Chapter 140: We Are Brothers

Guo Wei was alone in his office, a rare occurrence. Since Guo Wei arrived in Suxi Township, all cadres had regarded his office as a forbidden zone, never going there unless necessary, and if they had to, they dragged it out as long as possible. When they finally had no choice, they would bite the bullet, report the work in a few words, and then slip away.

The reason for this situation in Guo Wei's office was that as soon as he arrived, he painstakingly constructed a very strict, invisible wall between superiors and subordinates. Almost no cadre he called in for a heart-to-heart talk heard a word of praise. Even Old Zhao from the Finance Office, a man who was afraid of stepping on an ant his whole life, was scolded until his face was gray.

In Guo Wei's view, the cadres of Suxi Township were all cadres who couldn't keep up with the trend of the times, all cadres with backward thinking and conservative attitudes, incompatible with the sweeping reforms of today's society. They had to be instilled with a brand-new concept, brand-new thinking, and a brand-new work attitude to become qualified cadres.

I had also been called by Guo Wei for a heart-to-heart talk, but Guo Wei didn't give me a hard time, and for the first time ever, there wasn't a single word of scolding. When we talked, the topics all revolved around college life. As long as it involved the work of Suxi Township, everyone consciously avoided it, as if Suxi Township had nothing to do with us, and we were just a pair of college alumni reminiscing about the good old days.

Guo Wei was looking at the blueprint seriously. Seeing me enter, he grinned and said, "Sit."

Guo Wei had the largest desk in the township government, with several red-headed documents on the desktop, two red flags hanging in the corner of the desk, a huge world map on the wall behind him, and an administrative division map of Hengyue City next to it. Now, a map of Suxi Township had been added, and he had drawn a red circle in every village. A red and blue line wound through it, and Guo Wei had drawn a big circle at the location of Laoyingzui Village.

This was my first time officially entering his office as the Township Head of Suxi Township, and Guo Wei showed unprecedented enthusiasm. Before the election, I was his subordinate, but now, we were both the highest administrative cadres of Suxi Township. On some levels, I represented the government, and he was the Party Committee. Livelihood and national planning were the government's business, which actually had nothing to do with the Party Committee.

I found a chair under Guo Wei's greeting and said with a smile, "Secretary Guo, I'm not disturbing you, am I?"

Guo Wei waved his hand and said, "What is Township Head Chen saying? We are partners; there is no such thing as disturbing at any time."

I mocked myself, "You are the Secretary; your awareness is higher than mine. Your perspective on problems is definitely more comprehensive than mine."

As I spoke, I touched my pants pocket, wanting to take out the red envelope. Seeing my action, Guo Wei thought I was looking for a cigarette, opened his drawer, threw me a pack, and said, "Take it and smoke; I don't smoke."

I had no choice but to take it, tear it open, pull one out, and hand it to Guo Wei. "Have one?"

Guo Wei shook his head and said, "I'm afraid I'll never learn the job of smoking. You smoke, it's fine."

I lit the cigarette, took a long drag, and said, "Secretary Guo, what is the attitude of Secretary Guan and the others toward relocating the township government?"

Guo Wei looked at me and said, "Support."

"What kind of support?"

Guo Wei didn't answer my question, stared at me for a long time, and said, "Township Head Chen, if you hadn't come, I was just about to go find you. Two things, let's talk about them."

He first asked me about the situation at Huang Weiwei's house, whether I had met Minister Huang himself, and whether Huang Weiwei had any words for me to bring to him.

I told him the situation exactly as it was, saying that Minister Huang's family was very grateful for the tea oil and local specialties he sent, and that Huang Weiwei had asked about his work and whether his health was good.

Upon hearing this, Guo Wei was very excited and immediately wanted to pick up the phone to call Huang Weiwei.

I hurriedly stopped him. Everything I just said was a story I made up; Minister Huang's family didn't even look at his local specialties, and no one asked about his condition. But I couldn't tell him the actual situation; if I did, Guo Wei would think I had done something behind his back.

