Chapter 232: Indecisive

County Magistrate Liu didn't give me an accurate answer in the end, but he gave me a reassurance pill. This pill made me happy to touch Qian Youyu from the bed and urge him to drive on the road back to the township.

Guo Wei saw me coming back and specifically ran to my office. This was the first time in his life.

"Are the procedures finished?" Guo Wei looked left and right, then sighed and said, "With you leaving like this, I don't know who they'll assign to Suxi."

As soon as I heard this, I realized he didn't know the County Party Committee's decision yet, so I deliberately teased him, "It doesn't matter who comes; in any case, you are the top leader in Suxi Town."

Guo Wei said, full of concerns, "It's not the same. It's just like doing business; you have to be compatible to develop. If you aren't, and you want to go east while they want to go west, neither side moves, and you'll be dragged to death. To tell you the truth, in the few years you, Yu Feng, have been working with me, I, Guo Wei, have truly admired you. Although our ideas might not align at times, we can always reach a consensus in the end. What is this? It's trust! Trust is the foundation of building a career."

I was inexplicably moved by his words. These things Guo Wei said might truly have come from his heart.

"What if I said I wasn't leaving?" I handed him a cigarette, then suddenly remembered Guo Wei didn't smoke, so I pulled my hand back and lit one for myself.

"You're pulling my leg, right?" Guo Wei stared at me, disbelieving.

"Secretary Guo," I said solemnly, "I'm not joking. I also feel that if we two brothers don't accomplish something great in Suxi, even if we were given the position of Municipal Party Secretary, could we really be at peace?"

Guo Wei looked at me earnestly, and only when he saw me nodding solemnly at him did he believe I wasn't joking. His eyes seemed to moisten in an instant. Without a word, he came over, opened his arms to hug me, and patted my back lightly, as if a thousand words had turned into silent understanding in that single pat.

"Secretary Guo, I have an idea, and I hope you can support me," I said, my expression very earnest.

"Go ahead, we're brothers, anything can be said, and we'll find a way to solve it together," Guo Wei laughed heartily.

"Do you still remember Township Head Zhu Shizhen?"

"I remember him. Wasn't he dismissed from both his post and the Party?"

"He's also crippled," I said heavily. "Old Zhu's situation feels like a dream."

Guo Wei said "Oh," pondered for a moment, and asked me, "Is there something about Old Zhu?"

"Old Zhu is fine. He's already a man whose sun is setting, what could happen to him? Do you know Old Zhu has a daughter?"

"I know. Qishan mentioned her to me last time. I heard her looks are quite good, she doesn't have much education, and she's currently doing odd jobs under Qishan."

"That's her, her name is Zhu Hua Yu," I said, and started to laugh. "The name is nice, right? Hua Yu, a flower that understands language—Old Zhu is quite the romantic."

Guo Wei laughed along and said, "Isn't Qishan pursuing her?"

"Pursuing, my foot," I said. "Qishan is the County Youth League Committee Secretary with a bright future. Zhu Hua Yu is still a peasant; don't look at her doing odd jobs at the County Committee now, she's ultimately just doing odd jobs, and who knows when she'll have no more jobs to do. Actually, we all understand that arranging for Old Zhu's daughter to do odd jobs at the County Committee is nothing more than giving Old Zhu a glimmer of hope."

Guo Wei, hearing what I said, asked suspiciously, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

I laughed, "I just want to say, if we give the position of Suxi Town Youth League Committee Secretary to a young, energetic person who understands Suxi's customs and conditions, wouldn't that be adding a pair of hands for ourselves?"

Guo Wei finally understood what I was getting at. He frowned and said, "Is this something the two of us can solve?"

"We can," I explained County Magistrate Liu Qimeng's plan. The County Magistrate's plan was: as long as the construction of Suxi Town proceeds smoothly, Zhu Hua Yu's appointment and other procedures will be handled by the County Committee as a special talent case. Before the official appointment is issued, Zhu Hua Yu can work as an acting secretary, with her salary and benefits covered by the county treasury. At this stage, as long as Suxi Town applies to the County Committee for the deployment of cadres, Zhu Hua Yu can be in place immediately.

"Have you told Qishan about this?" Guo Wei reminded me, "What if Qishan doesn't agree? Wouldn't we be wasting our efforts?"

I shook my head and said, "I haven't told Qishan yet. Besides, this matter doesn't seem to have much to do with Qishan."

Guo Wei nodded and said, "What you say is true. Let's do this: you take charge of drafting the report, and we'll submit it to the county tomorrow."

I happily agreed. Drafting a report was easier for me than crushing an ant.

Seeing Guo Wei to the door, he turned back and asked me, "The one who came with you earlier was Boss Qian, right? Where is he?"

I looked around and didn't see a shadow of Qian Youyu. I suddenly thought of Yue Bai and realized what was going on. I laughed it off and said, "Maybe he had a call of nature and went to the restroom."

Guo Wei said, "When you see him, tell him to come to my office. This Old Qian, he disappears as soon as the contract is signed. Is he still going to run his mineral water factory or not?"

