Chapter 128: Multi-candidate and Single-candidate

The township head election suddenly calmed down, and the originally planned propaganda slogans were all shelved. These slogans were all written by me; I have a good foundation in calligraphy. When I was three, my mother started forcing me to learn calligraphy. By the age of eight, no one among my peers could surpass my calligraphy.

During my university years, although there were many talented people and everyone could write a few characters, there weren't many who absorbed the essence of their ancestors as steadily as I did. So when the school held activities, many propaganda slogans were born from my hands.

Calligraphy is art. Art always has unexpected surprises and incomprehension.

I wrote a stack of slogan papers for an afternoon, changing several fonts, from regular script to running script, from Yan style to Liu style, feeling proud. Who knew that it was suddenly announced that they wouldn't be posted, and to wait for notice, which made me very unhappy.

Unhappy was unhappy, but the county called and asked me to go, saying that a leader wanted to talk to me.

The connotation of the word "talk" is very broad. Cadre promotion involves talks, and cadre downfall also involves talks. I boarded Sun Demao's car with a restless heart, closed my eyes in the car and imagined dozens of endings. When I thought of the good ones, I grinned; when I thought of the bad ones, I gritted my teeth. Then I tried to think of the good ones again, and finally encouraged myself, saying that being talked to doesn't necessarily mean death!

The people talking to me were a Deputy Secretary of the County Committee and a Deputy Director of the County People's Congress. When I went in, they didn't look up at me, which made my heart a mess. I didn't dare to look at them directly and found a place to sit far away.

The Deputy Secretary spoke first, asking with a dark face, "Are you Comrade Chen Feng?"

I nodded and agreed, my butt lifted, not daring to sit down firmly.

Seeing my nervous appearance, the Deputy Secretary smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, relax."

I smiled, which was uglier than crying, I knew. But my heart relaxed a lot. They called me "Comrade"!

He first introduced himself, then pointed to the Deputy Director of the People's Congress and said, "This is Comrade Zhang Chaosheng, Deputy Director of the County People's Congress, responsible for the assessment and promotion of cadres in the whole county."

I muttered in my heart, thinking that cadre assessment and promotion should be the business of the Organization Department, why does the People's Congress also manage it? Besides, hearing that it was assessment and promotion, my heart relaxed. Damn it, even if I couldn't be promoted, it wasn't a bad thing!

I am a person who easily shows joy and anger, and the abacus in my heart was seen through by others at once. The Deputy Secretary watched me for a while and said with a smile, "It seems you have something hidden in your heart."

I hurriedly denied it, pretending to be shy and saying, "Secretary, my biggest shortcoming is that I can't hide things in my heart."

The Deputy Secretary took my words and said, "Good. Cadres should be open and honest. Cadres who hide things are not the cadres the Party needs. Since you can't hide words, I ask you, what is your opinion on the election of the township head in your Suxi Township?"

He went straight to the point, which made me helpless. I opened my mouth and made two sounds, but didn't say anything, making myself blush and have a thick neck.

Deputy Director Zhang Chaosheng of the People's Congress brought me a glass of water, patted my shoulder and said, "Don't be in a hurry, speak slowly."

I thought for a while and said, "Secretary, Director, I am one of the parties involved in the Suxi Township election. We have a system of recusal. I think it's better to recuse myself from this matter."

The Deputy Secretary looked at me with a smile and said, "Comrade Chen Feng, now it is the Party and government talking to you, so there is no recusal system. Besides, there is no request for you to claim credit, nor is there a request for you to report and expose. It's just to let you talk about your personal views. Why? Don't want to talk?"

I pondered for a while and said, "Secretary, Director, when the Party and government select cadres, there must be organizational principles. Since it is a matter decided by the organization, my personal opinion can be ignored."

Deputy Director Zhang Chaosheng showed displeasure and said, "Comrade Chen Feng, a talk is work. Shifting responsibility is not a problem a cadre should have. The organization talks to you, of course, because it wants to hear everyone's opinions. We have always paid attention to openness and transparency."

When the words reached this point, I had almost nothing to say. If I talked, others would think I was claiming credit; if I didn't talk, they would think I was glib. It was really worrying.

The talk fell into a stalemate from the beginning, and no one wanted to see this result. I adjusted my thinking and said slowly, "Secretary, Director, I, Chen Feng, have worked in Chunshan County for four and a half years. I have no credit, and no hard work. In these few years, I have learned a lot and felt that society is really a university, with endless knowledge and endless things to do. In short, cadres are taking the lead, and the masses are watching."

The Deputy Secretary looked at me with interest, nodded and said, "Well said, continue."

I cleared my throat, swept my eyes over their faces, and found that their faces were peaceful, without any magnificent waves, which disappointed me. I had to say, "I personally feel that the Suxi Township head should lead the villagers to prosperity, develop the economy, and improve the lives of the common people, which is better than saying anything or doing anything."

