Chapter 19 Guatian Village and Lixia Village
The township market street curves along the Tieshu River. The township government is located in a corner close to the mountain, in the middle of the township market. The Bayonet Peaks rise from the ground, and the houses are scattered at the foot of the peaks.
Several large tiled houses with white walls formed a quadrangle courtyard. Cars drove into the courtyard one after another, and the township cadres who were well prepared came out to greet them.
Those who were familiar with them naturally stepped forward and talked and greeted Li Changsheng and others. Hu Jiao also shook hands and greeted several cadres under the introduction of Li Changsheng.
It was already past one o'clock in the afternoon, and under the arrangement of the office staff, several people went to a small restaurant in the village market for lunch.
A meeting of all township cadres was to be held in the afternoon, so Li Changsheng refused to drink any wine.
There were two tables, with Li Changsheng, Lan Jing, and Hu Jiao, together with the township's Deputy Secretary Bai Shuyong, Deputy Secretary Gao Qi Fu, Deputy Township Head Chen Fulai, Deputy Township Head Chen Xilai, and Deputy Township Head Chen Shoulai.
Other township officials accompanied Tang Kaiming, secretary You Lin, and driver Xiao Wang.
You Lin spoke very little along the way and seemed taciturn. Hu Jiao had a good impression of this young man who was about the same age as himself.
Not talking does not mean being steady and profound.
It was the first time Hu Jiao met him, so he couldn't say that he knew him well. The reason he had a good impression of Li Changsheng was because of him. From the way Deputy Secretary Li treated You Lin, he could tell that he was very friendly.
This kind of intimacy is just like what Li Mingyong felt towards Tie Xiangqian back then.
Hu Jiao is very familiar with the feeling of mutual complementation and tacit cooperation between leaders and secretaries.
Therefore, if you want to get close to Li Changsheng and gain his recognition and support, You Lin is definitely the best candidate.
As for how to develop the relationship, it is too early now.
Before Hu Jiao sat down, he took the initiative to add a chair, and then enthusiastically invited You Lin to sit with him.
But You Lin quickly stood up and politely declined, and there was a bit more warmth in his eyes when he looked at Hu Jiao.
This was a test between the two young men. Li Changsheng remained calm and knew what was going on.
You Lin did not come as invited. Hu Jiao felt that this person was more reliable, knew when to advance and when to retreat, was not pretentious, and could distinguish between occasions.
Li Changsheng smiled without saying anything. Hu Jiao guessed that You Lin would be given an important position soon, because generally speaking, the leader would speak at the right time to either allow or prevent something.
Such a calm demeanor can only mean that the leader has given the person the freedom to assess him so as to train his social skills.
After the simple dinner, the group went straight to the meeting room.
When Hu Jiao saw this conference room with a strong flavor of the Cultural Revolution, he was actually filled with passion. The wooden stairs and wooden floor boards made a banging sound when people walked on them.
Behind it is a bright red picture of five shining stars, behind the rostrum there is a national flag and a party flag. On the walls with windows on both sides are inscribed the Chairman’s quotations, with “Serve the People” on the left and “Build Four Modernizations” on the right.
On the table of the rostrum was a white porcelain aluminum cup with a round twisted lid. On the cup were written small red words: "Special tea cup for the Xinhua Communist Party Tieshu Township Party Committee meeting", and the date was July 1985.
Ten years now!
The meeting was chaired by Deputy Secretary Bai Yongshu. There was no microphone or speakers, only two large loudspeakers originally used for broadcasting placed in the back corner of the conference room.
The conference room can accommodate more than a hundred people. It is equipped with long black lacquered chairs with backrests. Five people can sit on one chair. There are four chairs in a row, eight rows in total, forming a "田" shape.
Bai Shuyong first took out a list and called out names.
According to the report during the meal, we have to go to each village one by one, and the village director and party secretary of each village must be there.
"Have the melon and plum trees come down?"
The whole audience burst into laughter. Li Changsheng also laughed so hard that he hit the table. A dark-faced man in his forties and a middle-aged peasant woman stood up.
The man looked shy and muttered, "It's the same thing again, it's the same thing again."
The woman looked relieved and shouted, "Here comes the melon field guy!" Then she looked at the black-faced man and said, "Li Xia is in good shape!"
As soon as the words fell, the venue burst into laughter again.
Hu Jiao laughed so hard that he wiped his tears. Even You Lin, who had been serious all the time, turned his back and was seen trembling all over.
This will be quite dramatic.
After everyone finished laughing, Bai Yongshu knocked on the table and continued to call out the names. In the entire Tieshu Township, except for Guatian and Lixia Village, all other village names contain the word "tree", which is also a local feature.
