Chapter 202

The Chunshan County Party Committee confirmed in the form of a red-headed document that 500 agricultural-to-non-agricultural indicators would be allocated to Suxi Township. As soon as the news came out, my phone rang non-stop. Besides congratulations, I also received a lot of complaints.

The one with the most complaints was Mao Ping of Mao Shi Town, who sighed as soon as he opened his mouth that it was easy to be an official if you had someone in the imperial court! He said that for his Mao Shi Town, asking the county for ten indicators was as difficult as picking stars from the sky. Mao Ping's call was not just about the agricultural-to-non-agricultural issue; he was probing the direction of my mineral water factory, so after complaining for a long time, he asked me how I planned to arrange these 500 indicators.

The indicators allocated by the county Party committee document meant that the county finance did not want the income from these 500 indicators, and the proceeds were entirely at the disposal of our Suxi Township. Who wouldn't be jealous of such a good thing? Not to mention solving other people's problems, for so many cadre family members who were half-farmers, changing their status from flat land, and taking off the farmer's hat worn on their heads—what was this? It was status, it was social standing, it was a manifestation of ability.

I brushed off Mao Ping and said: "Town Mayor Mao, 500 indicators, I'm afraid it won't solve the problem. There are many monks and little porridge."

He cursed me on the phone for being insatiable, selling well after getting benefits, and said that as long as I gave him 50 indicators, he would be willing to be a cow or a horse, pointing east and west.

He probed me, and of course, I had to cut off his luck. So after bragging about everything under the sun, I told him: "Town Mayor Mao, you know we are going to build a mineral water factory. These indicators are for solving the status of the employees. My water factory doesn't have migrant workers; they are all regular urban residents who eat state grain."

Mao Ping cursed: "Fart! What kind of state grain is there now? It's all the same, okay! Only you are still using this thing to fool farmers. You have no conscience."

I laughed: "Since I have no conscience, why do you still want the indicators? Don't you have no conscience?"

He didn't speak, and muttered: "Damn world, if I also had a relative who was a big official, I wouldn't be afraid that Secretary Guan wouldn't give me a few hundred indicators. No way, you are a person with a background, we are just small cadres, waiting to die."

I comforted him: "Town Mayor Mao, actually you and I both know that the dual system of urban and rural household registration cannot be changed in the short term. In this world now, I'm afraid there are few people willing to be farmers for a lifetime. Regardless of how it develops in the future, giving them a hope first can be considered as us fulfilling a responsibility."

After hanging up the phone, before I could sit down, Deng Hanyu's call came again, and he questioned me as soon as he opened his mouth: "Chen Feng, did you go to the county to complain about us again?"

I was very puzzled. His tone made people feel very uncomfortable, so I retorted unpleasantly: "Do you have anything worth me complaining about?"

Deng Hanyu was stunned on the phone and said to himself: "Indeed, what do I have worth you complaining about?"

"Exactly! Town Mayor Deng, in the future, without investigation, you can't just wrong a friend." I prepared to hang up the phone.

"Wait, Township Head Chen, I have something to ask you. Regarding the Yuetang Village matter, you didn't meddle blindly, did you?"

"What am I meddling in? Yuetang Village is under the administrative jurisdiction of your Chengguan Town. Even if I wanted to meddle, I wouldn't have the chance."

"What the hell? Why did the county Party committee suddenly want us to withdraw their shares in the Cement Products Factory? It's such a good enterprise, and it's about to make a fortune. Why withdraw it?" Deng Hanyu was completely puzzled.

"I don't know about this." I wanted to brush the matter off and simply denied it directly.

"You, Chen Feng, don't know? You can't even fool a ghost!" Deng Hanyu said in a negotiating tone: "How about this, after the restructuring of the Cement Products Factory, all kinds of work are in full swing. At this time, suddenly withdrawing capital is pushing my products factory to a dead end. How about this, I, old Deng, won't fight with Qian Youyu for money in the future, and you leave a way out for my Cement Products Factory. Don't withdraw the capital, okay?"

"Does what I say count?" I teased him: "Boss Qian is a person from your Chengguan Town and also a village cadre of your Chengguan Town. If I speak, will he listen? If he is willing to listen, I guarantee he won't withdraw a penny from the Cement Products Factory."

"What you say counts." Deng Hanyu bit on my words: "If you withdraw a penny, we won't be brothers."

I stated firmly: "Okay!"

My statement was worthless in front of Qian Youyu. He firmly demanded to take the money out of the Cement Products Factory, saying that when the money was invested at the beginning, it was not the opinion of the Yuetang Village people, and even he, the village head, knew nothing about it. If the Public Security Bureau hadn't arrested his people, he would have thought all the money was in the county.

He understood taking kickbacks, and he understood taking them layer by layer. But they couldn't eat it until only a pile of bones remained! Strictly speaking, the land acquisition funds for Yuetang Village were money from selling ancestors. After taking this money, even their homeland would be lost. Although the county promised to distribute a house to every household in Yuetang Village, people who had dealt with land all their lives, after moving into the county town, where would they go to grow vegetables? Where would they go to pee? What would they use to support themselves?

Yuetang Village had more than a thousand old and young people. Besides the men working with him on the construction site, there were so many women, children, and old people left at home. What would these people rely on to survive?

After Qian Youyu met me, the mineral water project I introduced to him had already taken root in his heart. Qian Youyu, who was from a farming background, calculated an account: the technical content of investing in a mineral water factory was not high, the key was that the resources were readily available, and they were inexhaustible and unfailing, which was equivalent to doing a business without capital. Such a good thing, wouldn't it give the people of Yuetang Village a hope?

