Chapter Fifty Stationed Work

  Early in the morning, Xu Shaojie opened his eyes and began to slowly familiarize himself with this unfamiliar environment. From now on, this would be where he worked and lived. How to quickly get used to the environment and start work as soon as possible was Xu Shaojie's biggest task at the moment. Xu Shaojie had originally planned to report to Liu Zhihua about transferring Song Tao to work by his side, but now he realized that transferring Song Tao was within his own authority and didn't require asking anyone for permission. Song Tao was originally someone he directly managed anyway.

  Xu Shaojie thought further that the organizational work, disciplinary inspection work and propaganda work all have dedicated personnel in charge, who are also district committee members, so normally there is no need to worry about them. The personnel adjustments in the districts and towns have fixed times, and temporary changes are rare. These are not the current focus of work, which still needs to be done in the countryside and villages. The stationed Yu Lin Township has 12 administrative villages under it, including Hua Guan Village. Yu Lin Township is adjacent to the district's collective town, and it seems that Liu Zhihua is taking good care of him. It cannot be said that Xu Yunfei did not play a significant role.

  The breakfast in the canteen was noodles. When Xu Shaojie went in, he only saw some staff waiting in the canteen. Everyone saw Xu Shaojie and quickly made way for him. Xu Shaojie was used to queuing in the municipal government canteen, but suddenly everyone made way for him, which made him a bit uncomfortable. What made Xu Shaojie even more uncomfortable was that someone specially brought over the first batch of cooked noodles for him. Xu Shaojie kept saying thank you.

  Song Tao had a feeling that if Xu Shaojie came to the district as the deputy secretary in charge of organizational work, he would definitely use him. Song Tao had been in a position where he was neither here nor there for a long time, but couldn't change his situation. After graduating from vocational school, it had always been like this. When he was assigned to work at the district government office, many people were quite envious. Some of his classmates were teaching at schools, but Song Tao never thought that in the district government office, he would be in such an embarrassing state.

  Don't look down on the small size of the district committee and government office, there are still many petty things inside. Song Tao carefully observed and avoided getting involved in conflicts, but actually, he was just being overly cautious. No one would notice him, including the powerless deputy mayor.

  Now, Song Tao felt that an opportunity had come. If Xu Shaojie hadn't come to Yudu District for investigation, he wouldn't have accompanied those days. This wasn't a coincidence, it must be heaven's blessing on him.

  When Song Tao went to the cafeteria in the morning, he deliberately paid attention to his image in front of the mirror. He knew that Xu Shaojie would definitely arrive at the cafeteria on time. Xu Shaojie was not yet familiar with the habits of the district committee and government offices. The leaders of the district committee and government offices rarely went to the cafeteria in the morning, as rural work was different from county and municipal government agencies. Many leaders often went to villages and spent a long time at their designated departments or stations, where living conditions were much better than those in the district government cafeteria. Additionally, when leaders from the city came to inspect work, they needed to be accompanied for meals, so business was always good at several restaurants along the national highway.

  Song Tao saw Xu Shaojie finish his breakfast and head straight to the office, feeling unwell in his heart. Did this person become a leader and change, not recognizing people? Song Tao left the canteen with a bowl of noodles unfinished and walked to the office with a sullen face. Soon, Song Tao's spirits lifted as he saw Xu Shaojie waiting for him in front of the office. He jogged up to Xu Shaojie and spoke respectfully.

  "Hello, Secretary Xu."

  Xu Shaojie furrowed his brow, and Song Tao's heart skipped a beat, unsure of what he had done wrong.

  "Song Tao, don't be so serious, okay? It's only been a few months. When we went to the village for investigation, you weren't like this. This is no fun, cheer up."

  After entering the office, Song Tao carried a thermos bottle and was about to go to the cafeteria to boil water. In the past, he would always do this before eating breakfast, but today, in order to see Xu Shaojie earlier, Song Tao didn't do so.

  "Don't turn on the water yet, Song Tao. Get ready and follow me to Yulin Township in a while."

  "Secretary Xu, you're going down to the countryside today."

  "Of course, what's wrong with that? What are you doing in the office, go down and take a look at the situation."

  "Alright, I'll go find Director Huang right away and see how the vehicles are arranged."

