Lu Yiwei returned to the township government office and went upstairs. Yang Derong was already sitting in front of his desk, reading the newspaper. Li Zhaoqing, the director of the government office, accompanied him, which made him very puzzled. When the county magistrate came to supervise the forest protection and fire prevention work, at least the deputy county magistrate in charge of forestry and the leaders of relevant forest-related and safety-related units should accompany him. What surprised him even more was that Wang Erzhu from Shiwan Village was also there.
"County Yang, you're here." Lu Yiwei did not have time to think about this and quickly went up to greet him. He then turned around and said to Song Yong, "Hurry up and pour some tea for County Yang."
"There's no need!" Yang Derong closed the newspaper and leaned back in his uncomfortable boss' chair. He flicked the cigarette ash with his index finger and raised his head to look at Lu Yiwei. "How's the preparation going in your village?"
Lu Yiwei looked at Yang Derong's unfathomable eyes and reported, "In accordance with the spirit of your speech at the meeting yesterday, our Shiwan Village does not dare to slack off. All the staff members of the government have gone to the village to supervise the area. Every village has also sent villagers to patrol the mountains. We're trying our best to keep an eye on everyone and ensure that nothing goes wrong. In addition, we've also prepared an emergency team of 50 people to be on standby. All the relevant firefighting equipment is ready … "
Yang Derong nodded as he listened. He admired Lu Yiwei's ability from the bottom of his heart. His thinking was clear, his arrangements were well-organized, he was brave and resourceful, and his speech was watertight. No wonder Zhang Zhiyuan valued him so much. He was indeed capable. If he was not Zhang Zhiyuan's man, Yang Derong would really want to pull him to his side. Using such a person would make him feel at ease.
Yang Derong thought this in his heart, but he could not show it on his face. He said with an indifferent look, "What you said is the same for every village. I don't listen to you. Even if you exaggerate, can you guarantee that there won't be a fire?"
Lu Yiwei felt a little embarrassed. Wasn't this just nitpicking? He suppressed his anger and said, "I can't guarantee that, but I will reduce the risk to a manageable level."
With a sly smile, Yang Derong stood up and said, "Yiwei, I heard that you took out five hundred thousand yuan to protect the forest and prevent the fire. Let's not talk about whether the use of this fund is reasonable or not. If something happens after spending so much money, it will be a joke. Let's see how you explain it then!"
Yang Derong was threatening him step by step, but Lu Yiwei was not to be outdone. He gritted his teeth and said, "County Yang, if there was a fire in Shiwan Village this time, you don't have to say anything. I will take the initiative to ask the organization to punish me."
Hearing Lu Yiwei's words, Yang Derong's smile froze on his face. He walked up to Lu Yiwei and glared at him with his big eyes. Panting heavily, he said, "Are you threatening me?"
Lu Yiwei did not avoid Yang Derong's eyes. He said in a neither servile nor overbearing manner, "This is my attitude."
"Great!" Yang Derong suddenly turned back to his desk and sat down. "Everyone heard it. Since you are so confident, I will add one more condition. As long as there is no fire, all the expenses for protecting the forest and preventing the fire in Shiwan Village this time will be borne by the county finance, including the reward funds you mentioned." Obviously, he did not believe that Lu Yiwei had the confidence.
Since he had said so much, Lu Yiwei had to go to the tiger's den even though he knew that there was a tiger in the mountain. He smiled and said, "Thank you, County Yang, for your support."
Yang Derong did not say much. He looked at his watch and asked Wang Erzhu, who was beside him, "Have you contacted CEO Wang? How soon will he arrive?"
When Wang Erzhu heard the question, he immediately stood up and said, "County Yang, I called him half an hour ago and said that he set off from Jiangdong City. He will probably arrive in another half an hour."
"Oh, are you ready for that?"
"I'm ready."
Hearing this, Lu Yiwei had a rough idea of what was going on. As mentioned earlier, one of Wang Erzhu's distant relatives was the chief engineer of a power company in a province in the south, which was equivalent to a deputy department leader. Every year on the Qingming Festival, he would come back to pay respects to his ancestors and visit their graves. Yang Derong had come to accompany him when he got the news.
Although Nanyang County was a remote county established in the Han Dynasty and most of the people were descendants of the Qiang people, there had not been any famous people in history. There were none in ancient times and very few in modern times. According to the relevant data held by the county, there were many people from Nanyang working outside, mostly in Jiangxi and Hunan. They were all sent out as cadres in the south and were active in various fields. However, only a few of them had become senior cadres. There were people from Nanyang everywhere in Jing City, the provincial capital, and the army. The highest position was the head of a province, but they rarely came back to pay respects to their ancestors on the Qingming Festival.