I comforted him: "Boss Qian, the money has already been invested, and the Cement Products Factory is also a money-making thing. Putting money there is like hatching cubs. When it produces cubs, we will continue to invest. If it doesn't produce cubs, we will take back the capital, and he won't have any opinion."

Qian Youyu was still resentful and patted his chest: "My people were locked in the detention center for several days. Who will compensate them?"

I accompanied him with a smiling face and said: "I will compensate, okay?"

Qian Youyu looked at me incredulously and said sarcastically: "What will you use to compensate? Use your face to compensate?"

I was a little annoyed. Qian Youyu, you really don't know the current situation! The money is still on the financial books of Chengguan Town. If you haven't got it in your hands, it's equivalent to you only holding the tip of a knife. People can pull the knife whenever they want. By then, not to mention taking your life, it would be no problem to make you full of holes.

Without money, how to build the factory? How to buy equipment? How to solve technical problems? How to open up market sales?

If you don't endure small things, you will mess up big plans! I warned him: "As long as Chengguan Town transfers the money to Suxi Township finance happily now, what can't we endure? Now that Deng Hanyu is pissed off, he will withhold it and not transfer it. Even if we have great abilities, what can we do?"

Qian Youyu sighed annoyedly and cursed: "No way, who told us to be born in this place. I fuck his old mother!"

Everything is ready, only the east wind is missing! This east wind is waiting for the county Party committee to issue another document for me, clarifying that Suxi Township is upgraded to Suxi Town. With the establishment of a town, we can set up a neighborhood committee. With a neighborhood committee, the agricultural-to-non-agricultural conversion will be a matter of course.

Guo Wei was in high spirits and arranged for the township secretary to go to the city personally to find an engraving company with exquisite craftsmanship. He wanted to make a sign for Suxi Town. For this sign, he invited Secretary Chen of the Municipal Party Committee to write it personally.

It happened that the three-day deadline agreed with Laoyingzui Village had arrived, and Zhao Dequan brought a group of old men and women to the township government.

This time Guo Wei didn't avoid it and personally came out to negotiate.

Zhao Dequan waited expectantly for Guo Wei to express his position, while Guo Wei drank tea slowly and unhurriedly.

"Secretary... Secretary Guo, you see I have no way either. These old guys refuse to listen to persuasion and insist on coming. Even if I died, I couldn't stop them." Zhao Dequan looked pitiful.

"Then why haven't you died yet? You try dying and see. If you die, will these old people still come?" Guo Wei said with a dark face, not even looking at Zhao Dequan.

"If I die, who will vent anger for Secretary Guo?" Zhao Dequan giggled, bowing his back like a big shrimp.

Guo Wei didn't know whether to laugh or cry and cursed: "Zhao Dequan, in this world, only you are shameless. Bringing a group of old men and women, what do you want to do?"

Zhao Dequan was not afraid of being scolded and still giggled: "The strong laborers all have to farm to support their families. If they are locked up, the whole family will starve to death. These grandpas and grandmas are different. They have nothing to do anyway, so they can just come to the government to eat free food."

"Zhao Dequan, you deserve to die!" After Guo Wei finished scolding, he laughed himself and pointed at me: "Look at Township Head Chen, he thought of a good way for your broken matter, and you are even reluctant to offer a cigarette."

Zhao Dequan hurriedly took out a pack of wrinkled cigarettes and respectfully handed me one.

I took it and held it in my mouth, not wanting to light it. When others offer cigarettes, regardless of whether they are good or bad, accepting them first is respect for people. Whether to smoke or not, decide for yourself. One cigarette won't kill anyone!

"Township Head Chen, what method did you think of?" Zhao Dequan leaned closer to me, and I smelled a burst of sweat coming from him.

"There is one way. Let me ask you, besides Sister-in-law Yue Bai who eats state grain in Laoyingzui Village, who else is there?" I asked, beating around the bush.

Zhao Dequan thought for a while, shook his head and said: "Besides Sister-in-law Yue Bai, there really isn't anyone."

"Such a big village, why is there no one eating state grain?" I asked, calm and composed.

Zhao Dequan sighed and said: "We people, we didn't reincarnate well, we all reincarnated into farmers' families, where would we have state grain to eat. Can't study, can't join the army, so we have to be farmers generation after generation, accepting our fate."

"If there is an opportunity for you to eat state grain, what would you think?" I further threw out a bait.

Zhao Dequan was stunned for a moment and asked me as if he couldn't believe his ears: "What did you say?"

I said: "Let you be workers and eat state grain."

Zhao Dequan stared at me suspiciously for a long time, shook his head and said: "You are joking with me, I don't believe it."

I pretended to be very sacred and said: "Secretary Guo has fought for one indicator for every household in Laoyingzui Village to eat state grain, which means that from now on, as long as you are willing, every household in Laoyingzui Village will have someone who eats state grain."

"Really or fake?" Zhao Dequan was stunned by what I said, like a fool, losing his head.

"Do you think our state cadres would joke with you?" Guo Wei added at the right time.

Zhao Dequan patted his head, stared at us and said word by word: "If every household in Laoyingzui Village has someone who eats state grain, all the affairs of Laoyingzui Village will be decided by you!"

"Really?"

"Really!" Zhao Dequan became excited. Our words seemed to let him see light and the future. Farmers who had dealt with land all their lives dreamed of changing their destiny and being able to say with confidence: "I am not a farmer!"

The word "farmer," when put on anyone's head, immediately makes them feel three points shorter than others.