Chapter 5: Light Armor Marching

  Back in his hometown, Lu Zhengdong handed over Dong Yangsheng and Zhang Cuiying's affairs after which he quickly made a phone call to his family.

  Twenty-two years had passed and Lu Zhengdong was also eager to see his mother, but with the county currently re-investigating the Yang Yaqing case, he didn't dare to make any rash moves, so he could only endure it.

  A gentle voice came from the receiver:

  "Little Dong? Is anything wrong? Why aren't you speaking?"

  Listening to the familiar yet strange voice on the phone, Lu Zhengdong's heart was stirred with excitement. The words he had originally prepared to say were all thrown out of his mind, and it wasn't until a while later that Lu Zhengdong finally replied:

  "Mom?...... Nothing's wrong, I just happened to have some free time, so I thought I'd give you a call...... How's your body?"

  "I'm fine, Xiaodong, the rural area has poor conditions and this year's weather is particularly hot, you should also take care of your body."

  Lu Zhengdong listened to his mother's familiar voice, his throat was a bit sour, his eyes were a bit blurry, but he still tried his best to control his emotions, not letting himself cry, not letting himself get too excited.

  "Mom, don't worry, I'm doing well in the countryside. I received the things you sent with Lin Donghe a couple of days ago. I'll also come back to see you over the weekend."

  "You focus on your work and don't have to come back if you're busy."

  Lu Zhengdong felt warm in his heart, nodded slightly, saw someone coming outside, chatted for another two sentences before hanging up the phone, calmed down a bit before walking out.

  ——————————

  After Dong Yangsheng and Zhang Cui Ping surrendered, the county issued a series of instructions to set things right, and the dirty water splashed on him by others in the countryside was investigated by the investigation team and found to be fabricated.

  He was originally quite good to the common people in the countryside, and the common people knew that Yang Yuqing had committed suicide because he discovered that Dong and Zhang were having an affair, so their impression of him improved again.

  The county soon resumed his work, and his division of labor was still not adjusted, and he was still in charge of the financial and trade work of the township.

  Ordinary staff members of the township government all smiled and greeted him; The leaders of the township, who originally thought he was just a vigorous young man, but this time in such a desperate situation, unexpectedly made a comeback like a dead fish, and put away their underestimation, being much more polite to him than before.

  Ma Bu Yun hurriedly ran to his office, full of enthusiasm and praise for his remarkable achievements at a young age, with piercing eyes, and also cordially invited him to dinner at his home.

  This is a world of difference from the cadres in his hometown who had avoided him before, and the ruthlessness of the world is fully revealed in this instant.

  These people's thoughts are actually very clear to Lu Zhengdong. Since he didn't get into any trouble in this incident, even though Wang Liben doesn't like him, his age and education are there, and those who survive great difficulties will have good fortune later on. His future prospects can be said to be boundless. If you don't offend people, then don't offend them, it's better not to offend anyone.

  As for someone like Ma Liguang who was originally under his management and had been treated that way before, he was worried that the shoes would not fit.

  Lu Zhengdong was also clear in his heart that although these people were very polite to him, their eyes were all looking at Wang Liben's attitude, neither wanting to offend him nor offending Wang Liben.

  Who is really good to himself, Lu Zhengdong has a scale in his heart. Many people are smiling on the surface, but they don't take him seriously in their hearts. They might be stabbing him in the back, who is worth socializing with, and who needs to be guarded against, still need to observe carefully.

  Lu Zhengdong did not go to the county leaders, he was very clear that if the work at hand was not done well, going to the leader's face would be self-defeating, wanting to hold his head high and look at the road, he still had to lower his head and do things.

  Yang Yuqing's affairs are now clear, he has moved to a big mountain. Now he is lightly equipped and must do his job well, making the people satisfied and the leaders appreciate it, so that he can make a name for himself in the countryside and then talk about other things.

  More than 20 years have passed, and many memories of Lu Zhengdong have become blurred. He is also taking the time to familiarize himself with the situation in the countryside, especially those related to his work.

  In the mountains and countryside, there are three deputy township heads. The agricultural deputy township head is the busiest in the township. The entire township's annual agricultural production relies on him alone to grasp it. Every day, he rushes around from village to village, responsible for agricultural production, not to mention also being responsible for flood control and drought resistance. Generally, the agricultural deputy township head can easily be promoted to township head, after all, agriculture is the main industry of the township.

  The work of a deputy township head in charge of family planning is the most monotonous, only managing the bellies of all women in the township, it's a tough job that can easily produce results and also easily lead to problems.

  The most difficult job is the deputy head of family planning, although the work is single-minded, only in charge of not allowing married women's bellies to grow without approval, but it is also the leader who is most likely to cause conflicts between cadres and the masses, as well as one of the leaders that ordinary people hate the most. They are often cursed by people saying "having a son is useless", it's a job that is most hated.

  However, Shanhe is a small mountain town, and the country allows families with a firstborn daughter to have a second child. The deputy head of family planning has the best days.

