Chapter 20 The Highest Level of Compromise
Hu Jiao was not drunk, but Bai Shuyong was drunk. He kept talking, but no one could hear what he was saying clearly. He was mumbling to himself, but his voice was heard everywhere.
Gao Qifu was also drunk, but he didn't talk when he was drunk. He just kept laughing, giggling, non-stop. He laughed twice, grinned, and then he laughed again.
The three Chen brothers were not drunk, but the features on their faces were very obvious. Chen Fulai's eyes were as red as a rabbit's, and they became redder and bloodshot the more he drank.
Hu Jiao was still worried that he might have an accident, but Chen Xi, with a pale face, came to explain that you could tell how much alcohol Fu Ge drank from his eyes. If he drank half a catty, his eyes would be red, if he drank eight ounces, his eyes would be tearful, and if he drank more than one catty, his eyes would be bloodshot.
Chen Shoulai frowned after drinking. The more he drank, the more he frowned and his face turned red. Chen Xilai said that he had drunk too much and his face had turned purple. He could not drink anymore, even if the King of Heaven came.
Guiying and Chen Xiaohou from Guatian and Lixia villages remained sober, just like Hu Jiao. They drank as much as Hu Jiao did. They drank neither too much nor too much.
Liu Shiqun from the Party Committee Office never drinks alcohol. He accompanied Hu Jiao back, and the others had their own arrangements.
The first day in office ends here.
The next morning, the drunken guys didn't show up, only Chen Shoulai arrived at the office on time.
Liu Shiqun accompanied Hu Jiao to the market for breakfast. When they came back and saw that Chen Shoulai's office was open, Hu Jiao stopped and said, "Director Liu, go ahead and do your thing."
Slowly walked into Chen Shoulai's office.
There is usually fog in the mornings in Tieshu, which can be light or thick. Surrounded by dense forests and located next to the Tieshu River, the humidity is too heavy and fog persists all year round.
The morning light shines in from behind the wooden lattice window, making the light on the first floor dim. The office layout is very simple, with a table, a chair and a cabinet. There is a piece of letter paper on the table, and documents and books in the cabinet. The side wall is white without any pictures or decorations.
"Village Chief Shoulai, have you had breakfast?"
Chen Shoulai stood up to greet him. He only had one chair, so he didn't explain much. "Would you like to sit down and have some tea?"
Hu Jiao nodded, but did not sit down. He did not believe that Chen Shoulai was a stubborn person.
If there are no extra chairs in the office, it only means that this person values work effectiveness, does not like or is not good at talking, or does not talk much except about work.
Even when talking about work, he would only say a few words and would never say more than one word.
Hu Jiao watched him make tea and did not step forward to be polite. Instead, he took the teacup and held it in his hand. The two of them stood with their backs to the wall, looking out the window.
Hu Jiao didn't say anything, and Chen Shoulai wouldn't speak either. He was waiting.
Chen Shoulai just sat there quietly like a wooden sculpture, his expression and movements never changing.
When Hu Jiao felt the temperature of the cup in his hand was right, he lowered his head and took a sip. He said casually, "Merge the Party Committee Office and the Government Office together to form a joint Party and Government Office. Director Liu Shiqun will do it first."
Chen Shoulai nodded, "Okay."
"You are in charge of the agricultural and pastoral water supply of the whole township, right?"
"yes."
"Add a burden?"
"OK."
"Electricity and transportation. There will be a joint meeting of the Party and the government this afternoon. You can talk to them in advance. I will go to the school and the clinic first."
"good."
Hu Jiao put down his teacup, turned around and walked out. This was his first attempt. He had made up his mind yesterday to first unite the three heroes of the Chen family, slightly disrupt the division of labor, and rearrange it.
If it passes smoothly and is fully implemented, he can go down and investigate the situation with peace of mind, without having to worry about no one handling daily work or emergencies.
If there is any jam, he will have to postpone his trip and sort out the work in the village first.
Hu Jiao was unwilling to face the latter situation, as it would waste too much time and would not allow him to make any progress at work.
It is not a good thing for him personally and the entire Tieshu Township.
Liu Shiqun was still with him, and Hu Jiao mainly checked the school's teaching facilities, the maintenance of the teaching buildings, and any safety hazards.
