Chapter Sixteen: Transforming Rot into Wonder

  The next day, the township held a meeting of all township party branch (general branch) responsible persons to convey and implement the county party committee's file on the election of party representatives. The branch secretaries who came to attend the meeting did not know what had happened at yesterday's enlarged party committee meeting, and they stood in twos and threes in the courtyard of the township government, saying that the subsidy bonuses that had been delayed for a year or two might be available today, and maybe they could get them today.

  The road is also being repaired, and there will be a lot of work to do in the village from now on. The handicraft factory has also come back to life and is planning to expand, so business must be booming, and bonuses and subsidies will definitely not be delayed again. Everyone is even thinking about whether to find an opportunity to get close to Luo Jinming, and when recruiting new employees, they can arrange for their own children to join in. They are all chatting happily.

  The joy of the accountants didn't last long, and soon there were rumors that Secretary Wang had spoken out, and the expansion of the factory, road repairs, bonuses, and subsidies had all been cancelled.

  The accountants were stunned: this million, that was income outside the plan of the countryside, how did it go wrong? The accountants were all a little disbelieving, and they quickly inquired about it and verified it. The news was soon confirmed.

  The accountants' faces turned green in an instant, the road repair and factory expansion were abandoned, but the bonuses and subsidies were things that the cadres had been looking forward to for a long time. Now the township has some money, if it's not taken into hand, who knows where it will be used again? Once this village is passed, there won't be another chance. Next time there's money, who knows when it will be, it's no different from abandoning it.

  The branch secretaries, who were originally full of hope, suddenly felt like they had been drenched in a basin of icy cold water on a cold winter's day. They all felt extremely disappointed and dissatisfied, but intimidated by Wang Liben's tyranny, even if they had complaints, they did not dare to openly oppose him.

  After the meeting began, Lu Zhengdong looked at the branch secretaries in the conference room who were as disappointed as eggplants that had been frostbitten, and he was also thinking that the disappointment and dissatisfaction of the branch secretaries represented the attitude of the vast majority of cadres in the whole county.

  Cadres are like this, and if ordinary people find out about this news, it's even more unthinkable. They have been longing for road repairs just like they long for the stars and the moon. It's not easy to finally have something to look forward to, but just as the spark of hope has ignited, it is extinguished again, which will only lead to greater disappointment and discontent.

  Lu Zhengdong believed that Wang Liben must have known that doing so would make the cadres and masses in the countryside dissatisfied, but Wang Liben still did it. Lu Zhengdong thought there was only one reason: Wang Liben felt that his official hat was held by the leaders, and the leaders' words were worth more than those of ordinary people. As long as he had a good relationship with the leaders above him, and they supported him, his position would be secure, and no matter how dissatisfied the people below him were, there was nothing they could do about it.

  Lu Zhengdong couldn't help but smile to himself, Wang Liben's idea would have been fine under normal circumstances, and he wouldn't have had any good way to deal with ordinary people. However, unfortunately for Wang Liben, he encountered Lu Zhengdong, making his idea too naive.

  The king forgot that his ancestors had a saying: "A small boat can carry you, but it can also capsize you." The opposing forces of a scattered sand are very weak and cannot defeat him. However, if these tiny forces are gathered together, turning a plate of loose sand into a united city,

  The effect it produces is unbearable for Wang Liben, and even his backers have to be cautious.

  Wang Liben's backer also had to consider his own political future, and between his own political future and Wang Liben, it goes without saying that Wang Liben's backer would unhesitatingly choose the former. In the end, Wang Liben was just a discarded pawn!

  The key is what method can be used to gather the forces that are dissatisfied with Wang Lixing, as long as this point can be achieved, it will be a magical transformation!

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  In the middle of the meeting, Lu Zhengdong suddenly felt a call of nature and got up to go to the toilet. As soon as he went in, Luo Jinming followed him in. Seeing that there was no one around, he spoke in a mysterious and low voice:

  "Director Lu, tonight if you have time, I'll be waiting for you at the factory, we need to discuss something..."

  Lu Zhengdong couldn't help but smile when he saw Luo Jinming's cautious appearance. Because of the sales route and opening of the craft factory, he had a lot of contact with Luo Jinming, and the two people got along very well, they were on the same path.

  He, the deputy head of the village, brought back over a million, but was treated like that by Wang Liben. As his partner, Luo Jinming must also be anxious and worried about how Wang Liben would treat him, so he wanted to discuss countermeasures with him together.

  Lu Zhengdong was also thinking of exchanging some ideas with Luo Jinming, so he nodded in agreement.

  After dark, Lu Zhengdong sneaked into the craft factory.

  Luojin had been waiting for him at the door early in the morning. As soon as he saw his face, he said:

  "I sent the people from the factory away, just the two of us today. I made a spicy dry-braised rabbit dish, let's have a good drink..."

  Lu Zhengdong smiled and nodded.

