Chapter 527: Investigating the Three Rural Issues

It was three months later when Provincial Chen Shengzhang came to the training class to lecture again.

In those three months, I gradually consolidated my position in the class. Whether they were cadres from provincial-level organs or from various prefectures and cities, everyone was united and happy.

Duanmu was very satisfied with my performance and praised me without reservation at many class meetings. Strictly speaking, my prestige in the training class now even exceeded Mei Hua's.

Mei Hua not only had no objections but instead handed over all the affairs of the training class to me to manage. He was happy to be idle, and even the days he spent accompanying us at the Party School were fewer than before.

The provincial-level organ cadres, represented by Meng Xiaoyu, were now as quiet as rabbits. I was a person who deeply understood the nature of rabbits; if a rabbit isn't anxious, it won't jump up, nor will it bite. The saying "quiet as a virgin, active as a hare" describes this exactly.

Meng Xiaoyu was a person who had seen the world; there wasn't a high-ranking official in the province he didn't know. Even in central ministries and commissions, he had good connections. Such people usually held their heads high and wouldn't look at people straight on. I grasped his temperament; in any situation, I would ask, "Leader Meng, do you have any other opinions?"

Meng Xiaoyu was very receptive to my subservience. At first, when I asked him this question, he would offer a few supplementary opinions. Later, he became too lazy to speak, and every time I asked him, he would shake his head and say, "Very good, just do as you suggest."

As a result, no one else in the class opposed me.

Although Deng Hanyuan lived in the same room as me, he rarely spoke to me after I became class monitor. Sometimes when he had to speak, he was sparing with his words, never exceeding ten words in a single sentence.

On the contrary, my relationship with the Deputy Mayor could basically be defined as a strategic partnership. He knew many people in Central Province and had many social engagements, so he rarely stayed in the dormitory for two days a week. When the Deputy Mayor went out for engagements, he always liked to take me with him. At every drinking party, he would introduce me as his class monitor.

Since I was his class monitor, everyone looked at me with new eyes. As a result, whether they were human or ghost, they all took pride in having a drink with me.

I wasn't afraid of drinking; I followed him to these engagements, naturally having my own little calculations.

The Deputy Mayor wouldn't drink or eat with ordinary commoners. Anyone who sat at the table with him was either a high official or a noble. I was covered in the radiance of the Provincial Party School training; everyone knew that any cadre receiving Party School training was actually a prelude to promotion.

Therefore, the high officials didn't dare to offend me; who knew what post I would be assigned to after training?

The nobles dared not offend me even more. In the eyes of the nobles, we officials were their guardian deities. But I never acknowledged this saying; I believed that we cadres should be like what Wei Zheng of the Tang Dynasty said—water!

Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. They could all understand my meaning. I could protect the nobles, but I could also cast them into the eighteenth level of hell. Because in my view, all nobles were people with original sin; behind everyone, there must be a tightly closed door. Behind the door was a bloody history of plunder.

Whether they were high officials or nobles, after the drinking party, everyone would hand me a business card.

Among a large stack of business cards, I found one that was different. It was actually made of gold leaf, shining brilliantly under the light.

People who could use this kind of business card naturally had an astonishing net worth. I paid special attention; this person was a real estate businessman, and it was said that half of the properties in the provincial capital were developed by him.

Every time the Deputy Mayor came back with me, he would invariably say, "Little Chen, I am helping you build a resource circle. You know, I am old, and after this training, I will basically retire. Society needs to develop, and Central Province needs to revitalize; it won't work without young people like you."

Every time, I was flattered and didn't dare to accept his evaluation entirely.

There was a big difference in rank between the Deputy Mayor and me; I was at most a sesame official, while he, no matter what, could be considered a Prefect.

The person closest to me in this class was still Gan Lu. We attended classes together every day, went for walks after class, and always sat at the same table when eating.

But she never invited me to sit at her place again.

I had probed her several times, revealing my intention to sit at her place in my words. Every time, she would talk about other things, dissolving my probes like mist in the clouds.

Gan Lu was as beautiful as ever, and as we interacted, I found she increasingly possessed all the qualities of a charming woman. Any subtle movement of hers could stir the desires at the bottom of a man's heart, and I was no exception.