  The deputy head of the family planning department is having a good time, but this deputy head in charge of finance and trade is having a hard time. Allowing couples to have two children means that fines for violating family planning policies will be greatly reduced, resulting in a significant loss of an important source of revenue for the local government.

  The village originally had a village-run handicraft factory, mainly producing Buddhist-related handicrafts. It was once prosperous for one or two years and its products were even exported. However, the good times did not last long. The handicraft factory had just passed its heyday when it encountered the sanctions imposed by Western countries in 1989. As a result, the factory fell into a deep trough again, with products piling up in warehouses, and production has been suspended for over a year.

  The main source of fiscal revenue for Shanhe Town and Xiang is mainly based on retention and allocation.

  Shanhe Township existed in the problem of Tiliu unified planning, Lu Zhengdong also carefully sorted out.

  Although the mountains and countryside have not exceeded the 5% red line in terms of overall collection, the calculation method is not publicly disclosed; the collection work has not been refined, and there are some human feelings problems. Some families with good conditions originally had to pay or were exempt from paying, while some truly difficult households did not enjoy this policy. The village's financial management is quite chaotic, and the collected funds and how they are spent are very unclear. Many accounts are a mess, and the ordinary people have the most opinions about this.

  The rural road construction fee is the most complained about by the common people. Shanhe is a small town in the mountains, and except for the highway from the county to the township, no village has been connected to the highway. The common people are even more eager to repair the roads, but the township has collected so many years of rural road construction fees without building an inch of road. The common people are very dissatisfied with this, which is also one of the main reasons they are unwilling to pay the retained unified funds.

  In fact, all these reasons can be summarized in one sentence: ordinary people are too poor.

  The mountains are mountainous, with many people and little land. The soil is poor, and the vast majority of ordinary people are still hovering around the poverty line. Once the heavens don't take care of them, even basic necessities become a problem, and they can't even feed themselves. When the people are desperate, they curse and struggle; when taxes and unified funds cannot be collected, those who eat from the public purse also curse and stamp their feet. This deputy head of finance and trade is like a mouse in a bellows, suffering from both sides, and his situation in the countryside is the most difficult.

  His task is also quite arduous, with only three months left until the end of the year. If he can't complete his task well, after the Spring Festival, the county government will be in a precarious situation.

  Lu Zhengdong also knew that although the issue of retaining and allocating funds had just caused such a big stir, it was like a minefield, but retaining and allocating funds were national regulations, and he couldn't not collect them. The problem of collecting taxes was still something he couldn't avoid.

  To solve this problem, it is actually mainly to solve the problem of increasing farmers' income. When ordinary people have money in their pockets, the difficulty of collection will naturally decrease.

  To solve the problem of increasing farmers' income, the construction of rural roads is imperative.

  The road repair matter was also brought up on the agenda by Wang Liben before he went to the mountains and countryside.

  Actually, repairing the road doesn't require the village to spend too much money. The land used for road repair is adjusted by the village itself; there are plenty of stones available for road repair; and the labor force is provided by each household. The most expensive thing is the road roller. To save money, we can use the big stone rollers from the water conservancy project to press the road. At most, we just need to pay some labor costs for pulling the stone rollers. The main expenses that the village needs to bear are the purchase of explosives and road repair tools, etc., which should be less than 200,000 yuan in total.

  This is a great thing that can win the heartfelt support of the people, ease tensions between cadres and the masses, and solve the difficult problem of requisitioning, it's absolutely worth doing.

  But now the most troublesome thing is that even paying wages in rural areas is difficult, where can we find this 200,000?

  Look for superior to fight for funds?

  However, after 1989, many state-owned enterprises in the central and western regions saw a decline in profits, with large-scale losses appearing in state-owned enterprises, and many county-level finances were very tight.

  Yanghe County is also facing similar difficulties. The county's pillar enterprises, such as the silk factory, canning factory and meat processing factory, have suffered heavy losses due to sanctions or market changes, leaving the county's finances in a precarious state. The county government is still trying to find ways to maintain normal operations and address food shortages by seeking help from lower-level townships.

  Last year, the county government, under the pretext of institutional reform, delegated the management authority of most unimportant units in the seven stations and eight houses to the districts and towns. In fact, the county government was trying to get rid of its burdens - the funds and personnel salaries for these units would be borne by the districts and towns, allowing the county government to breathe a sigh of relief. Under such circumstances, it is highly unlikely that we can obtain funding from the county government to repair rural roads.

  If funds cannot be obtained from superiors, then there is only the township thinking of ways to increase the township's financial resources first and solve the financial revenue for maintaining the normal operation of the township government.

  Lu Zhengdong's gaze fell on the craft factory in the countryside that had been shut down for a long time.

  Although the craft factory has stopped production, the factory is still there. If you work hard on it, there should still be hope to revive the machine.

  "There is no stability without agriculture, and there is no prosperity without industry." If the handicraft factory can be revitalized, the annual tax revenue and contracted fees will be equivalent to one-fourth of the total annual budget.

  With this foundation, many things become much easier to handle.