  Two people entered Luo Jinming's dormitory in the factory, and the spicy flavor hit their noses. A pot of rabbit meat was already placed on the table, it seemed that Luo Jinming's cooking skills were not bad after all. There were also some rural cured pig ears, heart tongue and so on on the table.

  Two people sat at the table, Luo Jinming poured wine and said:

  "Hey Village Chief Lu, there's nothing good to eat, just make do with what we have."

  Lu Zhengdong glanced at Luo Jinming and said:

  "Hey, old Luo, didn't I tell you not to call me Director Lu privately? It's really awkward when you do. If you don't want to call me Little Lu, you can call me Zhengdong instead. See, I'm following your suggestion and calling you Old Luo."

  Luojinming smiled and said: "Although Lu Zhengdong's words are polite, they still make me feel comfortable. But he didn't dare to be too proud, so he just smiled and said:"

  "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. If I get used to calling out in front of people, others will think that Luo Jinming doesn't know the rules..."

  Lu Xiangzhang still called Luo Jinming "Lu Xiangzhang", and Lu Zhengdong, seeing that Luo Jinming insisted on this, also let him call him that.

  The liquor was authentic highland barley wine, with a very high alcohol content. It felt like fire going down the throat, and it packed quite a punch. After several cups of liquor, Luo Jinming's words became more numerous, and his speech wasn't as meticulous as before:

  "Lu Xiangzhang, you have made such a great contribution to the village this time, and you have truly considered the work of the village with all your heart. But in the end, it turned out like this... This is really too disheartening..."

  Lu Zhengdong raised his cup and said:

  "Lao Luo, I don't care, anyway, I'm already used to it. But this time you'll probably be affected by me too, your position as factory director is probably also in jeopardy. You'd better worry about yourself and think of a solution..."

  Luojinming shook his head and said:

  "Director Lu, your words are too distant. What's this about implicating me? The craft factory was already on the verge of collapse. As the director, I was just a figurehead before, but now the factory is alive and well, and we've even paid off the wages owed to the workers. Whatever Wang Li does, over the past two years, I've fulfilled my contractual obligations, so they should pay me what's due. Even if I'm no longer director, that's still a gain."

  If it were not for the usual, Luo Jinming would not say such things even if he hated Wang Liben in his heart, but thinking that the factory was on fire and Wang Liben wanted to take him down again, he felt uncomfortable no matter how he thought about it. With the position of the factory director almost gone, there was nothing to be cautious about in words, and with the wine taking effect, his head was also dizzy, and his dissatisfaction with Wang Liben became even more uncontrollable:

  "Lu Xiangzhang, you also know the situation in our village. That Wang Lidao is a good-for-nothing, he's always flattering the leaders and making them dizzy with his sweet talk. With the leaders backing him up, he's become arrogant and only cares about his own relatives, doing whatever he wants and bullying others. It's like he's covering the whole sky with one hand. Yang Lude and Wang Lidao are related by blood, no matter how capable I am, I'm no match for their family ties. What good strategy can I possibly come up with?"

  Lu Zhengdong looked at Luo Jinming's eyes turning red, his tongue slightly rolling, and his words becoming more and more absurd, smiled and said:

  "Lao Luo, you're drunk..."

  Luojin waved his hand:

  "Director Lu, I'm a bit tipsy, but I absolutely didn't drink too much, my mind is clear. You're afraid that Wang Liben will find out that I scolded him and he'll take revenge on me, right? Ha ha, if I couldn't even be the factory director, then what am I? I'm a barefoot person who's not afraid of those wearing shoes, what do I have to fear?"

  Town Head Lu, I invited you to drink today and also wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with you. You've greatly offended Wang Liben, and as you know what kind of person he is, he will definitely intensify his efforts to deal with you. Tell Old Luo the truth, are you like Town Head Wu, who has already found a way to be transferred away?

  Luojinming said, without waiting for Lude Dong's response, muttered to himself:

  "Although I sincerely hope that Director Lu would stay, and I can follow him to do some good things, but considering the current situation in Shanhe Village, it's still better for Director Lu to be transferred out. You are young, capable, and educated, I know your abilities, if you are transferred out of Shanhe Village, it will be like a bird flying high in the sky."

  Luojinming said as he raised his cup:

  "Director Lu, I'm not capable of being a factory director, nor do I want to stay at home and cultivate the land. Even if I work hard and meticulously, I won't be able to dig up mountains of gold and silver. I, Lao Luo, don't have any special skills, but I can endure hardship and labor. If Director Lu has an opportunity in the future, please pull me along."

  Lu Zhengdong suddenly understood the reason why Luo Jinming invited him to dinner, although Luo Jinming was very unwilling in his heart, he still faced reality and was looking for a way out.

  Lu Zhengdong hesitated for a moment before saying:

  "Lao Luo, I'll be honest with you too. I do have some connections to help me get transferred, but I never thought of leaving in such a sorry state. Lao Luo, it's up to us to make things happen. If we don't take any chances, nothing will change... maybe if we try, the outcome will be vastly different..."