Chapter 35: People's Congress Representatives (4)

  Liu Jincai received a notification from Zhou Gan, saying that County Chief Zheng Xingyun wanted him to go on a trip, and he was hesitant in his heart. It should be said that at this time, Zheng Xingyun shouldn't have shown up.

  Zhou Gan's words of notification were also heard by Liu Jun. Seeing his father frowning, he couldn't help but remind him.

  "Dad, it's been a long time since we went fishing with Uncle Yan, hasn't it?"

  Liu Jincai nodded slightly.

  Yan Yucheng and Liu Jincan are not much different, although they have been suspended from work for reflection, they rarely return to their homes in the county seat, insisting on working in Taishan District. As for how others view this demoted seventh-ranking official, he doesn't care at all. This one thing alone can be seen that his moral integrity is far higher than Liu Jincan's.

  From Liushan to Taishan District Government, there are more than 20 miles. Liu Jincai didn't have a single bike and was worried that I was small and weak, so walking such a long distance would be too tiring, and he hadn't planned to bring Liu Jun along. But after Liu Jun insisted for a bit, he changed his mind.

  After passing by Ma Tang Bay, Liu Jun proposed inviting Mr. Zhou along, and Liu Jin also agreed.

  It was during the spring harvest, Mr. Zhou went out to work with everyone. Liu Jincai found him directly in the field. He greeted the production team leader, and the leader naturally had to give Director Liu some face.

  It is said that when going to see Yan Yu Cheng, Mr. Zhou did not even clean up, and after washing the mud off his legs in the pond, he headed straight for Taishan District. The master's academic approach was rigorous, but in life, he couldn't help but be a bit sloppy.

  "I figured you'd come looking for me around this time."

  Yan Yucheng sat upright in his office, looking at documents. No one came to report work to him. His own family couldn't afford to break the pot and scoop out the leftovers, or else he would marginalize himself. When meeting Mr. Zhou, he just nodded as a greeting.

  Liu Jincai was elected as a county people's congress representative, causing quite a stir. Yan Yucheng must have known about it.

  "Xiao Jun, there are still some biscuits at my uncle's house, come on, let's go eat them in my dormitory."

  Before Liu Jincai could speak, Yan Yucheng proposed again.

  Everyone understands tacitly. The office is crowded and there are prying eyes everywhere, so we must be careful that the walls have ears.

  Yan Yucheng indeed did not lie, and there were some candies in the dormitory, which his lover's daughter had brought over when she came to Taishan for a short stay recently. When Dad went out, he brought some dried radishes, pumpkin seeds and other snacks, and also took out a half bottle of homemade rice wine, and the four old and young people sat around the table.

  "Good job, Jin Cai! This is well done!"

  Yan Yucheng's first words were exactly this, with a radiant and refreshed expression on his face.

  "To be honest, I'm also feeling quite uneasy in my heart."

  Liu Jincai sighed bitterly.

  "What nonsense! This shows that the masses trust you."

  Yan Yucheng's eyes widened in anger.

  "Humph, I'm afraid Wang Benqing and Cui Xiuhuo wouldn't think so. They're now so angry that they'd like to swallow me whole!"

  Yan Yucheng said with hatred: "These two bastards, day and night they don't do anything proper, all they know is to play tricks and schemes... As long as Wang Benqing is in power, the commune members of Xiangyang County will not be able to live a good life!"

  "Uncle Yan, well said!"

  Liu Jun involuntarily applauded and praised.

  "Little rabbit, you understand again?"

  Yan Yucheng laughed and scolded.

  Liu Jun said seriously: "Don't ask about ghosts and gods, ask about the common people! As soon as we arrived at your doorstep, you didn't ask about the reaction of the county government, but instead worried about the lives of the members of the Yangyang County Community. Your intentions are upright and your heart is broad, indeed a good man with a sense of responsibility. People like Wang Benqing aren't even worthy of holding your shoes!"

  Liu Jun indeed had a high opinion of Yan Yuchen and didn't care about their views on him, speaking his mind freely. Naturally, he couldn't avoid the suspicion of deliberately trying to curry favor and flatter him.

  Three people with six eyes stared straight at Liu Jun, as if they absolutely did not believe that these words came out of an eight-year-old child's mouth.

