“Bang!”
Yue Wangbei pulled shut the door of the old Santana. "Xiaoshan, have you found out who they were?"
"Two of them had common clothing, making them hard to identify. The other one, wearing a red and white striped shirt, was identified by the Vice Principal as Zheng Luan, a math teacher at the County Middle School. His wife works at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and she is..." Yang Xiaoshan swallowed hard, "a distant niece of the former Propaganda Minister Xiao Quan'an, and also connected to Old Secretary Xiao Zhe."
Yue Wangbei did not speak, and silence filled the car, leaving only the roar of the Santana's engine.
In the early 1980s, Xiao Zhe served as the County Party Secretary of Yong'an County for five years, establishing deep roots. Many current County Leaders were his former subordinates or protégés. The younger generation, Xiao Wang, had even become a Member of the County Party Standing Committee and the Propaganda Minister.
Yue Wangbei knew that he had most likely offended this old Secretary over the matter of reforming the Three Major Coal Mines. Because the Coal Miners were staging a Wage Claim, he had replaced the manager of the Meishan Coal Mine in March of this year.
Xiaoshan had warned him at the time that this manager had a deep relationship with Secretary Xiao Zhe. He hadn't expected this... Thinking of this, Yue Wangbei became secretly vigilant.
"But he's just a dead tiger," Yue Wangbei chuckled. "I'm not afraid of living tigers."
Yang Xiaoshan dared not reply, so he quickly changed the subject. "Secretary, how did you know today that Street Hoodlums would take the opportunity to cause trouble? Director Qin from the County Public Security Bureau just called; they arrested about ten people over at Shizijie."
"Most police forces were deployed on County Government Road. Anyone with an agenda would surely react upon hearing that." Yue Wangbei's voice was flat. "As long as we let them escalate the situation, the Prefectural Committee and Administration Office will surely find out. I don't even need to think to know someone is behind these Ruffians." He adjusted the air conditioning lever upwards slightly, directing it toward himself.
"Then, Secretary, why did you wait until four o'clock to take action today? Shouldn't you have quelled the situation as quickly as possible to prevent the impact from spreading?" Yang Xiaoshan still had doubts.
"The second time is weaker, the third time is exhausted," Yue Wangbei smiled. "You will understand."
...
Yong'an County, Renmin Road, County Guesthouse.
"The pipe network definitely needs replacing. The electrical wiring should still be usable; we only need to replace part of the Second floor," the Old Master Worker, dressed in a blue twill work uniform, said to Chen Donglai.
"If we include the pipe network, it's at least twenty thousand. I think the design of this building has some issues; if I had done it, it wouldn't have problems for fifty years."
The pipe network is twenty thousand, the exterior facade is over ten thousand, and the interior decoration starts at one hundred thousand. Without Two Hundred Thousand, it basically can't be done. Chen Donglai silently calculated the expenses.
Two Hundred Thousand in 1990 was a huge sum, enough to support several hundred Intellectuals for half a year. In those days, the monthly income of an ordinary worker was only a little over one or two hundred.
After seeing the Old Master Worker off, he noticed the guesthouse's service staff were already waiting for him in the Lobby. The leading girl was the Guest Room service supervisor, Yang Xiaojin, wearing a light gray Lenin Suit, her sash cinching her slender waist, outlining a graceful figure; a pair of peach blossom eyes accompanied by smiling brows made her look playful and cute. She parted her red lips slightly, "Director Donglai, the wages promised earlier still haven't been paid. We are owed a total of one year and nine months of half-pay." She put her hands behind her back. "The total is one thousand one hundred twenty."
Chen Donglai felt a headache coming on; the financial pressure was already suffocating him. "What about the rest of you? Is it one thousand one hundred too?"
"Two thousand five hundred," "One thousand eight hundred." The group chattered for a while before finally reporting a total to Chen Donglai: "Nine thousand six hundred fifty," said the Head Chef. Chen Donglai didn't have a single cent on him and could only issue a bad check. "Next time, next time for sure."
"Next time, next time, when is next time?" Yang Xiaojin's Eyebrows shoot up. "We are almost out of food at home. If you don't give us an explanation soon, how are we supposed to live?" Her words drew agreement from the others, and several female comrades started arguing amongst themselves. The Head Chef immediately picked up the conversation. "I heard that the County Middle School today..."
