Chapter 55: Meeting Liu Jie Again
"What about my uncle?"
Hu Jianguo looked at Hu Jiao with a strange expression, "Oh, your uncle is in the army, um... his surname is Tang, and your aunt's father-in-law is the old general who passed away not long ago."
Hu Jiao was shocked again, staring at his father in amazement. This family...
Hu Jianguo couldn't help but lectured him earnestly, "Jiaojiao, your uncle's family background is quite sensitive in China. I didn't agree to tell you in advance, but maybe your uncle took your grandfather's health into consideration, so he couldn't help but want to tell you in advance. Child, you have to think about your mother, do you understand me?"
Hu Jiao nodded. His father meant that he was afraid that his mother would not be able to accept it.
"But Dad, aren't you afraid of leaving any regrets?"
Hu Jianguo wiped his forehead in distress. "This is exactly the contradiction. In fact, I have always suspected that your mother might know something. After all, she was only six years old at the time and traveled thousands of miles. If she couldn't remember your grandparents, then she would never forget your uncle."
Hu Jiao nodded, "I think so too. Take me for example, I still remember the time you slapped me when I was three years old."
Hu Jianguo was furious, and Hu Jiao said hurriedly, "Dad, I don't hate you, I'm just using this as evidence. Think about it, mom is six years old, and so many people beat her and her uncle at that time, she must remember it. Right?"
Hu Jianguo sighed , "Yes, but she never mentioned it to me or your uncle. We don't know her true thoughts, and your grandfather insisted, so... well, her current health condition is not optimistic."
Hu Jiao gritted his teeth and said, "No, I guess mom definitely remembers! And she definitely remembers grandpa and grandma."
Hu Jianguo was somewhat moved after hearing this, "What do you mean?"
"Dad, have you ever seen a book that Mom kept? How the Steel Was Tempered? It was published in 1955 and there was a photo on the page. When I was in junior high school, Mom asked me to read this book and I found an old photo at that time, but Mom had put it away at the time and I have never seen it since then."
"Do you remember the people in the photo?"
Hu Jiao shook his head. When he opened the book, the photo fell out and Li Aiju put it away. He didn't have time to take a closer look.
"Could it be the wedding photo of me and your mother?"
Hu Jiao said, "No, we are a family of four. I still have some impression of them, but I don't remember which ones. Dad, think about it, my grandfather's family in my hometown has no children, only mom and a daughter , right?"
Hu Jianguo said, "Well, it seems that I have to find this photo. Um... Jiaojiao, Dad wants to discuss with you. I will take your mother out to play for a whole day. You, uh... you go and take a look?"
Hu Jiao rolled his eyes. "Mom's box looks like a treasure. How can I have the key?"
Hu Jianguo said, "Key, I'll find a way, okay? You go and take a look."
Things went smoothly. The next day, Hu Jianguo got the key and took Li Aiju back to his hometown, saying it was the Mid-Autumn Festival to worship their ancestors. Hu Jiao was unable to leave due to work reasons.
Then Hu Jiao took the key that Hu Jianguo "got" and sneaked into his mother's study with the provincial party secretary Hu Zhongzhi, and found the jewelry box that Li Aiju had kept since her wedding. It was one of her dowry items.
The box was dark red and had a small black iron lock on it. Hu Jiao opened the box and found it was full of diaries, letters, guestbooks, photo albums, and a book.
It is "How the Steel Was Tempered".
Hu Zhongzhi looked through the old photo albums, letters he didn't need to read, and diaries... he picked them up and put them down again.
Hu Jiao opened the book and a yellowed photo fell out.
Hu Zhongzhi's hands were shaking as he held the photo, tears welling up in his eyes. The man and woman in the photo were his parents, the boy in the photo was himself, and there was also the little girl sitting in her mother's arms.
Hu Zhongzhi was born before the liberation. Due to the war years, his parents were separated for a long time. It was not until after the liberation that Hu Zhongzhi had his second sister, Li Aiju, when he was eight years old.
Hu Zhongzhi was trembling, breathing rapidly, and his voice was choked with sobs, "Hu Jiao, get your dad back!"
Seeing this photo, everything becomes clear.
Li Aiju has always remembered her biological parents and her brother.
