Chapter 139: Relocation Vote

Not a single one of the five red envelopes was sent; I brought them all back to Suxi Township.

Guo Wei convened a Party Committee meeting, officially presenting the plan for the relocation of the township government for the first time. At the meeting, he also read the appointment and removal letter from the County Party Committee: I was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Suxi Township Party Committee and Township Head. Zhu Shizhen was removed from his post as acting Township Head and would be "otherwise arranged." The term "otherwise arranged" for Zhu Shizhen was like a stone that one couldn't tell contained jade or not, weighing so heavily on everyone that they couldn't breathe, staring at each other, all full of questions.

Guo Wei scanned the meeting room and said, "The appointment decision of the County Party Committee is the result of careful consideration, fully reflecting the 'four modernizations' of cadres. Since the appointment letter did not remove Comrade Zhu Shizhen from his post as Chairman of the Township People's Congress, Comrade Zhu Shizhen will continue to hold that post and remain a member of the Suxi Township Party Committee leadership team. Cadre appointment and removal have gone through strict organizational procedures; I hope all cadres will put down their burdens, let go, and put aside past grievances to work earnestly and diligently for the well-being of the people of Suxi Township."

At the end of his speech, Guo Wei announced that they would next study the matter of relocating the township government.

The wind of relocating the township government had been blowing for a while. Before, everyone thought it was a joke, a gimmick Guo Wei had come up with. As a Secretary who hadn't even grown a beard, how could he accomplish such a big thing as relocation? He had been shouting "the wolf is coming, the wolf is coming" every day, making people annoyed, and not even a wolf hair had been seen. Now that a real wolf was standing in front of them, everyone was terrified, tongue-tied, and didn't dare to make a sound.

Relocating a township government is not children playing house, nor is it a farmer building a new house. The township government is the lowest level of administrative agency in the countryside, concerning everything for the common people.

Relocating a township government is only different from relocating a capital city in the scale of the project, but the social impact is exactly the same.

After Guo Wei announced the relocation, he didn't say another word. His eyes turned from person to person, and his face wore an unfathomable smile.

Guo Wei had never formally discussed such a major event as relocation with me. I was originally the acting Township Head, but judging from Zhu Shizhen's stunned expression, he knew nothing about it either. Could it be that Guo Wei was covering the sky with one hand? Could the power of the top leader ignore the opinions of the Party Committee? In this way, wasn't Guo Wei a bit too arrogant and domineering?

I withdrew my gaze from the rendering and looked at Guo Wei inquiringly. "Secretary Guo, did the County Party Committee agree?"

Guo Wei smiled and took out a document. "The County Development and Reform Bureau has approved the project, and we have also received the approval from the Municipal Party Committee's Development and Reform Commission. The organizational procedures are complete. Do you have any other questions?"

I shook my head and said, "I have no questions."

Zhu Shizhen spoke up, "Secretary Guo, am I still a member of the Party Committee?"

Guo Wei nodded with a smile.

"I can express my own opinion then," Zhu Shizhen paused. "The relocation of the township government was not discussed in any meeting of the Party Committee beforehand. Is Suxi Township still a place where one person has the final say?"

Guo Wei still smiled, unhurriedly saying, "The Party has always practiced democratic centralism. Inviting everyone here today is to practice democracy and solicit the opinions of all cadres."

"What if I don't agree?"

"That depends on how many don't agree."

"What if everyone doesn't agree?"

"It doesn't matter; this meeting will continue until everyone agrees."

Guo Wei's words were truly earth-shattering; he didn't put us cadres in his eyes at all.

The meeting room immediately became restless, and the chairs under people's butts moved with a clatter. Liu Hongyan, Secretary of the Youth League Committee, used the excuse of going to the bathroom and left first. A group of people in the room began to whisper and chatter.

I looked at Guo Wei; he was like an old monk in meditation, eyes on his nose, nose on his heart, without the slightest movement.

Zhu Shizhen stood up and said, "Secretary Guo, are we voting or discussing today?"

Guo Wei opened his eyes and still said unhurriedly, "Discussion is unnecessary."

"So we are voting?"

Guo Wei smiled without answering.

Zhu Shizhen kicked the chair under his butt away and said, "I abstain. Excuse me." He opened the door and walked away.

