Xi City was located in the southwest corner of Xijiang Province, separated from Nanzhou City by a mountain. This separation separated two completely different areas. On one side was a pure agricultural city surrounded by mountains with treacherous terrain, and on the other side was a new type of city with the most potential for development in Xijiang Province.
It was a stretch to say that Xi City was a pure agricultural city. The city was located on the Loess Plateau, surrounded by mountains, deep ravines, and almost no flat land. Almost all the villages were built along the mountainside, and only the urban area was built on a narrow river valley. That was all.
Xi City had almost no pillar industries. The strange thing was that Xi City and Bei City belonged to the same mountain range, but there were coal resources on the other side of the mountain, but there was nothing on the other side. There were only "thick soil" written with the vicissitudes of time. There were only one or two coal mining enterprises in the city, and the total output of the city was less than that of Maping County in Bei City.
Due to the geographical advantage, this place used to be fertile ground for third-tier factories. Most of the enterprises were mainly military, and the factories were mostly replaced by numerical codes. They were never announced to the public, and people did not know what these factories were for. Later, they found out that they mainly produced guns and ammunition, core secret weapons, aircraft and missile parts, and made great contributions to the early construction of the motherland. After the reform and opening up, the once mysterious and busy factories gradually withdrew, and Xi City became almost an empty city. This was a little similar to Bei City.
Without resources and factories, the financial income depended on meager agricultural taxes and higher-ups' grants, and could not make ends meet all year round. It was like living a poor life, and they could not lift their heads no matter where they went. So when outsiders mentioned Xi City, they would undoubtedly label it as poor and hide far away. Even the province seemed to have forgotten about it. Few leaders came here to investigate and visit, and outsiders called it a "child raised by a stepmother".
It was true that unruly people came from barren hills and unruly rivers. The social security of Xi City was particularly chaotic, and it exported "thieves", "burglars", and other "social workers" all year round, so people's impression of the place was even worse. In addition, there were many local evil forces and gangs. It was common to hear that gangs would clash with each other, and criminal cases were high. It became the most difficult area to manage in Xijiang Province.
Facing such an area, the leaders of the Provincial Party Committee had a headache. They had sent a working group to supervise the management, but every effort ended in failure. Even the province could not manage it, let alone other people. Nine out of ten leaders were not willing to go there, even if they were not promoted. Even if he went, his mind was not on development at all. Instead, he was always trying to use his connections to get transferred away. This was because being a leader in Xi City had become a high-risk occupation. A secretary of the Municipal Party Committee had been forcibly murdered here, and a mayor was still missing.
Foreigners were not willing to go there, so the province adopted the method of "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" to promote the local leaders to govern. Unexpectedly, the local leaders colluded with the local underworld forces to act as an umbrella and do some unspeakable things. It was said that a group of local gangs grew opium poppies in remote areas and sold drugs for a living. With such strong customs, whoever became a leader here would be unlucky. However, this "cushy job" fell on Guo Jinzhu.
It was said that the first thing Guo Jinzhu did after taking office was to get rid of a prostitution ring. However, his swift and decisive work style did not bring him good luck, and he even almost lost his life. It was not an exaggeration to say that working here was like fire and water.
As soon as Lu Yiwei drove the car to the border of Xi City, he immediately felt the desolation of the place. It was a winding mountain road, and there was no sign of life on the bare yellow soil on both sides. The road was full of potholes and bumps all the way. It was like sifting beans, and he felt like he was about to fall apart. Zhang Zhiyuan was fine, but Bai Yuxin got out of the car halfway and vomited violently. She looked like she was about to collapse.
As he left late, the sky gradually darkened before he reached the city of Xi City. It was Lu Yiwei's first time driving here, and he was completely unfamiliar with the road conditions. He could only move forward bit by bit. Zhang Zhiyuan, who was sitting in the back, was slightly nervous and kept reminding Lu Yiwei to drive slower. Bai Yuxin leaned against the seat weakly, her face pale and without a trace of blood.
At this time, Guo Jinzhu's new secretary, Cui Xiaofei, called Zhang Zhiyuan and asked where they were. It was dark outside, so Zhang Zhiyuan did not know where they were. He said vaguely that they were almost there. Cui Xiaofei was still worried and reminded them to be extra careful when they passed by Black Wind Mountain. There were often bandits, and if it came down to it, the local government would escort them there.
Hearing this, Zhang Zhiyuan found it a little funny. What era was it? There were still bandits? It was simply an alarmist. He said in a relaxed manner, "Thank you for your concern, Secretary Cui. We'll be there soon."
As soon as he hung up the phone, the car's headlights shone on a road sign. It read 'Black Wind Mountain Town'. Not to mention whether there were bandits in this place, just the name alone was enough to make people panic. Looking around, there were steep mountain walls on both sides. There was no sign of human habitation at all, and cars on the road were even rarer. Zhang Zhiyuan could not help but raise his vigilance. He reminded Lu Yiwei, "Yiwei, be extra careful. If you meet anyone who tries to stop you, just drive straight past them!"
