Section Five: Team Meeting

  The next day, news of Lin Cheng's death in a traffic accident spread throughout Mashih Township.

  When Ye Zhenran walked into the township government, people kept asking him for details. Ye Zhenran simply said that Lin Changzhou went to Changqing Village on Sunday to do family planning work, had a few drinks at his relative's house in the evening, and unfortunately encountered a traffic accident on his way back. Everyone sighed at the unpredictability of fate and the fragility of life, feeling sad for Deputy Township Head Lin.

  Ye Ziran also had a sorrowful expression, last night he saw He Chunying's lonely and widowed mother weeping bitterly, thinking of the places where he used to work with Lin Cheng, his mood was somewhat downcast.

  Arriving at the second floor office of the party and government, as usual, Ma Yanli had already arrived earlier, wiped clean his desk and put out that day's newspaper.

  "Hasn't Old He arrived yet?" Ye Ziran asked.

  "Not yet." Ma Yanli was the closest to Ye Zhenran among the party and government office staff. When Ye Zhenran first arrived at Ma Shi Township, he was not familiar with the affairs of the party and government office, and Ma Yanli helped him wholeheartedly. The two established a certain friendship in their work. She is two years older than Ye Zhenran, has been married for four years, but has no children.

  "Little horse, Secretary Qin instructed that the aftermath of Lin Chang's funeral will be specifically handled by the Party and Government Office. Your task for the next few days is to take good care of Lin Chang's wife, He Chunying, and make sure nothing unexpected happens to her in her grief." Ye Zhen said.

  "Understood, leader." Ma Xiangli had a habit that whenever she replied with the word "understood", she would stick out her chest. As a mature woman with a sensual figure, this gesture often gave men a dazzling impression.

  "Damn the neighbor!" Ye Zhenran cursed in his heart, such a beautiful woman, just because she didn't give birth, messed up the feelings between them as husband and wife. It's worth noting that in the suburbs, the traditional concept of having children is very strong.

  "Director Ye is up early." He Guitian had been busy until midnight and greeted Ye Zhenran as soon as he entered the door.

  "Lao He, you should take care of Lin Zhang's aftermath and communicate more with his family. There are things that need to be communicated." Ye Zhenran saw that He Guotian was in a very poor mental state and knew that he had taken on a lot of pressure because of Li Xiangzhang's mistake. He estimated that He Guotian had been scolded severely by Li Chang last night, but such things were the most sensitive in official circles. He Guotian's future was definitely ruined, and Li Chang would also basically end his career at the deputy department level. Ye Zhenran said: "I have to go to a meeting, the township party committee has a second-level cadre meeting today."

  The government of Mashixiang has two four-story office buildings, one in the south and one in the north. The southern building is the office building for party and government leaders, including the secretary and deputy secretary of the township party committee, members of the party committee, the head and deputy head of the township government, the party and government office, the family planning office, the finance department, etc. The northern building is an auxiliary building with a large auditorium, cafeteria, logistics department, etc.

  At the conference room on the 4th floor of Nan Building, Ye Zhenran attended the second-level cadre meeting of Ma Shi Township.

  Party Secretary Qin Daming presided over the meeting: "Comrades, I first report a sad thing to everyone. It's possible that you all know already, Lin Chang died in a traffic accident yesterday evening around 5 o'clock. According to preliminary investigation, Lin Chang drove alone to Changqing Village yesterday afternoon to handle villagers' family planning matters. In the evening, he drank at his relative's house and then drove back to Mashitown while drunk, encountering an accident on the way and colliding head-on with a truck from Longrong Company, unfortunately dying on the spot. According to the county traffic police brigade's on-site investigation, Lin Chang was driving under the influence and made an illegal lane change, bearing full responsibility for this traffic accident." Qin Daming finished speaking, scanning the entire second-level leadership team with his eyes, his tone gradually becoming more severe: "After Lin Chang's accident, Party and Government Office Director Ye Ziran comrade rushed to County Central Hospital to assist me in handling Lin Chang's affairs. However, some of our comrades, upon learning of Lin Chang's accident, didn't come to handle the situation or understand the actual circumstances clearly, but instead ran to County Committee Secretary Tang's house to report, saying that I Qin Daming had died in a car accident. I'd like to ask, what was the purpose behind this? Was it that they couldn't wait for me to die early and take my position?"

  The conference room suddenly fell silent. Ye Zhenran knew the beginning and end of things, but was not surprised at all. Others were different, they were shocked and looked at each other in dismay. Many people turned their eyes to Li Xiangzhang because Qin Shuji's sharp words made it clear who he was pointing at. Zhang Lipen sat beside Ye Zhenran and looked at him inquiringly, Ye Zhenran slightly shook his head, indicating that he should not speak.

  The meeting fell silent for a moment, and Township Head Li Jun spoke up: "I agree with the first half of what Secretary Qin said. Indeed, I didn't understand the situation clearly and made a mistake. But as for the second half of his speech, which criticized me, I cannot accept it. When I went to report my work to Secretary Tang's home, I was following the instructions of County Head Yin, so how can you be sure that I had ulterior motives?"

  Qin Secretary glanced at Li Township Head with disdain and said, "As soon as you get the news, you rush to report to Yin County Magistrate, and then go to Tang Secretary's home to report. What kind of loyalty do I need to tell you? Please don't insult the intelligence of all the second-level cadres in Ma Shi Township. Everyone knows the heart of Sima, right?"