Such as Wangshu Village, Fushu Village, Dashu Village, Laoshu Village, Songshu Village... The township has 17 natural villages with a total population of 26,400, including 57 staff members of party and government organs and 41 staff members of education and other public institutions, which adds up to exactly 108.
Just like Liangshan Marsh, there are 108 generals.
After calling the shots on the village cadres, it was the turn of the township cadres. Except for those who stayed in the office, went to the villages, or were on business trips, basically all of them were present.
After Bai Shuyong completed his routine duties, Lan Jing announced the appointment and removal decision of the county party committee standing committee. Comrade Hu Jiao was appointed as the party secretary of Tieshu Township and concurrently the township head.
It was Hu Jiao's turn to speak next . After relaxing in the opening scene, Hu Jiao's face was filled with smiles. "Before I came here, I passed by General Chen Hu's tomb."
At this point, the previously relaxed atmosphere suddenly became serious, and it was not difficult to detect the solemn expressions on the faces below .
Hu Jiao went on to say: "The older generation of revolutionary martyrs risked their lives, fought in all directions, and shed their blood for the people to be masters of their own country and live a good life as soon as possible. After so many years of liberation, we in Tieshu have not yet solved the problem of food and clothing. Of course, this is not the responsibility of any one person, and the reasons are very complicated. Here, I would like to express to everyone that I am ready for hard work. I hope that we can unite as one, work together to overcome difficulties, defeat difficulties, solve the problem of food and clothing as soon as possible, and jointly develop a better future for Tieshu. My speech is over, thank you all."
Li Changsheng led the applause.
The applause continued and was exceptionally enthusiastic.
Bai Shuyong knocked on the table at the right time and said, "Now, please let our old leader, Secretary Li of the County Party Committee, speak."
Li Changsheng looked at the cadres and the masses below and nodded frequently. "Just now, your Secretary Hu has expressed his hope that everyone will unite and work together for food and clothing. This speech is good. Why is it good? It is good in unity. A party committee and a government are the parents of a place. If we don't unite, how can we carry out our work? I have three requirements for the cadres and workers present here."
Li Changsheng's request was also a formality. It simply required the leadership team of the township party committee and government to unite and cooperate, implement the spirit of the county party committee and government, and support Hu Jiao's work.
After explaining the requirements, Li Changsheng changed the subject and began to introduce Hu Jiao's resume. "You didn't expect it, did you? Although Comrade Hu Jiao is young, he is a graduate of the country's top university. Last year, he obtained a bachelor's degree from Renmin University. Now he has a double degree, a bachelor's degree in Chinese and a master's degree in politics. He previously served as the deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhe Town, Mingjiang County. He has a strong theoretical level and rich work experience. This time, sending Comrade Hu Jiao to Tieshu is an important decision made by the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government to care about Tieshu and pay attention to Tieshu. Therefore, I reiterate that the cadres and employees present here must closely cooperate with Hu Jiao to carry out their work. Can you do it?"
After a loud "yes" in the venue, everyone looked at Hu Jiao as if they were observing a national treasure in a zoo.
There are several college students in the village, who are already very popular in the village. Unexpectedly, this time the students have double degrees. Everyone believes that the leadership teams from the city to the county have made great efforts to change the poverty and backwardness of Tieshu.
But some people are also worried about how the new secretary can break the "tree curse"? If he is not careful and violates the taboo of the iron tree people, the double degree will be useless.
After Li Changsheng finished speaking, Hu Jiao took the initiative to move over and thank him for his help. It would be of great help to have the county party committee's secretary in charge take the initiative to add weight and establish his personal leadership prestige for the work situation he was about to open up.
Next, the township party and government leadership team expressed their stance. This was just a formality. Everyone was determined to implement the decision of the county party committee and government and fully cooperate with the work of the new secretary.
After the meeting, it was already past four in the afternoon, almost five.
Under the persuasion of Hu Jiao and a group of township leaders, Li Changsheng agreed to stay for one night and leave tomorrow.
But just as he agreed, the communication room received a call. When You Lin went to answer it, he found out that the county party committee would hold a new standing committee meeting tomorrow morning, which would involve the appointment and removal of some cadres.
Hu Jiao was silent in his heart. Li Changsheng was indeed an old hand who was good at handling things. He was the secretary in charge of cadres. He must have known in advance that the county would hold a standing committee meeting, but he did not firmly refuse the kindness. This made the cadres of Tieshu feel even closer to him.
It seems that the grassroots level can really train people.
Previously in Wuhe Town, although Hu Jiao's role was the same as Li Changsheng's, Hu Jiao at that time was devoted to studying the books of sages and was oblivious to what was happening outside. How could he appreciate the knowledge brought about by his position? In terms of the ways of the world, he was completely blank.
After seeing off Li Changsheng and his party, the next thing was to arrange their food and lodging. The township government did not have a canteen, and most of the people here were locals who had been assigned from outside. They had either already settled down and married local women, or their spouses had been transferred here with them.
