Chapter 46: The County Party Secretary Arrived

  After the matter of Lin Dong's orchard was settled, the road repair work in Shanhe Township was fully prepared and the road repair project officially started. There was no ribbon-cutting ceremony or groundbreaking ceremony. The village cadres from each village shouted to get the common people on the road, which was considered as the start of construction.

  Lu Zhengdong's division had already completed its financial revenue ahead of schedule, and he was also the specific leader in charge of road repairs, so he put his main energy into the work of road repairs.

  Thanks to the thorough mobilization and clear tasks, everyone's enthusiasm was extremely high. As the saying goes, "When everybody works together, even Mount Tai can be moved." The road construction progressed relatively quickly. By early December, except for two places - a 2-kilometer stretch near the rural market and another spot at the boundary of Shalin Village that were blocked by cliffs and had not been conquered - the overall outline of the highway was already taking shape.

  As long as these two places are connected, gravel can be paved, and the progress of the project will also be faster.

  Lu Zhengdong is almost always on the road, he is a township leader, supervisor, and construction worker all rolled into one. Problems that other officials can't solve need his coordination, and he also has to oversee road safety and quality; when encountering physically demanding tasks, he lends a hand, and nearly every villager knows this college-educated young township head.

  Two kilometers away from the rural field, the highway is a bustling scene. On one side, stonemasons are opening up mountains and splitting stone heads, while on the other side, laborers with good physical strength are carrying soil and transporting stones. Alongside them, older people and children who are not as physically capable are gathering materials locally, taking stones that have been brought down from the mountain cliffs and smashing them into gravel. It's a magnificent scene of men and women, young and old, working together in unison.

  Lu Zhengdong and a dozen people pushed a large piece of blasted stone to one side, just as they heard the ordinary people on the side shouting:

  "Director Lu, there are leaders coming over there, are they here for inspection?"

  Lu Zhengdong was lowering his head and using his strength, thinking that in more than ten days, the county would hold a party representative conference, and leaders would come to inspect at this time. Moreover, if someone from the county came to inspect, Wu Zhonghe would definitely accompany him to the township government, thinking that these familiar villagers were joking with him, so he said:

  "Don't joke around, I'm trying my best."

  "Seriously, no joke, see for yourself."

  Lu Zhengdong and everyone pushed the stone away, then got up. Lu Zhengdong saw a few people walking over from afar, asking busy people on the road as they walked. Although their faces couldn't be seen clearly, they looked like leaders. Judging by their demeanor, they didn't seem to be local officials.

  As several people walked closer, Lu Zhengdong took a closer look and suddenly recognized who it was. He was shocked and delighted at the same time. He quickly wiped his face with the towel hanging from his waist and whispered to someone beside him to go to the township government to call Wu Zhonghe over. Then he hurriedly walked a few steps forward to greet them, saying:

  "Secretary Wen, how did you come?"

  Not just a leader, but a big leader - the county's number one person, County Party Secretary Wen Peiyuan!

  Wen Peiyuan was slightly startled when he heard someone calling him. Ever since Wang Liben had a problem, Wen Peiyuan had been worried about Shanhe Township and the countryside. He also heard that Shanhe Township was preparing to repair roads, and he knew the complexity and difficulty of this matter. Although Deputy Secretary Liao had reported to him, with the party congress about to open, he still felt somewhat uneasy. On his way back from attending a meeting in a neighboring county, he would pass by Shanhe Township, so he decided to take a detour to take a look.

  To get a true picture of things, he came in from the small road and didn't alert the village leaders. All along the way, no one recognized him, but unexpectedly, he was recognized here.

  Wen Peiyuan saw that the young man in front of him recognized him and knew he must be a cadre who had met him before, so he asked:

  "You are..."

  Lu Zhengdong hadn't even had a chance to respond when some onlookers nearby hastily answered:

  "This is our university student village head, Lu Village Head..."

  Wen Peiyuan's eyes slightly raised at the corners as he smiled faintly and said:

  "Is it Comrade Lu Zhengdong?"

  "Yes, I am Lu Zhengdong, the deputy head of Shanhe Township."

  Wen Peiyuan nodded slightly.

  Although he had never met Lu Zhengdong, he had been paying attention to the mountains and countryside, and had also heard Vice Secretary Liao's report, so he had a deep impression of Lu Zhengdong, and it was easy for him to say his name.

  He took a glance at Lu Zhengdong, who was covered in mud and sweat, wearing a military uniform, sports shoes, and with a towel hanging from his waist. He looked like a typical rural youth, without any hint of being an official.

  All the way, I kept hearing people mention a university student village chief who worked hard to repair roads. Some were skeptical, but now he completely believes it. A proud son of heaven and a leading cadre, without being arrogant, humble, able to get along with ordinary people, not easy.

  It's not that Lu Zhengdong didn't want to be particular, but in this kind of work environment, he simply couldn't be particular. When he encountered the elderly, weak, sick and disabled who needed help, he, as a big man, couldn't just stand by and do nothing. His good clothes and good leather shoes were ruined after working on the construction site for two or three days, so he steeled himself and simply returned to his true nature as a laborer.

  Wen Peiyuan was chatting with Lu Zhengdong while watching the bustling scene of labor, as if he had returned to his youthful years when the whole country was vigorously developing water conservancy projects, building dikes and dams, with colorful flags fluttering in the wind and drums shaking the sky, just like the scene before him now.

  At that time, he was as energetic as Lu Zhengdong, looking at the Lu Zhengdong in front of him, he seemed to see his young self, at that time, he always had endless energy, always wanting to do something, and it was precisely because of being down-to-earth and hardworking, with some ideas in his mind, that he entered the leader's line of sight, step by step, to today's position, time flies, and nearly twenty years have passed, it's really true that time makes people old...

  Wen Peiyuan was sizing up the bustling labor scene not far away, until Lu Zhengdong reminded him to pay attention to his feet before he came back to himself, and asked about the road repair situation while walking.

  Lu Zhengdong is almost always busy with road repairs, and he is very familiar with the situation. When answering Wen Peiyuan's questions, he can respond fluently, and Wen Peiyuan also nods frequently in agreement.

  "Road repair is not an easy task, but with the joint efforts of cadres and masses, what was originally a difficult problem becomes easy. Road repair is a temporary hardship for long-term benefit, benefiting future generations. You must rely on the thoughts of the masses, fully mobilize them to accomplish this task, which is worthy of full affirmation. Hmm, are there any other difficulties in the countryside now?"

  Lu Zhengdong thought for a moment and said:

  "I hope the county can support some experienced technicians in fruit cultivation, or the agricultural bureau can provide some technical consulting services to the countryside. If the county can help solve some funding problems in this regard, that would be even better..."

  Wen Peiyuan originally asked if there were any difficulties in repairing the road. Although the county's finances are tight, they thought it would be symbolic to allocate some funds for this matter, which would also encourage cadres and the masses. Unexpectedly, Lu Zhengdong didn't mention money, but instead brought up the issue of personnel, leaving Wen Peiyuan both surprised and curious...