Chapter 159: The Farewell Party

The meeting to farewell Zhu Shizhen was warm and serious. Everyone spoke, recalling the bits and pieces of Old Zhu in Suxi Township. The meeting went on until later, and it looked exactly like a memorial service. Everyone's eyes were red, and it seemed they all wanted to hug Old Zhu and cry. Back then, when Liu Quan was transferred, the township government cadres didn't even see his face; Liu Quan went to the Agriculture Bureau with a light heart.

Zhu Shizhen finally delivered his farewell speech, saying that he had worked in Suxi Township for a lifetime, starting as a communicator at the township radio station and walking step by step to the position of the township People's Congress presidium. This was inseparable from the help and support of all the cadres, and even more inseparable from the earnest teachings of Secretary Liu Quan. His life wasn't brilliant, but he was worthy of the common people.

Zhu Shizhen suddenly mentioned Liu Quan, and my heart jumped inexplicably. Guo Wei had no impression of Old Secretary Liu and was still smiling and nodding.

Zhu Shizhen changed the subject and said, "Now it's the world of young people. Young people have vigor, courage, guts, and boldness. I believe that under the leadership of Secretary Guo and Township Head Chen, Suxi Township will definitely have a brand-new tomorrow."

A round of applause erupted in the meeting room. Guo Wei smiled confidently, but I felt like I was on pins and needles. Zhu Shizhen's words were definitely not as simple as he said. This man, who had spent his whole life in the grassroots officialdom, encountered two young people who were still wet behind the ears just as he was about to have his day. They came so suddenly and so resolutely that they almost cost him his life. He sighed.

Strictly speaking, Zhu Shizhen was a good cadre! He had spent his whole life in Suxi Township without regrets, witnessing every change in Suxi Township, and seeing all the trivial matters of family life. Although he hadn't done anything earth-shattering, he hadn't done anything harmful either. He was just so ordinary, ordinary like the magnolia tree in the township government courtyard, blooming once a year but not bearing a single fruit in a thousand years.

Half a year as acting township head had made him glorious, and also made him worried. He still walked step by step. His greatest hope was to be promoted before retiring; being a legitimate township head was the dream of his life.

Now this dream had been completely shattered! He had lost his last chance to struggle, and he could only go to the county Martyrs Cemetery to spend his remaining years.

When Secretary Guan Peishan talked to him, he was as disciplined as a primary school student, his legs tightly closed. Secretary Guan spoke kindly, but in his eyes, the man spitting lotus flowers was the god who controlled his destiny. In front of a god, a person always seemed incredibly small.

It wasn't until Secretary Guan said he was arranging for him to go to the Martyrs Cemetery that he suddenly realized that this god was sending him to a volcano. Everyone knew the story of Secretary He Zhi coming to Chunshan County, and everyone knew that the subordinates of Secretary He Zhi's old father were buried in the Martyrs Cemetery. The current Martyrs Cemetery had already changed beyond recognition. Although the martyrs' graves were still there, they had long been overgrown with weeds.

Beside the martyrs' graves, several residential buildings had been developed. These buildings were the achievements of Secretary Guan's investment promotion, once serving as a key project for the economic development of Chunshan County in the new era.

Who would have expected the result of "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river"? The key project, which was once a key project, had become a heartache today. Of course, only Guan Peishan would have this heartache. This project was handled by him from beginning to end, and no one else had been involved.

The Martyrs Cemetery was a hot potato. Whoever held it could bring disaster.

Zhu Shizhen knew this was a done deal, and he couldn't turn the tide. He was nearly sixty years old, and the leader arranging for him to take the top spot was trust in him. Besides, as a grassroots cadre, being able to take the blame for a leader once was an honor. Not all grassroots cadres had such an opportunity; some blame, even if you wanted to take it, the leader wouldn't necessarily let you.

The most critical point was that he was a latecomer after all. If heads were really going to roll, it wouldn't be his turn.

He laughed, opened his tightly closed legs, and said bluntly, "Secretary Guan, don't worry. The task you give me is the task the Party gives me. I, Zhu Shizhen, can let everyone down, but I will absolutely not let the Party down."

Guan Peishan also laughed. Zhu Shizhen was like his own pug, loyal and brave. As long as the master gave an order, he would run forward regardless of his life.

Now he needed such a person. In the days when he was worried, he had been looking for such a person. This person could jump out when Secretary He Zhi came next time, at least easing the changes in the Martyrs Cemetery into an unavoidable fact.

From the time Huang Qishan was capped and sent down to the county to serve as the Youth League Committee Secretary, he had sensitively captured a piece of information. Sending cadres down from the city, although a long-standing practice, was done quietly, as if treating him, the County Party Secretary, as air, which made it hard for him to accept. Therefore, although Huang Qishan was a Standing Committee member, he wasn't notified every time he held a Standing Committee meeting, but he was sent a copy of the meeting minutes every time.