But for all these years, she never mentioned it.
Judging from Li Aiju's personality, she is not the kind of heartless and ungrateful person.
There is only one explanation, that is, not to make things difficult for my biological family and my biological father. I have been cooperating secretly to relieve the guilt of my biological parents and brother.
After Hu Jiao got through on the phone, he only said, "Mom, my uncle wants you to come back quickly."
Hu Jianguo hung up the phone immediately.
In less than half an hour, Hu Jianguo appeared at the door of the house, supporting the pale Li Aiju. At this time, Hu Zhongzhi had calmed down.
Seeing my sister's expression, I couldn't help but feel distressed, "Aiju! Are you okay?"
Li Aiju looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I thought...you would never recognize me again in your life..."
Hu Zhongzhi covered his face, "I, it's all my fault..."
Li Aiju came over, her steps a little unsteady, and pulled his hand away, "Brother... have I ever blamed you? No! I never blame you! When I was young, I didn't understand, but later I understood. I know dad's character. I don't want him to have any regrets. I know what he wants. So, I always do what he wants."
The brother and sister looked at each other with tears in their eyes.
Hu Jianguo and his son left quietly, leaving the living room. Today, Li Juan also took her son back to her parents' home.
It took two or three hours before Li Aiju asked Hu Jianguo and his son to come downstairs.
Hu Zhongzhi's face was flushed at this time, and he waved his big hand, "Tomorrow, Hu Jiao, bring Juanjuan with you, and we will go home together!"
Hu Jianguo and Hu Jiao were of course happy, happy for Li Aiju.
Hu Jianguo was a little worried, "Have you told the old man about this?"
Hu Zhongzhi nodded. "I told you that if I hadn't stopped him, he would have sent a special plane to pick up Aiju. Hey, my sister is still attractive. I have never been treated like this."
Li Aiju smiled, smiling heartily, "You already have the privilege of a private jet, Director Hu."
Hu Zhongzhi was very happy to be teased by his own sister whom he had never dared to recognize.
The second trip to Yanjing went smoothly, so I won’t go into details here.
Just three days later, Li Aiju, Li Juan and their children were forcibly kept in Beijing by the old man, while the three Hu brothers were driven back to Nanzhao.
Hu Jiao entered the Provincial Party School to attend a three-month cadre training course.
After Hu Zhongzhi came back, he changed his secretary and changed his previous low-key style. He first held several meetings to study the province's streamlining of government agencies, adjustment of economic construction strategies, and enterprise reform. Then he began to inspect the province and, unlike before, began to meet with lower-level cadres in a planned manner.
Hu Jiao heard from Zeng Mingcai that the first requirement of the new secretary, Hu Zhongzhi, was not to do anything wrong outside under his name and not to accept gifts. If discovered, he would be dealt with seriously.
Hu Jianguo's work also became busy. As the work of the entire province was adjusted, the organization and personnel department also followed suit to carry out cadre replacements and appointments.
The Provincial Party School can be said to be the busiest place. Hu Jiao entered the first-tier training class. The lowest level here is deputy director and the highest is deputy director.
The second batch of cadres training will be held ten days later, most of whom will be at the director and deputy department level.
After discussing with his father, Hu Jiao decided to live on campus, firstly to develop better relationships with his classmates, and secondly to save the trouble of going home for meals.
Anyway, Hu Jianguo would be busy until the end of the year, so the family had to hire a nanny to look after the house and do the cleaning.
After reporting, Hu Jiao officially moved into the Party School and was assigned a double room. It was very simple, with a bathroom, two small desks, two small cabinets, and two beds.
Someone has already moved in, but when Hu Jiao went in, the person was not there. It seems they can only meet in the afternoon.
While waiting for the registration meeting for the class in the afternoon, Hu Jiao unexpectedly ran into several acquaintances, the first of which was Wu Hao's ex-wife, Liu Jie.
According to He Miao, with Liu Jie's insistence on separation, the two finally went through the divorce procedures.
Liu Jie did not expect that Hu Jiaoda, the secretary who has become very popular in the provincial party committee recently, would also appear in the training class. According to convention, the full-time secretaries of the provincial party committee secretary and the governor must serve for at least two years, and their rank is basically that of a director. When they are demoted, they are usually promoted one level to serve as deputy mayors or deputy secretaries in prefecture-level cities.
