Chapter 51 The Situation of the Township Government

  The report ended quickly, Xu Shaojie didn't like lengthy reports with a lot of filler and little actual content. It was just the same few things repeated over and over. However, Yu Fugui's report didn't mention the situation of poor households in the village or any disputes within the village. If Xu Shaojie hadn't come earlier, he would have thought everything was fine on the surface. On his first visit to the village, Xu Shaojie wouldn't ask embarrassing questions, everyone wants to save face after all.

  "Secretary Xu, since the village has arranged for us to have lunch at home today, why don't we just eat at my place?"

  "No need, we still have to go to the township government to take a look. We'll have lunch at the township government and if there's an opportunity, we'll definitely go to Secretary Yu's home for dinner."

  Xu Shaojie grasped a principle: when eating someone's food, one's mouth is soft, and when taking someone's money, one's hand is short. Before understanding the specific situation below, don't easily eat. This way, it will be easier to carry out work later. Yu Fugui obviously didn't expect this kind of answer, the smile on his face was somewhat stiff. The other village cadres didn't say anything, the meeting ended, they waited for Xu Shaojie to speak.

  "Alright, everyone go and get busy, there's a lot of work to be done on the ground."

  Xu Shaojie decided to go to the widow's home to take a look, leaving 200 yuan last time, several months have passed, and I don't know how things are going. Helping one family must be thorough. Song Tao knew Xu Shaojie's idea and whispered a few words to Yang Chen. Xu Shaojie thought for a moment and asked Yu Fugui to go with him to take a look. Yu Fugui agreed, but his tone didn't seem very pleasant.

  The jeep stopped in front of the widow's door, Yu Fugui's face was a bit unnatural, Xu Shaojie knew the subtlety and didn't speak, getting out of the car first. The scene before him was similar to what he had seen a few months ago, still a little girl holding firewood in front of the house, possibly because no small vehicle had ever come to their home, the little girl looked flustered. However, seeing Xu Shaojie and Song Tao, the little girl's face broke into a smile, she dropped the firewood in her arms and ran quickly into the house, this time without shouting.

  Soon, the woman rushed out with a red glow on her face. She saw Xu Shaojie and Song Tao walking towards her, followed by Yu Fugui, who looked a bit flustered. This time, Yu Fugui was much smarter and quickly introduced Xu Shaojie to her.

  "Zhang Xiaoyu, this is Secretary Xu from the district, he has come to your home for a visit."

  Xu Shaojie knew that Yu Fugui was reminding the woman, and he finally learned that this beautiful widow's name was Zhang Xiaoyu.

  "Hello, let's take a look, how is life?"

  "Secretary Xu, everything is fine at home." The woman replied with her head down and a red face, not daring to look at Xu Shaojie. In the summer clothes, the woman's figure was revealed, and Xu Shaojie felt that it was no wonder that Yu Fugui had been tempted.

  Nothing has changed in the house, Xu Shaojie walked into the kitchen, the woman was preparing to cook, still corn flour and cabbage, it seems that life has not changed much. Xu Shaojie secretly frowned, what he said earlier, Yu Fugui would not listen. After turning around, Xu Shaojie was about to leave, it seemed that the gap between the rich and the poor in this village was still quite large. Yu Fugui had noodles for breakfast, the difference between noodles and corn flour is not ordinary, there must be some problems. Why hasn't the occupied land been returned? How many poor households are there in the village? What are the secretary and village head busy with?

  "Has your daughter gone to school?"

  Xu Shaojie found the schoolbag in the living room.

  "I've gone back to school, now I'm on holiday, soon it will be time to start school again, thank you Secretary Xu."

  "It's okay, you're busy, I still need to go check out some other places."

  The flush on the woman's face still hadn't faded, she kept her head down and didn't look at Xu Shaojie. When she heard that Xu Shaojie was leaving, a hint of disappointment appeared on her face, but it quickly disappeared.

  When Xu Shaojie got on the car, he had already understood that the woman must have been keeping the money for her daughter's education and not using it to improve their living conditions. The woman's face was somewhat pale, which was a symptom of malnutrition. The little girl also looked thin. Xu Shaojie knew that just giving them money wouldn't work; he had to solve the problem from the root. For example, letting Zhang Xiaoyu have land to farm would allow her to solve their basic living problems and not rely on the few mu of land in front of and behind their house to make a living.

