Chapter 179: Once I

Pan Xiaoqin's marriage was set for the twelfth lunar month, but the land she rented at Laoyingzui showed no signs of activity.

Guo Wei's relocation plan was almost in a state of semi-paralysis, and even Sun Demao no longer came to ask for the project.

If the township government's relocation project didn't start, there could be no movement on Pan Xiaoqin's rented land. According to the agreement she originally signed with Laoyingzui, if construction didn't start within a year, the agreement would be void!

Renting the land cost over ten thousand yuan, equivalent to two years' wages for a strong laborer in Suxi Township. Pan Xiaoqin was anxious; although I had provided the money, she had signed the contract. Moreover, I held shares in the supermarket. Previously, she hadn't planned on marrying, so she hadn't thought about property ownership, but now that she was about to marry into another family, she had to clarify the finances—it was a responsibility to her new family!

I wasn't anxious at all. Guo Wei wouldn't be willing to let the relocation fail halfway. Although everything seemed calm on the surface, I could sense the winds rising underneath. What I worried about most now was Qian Youyu's investment; it wasn't that I feared he wouldn't come, but that I feared he would come too early.

After hearing my attitude regarding Guo Wei's stance on investing in the factory, Yue Bai didn't hesitate at all. She knew my determination—the mineral water factory had to be built! She quietly left me a leave request and went to find Qian Youyu herself.

Once Qian Youyu's problem was solved, I could basically sleep soundly.

Qian Youyu was a shrewd person, but when he met Yue Bai, this "demon," he could only raise his hands in surrender and be willing to die for her! This was the conclusion I reached after testing him several times.

Guo Wei's relocation was an earth-shattering event, and my building a factory was even more heart-stirring. These two things looked like actions of the township government, but in reality, they were worlds apart. Putting aside economic benefits, just looking at the essence of operating these two things, Guo Wei and I were each responsible for one. The success of either would be a political achievement for Suxi Township, and these achievements were the ladders to climb upward in the future.

Guo Wei wouldn't let me intervene in the relocation, but he wanted to reach out for my factory. It was impossible to be willing to let others pick the peaches one had planted oneself. Therefore, regarding the true progress of the mineral water factory, Guo Wei was as clueless as I was about the relocation.

We both knew deeply that building an even more magnificent township government couldn't compare to me building half a factory. One was a government office, something the common people deeply detested; the other was a money-making machine that could directly change the living conditions of the common people.

In a society overflowing with material desires, everyone understood: survive first, then live!

When Guo Wei couldn't wait for me to hand over the project, he finally found an excuse to stop it. I knew very well what Guo Wei's plan was; he didn't want to reject the project, he wanted to take it over!

I was no longer the young man kicked out of the government office five years ago, nor was I someone without a foundation. If it were five years ago, I would have respectfully placed the project under Guo Wei's nose; today, five years later, I even wanted to intervene directly in the relocation.

Having been a township official for a long time, I naturally understood the tricks of the trade.

An ordinary township cadre, if they had no one above them, would basically spend their whole life at the grassroots level. Even if they had someone above them, they still had to create some momentum; only with momentum would there be a chance to rise to the clouds. Cadre selection must first conform to organizational principles, but there are exceptions, and this exception is the unspoken truth.

Any cadre who is an exception must be covered by a big shot or have "Brother Kong Fang" (money) doing the talking.

I belonged to the category of those without a big shot above me, and even less so with enough "Brother Kong Fang" to pave the way. Although my cousin-in-law was the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Committee, he was, after all, a deputy, and a deputy's words usually aren't worth a single word from the principal. Fortunately, my cousin-in-law was from a military background, spoke and acted cleanly, and had an old superior in Beijing he could talk to. Compared to cadres looking for big shots in the province as backers, my cousin-in-law's advantage was clear.

My cousin-in-law couldn't make an exception for me—I knew that! But if I had even a little bit of political achievement, my cousin-in-law could justify it. Therefore, Suxi Township seemed harmonious on the surface, but there was a struggle for power underneath.

An official career is like fighting a war; one must know oneself and the enemy. Walking on others' shoulders is a scene in the officialdom.

Officialdom is a minefield; some walk like clouds and water, others walk like they are treading on thin ice.

Everyone mixing in officialdom dreams of promotion day and night, and if there is even the slightest chance, they will rack their brains. Flattery and being slick are basic rules; playing the grandson or the master are necessary means.

People living are all arrangements of fate. Fate, this invisible and untouchable thing, is always stretching out a pair of large hands, controlling the ups and downs of a person's life.

Just like me, the God of Fate, in a half-dreaming state, pushed my father to the south. Wearing the hat of a "south-bound cadre," my father happened to marry my mother. By rights, I am a descendant of the revolution, belonging to the "red and root-correct" category.