  Xu Shaojie went upstairs to get his briefcase. Yesterday, Huang He brought over a lot of materials, including some work plans and summaries from the district. Xu Shaojie took a quick look and thought that the quality of the documents from the district was not comparable to those from higher up. However, all the documents had one thing in common: they emphasized learning and ideology. Even the documents from the station started with strengthening learning. The content of the learning was highly consistent with what was required by the higher-ups.

  Driver Yang Chen is a young man, not yet married, who has just been demobilized from the army and is about the same age as Xu Shaojie. He looks very capable, speaks little, and appears somewhat melancholy. It's hard to understand why such a young person would have this kind of mood. He was already driving the Jeep, waiting in the yard.

  Song Tao helped Xu Shaojie open the front passenger door, and the Jeep and sedan were different. The position of the front passenger seat was generally where the leader sat. Xu Shaojie wanted to say a few words and looked at Song Tao's expression, but didn't speak up. The township government was only 5 li away from the district office, and they arrived quickly.

  Xu Shaojie arrived too early, he was not familiar with the workflow below, the door of the township government was open, and no one could be seen. Song Tao looked around upstairs and downstairs, either they had not gotten up yet or they had not arrived yet. The chef in the cafeteria was still picking vegetables, preparing to start cooking.

  "Song Tao, why didn't you tell me about these things?"

  "Secretary Xu, I thought you had already arranged it and notified the township office."

  "Why am I making such a big show of this? Do you think I'm some ancient county magistrate? Come on down and sound the gong to clear the way. Tell me, how's the schedule arranged for the rest of the day?"

  "Secretary Xu, the township government usually has breakfast around 10 o'clock. After finishing breakfast, they go to their respective villages. They have dinner at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Some who stay in the village for a long time don't come to the township government unless there's something special. Only the secretary and township head are on duty here. Most of Yulin Township officials' families live in the district, so they eat breakfast at home and then go directly to the village. Only the secretary and township head will come here."

  Xu Shaojie didn't react for half a day, and it turned out that the grassroots office and the municipal government were worlds apart. No wonder Song Tao said he had to notify the office, if not, people really wouldn't be seen, communication was inconvenient, and finding someone wasn't that simple. Xu Shaojie glanced at his watch, it wasn't 9 o'clock yet, it seemed like for a while he couldn't find anyone, he still remembered the widow from Huaguan Village, until now didn't know her name, didn't know how life had been in these few months.

  "Never mind, let's go take a look at Huaguan Village."

  Song Tao's face quickly appeared with an inexplicable smile.

  "Song Tao, where has this kid gone to? Do you want me to introduce you to a formidable wife who will keep an eye on you every day?"

  Song Tao quickly regained his composure, but the change was too sudden. Yang Chen saw it from the side and felt a bit strange, but didn't know the reason behind it.

  With the Jeep, they sped up a lot and 15 minutes later, they entered Huaguan Village. Yang Chen habitually drove to the village secretary's house, Xu Shaojie didn't say anything, when he came to the village, he must go to the village secretary's house first.

  Yu Fugui, the secretary of Huaguan Village, was having breakfast in his house. He was one of the few people in the village who had three meals a day. His family's conditions were good, and they no longer ate rice for breakfast, instead eating noodles. At noon and in the afternoon, they would eat again. Hearing the sound of a Jeep, Yu Fugui put down his bowl and hurried out to greet them. Whoever was coming down from the Jeep had to be at least a district secretary, district head, or deputy secretary. Huaguan Village's reputation was great, and ordinary district leaders wouldn't usually come here.

  "Ah, it's Master Yang and Comrade Song. And this is... Xu University student! Rare guest, rare guest, please come in and take a seat."

  Yu Fugui was a bit vague, but Xu Shaojie remembered it very clearly. A few months ago, he came to the village and ruined his own good deeds. Now that woman is even more fierce, Yu Fugui doesn't know where to start. There are many ways, but if this woman seeks death and causes trouble, it's still not good. Besides, Yu Fugui has many women, so why bother with this widow? He can take his time. Today, when he saw Xu Shaojie arrive, his first reaction was that maybe it was for the widow. What's strange is that Xu Shaojie actually came in a district-level Jeep, which is not simple.

  "Secretary Yu, this is Secretary Xu from the district in charge of organizational work. He has come to Huaguan Village today to take a look and understand the situation."

