Volume 4 Chapter 146 Not Giving Face

  Li Qing'an's secretary was a fat man in his 40s. When Liu Fei saw him, he couldn't help but want to laugh, because Li Qing'an looked very similar to Liu Fei in many ways. For example, they were both short and stout, about 1 meter 60 centimeters tall, with big bellies protruding forward. However, their faces looked kind and gentle, like the Buddha Maitreya, making them seem easy-going.

  Li Qing'an came in and immediately walked quickly to Liu Fei's front with a smile, stretched out his hand and said loudly: "Liu County Magistrate, I'm sorry, I came back late and missed the time to welcome you."

  Liu Fei's impression of Li Qing'an was not bad, this guy looked like a slippery character, but he didn't know whose person he was. However, seeing the other party smiling and welcoming him, Liu Fei couldn't help but give face and also smiled as he stretched out his hand to lightly shake hands with him, saying: "Secretary Li, you're a busy man, how's the training in the province?"

  Li Qingan smiled and said, "Ah, training is just a formality, there's no substantial content. As soon as I got back, I heard that Director Liu was planning to go down and take a look around, so I took the initiative to come and offer my services as a guide for Director Liu. I hope Director Liu won't mind."

  Liu Fei nodded secretly, this Li was indeed a smooth talker, very polite. Liu Fei's impression of him improved again, and he smiled: "Secretary Li, you're just in time, like timely rain. With you as my guide, my work efficiency will definitely improve a lot. Let's wait for Director Yin to arrange the car and then head out together."

  Li Qing'an furrowed his brow as soon as Liu Fei said that, and looked at Yin Xiaofang with a stern face, saying: "Director Yin, haven't you arranged for County Magistrate Liu's car yet? What kind of office director are you?"

  Li Qing'an is Yin Xiaofang's direct superior, so it was only natural for him to scold her. Yin Xiaofang immediately looked unhappy and said: "I'll go arrange it right away."

  She hurried away after finishing speaking.

  Liu Fei and Secretary-General Li Qingan didn't get on the car until 9:30 in the morning, heading to their first destination of the day, Hongqiao Town. Hongqiao Town got its name from Hongqiao Bridge. The bridge has a history of over a thousand years, although it was built over a thousand years ago, it still stands tall today. It can be considered as one of the famous historical sites in Hongqiao Town.

  Hongqiao Town is located in the mountains, about sixty miles away from the county seat. However, along the way, you have to pass through a winding mountain road. The mountain road has been unrepaired for years and is full of potholes, making the ride very bumpy. Liu Fei looked out of the car window and saw that on both sides of the mountain road, not far away, there were bare mountains with sparse vegetation, and cliffs everywhere, which made people's hearts tremble with fear.

  The 60-kilometer journey should have taken only an hour, but the three of us didn't arrive at the entrance to Hongqiao Town until 11:10.

  When they arrived at the entrance, Liu Fei looked around and saw that except for two or three old men chatting under a tree, there were hardly any cats or dogs. He couldn't help but furrow his brow.

  Secretary-General Li Qing'an was even more furious, saying with some dissatisfaction: "The leaders of Hongqiao Town are too rude, I notified them more than an hour in advance and they didn't even know to come and greet us."

  Liu Fei estimated that the leader of Hongqiao Town must be Gong Chunshan's man, so he smiled calmly and said: "Secretary Li doesn't need to get angry, they don't come to greet us, we'll go find them. Little Wang, drive directly to the town government."

  Xiao Wang is a local, so he's quite familiar with the area. He drove directly to the front of the town government building. The gate of the town government was closed, without any intention of opening it to welcome guests.

  Li Qing'an was about to get off and blow up, but Liu Fei waved his hand and said: "Wait a minute, no need to rush. Little Wang, press the horn and shout at the door."

  The driver, Xiao Wang, was a young man in his early twenties. He had never seen a county head as young as Liu Fei before, nor had he ever seen one who was so unassuming. As a result, he admired Liu Fei greatly and carried out his instructions without hesitation, pressing the horn to make it sound extremely loud. At this time, a male security guard in his thirties came out of the gatehouse, wearing a blue uniform, and shouted loudly at Xiao Wang inside the car: "What are you honking for? Has someone died in your family or something?"

  Xiao Wang got angry and opened the car door, wanting to get out and argue with the gatekeeper. Liu Fei smiled and said: "Xiao Wang, don't be in a hurry, go tell him that the county head of Xishan County has arrived, let him open the door. Remember, don't conflict with him, come back and I'll help you vent."

  Xiao Wang nodded and suppressed the anger in his heart, opening the car door and shouting at the security guard: "Hurry up and open the door, Liu County Magistrate of Xishan County has come to inspect the work."

  The guard wasn't stupid either, he walked closer and took a careful look at the license plate, and was startled. It was obvious that this was the county committee's number two car plate, which only the county magistrate could ride in. Suddenly his movements quickened, with a flattering expression on his face, he opened the big gate and indicated that the car could enter. Driver Xiao Wang was just about to drive inside when Liu Fei suddenly smiled and said to Xiao Wang: "Xiao Wang, turn the car around, we're not going to the town committee anymore. It seems like this Hongqiao Town has built a Hope Primary School, do you know how to get there?"