In Guo Wei's eyes, I was just an obscure little person, with no background of working in the Municipal Party Committee compound, and no sign of being a son-in-law of a leader. I was just a township official who climbed to the throne of Township Head by opportunity, and in no way would I have any influence on his career or love life.

"The second thing is very important and requires you to go out. This is also the biggest work of this year." He pondered for a moment and said, "You lead a working group to station in Laoyingzui Village to do the preliminary land acquisition propaganda work."

I asked in surprise, "Acquiring land in Laoyingzui Village?"

"Yes, that is the site of our new government." He pointed to the red and blue line on the wall and said, "Township Head Chen, this line is the expressway that will start construction this year." His finger slid along the line all the way down, paused at Laoyingzui, drew a circle, and then continued along the line until his finger drew off the map.

This was the first time I had truly seen the construction route of the expressway. It turned out that the rumors that the expressway would pass through Suxi Township had become reality. I firmly believed in the authenticity of Guo Wei's map; with his several years of work experience in the Municipal Party Committee compound, finding an unreleased route map was as easy as pie.

I looked at the route map carefully and found that the route of this expressway was very interesting. It could have bypassed Suxi Township directly, but now it bent like a question mark, touched the edge of Laoyingzui Village in Suxi Township, turned back, and continued along a straight line. This bend seemed to be made specifically for Suxi Township; it came abruptly and was a bit inexplicable.

Seeing my confused look, Guo Wei laughed out loud, "Strange, right? Actually, it's not strange at all. What is the situation in our Suxi Township now? A poverty-stricken township registered by the province. If you want to get rich, build a road first, right? It just so happens that the country wants to build an expressway. Turning a corner to our Suxi Township is actually just a matter of moving a finger."

"But changing the national plan is probably not a simple matter," I said.

"Don't worry, the plan has already been set." Guo Wei suddenly lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Secretary Chen of the Municipal Party Committee ran to the province himself, begging for help, before the route was changed."

I widened my eyes in surprise, unable to believe my ears.

"Alright, let's not talk about these things." Guo Wei threw himself into his chair and said, "You must quickly form a land acquisition leading group, you be the leader, and complete the land acquisition work within a month."

"What if it can't be completed?" I asked with worry.

"Can't be completed?" Guo Wei stared at me and said, "If it can't be completed, Township Head Chen, you should prepare to make a self-criticism. I tell you, this is a decision of the Party Committee and an important step related to the development of Suxi Township, so it must be completed."

"Is relocation really that important?" I said. To be honest, I was unwilling to do something so labor-intensive and money-wasting. Not to mention the complexity and difficulty of the project, the funds alone left me at a loss.

"Important! Very important!" Guo Wei leaned his face over and said to me, "Think about it, building a brand-new government in Suxi Township in our hands is a cause for thousands of generations, something that can be seen and touched forever. This is political achievement."

"But this requires money." I knew I couldn't stop Guo Wei's idea. Besides, in my heart, I also thought that moving the township government out of the mountain nest and placing it by an expressway leading to the whole country would invisibly increase the popularity of Suxi Township.

"Wool comes from the sheep." Guo Wei said lightly, "The township government is the people's government, taken from the people and used for the people. Therefore, of course, the money still comes from the people?"

"How to come out? Sponsorship?"

A layer of cold sweat broke out on my back. Was Guo Wei going to follow Liu Quan's old path again?

"What sponsorship?" Guo Wei said with contempt, "How much money can you sponsor?"

"Then what to do?"

"There are always more solutions than difficulties, right?" Guo Wei lowered his voice and said, "Why must you go out for land acquisition? Because you are familiar with Laoyingzui. Besides, among the cadres of Suxi Township, only the two of us are from the city and are both cadres from a social education background. I can only trust you."

"But..." I stopped mid-sentence.

"No more buts. Go ahead and do it boldly. I'm standing behind you." He comforted me, "The two of us are actually people on the same boat. Now that the boat is in the middle of the sea, if the two of us don't work together, we will never reach the shore. Even if we aren't eaten by fish, we will be sun-dried on the sea."

I nodded heavily.

"For land acquisition, start with propaganda and mobilization first." He gave work instructions, "As for how much money per mu, don't make it public for now."