"Stop, stop right there." That sentence had hit Chen Donglai's weak spot. Even Yue Wangbei and Wang Zangfeng only dared to let the teachers cause a ruckus within their own Jurisdiction; if they actually went to the entrance of a higher-level unit, the consequences would be far more severe. "The full amount will be paid within two weeks." Chen Donglai promised. He already had a rough plan for fundraising.
...
Yong'an County, East Shizijie, Luo Family Compound.
"He really knows how to spend," Luo Qiyuan, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, handed his coat to his wife. "The Public Security Bureau wanted to add one more Santana for investigating cases in the countryside, which was only one hundred eighty thousand, but he was as stingy as a miser. One moment he says 'a Volga is the same,' the next he tells everyone to make do and use Qinglong Motorcycles. But today, he spent six hundred thousand in one day." Luo Qiyuan took off his leather shoes and walked inside.
"Isn't it an emergency?" his wife, Ye Xiaoling, replied while arranging his shoes. She was currently the Vice Principal of Yong'an Second Primary School. "We've only been receiving half-pay for months too. Why don't you find time to talk to him? Young teachers come to my office to cause trouble every day. Ha! Can this money be given to the County Middle School but not our Second Primary School?"
"There's no money for anyone," Luo Qiyuan sighed deeply and leaned back on the sofa. He had remarried his wife five years ago when she was just a newly hired Chinese teacher at Yong'an Second Primary School. In just two or three years, he had maneuvered her into the position of Vice Principal.
However, although her position had risen, her emotional intelligence hadn't. Yong'an Middle School was a provincial key middle school, famous throughout the entire Shiliang Region, with several students admitted to Jingshi University and Shuiyuan University every year. How could it compare to your small Second Primary School?
"Qiyuan, you haven't fallen out with the new Secretary and County Mayor, have you?" Ye Xiaoling looked worried. "Are they trying to target you?"
"Nonsense." Luo Qiyuan rubbed his temples. "Old Secretary Xiao's Secretary was the manager at the Meishan Coal Mine, and he got him removed." Thinking of this point also gave him a severe headache.
Whether it was promoting him to Director of the Public Security Bureau or Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Old County Party Secretary Xiao Zhe had, to some extent, helped him. In the eyes of outsiders, he had long been a member of the old Secretary's Faction. At a time like this, could he truly remain neutral?
The old Secretary and County Mayor had both retired. He had expected the new Secretary and County Mayor to come from Yong'an County itself, perhaps allowing him to advance further. Who knew that the new County Party Secretary was transferred from Shennü County, and the new County Mayor was even more outrageous, having been assigned from the Central Youth League.
Generally speaking, when the County Mayor succeeds the Secretary, and the Full-time Deputy Secretary succeeds the County Mayor, this kind of succession is more common in the selection of the Top one or two leaders. If the Top Leader is transferred in and the Second-in-command is from the local area, it is also more acceptable to the local cadres and the masses.
However, both the Top one or two leaders of Yong'an County were Outsiders, and the local cadres of Yong'an received nothing in this reshuffle.
Although Luo Qiyuan cared about advancing further, what he wanted to know more was, which nerve of the Prefectural Committee had they touched to make the Prefectural Committee show such little regard for the personnel arrangements in Yong'an County?
Was it just because they built a new government building? Was it worth it?
"I'll mention it to Xue Lou in a couple of days and see if we can get some funds approved for your school," Luo Qiyuan said out loud, but his mind was on other things.
He didn't want to clash head-on with Yue Wangbei. As the saying goes, the County Magistrate flows like water, but the petty official is set like iron. If he endures for a few years until these two big shots are gone, won't Yong'an County be decided by his own people? However, Qi Yong's position as Director of the County Party Committee Office wouldn't last long.
As soon as Ye Xiaoling heard there was money to be had, she finally broke into a smile. She sat down next to Luo Qiyuan, then wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and kissed his dry, wrinkled face.
Luo Qiyuan's lips curved slightly. "Oh, right, what did Qi Yong ask about yesterday?"
"I don't remember. Hmm, it seemed like he had a conflict with a child. He's fifty years old, and he's fighting with kids..."