Gan Lu always kept a certain distance when dealing with people, even with me.

Consequently, my heart naturally itched, and my admiration grew day by day.

Sometimes I lay in bed, thinking that such a beautiful flower had no bees to collect nectar, which was truly a waste of heaven's gifts. Her husband in America sent her dollars every month as usual, and the two of them rarely even made phone calls. Once, Gan Lu unconsciously revealed a lonely look, and I quickly leaned in, but didn't expect her to say to me sternly, "I am a decent woman!"

Gan Lu's words almost scorched me with a raging fire; all the hair on my body was burned clean by her, and I was left naked like a mummy, shamefully displayed in broad daylight.

From then on, I treated her with the utmost respect.

Finally, I have to mention Huang Chu. Since I bought his friend's liquor, he had brought his friend to find me several times, hoping his friend's business could expand to Hengyue City.

I couldn't refuse, but I was truly powerless in Hengyue City. In the end, I found Qian Youyu and let him open a liquor sales company in Hengyue City, acting as the sole agent for Huang Chu's friend's *baijiu*.

Qian Youyu never refused my requests. It just so happened that his Suxi Hotel was already on the right track and needed a large amount of high-priced liquor consumption. Qian Youyu had made money, but his mood didn't seem as good as before. On the day he signed the contract, I asked him, and Qian Youyu sighed and told me, "Money is useless! Money can't buy a woman's heart."

I heard a clue from his words, and later when I called Xuelai, I learned that Yue Bai had ultimately rejected Qian Youyu's marriage proposal.

Mei Hua told me the news that Provincial Chen Shengzhang was coming, telling me to prepare and ensure the report would satisfy Provincial Chen Shengzhang.

I didn't know what would satisfy Provincial Chen Shengzhang, and I thought about it for a day without finding a clue. In the end, I simply stopped thinking about it, adhering to the truth that when the car reaches the mountain, there will be a road, waiting for the trick of soldiers coming to block and water coming to cover.

Provincial Chen Shengzhang arrived as promised. This time, he brought a large entourage, no less than twenty people.

Such a grand formation shocked everyone in our training class. With so many people coming, they certainly weren't here for class. Class didn't require so many people.

The classroom couldn't hold them, so Vice Principal Peng invited everyone to sit in the lecture hall.

The lecture hall could hold three to five hundred people and was used for large lectures. We had been here for three months and hadn't had a single class in the lecture hall.

Provincial Chen Shengzhang shook hands with us cordially, praising us for our serious and diligent study; he was very gratified, and the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government were also very gratified.

Smiles bloomed on the faces of the thirty of us; regardless of whether they were laughing from the heart, at least everyone was laughing. The smiles carried satisfaction, as if carrying a hunger for knowledge.

I wanted to laugh in my heart, finding that everyone was a qualified actor. Good actors know how to grasp the timing; among us, no one's acting skills were worse than professional actors.

Provincial Chen Shengzhang personally introduced the people he brought. We listened to him introduce them one by one, only then realizing that this visit involved several major departments. Agriculture Department, Development and Reform Commission, Forestry Department, Science and Technology Department, etc., and a research institute, a lineup of experts specializing in social issues.

Just when we were all wondering why Provincial Chen Shengzhang brought so many people, Provincial Chen Shengzhang announced a surprising issue. The central government was preparing to abolish the agricultural tax!

The people who came today were all related to agriculture, therefore, this time Provincial Chen Shengzhang came with a topic.

This topic was to conduct a very large investigation aimed at the abolition of the agricultural tax. The task of the investigation fell on the shoulders of us thirty training cadres.

Provincial Chen Shengzhang spoke earnestly, and as he spoke, he became excited himself. The agricultural tax had a history of thousands of years; if it were abolished in his generation, this would not only be doing things for the people but would also go down in history.

The more I listened, the wetter my palms became, and when I spread my hands, I saw they were full of sweat.

I turned my head to look at Gan Lu sitting next to me; she happened to turn her head to look at me.

She smiled sweetly, revealing a few white teeth. ===== CHAPTER 528 =====