I agreed with Zhu Shizhen's performance. He had spent the effort, the money, and the emotion, only for the position of Township Head to be taken by me. Who wouldn't have resentment? In Zhu Shizhen's view, his electoral status had been sabotaged by Guo Wei.

Before Guo Wei arrived, although he was an acting Township Head, there was no Secretary in the township, and he made all the decisions, big or small, like a local emperor. Once Guo Wei arrived, everything turned upside down. He had originally thought that if he took a step back and became a Township Head, each managing their own territory would be fine. Who knew that after one night, the sky had changed! He didn't get to be Township Head, and he was given an "otherwise arranged" mystery, making people feel uneasy. Who could have predicted that this wasn't caused by the death of Zhao Deliang from Laoyingzui? After all, Zhao Deliang died during his administration, and he died miserably. Although he was given the title of martyr, who could guarantee there wouldn't be a reckoning later?

The last report in the daily newspaper made him feel something was wrong, so he ran to Secretary Guan's house to cry and complain, implying that he was executing Secretary Guan's orders and that Secretary Guan couldn't just stand by and watch him die.

What kind of person is Guan Peishan? After watching him cry and complain with cold eyes, he gave him a beating with a stick, saying that to be a man, one must be able to bend and stretch, and to be a cadre, one must also be able to bend and stretch!

Zhu Shizhen was dumbfounded, his mouth open, unable to make a sound, sitting blankly in the living room of Secretary Guan's house like a clay statue.

Guan Peishan looked at this pitiful person in front of him, his heart softened, and he whispered comfort, saying that Zhu Shizhen had done things, and even if there was no credit, surely there was hard work? But merits and demerits cannot offset each other; the Party's principle is to punish the past to warn the future, to cure the sickness to save the patient.

In Zhu Shizhen's view, Secretary Guan's words were a Shangfang Sword and a reassurance pill, establishing a firm inner heart. Therefore, he dared to stand up and directly oppose Guo Wei.

The air in the room became stifling. Zhu Shizhen's action was no different from throwing a stone into calm water; although the splash wasn't high, it stirred up ripples.

I said, "Secretary Guo, since the county has approved the project, the funds for relocation should be resolved, right?"

Finance belongs to my jurisdiction as Township Head. You, the Secretary, open your mouth to do this and that, but you don't think about where the money comes from. Without money, even drawing a blueprint like the Forbidden City is in vain.

"As for the money, Township Head Chen need not worry," Guo Wei said, selling a mystery. "Since we are doing big things, the troops and horses move, but the food and grass go first. I understand this principle."

I looked at him in confusion.

Guo Wei changed the subject and said, "The new township government will not only build office buildings but also build a set of family apartments for every cadre to resolve their worries, so that cadres can work wholeheartedly."

A cadre below asked, "Do cadres have to pay for the family apartments?"

Guo Wei took over and said, "If you want property rights, you pay; if you don't want property rights, of course you don't have to pay."

The meeting room became restless again. Someone took the blueprint from my hand, pointed at the rendering of the family apartments, and clicked their tongue in praise, "It's really beautiful."

Guo Wei's rendering was indeed drawn very beautifully. A five-story office building was in the center, with supporting public facilities and an auditorium on the left, four rows of four-story family apartments on the right, a large square in front planted with flowers and grass, and a farmers' market planned behind the family apartments. The whole blueprint was grand and fully functional.

I thought about it and was the first to raise my hand. "I agree with Secretary Guo's opinion on relocation."

Guo Wei didn't miss the opportunity to applaud and gave me an encouraging look. Seeing me raise my hand, others followed suit, raising their hands in twos and threes to agree. A meeting to vote on relocation was successfully concluded.

After the vote was passed, Guo Wei gave a long speech, gesturing and describing the future of Suxi Township. The cadres were so infected by him that they only knew how to applaud. But my heart was like a spilled bottle of five flavors; the place Guo Wei chose for relocation happened to be the place I was preparing to build the mineral water plant. In this way, where was my mineral water plant going to be built? Besides the mountain spring at Laoyingzui, where else in Suxi Township could it be built?

Frustration surged up. Thinking of the five red envelopes in the room, my heart moved, and I decided to test Guo Wei; perhaps I could exchange them for a new opportunity.

After the meeting, I compared the four red envelopes, took a stack of money from Boss Qian's envelope, stuffed it into the envelope Aunt had prepared for me, and walked slowly toward Guo Wei's office. ===== CHAPTER 140 =====