The clinic was too simple and could only handle some common illnesses. There were only three doctors and nurses in total.
Fortunately, the living environment of Iron Tree is good, and people here rarely get sick, especially those with difficult and complicated diseases. Most of the people who come to see a doctor are children and the elderly who have poor resistance, and they mainly suffer from common diseases such as colds and fevers.
After having lunch at a small restaurant in the township market, Hu Jiao went back and began to read the information about Tieshu Township provided by Liu Shiqun.
After a short nap at noon, I walked to yesterday's meeting room at two o'clock in the afternoon. There was only one meeting room here. Except for holding party congresses, people's congresses, cadre meetings, etc., the tables and chairs in the meeting room usually only seat twenty to thirty people, forming a square.
Hu Jiao held a notebook and greeted others casually.
"Is everyone here?"
Liu Shiqun nodded, "Everyone is here."
Hu Jiao looked at Chen Shoulai and nodded slightly. Now he understood what was going on.
"I discussed this with Shoulai Township Mayor this morning. Well, this time we are convening a joint party and government meeting, and there are mainly two arrangements."
Looking at Bai Shuyong, Gao Qifu, and the three Chen brothers one by one, seeing that none of them had any intention of objecting, Hu Jiao continued, "First, merge the Party Committee Office and the Government Office to form a joint Party and Government Office, with Liu Shiqun in charge. Let's discuss it."
Seeing everyone's attention focused on him, Chen Xilai coughed twice and said, "I agree. Let's assign two deputy directors, one to be in charge of logistics and reception, and the other to be in charge of document drafting. As for the selection of the candidates..."
Chen Shoulai didn't wait for him to finish and immediately said, "I agree."
Chen Fulai nodded and said, "I have no objection."
Gao Qifu smiled and said, "That's good! We're all in the same office anyway, so it makes sense."
Bai Shuyong also smiled, then his face straightened, "The secretary's suggestion is very good, it should have been done a long time ago. Now that the secretary has two responsibilities, it's just right to merge the two offices to avoid buck-passing and wrangling."
Hu Jiao waited for him to finish, then slowly added: "It's decided. It's just a matter of putting up a sign. The substance remains the same. As for the deputy director candidate, we'll talk about it later. Director Liu will take charge of the work first. Everyone else, please cooperate, okay?"
Bai Shuyong and Chen Xilai frowned at the same time, holding the white porcelain cup in silence.
Chen Shou said, "Let's first appoint one. The former director of the government office, Qin Yi, is a college graduate."
Hu Jiao waited for him to finish speaking before looking at others. Gao Qi Fu took out cigarettes, smoked them one by one, and then slowly lit them. In less than a minute, the conference room was filled with smoke.
Hu Jiao smoked half a cigarette and had no choice but to ask, "Secretary Bai, what do you think?"
"Let's set it up. Set it up. Xiao Liu is the only one left. I'm afraid he won't be able to handle it."
"Village Mayor Fulai?"
Chen Fulai also agreed and mentioned another person, "Zhong Ming, the young man has done a good job in family planning. He studied law. Now the country advocates administration according to law. Can you make up for the shortcomings in this area?"
Gao Qifu waited for him to finish his words and immediately said, "Yes, I agree! Xiao Zhong's work is obvious to all. In two years, all the family planning tasks assigned by the county will be completed."
Bai Shuyong smiled as he shook off the ashes from his cigarette, "We can't erase the contributions of the legitimate family planning director. Without Wu Taidi in charge, Xiao Zhong wouldn't be able to do anything, right?"
Hu Jiao asked: "Who is Wu Taidi?"
Bai Shuyong introduced: "The former director of the People's Congress, who is 57 years old, took the initiative to take up the responsibility of the Family Planning Office. The old comrade has a high level of consciousness and has made full use of his remaining energy to solve a big problem for us. I am still worried about who will take over the troublesome family planning after Lao Wu retires."
At this point, Hu Jiao had already heard that he had deliberately not mentioned the matter of the deputy director before , even if he started to refuse, and he would talk about it later.
But these people are not going to let it go easily. The Party Committee Office and the Government Office are the key departments of the township, connecting all the work of the township, so how can there be no deputy positions?
Hu Jiao did not refute Chen Shoulai's proposal, he just wanted to make a personnel appointment to see the structure of the team.