I nodded quickly. As soon as Guo Wei left, I turned and went to Yue Bai's enterprise office. Sure enough, I saw Qian Youyu sitting obediently at the table, his hands wrapped in a skein of yarn, helping Yue Bai wind a ball of wool.

"Old Qian, why are you hiding here?" I asked, deliberately making a fuss.

Qian Youyu rolled his eyes and said, "If I don't come here, where else can I go? This is the Vice Chairwoman's place. You cadres are talking together, what business is it of mine? Of course I came here."

Yue Bai quickly took the yarn from his hands and urged him, "Old Qian, the leader is looking for you, go quickly."

Qian Youyu said hesitantly, "I haven't finished winding it yet. In what year or month will I ever be able to wear this sweater?"

Yue Bai glared and said angrily, "Don't even think about wearing it in this lifetime."

Qian Youyu stuck out his tongue and made a face, then quickly stood up and said, "I'm going, I'm going, is that not enough?"

He followed me to Guo Wei's office, sat down boldly, lit a cigarette, and greeted Guo Wei, "Hello, Secretary Guo, you're looking more and more spirited."

Guo Wei remained calm, glanced at Qian Youyu, and said, "Boss Qian, thank you for your kind words. But since you're here today, I'd like to ask if the signed contract is still valid. If it's not, you know the consequences."

I could understand the subtext of Guo Wei's words. The agricultural-to-non-agricultural registration quotas for the hundreds of people in Yuetang Village were all provided by our Suxi Township, and we didn't collect a single cent from them. As a contract security deposit, Yuetang Village had deposited five million yuan into the Suxi Town financial account in one lump sum. If the contract could not be fulfilled, Qian Youyu would have no way to get that five million back.

"Secretary Guo, don't worry. The contract is definitely valid! As long as you agree, we can start construction tomorrow." Qian Youyu had come prepared; this shrewd peasant had chosen the right time to offer the right price.

"What are you using to start construction?" Guo Wei asked, disbelieving.

"Secretary Guo, don't worry. I, Old Qian, like to joke, but I never joke about business. This investment matter concerns the lives of the generations of people in my Yuetang Village. I, Qian Youyu, may not be able to be a hero for the ages, but I must never be a sinner for all time." Qian Youyu was full of promises, patting his chest as he said, "Believe in me, Old Qian; I, Old Qian, believe in you all."

Guo Wei and I laughed together. Qian Youyu's actor-like declaration truly showed he was sincere.

"I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight. Could the two leaders do me the honor, and invite Comrade Yue Bai along as well, how about it?" Seeing us both laughing, Qian Youyu began to make requests without restraint.

"What do you want to treat us to?" I asked with a half-smile. Qian Youyu's heart ached every time he treated people to dinner his whole life, yet he had been treating people to dinner his whole life.

"In this place of Suxi, there's only one place to get good food." Qian Youyu pointed to Pan Xiaoqin's supermarket at the bridgehead and said, "Yaojia Sanshanguo, it can be considered a delicacy. Let's eat that tonight, what do the two leaders think?"

Guo Wei stated, "Eating is a small matter, doing good work is the big matter. This is fine, Town Head Chen, why don't we host tonight in the name of the town, and invite Boss Qian to taste our Suxi flavors."

I immediately agreed. Qian Youyu felt a bit embarrassed; perhaps he remembered Deng Hanyu's seafood restaurant. A subtle, elusive smile spread from the corners of his mouth, pulling the wrinkles on his face to bloom like a mandala.

Guo Wei immediately called the government office secretary and told him to go to the small restaurant to prepare, specifically instructing Pan Shurong to get into the kitchen and whip up an authentic pot of Suxi Yaojia hot pot.

Just as we were discussing what wine to drink, my phone rang. I took it out and saw the number was very unfamiliar.

After thinking about it, I answered. A soft, beautiful female voice came through the receiver: "Xiao Chen, why haven't you come to report yet?"

Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi calling personally to inquire scared me into a cold sweat. She was my future mother-in-law; every word I said could potentially become an inescapable nightmare.

I stammered, not knowing how to answer, and quietly walked outside, listening nervously to the voice coming from the receiver.

"This is an opportunity I fought hard to get; for this, I even owe the Personnel Bureau Chief a big favor. You must seize the opportunity and lay the foundation for your future path, do you understand?" Bureau Chief Chen Yazhi was someone I respected very much. From the first day I met her, I saw kindness in her warm smile.

When I was under investigation, she had rushed to Chunshan overnight, setting aside her pride and status to beg for help for me—this was completely inconsistent with her lifelong aloof character. For the wife of an Organization Department Minister, who was a high-ranking official herself, to beg for help for a young man, the only reason was that this man made her feel threatened. The only way to deal with this emotion, which came from primitive maternal love being disturbed by external feelings, was to merge the two emotions into one.

"Weiwei is also waiting for you to come back," she said, then hung up the phone, leaving me holding the receiver, my mind blank and lost.