Chapter 245: County Magistrate Liu's Hint

Huang Qishan stood at the gate of the County Party Committee Guesthouse, waiting for our arrival. As soon as the car stopped, he bowed and invited Professor Xu out of the car, introducing his identity.

I was just about to start talking to him when he gave me a wink, pulled me aside and said urgently: "Go to the County Party Committee to invite County Magistrate Liu quickly. I saw him when I came. If you go too late, I'm afraid he will have other arrangements tonight, and you won't be able to invite him."

I shook his hand gratefully and said: "He who knows me is Qishan."

He rolled his eyes at me and said: "Don't be sour. You can rest assured here, I have arranged everything."

After speaking, he left me, ran to Professor Xu's side, helped him lift a box, and supported him into the hotel lobby. Huang Weiwei parked the car and came over. Seeing me still standing in the courtyard, she asked suspiciously: "Why don't you go in?"

I said: "Weiwei, you run a trip with me to the County Party Committee, we are going to invite County Magistrate Liu."

Huang Weiwei hesitated for a moment, turned around and drove the car over, greeting me to get in.

The County Party Committee compound was bustling with noise and excitement. Most of the people coming and going were known to me; they were either cadres from the county bureau or leaders from the towns below.

I avoided them and went straight to County Magistrate Liu's office.

As long as County Magistrate Liu didn't have any social engagements, he was definitely the last one to leave this building.

All cadres knew this convention, and I was no exception.

County Magistrate Liu's dedication was well-known among the cadres. This old man had devoted his whole life to his career. Whether he was in a low position or now high as the second-in-command of Chunshan County, he had never changed his work style. In his eyes, cadres and the masses were the same, and this old man loved talent. As long as it was talent, he could learn from Zhuge Liang and visit the thatched cottage three times.

When I first arrived in Suxi Township, I heard Liu Quan talk about him. Liu Quan was a veteran cadre of Chunshan County who had spent his whole life in Suxi Township, but this did not affect his understanding of Chunshan County's official structure.

Chunshan was an old revolutionary base area and also the poorest area in Hengyue City. Chunshan County, with its vast land and sparse population, was once a difficult problem that dragged down Hengyue City's economic development. This place, which had produced many bandits, was also easy for cadres to produce political achievements. For example, Minister Huang Shan jumped from the position of Deputy Secretary of Chunshan County to Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of Hengyue Municipal Party Committee, and in less than two years, he was promoted.

Minister Huang Shan's promotion was once hailed as a story in officialdom and was also a typical example of a dark horse emerging from Chunshan County. After him, Chunshan County successively promoted some officials, but none had a higher position than Minister Huang Shan.

Before County Magistrate Liu was promoted, he had always been in charge of Chunshan County's economic development plan, serving as the executive deputy county magistrate.

County Magistrate Liu's predecessor was an old cadre who had no desires or demands all his life. After he retired at the age, he followed his daughter to Shanghai and never came back. Occasionally, he would make a call to ask how his old subordinates were doing under the new master.

Chunshan County sent people to Shanghai to visit the old county magistrate every year, and County Magistrate Liu Qimeng had also been there twice. Every time he came back from the old county magistrate, he would be listless for a few days.

The old county magistrate had no great achievements in his tenure, but he had accumulated many official rules. For example, he warned County Magistrate Liu that getting along with the secretary was the only rule for smooth work. The county magistrate and the county party secretary, nominally one in charge of party affairs and one in charge of government, in fact, everything was decided by the secretary. The county magistrate was at most a lame mother-in-law.

When the executive deputy county magistrate Liu was promoted, there was originally a position waiting for him—Chunshan County Party Secretary.

The old county magistrate and the old secretary retired in the same year, leaving two vacancies waiting for people to fill. At that time, Guan Peishan was still a deputy secretary in charge of party-mass relations, which was a deputy secretary of ideology, not even a standing committee member.

The city clearly required that both the secretary and the county magistrate be promoted from existing officials.

For this reason, the highest voice in the whole county was Deputy County Magistrate Liu Qimeng. Guan Peishan and Liu Qimeng—Guan was not a standing committee member, and Liu Qimeng was a standing committee member for two terms. Whether it was seniority or organizational procedures, the secretary should be Liu Qimeng.

Everyone was congratulating Liu Qimeng, waiting for the city to send someone to announce it. Liu Qimeng was also full of ambition, waiting to take office. Only Guan Peishan went to work and got off work as usual.

After a period of time, the Deputy Minister of the Municipal Organization Department came to the county in person to announce that the secretary would be held by Comrade Guan Peishan. Liu Qimeng was appointed as the acting county magistrate, and after the spring of the following year, the People's Congress would formally appoint him.

Liu Quan had long predicted this

Liu Quan had long anticipated this outcome, so when everyone else was feeling sorry for County Magistrate Liu at the time, Liu Quan had said one thing: "It's easy to be an official when you have people in the imperial court!"

The "people in the imperial court" in Liu Quan's mouth referred to the current Municipal Party Committee Secretary, Chen.

County Magistrate Liu Qimeng did not feel sorry for himself. He hadn't become the Secretary, and he analyzed that perhaps his own awareness wasn't high enough, that he hadn't yet met the requirements of a true Bolshevik; consciousness determines attitude, and attitude determines development.

