Section 4 Report

  Secretary Tang, although still not fully recovered from Director Li's report, has been in a high position for many years and has the psychological quality of being unflappable. He continued to say: "Drunk driving? Qin Daming, how do you educate cadres as the secretary of the township party committee? Haven't you studied the county's documents? How many times have we talked about the problem of drunk driving by leading cadres? I think you, as a secretary, haven't fulfilled your responsibilities." Secretary Tang scolded Qin Daming with a stern face.

  Secretary Qin hung his head in shame and said: "Secretary Tang, it's because I didn't educate the cadres in our team well, I'm responsible."

  Upon hearing this, Ye Zhenran couldn't help but admire Secretary Tang's leadership skills. When Secretary Qin entered the room, he was still harboring anger towards County Head Li and intended to vent his frustrations in front of Secretary Tang. Unexpectedly, with just a few words from Secretary Tang, Secretary Qin was left completely dispirited. However, the development of events was likely unforeseen by Secretary Tang beforehand. Ye Zhenran remained unaware of how County Head Li had spoken to Secretary Tang or whether Secretary Tang had made any promises to him. Nevertheless, he knew that within the Mashan Township team, Qin Daming had proactively approached Secretary Tang shortly after his appointment as county party secretary and was accepted by him, always being regarded as one of his own people. Now, due to County Head Li's actions, Ye Zhenran estimated that Secretary Tang would likely offer some consolation to Qin Daming.

  Tang Secretary glanced at Qin Daming and turned to ask Ye Zhenran: "Little Ye, what's going on with Li Jun? Why did he come to report that something happened to Qin Daming?"

  Ye Zhenran was even more pleased with Secretary Tang's words, seeing him skillfully handle the conversation and suppress Qin Daming's anger. Then, through his words, he told Secretary Qin about what Li Xiangzhang had come to report, controlling the pace of the conversation with ease. Ye Zhenran replied: "Secretary Tang, it was He Guitian, the deputy head of the Party and Government Office in Ma Shi Township, who learned that Lin Chang had an accident and sent a message to Li Zhang through a phone call, saying 'Lin Chang had a car accident, Secretary Qin has left.' His original intention was to say that Secretary Qin had left the township government for the hospital, but Li Xiangzhang misunderstood it as Secretary Qin having an accident."

  "What's this He surname doing? Sending a message that doesn't make sense, Lin Chang reported the car accident, why report Qin Secretary's whereabouts to Li Jun?" Tang Secretary gave Ye Zhenran a sideways glance.

  Ye Ziran understood that Tang Secretary's dissatisfaction at this moment was just to indirectly comfort Qin Secretary, and not to form an opinion about him. He sincerely said: "Secretary Tang is right in his criticism, this He Guitian is a bit unreliable."

  Qin Daming interrupted angrily: "This He Guitian usually pretends to be very honest, I didn't expect him to be this kind of person, and Li Jun is obviously a accomplice."

  Tang Shuji smiled slightly and invited Qin Daming and Ye Zhenran to sit down on the sofa in the living room. The atmosphere began to relax.

  In Secretary Tang's home, Ye Zhenran was used to not treating himself as an outsider and personally poured a cup of tea for everyone. Secretary Tang sat on the sofa and said to Qin Daming: "From this matter, it can be seen that your control over Mashixiang is still not comprehensive. As the head of Mashixiang, you need to strengthen the learning of township cadres."

  Secretary Qin understood the implication of Secretary Tang's words, that he was supporting him to further control the rural party committee. He gratefully said: "Thank you, Secretary Tang, for your criticism. I will go back and organize the township's secondary-level cadres and above to study, unify our understanding through Lin Chang's matter, and do a good job in Mashan Township."

  Comrade Tang nodded and advised, "You are the leader of the leadership team in Ma Shi Township. You must pay attention to unity. Chairman Mao said that when dealing with comrades, we should use the method of unity - criticism - unity. Only by stabilizing the team can we better carry out our work and promote the development of Ma Shi Township."

  "Alright, Secretary Tang," Qin said with a nod. "I will carry out the work according to your instructions." He paused and added, "Since Li Chang has been to your home, he must have obtained the support of Mayor Yin."

  Tang Secretary looked at Qin Daming with a profound meaning and said: "From this matter, it can be seen that Comrade Li Jun is somewhat hasty in handling urgent matters, lacking a broad perspective, and his leadership ability is also inadequate." One sentence determined the future of Li Xiangzhang, and Secretary Qin smiled contentedly.

  Secretary Tang picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea, then said: "After Lin Chang's car accident, Mashan Township was short of one deputy township head. In order not to delay the work, your township party committee should recommend a comrade as soon as possible to report to the county party committee organization department for examination. When recommending cadres, we must remember the four words 'morality and talent', and deeply understand the spirit of the Party Central Committee's instructions on the youngerization and intellectualization of leading cadres."

  Secretary Tang discussed this matter with Qin Daming in front of Ye Zhenran, and the implication was self-evident. Qin Daming had been in the official circle of Changjia County for many years and had a good ability to adapt to the situation, so after Secretary Tang's appointment to Changjia, he immediately approached him. Moreover, he had heard about the relationship between Ye Zhenran and Secretary Tang before, and now hearing Secretary Tang's candidate requirements, especially the six words "young, knowledgeable", which was tailor-made for Ye Zhenran, he immediately said: "Good, Secretary Tang, our county party committee office director Ye Zhenran has strong party spirit, outstanding ability, and can fully assume the deputy county head position..."

