Chapter 58

Lu Xiaoya quickly pressed down on the painting, fearing that her mother would take it to sell: "Mom, what nonsense are you talking about? How can this be sold?"

Song Qiaoli said, "I don't mean to sell it. I mean this painting is very valuable, and it has great commemorative significance for you, so it should be well preserved. I can take it to our store and find a master to mount it properly."

Lu Xiaoya finally understood her mother’s meaning and nodded, "Alright!"

At this moment, Lu Zhenghong came in from outside and smiled, "What are you mother and daughter talking about? So happy!"

Song Qiaoli said in surprise, "Old Lu, why are you back so early today?"

Lu Zhenghong had been in office for about a week. Previously, when he was at the Party History Office, he could always go home on time, but as the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee, he suddenly became busy and almost never ate at home. It was truly strange that he was back so early today.

Lu Zhenghong said, "Secretary Gu’s wife has come. He wants to accompany his wife for dinner today, so there are no other social engagements, and I was able to come back early."

Song Qiaoli asked, "Secretary Gu’s wife? Old Yu’s daughter has come?"

Gu Shanmin’s wife, Yu Jingyan, was the daughter of the revolutionary veteran Old Yu and was the deputy director of a department in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Gu Shanmin came to Hudong Province at the beginning of the year, but she didn't follow him. She came to visit Gu Shanmin about once or twice a month.

This time should also be to visit him. They were a loving couple, and every time she came, Gu Shanmin would push aside all social engagements to accompany her for dinner.

Song Qiaoli hadn't cared about these things before, but her husband had become the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee, a position equivalent to Gu Shanmin’s chief steward, so she had to learn about these things.

Lu Zhenghong put down the bag in his hand and walked over, "Yes, she is here to visit Secretary Gu."

Walking to the table, Lu Zhenghong saw the portrait of Lu Xiaoya and said in surprise, "Who painted this? It's really good! It painted our Xiaoya so beautifully!"

Lu Xiaoya said unhappily, "Is your daughter not beautiful?"

Lu Zhenghong laughed heartily, "Beautiful, beautiful, our Xiaoya is the most beautiful girl!"

Having sat in the position of Director of the Party History Office for three years, Lu Zhenghong had thought he had cultivated a heart like still water, but this time he had made a comeback and became the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee, and his personality was much more cheerful than before.

Lu Zhenghong looked at the signature and said in surprise, "Su Xinghui painted it? His painting is also this good?"

Lu Xiaoya said, "Yes, he painted it. I helped him, and asked him to paint a picture for me, and he mailed it after he painted it."

Lu Zhenghong nodded, "Truly a talented young man!"

Song Qiaoli said, "Yes, it's a pity. Why doesn't such a talented young man stay in Jiangcheng? Why does he have to go to that poor, remote place?"

Lu Zhenghong stopped smiling and said, "I actually think it's quite good for him to work in a township."

Lu Zhenghong took a "Yulin Daily" out of his bag and handed it to Song Qiaoli, "Take a look at this newspaper."

Lu Zhenghong’s office received the party newspapers of every region and city in the province every day. He had to browse through these newspapers to see if there was any valuable news. Today, he saw the report related to Su Xinghui in the "Yulin Daily."

Song Qiaoli flipped through the newspaper and found the report. She read it carefully, and Lu Xiaoya also leaned over to read it with her.

After reading the report, Song Qiaoli looked up and said, "This Su Xinghui has quite a lot of ambition. He even wants to engage in agricultural industrialization in Menghuling. It seems he really wants to do something big!"

Lu Xiaoya said, "Yes, it seems that working in a township isn't necessarily worse than being in Jiangcheng. Those people in Jiangcheng who sit in offices reading newspapers and drinking tea all day might not be as good as him?"

Lu Zhenghong smiled, "Yes, this young man is truly extraordinary. He has such talent, such ideas, and can settle down to work in a township and put his ideas into practice. Young people who are both capable and down-to-earth like this are truly rare!"

Lu Xiaoya said, "Dad, then you should help him."

Lu Zhenghong nodded, "It seems I really should help him."

After Lu Zhenghong became the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee, he had a conversation with Gu Shanmin. Gu Shanmin had been parachuted into Hudong Province for more than half a year, but he hadn't made any major adjustments to the cadre team of Hudong Province. Promoting Lu Zhenghong could be considered his first major move.

This move wouldn't arouse the vigilance of others. Although the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee was a position on the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, because this position was equivalent to the chief steward of the Provincial Party Secretary, or even a chief secretary, the Provincial Party Secretary had absolute say in the selection of this position.

Gu Shanmin had been here for so long and had only moved this one person, and it was the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee, so no one could say anything against him. However, this also led to Gu Shanmin having only Lu Zhenghong as someone he could absolutely control on the Standing Committee.

Of course, this also meant that Lu Zhenghong was now the person Gu Shanmin trusted the most.

Lu Zhenghong hadn't known much about Gu Shanmin’s personality before, nor did he know that his old leader had recommended him to Gu Shanmin. Gu Shanmin was very composed and hadn't revealed any intention to use Lu Zhenghong for half a year after he arrived. It wasn't until the organizational inspection some time ago that Lu Zhenghong knew he was going to make a comeback.

In his conversation with Gu Shanmin, Lu Zhenghong learned that it was his old leader who had recommended him to Gu Shanmin. Gu Shanmin hadn't rashly used him after arriving, but had spent more than half a year understanding him from various sources, confirming that Lu Zhenghong was a usable person, before using him.

Gu Shanmin’s caution hadn't made Lu Zhenghong resentful; instead, it made Lu Zhenghong know that Gu Shanmin was a person with true political wisdom. Therefore, in his conversation with Gu Shanmin, he also tried his best to plan for Gu Shanmin and put forward many good suggestions to him.

Among them, he suggested that Gu Shanmin attach importance to agriculture.

Hudong Province was a major agricultural province, and the vast majority of the province’s population was an agricultural population. If the agricultural problem could be solved, most of Hudong Province’s problems would be solved.

Lu Zhenghong’s point of view coincided with Gu Shanmin’s. Gu Shanmin had investigated in Hudong Province for several months and also believed that the agricultural problem was Hudong Province’s biggest problem, which made Gu Shanmin value Lu Zhenghong even more, and the two talked very happily.

Come to think of it, Lu Zhenghong’s point of view was inspired by Su Xinghui. He had personally visited Yezhugou Village and witnessed the difficulties of the farmers’ lives, knowing that the agricultural problem had reached the point where it had to be solved, and Su Xinghui’s idea for prosperity was indeed very good.

By the time he read this report, Lu Zhenghong had a further understanding of Su Xinghui’s ideas. The agricultural industrialization proposed by Su Xinghui made Lu Zhenghong excited.

Lu Xiaoya said to let Lu Zhenghong help Su Xinghui, and Lu Zhenghong really wanted to help this outstanding young man.

He wanted to see what kind of dazzling achievements Su Xinghui could make in Menghuling.