For Liu Qimeng, who came from a background of old-school scholarship, this kind of ideological stuff was simply more painful than being tortured.

Fortunately, he had been confirmed as County Magistrate; as for the People's Congress meeting, it was merely a formality.

According to organizational principles, his position as County Magistrate was, to put it bluntly, about how to lead the common people to prosperity and wealth. The function of government work is to make the lives of the common people better. To put it plainly, it is economic development. This happened to be exactly the same as what he had done as Deputy County Magistrate. When he was Deputy County Magistrate, there was always a "mother-in-law" overseeing big and small matters, but now that he was the boss, everything could be done according to his own wishes; whether he was Secretary or not was not important.

Who knew that after he started working with Secretary Guan, he would find himself constrained at every turn, to the point where his county government had to get Secretary Guan's signature on a document before it could be issued.

Later on, Secretary Guan reshuffled the deck and replaced a group of people; the newly promoted Standing Committee members all had, to a greater or lesser extent, open or hidden ties to him. Sometimes, when it came to a vote in the Standing Committee, County Magistrate Liu found himself unable to clap with one hand, and it was only then that he realized he was like a child with his hands and feet tied, with absolutely no way out.

So he personally made a trip to the Municipal Committee, and subsequently, Huang Qishan was appointed as the County Youth League Committee Secretary and a member of the Standing Committee.

I am not very clear about what else was involved in this; I only started paying attention to the changes in the Chunshan County officialdom after hearing the legends about Liu Quan.

County Magistrate Liu's door was slightly ajar. I knocked gently, and his refined voice came from inside: "Please come in."

He was wearing a pair of black-rimmed reading glasses, the wide lenses covering almost half his face. Seeing me enter, his gaze shot out from over the top of the glass, giving one a sense of a sternness that commanded respect without anger.

"It's so late, is something the matter?" he asked me, stopping his pen and calling out toward the door: "Secretary Zhang, brew a cup of tea and bring it over."

Secretary Zhang had followed County Magistrate Liu for several years, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't leave even half a step as long as the County Magistrate hadn't left. Hearing the call, he responded and entered, having already brewed the tea. He placed it gently on the coffee table, gave me a polite smile, opened the door, and left.

"County Magistrate, I would like to invite you to have a meal together tonight," I said, twisting my hands nervously.

"What, trying to bribe me?" County Magistrate Liu teased me: "Tell me, why should I eat your meal?"

"County Magistrate," I called out to him with infinite respect: "I have invited an expert, an expert in geology and mineral resources, who is currently staying at the County Committee Guesthouse. He just arrived."

County Magistrate Liu was taken aback. He looked at me, tapped the table, and said: "You kid can always stay one step ahead of others. Not bad."

I gave a fawning smile.

"Tell me, what did you invite an expert here for?" County Magistrate Liu stared into my eyes with interest: "If you can convince me, I will go eat this meal with you; if you can't, suit yourself."

"County Magistrate, you know about the dog-head gold being dug up at our mineral water factory construction site, right?"

County Magistrate Liu nodded without a word.

"I've been thinking, this dog-head gold is a once-in-a-millennium item, something formed naturally. Since there is this underground, I suspect there is a larger treasure that is unknown to anyone."

"Hmm, continue," County Magistrate Liu nodded, putting the stack of documents at his side into a folder.

"I heard from the expert that where there is dog-head gold, there must be a gold vein. If we find this vein..." I didn't continue, waiting for his response.

"Your idea is very good. It's just that I don't know if it's as you think," County Magistrate Liu summarized my words: "Chunshan County has high mountains and dense forests, and there has never been any record of any minerals being produced since ancient times. If you find a gold mine, I will promote you to Deputy County Magistrate."

I smiled gratefully and said modestly: "County Magistrate, I haven't thought about whether to be a Deputy County Magistrate or not. I just think that if we really find a gold vein, our Chunshan County will become the wealthiest county in Hengyue City in the blink of an eye."

County Magistrate Liu said with a smile: "Little Chen, there are many things that don't have results just because you think about them. The fact that you can invite an expert shows that you are putting your heart into your work. Our current cadres need your spirit of getting things done. It's a pity there aren't many such cadres; everyone likes to lie on their laurels and sleep. If a cadre who can do things and knows how to do things isn't promoted, how much longer can we Communists hold on?"

As soon as County Magistrate Liu started elevating the issue to a higher level, I felt my ankles go weak.

"County Magistrate, I just want to see if there is a mine or not. You know me, I'm the type who won't give up until I reach the Yellow River."

"And once you reach the Yellow River, you'll give up?"

"Even less likely."

I was drenched in cold sweat. Talking to a superior leader always felt like having a mountain pressing down on my heart, for fear of saying a single wrong word.

"Not wanting to give up is the right thing. A Party cadre must have a sense of responsibility."

"I'm afraid I can't shoulder it."

"Everyone makes mistakes! Communists are not immortals; they are all mortals who eat the food of the world. Don't be afraid of not being able to shoulder it; as long as you have the courage to take responsibility, you are a good cadre, a good comrade."

I was speechless. County Magistrate Liu didn't even need a script for his speeches at large meetings; what was I in front of him?

"I'll go to this meal tonight," County Magistrate Liu said readily: "Let's see what kind of big feast our Town Mayor Little Chen has prepared for me."