I didn't expect Hu Jiao to come to the Party School to study after only two months in office. Is he going to be promoted and reused?
Isn’t this too... bullying?
A 28-year-old deputy director?
impossible!
Liu Jie overturned this idea. Even if he was the son of the provincial party committee's organization director, it was impossible for him to be so aggressive.
Another acquaintance is Li Ya. This guy was later transferred to the Provincial Youth League Committee. After two years, he has become the deputy director of the Youth Patriotism Education Department of the Provincial Youth League Committee at the deputy department level.
Li Ya made faces at Hu Jiao with a sly look in his eyes.
Another one is from Tong County, which is Li Changsheng’s secretary You Lin, and Lan Jing from Tong County.
The registration class meeting is mainly to introduce the main content of this training, as well as the purpose and significance of learning, and finally to get to know each other.
There is no need for everyone to stand up and introduce themselves. The teacher from the Party School, who is also the temporary head teacher of the training class, will introduce them one by one.
Before the introduction, the teacher named Zhao Zhong announced that this training will be conducted in a paramilitary mode.
In other words, after the training class was over, they packed up their belongings and went to a training camp in the provincial military sub-district.
Uniform clothing, unified actions, unified training.
The purpose is to open up the working situation for party members and leading cadres in Nanzhao Province in adapting to the new situation, integrating into the new era, and developing the new economy, thereby improving the quality of party members and enhancing the team capabilities of the party organization.
Ignoring the gasps of everyone in the class, Zhao Zhong began to introduce the members' original job positions.
When talking about Hu Jiao, "Comrade Hu Jiao, deputy director of the Secretariat of the Provincial Party Committee General Office, deputy director of the Office of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, and full-time secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Secretary Hu Zhongzhi."
Then Hu Jiao stood up and nodded to everyone without saying anything.
Those who knew Hu Jiao and had seen him before just smiled, while those who didn't know him mostly had dilated eyes and looked surprised.
The top secretary is here too. It seems that the provincial party committee is not playing tricks this time. The provincial party school, which used to be easy to get into, now has a solemn atmosphere. Being able to enter this class is more valuable, and you can also make friends with Secretary Hu.
We have to cheer up and take it seriously.
A few students who have gained weight feel embarrassed when being stared at, so they act like they are in a quasi-military manner, hehe.
There were also people who had the same guess as Liu Jie, but they overturned it.
Because the training course is not long, only three months, there is no need to set up a class party committee or the like. Everything will be managed by the training teacher.
Distribute teaching materials and training time schedule.
After the meeting, Li Ya came running over and said, "Brother Hu, which room do you live in? I'll move in with you."
Hu Jiao chuckled, "Pay attention to the impact. Don't you see so many classmates watching? Don't treat me as an exception. I'm here to conscript men. Don't ruin my good deeds."
Li Ya glanced at Liu Jie who had already left, blinked, pulled Hu Jiao's head down, leaned close to Hu Jiao's ear and whispered, "Your old lover, do you want my help?"
Hu Jiao used his elbow to push him away, then grinned, "Duck! If you don't behave yourself, I'll stab you in the ass and send you back to the Inspectorate to retire."
Li Ya raised his hand to signal surrender. "Okay, okay, I won't play with you anymore. But you must first tell your brother about the enemy situation. Where will your future target be? You won't really be promoted to deputy director, will you?"
Hu Jiao shook his head. "It's a mess. Where's Sanmei? Do you want to go?"
Li Ya's eyes lit up and he nodded continuously, "Yes, yes, yes!"
Hu Jiao rolled his eyes. Li Ya was not bad. Anyway, Sanmei's team was going to be reorganized. I heard that a few people had been transferred there to temporarily support the team. It was estimated that Nanhu had just finished its struggle, so the secretary position was reserved for him. The position of county magistrate was also vacant. There were still two seats left for him in the standing committee.
The county’s Political and Legal Affairs Commission secretary and the deputy secretary in charge of the economy.