  There are many tobacco fields in the village. After Xu Shaojie got off the car, he walked to the edge of the tobacco field. The mature large leaves under each tobacco plant had been picked, and some households could be seen drying the harvested tobacco leaves with strings in front of their houses. Yu Fugui's performance was still good, introducing the village's income situation from tobacco while walking. The main income of Huaguan Village comes from growing tobacco, and selling tobacco can bring cash income.

  In the distance, a few people were hurrying over in this direction. Xu Shaojie thought they were farmers from the village and didn't pay much attention. Song Tao spoke up beside him.

  "Secretary Xu, the secretary and mayor of the town have arrived."

  Zhao Deli, the secretary of Yulin Township Party Committee, looks tall and dark-skinned, very much in line with the image of a rural cadre. Township head Dong Guihua is a female comrade, with a short haircut that reaches her ears, looking more like a housewife, with a strong flavor of femininity on her body.

  "Secretary Xu, you came to our township government this morning, we didn't know about it, and the district didn't notify us."

  "Secretary Zhao, Mayor Dong, your ears are really sharp, you know I've arrived in Huaguan Village."

  "Hehe, as for the situation in our village, we all know and are familiar with it. When we see a car from the district, we naturally understand."

  A middle-aged man walking behind caught Xu Shaojie's attention. The man looked listless, as if he was not feeling well, but there were no signs of illness on his face. Earlier when Zhao Deli introduced him, Xu Shaojie knew that this person was a cadre from the countryside named Liu Mu. He did not actively shake hands with Xu Shaojie, seemingly avoiding something.

  The leader of the town has arrived, and Xu Shaojie is about to leave Huaguan Village. However, Xu Shaojie still discovered some interesting things: the village secretary Yu Fugui had an attitude towards the town leader that wasn't quite right; Zhao Deli and Dong Guihua were very polite when facing Yu Fugui; and the one stationed in Huaguan Village was actually that listless-looking Liu Mu.

  Inside the Jeep, squeezing in 5 people is nothing. Since Dong Guihua was a female comrade, Xu Shaojie voluntarily sat in the back. When Dong Guihua got on the car, she felt very embarrassed. Xu Shaojie smiled and said to put the meaning aside, don't let several big men take advantage of it, especially Comrade Song Tao, who is the youngest and can't resist temptation. Zhao Deli supplemented from the side, saying that Song Tao hasn't opened yet, when will Director Dong give Song Tao a lesson? Dong Guihua quickly took over the topic, saying there's no problem, at that time Secretary Zhao and his wife will provide on-site guidance. Song Tao's face turned bright red, wanting to say Xu Shaojie wasn't married either, but didn't know the specific situation. Everyone burst into laughter and got on the car, the atmosphere suddenly became much more lively. The township cadres couldn't help but think that Xu Shaojie was so easy-going, rural cadres don't have many taboos, joking is a daily routine.

  When they entered the township government again, there were already many cadres inside, apparently having received notification. Zhao Deli introduced Xu Shaojie one by one, all of whom were vice secretaries, vice town heads, people's armed department heads, women's federation directors, and even youth league secretaries, each with their respective positions. Xu Shaojie became even more puzzled, it seemed that Liu Mu had no position at all, no rank in the township government, just a courtesy title to make him sound better.

  Still having a meeting, Xu Shaojie has just taken office and needs to know the basic situation. Zhao Deli reported on the situation in Yulin Township. There are 12 villages in Yulin Township, all of which plant white tobacco. Now is the harvest season, and the district will hold a weighing ceremony in September. The whole year's work depends on the purchasing situation. In other aspects, the main crops are grain and pig farming. Some households also raise chickens and ducks, mostly for their own consumption. Many households raise laying hens, which can sell eggs and generate income. Xu Shaojie suddenly thought of Zhang Xiaoyu's home, but didn't seem to see these things.

  After Zhao Deli finished speaking, Dong Guihua did not add anything. Zhao Deli asked Xu Shaojie for instructions, and Xu Shaojie smiled, stood up, took out a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from his body, and handed one to each person. He repeatedly said that there were no instructions, nor dared he give any, as he was not familiar with rural work and was learning from everyone. The cigarette was a gesture of respect, and the speech had requirements: saying something once was a statement, twice was repetition, three times was enumeration, and repeating it endlessly would be nonsense. Since he was unfamiliar with it, he could only follow Secretary Zhao's words, and if he said something wrong, it wouldn't even count as nonsense, but rather a joke.

  Everyone listened to Xu Shaojie's instructions and burst out laughing, quickly dispersing the meeting. Xu Shaojie naturally had to eat at the township government, where everyone else was eating too. It was his first time here, so Dong Guihua went to arrange things in the kitchen. The township government is poor, but since a leader has come, they have to show some hospitality. The head chef already knew and was busy making preparations.

