Chapter 344: Red Envelopes

Almost every office in the county government had sent someone, packing my room full. Zhu Hua Yu was busy greeting guests, and Huang Qishan was helping her on the side.

Seeing me enter, everyone stood up, all with smiles on their faces, and occasionally I could see an excited face. I was confused when the County Party Committee Office Director said apologetically, "Deputy County Magistrate Chen, I told them not to come, but they insisted; I couldn't stop them."

I smiled and said, "Does everyone have something to see me about?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison, remaining silent.

Huang Qishan on the side laughed and said, "What could they have? They're just here to congratulate you! You're the County Magistrate, and these comrades will be your subordinates from now on; it's only natural for them to come and see you."

I cupped my hands in a salute to everyone and said, "Thank you, thank you. I'll invite everyone to dinner another day."

The crowd cheered, shouting, "County Magistrate, there's no time like the present; why don't we just tag along with you today?"

Someone quietly took out a red envelope and placed it on my desk, smiled at me after putting it down, and quickly slipped out the door. I didn't have time to stop them, so I looked at the County Government Office Director and said, "What is this for?"

My tone was clearly very stern, which the County Government Office Director couldn't adapt to immediately. He looked at me, mouth agape, his face turning the color of a pig's liver in his anxiety.

Zhu Hua Yu came over and whispered, "County Magistrate Chen, this is the custom in Chunshan County; everyone is just giving a gift to celebrate."

I didn't say anything; I actually knew about such customs. In Chunshan County, no matter whose family was celebrating a happy event, everyone would give a gift. This rural custom of reciprocity appearing openly in the county government building made me unable to step out of the atmosphere of high and solemn authority.

"You just promised to treat everyone to dinner. You might as well go with the flow with these gift monies," Huang Qishan laughed, coming over to pat my shoulder and ask, "How about I go arrange it?"

I looked at the County Government Office Director. The old man had been frightened by my attitude just now and hadn't recovered from the shock. Seeing me looking at him, he licked his face and smiled foolishly at me, also taking a red envelope out of his pocket and stammering, "Everyone is giving one; if I don't, it just doesn't look right."

I laughed out loud and said, "Old Director, are you joining in on this too?"

The Director was even more embarrassed, laughing dryly and saying, "I'm a worldly person too; I can't be an exception."

After saying this, he fled the room as if escaping, his footsteps audible throughout the entire building.

Once the County Government Office Director left, only I, Huang Qishan, and Zhu Hua Yu remained in the room.

Huang Qishan witnessed the Director's flight but didn't think much of it. He nudged Zhu Hua Yu with his chin and said, "Chen Feng, now that you're County Magistrate, you naturally have to celebrate; there's no one else here anyway. Xiao Zhu and I are the same; we have to give a gift. Whether you want it or not is your business, but if you don't take mine, you're slapping me in the face."

I laughed, "I don't want any of them."

"That won't do!" Huang Qishan said sternly. "It's like a vat of ink; you're a piece of white cloth that fell into the vat. Can it stop until it dyes you black? Everyone is black, and you're the only white one; can they tolerate you?"

He laughed coldly, as if he had insight into the world.

"What if I insist on being a piece of white cloth?" I retorted with a cold laugh.

"That's fine! But your end might not even be a piece of cloth. You'll just be a pile of dog shit, a pile of dog shit that everyone has to walk around."

"What does that mean?"

"What else could it mean? Aren't you the County Magistrate? Fine, you be your County Magistrate, and they'll be their cadres. If you give an order, everyone will follow it in appearance but oppose it in secret; what will you do? Can you take them all down?" Huang Qishan hit my confidence without mercy.

"Is there no way to change it?" I said, feeling somewhat disheartened.

"It's not that it can't be changed. It's that it doesn't need to be changed at all!" Huang Qishan's expression changed, and he started laughing again. "You're making such a fuss over this tiny bit of gift money; if someone were to send you a large sum of money, wouldn't you be scared to death?"

"Who would send me money!" I also laughed. After all, we had been hanging out together for six years and knew each other inside and out; there was no need to hide anything.

"Just you wait!" Huang Qishan laughed inscrutably. He glanced at Zhu Hua Yu, leaned into my ear, and whispered, "Even if you take a fancy to someone's daughter or wife, they'll happily send them to your door."

I punched him and scolded, "Is this all from your own experience? Huang Qishan, you've become corrupt."

Huang Qishan laughed out loud, "I'm just a Youth League Committee Secretary; I'm worth nothing. Just wishful thinking!"

Zhu Hua Yu was bewildered by our actions, staring with her fuzzy eyes and asking, "What are you laughing at?"

Huang Qishan explained, "Nothing, just talking about some happy things from the past."

Huang Qishan signaled Zhu Hua Yu to hand me the red envelope. I glared at him and scolded, "You're looking down on me!"

Huang Qishan laughed sheepishly, muttering, "Who's looking down on whom? You won't even take my gift; you must have some thoughts about me."

I interjected, "I certainly do have thoughts!" I punched him again and said, "If you're willing to categorize yourself among them, that's fine; I'll take even the biggest red envelope."

Huang Qishan seemed to have a sudden realization, his face full of gratitude as he said, "Chen Feng, you're a real brother!"

I hugged his shoulder and laughed out loud. Although Huang Qishan was the County Youth League Committee Secretary and held a seat on the Standing Committee, he knew very well that he was just a supporting character. He was someone who acted according to the Secretary's wishes! Youth League cadres were mostly young, and in the eyes of the old, cunning cadres, they were just wet-behind-the-ears kids who couldn't stir up wind or waves!