  Li Jun's face turned red with anger, his painful foot was held by someone else, and he couldn't lose his temper, so he said fiercely: "It's all because of the deputy director of the Party and Government Office, He Guitian, who spread false information and made me misunderstand the person who caused the car accident."

  "What message did he send that made you misunderstand?" Secretary Qin asked coldly. He actually knew the content, now he was just forcing Director Li to clarify in front of everyone, making all the township cadres present understand the course of events and achieve the effect of isolating him.

  Li Xiangzhang took out his pager from his waist and read it: "Lin Zhang was in a car accident, Qin Secretary is gone."

  "Bang", the organizational committee member of the township party committee, Pan Qiusheng, slapped the table and said angrily: "What's going on with He Guitian? Even sending a message has to be so sensationalized? And another thing, what's his intention in reporting Secretary Qin's itinerary like this?"

  Ye Ziran knew that He Guitian was very close to Li Xiangzhang, and could be considered one of Li Xiangzhang's people. Pan Qiusheng's remark about "self-inflicted misfortune" was also quite apt.

  "He Guitian's approach is indeed improper, I suggest giving him corresponding punishment." said Li Xiangzhang.

  "Of course, disciplinary action must be taken. The position of deputy director of the Party and Government Office is not suitable for He Guitian, let's transfer him to the Rural Science and Technology Station as deputy secretary of the party branch." Secretary Qin spoke, his tone still serious.

  "I agree with this decision, let's decide at the township party committee meeting later." Pan Qiusheng clearly expressed his support while reminding Qin Secretary, who was in a rage, that the appointment and removal of township leaders should go through the township party committee.

  Ma Shi Township's first and second in command clashed, and both Secretary Qin and Township Head Li have backers, so no one will easily get involved in this muddy water. Although He Guitian is a subordinate of Ye Zhenran, Ye Zhenran is clear about the whole incident and indeed He Guitian did something wrong, now is not the right time to protect him.

  Secretary Qin nodded and said, "Good. Next, let's discuss Lin Chang's aftermath. Director Ye communicated with Lin Chang's family last night, did they mention any specific requirements?"

  Ye Zhenran said "The family of Lin Zhang did not make any political demands regarding the aftermath, only asking that the economic aspects fully reflect the fact that Lin died on duty."

  "What specifically?" asked Secretary Qin.

  Ye Ziran thought for a moment and said: "Lin Zhang's lover made two requests. First, her son is still a minor, and the family has lost a major source of income. She asked the township government to solve the problem of the child's future education and employment. Second, Comrade He Chunying's work unit is not doing well, so she asked for help in finding a job and solving her personnel allocation problem."

  "Let's discuss it, comrades. I think the family's request is reasonable. Since Lin Chang has passed away, we should take care of his family properly and let him leave with a clear conscience." Secretary Qin said, making his attitude clear.

  "His wife was a high school culture? I remember she used to work in a knitting factory." Deputy Township Head Cheng Guang and Lin Changsheng were relatively good friends before, and he is also familiar with Lin's family situation.

  Contrary to Ye Zhenran's expectations, the head of the armed forces department said coldly at this time: "She is not satisfied with the knitting factory, let her be transferred to the textile factory." This remark was very unreasonable. The knitting factory and the textile factory were both relatively poor enterprises in the countryside. Ye Zhenran thought, could it be that Lin Changsheng had a conflict with the head of the armed forces department?

  It's good that Deputy Director Cheng firmly upheld Lin Chang's interests, saying: "After Lin Chang passed away, his family indeed suffered a major blow. He Qingying's job was not guaranteed and would inevitably affect her son's future life. My suggestion is to transfer her to the Family Planning Office, which also lacks someone." It was still Cheng Zhang who spoke up for He Qingying.

  The staff member of the family planning office is a cadre, and Ye Zhenran has heard that Party Committee member Wu Azhao has taken a liking to this position and wants to arrange for someone to come in. Sure enough, after Cheng Chang brought it up, Propaganda Committee member Wu Azhao immediately raised an objection: "The family planning office is an important post, related to the assessment of the township's family planning indicators, Comrade He Chunying doesn't have experience in this area, I oppose it."

  Ye Zhen felt the meaning of "when a person leaves, the tea becomes cold". Lin Changsheng must not have expected this. He thought for a moment and decided to do his best to help Lin Chang's family.

  Ye Ziran raised his hand and spoke: "The township government service center has just been established, and we need manpower. I suggest assigning Comrade He Chunying to work at the service center. She can handle the work there, and it's easy to solve the staffing problem."

  Secretary Qin supported the opinion in a timely manner: "Director Ye's opinion is very good, the service center indeed needs manpower, can give her a solution to a staffing problem, does anyone have any objections?"

  Deputy Secretary of the Township Party Committee Wang Jingyu was the first to express her opinion: "I support Secretary Qin's opinion, Comrade He Chunying going to work at the Service Center is appropriate, and I believe she can handle this job."

  The party secretary and deputy secretary have spoken, and others are happy to show their support. In the discussion of Lin Chang's funeral arrangements, condolence money, etc., Li Xiang did not speak. The meeting finally passed all the arrangements for Lin Chang's aftermath, including related expenses, funeral arrangements, etc. Specific matters will be handled by the Party and Government Office.