It is now clear that the three Chen brothers are not of the same mind. Chen Xilai is a person who cannot handle things easily and is close to Bai Shuyong.
Chen Fulai and Chen Shoulai have a great understanding of each other.
Gao Qifu is a neutral person, so of course promoting a college student majoring in law will be of great help to him in carrying out his work in the Discipline Inspection Commission. Zhong Ming has run errands for him many times in the past, and now that he has a formal opportunity, he must give it a push.
Hu Jiao asked Bai Shuyong: "So, does Secretary Bai have any suitable candidates?"
Bai Shuyong put out his cigarette butt. "Well, since we recommend relatives, I'll recommend someone. Bai Yachao is my cousin. There's nothing wrong with that. He has always been a secretary in the office. He is a brick in the office, and he is always there wherever he is needed. He is also a college graduate, so I won't talk about his ability, right?"
Seeing that it was two against two, Gao Qi Fu shut his mouth tightly.
Hu Jiao tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "How about this? The Party Committee Office and the Government Office originally had one director and one deputy director. Now that they have been merged, there will be one director and three deputy directors. Qin Yi will be responsible for logistics reception, Zhong Ming will be responsible for petitions and legal and regulatory affairs, and Bai Yachao will be responsible for document management. Does this work?"
Chen Shoulai raised his head and looked at Hu Jiao deeply.
Hu Jiao understood the meaning of it and was very good at smoothing things over. Invisibly, with just a few words, he demonstrated his power as the secretary and the township head to control the overall situation.
If anyone still opposes such a proposal, it means that they are clearly a thorn in the side.
To deal with such people, just put a small hat of "destroying team unity" on them and it can be easily removed.
Sure enough, I passed it smoothly.
Compromise is a means, a flexible and changeable management method. Only those who are good at using compromise to maximize their interests can go further and climb higher.
Compromise is also a political art, which can deal with contradictions and disputes, alleviate opposing emotions, and balance the interests of all parties. The highest artistic realm of compromise is harmony.
This was actually the first time Hu Jiao tried to compromise, or in local dialect, to smooth things over. He didn't expect the effect to be so good. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, Dad, you're always true to me!
But Hu Jiao was very calm. This was just a small village that had not yet solved the problem of food and clothing. If the people present took off their cadres' attire, they could only be considered knowledgeable farmers.
The reason for achieving such a compromise is not because Hu Jiao is so smart, but because of the appointment by the county party committee and government: party secretary and township head.
Neither is indispensable.
There is no such position that can be shouldered by one person. The Party Committee and the government are responsible for everything. Even if it is just the secretary, it is impossible to achieve it easily because there is no opponent or partner who is equal to him.
Therefore, his will represents the will of the top leaders of the Party Committee and the government. Let me ask, if the secretary and the village head have approved it, who would dare to make trouble?
Hu Jiao felt a little regretful about this. Without training in this area, he would not be able to accumulate experience, which might become a fatal weakness in the future.
"Okay, if everyone agrees, it's passed. The second thing is about the division of labor. I'm new here and don't understand a lot of the work, so I want to take some time to visit the villages and get a feel for the situation. To put it bluntly, I want to be a hands-off manager for a while."
As soon as Hu Jiao finished speaking, Bai Shuyong said seriously: "You can't just walk away. You have to be in charge of Tieshu's work."
Hu Jiao raised his hand, motioning him to listen. "It's only temporary. You have to give me time to investigate the situation, right? Without an investigation, I have no right to speak. By the way, before we start the division of labor, I want to inform you of one thing. Before I came, the province and the city jointly allocated 2.4 million yuan in special poverty alleviation development funds..."
There were bursts of gasps in the meeting hall, and even Chen Shoulai, who usually remained calm even when faced with a catastrophe, raised his eyebrows in a rare moment.
Hu Jiao continued, "Well, on the way here, I was scared to death several times. It's time to replace our old jeep. If something unexpected happens and the revolution has not yet succeeded, that would be a tragedy."
Seeing that several people were about to express their opinions, Hu Jiao raised his voice, "So! I decided to change the car! Safety first! It's not the style of a Communist Party member to put your head on the belt and do things. We are not heroes who will sacrifice our lives for the sake of our own lives. There is no need to joke with our lives."
