Chapter 972: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 972: Wang Erhai Publicly Refutes the Town Party Secretary

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

In the conference room, the eyes of quite a few village cadres revealed a greedy glint.

He Gaofeng on the stage continued:

"Once the national subsidy is secured, the town government will disburse it downward at the first opportunity, but before that, you village cadres must exert your subjective initiative; how much high-standard farmland can be created depends entirely on you."

The village cadres all smiled broadly, speaking one after another, all saying they would certainly work hard and strive to create more high-standard farmland.

Wang Erhai, sitting among the crowd, frowned instead.

At this moment he raised his hand:

"Secretary He, I have a question!"

He Gaofeng looked at Wang Erhai:

"Speak, what question?"

Wang Erhai said:

"May I ask, once these high-standard farmlands are created, who will cultivate them?"

He Gaofeng replied:

"Once created, they must be guaranteed not to lie fallow for one year; only then do they count as high-standard farmland."

He Gaofeng's answer seemed irrelevant on the surface, but it had already answered Wang Erhai.

Wang Erhai asked again:

"Then what about after one year?"

He Gaofeng's brows furrowed slightly:

"We'll take it one step at a time; matters of a year from now will be discussed a year from now. Right now the most important thing is to complete the hard targets handed down from above!"

Wang Erhai truly could not hold back, and said:

"Whether it's high-standard farmland or low-standard farmland, there must be someone to cultivate it for it to count as farmland; if no one farms it, it's just a piece of wasteland! Right now the rural areas have no people, the original farmland has already been left fallow to the tune of seventy or eighty percent, and under such circumstances you still forcibly expand farmland — isn't that wasting national resources? To speak frankly, this high-standard farmland construction is simply too absurd!"

Wang Erhai's words were very blunt, and very sharp.

Everyone present looked at Wang Erhai in stunned surprise.

Even Zhong Hongtao couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat for Wang Erhai.

He Gaofeng on the stage turned dark-faced.

This question — as the Town Party Secretary, how could he not know?

But a superior one level higher crushes you to death.

The hard quota dispatched from above — what can he do about it?

Could he dare defy a higher-up leader's order?

"What's your name, which village's cadre?"

He Gaofeng asked Wang Erhai this at this moment.

Wang Erhai knew that He Gaofeng asking his name meant he would settle accounts with him after the meeting ended.

But he wasn't afraid at all; anyway he had already planned to resign.

So he replied neither servile nor overbearing:

"My name is Wang Erhai, temporary village cadre of Shanggou Village."

Upon hearing this, He Gaofeng sneered contemptuously, then in one second turned amiable and approachable:

"So you're a temporary village cadre, no wonder you'd say such layman's words, Comrade Erhai, looks like you still need to study more, exercise more in the future."

He Gaofeng's change wasn't because he magnanimously forgave Wang Erhai, but because he felt Wang Erhai was just a little grasshopper beneath his notice.

To fix a formal village cadre he might still need some methods.

But to fix a temporary village cadre, isn't that easy as flipping a hand?

So he directly ignored Wang Erhai and smiled at the people below:

"Let's continue talking about the high-standard farmland matter; the construction standards for high-standard farmland, in a moment I'll have someone hand each of you a copy, everyone study it carefully, don't produce something that doesn't meet standards."

Wang Erhai was directly left hanging to the side by He Gaofeng.

He stood for a good while, then raised his hand again:

"I still have something to say!"

He Gaofeng simply ignored him and continued speaking.

Wang Erhai could only sit down resentfully.

After over an hour, the meeting ended.

The village cadres all left the conference room with smiles on their faces.

Quite a few were already rubbing their hands in anticipation, preparing to return to their villages and start a big push.

Wang Erhai walked out of the conference room with a heavy expression; Zhong Hongtao chased after him and couldn't help reproaching:

"Erhai, how could you talk back to Secretary He at this meeting? If there's something, just speak to him privately after the meeting; now you've offended Secretary He, if he holds a grudge, I'm afraid even I won't be able to protect you!"

