Chapter 75: County Magistrate Comes to Suxi Township

County Magistrate Liu Qimeng was coming to Suxi Township, and the news spread quickly to every corner of the township government like the wind.

The first to move was the middle school. Zhu Shizhen arranged for the middle school to take responsibility for the honor guard, specifically who would be responsible for presenting flowers to the county magistrate. Liu Hongyan was responsible for contacting the middle school work. I was responsible for the township work report. Zhu Shizhen required the report time to be controlled within forty minutes, specifically to every detail of Suxi Township's work in the recent period.

Zhu Shizhen specifically required that the report material highlight the difference between the new leadership team and the previous work.

Everything was ready, and County Magistrate Liu and his party were welcomed.

Besides the Finance Bureau, Highway Bureau, Electric Power Bureau, and Development and Reform Bureau, Secretary Huang Qishan of the Youth League Committee also came.

The substation had already taken shape, and a large banner that had been prepared long ago was hung on the eaves of the substation, with the words "Warmly welcome county committee leaders to inspect and guide." The content of the banner was particular. Originally, it was to be written "Welcome County Magistrate to Suxi Township to inspect and guide," but Zhu Shizhen firmly disagreed, saying that County Magistrate Liu represented the County Committee, which meant he represented Secretary Guan, and not reflecting the County Committee was a political mistake.

The rough road from Chunshan County seat to Suxi Township had been repaired, and vehicles could drive directly to the courtyard in front of the township government. As soon as the car doors opened, students surrounded the cars and began to wave wreaths and shout slogans: "Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome."

Zhu Shizhen stepped forward, stretched out both hands to shake County Magistrate Liu's hand, and said excitedly, "Welcome County Magistrate Liu to Suxi to inspect."

County Magistrate Liu nodded and smiled, waved to the surroundings kindly. He even specially squatted down and said a few words to a student with two lumps of scarlet rouge on his cheeks.

It was no wonder that such a grand welcoming ceremony would appear in Suxi Township. In this poor and remote place, cadres of the level of County Magistrate Liu Qimeng were generally difficult to reach. The opportunity for ordinary people to see such a big cadre might not happen once in a lifetime.

County Magistrate Liu looked at the formation. The courtyard could simply be described as a sea of people. Besides the honor guard students, many ordinary people were watching. All the cadres of the township government stood behind Zhu Shizhen's buttocks, watching Zhu Shizhen accompany the county magistrate to the conference room affectionately.

Bureau Chief An walked at the end. He pulled me and signaled me to find a place to talk. I looked around, Liu Hongyan and Xue Bing were cleaning up the aftermath of the welcoming scene, directing the students to return to school. Hao Qiang led several security guards to do field security. Other cadres followed the county magistrate to the conference room.

I said to Bureau Chief An with a full face of smiles, "Bureau Chief An, how are you."

Bureau Chief An smiled reservedly and said, "Let's talk alone for a few words."

I was flattered and said quickly, "What instructions does the leader have?"

Bureau Chief An waved his hand magnanimously: "I'll tell you something, County Magistrate Liu wants to talk to you alone, see when it's convenient."

I immediately expressed my position: "Anytime is fine, I am on standby at any time."

He smiled with satisfaction and said, "Young man, this attitude is very good."

Huang Qishan saw us whispering behind, turned his head and shouted, "Chen Feng, what are you doing, hurry up."

I smiled apologetically and said to Bureau Chief An, "Bureau Chief An, I'll go over first, I'll find you later."

Everyone came to the conference room and sat down. The township women's director led several girls who had already poured tea and stood outside the conference room.

Zhu Shizhen, as the host, first expressed his gratitude to the county leaders for coming to inspect, and then took out the speech I prepared for him, and began to report the work seriously.

County Magistrate Liu listened carefully, occasionally writing something in his notebook.

Halfway through the report, he suddenly waved his hand to stop Zhu Shizhen and said, "Township Head Zhu, can you report without the manuscript?"

Zhu Shizhen was embarrassed, his face red and white. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't make a sound. A layer of fine sweat broke out on his forehead. He reached out and wiped it, saying, "County Magistrate Liu, I want to report in more detail and specifically."

County Magistrate Liu said, "Work is all in the brain, not written on paper. It doesn't matter, you can say whatever you want, say whatever comes to mind."

Zhu Shizhen was speechless, and for a moment he really didn't know how to open his mouth.

The Finance Bureau Chief prompted him, "Township Head Zhu, just say what you are still missing, what you need the county to solve."

Zhu Shizhen smiled as if he suddenly realized, "Leaders, everyone knows the actual situation of Suxi Township. We only need the county to give policies now. We can think of ways to overcome other things."

County Magistrate Liu smiled deeply, turned his head to the Finance Bureau Chief and said, "It seems we were too worried. Under the leadership of Township Head Zhu, everything can be solved in Suxi Township."

Zhu Shizhen was in a hurry and said, "Actually, there are still many difficulties. For example, this road of ours, the rough embryo is there, if it could be paved with asphalt, that would be even better."

County Magistrate Liu smiled and said, "Township Head Zhu, this suggestion of paving asphalt road is very good. Can you solve the money matter?"

Zhu Shizhen scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

"And your middle school, I saw it when I came just now. Look, how happy, how lively, how healthy the children are. How is the situation of the school where they study? Has Township Head Zhu considered rebuilding it?"

"This..."

"Don't 'this' or 'that' anymore. The education bureau leaders didn't come today. After going back, the county government office will take the lead to implement this matter."

This was simply a pie falling from the sky. The middle school principal was almost crying with joy.

"In this way, Township Head Zhu, we won't listen to your report either. You just take us around to see."