Bai Shuyong still wanted to emphasize something, so he moved his lips and Hu Jiao's tone became more determined, "Besides! If you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools! If there are any problems, I will handle them. You don't have to say anything more. I have decided on this matter!"
Chen Shoulai said calmly: "Support."
Gao Qifu was so happy that his face was beaming with joy. "I totally agree! Anyway, the money was brought by Secretary Hu, and you are the top leader of the Party and the government. You made the decision, so let's buy it. We can satisfy our craving for it too."
Chen Xilai directly suggested: "Let's buy an off-road vehicle. We shouldn't compete with the county and buy imported ones. The price of domestically assembled ones is much cheaper. Secretary, if the price difference is not too big, why not buy two?"
Seeing Chen Xilai's envious look, Hu Jiao smiled, "My plan is to buy two cars, take out the remaining 400,000 yuan, and then go to the county party committee and government to get some funds. It shouldn't be a problem."
Bai Shuyong shook his head secretly, what a spendthrift, just four hundred thousand in change, and what a tone, tsk!
Chen Fulai also nodded, "I think it's too difficult to get money. We have to take a piece of meat from the county every year, otherwise we wouldn't have only one old jeep until now. I have an idea. Should we let Secretary Tie of the County Party Committee or County Magistrate Wu come forward and say hello to the tobacco company? Let's buy an original imported one and exchange two cars with them?"
Hu Jiao asked, "The tobacco company won't change, right? This is clearly a loss. Even if the county leaders come forward, isn't the price difference a bit too big?"
Chen Fulai chuckled and said, "This is a story. This year, the provincial tobacco company issued a document to strictly regulate the standard of car allocation for cadres. The car allocated to the manager of a county-level tobacco company shall not exceed 200,000 yuan. The manager here in Tong County used to be a stingy old man who was reluctant to spend money on buying a car. He has always used an old off-road vehicle. It is almost time to change it this year, and there is another strict rule. The manager of a tobacco company is used to riding imported cars, but now he has no hope. Tell me, isn't this embarrassing? Now, we send him a high-end original imported car. How can he not be happy?"
Gao Qifu interrupted, "What if the higher-ups come to inspect?"
Chen Fulai narrowed his eyes and smiled, "It's simple, just change the car and we'll each have our own account. He was investigated, and the car belongs to us, so we'll borrow it."
Hu Jiao's eyes lit up. Chen Fulai's idea was good. It hit the most crucial point and also pleased several parties!
The county party committee and government didn't have to pay any money, and the wealthy big brother of the tobacco company got a brand new imported car. Although he suffered a slight loss in the total price, he gained face.
The others agreed, and Hu Jiao made the final decision, "Okay, let Village Chief Fulai handle the car issue, but how do we solve the driver issue?"
Bai Shuyong smiled and said, "The secretary doesn't understand the situation. Qin Yi's father is a transporter. He got his driver's license while he was in school. He helped his father drive the car during holidays. He has been driving for six or seven years. It just so happens that he is responsible for logistics and reception, so we don't have to bother two people with one thing. Let's decide on Liu Sheng and Qin Yi as the drivers. Don't scrap the old Jeep. It can be repaired and used in emergencies."
Chen Xilai clapped his hands happily, "Why do I feel liberated? No, it's the spirit of Ah Q. I've become rich now!"
Hu Jiao smiled and said, "Okay, it's settled. Tomorrow, Mayor Fulai will take Qin Yi and Liu Sheng to implement it. Speaking of the division of labor, there is actually no big change. Originally, the township government needed at least four deputy township heads, but now there are only three. The issue of providing electricity and roads to every village cannot be solved in a short time, but someone has to take charge. We have to carry forward the spirit of the Long March and take one step at a time. I mean that electricity and transportation should be left to Mayor Shoulai. What do you think?"
It just so happened that everyone's interest was aroused by the matter of buying a car, and the electric transportation was indeed as Hu Jiao said. Except for the roads in the township market and Lixia Village, the situation in Tieshu could be described as bleak. The so-called additional burden was just in name only and was dispensable.
After the meeting, Hu Jiao was somewhat bored. He was thinking, should he make some trouble for himself? Should he apply to the county party committee and government to assign a township head?
Fighting against the sky or the earth is not as good as fighting against people. This is the most attractive part of officialdom.
It’s endless fun.