Lu Yiwei had been driving for the whole afternoon, and he was already very tired. Coupled with his nearsightedness, he was not in a good state. He gritted his teeth and drove with difficulty.
After a sharp turn, there was another mountain. Lu Yiwei took a deep breath, stepped on the accelerator, and crawled slowly. When they finally climbed up the mountain, they saw a motorcycle parked in the middle of the road in the distance. A few people were standing there with cigarettes in their mouths, waving at Lu Yiwei's car.
Oh no! They really met some hooligans. Zhang Zhiyuan leaned forward and saw that there were five or six people. He pressed on Lu Yiwei's shoulder and said, "Ignore them. Go straight to the side." As he spoke, he took out his phone and was about to call Cui Xiaofei, but there was no signal. Zhang Zhiyuan could not help but panic.
Lu Yiwei was also calm. He carefully judged the distance between the two sides of the motorcycle, and felt that he could go to the right side. When he reached the front, he directly started the big car and shook the other party. Then he quickly turned the steering wheel, and when the other party covered his eyes with his hands, he sped to the right side, narrowly avoiding the disaster.
Lu Yiwei drove quickly in the front, and the motorcycle chased after him, honking and flashing its headlights. Zhang Zhiyuan looked back and said, "Yiwei, don't stop. Speed up."
After all, the speed of the motorcycle was not as fast as four wheels. After a few turns, the motorcycle was out of sight. Zhang Zhiyuan let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. Lu Yiwei's hands grasped the steering wheel tightly, and his legs were trembling. After all, this was not his territory. If he really encountered bandits, he really did not know how to deal with them.
Finally, they went down the mountain. There seemed to be a few moving lights not far away. Lu Yiwei finally felt relieved.
However, as they got closer and closer to the light, Lu Yiwei felt that something was wrong. When he walked near a bridge, he also saw a motorcycle in the middle of the bridge. It seemed to be the same group of people. Lu Yiwei's heart tightened. He carefully checked the road on both sides and found that the bridge was the only way.
Lu Yiwei parked the car on the side of the road and quickly thought of a solution. Zhang Zhiyuan, who was sitting in the back, had never seen such a situation before. He was already scared out of his wits. He kept urging Lu Yiwei to give him money if they wanted it, and not to fight with them. Bai Yuxin kept calling the phone, but there was no signal. She was so angry that she cursed.
Lu Yiwei thought about it. As long as the other party came on a motorcycle, he would immediately run away. Before he could complete his plan, a sudden brick smashed directly into the front windshield. Fortunately, the front of the car was stuck to the film. There were only cracks, but it did not break.
Zhang Zhiyuan and Bai Yuxin were so scared that they hid under the car seat, and said that they regretted coming here. Lu Yiwei, on the other hand, was unusually calm. He threw his phone under the car seat, took out his ID card, bank card, etc. from his wallet, and hid the 50,000 yuan he carried with him. After a series of actions, a group of people quickly surrounded him. They held sticks and violently hit the car. After a while, all the glass around was broken, but it did not break through.
Lu Yiwei decisively got off the car and locked the door from the inside. When he raised his head, he was almost scared out of his wits. There were more than ten people, and each of them had a weapon in their hands. Although he could not see their faces in the dark, he could imagine what they looked like.
"Why are you running? Ah?" A man walked up and fiercely hit Lu Yiwei's back with a stick.
"Ah!" Lu Yiwei felt a burning pain in his back. He staggered and almost fell to the ground.
"Hey! You're quite tough! Go f * ck yourself! "A man kicked Lu Yiwei's chin. Lu Yiwei felt a heat in his mouth, and a stream of blood quickly flowed out.
Lu Yiwei tried to see the other party's face. He stood up and slowly moved towards the headlights. At this time, a car came from the opposite direction. The headlights shone on the face of the man who hit him. Lu Yiwei guessed that this person should be the leader of the gang.
The car roared past, afraid that it would be robbed by these hooligans. However, one of the henchmen threw a brick at the car, and the rear window made a crisp sound of breaking. Even so, the car did not stop. It stepped on the accelerator and drove away from the scene of trouble.
Lu Yiwei decided to stall and negotiate with the leader of the gang. "Brother, I can see that you're a gangster. To tell you the truth, I used to be a gangster too. Let's talk it over. I don't need money!"
The man seemed to be more interested in the fact that Lu Yiwei used to be a gangster. He walked up and lifted Lu Yiwei's chin with one hand and patted his face with the other. He asked fiercely, "Which gangster were you a gangster?"
Lu Yiwei was dumbfounded. He replied casually, "Do you know about the Tong Mountain Society in Jiangdong?"
The Tong Mountain Society was a gang that was famous in the province. The man spat on Lu Yiwei's face in disdain. "You? The Tong Mountain Society? You drive a car from Bei Zhou City and claim to be from the Tong Mountain Society. Who are you kidding? Don't mess with me. I'm very angry today. You have two choices. Either you give me a million, or you leave your legs behind. "
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