Chapter 538

Without any dispute, Chunshan County became the first stop for our research group.

Choosing Chunshan County was, first, because Chunshan was originally a major agricultural county, with the agricultural population accounting for the vast majority of the county. Furthermore, Chunshan County not only had many farmers and was an agriculture-based county, but it also possessed the largest forest coverage area in the entire Hengyue region.

Lao Ma was the first to agree with my choice, and Professor Luo had no opinion. Xiao Qiu followed the crowd, and as for Gan Lu, since it was my suggestion, she didn't object either.

Wan Xiao really sent cars and people; as soon as we went out, we were met by their police cars, and with sirens wailing, we headed to Chunshan County.

After seeing Su Ya with Chen Meng last night, a huge stone had been pressed onto my heart.

After parting with Chen Meng, I went straight home.

My wife, Huang Weiwei, was about to give birth, and her belly was so big I could barely recognize her. Her face had become bloated, which made my heart ache for a long time.

Xi Meizhu was at home taking care of my mother. My mother was already completely blind; she touched my face tremblingly and urged me to work hard and be an upright person.

I didn't dare to cry in front of my mother, although she couldn't see, her senses were very sharp.

Because I had things to do, I couldn't stay at home, and after giving instructions several times, I went downstairs to return to the hotel. Along the way, I cried uncontrollably; my heart ached because I felt that it was simply impossible for a person to be both loyal and filial.

Chunshan County had long received the notice, and as soon as our car arrived, we saw Secretary Liu Qimeng and Yu Xianzhang leading the leaders of the four major committees waiting at the entrance of the County Committee compound to welcome us.

Last time I offended the leaders of Chunshan County by leaving without saying goodbye; I didn't expect that in less than half a year, I would turn around and come back.

As soon as I got out of the car, I really felt like it was a lifetime ago.

Secretary Liu brushed me aside, shook hands with Professor Luo and the others one by one, and finally said coldly to me, "Xiao Chen, you're home, feel free to do as you please."

Secretary Liu's words made me blush. I felt that I had indeed let him down; when I left, they had specifically wanted to see me off, but I had run away secretly. I thought that after running away, I would never see them again, but who would have expected such a thing to happen, leaving me almost no time to adjust my state of mind.

Secretary Liu led us to the conference room for a discussion; I intentionally walked at the end, looking around to find someone.

After looking around and not seeing anyone, a voice suddenly sounded behind me, "Boss."

I turned to look and saw Yu Wei grinning behind me, holding a small bag, looking like a typical small cadre.

I smiled and said, "Got a promotion?"

Yu Wei leaned over and whispered, "Can't count as an official, Boss. I'm now the monitor of the small car team."

I laughed in spite of myself and said, "Congratulations! A snake, big or small, has the same poison."

Yu Wei was stunned for a moment, then followed me and chuckled.

"Boss, are you looking for Xiao Zhu?" Yu Wei asked me bluntly.

My heart stirred, remembering that I had been looking around just now; it turned out Yu Wei had really hit the nail on the head. So I asked him, "Where is she?"

Yu Wei hesitated to speak, and seeing I was impatient, he whispered, "She is considered laid off now, and I don't know where she went either."

I didn't want to ask anymore; my mind was in chaos.

Looking at Liu Qimeng walking in front, I wished I could rush up and kick him a few times. If it weren't for him, who would dare to lay off Zhu Hua Yu?

Gan Lu was a proper provincial leader, so in the conference room, Gan Lu expressed her gratitude on behalf of the research group and also gave an account and explanation of the purpose of our trip.

Liu Qimeng didn't say much, and Yu Xianzhang stated that he would definitely do his best to cooperate with our research. He spoke quite a bit, which was something I rarely saw when I was a Deputy County Magistrate.

When I was a Deputy County Magistrate in Chunshan County, Liu Qimeng spoke at every meeting, big or small, and he was the one who had the final say. But today, Liu Qimeng barely spoke, which made me feel a bit surprised.

After the meeting, accommodation was arranged as usual, and without a doubt, it was arranged at the Huihuang Hotel.

Chunshan County booked a floor for this purpose as our accommodation and office space. At the same time, they coordinated and transferred people from relevant bureaus and committees to form a working group.

The standard of the county's support was very high; Yu Xianzhang served as the team leader himself, and Government Office Director Wei Yan served as the secretary-general.

As soon as I entered the room and put down my luggage, Wei Yan followed in, laughing and saying, "Leader Chen, should I call you Chief or County Magistrate now?"

