Chapter 487: Historical Legacy Issues

Zhang Kaishan was indeed aware of this matter. Before the Liberation, the Hou family was a prominent household; almost the entire Zhuangyuan Lane belonged to them, and they owned several large courtyards. During the period of turmoil, the Hou family was overthrown and driven out, and all their courtyards were distributed to other families to live in.

After the period of turmoil ended, although the policy regarding the Hou family was implemented, because only one family member remained, only one courtyard was returned to them. As for the other courtyards, the occupants refused to move out no matter what, and Hou Dali did not dare to be too pushy—how could he know if the policies might change again one day?

Because of these various reasons, the county government tacitly accepted this situation. They felt that returning one courtyard to the Hou family was already quite fair to them; thus, this became a historical legacy issue.

The problem is, if the county wants the overseas Hou family to return, and they see their old family home occupied by others, what will they think? Do they still want to invest? It would be good if they didn't fly into a rage on the spot.

Zhang Kaishan frowned and said, "This is indeed a problem, but it is also a historical legacy issue. It has been decades, and it is not easy to correct now; it involves dozens of households."

Su Xinghui said, "If it needs to be corrected, it must be corrected. Historical legacy issues are still problems. If the county really wants the Hou family to come back and invest, this problem must be corrected. Besides, even if we don't want them to come back and invest, problems that should be corrected must be corrected."

Zhang Kaishan lit a cigarette and smoked it, his brow furrowed into a "chuan" shape. Until the cigarette was finished, he heavily stubbed it out in the ashtray: "You are right. No matter what, problems that should be corrected must be corrected. However, I don't have a good solution right now. Do you have any good ideas?"

This matter was indeed tricky. The dozens of households living in Zhuangyuan Lane had lived there for decades. The best time to resolve the issue had been missed, and their living there had almost been tacitly approved by the county. If you make them move out now, wouldn't they turn the world upside down?

Su Xinghui said, "To be honest, I don't have a good solution either. We can't forcibly drive them out; that would only escalate the matter."

Zhang Kaishan asked, "Then what should we do?"

Su Xinghui said, "Since the county didn't make them move out back then, it meant they tacitly approved of their living there as reasonable. Now, if we want to correct it, the county must pay a price."

Zhang Kaishan asked, "What do you mean?"

Su Xinghui said, "Wasn't Nanmen Street demolished? Isn't it being rebuilt? The government can spend money to move them to the residential area on Nanmen Street as public rental housing, charging a symbolic rent of a few yuan per household per month."

Zhang Kaishan asked, "Will they agree to that?"

Su Xinghui said, "They have to agree. Do they have property deeds for where they live now? Let them produce their property deeds, and we will agree to their demands. Otherwise, they can only live in public rental housing; the rent will be low, which counts as a discount for them. If they want to buy a house, the public rental housing can be sold to them, and the government can provide them with a certain subsidy."

Zhang Kaishan pondered for a long time and nodded, saying, "Your method is not bad; the county government can give it a try."

Su Xinghui said, "I think the possibility of them agreeing is quite high. The places they live in now are not spacious; some families of seven or eight people are living in twenty or thirty square meters. During the last demolition of Nanmen Street, they wanted to be relocated too, but Zhuangyuan Lane was protected by the county government, which is why it wasn't demolished. Who wouldn't want to live in a better house?"

Zhang Kaishan sighed, "But the county will have to come up with a large sum of funds."

Su Xinghui said, "This is also a necessary price to pay. If those households want to buy houses, can't the county government recover a portion of the funds? Besides, if the Hou family is willing to invest in the county, they might invest tens of millions, so this price would be worth it."

Zhang Kaishan said, "I can only think of it that way."

Su Xinghui said, "I think this work needs to be expedited. After the relocation work is completed, the county should renovate the old Hou family home so that when the Hou family returns, they will feel much more comfortable."

Zhang Kaishan said, "How about this: I will go with you to see Secretary Ji. This is a big matter, and we must secure the support of the County Party Committee."

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Yes, you are absolutely right. This matter needs the support of the County Party Committee."

Zhang Kaishan then called Ji Tao's office. Ji Tao told him to come over immediately, so Zhang Kaishan went to Ji Tao's office with Su Xinghui.

