Chapter Thirty-One: Delivery to Your Doorstep

  Liao Qingkai's words encouraged Yan Yuchen even more than Liu Jincheng.

  Liu Jincai had not long been transferred from a technical cadre to an administrative cadre and still retained the good habit of reading books. Yan Yucheng was different, although his academic qualifications were higher than those of his father, he had been a grassroots leader for many years and was used to being in power. When he suddenly stopped working and reflected, he became idle and almost suffocated.

  But Liu Jun never thought that Yan Yucheng would come up with such an idea - to go fishing in the freezing cold!

  Yan Yucheng was seen wearing a raincoat over his military uniform, with a conical hat on his head and a fishing rod in hand, sitting quietly by the reservoir. Liu Jun almost fell over.

  Liu Jincai listened to his son's message from Liao Qingkai and his first reaction was to find Yan Yuchen.

  If it can be said that Liu Jincai and Yan Yuchen were somewhat distinguishable from each other before, then since the publication of "On Seeking Truth from Facts", there have been no obstacles at all, and they are now indistinguishable.

  Liu Jun didn't know if such a close relationship would have any adverse effects on their future careers. Liu Jun wasn't familiar with the officialdom, only knowing some superficial things from TV. It seems that everyone says there are no eternal enemies or friends in the officialdom, only eternal interests. But Liu Jun really hoped they could break this convention.

  No matter what one does in this life, even if they are as noble as a king or rich beyond measure, without friends, happiness is truly unattainable.

  Yan Yucheng has a broad vision and a strong sense of responsibility. It should be reassuring to have someone like him as a friend.

  "Uncle Yan, do you know how to fish?"

  Liu Jun couldn't help but shout out loud.

  Yan Yucheng turned his head slightly and smiled faintly: "I don't understand, are you saying you do?"

  Liu Jin was walking ahead, but he seemed not to have seen him.

  Given their relationship, there's no need for any formalities anyway.

  Liu Jun glanced at the small bucket beside him, and as expected, it was spotless with half a bucket of water, not to mention fish, but even a single shrimp couldn't be seen.

  "Alas..." Liu Jun let out a sigh like a little adult and said, "When the temperature is too high or too low, fish won't eat. In extreme cold or heat, it's better to stay still than move around. This kind of weather really isn't good for fishing."

  "Who says I'm fishing? I'm catching snow!"

  An old man fishing alone in a snowy river, wearing a conical hat and a raincoat made of reeds.

  Director Yan is actually so elegant and refined, it's really unexpected.

  Liu Jun said naturally: "Uncle's temperament is too strong, fishing can indeed resolve the restless atmosphere. Being in officialdom, sometimes it's really anxious."

  Regretted as soon as it was said.

  Although they no longer consider themselves ordinary teenagers, these few words are also too old-fashioned. Even those who have been immersed in officialdom for decades may not be able to understand them.

  "You you you..."

  Yan Yucheng pointed at Liu Jun, his expression as if he had seen a ghost. He stole a glance at Liu Jincai's face, which didn't look much better. Fortunately, after experiencing several rounds, Liu Jun had gradually figured out a way to cope. That was to divert attention and talk about something else.

  "Yan Bo Bo, Liao Qing Kai has a message for you."

  "Liao Qingkai, which Liao Qingkai?"

  It's no wonder that who can associate a provincial party secretary and deputy director of the provincial revolutionary committee with a young student from Xiangyang County?

  Liu Jun shook his head repeatedly, making a "tsk" sound with his mouth: "Uncle Yan, your political sensitivity is not enough. In our N Province, is there another Provincial Revolutionary Committee Deputy Director named Liao Qingkai?"

  With a "whoosh" sound, the fishing rod slipped to the ground. Yan Yucheng suddenly stood up, his expression strange.

  "Liao Qingkai has arrived in Yangxian County? What message does he want to pass on to me? Xiao Jun, quickly tell Uncle..."

  Liu Jun smiled and stepped aside.

  It's more suitable for old dad to recount his own "great achievements". Things like "a mouse on the scale, self-proclaimed and self-praised" can't be done too much.

  Liu Jincai briefly recounted what his son had done in the No. 3 mining area of the July 1st Coal Mine, glossing over the repair of the electric motor and focusing on the conversation with Liao Qingkai.

  But Yan Yucheng showed another side of his personality, extremely strong curiosity, and actually pushed Liao Qing to one side, staring straight at Liu Jun: "You fixed the electric motor of the Qi Yi coal mine?"

  Liu Jun didn't expect him to be so gossipy, and had no choice but to answer simply: "It's just that the base is loose, the bearing has been worn out for a long time, and it will burn out after a while. It's a pretty simple problem, not hard to fix at all. I even made some money from cigarettes, wine, and snacks. The cigarettes, my dad brought over a few packs for you, the meat and cookies have already been eaten, and the wine is left for you and Old Man Zhou to drink whenever you're free to go to Liujiashan."