I said coldly, "Whatever. Whatever you think in your heart, Director Wei, that's what you should call me."

I had my reasons for saying this, of course. When I first went to the province for training, I received a call from Zhu Hua Yu. After I left, the first thing Wei Yan did was to transfer Zhu Hua Yu to the document printing room.

This matter made me very unhappy. The saying "when the person leaves, the tea goes cold" was vividly reflected in Zhu Hua Yu's case, and the culprit was this Wei Yan before me.

Wei Yan seemed to see my coldness; he smiled sheepishly, took a pack of cigarettes out of his bag, and placed it on the cabinet, saying, "Leader, you smoke this for now, it's my personal gesture."

I smiled faintly, glanced at the cigarettes, and said, "Director Wei, I'm preparing to quit smoking now."

Wei Yan was stunned for a moment and said repeatedly, "Good, good, good. Smoking is not a good thing, it hurts your health. You are a provincial leader now, you must take care of your health."

I took a cigarette out of my pocket and said, "I'm not a leader now, just an ordinary staff member. So, I'll smoke a few more for now."

Wei Yan was put in a difficult position by my actions; he held back for a long time before saying, "Leader, that matter wasn't my idea, don't blame me."

I deliberately pretended to be surprised and asked, "What matter? I'm not blaming you!"

Wei Yan accompanied me with a smiling face and said, "Secretary Liu said that since you were promoted, others definitely wouldn't dare to use the people around you. If they were transferred to other bureaus or committees, others wouldn't be convinced either, so they had to be placed in the document printing room first; it was also for protection."

I laughed and said, "Director Wei is overthinking!"

Wei Yan was like an ant on a hot pan being called "Director Wei" by me repeatedly; when I was a Deputy County Magistrate, I never called him by his official title, always calling him "Lao Wei."

Calling him Lao Wei was intimate, showing we were our own people. Now I called him Director Wei, which was telling him that we were no longer on the same path.

"I'm preparing to transfer Xiao Zhu to the Women's Federation." Wei Yan smiled obsequiously and asked me, "What is your opinion?"

I took a puff of my cigarette and said, "Director Wei, asking for my opinion is probably a bit against the procedure, right? I am not a leader of Chunshan County now and have no right to interfere with the transfer of Chunshan County's cadres and staff."

Wei Yan said repeatedly, "You are right. However, you are a provincial leader after all, so you must respect the opinions of higher-level leaders!"

After chatting for a while, Wei Yan said goodbye and wanted to leave.

I saw him to the door, and Wei Yan turned around and said, "We'll still be here tonight; Secretary Liu is hosting a welcome dinner for you."

I smiled and said, "No need to trouble yourself! From now on, we will solve our meal problems wherever we are; there's no need for special arrangements."

Wei Yan said seriously, "That won't do. Your burden is so heavy; if we don't serve you well, wouldn't that be letting down the people of all Chunshan County?"

I didn't want to continue with the pleasantries and promised him, "Director Wei, don't worry, we will definitely attend."

After seeing Wei Yan off, I saw Lao Ma talking to an older waiter, so I walked over and said, "Lao Ma, our Chunshan County is your second hometown!"

Lao Ma smiled bitterly, "Yes, I am inquiring about what Gude Village is like now."

"Did you find out?" I asked with a smile.

Lao Ma shook his head and said, "Things have changed and people are different!"

Shaking his head, he entered his room.

Professor Luo went into his room and closed the door as usual, while Xiao Qiu left his door open as usual. Young people are full of energy; every time they go to a new place, they are always full of curiosity.

Further along was Gan Lu's room; I hesitated for a moment but still knocked on her door.

Gan Lu was organizing her clothes; seeing me enter when she opened the door, she nervously hid the clothes in her hands behind her back.

I glanced at it; what she was holding was a bra, which might have been washed in Hengyue City last night and wasn't dry yet, and she was preparing to hang it out to dry.

I pretended not to see it and urged her that the nights in the mountains were cool, not like in the city. She must pay attention to keeping warm at night, and so on.

Gan Lu listened to my nagging quietly, and at the end, she smiled, "How come you've become such a nag since you arrived in your Chunshan County?"

I smiled, "Aren't I afraid you'll catch a cold?"

Gan Lu smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Monitor!"

Coming out of Gan Lu's room, I went straight downstairs, bought some incense and candles, and walked straight to the Martyrs Cemetery.

In the Martyrs Cemetery of Chunshan County, my father was still resting in peace.

I shouted in my heart, "Dad, your son has come to see you."