Who knew that my father, who was upright his whole life, would speak without restraint? With his originally bright future, he could only settle down in an enterprise. No one knows a son like a father; my father's earnest teachings throughout his life still couldn't keep me stable. During a movement back then, I ended up with a conclusion of "political status pending review."

Just when I was in despair, another "old man losing his horse" story happened. Kicked out of the government office, I fell into the almost isolated Suxi Township, but who knew fate would start to favor me!

Thinking of this, I smiled knowingly.

Pan Xiaoqin asked me worriedly, "Brother, what should we do?"

I laughed, "There will be a road when the car reaches the mountain; don't worry."

"There are only two months left until the deadline."

"If the deadline comes, it comes. At most, it's just a loss of over ten thousand yuan."

"Did we act too early?" Pan Xiaoqin was now elegant, her thinking active; she was far from the green little girl she was back then.

"Not early." I said, turning to ask her, "How is the oil mill now?"

"It's great." Pan Xiaoqin praised, "You can rest assured with Brother Shurong handling things."

"Brother, when do you estimate the township government will start construction at the earliest?"

"If he doesn't start construction, can't we start first?" I asked her back, pointing out, "The contract you signed says construction within a year, so you start. Building a wall, digging a foundation—does that count as starting construction?"

Pan Xiaoqin patted her head as if suddenly enlightened and laughed, "Brother is still the best. I understand." Then she stammered, "Brother, Zeng Dongming wants to resign. Do you have any opinions?"

I decided without thinking, "Resigning is a good thing. A person who writes poetry, mixing in the Party School for a lifetime, won't achieve anything. It's better to do business with you. In the future, don't just look at your toes; look further ahead. Opening a supermarket and opening a department store have no essential difference; it's just a matter of scale."

"He has ideas too." Pan Xiaoqin said with infinite longing, "He told me that city people nowadays like to run to the countryside, like to eat farmhouse food, like to climb mountains; as long as it's something from the farmers, they like it."

"Running a farmhouse resort?" I asked, not optimistic about her idea.

Suxi Township was too far. Although there were high mountains and dense forests, as well as strange peaks and deep ravines, there were no cultural attractions. Although attractions only have a sense of mystery if they are natural, without cultural meaning, they are just a pile of messy rocks and a cluster of weeds, with no life significance. Moreover, people living in Chunshan County were used to these scenes; not only were they not tempted by anything from the farmers, but they wanted to stay as far away as possible, as if getting even a little bit on them would make them look like farmers.

"He told me that if he had money, he would develop Chunshan County into a tourist county."

Pan Xiaoqin's words directly touched me.

"What are your thoughts?" I asked, calm and composed.

"I have no thoughts. Following you, I never worry about these things." Pan Xiaoqin returned to her usual playful self.

"Xiaoqin, in the future, you must think more for yourself. Marrying someone else as a wife, you must have the appearance of a wife, thinking of the family in everything." I said with the image of a big brother.

"I won't." She pouted, "It's because you didn't want me that I'm marrying someone else. Now that I'm marrying, you have to take responsibility."

I was dumbfounded, "What responsibility do I have to take?"

"Of course you have to take responsibility." She said angrily, "I don't blame you for liking Sister Hongyan, I don't blame you for peeking at Meizhu, and I still don't blame you for dating Teacher Xue. But you have never liked me. Am I really that ugly?"

"No." I laughed, "Our Xiaoqin is so beautiful. A girl changes eighteen times; look at yourself, you are as beautiful as can be now."

"Beautiful?" She spun around in the middle of the room, examining herself.

"Beautiful." I answered affirmatively.

"If I'm beautiful, why don't you like me?"

"I do like you! Who said I didn't? If I didn't like you, would I let you open a supermarket in Suxi Township?" I slapped the table and stood up.

Pan Xiaoqin jumped in front of me, looking at me with bright, shining eyes, "Brother, I'm about to become someone else's wife. Do you feel comfortable?"

"Comfortable." I patted my chest and said, "Our Xiaoqin has grown up; I'm happy."

"I'm not yet. I'm still myself." She hinted to me, "Once I'm married, I won't be me anymore."

"You will always be you." I deliberately emphasized my tone, "No matter when, you will always be the little sister Xiaoqin in my heart."

She laughed happily, tilting her head, "Forget it. My brother is a blockhead. I won't say anything else! Brother, tomorrow I'll tell Zeng Dongming to resign. As for the land at Laoyingzui, let him handle it; it's a good chance to see what he's capable of."

Watching her jump and skip out of the office, I followed her out, stood in the corridor, and leaned against the railing, seeing Xue Bing coming over with her head down from a distance. ===== CHAPTER 180 =====