Wang Erhai gave a bitter smile:

"Mayor Zhong, thank you for your concern, but I never planned to continue doing this anyway."

Zhong Hongtao said:

"You don't want to continue, that's a one-sentence matter, but your New Era Restaurant — do you not want to run that either? Your parents back in your hometown — do they not need to come to town to handle affairs for the rest of their lives?"

Wang Erhai couldn't help but freeze, a trace of stunned surprise appearing on his face.

For a moment his throat seized up, and he couldn't get a word out.

He had to admit that just now he had indeed been too impulsive.

But this wasn't his fault; if anyone was to blame, blame the fact that he still had a conscience, blame this world for being too absurd.

"Erhai, you come with me now to apologize to Secretary He, and do your best to win his magnanimity."

Zhong Hongtao dragged Wang Erhai along, intending to go find He Gaofeng.

Wang Erhai, however, stood rooted to the spot, then dismissed it with a laugh:

"Forget it. I only spoke a few truths. If he's that petty and holds a grudge, let him hold it. I don't rely on his breath to survive anyway."

Wang Erhai was now the second-in-command of Li Guoshan Decoration Company, with business in the county town; he indeed didn't have to watch the town leaders' faces, and this gave him confidence.

Zhong Hongtao, however, continued to persuade:

"Don't be stubborn. I know you have business in the county town, but these human relations, you still need to have them. There's no need to make things this stiff. An apology can smooth over a lot of trouble, so why go face that trouble?"

Hearing this, Wang Erhai felt Zhong Hongtao's words had some merit.

In the end, he compromised.

"Alright then, please, Town Mayor Zhong, put in a few good words for me. I'll remember this favor of yours. If there's anything you need my help with in the future, just say the word."

Zhong Hongtao smiled:

"No need to stand on ceremony with me. It's just a trivial effort."

Zhong Hongtao brought Wang Erhai to He Gaofeng's office.

"Secretary He, this is Shanggou Village's temporary cadre Wang Erhai. Erhai, he's young and ignorant, that's why he said those things at the meeting just now. I've already given him a good scolding for you. He has now deeply realized his mistake, so he came personally to apologize and admit fault to you."

Wang Erhai looked at He Gaofeng and said:

"Secretary He, I'm sorry. Just now I didn't mean to talk back to you on purpose."

He Gaofeng was processing documents; his pen made a rustling sound as he signed on the papers, without even lifting his head.

"Young people, inevitably speak without thinking. I long ago stopped taking it to heart. Work hard. Go back and do a good job on the high-standard farmland task, and that'll be enough."

Seeing this, Wang Erhai knew that while He Gaofeng said he forgave him, in his heart he still held a grudge.

But he couldn't possibly lower his stance further to apologize — he couldn't be expected to kneel to He Gaofeng, could he?

Zhong Hongtao also knew He Gaofeng hadn't truly forgiven Wang Erhai in his heart, so he said:

"Secretary He, you've only been transferred here to work a short while ago. You might not know yet. Erhai, he's a promising talent. Right now he's not just a temporary village cadre; he's also the boss of New Era Restaurant. Additionally..."

He Gaofeng cut him off: "Old Zhong, enough. The country is strictly cracking down on public funds eating and drinking right now. Why are you telling me this?"

Zhong Hongtao, however, continued:

"Erhai also has an older brother and a younger brother. His older brother made it big in Guangzhou. His younger brother is our county's top scorer in the college entrance exam. Since the restoration of the college entrance exam, he's the only one in our county who tested into Tsinghua. When his younger brother tested into Tsinghua, even the county's then top leader went to visit his home."

With Zhong Hongtao saying this, He Gaofeng finally froze in surprise.

He looked up at Wang Erhai:

"You're actually Wang Xiaohua's older brother? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Then his attitude improved considerably. He laughed warmly and said:

"Rest assured. I already said it — that little matter in the conference room, I long ago stopped taking it to heart. I'll say it again: work hard. Once the high-standard farmland task is completed, I'll get you made a permanent cadre!"