After receiving the notice from the director of the government office, Zhang Zhisong, Lu Yiwei was in the office sketching out the task given by Zhang Zhiyuan, which made him very surprised. Why did Yang Derong want him to accompany him to the countryside? It was like the sun had risen from the west.
Zhang Zhisong did not inform Deputy Mayor Liu Wenchuan that he was coming. Instead, he told him to gather at the County party committee's compound in half an hour to go to the countryside together. Since Yang Derong came to Nanyang County, he had never called Lu Yiwei out alone. At most, he would nod at him. Yang Derong did not like the people around Zhang Zhiyuan. There was no reason.
Lu Yiwei was smoking and analyzing when Xu Jingye pushed the door open and came in. Lu Yiwei hated to be interrupted when he was thinking. Xu Jingye was a bit stupid. He had been an office director all his life, but he did not even know the basic etiquette.
Xu Jingye could tell that Lu Yiwei was unhappy. He said carefully, "Minister Lu, there is a woman looking for you downstairs."
"A woman?" Lu Yiwei was confused.
"Yes, she has been here for a long time. She was stopped by the security early in the morning and refused to leave. When the deputy mayor came, the people from the Letter and Visitors Bureau drove her away. Then, she said she was looking for you."
"Deputy mayor? Which deputy mayor? "
"It's that temporary leader, Liu Wenchuan, who came from the province."
"Oh." Lu Yiwei seemed to understand something. "Then bring her to my office."
"She is carrying a lot of things in her hands. Is it …"
"Put it in the office on the first floor. She will take it later."
"Okay!"
With curiosity, Lu Yiwei saw the woman. She was wearing ordinary clothes. After she came in, she lowered her head and grabbed the hem of her clothes. She stood at the door and did not dare to move forward.
Lu Yiwei looked at her from head to toe. He did not know her. He adjusted his sitting position and pointed at the sofa. "Come in and sit."
"I don't want to sit …" The woman raised her head and peeked at Lu Yiwei. Then, she quickly lowered her head.
Lu Yiwei was even more confused when he heard that the other party had an accent from Guchuan County. He didn't have any relatives in Guchuan County. Why was he looking for him? He got up and poured a glass of water for her. Then, he helped her to the sofa and sat down. "You can tell them that you're looking for me. It's winter, and it's very cold outside. Drink a glass of water to warm yourself up."
The woman picked up the cup, her body still trembling. Lu Yiwei observed that the woman's hands were like elm bark, wrinkled and purple from the cold. There were even a few cracks on her fingers, which made one feel sorry for her. Lu Yiwei let out a breath and said, "Auntie, are you looking for me?"
The woman hurriedly put down the cup and nodded pitifully.
"What is it?"
The woman nervously said, "I am, I am … I am Li Xiaojun's mother."
"Li Xiaojun?" Lu Yiwei didn't know such a person. He asked, "Auntie, did you find the wrong person? I don't know your son."
The woman shook her head desperately and said, "You don't know me, but I know you. Your brother-in-law gave my son a concussion … "
"Oh." Lu Yiwei remembered. Xia Jinhe's younger brother, Xia Jinpeng, was sentenced to three years in prison for using too much force in a fight and causing brain damage to the other party. The civil compensation was 30,000 yuan, which Lu Yiwei paid in advance. Later, he bought a lot of things and visited the other party. It could be considered as an apology to the other party.
Lu Yiwei immediately understood the woman's intention and said, "Didn't we settle it in one go last time? Both parties signed the agreement."
"No, no, no!" The woman hurriedly waved her hand and said, "Comrade leader, I'm also a decent person. I will never go back on my word. I'm not here for this matter."
"Then what is it?" Lu Yiwei was even more puzzled.
Suddenly, the woman burst into tears. It scared Lu Yiwei so much that he quickly closed the door and persuaded, "Auntie, if you have something to say, just say it. This is an office. Don't cry."
"I really don't know what to do, sob sob sob …" The woman didn't listen to Lu Yiwei's advice and cried even louder. It caused the surrounding offices to poke their heads out to look, thinking that something had happened.
Lu Yiwei tried his best to persuade the woman before she gradually calmed down. She said the reason, "Comrade leader, I was forced to come to you because I had no other choice. Two days ago, it snowed heavily, and my house collapsed. My disappointing son couldn't escape in time and was crushed to death … "As she spoke, the woman wailed again. Her wails were so miserable that it moved one's countenance.
Lu Yiwei didn't expect it to be like this. He was quite shocked and continued to listen to the woman.
After a while, the woman said, "I have a total of three sons. My eldest son died in a car accident when he was a teenager. My second son felt that the family was poor and went out to work early in the morning. I don't know where he is now. I only have one son by my side, and he's a disappointing thing. He's gluttonous and lazy, wandering around and doing nothing. After the accident, I finally managed to stay at home, but I didn't expect this to happen again. Why is my life so bitter? I really don't have the courage to live on. "
"Auntie, don't think that way." Lu Yiwei hurriedly persuaded, "Living is just one problem after another. There's no such thing as smooth sailing. If you have any difficulties, just tell me. I'll help you."