County Magistrate Liu's sudden move disrupted Zhu Shizhen's arrangement. The Finance Bureau Chief couldn't sit still. Secretary Guan had instructions before he came, to refuse some of County Magistrate Liu's requests if necessary.

The Finance Bureau Chief said, "County Magistrate Liu, I think, Suxi Township only has a few thousand people. Although the place is big, looking at it in a hurry won't reveal any problems. It's better to listen to the report here."

County Magistrate Liu glared and said, "What are we down here for? We are here to solve problems. If we don't go out and look around, how do we know where problems exist? What will we take back to report to Secretary Guan?"

His move directly killed the Finance Bureau Chief.

Bureau Chief An and I didn't say a word, but we both understood that this was actually a direct confrontation between County Magistrate Liu Qimeng and Secretary Guan Peishan. The Suxi Township electricity and road construction project was on the provincial television station, and now it was known to the whole province. It is said that provincial leaders mentioned this matter when holding meetings.

Secretary Chen of the Municipal Committee had instructed that when Suxi Township was officially electrified and connected to the road, he must come to see it on behalf of the Municipal Committee and Municipal Government.

Secretary Guan Peishan's seemingly unintentional move put himself in the position of a star secretary. He knew deeply that public opinion is the most useful tool. He used his casual news propaganda as a typical example of an era and quietly put it into the internal reference.

Liu Qimeng was the first person to stand up and support the Suxi Township electricity plan, and he spent a lot of effort to promote it. Who would have thought that just as success was in sight, Guan Peishan killed him halfway, leaving him at a loss.

Guan Peishan didn't confront him directly. He used the method of "besieging Wei to save Zhao," which caused his most capable cadre, Liu Quan, to be defeated.

Zhu Shizhen's appointment marked that Guan Peishan had fully controlled the throat of Suxi Township.

Liu Qimeng was not a competitive person. At his age, and having mixed in the government for so many years, he knew better than anyone what kind of fish were in what kind of water. Since Guan Peishan wanted to snatch the fruits of victory, he naturally wouldn't be willing to wait for death. Thus, an event like his inspection of Suxi Township appeared.

He came to Suxi Township to inspect, besides hinting to everyone, he also had a bigger plan buried in his heart. Only Bureau Chief An knew about this plan.

Zhu Shizhen was promoted by Guan Peishan, everyone knew. Township Party Secretary Liu Quan had been sent to the Agriculture Bureau to retire, and Liu Qimeng didn't have a person he could trust in Suxi Township. Zhu Shizhen was now an acting township head, but he controlled all the power of the Suxi Township party and government. As long as the year passed, the County People's Congress Standing Committee held a meeting, and he could remove the acting hat on his head. Once Zhu Shizhen sat firmly in the position, the foundation that Liu Qimeng had painstakingly managed in Suxi Township would collapse completely.

Liu Qimeng came to Suxi Township to inspect because he took a fancy to a more important position in Suxi Township—the township party secretary was vacant.

The throne of the original Suxi Township party secretary was like dog shit, no one wanted to pick it up. In Chunshan County, there was such a saying: cadres in Suxi Township were either exiled or waste without ability.

The story of thirty years east of the river would always be staged in turn. Today's Suxi Township had a much greater reputation than Chunshan County.

Being an official in a famous place, any small change would attract different eyes. Political achievements were easy to get!

Before Liu Qimeng came to Suxi Township to inspect, he specially visited Huang Shan. Minister Huang Shan expressed that the township party secretary was appointed by the County Committee in principle, and he was not easy to intervene directly.

Minister Huang Shan's words made Liu Qimeng's enthusiasm fall to the bottom. Just when he was almost desperate, Minister Huang Shan threw out a sentence, saying, in extraordinary times, treat it differently!

Liu Qimeng was an expert cadre. He was not interested in this set of politics. But no man is willing to have his fruits snatched by others. This matter had nothing to do with politics, only honor.

At the County Standing Committee meeting, Guan Peishan proposed to arrange a new secretary for Suxi Township as soon as possible, and also proposed several candidates, including the town mayor of Chengguan Town and a section chief of the County Committee Office.

Liu Qimeng secretly calculated that among the twenty-four townships in the whole county, there were less than five townships where his words were useful. He was already in a weak position. If Suxi Township was lost again, he, the county magistrate, would only be a bare commander in the future.

Therefore, when Guan Peishan proposed candidates, he was the first to stand up and firmly oppose it.

Bureau Chief An of the Development and Reform Bureau was his man, but he was not a standing committee member and had no right to vote. Other deputy secretaries and deputy county magistrates were happy to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and none of them expressed their opinions.

Standing in line in officialdom is very important. If you stand in the wrong line, even if you have the ability to reach the sky, you will still be ruined. If you stand in the right line, even if you are a straw bag, you will be crowned with glorious radiance.

In Chunshan County, everyone knew that the secretary and the county magistrate were not in harmony. At the critical moment of the surging wind and clouds, no one would choose to stand in line, and they were all observing the wind. Was the east wind overwhelming the west wind, or the west wind overwhelming the east wind? There were also bold people who made a desperate gamble and chose a line early, waiting for the final verdict of fate.

Such people, the original party secretary of Suxi Township, Liu Quan, was one, and the town mayor of Chengguan Town, Deng Hanyu, was also one. However, the teams they chose were exactly opposite.

And I, just a small secretary in the township party and government office, didn't even count as a hair. Even if I wanted to stand in line, no one would pay attention to a small person like me.

The matter of selecting a secretary in Chunshan County was dragged down by different voices.

We didn't know any of this, and we still watched the sunset and the fog rising in the mountains.

Liu Qimeng came to Suxi Township to inspect with great fanfare. He was reminding Guan Peishan that the matter of Suxi Township had just begun. ===== CHAPTER 76 =====