Compared to the officials from other counties, it was unusual for the Nanyang officials to do so. Why? It all started from the stormy decade. The people of Nanyang County were conservative. Even if they starved to death, they were unwilling to leave their homes. This was the case in the past, and it was still the case now. After the Cultural Revolution began, the county was divided into two factions. The struggle was extremely fierce, especially for the rich peasants and some intellectuals. They were locked in cowsheds and criticized all day long. Those who were strong and determined made it through, while those who couldn't bear it became insane. Some even chose to commit suicide. Most of their descendants chose to escape. Those who left went on to make a name for themselves in the outside world.
After their careers were successful, they took their parents away. Some even moved the graves of their dead relatives away, leaving this sad place. Similar situations were not uncommon. Over the years, successive leaders had tried to get close to these people, hoping that they would come back to visit their hometown. However, the scars in their hearts that were difficult to heal made them unable to accept it. They chose to refuse again and again.
As for those cadres who went south, they had already settled down in the south. Most of their relatives were no longer there, so there was not much point in them coming back. Therefore, very few people came back to pay respects to their ancestors every year.
In today's era of relationships, this force should not be underestimated. They were either high-ranking officials, academic celebrities, or business tycoons. Their strong connections and sufficient funds were indispensable to the construction of their hometown. For example, the CEO of Foxconn, Guo Taiming, whose ancestral home was Jincheng, Shanxi. He could build a company in his hometown without considering transportation, market resources, and operating costs. To put it bluntly, he was doing it for the welfare of his hometown.
In order to attract these resources, the local governments used all their means. The most common were hometown associations, sororities, etc. Every year, the leaders of the four sets of teams would travel to different places to hold different forms of sororities. Although it did not play a big role, they had to invest in potential stocks. Who knew which boss would make a fortune one day, or which official would be promoted? As long as they could get it, they would make a profit.
Yang Derong came early to wait for Wang Erzhu's relatives. He had put in a lot of effort and thought. This indirectly showed that in Yang Derong's eyes, this person was useful.
With Yang Derong around, Lu Yiwei was also embarrassed to leave. Could it be that he had to accompany this so-called leader to the grave? His own family's grave was done by his father, but now he had to accompany a stranger to someone else's grave. He was really speechless.
Yang Derong seemed to have seen through Lu Yiwei's thoughts and said, "You go and supervise. I will guard here."
Lu Yiwei could not leave or stay. If he left, people would say that he did not know how to appreciate favors and did not know how to read the situation. If he did not leave, who would bear the responsibility if something happened? Moreover, he had boasted in front of Yang Derong just now. After thinking about it again and again, he decided to stay. He told Song Yong, "Song Yong, you go and supervise. I will go later."
Song Yong looked back at the expressionless Yang Derong, nodded to the others, and left.
Since they did not have a common topic, the group did not speak for a long time. Lu Yiwei tried to break the deadlock several times, but when he saw Yang Derong's arrogant look, he finally chose to give up.
In fact, Yang Derong was also very anxious. He did not go and supervise the forest protection and fire prevention, but waited here for a "person" who did not seem to be of much use at the moment. Who knew if this person would be successful in the future? If he was really promoted, then he would have won the bet.
Wang Erzhu hung up and said excitedly, "County Yang, my Second Uncle has arrived at the entrance of Shiwan Village."
Yang Derong quickly got up and hurried downstairs.
At the entrance of Guozigou Village, Lu Yiwei finally met this "big shot." He was not big, looked steady, and had a strong scholarly aura. He spoke not very fluent Mandarin, mixed with the Nanyang dialect from time to time. After greeting each other, the group walked up the mountain.
On the way, the big shot and Yang Derong chatted enthusiastically, pointing at each other from time to time, reminiscing about the interesting things that happened when they were children, and sighing about the passage of time. The others nodded from time to time, looking as if they had suddenly realized something. They almost took out a small notebook to record it. Seeing this, Lu Yiwei found it a bit funny.
When they finally reached the grave, they were so tired that they were panting like dogs. Yang Derong's reaction was even more intense. He sat on the ground and panted heavily. He took the cigarette that Wang Erzhu handed to him and smoked two or three cigarettes in a row before he recovered.
The big shot's ancestral grave had been renovated by Wang Erzhu. It was surrounded by a bluestone fence, and there were cypress trees as tall as a person planted around it. The grave was made of bricks and stones, and there was an expensive white marble tombstone. It looked out of place compared to other people's mound graves.
The big shot came empty-handed, but Wang Erzhu had prepared everything for the sacrifice. After brewing his emotions for a while, he offered incense, offered sacrifices, and burned ghost money in front of the villagers. When it was time to kowtow, Yang Derong made a surprising move. He actually knelt down, and the others followed suit. A man's knees were gold. Lu Yiwei did not agree, but just stood at the side and paid his respects.
After the sacrifice, the big shot returned to the village and sat under the big locust tree at the entrance of the village with his peers, chatting enthusiastically. Yang Derong stood at the side and laughed from time to time, but Lu Yiwei was not in the mood to listen to this. After a while, he used his phone to control the latest news in front of him.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