  Yan Yucheng shook his head: "Look at what you're capable of, you little scamp!"

  His own son is so capable, Liu Jincai's face also has a glow, but it doesn't stop Yan Yucheng from gossiping, and he's still on the side stirring up trouble: "Even I didn't expect that after teaching him electrical principles for a few days, he'd dare to repair the motor."

  Yan Yucheng's eyes widened: "Cigarettes, hand them over."

  It seems like Old Liu's family owes him instead. This guy has a thick skin indeed.

  Liu Jincai hehe smiled and handed over a few packs of "Flying Pigeon" cigarettes.

  "Good guy, so young and already knows how to make money, when he grows up, he'll definitely become a big capitalist?"

  "Never mind the capitalist, let's talk about what Liao Qingkai means first?"

  Liu Jincai was somewhat unsure whether Liao Qingkai's words were just a polite phrase or had another meaning. In terms of experience in official circles, he was far inferior to Yan Yucheng.

  Yan Yucheng narrowed his eyes: "Liao Qingkai's meaning is very simple, this matter has not been settled yet."

  "What did you say?"

  "Wang Benqing made the decision to suspend us, and the provincial government was not informed. At least not all the big leaders in the province knew about it. I guess Wang Benqing proposed the suggestion, Zhou Peiming expressed his support, and then privately asked a leader in the province for instructions, and made this decision to suspend and reflect."

  This analysis coincides with Liu Jun's analysis.

  Yan Yucheng's face showed a thoughtful expression, and he said slowly: "This suspension for reflection also has some meaning. Put nicely, it means to advance with the situation and retreat when necessary; put not so nicely, it means leaving room for turning the rudder according to the wind."

  When it comes to these things, his cleverness and wisdom all came back.

  "Turn the rudder with the wind?"

  Liu Jincai was somewhat puzzled.

  "That's right. Once the wind direction changes, they just need to say a word and we can resume our work, no harm done, at least not much. Even if facts prove that our views are correct, at least one charge of 'undisciplined' would still be valid. Can't say it was wrong to punish us."

  After listening to this analysis, even if it wasn't Liu Jincai, but Liu Jun, he would also be deeply impressed. The twists and turns in the officialdom are truly not few.

  "So, Jin Cai, don't worry about it either. Just stay at home, read books, rest and have a good New Year's celebration. When we resume work will depend on when the wind direction changes upstairs."

  ……

  Yan Yucheng's words had a soothing effect on Liu Jinchai, and after returning home, his mind was much calmer. Apart from reading books, he often visited the homes of the branch secretaries and team leaders in nearby teams. This would have been unimaginable for Liu Jun in his previous life. Liu Jinchai didn't like visiting people's homes. As a technician, he wasn't gossipy by nature, and visiting people was not something he was suited to do. Now that he had changed careers to administration, he had turned over a new leaf. Although he was currently suspended from work for reflection, who knows when he would receive a notice and be reinstated? Maintaining relationships with team cadres would also help his future work. Liu Jinchai's reputation had been excellent in the past, and he was well-known throughout the region for being helpful. Whether or not he was suspended from work didn't affect the enthusiasm of those team cadres towards him.

  On the twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month, an unexpected guest came to visit.

  The unexpected guest was Zhang Kuangchang, the mine owner of Qi Yi Coal Mine. He didn't come alone and brought a small truck loaded with coal.

  Liu Jun is not a car enthusiast, but that GAZ-51 still makes me excited. It's a very cool car, and it looks like the "old Jiefang" to the fullest, just a bit smaller. In fact, the FAW Liberation brand medium truck is an imitation of the GAZ-51. The GAZ car has strong horsepower and excellent climbing performance, making it very suitable for hilly areas like Xiangyang County. However, with the rise of domestic mid-card superpowers in the late 1980s, it became difficult to see the shadow of the GAZ car again. Nevertheless, in 1978, the GAZ car was still often seen.

  Liu Junru stared at the Geely car with interest, and Zhang Kuanglong thought it was just a rural child's curiosity about cars, and his heart inexplicably felt some comfort - Liu Jincai's son, after all, still had an ordinary side as a child. Otherwise, he would be too clever, his own child was eleven or twelve years old, compared to him, it was like comparing with a baby doll.

  It was just Liu Jun's guess, but Zhang Kuang didn't show any expression on his face, which was full of smiles, and he greeted Liu Jun as if he had seen an old acquaintance of the same age.

  "Is Master Xiao Liu, Teacher Liu at home?"

  "Ah, Director Zhang, it's been a long time..."

  Liu Junye beamed with a smile and greeted him with a handshake.

  The driver of the GAC car was from the mine. When Liu Jun made a big show in the third mining area, he estimated that he was not present. Seeing Zhang Mine Director bowing down and shaking hands with Liu Jun with a serious expression, he couldn't help but rub his eyes, suspecting that he had seen it wrong.

