Chapter 34: County Chief Bian

At one o'clock in the morning, the car sent by General Manager Wu arrived at Baishu Bay Forest Farm. Lu Fan woke up in a daze, feeling uncomfortable all over. These two days were indeed tiring.

He took Du Wenlong, Su Xiaoyi, and Wang Le to Old Cao's house. It took the concerted efforts of everyone to barely lift the two coffins onto the truck. The weight of the solid-material coffins was truly not light.

Lu Fan insisted on stuffing ten thousand yuan to Old Cao, but Old Cao firmly insisted on returning two thousand, claiming that this was the price for acquaintances. Lu Fan could only accept it.

Du Wenlong and the others wanted to follow to help, but Lu Fan didn't let them go. County Chief Bian was having a funeral; how could there be no one to help?

At one-thirty, the truck set off from Baishu Bay for Ningyang. The road was bumpy all the way. Lu Fan instructed the driver to drive slowly. Under the blessing of a carton of Furongwang, the driver naturally obeyed.

Lu Fan came from the very bottom, so he naturally knew that small favors were both practical and respectful to these hard-working people, and in return, they would do their best to help you.

At three-thirty, the car stopped at the gate of the Forestry Bureau staff quarters. Lu Fan saw that the lights in Director Guo's house were already on, so he called to report. Then he got out of the car and left the passenger seat for the leader.

Ten minutes later, Guo Tongyu got into the car with a weary face and said, "Xiao Fan, thank you for your hard work. I guess you didn't sleep well? After finishing today, you can finally rest completely this year."

"Director Guo, I can handle it. If you are sleepy, just take a nap and wake up when we arrive at Ganshui County."

"Okay, I'll take a nap. Running for several days in a row, I really can't handle it."

Lu Fan thought to himself, it must be the aftereffects of the two "888s" yesterday!

As the saying goes, alcohol is a poison that pierces the intestines, and lust is a scraping knife for bones. No matter how heroic you are, you have to bow down under the pomegranate skirt. There are only tired cows, no plowed fields.

After five o'clock, the driver said they had entered Ganshui County. When Guo Tongyu heard this, he began to give directions. County Chief Bian's house was in a village near the county town. He said a name, and the driver indicated he could find it.

Arriving in the village, the driver looked around for where the funeral was being held. Soon, he found it, because "age paper" was hung high at the entrance of his house.

Guo Tongyu called County Chief Bian. Before long, twenty or thirty people came out to help lift the coffin.

When the truck opened, the two coffins appeared in front of everyone, immediately drawing exclamations of admiration.

The Yin-Yang master was knowledgeable and praised, "What a pair of good 'woods'! This craftsmanship is amazing! The carvings are all handmade, the front and back bars are so grand, it's rare to have a three-layer bottom panel, the materials are solid, it must be at least four or five hundred catties, this must be the work of an old master, the carvings are all particular, everyone doesn't know, carpentry and Feng Shui are closely connected, 'Lu Ban ruler' and 'ink fountain' are magic tools, the longevity wood made by a real carpenter will definitely shade descendants, haven't seen such attentive longevity wood for many years!"

After such an explanation, County Chief Bian was particularly gratified. Being able to provide his old father with a perfect resting place could be considered fulfilling his last filial piety, and it was quite face-saving, especially the phrase "shading descendants" made him even more satisfied.

Guo Tongyu pulled Lu Fan to County Chief Bian's side and introduced, "County Chief Bian, this young man is named Lu Fan, the acting director of Baishu Bay Forest Farm. To tell you the truth, these two 'longevity woods' are thanks to him; otherwise, it would be impossible to make two high-quality 'longevity woods' in a short time."

"Oh, Director Lu, then I really have to thank you for solving my urgent need! And Tongyu, thank you, you've put in a lot of effort!"

"County Chief Bian, you're too polite! At that time, you called me, and Lu Fan happened to be by my side; otherwise, I would have had no tricks, unless I was fooling you. Lu Fan is thoughtful, found two good 'materials', didn't want to waste them, and let the old craftsman carefully build a pair of 'longevity woods'. Unexpectedly, just as they were finished, you happened to need them. It can be said that it is heaven's will, the old man is blessed!"

"Oh my, it really is a coincidence! Lu Fan, thank you so much! I thank you on behalf of the old man!"

Lu Fan quickly said, "You're too polite, I just had a sudden thought, maybe fate is destined, these two 'longevity woods' just happened to have value. Fortunately, everyone can see them, I have not failed the mission."

"I'll call you Xiao Fan, the 'longevity wood' is perfect, charge whatever it costs!"

Lu Fan refused repeatedly, simply ran to help lift the coffin, and then went to the kitchen to help. He was familiar with this work; funerals in the village were all done by men, women, old, and young.

County Chief Bian pulled Guo Tongyu and said, "This is a big item, it's not appropriate not to take money, this is for the old man."

"County Chief, you're making it difficult for me. Lu Fan is particularly stubborn, he says one thing and does another. I guess you can't give this money."