  "Unparalleled national scholar, unparalleled national scholar... Jin Cai, you're really lucky, having befriended someone as upright and honest as Yu Cheng, and also having a son like Xiao Jun who's so talented and extraordinary, haha, what great fortune!"

  Mr. Zhou shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

  Alas, I accidentally got burned again. Liu Jun's whole body was covered in goosebumps and he hastily said: "Alright, Uncle Zhou, stop flattering me. Let's talk about serious matters instead. Why did Zheng Xingyun ask my dad to go to the county to find him at this time?"

  "What's with Zheng Xingyun? What does he have to do with anything now..."

  Yan Yucheng's voice trailed off halfway through his sentence. Apparently, he too had thought of the possibility that this matter could be linked to Zheng Xingyun.

  "Hmph, he's looking for Jin Cai at this time, there are only two reasons."

  Liu Jincan leaned his head forward, his expression extremely focused. Mr. Zhou also stopped drinking from his cup. As for the overall situation, Mr. Zhou had a better grasp than Yan Yucheng, but when it came to the internal struggles within a county, he was far inferior to this student. As for Liu Jincan, he could only listen attentively.

  The first reason is that he wants to make use of this matter to give Wang Benqing a hard time. He may even instigate Jin Cai to fire a shot at Wang Benqing at the county people's congress. Even if he can't bring down Wang Benqing, he wants to ruin his reputation, and Zheng Xingyun can benefit from it. Maybe he can take this opportunity to squeeze out Wang Benqing from Xiangyang County and replace him.

  Liu Jincai asked: "Is this approach too risky?"

  "What's the risk? Once it's done, Xiangyang County will be Zheng Xingyun's world. If it doesn't work out, he won't lose anything either. At worst, his relationship with Wang Benqing will deteriorate a bit more. Anyway, they're already like fire and water, and Zheng Xingyun won't care about Wang Benqing's opinion of him. The only one who'll be unlucky is Jin Cai."

  Liu Jincai took a deep breath of cold air.

  If it's really like that, then he would have committed a mortal sin against Wang Benqing.

  Mr. Zhou asked: "What if it's done? Zheng Xingyun will reward you for your merits, and you and Jincai can resume work, right?"

  Yan Yucheng curled his lip in disdain and said, "Zheng Xingyun is not a good thing either. He only knows how to fight with Wang Benqing for power and profit, forming cliques and factions. He's not someone who does things properly. Even if he didn't betray us, if we were to reward people based on their merits, I still wouldn't look up to him."

  This is true, last time Zheng Xingyun took the initiative to show kindness to Yan Yuchen, but he ran into a not-so-big-or-small soft nail.

  Liu Jincai had already made up his mind, and only took Yan Yuchen as a model. Seeing him say this, he immediately asked: "If Zheng Xingyun really means this, how should I respond?"

  "Leave him alone."

  Yan Yucheng waved his hand.

  "No matter what he says, just listen and don't comment."

  Liu Jincai nodded.

  Liu Jun suddenly said: "In that case, didn't my dad's efforts as a delegate go to waste? He couldn't say a word and became a mute calabash."

  "Haha, as long as your dad sits in the seat of the People's Congress in the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, it already explains everything, what else is there to say? It can't be used as a gun for others."

  Mr. Zhou slowly took a sip of wine and asked, "What's another possibility?"

  "Zheng Xingyun reached a compromise with Wang Benqing and came as a matchmaker for him."

  Liu Jincai was shocked: "This can't be? Zheng Xingyun would love to see Wang Benqing make a fool of himself."

  Yan Yucheng smiled.

  "Jin Cai, you really lack some experience. It's about to adjust the cadres, as long as Wang Benqing is willing to show some benefits, Zheng Xingyun can also temporarily cooperate with him. If I were Zheng Xingyun, I would do it this way."

  "Oh? Why?"

  "If we don't have more than 80% confidence in taking down Wang Benqing, then it's better to take advantage of this opportunity to gain some practical benefits."

  It's said that two sworn enemies can put aside their differences and make peace for the sake of profit, which made Liu Jincai feel a bit down. He wasn't a foolish person, he just couldn't accept this unspoken rule in the officialdom for the time being.

  ……

  Before Liu Hequn arrived, Zheng Xingyun was in a good mood. The conversation with Liu Jincheng went well, although Liu Jincheng did not explicitly express his attitude, at least he said that he would not speak nonsense at the People's Congress.

