Chapter 1286

From entering the Changshan territory to the Changshan County seat, it was only a road of thirty-some kilometers, but the jeep took over an hour to reach the Changshan County seat. As soon as they arrived at the county seat, the driver wiped a cold sweat and said, "Driving to Changshan County—it's truly a bitter chore."

Zhao Tong was also covered in cold sweat. Along the way, they encountered many dangerous situations. The road was too narrow, and they often had to pass trucks. Several times in places where the mountain terrain was winding, they had to stop the car and let the car in front go first before they could continue. The danger made Zhao Tong's face turn pale.

If Minister Zheng hadn't personally arranged for Zhao Tong to take Su Xinghui, Zhao Tong would never have been willing to come to Changshan County.

The Changshan County seat was even more dilapidated than when Su Xinghui came here in his previous life, carrying an air of decay. There were no buildings higher than six stories here, and almost all buildings were built twenty or thirty years ago. There weren't many pedestrians on the main street, and the market appeared very depressed.

If one only looked at the urban construction of this county seat, the urban construction level of the Changshan County seat was at least twenty years behind the current Shangjun County seat.

The driver drove the car directly to the County Party Committee compound. The Changshan County seat was located on a relatively flat basin surrounded by mountains, but this flatness was relative; the ups and downs in the county seat were still quite obvious. The County Party Committee compound was on the highest plateau in the center of the Changshan County seat; in this point, Changshan County and Shangjun County were quite similar.

The County Party Committee compound was also lush with trees. Although it was winter, because Changshan County was in a basin, the climate was relatively mild. Plus, most of the trees planted here were pine, cypress, and wintergreen, which are evergreen, so it was a sea of green in winter, and the environment was quite good.

It's just that the buildings here were also mostly Soviet-style buildings built thirty-some years ago. The quality was not bad, but the appearance wasn't very good, appearing very crude and clumsy. This was also a common style for government agencies in various places during this period.

The jeep screeched to a halt in front of an office building. This office building was five stories high, which could be considered one of the taller office buildings here. This was the No. 1 Building of the Changshan County Party Committee. Zhao Tong and Su Xinghui got out of the car. Su Xinghui looked around and found that the cars parked in the County Party Committee compound were also mostly jeeps, with only one Santana, and a few sidecar motorcycles.

Zhao Tong took Su Xinghui upstairs and came to the door of an office on the third floor. He knocked on the door, and the door was opened. The person who opened the door was an old man in his fifties with a very dignified face, but he wasn't very tall, his figure wasn't very sturdy, and his face was very aged. Therefore, his overall image didn't have much momentum, and his dignified face actually made him appear a bit comical.

Zhao Tong said, "Secretary Xue, hello!"

This old man was the Changshan County Party Secretary, Xue Xingyuan. A smile appeared on his face, and he extended his right hand to Zhao Tong, "Section Chief Zhao, hello!"

Zhao Tong shook hands with Xue Xingyuan and then pointed to Su Xinghui, "Secretary Xue, this is the rotated cadre transferred from Shangjun County, Comrade Su Xinghui. I have safely delivered him to you."

Xue Xingyuan looked at Su Xinghui. Su Xinghui extended his right hand to him, "Secretary Xue, hello, I am Su Xinghui. From now on, I will be working under your leadership, and I ask for your guidance."

Xue Xingyuan looked Su Xinghui over, then reached out and shook Su Xinghui's hand, "Comrade Little Su is young and promising. Being able to come to our Changshan County to work is the greatest support from the city to our Changshan County."

Although Xue Xingyuan spoke very politely, he was actually devoid of sincerity, and what he said was just general talk.

This was because Xue Xingyuan's first impression of Su Xinghui was not good.

Su Xinghui was too young. Although Su Xinghui deliberately kept his hairstyle and clothing conservative to make himself appear more mature, his face was too young. Anyone could see that Su Xinghui was definitely no more than twenty-five years old.

Such a young person was actually a regular section-level cadre, and the highest-ranking among regular section-level cadres—a Township Party Secretary. And if it hadn't been for the pressure from above, he should have been serving in a Deputy County-level position when rotated to Changshan County. How could the very old-fashioned and traditional Xue Xingyuan have any good feelings for him?

You know, when Xue Xingyuan served as a Township Party Secretary, he was nearly forty years old. Now, this County Party Secretary position was also the end of his official career. He could be said to be like the setting sun, while Su Xinghui was like the rising sun. The contrast between the two was simply too sharp.

And just now, when Su Xinghui shook hands with Xue Xingyuan, his back was straight, and his whole person appeared peerlessly sharp, like a javelin. Moreover, Su Xinghui was about 1.8 meters tall, nearly twenty centimeters taller than Xue Xingyuan, completely overwhelming Xue Xingyuan in momentum. This made Xue Xingyuan even more uncomfortable.

Xue Xingyuan was not tall, so he was also very sensitive to this issue. His subordinates all knew his taboos and would bow their waists in front of Xue Xingyuan, whether reporting work or shaking hands with him. Some who were particularly tall would bow their waists particularly hard and even bend their knees to make themselves appear not taller than Xue Xingyuan.

Over time, this became a scene in Changshan County. Except for County Magistrate Ling Anguo, who didn't do this, almost no one dared to stand straight in front of Xue Xingyuan. Some busybodies would say, if you want to know what "cringing and bowing" means, just look at the performance of Secretary Xue's subordinates in front of him.

Now, Su Xinghui became the second person who dared not to bow when meeting Xue Xingyuan. How could Xue Xingyuan feel comfortable in his heart?

Of course, today was their first meeting, and with Zhao Tong present, Xue Xingyuan couldn't act out, but he wouldn't appear very enthusiastic either.

Su Xinghui could see that Xue Xingyuan's impression of him was not good, but he naturally wouldn't care. He just smiled faintly, and this smile made Xue Xingyuan's impression of him even worse.