  Lao Zhang, although newly promoted to deputy mine director, is also a regular deputy county-level cadre, and has no less power than the local vice-county level leaders. He shouldn't have to fawn over a little kid, should he? Just look at this house made of half-bricks and half-earth bricks, it's not like some big shot lives here.

  Liu Jincai heard the movement and walked out in big strides.

  "Zhang Mine Long..."

  "Teacher Liu..."

  They really knew each other. Later, Liu Jun found out that Zhang Kuang had been the head of the third mining area before and was an old acquaintance of his own father.

  When familiar people meet, they have a lot to chat about. Zhang Kuanglong lavished praise on Liu Jun, and also gave Liu Jincheng a big boost. Liu Jincheng has a bad habit - he doesn't care about money, but is greedy for fame and loves to listen to flattering words. Zhang Kuanglong is super eloquent, almost making Liu Jincheng dizzy with his smooth talk, laughing so hard that his mouth couldn't close, repeatedly inviting Zhang Kuanglong and the driver to come in and sit down.

  "Teacher Liu, if it wasn't for Little Liu's impressive skills that day, I, Old Zhang, would have lost face in front of Director Liao in the provincial government, haha..."

  "It's just a child's luck, don't praise him anymore, Zhang Kuang."

  "Teacher Liu, the New Year is approaching, and we, the coal black family, don't have anything good to offer, just a lot of charcoal. I had someone dig up some charcoal in the Yan Shi Mountain, hoping you won't despise it."

  Liu Jincai was startled, could it be that this carbon was sent to his own home? A truck of carbon is at least two tons or more, 4,000-5,000 catties, which is a big favor. He and Zhang Kuangchang were just acquaintances, how could he afford such a big favor?

  Liu Junye had stunned Old Zhang. What was this guy thinking? Was it just to fix an electric motor? If Liu Junye really was only eight years old, maybe he would have believed it.

  "Zhang, this cannot be allowed."

  If it were in the past, Liu Jin would have jumped up, but now that he has experienced many storms, he won't be easily shocked or surprised.

  "Ah, Teacher Liu, the coal excavated from Shiqi Mountain didn't cost a single penny of public funds. What's wrong with using it? Little Li... unload the coal..."

  Zhang Kuang handled things efficiently, and the driver, Xiaoli, was not slow either. Before Liu Jincai had a chance to say anything, he had already unloaded the car of coal onto the sun-drying platform outside the house.

  Liu Jincai was a straightforward person, seeing Zhang Kuang's enthusiasm, he no longer dissuaded him and didn't say polite words like "give me money". Because he knew that Zhang Kuang would not accept it under any circumstances, besides, he didn't have that much money on him anyway.

  Liu Jun looked at the coal, which was pitch black and shiny. It didn't look like it had been dug out from the mountains of Yueshan at all. It was actually top-grade firewood (the Liu family's dialect for anthracite). There was a huge pile of it, enough to last their household for a whole year.

  Coal miners burn coal at home, and it's impossible to spend money to buy it. Most of them dig a little in the mountains, but to pull out a whole truck of new carbon and send it to someone, only leaders like Zhang Mine Master with great power can do it. In 1978, the wind of giving gifts had not yet prevailed, and Zhang Mine Master already had such a big handwriting, indeed he was bold and generous. Liu Jun was just surprised why he wanted to give such a big gift to his own father. Liu Jincai was only "not making mistakes", and was just the deputy director of the commune, and with him as the deputy county team leader, there were several levels of difference, so it was not necessary for him to fawn on him.

  He put down the coal, Zhang Mine Master said a few more polite words, and then stood up to bid farewell.

  Liu Jincai refused to let go, no matter what he said, he had to keep them for a meal.

  Zhang Kuang didn't stand on ceremony, exchanged a few pleasantries and continued to sit down with Liu Jincai to chat, but listening between the lines, he was actually probing into the relationship between the Liu family and Liao Qingkai.

  Liu Jun couldn't help but feel a little dazed and amused. He didn't expect that his conversation with Director Liao would cause such a big commotion. It was likely that he wasn't the only one who felt this way.

  Although Director Liao's words were quite grandiose, there was no hint of personal motives. However, it is inevitable that some speculation will arise when the Deputy Director of the Provincial Revolutionary Committee shows such concern for the Deputy Director of the Red Flag Commune.

  Being in the official circle, if you only understand the problem according to the surface meaning of the leader's words, your achievements will be limited. Zhang Kuang was able to rise to the deputy county level at the age of 30 or so, and his background must have been extraordinary. It is not clear whether Liu Jun has a special relationship with Liao Qing, but sending this car of coal will not suffer much loss.

  Liu Jincai just laughed and chatted with him, saying some irrelevant words, and avoided him.

  They were originally unrelated, and if they didn't avoid each other, what would happen?

  Zhang Kuang saw that Liu Jincai was evasive in his words and revealed an expression of tacit understanding, tactfully not pursuing the matter further.

  Liu Jun secretly smiled, sometimes pretending to be mysterious and unexpectedly achieving the desired effect. I suppose Dad has learned another trick?