I was different from him. First of all, I was a provincial-managed cadre, my rank was high, and I was also on the Standing Committee. Specifically, I was in charge of Chunshan County's finances, which were usually handled by the Executive Deputy County Magistrate or the County Magistrate themselves. No leader would let someone else hold the purse strings unless that person had an extraordinary relationship with them.

I was exactly that kind of cadre. Secretary Liu Qimeng announcing at the meeting that I was in charge of county finances actually revealed a piece of information: I, this newly appointed Deputy County Magistrate, was not to be underestimated.

In the Chunshan County Standing Committee, I had one vote, and now Huang Qishan held one vote. Compared to any Standing Committee member acting alone, we had extraordinary influence. Liu Qimeng clearly saw this; he knew I wouldn't betray him, as I was a cadre he had promoted, and I could only be grateful to him.

"You should still arrange it; that way, your work will go more smoothly in the future," Huang Qishan advised me. "If you break the rules of the game as soon as you take office, no one will be able to help you in the future. Do you understand what I mean?"

I nodded earnestly. On my first day as Deputy County Magistrate, I hadn't seen a single document or approved a single task, yet I had to think about how to treat them to dinner; a wave of sorrow washed over me.

"I'll go arrange it!" Huang Qishan said, preparing to leave, and told me, "Hua Yu, come with me."

I laughed, "Is Xiao Zhu your secretary, or mine?"

Huang Qishan laughed awkwardly and said, "It's all the same. She's your secretary at work and my secretary in life; it doesn't conflict, it doesn't conflict."

Zhu Hua Yu, standing on the side, turned bright red and scolded, "You two are making fun of me; I'll get angry."

I teased, "Let's see you get angry, Xiao Zhu."

Zhu Hua Yu's face turned red, and she threw her hands up, saying, "County Magistrate Chen, I wouldn't dare get angry in front of my leader. You guys go ahead and make fun; I'm not talking to you anymore."

She opened the door and left, her high heels clicking on the concrete floor.

Once Zhu Hua Yu left, I asked Huang Qishan with a lewd smile, "Did you get it done?"

Huang Qishan paused, laughed embarrassedly, and scolded, "Chen Feng, your mind is very filthy."

I ignored Huang Qishan's scolding; between us, there were no secrets.

I retorted, "I'm filthy, you're noble! You wouldn't be so noble that you haven't even held hands, would you?"

Huang Qishan became even more uneasy and said, "It's not like you haven't seen it. Big mouth!"

He pulled a piece of paper from my desk, unscrewed the pen cap, and said, "We need to count the number of people."

"What number of people?" I asked, confused.

"The number of people to invite to dinner tonight."

"Invite everyone."

"That won't do!" Huang Qishan said firmly. "Not everyone who gave a gift needs to be invited, and not everyone who didn't give a gift can be left out."

I scratched the back of my head. It seemed there was a lot of learning involved here, and I was like an old monk looking at a full page of scriptures without recognizing a single Sanskrit character.

"What should I do?" I asked, looking at him for help.

Huang Qishan pondered for a moment, then suddenly slapped his own head and said, "Oh, just leave this trivial matter to the Government Office Director. He's an old fox; he'll handle it so that everyone is satisfied. Don't worry!"

He signaled for me to call the Government Office Director. I hesitated for a moment but still picked up the phone on the desk and dialed the extension.

The County Government Office Director seemed to have been waiting for my call by the phone; as soon as it rang once, I heard his voice coming through, asking humbly, "County Magistrate Chen, do you have any instructions?"

I stammered, unable to speak. Coming to work on the first day and dealing with this kind of shit really made me look down on myself.

The County Government Office Director was a very clever and sensible person; he said on the phone, "County Magistrate Chen, I'll be right over."

Following him in was Zhu Hua Yu, holding a high stack of documents in her arms.

The County Government Office Director pointed to the documents piled half a person high and said, "County Magistrate Chen, these documents are all waiting for your approval."

I hesitated and said, "It's not about this."

The Director smiled and said, "Don't worry about other matters. I have a list here; please take a look. If you have no other instructions, we'll do it this way. What do you think?"

What he handed me was actually the list for the evening banquet. There weren't many names on it; I counted secretly, and it was at most no more than three tables. Below the list was the menu. This old fox had even listed what dishes to eat, what wine and drinks to drink, and what cigarettes to smoke at the table. It seemed he had been prepared for a long time.

I scanned the list roughly. There was no Secretary Liu Qimeng, no Section Chief Guan, and not even the heads of the various bureaus and committees. Except for the heads of the few departments I directly managed, the rest were just ordinary people in the agency.

This list left me somewhat confused. The Director seemed to see my doubts and smiled, saying, "County Magistrate Chen, this is your private banquet, a civilian act. It's just to gather with some staff around you and build some rapport."

I understood the meaning in his words. His arrangement was indeed very reasonable. Just imagine, would Liu Qimeng and Guan Peishan come to join in this fun?

Once I understood the mystery behind it, my mood naturally became happy.

I waved my hand and said, "Very good, just do as you suggest."

The Director didn't expect me to agree to all his arrangements and was suddenly very excited, taking the list and preparing to leave.

I called him back, took out a pen, and added a few names to the list: Guo Wei, Mao Ping from Mao Shi Town, and Li Lian. After thinking about it, I added the names of Hao Qiang and Liu Hongyan. Looking at their names, my nose felt sore, and I picked up the pen again and crossed out Hao Qiang's name.

The County Government Office Director left happily. Before leaving, he arranged for Zhu Hua Yu to call the people on the list one by one to notify them that at six o'clock in the evening, they would dine at the Huihuang Hotel. ===== CHAPTER 345 =====