Chapter 214

Su Xinghui said calmly, "Sure, as long as you have time, I'm happy to teach you."

Lu Xiaoya sighed, "Too bad we're too far apart—it's unfair!"

Su Xinghui thought for a moment and said, "How about this: we use correspondence courses. Send me your drawings, and I'll critique their strengths and weaknesses. You can practice at home based on my feedback—over time, you'll naturally improve."

Lu Xiaoya's eyes lit up and said, "Yes, that's a good idea. Let's exchange letters from now on."

After agreeing on the correspondence course, Lu Xiaoya was delighted. That day, she pestered Su Xinghui into cooking a meal for her at Xia Zhu's house, then made him and Xia Zhu accompany her for a short walk through the bamboo grove before she finally boarded Li's deputy manager's car back to Jiangcheng, fully satisfied.

Before leaving, she asked Su Xinghui to visit her home when he had time; Su Xinghui naturally nodded in agreement—he would definitely go to Lu Zhenghong's house for New Year's greetings.

When Yu Gaoshan left, he gave Su Xinghui a thousand yuan, saying it was for his New Year expenses. Su Xinghui accepted the money and told Yu Gaoshan to deduct it from the company's profits—he would surely need cash during the holiday.

Xu Xiaoguang's construction site shut down for the Minor New Year, but he didn't return home. He waited for Su Xinghui, knowing Su would receive plenty of holiday goods and that taking the bus would be inconvenient—he'd help carry Su's gifts back.

With Xu Xiaoguang's car, Su Xinghui invited Xue Qin and Lei Ming to join them; they'd all ride together. Their leave times matched the township government's, and they'd each receive some welfare goods too.

On the twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month, Su Xinghui and Zeng Xianglin rented a small truck and went to the Luling Reservoir to fetch the fish. They'd agreed to start fishing at seven a. m., so they set out at six.

When they arrived at Luling Reservoir, it was only half past six—still dark—but Hu Jinshui had already risen. He and several workers from the aquaculture farm were dressed in waders, waiting for Su Xinghui and the others; Old Chen, the Fish King, was among them.

As soon as Su Xinghui arrived, he handed out cigarettes to the workers—all Hongta Shan. After passing them around, he tossed another pack to Hu Jinshui and said, "Factory Director Hu, take this."

Hu Jinshui nodded and smiled, "Director Su, you're too kind."

Hu Jinshui and the workers smoked one cigarette each, and the sky began to lighten. He called out, "Let's go—start fishing!"

The workers responded enthusiastically and boarded the boats to begin hauling in the nets.

They cast the nets into the water and pulled them up; the boat's hold was soon filled with live fish leaping and thrashing. They threw back all fish under ten jin and kept only the large ones.

In just over an hour, they had enough fish for Su Xinghui. After returning to shore, Hu Jinshui ordered them to sort out all fish over fifteen jin, pack every three in a burlap sack, and weigh them collectively.

Two thousand jin of fish were quickly counted. The workers loaded the sacks onto the truck, and Su Xinghui paid the farm's accountant the agreed price, then took his leave.

Hu Jinshui waved after him, "Director Su, come back next time and eat fish with us!"

Back at the township government, Su Xinghui had the truck drive straight into the courtyard. Everyone came out of the offices, staring at the sacks of fish, all faces beaming with joy.

Su Xinghui leapt onto the truck bed first to unload the fish. Zeng Xianglin jumped up too. Peng Kehong and Fu Bo followed. Luo Wenchang, who had been playing with his son in the courtyard, dashed over and helped. Soon, all the fish were unloaded.

Su Xinghui and Zeng Xianglin washed their hands, then got back on the truck to pick up pork.

At the pig farmer's door, they saw he had tied three pigs to three wide benches, with large basins beneath to catch the blood. The pigs screamed desperately, struggling—but their struggles were futile; their lives were already counting down.

The pig farmer, surnamed Jiang, greeted them warmly: "Director Su, Director Zeng, I'm all ready. Just waiting for you. Can we start slaughtering now?"

Su Xinghui nodded. "Old Master Jiang, go ahead. Kill them now."

Old Jiang agreed and began. He slaughtered all three pigs, drained their blood, and divided the meat into bags as Su Xinghui requested, weighed each, and loaded them onto the truck.

Su Xinghui paid him, then left with Zeng Xianglin. On the way, they stopped at the fruit shop he'd arranged with, loaded the fruit and dried fruits onto the truck, and returned to the township government.

The township staff still gathered around the fish sacks, excitedly discussing which had more, which had less. It might seem silly, but perhaps this was ordinary people's happiness.

They unloaded the meat, fruit, and dried fruits. Su Xinghui went to the Party and Government Office, cut white paper into slips, numbered them, and attached them to the fish and meat sacks. Then he made more slips with numbers, shouted loudly, "Everyone, come draw lots!"

Everyone gathered around—even township leaders Chen Hongfu and Dong Jianshu came. Su Xinghui announced loudly, "For fairness, everyone draws lots today—including township leaders. Whoever draws a number gets that bag. No regrets. If you get a good one, be happy. If you get a bad one, don't be upset!"

Everyone laughed and agreed, "Fine, we'll be happy no matter what we get."

Chen Hongfu smiled, "There won't be any bad ones—all the fish today are over fifteen jin."

Su Xinghui said, "Secretary Chen, would you like to draw first?"

Chen Hongfu waved his hand. "No. For greater fairness, let the staff draw first—I'll draw last."

Everyone cheered. They unanimously chose Cheng Taoxian to draw first. Cheng Taoxian sent her son Luo Wei forward to draw two lots. He handed the paper balls to his mother. Cheng Taoxian opened them: Fish No. 8 and Meat No. 10. Luo Wenchang stepped forward and carried both bags home, one in each hand.

The fruit and dried fruit portions were all identical, so no drawing was needed.

Everyone happily drew their lots. Su Xinghui drew Fish No. 2 and Meat No. 13. He carried the two bags back to his dormitory, then brought two boxes of fruit and dried fruit.

This event was a success—everyone was satisfied. The whole process was open, fair, and impartial, unlike some organizations that divide welfare into tiers and make it mysterious. In China, people don't fear scarcity—they fear inequality. As long as it's fair, they won't complain.

Some leaders aren't greedy for extra goods—they just believe tiered distribution highlights their status. Otherwise, why struggle so hard to climb the ranks if they end up with the same benefits as ordinary staff?

Chen Hongfu was relatively open-minded. After Su Xinghui proposed the lottery system, he readily agreed—and even went further by drawing last. The other leaders naturally had no grounds to object.

After distributing the welfare, Chen Hongfu noticed the township staff respected him more—not just formally, but warmly. He felt good about it.

That noon, every staff member living at the township government began slaughtering fish and stewing meat. Though still days from the New Year, the steam and aroma filling the courtyard already carried the scent of the holiday.

In the afternoon, every household chopped fish paste and meat filling, preparing to fry meatballs. Soon, the clatter of knives echoed everywhere, like a blacksmith's forge—each clang rang with festive joy.

By afternoon, every household had set up oil pots and begun frying meatballs. Each family invited Su Xinghui to taste theirs. He sampled one or two from each house and was soon full.

That day, the entire township government courtyard buzzed with joy. The Spring Festival was drawing ever closer.