In the residential compound for the Huichuan Military Sub-district in Jiangnan District, Huichuan City.
"Wang Bei and I go way back," said the middle-aged man in the green short-sleeved shirt, throwing his arm around Yue Wangbei's shoulder as he spoke to Chen Donglai and Yang Xiaoshan. "When we were in Dingnan, Wang Bei was one of my soldiers."
Chen Donglai only knew that Yue Wangbei was a demobilized military cadre who had previously served as an armored unit commander, but he was unaware of this connection.
The man in the green shirt before them was Chang Hongjun, the Political Commissar of the Military Sub-district and a Member of the Standing Committee of the Huichuan Municipal Party Committee, who had been seated to Yue Wangbei's right at last night's dinner.
He motioned for Yue Wangbei to sit on the sofa, then invited Chen Donglai and Yang Xiaoshan to sit down, personally pouring water for the three of them. Chen Donglai and Yang Xiaoshan quickly stood up, wanting to take over the task.
Chang Hongjun waved his hand, telling them to sit down. "I'm telling you, when Wang Bei first joined the army, he only had a junior high education; he couldn't even read all the characters. Haha, I even found someone to teach him how to read."
"Why bring that up?" Yue Wangbei's old face flushed. "I truly didn't expect you to be transferred to Huichuan. Since you're here in Huichuan, I absolutely had to see you."
"Never mind that, sigh." Chang Hongjun waved his hand again. "He couldn't get promoted past Colonel, but he didn't want to retire, so he found a way to come back. What about you? I recall you were a Deputy Division Commander when you transferred out in '85, right?"
Generally, when military cadres transfer to civilian posts, they are appointed one or two ranks lower. Chang Hongjun remembered clearly that when Yue Wangbei transferred, he had specifically rushed his promotion to Deputy Division Level for two months to give him an advantage when selecting a post.
"That damn dog, Old Chief, let me tell you," Yue Wangbei became angry just thinking about it. "They didn't even recognize me as a Deputy Division Commander; they only arranged for me to be the Secretary of the County Political and Legal Affairs Committee upon transfer."
His tone softened slightly as he continued, "I worked in Shennü County for almost three and a half years before they arranged for me to be County Mayor. Damn it, being County Mayor was a headache; I was completely clueless about Finance matters..."
"So how did you end up in Yong'an?" Chang Hongjun was surprised. He was very familiar with both Yong'an and Shennü Counties, as Shiliang Gorge and Shennü Gorge were nationally renowned.
"The previous Secretary spent Eight Million building a grand hall, and guess what? The Prefectural Committee directly..."
Chen Donglai listened intently. In his previous life, when he was selected by Wang Zangfeng to transfer from Deputy Township Head of Hualang Township to the County Party Committee Office, Yue Wangbei had already resigned from Yong'an County. Therefore, he had no knowledge of this secret history.
"...In short, that's how it was. Yong'an County is extremely complicated. The young County Mayor told me that if things continued this way, the Coal Mine would inevitably have a major accident, so I came over here to ask for money." Yue Wangbei spent over ten minutes finally finishing his account.
"What a pity for Wang Bei. I think you would have played a greater role remaining in the military." Chang Hongjun didn't fully grasp the intricate local politics and didn't know how to respond, so he could only speak about things they shared in common. He pointed at Yue Wangbei and said to Chen Donglai and Yang Xiaoshan:
"I remember when Wang Bei was a Deputy Battalion Commander under me, the Top Leader there had connections. As soon as he heard a fight was about to break out, he vanished without a trace; when he heard the order to engage, he was immediately transferred to logistics."
As he spoke, he patted Yue Wangbei's leg. "Wang Bei was given the order in a moment of crisis, took command, and led his troops to the very front. They suffered so much hardship."
Hearing this, Yue Wangbei also showed a proud expression and said to the two subordinates beside him, "Our battalion was the first to enter Liangzhou for urban warfare! I led the charge!"