"How can that be? You give a number first, how much money?"

"County Chief, you're making it difficult for me. I only know that these two are rare good woods, the labor fee must be higher than the material cost, I haven't asked how much it is specifically."

"Sigh, I'll go ask the Yin-Yang master!" Rural areas pay attention to being buried in the earth, this favor is too big, Bian Jide can't owe it.

After the Yin-Yang master stretched out six fingers and said that was the minimum, Bian Jide was a little surprised, and this big gift could not be accepted if not accepted, so he found Lu Fan who was busy in front of the stove, pulled him aside and said, "Xiao Fan, I must give money."

Lu Fan said, "Leader, this was ordered by Director Guo, and I definitely can't accept it. Besides, I'm not afraid of your criticism, these two longevity woods didn't cost much money, just a labor fee. If I accepted it, what would I become? Wouldn't I be scolded to death by Ningyang people?"

"Sigh, there are many people and many mouths, let's not discuss this issue for now. Let's do this, let's leave a phone number, we can talk about it later, you can find me at any time."

"Thank you, County Chief, if there is anything I can do, just give the order at any time, I have nothing else, just have some strength!"

"Good young man! Let's keep in touch in the future. You are a guest, don't be busy."

"It's okay, I grew up in the countryside, I'm familiar with these jobs, I've done them a lot before, funerals are the most labor-intensive, I can't be idle, you go about your business." After saying this, Lu Fan threw himself into the dishwashing army.

At the first meeting, Lu Fan left a very good impression on Bian Jide—understanding the overall situation, enduring hardship, and working hard. And it was when Bian Jide was at his most vulnerable that such an enthusiastic and proactive person could naturally win the favor of the County Chief.

After finishing breakfast, Guo Tongyu and Lu Fan paid their respects to the old man, greeted Bian Jide, and planned to return to Ningyang.

Before leaving, Lu Fan kept telling Bian Jide that if there was any need, he would be on call with one phone call.

After getting into the car, Guo Tongyu told Lu Fan that County Chief Bian was very noble, and ordinary people couldn't enter his eyes at all. Looking at the situation, he had a very good impression of him. If he could connect with this line, he wouldn't suffer in the future.

Lu Fan naturally thanked the leader for the opportunity.

Returning to Baishu Bay, it was afternoon again. Finally, he could spend the New Year with peace of mind!

Just entering the unit, Lu Fan smelled the fragrance. The kitchen was bustling, and the chef was making New Year's tea and rice—crispy chicken, meatballs, roast meat, stewed meat, crispy meat, fried ribbon fish, oil pancakes, etc., all available.

Sister Lu Yao and Su Xiaoyi were helping in the kitchen, picking a piece of meat to satisfy their cravings from time to time.

Du Wenlong was studying intently in the guest room, looking like he had made up his mind.

Today, Wang Le was on duty at the unit. Seeing the director return, he immediately came to report on work, mainly to report accounts.

Lu Fan took the stack of account sheets and checked them carefully one by one. It wasn't that he suspected the accountant of fraud, but mainly to better understand the unit's business and expenses.

"Has the legal representative been changed? If it hasn't been changed, I can't sign."

"Director, it was handled a few days ago. It has been changed on the registration certificate, and the seals and everything have been handled."

Lu Fan nodded and began to sign in the person-in-charge column of the five-signature meeting.

This was Lu Fan's first time signing, which was of extraordinary significance.

When he seriously signed the two characters "Lu Fan," he felt incomparable pride. It felt like the sea is wide for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly, and the feeling that everything is under control was really sour and refreshing!

After dinner, Lu Fan, Du Wenlong, Su Xiaoyi, and Wang Le played cards, and the office was full of laughter.

Lu Yao was playing on the computer next to her, looking at her brother's smile, feeling extremely solid. Since coming to the forest farm, she had treated this as her home, because this was her brother's territory, everyone was very friendly and caring to her, and she felt very warm.

The phone rang. Lu Fan looked at it and asked everyone to be quiet. It was Secretary Li Daqiang calling.

After connecting, he said enthusiastically, "Secretary Li, Happy New Year in advance, what are your instructions?"

"Xiao Fan, if you have nothing to do tomorrow, come to my house. Every year I host colleagues at home, starting at twelve noon."

"You give me face, I will definitely go, I guarantee to be there on time."

"Haha, that's good, let's not go home until we're drunk tomorrow!"

After hanging up the phone, Lu Fan thought about it and planned to bring a "pressure cooker" tomorrow. He had originally prepared one for Secretary Li, and let's bring two cartons of cigarettes.

Human sentiment consumption is Lu Fan's biggest expense at present, and he can barely handle it.

But there is no way, he has to bite the bullet and persist.

With the promotion of his position and the improvement of his status, Lu Fan's human sentiment dealings will be more.

The third day of the first show, starting the rating. Five-star reviews are needed. Thank you for your support! ===== CHAPTER 35 =====