  Xiao Wang nodded and said: "I know that when Hongqiao Hope Primary School was completed last time, County Mayor Gong also went there."

  "Alright, let's go there directly."

  Xiao Wang didn't understand why Liu Fei wanted to go to Hope Primary School, but he was relatively quick-witted and knew that as long as he followed the leader's instructions, everything would be fine.

  Liu Fei's face was filled with a cold smile: "The town committee secretary and mayor of Hongqiao Town are really something, I, the county magistrate, have arrived, but they didn't even come to greet me. It's clear that they must have received instructions from Gong Chunshan, wanting to give me a warning shot. Well, let's see how I'll play a trick on you."

  Actually, just now when Liu Fei was stopped by the gatekeeper outside the town government's main entrance, the anger in his heart almost burst out. At that time, his brain was filled with rage, and he thought he would lose face this time - a county head being stopped at the town government's main entrance, accompanied by the secretary-general. This face was indeed lost. However, he remembered Jiang Zhengyuan repeatedly telling him two words - calm down. He kept reciting these two words in his heart, and finally suppressed his anger. Moreover, as his mood calmed down, a clever plan immediately emerged in Liu Fei's mind.

  At this moment, inside the Hongqiao Town Government, Secretary Zhang Jianxin and Wang Sheng were reporting to Deputy County Mayor Gong Chunshan with a smug expression. Zhang Jianxin held the phone in one hand, his face full of flattering smiles: "County Mayor Gong, Liu Fei's car just arrived at the town government gate, but neither I nor Old Wang went out to greet him. This time, Liu Fei's face is thoroughly lost, and it won't be long before this matter spreads throughout Xishan County, heh heh, I suppose Liu Fei felt too embarrassed to stay, so he turned around and left with a sullen face."

  Gong Chunshan responded with a soft "oh" and said: "En, I know, you've done well." After finishing speaking, he hung up the phone.

  Wang Sheng also heard clearly from the side and burst out laughing: "Secretary Zhang, it seems that County Magistrate Gong is very affirmative towards us two!"

  Zhang Jianxin nodded in satisfaction; "That's right, we must unite closely around County Mayor Zhou and contribute to the development of Hongqiao Town."

  The car sped along the road, soon turning from the main road to a side road, and after more than half an hour of bumpy ride, it finally entered a small mountain village. The small mountain village was nestled in a small valley, with rugged and uneven roads, making it very difficult for the car to move forward. Fortunately, Little Wang had been here once before and had previously served as an automotive technician, so this road trip went relatively smoothly until they arrived at the gate of Hongqiao Hope Primary School. It was already past 11 o'clock in the morning, and the students hadn't finished school yet, but looking down from the mountain waist, smoke was rising from the village below.

  Hongqiao Hope Primary School sits on the middle of a mountain, its sky-blue walls very eye-catching. Liu Fei couldn't help but nod his head and think to himself: "Not bad, not bad, this Hope Primary School is well-built, it seems that the official in charge is quite responsible!"

  The school gate was wide open, and Xiaowang stepped on the gas pedal, and the car passed through the gate into the school.

  At this time, Ma Jialiang, the principal of Hongqiao Hope Primary School, happened to come out of the toilet and was about to return to his office when he saw a car driving into the schoolyard. He walked forward, and the car slowed down and stopped.

  "Who are you looking for?" asked Principal Ma Jialiang.

  Secretary-General Li Qing'an immediately got out of the car and smiled: "I am Secretary-General Li Qing'an of Xishan County Government, and in the car is our new County Mayor Liu of Xishan County. Which office is your principal in?"

  Ma Jialiang's face changed instantly, and he hastily stretched out his hand to say: "Hello Secretary Li, I'm the principal of this school." At this time, Liu Fei also got off the car, and Ma Jialiang immediately came over, shaking hands with Liu Fei excitedly. However, in Ma Jialiang's heart, there was a huge question mark: when did the leaders from the county come before, weren't they accompanied by more than a dozen entourage? Why did this newly appointed county magistrate only bring one secretary? And why didn't the town committee and government leaders accompany him? But doubts aside, Principal Ma Jialiang was not lacking in political wisdom. He knew what to ask and what not to ask.

  Liu Fei lightly shook hands with Ma Jialiang and said: "Principal Ma, we just came to take a look around and also to finalize the construction of the county's Hope Primary School."

  Ma Jiali's face suddenly changed, and his tone of voice also became strange. A pair of sly eyes began to look uneasily at the teaching building not far in front.

  Liu Fei is a character who discovered Ma Jialiang's abnormality with just one question, but still said calmly: "Principal Ma, take us for a walk around the school."

  Ma Jialiang's eyes rolled around, and he immediately thought of a plan. He smiled and said: "Okay, okay, County Magistrate Liu, I'll take you to our playground to take a look. There's a basketball court donated by the Hope Project, and the students love it." With that, he led the way towards the school gate.

  Liu Fei sneered inwardly and said coldly, "Forget the playground, we've already seen it from outside when we came in. Principal Ma, take us to the teaching building instead!"