Chapter 258: Soft Zhonghua, hard Yuxi

My speech had an effect. The whispering below gradually decreased, and in the end, everyone stared at me blankly, waiting for me to continue.

This was the effect I wanted, but I couldn't show my cards directly.

I took out a cigarette, pulled one out, lit it, threw the remaining cigarettes down, and said with a smile: "Not enough, there's no more. Whoever gets it, smokes it."

Just this small action made the atmosphere of the meeting room much more active. Everyone scrambled to grab cigarettes to smoke, even the Women's Federation Director who didn't smoke took one, squeezed it in her hand, not knowing what to do.

Guo Wei frowned, wanting to stop the chaotic situation, opened his mouth, but didn't make a sound in the end.

I specifically looked at Qian Youyu. He didn't grab a cigarette, and was embarrassed to grab it with the cadres, so he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out and put it in his mouth. Just as he wanted to light it, he saw that several cadres hadn't grabbed a cigarette, so he got up and walked to their side, nodding and bowing to offer cigarettes.

The cadres were quite polite to Qian Youyu's cigarette offering, all getting up to take it with both hands. Occasionally, some sat still, all of whom were cadres who couldn't get used to his nouveau riche status before.

The cadres who took the cigarette examined Qian Youyu's cigarette and joked: "Boss Qian's cigarette is much higher-end, I'm afraid it's a few grades higher than our Town Mayor's."

Qian Youyu smiled modestly and said: "This is Zhonghua, soft. As the saying goes, soft Zhonghua, hard Yuxi. Actually, it's just smoking a brand. In the end, it's still a mouthful of smoke, going in from the mouth and coming out from the nose, the same taste."

The cadres then started to boo and said: "You can't say that. Smoking this, it's also smoking an identity. Generally, people like you who are bosses have never seen you smoke Baisha. If Boss Qian feels the taste is the same, in the future, Boss Qian, bring your soft Zhonghua, and I'll bring Baisha to exchange with you. Is it okay?"

Qian Youyu laughed and said: "What a troublesome thing. I am now a person of Suxi Town. In the future, if you want to smoke, find me, Old Qian, just one word."

"We dare not accept your bribe! Boss Qian, your words, aren't you digging a hole for us to jump? You, this person, are very bad."

Everyone laughed, and only then did they remember that today was an expanded Party Committee meeting, and I and Party Secretary Guo were still sitting on the podium making reports. Everyone felt embarrassed, all lowered their heads and smoked, and the room was suddenly filled with smoke, stimulating people's eyes so much that they almost couldn't open them.

Guo Wei was a famous non-smoker, but he didn't oppose smoking. Only the Women's Federation Director was restless from the smoke, and it was not good to go out, so she rubbed her butt on the chair for a long time, rolled up a piece of paper in her hand, and exaggeratedly fanned it in front of her nose.

Finally, she couldn't hold it anymore and shouted at us: "Party Secretary, Town Mayor, you don't care, this secondhand smoke is going to kill people."

Everyone laughed again, swallowing clouds and spitting fog even more exaggeratedly.

The Women's Federation Director saw that she was alone, stood up and said: "If the leaders have nothing else, I'm going out."

I threw the cigarette butt under my feet and stepped on it, waving my hand and saying: "Don't be impatient."

I got up and walked to the window, opened the window, and a cold wind blew in, blowing the smoke all over the room. The window of the meeting room was the mountain ridge, the wild grass on the ground had long withered and withered, a bitter neem tree in the distance, the leaves had long fallen, and a few bitter neem seeds remained on the branches, swinging their lonely bodies in the bleak autumn wind.

The room was much fresher after being blown by the wind.

After all, it was late autumn, and as soon as the autumn wind started, the cold began to force people. After midnight, there was often a bone-chilling cold, and even the vegetables in the vegetable field would be covered with a thin layer of frost in the morning.

The cadres sitting by the window subconsciously hugged their arms.

The so-called "autumn tiger" weather had no place in Suxi. As soon as it entered autumn, the weather immediately became cool.

I returned to the podium, scanned the meeting place calmly, looked at Guo Wei, and spoke: "I suggest that we start the farmers' market project now. According to Guo Party Secretary's plan, houses on the farmers' market street must be built above three floors. The first batch of house-building households are the cadres present, and at the same time, the town government family housing project is cancelled."

My words were like dropping a bomb, and even Guo Wei was uneasy, looking at me a few times, wanting to see a clue from my face.

I ignored the chaos in the meeting place, took a sip of tea, looked at Qian Youyu meaningfully.

Qian Youyu avoided my gaze, bowing his head and not daring to look at me.

The cadres were in chaos for a while, then their expressions became serious, knowing that I was not joking, and all looked at Guo Wei with wide eyes.

Building family houses was Guo Wei's original proposal. This proposal was praised by all cadres. Everyone was waiting to move into the buildings built by the town government for them. Unexpectedly, the buildings hadn't even leveled the foundation, and they were about to be strangled in the cradle by me.

Some cadres spoke unpleasantly: "Town Mayor, you are a rich man, what do we use to build houses? Even if we sell blood, we can't buy so much money, and we have to build three floors, I'm afraid we can't even hit the foundation."

