert; it belongs to the typical loess hill and gully area of the Baiyu Mountains, 55 kilometers in a straight line from the county seat. The township administers 13 administrative villages, 55 villager groups, 89 natural villages, with a population of 1,518 households and 6,717 people.

In 2012, the township's gross domestic product was 22 million yuan, fiscal revenue 1.88 million yuan, per capita net income 1,920 yuan, per capita grain output 440 kilograms—a typical poor place; aside from abundant forest resources, there's nothing else, and able-bodied laborers basically all go elsewhere to work.

Baishu Bay borders Jingcheng County of Yinzhou City; locals go to market in Jingcheng, many also form marital ties there, customs and habits are similar, and interactions are very close.

As he was looking at the documents, Lu Fan heard someone cursing at the door: 'Damn it, who dares to mess with my job? I'll ruin his whole family!'

Lu Fan understood; he guessed it was one of those 'empty-salary' workers coming to cause trouble.

But after waiting a while, the person still didn't come in; he just sat outside Lu Fan's door and shouted: 'There are plenty of people not working, yet you're picking on me? You damned lot, where did my annual 'headcount funds' go? You who eat well and drink spicy dare to lay a hand on me? I want to audit the accounts!'

Besides the shouting, one could also hear a 'scratching' sound!

Clerk Li Yinxin hurried to Lu Fan's office and whispered a report: 'Secretary, Jiang Minglin has come; he's cursing at the door and sharpening a knife—you might want to avoid him, you can't reason with this sort of person.'

Lu Fan stood up and went out; indeed he saw someone sharpening a knife at the door, and he said solemnly: 'Are you Jiang Minglin? Do you realize that your conduct is disrupting the order of the township government office and has already violated the law!'

Jiang Minglin lifted his head and said: 'Damn his mother for leaving me without food—I'll go down with him!'

The township head and the People's Congress chairman also came out, and several cadres gathered around.

There's no point in saying more to such a person; Lu Fan directly told Li Yinxin: 'Notify the police station, arrest him!'

Jiang Minglin got anxious and shouted: 'So many people in the county aren't working—why single me out? Smashing someone's rice bowl is like killing their parents; whoever makes it impossible for me to survive, I'll fight to the death with them!'

Lu Fan angrily said: 'Drawing a salary without working is a serious disregard of discipline and law, not shameful but taken as pride, and they persist in it with gusto—ultimately they cannot escape severe punishment from party and state law!'

I tell you, as long as I stay in Baishu Bay for a day, I will not allow anyone to shamelessly embezzle public funds, undermine unity and destroy fairness and justice, tarnish the image of Party cadres among the masses, or damage the credibility of the Party and government! Li Yinxin, call the police at once!'

"Okay, Secretary!"

Jiang Minglin was just bluffing; seeing no effect, he quickly softened and pleaded: 'Secretary Lu, I was wrong! As the unit's leader, you should protect the staff, right? Not working was my fault—at least give me a chance to mend my ways; you can't just beat someone to death with one stick!'

Lu Fan said: 'I can't do anything about this; the county Discipline Inspection Committee is investigating. I have my Party principles—I will never cover up any cadre who is indifferent to discipline and law and who undermines fairness and justice. As for how to handle it, I will follow the organization's decision.'

Having said that, Lu Fan returned to his office and paid no further attention to him; if he dared to cause trouble again, the police station would take care of him.

Those remarks were also meant for the township government cadres to hear—this approach leads nowhere!

Not long after, another three 'empty-salary' cadres came to Lu Fan's office, admitted their mistakes, asked the secretary to let them off, and promised to henceforth work diligently.

Lu Fan thought to be lenient where possible, but now the matter is at the point of no return; he must thoroughly rectify the unit's work style through this cleanup, so he declined, saying this investigation is led by the Discipline Inspection Committee and he is powerless. He advised them to proactively explain the issues to the Discipline Inspection Committee and seek lenient treatment.

That afternoon, the township government convened a meeting of all cadres, with leaders from the seven stations and eight offices, the heads of the school and hospital, and the party branch secretaries of each village in attendance.

At the meeting, Lu Fan, representing the township Party Committee, announced: organize a two-day centralized study session to study the 'Eight Regulations', study the 'Ningyang Xian Cadre Management Regulations', and study the 'Administrative and Public Institution Staff Leave Approval Management Measures'.

It is required that all cadres correct their study attitudes, raise their ideological awareness, learn to use rules and regulations to regulate their own words and deeds and guide their own work, and strengthen the consciousness of adhering to the purpose of serving the people.

Everyone must study word by word; the leadership team should at any time exchange study experiences with everyone; after the study ends, each person should have reflections and insights, and I and the township head must personally oversee.

Finally, Lu Fan explained to all cadres the seriousness of 'drawing idle pay', which not only violates social fairness and justice but also possesses three characteristics: serious social harm, criminal illegality, and liability for criminal punishment, meeting the criminal law's definition of crime. Drawing idle pay can be regarded as a new form of corruption; if the amount of funds illegally received is large, the circumstances are serious, or adverse effects are caused, criminal penalties may be imposed. Baishu Bay must absolutely not allow any form of 'drawing idle pay' behavior.

Lu Fan's purpose is that without rules nothing can be properly done; through study, let everyone know what can be done and what cannot be done, and cadres must have at least a basic sense of rules.