I said, "We have acquired all the farmers' land; how will they live?"

Guo Wei looked at me strangely and said, "Let me tell you two things. First, we won't acquire all of it; we don't need that much. Second, land acquisition requires a price, which means money will be given. With money, are farmers afraid of not having a way to live? Besides, farmers' survival ability is stronger than ours; don't worry about the sky falling."

I thought about it and felt that what he said was also a fact. Our farmer brothers actually have incomparable survival ability and incomparable wisdom. Although the land is their lifeblood, without it, they will still find a way to survive in the cracks and will definitely not perish on their own. Besides, I have a weight in my hand; I won't let the landless farmers have no way out.

Thinking of this, my heart was much relieved, so I took the envelope out of my pocket, placed it on the table, and slowly pushed it to Guo Wei.

Guo Wei looked at me in confusion, and I said with a smile, "Secretary Guo, first of all, I want to thank you for your support. Without your support, I wouldn't be able to be your deputy. Secondly, Secretary Guo, you are new to Suxi Township, unlike me who has been here for more than four years; you need financial support for many things. Now the township finance is not good, and you have many things to do; you can't be tight on money."

Guo Wei finally understood what I was saying, and of course, he understood what was in the envelope.

He nodded calmly, sighed, and said, "We will have money soon."

"But there are many things to do now, and you don't have much money in your hand; it's not good," I said, stood up, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute, Township Head Chen." Guo Wei stood up, walked to my side, and hugged my shoulder. "We are brothers, and brothers must share weal and woe."

He let go of me, reached out to shake my hand, and said with deep affection, "From now on, we must stand together at all times. Let's exert all our energy to change the face of Suxi Township."

I smiled and said, "Secretary Guo, I have a small request I'd like to report to you."

Guo Wei waved his hand generously and said, "Speak, what is it?"

I said, "I want to transfer Comrade Yue Bai from the Enterprise Office back to participate in the land acquisition group work."

"Is that the wife of the martyr from Laoyingzui?"

I nodded.

"Good. This idea of yours is very good." He slapped my shoulder happily and said, "Chen Feng, I didn't misjudge you. You guy, you have many ghost ideas, methods, and thoughts."

"This Yue Bai, hasn't she been transferred to a cadre post yet?" Guo Wei asked me.

I said, "Not yet. Just a worker establishment."

"Find a way to get her transferred to a cadre post. If appropriate, find an opportunity to arrange her in the position of Women's Director. Liu Hongyan's transfer letter has already arrived, and she will go to the police station to work next month." Guo Wei exhorted me, "This Yue Bai is very spirited and is said to have been a village Women's Director. She should have work experience."

He thought for a moment and asked me, "If Yue Bai is transferred back, how will the Enterprise Office's store in Hengyue City be arranged?"

I deliberately thought about it and said, "As for doing business, it's better to leave it to the Enterprise Office. I actually want to recommend someone to take over."

Guo Wei looked at me with a smile and said, "Let's hear it."

I said, "Jin Ling, the daughter-in-law of Old Zhao from the Finance Office, can be fully trusted with this work."

"She isn't a cadre or staff member of the township government, is she?"

"No. But if she goes, it can be considered the first step for the township government to solve the employment of cadres' spouses, which is to convey a message to the cadres: as long as you work hard, the government will find ways to solve your worries."

"High!" Guo Wei gave me a thumbs up and praised, "These, just do it according to your ideas. I support it."

The red envelope was sent out, and it was done openly. I also solved two things: transferring Yue Bai to my side as a fragrant bait to wait for Boss Qian to take the bait, and sending Jin Ling out, which was actually paving a path of urbanization for Zhao Yu'er.

I felt refreshed! As soon as I went out, I started humming a little tune. The confrontation with Guo Wei started from this small test. I knew he was no longer my stumbling block and might even become a pawn of mine. Holding such a pawn in my hand, being invincible was no longer a miracle.

I wanted to go to Pan Xiaoqin's shop to sit for a while. Of course, it wasn't just to sit; I wanted to give her a new task, a task that walked ahead of the township government. ===== CHAPTER 141 =====