  Xu Shaojie was ready to take a stroll around the rural government, and the nearby households were still relatively concentrated. After all, there were government agencies here, and there were two small shops nearby. Zhao Deli and Song Tao accompanied Xu Shaojie. Xu Shaojie felt that Zhao Deli was more down-to-earth and didn't have that oily aura, so he decided to get straight to the point and understand the real situation. This was also a test for Zhao Deli.

  "Secretary Zhao, the situation in Yulin Township is quite good. I just took a look and among the 22 cadres of the township government, Liu Mu has no position at all. What's the reason?"

  Zhao Deli did not expect Xu Shaojie to ask such a question, and was stunned for a moment before mechanically taking the cigarette handed over by Xu Shaojie.

  "Secretary Zhao would rather not say if it's inconvenient."

  Xu Shaojie found Zhao Deli staring at Song Tao, seemingly not in a good mood for talking.

  "No, Secretary Zhao, it's not that. Liu Mu was only transferred to the countryside last year and previously worked at the Qinghua Township government. His family is in Huaguan Village and has been asking for care. The district considered his difficulties and agreed."

  Xu Shaojie sensitively discovered that Zhao Deli was hiding something, seemingly something unpleasant to say, and Song Tao's expression also looked a bit strange.

  "Secretary Zhao, don't be ambiguous when speaking. If you have something to say, just say it. I'm a straightforward person and don't like guessing games."

  Zhao Deli thought for a moment, took a few fierce puffs of smoke, and finally spoke up.

  "Liu Mu used to be the deputy director of the district government office, and later came to Qinghua Township as the deputy secretary. He worked in Qinghua Township for several years, but due to difficulties at home, he repeatedly requested a transfer. It is said that he even made a fuss at the district level before being transferred to the township, so he didn't have any specific position, just an ordinary cadre. Actually, we are also ordinary cadres, but with an extra hat on."

  The deputy director of the office went to serve as vice secretary, Xu Shaojie knew that there must be a reason. Qinghua Township is the most remote township in the district. It's reasonable for someone from the district to take up the posts of secretary and township head.

  "Is that all?"

  "Secretary Xu, there are some situations that Song Tao is aware of."

  Xu Shaojie understood that the more you speak, the more likely you are to slip up. Zhao Deli was afraid, but now Song Tao followed him, even if he said a few wrong words, it wouldn't be a problem, but Zhao Deli was different.

  "Song Tao, you say it."

  "Secretary Xu, Liu Mu's situation arose because of his poor relationship with some leaders in the district. His wife is ill, a semi-paralyzed person, and they have two young children who need care. All household matters rely on Liu Mu. After being transferred to Qinghua Township for work, he couldn't take care of both ends, resulting in some losses at home. Liu Mu's salary is low, and his wife's medication expenses are high. Everyone knows about his difficulties. Last year, just before the Spring Festival, Liu Mu went to the district to report his difficulties to the main leaders, which led to a dispute. Later, with sympathy from some leaders, Liu Mu was transferred to work in Yulin Township."

  Song Tao never said that Liu Mu had offended anyone, it seems that the person Liu Mu had offended was not simple, at least a district committee member or above, so that Zhao Deli and Song Tao both have reservations.

  "What disease does Liu Mu's lover have?"

  "It's not very clear, just feeling weak all over, can't work, can't do things, now it's more serious, need to rest in bed for a long time, checked several times, different opinions, anyway, it's relying on medicine to maintain."

  "So Liu Mu's difficulties are still quite big."

  "Yes, Liu Mu's lover's body was fine before, but it's strange that after Liu Mu was transferred to Qinghua Town for work, his lover's body suddenly collapsed, and the reason is unknown."

  Xu Shaojie found Zhao Deli's expression a bit strange, it seems that Liu Mu's lover is ill, and may have a great relationship with Liu Mu. Transferred to Qinghua Township, it was when things were going downhill, his lover fell ill at this time, which was a bit strange. Xu Shaojie knew that he had just arrived here and could understand these situations, which was not bad. Some things can't be rushed, like eating hot tofu, they need to be done slowly.

  Xu Shaojie had a feeling that things were not simple, the behavior of Yu Fugui from Huaguan Village, Liu Mu's problem, these things must have a reason behind them, since he came here, he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

  Dong Guihua walked over from afar.

  "Secretary Xu, the meal must be ready."

  "Okay, let's go eat, I'm actually a bit hungry."

  Xu Shaojie quickly made up his mind and figured out these problems in the shortest time.