There are only three college students who are still single. They live in the old tiled houses provided by the township government and usually cook their own meals.
There is no problem with accommodation. The original secretary's office has two rooms, one inside and one outside. I can sleep in the inner room and work in the outer room, which is perfect.
The original township head's office can be vacated instead. The Party Committee Office and the Government Office were previously combined on the first floor, in a large office downstairs from the conference room.
Bai Yongshu proposed moving the Party Committee Office to the former township head's office.
Hu Jiao smiled casually, and glanced at the expressions of several deputy township heads Chen. "Let's talk about it later."
Although Li Changsheng did not deliberately remind him of the deputy township heads with the surname Chen, anyone with a discerning eye could see that from their names, they were either brothers or family members.
Chen Fulai, Chen Xilai, Chen Shoulai.
It’s a good omen. Blessings, happiness and longevity are coming. I wonder if Hu Jiao can bear it?
Two deputy secretaries and three deputy township heads accompanied Hu Jiao to the secretary's office, and the five of them entered one after another.
Liu Shiqun, director of the Party Committee Office, directed a young woman dressed simply to serve tea and water, and five people sat around a circle of rattan chairs.
As soon as they sat down, Liu Shiqun took out a work notebook to take notes. Hu Jiao waved his hand and said, "No need to take notes. We are not going to talk about work today. By the way, Director Liu, go and call up the two people from Guatian Village and Lixia Village. Let's chat casually."
Just now, Hu Jiao noticed in the yard that the other village party secretaries and village heads had all left, leaving only these two in the yard, and no one knew which office they had gone into.
After Liu Shiqun left, Bai Shuyong smiled and said, "Speaking of this couple in Guatian and Lixia, there are many stories. The secretary of Guatian, Gui, is a woman named Guiying. Her hometown is not Tieshu. She was sent to Lixia Village as one of the last batch of educated youth. She fell in love with Chen Xiaohou, the current secretary of Lixia Village. In that era, it was considered a good thing for workers and peasants to marry each other. Unfortunately, Chen Xiaohou's father, Chen Laohongjun, disagreed. The old man had a good heart. He thought that a girl from the city should not be tied to the countryside to suffer. Wouldn't that harm people? Chen Xiaohou was a real person. He turned around and married another young woman, hoping to break the secretary's thoughts. But the secretary was stubborn and refused to return to the city. Instead, he moved his household registration to the neighboring Guatian Village. In the past few years, they both served as village heads and last year they became secretary.
The others laughed as they listened, adding a few funny stories about the two happy enemies from time to time. Hu Jiao sighed with emotion, "It's hard to say about fate. It's a mismatched marriage. I don't think the two of them are resentful of each other, right?"
Gao Qifu, secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, slapped his knee and said, "Hey! According to common sense, most people like them turn love into hatred and become enemies, but these two are different. They are not afraid of what others say. They work together and move forward and backward in unison."
Hu Jiao was surprised, "Then who in their family doesn't fight?"
Chen Fulai chuckled and said, "This is what outsiders don't understand. Everything is peaceful in their backyard. Chen Xiaohou has a daughter in junior high school, and Guiying has a son who is also in junior high school. The two kids are just like real siblings. Everyone teases them and asks their children to make up for the leaks in their previous lives."
At this time, a woman's loud laughter came from outside the door, "Haha, listen, the leaders are making up stories about us again."
With a hearty laugh, Guiying strode into the office, and Chen Xiaohou followed shyly behind.
Hu Jiao looked at this pair of bickering lovers and found them more and more interesting. Old Army General Chen didn't expect this day to come, right?
He stood up and took the initiative to greet the two people, "Come, come, sit over here, Secretary Gui, Secretary Chen?"
Guiying took Hu Jiao's hand generously and said, "Hello, Secretary. I am Guiying."
"Chen Xiaohou."
Hu Jiao narrowed his eyes and smiled continuously, "If your personalities were swapped, this would make sense."
Guiying burst into laughter again, "Secretary, if you look beyond the surface, you will see the essence. I am just a rough man, while Secretary Chen is a famous scholar."
The blood vessels on Chen Xiaohou's neck were throbbing, his face was dark red, and he was saying "Hi, hi..."
Guiying pointed at him and said to Hu Jiao, "Look, a barking dog doesn't bite. That's his character."
The others were already laughing so hard that they were falling down.
Hu Jiao also smiled. This Guiying was really unforgiving. "Okay, okay, Secretary Gui, please don't make things difficult for Secretary Chen. Look how anxious he is."
No wonder the two are called a perfect match and a living treasure.
Guiying's words "see the essence through the surface" reminded Hu Jiao. He did not laugh with them, but stopped Guiying and Chen Xiaohou from showing off and making fun of them.