Before he could fully extract himself from the Huang Qishan incident, Guo Wei was parachuted in again, completely disrupting his personnel arrangement plan. The original plan for Deng Hanyu to succeed Liu Quan as Suxi Township Secretary fell through, indicating that his daughter, who worked beside Deng Hanyu's father, would also remain in place.

Deng Hanyu, as the Chengguan Town Mayor, was rightfully appointed as the Secretary of a remote township. As long as Deng Hanyu stayed in Suxi Township for three years, his promotion to Deputy County Magistrate in the county would be a matter of course.

Guo Wei's parachuting made him feel very angry. It was one thing to have Huang Qishan, but the city sent another young man to snatch the township secretary position, not taking him, the County Party Secretary, seriously at all. So he found an opportunity to visit Municipal Party Secretary Chen.

Secretary Chen had been smiling as he watched him complain. Only after he had nothing left to say did he lightly throw out a sentence: "Cultivating young cadres is the focus of the Municipal Party Committee recently. The personnel arrangements of the Municipal Party Committee are the result of multi-faceted considerations."

Guan Peishan knew he couldn't turn the tide, so he had to return home. He thought about Zhu Shizhen acting as township head and thought about promoting Zhu Shizhen, which could be considered saving a game. Just as he was busy doing this, the daughter of Minister Huang visited, and after seven or eight turns, she still said that the township head position should be given to me.

Guan Peishan was desperate. He even thought that this series of personnel arrangements were all purposeful, and it must be Secretary He Zhi supporting it from behind. Helplessly, Secretary He Zhi was a member of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee. No matter how capable Guan Peishan was, he couldn't take a stone to hit the sky! Therefore, at the meeting of county secretaries held in the city, he publicly lamented that the county was now an empty shell.

Zhu Shizhen's request for an audience made his eyes light up, and the dark clouds of frustration that had been blocking his heart were swept away.

Guan Peishan had thought many times that the biggest possibility for this situation was the Martyrs Cemetery. Although Secretary He couldn't personally walk to the Martyrs Cemetery, he couldn't guarantee that Liu Qimeng wouldn't report this matter behind his back.

The only way was to choose someone he trusted to take the responsibility.

Zhu Shizhen's statement showed that he understood his painstaking efforts. Therefore, as soon as Zhu Shizhen left, he arranged for the office to draft the appointment and removal notice. Zhu Shizhen arrived at the township government, and the appointment and removal notice followed.

After Zhu Shizhen's speech, Guo Wei cleared his throat and said, "Chairman Zhu has worked in Suxi Township for thirty years and has made great contributions. He is a good representative of the Party and a good cadre for the common people. The People's Congress work he personally grasped has been praised and affirmed by the county and the city. He is a model of grassroots People's Congress work and an example for us to learn from."

Everyone applauded again.

He spoke for more than ten minutes, turned his head to me and asked, "Township Head Chen, do you want to say a few words?"

He meant that it was fine if I said it, and it wouldn't matter if I didn't.

Of course I had to say it.

I said, "Chairman Zhu is my predecessor and guide since I came to Suxi Township. He is also the cadre I have admired the most for the past few years. From Chairman Zhu, I have learned a lot. He taught by example, allowing me to grow from an ordinary cadre to the Suxi Township Head. I thank him from the bottom of my heart, and I also thank all the comrades present. Chairman Zhu is now serving as the Director of the County Martyrs Cemetery Management Office due to work needs. This is a heavy responsibility entrusted by the Party and the government. He is the inheritor and promoter of the revolutionary history of our Chunshan County and an example for our cadres to learn from. In the future, Chairman Zhu needs to inject new blood, new concepts, and new ideas into Suxi Township in his new position. The Martyrs Cemetery is the only sacred place in our county to mourn revolutionary predecessors. The existence and repair of the Martyrs Cemetery are the manifestations of whether our cadres and masses still remember the martyrs. Now that Chairman Zhu has personally taken the lead, I believe that in the future, our Chunshan County will not only have a qualitative leap in the economy but also have rich spiritual food in the spiritual level."

I hadn't said one more important thing: Zhu Shizhen was my introducer to the Party!

After I finished speaking, I pulled the chair, stood up, and bowed deeply to Zhu Shizhen.

This action of mine surprised them. I didn't just say it; I expressed it in action. It made people feel that it was indeed sincere.

Zhu Shizhen was moved. He held my hand, his eyes red, and said, "I didn't misjudge you!" He patted the back of my hand gently, and a burst of infinite warmth was transmitted from his palm. ===== CHAPTER 160 =====