  Comrade Tang interrupted him and said: "The specific personnel, your township party committee will study at the meeting, I won't interfere. However, recommending leading cadres must be cautious."

  "Alright, Secretary Tang, I will resolutely carry out your instructions." Secretary Qin understood the leader's intention and also vented his anger at Mayor Li, feeling much better. With a relaxed expression, he asked: "Secretary Tang, are there any further instructions regarding Mayor Lin?"

  Tang Secretary waved his hand and said, "As for Lin Chang's funeral, you can discuss it in the county party committee with a pragmatic spirit and make a decision. After handling it, write a report on the incident and submit it to me." He then took another sip of tea.

  Qin Secretary saw that the conversation was almost over, so he said: "Tang Secretary, I know what to do now. It's late, so I won't delay your rest." After finishing speaking, he stood up and prepared to bid farewell. Ye Zhen also got up upon hearing this.

  "Alright, then." Secretary Tang smiled slightly, stood up and shook hands with Qin Daming, turned to face Ye Zhenran and said: "Ye Zhenran, slow down, Yu Jia's computer has broken down, go take a look before you leave."

  Ye Ziran said: "Okay, then I'll send off Secretary Qin first."

  Qin Daming arrived at the door, turned around and bid farewell to Tang Secretary, then smiled and said to Ye Zhenran: "Director Ye, you have a great future ahead of you."

  Ye Ziran hurriedly said in a low voice: "Thank you, Secretary Qin."

  After closing the door and turning around, Ye Zhenran followed Secretary Tang to the study room. Secretary Tang's lover Yu Jia was preparing lessons.

  Yu Jia is a teacher, after Tang Secretary came to Changjia, she was transferred over and taught Chinese at Changjia County Middle School. She loves new things and in her free time likes to tinker with computers, learning very diligently.

  Tang Secretary's children, Tang Hong and Tang Kang, were doing their homework in the study room. They saw Ye Zhenran come in and wink at him, greeting him. Guessing that they hadn't done their homework well and had been scolded by their mother, they were very obedient and didn't talk to him.

  Yu Jia's computer was a 286 machine, which was considered very good at that time. The WINDOWS operating system had not yet been released, and they were all using the DOS system, so you had to remember various commands. Ye Zhenran took a look at the computer and found that there was no problem with the computer itself, but rather a small program written by Yu Jia had entered an infinite loop, causing the computer to continuously report errors when it ran, so he helped modify it slightly.

  Yu Jiamang said thank you and poured a glass of water for Ye Ziran.

  Yu Jia maintained her excellent quality as a teacher, in front of Ye Zhen Ran, she was not pretentious at all, nor did she have the airs of an official's wife, which made Ye Zhen Ran very admiring.

  Back in the living room, Secretary Tang waited for him to sit down on the sofa and asked: "Xiao Ye, do you usually keep in touch with those ten students who were openly recruited?"

  Ye Ziran replied: "We don't have much contact, we ten people are divided into eight places to work, and there is no intersection of work."

  Ten people went to the Jianan Municipal Committee Organization Department to report, and after that, they were assigned to various places. He and Zhu Yuli were assigned to Changjia County, and the other eight people were also assigned to various suburban counties, starting from grassroots cadres.

  "Keep in close contact with each other, learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses. You are all reserve cadres recruited by the Organization Department of Jianan Municipal Committee, and you are the future of Jianan. In the future, you should communicate more and help each other." Secretary Tang instructed.

  "Alright, Secretary Tang, I remember." In front of Secretary Tang, Ye Zhenran performed a respectful bow.

  Secretary Tang was very satisfied with this point, nodded and said: "Young people need to be tempered more, the township government is a grassroots organization, it is the best place to connect theory with practice, test a person's work ability. You should sink down, go deep into the work, understand the people's livelihood difficulties, practically solve the people's living problems, have experience before taking on bigger responsibilities."

  Listening to Secretary Tang's words, Ye Zhenran was deeply moved and said: "Secretary Tang, after I arrived at the township for work, I found that the knowledge learned in school is still insufficient. Through these two years of work, my horizons have broadened a lot, and I feel that economic development and social stability are major issues in grassroots work, worth my more efforts to learn."

  Tang Secretary looked at Ye Zhenran with an approving gaze, he was more appreciative of Ye Zhenran. Just as Ye Zhenran regarded him as a teacher, Tang Guoqiang also regarded him as his own disciple, and when there were big things in the county, he would discuss them with him, making Secretary Tang's secretary Xiao Huyan envy.

  "You're not married, you have time after work to read more books and strengthen your learning in economic construction. A leading cadre must not only have strong party spirit and good political quality, but also understand economics and management." Secretary Tang took a sip of tea and asked: "What are you reading lately?"

  Ye Ziran scratched his head and said with embarrassment: "I'm reading the complete works of Zeng Guofan."

  Tang Shuji heard this and burst out laughing, patting him on the shoulder. "Little Ye has a point," he said, "but Zeng Wen is indeed one of the most far-sighted officials in the late Qing dynasty's officialdom. His theory of officialdom does have insight, it's worth taking a look."

  "Secretary Tang, I have a private matter to report to you. I plan to take the postgraduate entrance exam in September and pursue a master's degree in economics. I will use one or two working days per week, plus Sundays, and can complete my master's studies within two years."

  "Good, I support this matter. You find an opportunity to report to Qin Daming. Xiao Ye, you must remember that in work, no matter what position you are in, you should often report your work to the leader of the team, so as to reduce mistakes."

  Ye Ziran nodded and said: "Thank you, Secretary Tang, I understand."