  "Xu, Secretary Xu, hello, please come in and take a seat."

  Yu Fugui's home was a brick and tile house, which was rare in Huaguan Village. After Xu Shaojie entered, he felt that it was tidy and clean, and Yu Fugui seemed to pay attention to enjoying life.

  "Secretary Yu is having breakfast now, you go and finish eating, we'll sit here for a while."

  "No, I'm already full, let's just stay at home, hurry up and make some tea, Secretary Xu from the district has arrived."

  Yu Fugui quickly pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his body, loaded them one by one, and Xu Shaojie found that the cigarettes Yu Fugui pulled out were hard-box "Furong" cigarettes. This kind of cigarette is relatively popular among ordinary cadres in the city, with moderate prices and not low grades, but it is very rare in rural areas.

  "Secretary Xu, please sit for a moment, I'll go and call all the village leaders over."

  Xu Shaojie nodded, now as the deputy secretary of the district committee, it was his first time coming to the village, and he must meet with the village cadres. He instructed Yang Chen to take Yu Secretary to pick people up. After the last investigation, he knew that the village was not comparable to the city, and everyone lived scattered. If relying on Yu Fugui's two legs, it would be hard to say how long it would take.

  Yu Fugui's wife is a typical rural woman, after pouring tea, she retreated, leaving only Xu Shaojie and Song Tao in the house.

  "Song Tao, remember what we didn't finish talking about last time, tell me clearly this afternoon."

  "Secretary Xu, I don't have anything to say."

  "It's this Secretary Yu of ours, didn't you say he was Secretary Hua?"

  Song Tao blinked his eyes and quickly understood that Xu Shaojie wanted to know about the situation in the district, this was just a lead-in, it seemed that he had to think carefully about how to clearly explain the situation in the district.

  A woman under 40 years old came in, still looking good. Before Xu Shaojie could speak, the woman spoke up.

  "Ah, it's Comrade Song! Oh my, what a handsome young man! City people are just different. Secretary Yu said to come here for a meeting, what's the matter?"

  Xu Shaojie and Song Tao stared at each other, it turned out that the deputy secretary of the district committee was a handsome young man.

  "Secretary Xu, this is Comrade Ma Cuihua, the village head of Huaguan Village. Village Head Ma, this is Deputy Secretary Xu Shaojie, who is in charge of organizational work at the district committee."

  "Oh, Secretary Xu, I'm a straightforward person and didn't notice. It's all because of Secretary Yu, who had someone call me without saying what it was about. Secretary Xu is indeed handsome, but I didn't know that Secretary Xu is young and has many affairs."

  Xu Shaojie was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Now he had become the flower dan on stage, all show and no go.

  "Village head Ma is well, I came to the village to take a look and understand some situations."

  "Secretary Xu is really something, arriving in the village so early, many families here haven't even had breakfast yet."

  Xu Shaojie felt his face flush with anger, this remark was not pleasant to hear. On the surface it was praise, but Xu Shaojie thought that this meant he didn't understand the actual situation in rural areas. Early in the morning he rushed to the village, when people were still eating breakfast or hadn't even eaten yet, and came to inspect work, making it so that people couldn't eat in peace.

  "Hehe, after I took office in the district, this is my first time coming to the village. I'm not familiar with the situation, so Village Chief Ma needs to help me a lot."

  "Secretary Xu can rest assured, I will definitely listen to the organization's words."

  Xu Shaojie was getting restless, this Ma Cuihua, with a mouth that had no filter, couldn't she speak properly? Fortunately, Song Tao was still quite agile and connected with Ma Cuihua, starting to talk.

  About half an hour later, Yang Chen came back.

  Yu Fugui led four people into the house. After a round of introductions, Xu Shaojie learned that they were a deputy secretary, two deputy village heads, and a village accountant. These people looked even more shabby than Yu Fugui. The village accountant's clothes still had mud on them, apparently having just come from working in the fields. It was currently the season for harvesting wheat.

  After the crowd sat down, Yu Fugui began to report on the situation in the village. Xu Shaojie listened very carefully, and Song Tao recorded it seriously on the side. Through Yu Fugui's introduction, Xu Shaojie finally knew that Huaguan Village was in good condition, with a focus on tobacco planting, and the whole village was suitable for tobacco cultivation. Some tobacco leaves had already started to be harvested and dried.