"Really?" The woman looked at Lu Yiwei with tears in her eyes, as though she had seen hope.
Lu Yiwei heard the gist of it. He looked at the woman with some pity and said, "Tell me, what do you need me to do?"
The woman said, "My family doesn't have any income. The compensation of 30,000 yuan was spent on my child's medical treatment. Now that my house has collapsed, I'm temporarily staying at a relative's house. This isn't a long-term plan, but I don't have the money to build a house. My relatives are poor, so I have no choice but to find you …"
"How much do you need?" Lu Yiwei said without hesitation.
The woman trembled as she extended three fingers.
"30,000 yuan?" Lu Yiwei said in surprise.
"No, no, no. I don't dare to ask for that much. 3,000 yuan," the woman hurriedly explained.
"Oh." Lu Yiwei heaved a sigh of relief. He took out his wallet and looked at it. There was only about a thousand yuan in it. He said, "Auntie, why don't you wait here for a while. I'll go get the money for you now."
"Okay, okay … Thank you so much." The woman smiled through her tears and said gratefully.
Just as Lu Yiwei was about to go out, the phone on his desk rang. He went back to pick it up and heard Zhang Zhisong say anxiously, "Yiwei, why aren't you coming down yet? County Yang is already in the yard."
Lu Yiwei looked up through the window. Yang Derong was indeed standing in the yard with Liu Wenchuan beside him. He immediately said, "Okay, I'll go down now."
Since there was still such a thing to be done, Lu Yiwei originally planned to let Xu Jingye handle it. However, after thinking for a while, he called Li Haidong. When it came to personal matters, he trusted the people around him more.
"Auntie, I still have work. Someone will come and give you money later. I don't have much. I'll give you 5,000 yuan and ask him to send you back. What do you think?" Lu Yiwei said.
"It's too much, too much …" the woman said repeatedly.
"Okay, that's it then. I'll go first."
Lu Yiwei quickly went downstairs and walked quickly to Liu Wenchuan. He stretched out his hand and greeted, "Mayor Liu, you're here."
Liu Wenchuan stretched out his hand and shook it. He smiled and said, "Yiwei, you're a busy man. I've been in Bei Zhou for so long, but you haven't come to see me. If I didn't come, would you not have planned to see me?"
If Liu Wenchuan was still a newspaper reporter, Lu Yiwei could speak more casually. However, he was now a deputy mayor. Naturally, he had to show a superior and subordinate relationship. He said humbly, "Mayor Liu, you're the leader of the city. I wouldn't dare to disturb you if there's nothing important. Moreover, I've been busy with work recently. I hope Mayor Liu can forgive me. "
At that moment, Yang Derong stepped forward and interrupted. He said half-jokingly, "Mayor Liu, I can vouch for that. Minister Lu is a busy man. He handles everything. He's very busy."
Lu Yiwei's smile froze on his face. On the surface, Yang Derong seemed to be joking. In fact, he had a deeper meaning. In other words, he was complaining that Lu Yiwei was a busybody. However, this was Zhang Zhiyuan's order. What could he do?
Liu Wenchuan heard something between the lines. He quickly stopped and said, "Alright, County Yang. Which town should we go to first?"
"Why don't we go to Guiyu first?" Yang Derong suggested.
"Didn't you say that Tongyang was the most affected?" Liu Wenchuan asked doubtfully.
"Oh … Alright then. Tongyang first." Yang Derong didn't want to take him to Tongyang Village because Gao Bowen had made a mess there. Some of the people affected by the disaster had not been settled down yet. Those who had been settled down were either short of clothes and blankets or food and water. He really didn't care about the interests of the people. He really didn't know what he was doing!
Before leaving, Liu Wenchuan asked Lu Yiwei to get into his car.
Liu Wenchuan had also noticed the little episode just now. He said, "Yiwei, are you having a bad time in Nanyang?"
Lu Yiwei did not expect Liu Wenchuan to be so direct. He pretended to be calm and said with a smile, "No, I think it's quite good."
"Don't lie to me. Your eyes have already betrayed you." Liu Wenchuan did not hide it. "Although I don't know everything about you, I know a little. I've wanted to come to you for a long time, but I haven't straightened out my relationship, so I haven't come. "You too. You know I'm here, but you didn't come to see me. Why? Are you afraid of others gossiping?"
Lu Yiwei did have such concerns. He said, "Mayor Liu, you know about the situation in Nanyang. I don't want to cause you too much trouble …"
"Don't call me Mayor Liu. It's just the two of us. We don't need to be so polite. It'll make us seem distant," Liu Wenchuan suddenly said seriously.
Although Lu Yiwei and Liu Wenchuan were from the same sect, they did not have a deep relationship. They had only met a few times, and it was only a relationship of interest. If it was not because of Cai Runnian, they probably would not have met each other more than a few times in this lifetime.
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