The county magistrate must be appointed by the Nanhu Municipal Party Committee. The executive deputy county magistrate has already taken office and is now temporarily in charge of the work of the county government. The deputy secretary in charge of party and mass affairs has also gone down.
Under the attention of Hu Zhongzhi, the case in Sanmei County was handled somewhat tragically, involving a former deputy secretary of Nanhu and current deputy director of the People's Congress, eleven members of the county party committee standing committee, nine of whom were placed under double supervision, and more than a dozen section-level cadres were removed. It was a complete destruction of a whole nest of people.
Of the two members of the county party committee who were not in trouble, the county magistrate Wu Hao has been transferred, and the remaining deputy secretary was originally a marginal figure in charge of culture, education, science, technology and health, and is now the executive deputy county magistrate.
Hu Jiao was considering that if Li Ya followed him, both the positions of Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission and Minister of Organization would be in jeopardy.
It’s difficult to promote Li Ya because he has no experience in grassroots work.
While talking and chatting with Li Ya, I walked out of the classroom. Many people were there, some standing in groups of three or five, some leaning, and some alone in a daze. When they saw Hu Jiao coming out, sweet smiles bloomed on everyone's faces.
"Secretary Hu", "County Magistrate Hu", "Director Hu"...
Looking at the eager smiling faces and the pairs of eyes full of smiles and humility, Hu Jiao nodded, "Students, the teacher just announced that he will move to another position. We have plenty of time to get along with each other, enough for you to communicate."
After all, they are all cadres, so just perform appropriately.
Lan Jing and You Lin were standing on the periphery. They were the ones who had just called County Magistrate Hu.
Hu Jiao waved to the two of them and was escorted away like a star.
Li Ya was pushed around by the crowd. He was short to begin with, and he was soon pushed to the periphery as he followed the flow of people.
Li Ya's face was full of depression, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly. Hu Jiao didn't give him a clear answer just now, so he couldn't help but say, "What a true picture of the officialdom."
Lan Jing and You Lin happened to be walking behind him. When they heard this, they burst into laughter. Li Ya turned around and saw that it was the Tong County cadre he had introduced earlier. He immediately smiled and greeted them, "Lan Jing? You Lin?"
The two nodded, and Lan Jing pointed at You Lin, "He is You Lin, and I am Lan Jing."
Li Ya shook hands with the two men and said, "Li Ya. Haha, I just joined the revolutionary team. Please take care of me."
You Lin also laughed and shook Li Ya's hand vigorously, "The Provincial Youth League Committee is the cradle of reserve leaders. Director Li came from there, and maybe he will be our leader in the future."
Li Ya waved his hand and pointed at Hu Jiao, who stood out from the crowd in front of him. "Well, well, you see, height determines position. Those are the future big leaders. I envy you. You once squatted in the trenches with Brother Hu."
Lan Jing and the other man smiled and said, "County Magistrate Hu didn't stay in Tong County for long. We didn't have much chance to learn from him."
Li Yacai would not easily believe their humble words, "Oh, you have no chance. There won't be two spots at once, and it won't fall on you. I'm a very straightforward person, don't try to fool me."
The sentence "摇点" at the end is a line from a popular movie nowadays. The three of them chatted and laughed all the way to the dormitory. You Lin was not silent as before. He interrupted from time to time and had a good eloquence. Together with Li Ya, the three of them gradually became close.
Hu Jiao patiently shook hands with everyone who came up one by one. He could accurately call out the surname and position of each person. The instructor only introduced them once at the class meeting, and there were only a few who he could remember completely.
Of course, this is all thanks to the two months of secretarial shorthand training, especially for names and positions. Hu Jiao can basically call them out after just hearing them once and taking a quick glance.
But it won't last long unless you can have a deep conversation.
Despite this, others still feel refreshed and at the same time admire him even more, thinking that it would take some skill to succeed. Look at his memory, he is worthy of being the secretary of the provincial party secretary.
After everyone left, Hu Jiao turned around and went back into the house.
His roommate had returned earlier. Seeing Hu Jiao, he nodded calmly and asked, "Are you done with your work?"
The man spoke authentic Mandarin, was not tall, looked quite elegant, was fair and clean, had a side parting, and had an ordinary look, not handsome, but not ugly either.