Hu Jiao asked about the basic situation of the village during the casual chat, and his brows furrowed more as he listened.
In 1992, the state proposed the "three connections" in rural areas: electricity, water and roads. Of the 17 villages in Tieshu Township, only two have truly achieved the "three connections" now, including Tieshu Village, the seat of the township.
Excluding the township markets, only Lixia Village was truly implemented.
Lixia Village, also known as Chenjia Village, is where most of the older generation who went out to make revolution came from. The three deputy township heads present here are also from Lixia Village.
There are still eight surviving veteran Red Army soldiers living in Lixia Village.
This is also the reason why Lixia Village is the only one with three links.
Seeing that Hu Jiao looked serious, Bai Shuyong took the initiative to change the subject and talk about Hu Jiao's work arrangements.
Hu Jiao hesitated for half a minute and said, "Let's not talk about work today. Let's talk about it tomorrow."
Chen Xilai is the youngest of the three Chens, 32 years old. He was promoted from deputy director of the township people's congress to deputy township head last year. He looked at his watch and said, "Secretary, it's time for dinner. It's your first day in Tieshu. It's boring to eat in a restaurant. I've already informed my family, what do you think?"
Hu Jiao nodded in agreement, and Chen Xilai then enthusiastically invited others. Bai Shuyong joked, "Secretary, we are following the moon, and we are lucky. The chef at the home of the township head Xilai has first-class cooking skills, and his home-cooked dishes are better than those of the county chefs!"
"Oh? Then I'm in for a treat, Mayor Xilai. I'm going to be addicted. You'd better not bother me in the future."
Chen Xilai said seriously: "Welcome to bother you!"
The group chatted and laughed as they headed to Chen Xilai's home. Bai Shuyong did not brag, but Chen Xilai's wife's cooking skills were impeccable. The table was full of dishes with strong country flavor, including big bowls of vegetables, big bowls of meat, big pots of chicken, and big pots of fish.
There are also large bowls of wine.
The banquet was filled with the lively atmosphere of this pair of funny people, Guatian Lixia.
Hu Jiao still couldn't drink much, so he tried to refuse. He spoke sincerely, so others didn't try to force him and just drank casually.
Eat, drink and observe.
Someone once said that to judge a person's character, you can usually tell from three occasions: one is the drinking table, where you can judge a person's character by the way he drinks; the second is the gambling table, where you can judge a person's character by the way he gambles; and the third is the official table, where you can judge a person's character by the rank of his official.
The first two points are common, while the second point is only suitable for specific occasions. The so-called official table refers to whether an official can truly and wholeheartedly benefit the people during his tenure.
Bai Yongshu seems to be on good terms with others but is actually different from them. He is 50% genuine and 50% perfunctory. This kind of person is an opportunist.
Gao Qifu likes to be serious, perhaps because he was promoted from a village cadre. The way he speaks and acts reveals a rustic quality and lacks a sense of the overall situation. Of course, Tieshu is just a township and cannot take care of any overall situation. This kind of person is an executor.
As Hu Jiao had expected, the grandfathers of the three deputy township heads were cousins of General Chen Hu, that is, their grandfather's grandfather and General Chen Hu's grandfather were the same person.
Chen Fulai is in his forties. He doesn't talk much, but every word he says is incisive and often hits the nail on the head. He has a sense of dry humor and usually remains silent. After finishing a sentence, he pauses for two seconds and then the whole room bursts into laughter.
Chen Shoulai was thirty-eight years old. He drank silently from beginning to end. He never persuaded others nor refused. He drank as much as others poured. At most, he would say politely, "That's enough, that's enough." A thousand words are not as good as silence. This is a man who can get things done.
Finally, there was Chen Xilai, the host today. He was talkative, singing the same tune with Bai Shuyong, picking on Guiying and Chen Xiaohou to make fun of them, stirring up the atmosphere, and had a very lively personality.
The only regret is that the three of them do not have high academic qualifications. Fulai and Shoulai only graduated from junior high school. Later, they went to the county party school for further studies for a period of time and obtained a technical secondary school diploma, which is equivalent to high school education.
At the table, only Chen Xilai and Bai Shuyong were serious technical secondary school graduates, and they were also alumni of Phoenix Agricultural Technical Secondary School.
According to Bai Yongshu, there are several college students in the township, two of whom graduated from a teachers' college. One works at the township central primary school and the other works at the township forestry station.
In addition, Liu Shiqun, director of the Party Committee Office, is a college student, and Qin Yi, director of the Government Office, is also a college student.
The last three college students were all assigned here in the past two years. One serves as a propaganda officer, one is a general secretary of the Party Committee and the government, and the other studies law and serves as deputy director of the Family Planning Office.