I stole a glance at them again. They all lowered their heads and wrote and drew on the paper in their hands. Seeing that I didn't speak anymore, they all raised their heads and encouraged me, "Continue."

I really couldn't find any more words. As the old saying goes, "Too much talk leads to mistakes!" Who knew what kind of task the two old men in front of me brought.

After the Deputy Secretary finished listening to my personal opinion, he pressed the paper in his hand under a stack of documents and said casually, "Elections are divided into multi-candidate and single-candidate. Director Zhang is an expert, let him explain it to you."

Deputy Director Zhang Chaosheng drank a sip of tea and said slowly, "Multi-candidate means two or more people participate in the election for the same position, and single-candidate means one person elects one position. I should explain it very clearly, right?"

I felt disdain in my heart. Old guy, you treat me, Chen Feng, as a three-year-old child? I've been in officialdom for a few years, if I haven't eaten pork, haven't I seen a pig run?

Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by multi-candidate and single-candidate? Could it be that I even lost the opportunity to be a multi-candidate?

"According to the requirements of the County Committee and County Government, the Suxi Township head election must take the path of multi-candidate election. Now the situation has changed, I hope you can understand." Deputy Director Zhang seemed to owe me money, and smiled embarrassedly.

I waited nervously for his next sentence. Who knew he stopped talking about it, turned around, and went to the next room.

The County Committee, County Government, County People's Congress, and County CPPCC of Chunshan County all work in one building, known as the Four Great Committees. The CPPCC is at the bottom, on the third floor. Going up to the fourth floor is the People's Congress, the fifth floor is the government, and the sixth floor is the County Committee. Therefore, Secretary Guan Peishan's office is in the last large suite on the east side of the sixth floor. Usually, there isn't even a ghost on the third floor. Going up to the fourth floor, it gets a little livelier. The fifth floor is very different, with many people coming and going. Originally, there was no security post downstairs, and the corridors were full of people from various townships and towns coming to petition, crowded to the point where there was no place to stand. Sometimes people would cry and scream, and some would just bring their bedding and stay in the corridor without leaving.

When Guan Peishan became Secretary, a security booth was set up at the main entrance, and a security post was set up at the elevator corridor entrance. Two layers of security measures filtered out the people who had originally mixed in to petition. From then on, the fifth floor became quiet, and you could hear a needle drop.

When I reached the sixth floor, a security post was set up at the elevator entrance, and the corridor entrance was guarded by special personnel, so not even a fly could fly in.

After Director Zhang left, I lifted my body and said, "Secretary, is there anything else?"

The Deputy Secretary raised his head from behind the documents, looked at me and said, "Drink some water, wait a while."

I had to sit down honestly and looked at the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall of the Deputy Secretary. The Deputy Secretary was obviously a person who liked to be elegant. The calligraphy and paintings on the wall were actually masterpieces by famous artists. Among them was a painting of eight horses, with the inscription "Xu Beihong." I didn't dare to go to the side of the painting to see it, so I had to squeeze my eyes hard, and finally saw clearly that it wasn't "Xu Beihong," but a person named "Xu Feihong." The painting was realistic, and if you didn't pay attention, you couldn't see the truth.

I laughed, and the Deputy Secretary immediately felt it. He looked up at me again, looked at the eight horses, and said with a smile, "Chen Feng, your eyes are good."

I didn't dare to belittle myself, so I hurriedly said, "Secretary, I think this painting of eight horses is perfect in spirit, feeling, and movement. The only deficiency is the horse's hoof. A horse that is flying should have its hooves bent, not vertical."

He looked at me with appreciative eyes and said, "Yu Feng, your observation is very strong." He pointed to the eight horses and said, "I know this is a fake painting, why do I still keep it hanging here? Because the author's skill is extraordinary, and in time, he will definitely become a master."

I nodded in appreciation, thinking of the shrimp by Qi Baishi hidden in my aunt's house, the shrimp of the real work. I said, "Secretary, I will bring a painting another day, please help me identify whether it is a real work by Qi Baishi."

The Deputy Secretary's interest rose, and he said repeatedly, "Good, good, good."

I had an idea in my heart and decided to find my aunt with a thick face, no matter what, I had to get the painting and give it to the person who liked it!

The Deputy Secretary naturally understood my meaning. He sat opposite me with a teacup and said earnestly, "Little Chen, the County Committee has a new decision. The Suxi Township election has decided to implement single-candidate, and you are the only single-candidate."

My heart was happy, but my face didn't reveal half a trace of expression. I just pretended to be very flat and said, "Secretary, what about Township Head Zhu?"

The Deputy Secretary stared at me and said, "Old Zhu has another appointment, Secretary Guan will talk to him. You should be mentally prepared, the development of Suxi Township depends on you and Guo Wei." ===== CHAPTER 129 =====