His words were echoed by everyone, and other cadres also followed and shouted: "It was decided by the Party Committee meeting to build family houses. We have sold all the houses in the township now. If we don't build them, where should we live? Do you want everyone to move into the government office building?"

I remained calm and let them talk.

In this meeting room, Guo Wei is the number one leader, but I am the deputy-department-level Town Mayor. As long as the two of us are not chaotic, even if they have the ability to fly to the sky, they can't get out of the Suxi Town gate.

"Town Mayor, we have no money," some cadres shouted at me: "You can't force us to sell our children and daughters? Even if I want to sell, someone has to want it."

Someone joked: "If you don't have children, what are you selling? Selling your wife, is it okay?"

"My son is grown up, and no one wants him if I sell him. My wife is old, and she is not easy to sell."

"Your son definitely doesn't want him, he can't raise him. If you want to sell your wife, I can consider it."

Then I saw someone get up and rush over, and the two twisted into a ball.

I still pretended not to see or hear.

The two cadres stood apart under the pulling of others, still cursing.

"Screw your mother, today I finally understood, it turns out you have been hitting my wife's idea." The cadre who shouted to sell his wife cursed.

"I screw your mother, with your wife's appearance, you

The two of them were about to pounce on each other again.

The scene instantly turned chaotic, with many people on the sidelines laughing and fanning the flames.

Guo Wei finally couldn't hold back; with a dark face, he slammed his palm heavily onto the table.

The conference room fell silent in an instant.

"We aren't building it; we just want family housing," the cadres muttered.

Once they had said their piece, I smiled and said, "It's better to build it. If you don't build, you'll be disciplined according to Party discipline."

"On what grounds would you discipline us?" the cadres asked indignantly. "We have no choice."

Guo Wei seized the opportunity to say, "This is a decision by the Party Committee. I raise both hands in favor of Town Mayor Chen's approach."

Guo Wei's words were undoubtedly the final word. The Secretary had spoken; who would dare disobey the top leader? But they still held onto a glimmer of hope and asked, "Even if we few cadres build houses on the Agricultural Trade Street, it won't amount to much."

I finally threw out the bait: "Anyone who applies to build on the Agricultural Trade Street now will be provided land free of charge, with each cadre allocated one hundred and fifty square meters." I paused and added, "But there is one requirement: the houses must be built according to the plan; no unauthorized or haphazard construction is allowed. If you are financially strapped, eligible cadres can apply for loans."

The conference room quieted down. The Women's Federation Director raised her head and asked, "Secretary, Town Mayor, I've already bought a house in the county seat; do I still need to build one?"

I said inscrutably, "Think it over for yourself. I am giving everyone this opportunity now. Don't think I am forcing you to do this. Three years from now, you will realize that those who didn't build will surely regret it. When that time comes, if anyone dares to come to me to complain, I will show no mercy."

Seeing me use coarse language, Guo Wei hurriedly stopped me and said, "Let's put it to a vote! I agree." He took the lead and raised his hand.

The cadres looked at one another, hesitated for a long time, and then reluctantly raised their hands.

Passed unanimously!

Having resolved the issue of the Agricultural Trade Street's collective housing construction, I felt much more relaxed. Only I knew that I was taking precautions; building the Agricultural Trade Street was just a lead-in. On one hand, it resolved Guo Wei's concerns, and on the other, it paved the way for my new plan.

After the meeting, I walked side-by-side with Guo Wei. He didn't say a word the whole way. Only when we reached the door of his office did he reach out to pat my shoulder and say meaningfully, "This risk is quite large; we two will have to shoulder it together."

I naturally understood the meaning behind his words. At the meeting, my declaration to provide land for free was a bait, but it was also a bomb!

After I entered my office, Qian Youyu followed me in silently. As soon as he entered, he questioned me, "Brother, you called me here for a meeting, but you didn't mention a single word about the water plant. What kind of meeting am I attending?"

I looked at him and said, "I knew you'd be anxious. What the hell are you so anxious about? Good things take time to emerge; don't you even understand that principle?"

He looked at me hesitantly, scratched the back of his head, and said, "I really don't understand. I don't know what kind of trick you're playing."

I asked him, "Old Qian, have the household registrations for the people in your village all been processed?"

"They have."

"Where will they live?"

Upon being asked this, Qian Youyu seemed to wake up suddenly. He said nervously, "That's right. Once the highway construction starts, the houses in the village will have to be demolished. Where will they live?"

"I'm asking you."

"I don't know."

"You don't know, yet you're still obsessing over the water plant all day long. With no place to live and no place to eat, do you want your thousand-plus people from Yuetang Village to live in the wilderness?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's very simple. The first batch of original residents of Suxi Town will be the people of Yuetang Village. You are the main force in the construction of the Agricultural Trade Street," I said faintly, but every word struck home in his heart.

"Is the land free, too?" Qian Youyu asked, still uneasy.

"Are you cadres?"

Qian Youyu shook his head.

"If you aren't cadres, where would you get a free lunch? For the Agricultural Trade Street, your Yuetang Village will be counted by household; each household gets a three-story house, and all the funds will come from the water plant's investment capital."

"Aren't you killing me?" Qian Youyu complained. "If the money is taken to build your Agricultural Trade Street, will my water plant still be built?"

"It will be built!" I answered him with absolute certainty. "But it won't be a water plant anymore; we are going to change the project."