"Exactly, because of that, he was promoted on the spot to Deputy Regiment Commander. That's why I say, you getting involved in all this in Yong'an is truly using a great talent for trivial matters..."
There was actually this part of his history. Chen Donglai was astonished. He hadn't known much about Yue Wangbei in his previous life and never expected him to have such achievements.
Chen Donglai felt that while daring to fight and charge was a good quality, given Yue Wangbei's personality, could he truly break through the deeply entrenched political forces in Yong'an County?
...
The building of the Jiang'an Province Department of Coal Industry in Huidu District, Huichuan City.
"That's roughly the situation. See if you have any surplus funds; if you do, please help out," Ming Jinggao said while sitting on the sofa to the middle-aged man behind the desk.
"Jinggao, it's not as simple as you imagine," Yu Zhu said helplessly, rummaging through a drawer and pulling out a stack of documents. He flipped through them in his hand, then spoke to Ming Jinggao:
"Sanqiao County in Qiqiao City just had a gas explosion at the beginning of this year, so it's definitely hard to refuse them, especially since lives were lost."
As he spoke, he flipped a few pages of the documents in his hand. "Lintao's Wuyang County is also asking for this money. They were upgraded to a Provincially Designated Independent City this year, so it would look bad if we didn't grant them some face. Then the coal mine in Xiakou County, Pingba Prefecture, is leaking water again..."
Yu Zhu gave a wry smile. "It's not that I'm making things difficult for you. The equipment over in Yong'an is passable; if you patch it up, it can last a few more years, right?"
He couldn't help but scratch his temple. After serving as Deputy Director of the Department of Coal Industry for two or three years, he felt his gray hairs had increased noticeably.
He had been at the Deputy Department Level for five years, yet promotion to full Department Director remained elusive, which made him somewhat disheartened. When he was promoted to General Manager of the Qinglong Coal Mine, he had just turned forty, making him one of the youngest Deputy Department Level officials in the entire Province.
However, if things continued like this, he feared others would soon surpass him. Feeling restless, he leaned back in his leather chair, looking at Ming Jinggao before him and contemplating his own future.
"No need to rush, Old Yu," Ming Jinggao said, naturally aware of what Yu Zhu needed. With thirty years in Officialdom, he had a deep understanding of the psychology of these high-ranking young Cadres.
"The Department Director of the Department of Agriculture is hosting a dinner the day after tomorrow; the Propaganda Minister and Provincial Governor Qi will also be there." Ming Jinggao smiled. "Want to join?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Zhu immediately straightened up, pulling himself out of the embrace of his leather chair, and said to Ming Jinggao, "I do."
Qi Jianguo was the Vice Governor overseeing the Department of Coal Industry and had considerable influence over his promotion. As for the Propaganda Minister from the Propaganda Department, he was even more important.
Yu Zhu knew that since he was still young, very few Leaders in the Provincial Party Committee could speak up for him. The Propaganda Minister was a Provincial Party Standing Committee Member, and if he could build a good relationship with him, it would certainly provide a major boost.
With that thought, he picked up the materials on his desk. "Yes, Ming Director, for the 2.2 Million renovation fund, Yong'an County gets 1.1 Million, how about that?"
"Agreed." Ming Jinggao stood up and walked to the office door. "The dinner is the night after tomorrow at the Xijiang Hotel. I'll notify you about the Private Room."
After seeing his colleague off, Yu Zhu collapsed back into his leather chair. He stared at the ceiling, a smile playing on his lips. "What topics would be suitable to discuss with Minister Bing?" "Should I slip something into Provincial Governor Qi's trunk?"
Yu Zhu's thoughts drifted further away. As for the gas explosion at the Sanqiao Coal Mine? The flooding at the Xiakou Coal Mine?
Couldn't the old machinery and equipment be patched up and used for a few more years? If there were real safety hazards, minor ones, just arrange for the coal mine to suspend operations.
As for what the workers would live on after production stopped?
That was no longer his concern.