Zhang Kaishan had Su Xinghui report the matter of the overseas Hou family to Ji Tao. Listening to Su Xinghui, Ji Tao's expression also became grave.

After Su Xinghui finished his report, Ji Tao asked, "Does Mr. Hou Guangbi really want to return to his hometown?"

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "From my phone conversation with him, the possibility is very high. When I spoke to him in the Shangjun dialect, he was so moved that he burst into tears. He is over seventy years old this year, and he said he wanted to return to his roots, but there were some concerns that made them afraid to return to their hometown."

Ji Tao asked, "What are the concerns?"

Su Xinghui explained the concerns of the Hou family again and also told Ji Tao the solution. Ji Tao nodded and said, "The County Party Committee firmly supports the work of the county government. As long as we can get the Hou family to return to Shangjun, the County Party Committee and the county government can do a lot of work. Let's do this: I will call Director Liu of the United Front Work Department over to discuss it."

Ji Tao then called Liu Xiancai, the head of the United Front Work Department, saying there was something to discuss with him. A few minutes later, Liu Xiancai arrived.

After Liu Xiancai heard the relevant situation introduced by Su Xinghui, his expression also became excited. As the head of the United Front Work Department, he didn't have much real power in the county; at most, he organized activities for democratic parties and managed the county's religious affairs—to put it bluntly, he was in charge of the few temples in the county.

If the overseas Hou family really wanted to return to their hometown, and if they were as rich as Su Xinghui said and wanted to invest, then Liu Xiancai would have a lot of room to maneuver, and his status in the county would become important.

You must know that in many places, the head of the United Front Work Department is a member of the County Party Committee Standing Committee, a proper deputy county-level leader. But in Shangjun County, the head of the United Front Work Department was not a member of the Standing Committee, and Liu Xiancai was still only at the section chief level. If the status of the United Front Work Department were raised, perhaps he could even get a taste of being in the Standing Committee.

Ji Tao said, "Comrade Xiancai, in this matter, your United Front Work Department must take on the responsibilities it should."

Liu Xiancai nodded and said, "Secretary Ji, don't worry. We will definitely do a good job with the Hou family and let them return to their hometown to participate in the economic construction of their hometown."

Ji Tao said, "Comrade Su Xinghui has a good relationship with the Hou family and has established a relatively good relationship of trust. Therefore, we should listen more to Comrade Su Xinghui's opinions on this matter."

Liu Xiancai quickly said, "That's right, that's right. Mayor Su, where do you think we should start with this matter?"

Su Xinghui said, "How about this, Director Liu: I will go with you to the Hou family in Zhuangyuan Lane later. The head of the Hou family, Hou Dali, is Mr. Hou Guangbi's nephew, and Mr. Hou Guangbi is also very concerned about him. I hope his nephew can contact him as soon as possible. I think we can work on Mr. Hou Guangbi through Hou Dali."

Liu Xiancai said, "This is a very good idea. Secretary Ji, County Magistrate Zhang, what do you think?"

Ji Tao nodded and said, "I think it's good."

Zhang Kaishan said, "You go ahead. If you need support from the county government, just say so."

Su Xinghui then left the County Party Committee compound with Liu Xiancai. However, he did not take Liu Xiancai directly to Zhuangyuan Lane; he knew that Hou Dali was probably not at home at this time and should be at the entrance of the Post and Telecommunications Bureau.

Anyway, the county town was not big, so Su Xinghui didn't ask Zhang Kaishan for a car. He walked to the Post and Telecommunications Bureau with Liu Xiancai.

Liu Xiancai mocked himself, "Sigh, our United Front Work Department doesn't even have a car. I've wronged Mayor Su."

Su Xinghui said, "What kind of wrong is this? It's in the county town anyway; it's not a long walk."

Liu Xiancai said, "Mayor Su is truly magnanimous; I admire you!"

Su Xinghui smiled faintly and said, "Director Liu, you are too kind."

Liu Xiancai was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was a teacher by trade and liked to write small articles in his spare time; he could be considered a cultured person. It was precisely because of this that he was transferred to the United Front Work Department—the United Front Work Department could be considered a place that needed culture. Because of this, sometimes when he wanted to say flattering things to others, he couldn't quite bring himself to do it.

After hearing Su Xinghui's words, Liu Xiancai didn't know what to say, so he just gave a sheepish smile.