  That's enough, the NPC deputies have already been elected, it's too difficult to take them away, as long as Liu Jincai quietly sits in the Great Hall of the People for two days without speaking or making a statement, Wang Benqing's face will be saved.

  Zheng Xingyun wasn't worried that Wang Benqing would burn his bridges. In the officialdom, there are rules to follow, and no one can willfully destroy them. Especially this temporary compromise reached between factions, it cannot be taken lightly. If Wang Benqing really dared to go back on his word, he would probably find it difficult to sit stably in the Yangyang County government again.

  However, Liu Heqian's arrival completely ruined Zheng Xingyun's good mood.

  Liu Heqian was the secretary of Long Tiejun, the director of the Revolutionary Committee of Baozhou District, and was quite trusted by Long Tiejun. In general, he would follow Long Tiejun around.

  Zheng Xingyun saw Liu Heqian sticking his head out of the jeep, and was stunned for a moment before rushing over to greet him, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries while peeking into the jeep.

  Liu Heqian smiled and said: "Director Zheng, don't look anymore. Director Long hasn't come, it's just me."

  Zheng Xingyun was taken aback again: "Director Long hasn't come?"

  "What's wrong with me? Can't I come alone to your Xiangyang County and be received by Director Zheng?"

  Liu Heqian was joking.

  "It's nothing, Director Liu is being too polite. You're a distinguished guest, and it's hard to get you to come even when we invite you normally."

  The full-time secretary of the head of a region is usually at the deputy county level. Therefore, Zheng Xingyun respectfully referred to Liu Heqian as Director Liu.

  "Director Liu has arrived, what instructions does he have?"

  Zheng Xingyun asked tentatively.

  Liu Heqian went to the grassroots level alone, which is extremely rare. If it wasn't for personal matters, then he must have been instructed by Long Tiejun. However, as the top leader of Baozhou region, what matter couldn't be reported to the cadres of Xiangyang County in the region, and instead had to send his secretary to make a special trip?

  Zheng Xingyun was after all the second-in-command of Xiangyang County, and Liu Heqian didn't keep it from him. Smiling, he said: "Director Long asked me to come and understand some situation... um... specifically about that commune cadre in Xiangyang County named Liu Jincan being elected as a People's Congress representative. Director Long wants to know what's going on."

  "Huh?"

  Zheng Xingyun was shocked.

  "This matter has also shocked Director Long?"

  "What's this, does Director Zheng think it's a small matter? A cadre who has been suspended for reflection gets elected as a county people's congress representative, huh?"

  Liu Heqian glanced at Zheng Xingyun and smiled meaningfully.

  "Ah, no, not like that, I didn't mean it that way..."

  "What a coincidence! Liu Jincai happens to be here. Otherwise, I would have called him over to talk to Director Liu."

  "Oh? What a coincidence?"

  Liu Heqian was also slightly surprised and followed Zheng Xingyun's pointing hand to see the Lius, father and son, not far away.

  At this time, Liu Jincai's expression was also somewhat tense. Zheng Xingyun and Liu Heqian's conversation did not intentionally lower their voices, and the Liu father and son both heard it very clearly. The top leader of the region actually sent a secretary to personally understand the situation, how could Liu Jincai not be nervous?

  Facing Liu Jincai's gaze, Liu Heqian nodded slightly, which was considered a greeting. He then turned to Zheng Xingyun and said: "Director Zheng, please ask Comrade Liu Jincai to wait for a moment, I must first report to Director Wang."

  This is also the meaning that should be in the question. Although Liu Heqian was a "special envoy" of his superiors, etiquette cannot be abandoned. When he went to Xiangyang County to talk to the cadres below, it should have been informed to Wang Benqing.

  Long Tiejun's secretary came in person to understand the situation, and Wang Benqing naturally couldn't stop him. Although he was anxious and didn't know what Director Long meant, he had to lead Liu Heqian and Liu Jincan into the small conference room with courtesy.

  "Director Wang, Director Zheng, would you two also stay and understand the situation together?"

  Wang Benqing and Zheng Xingyun exchanged a glance, both nodding in unison.

  Liu Heqian said so, it must be Long Tiejun's order. Long Tiejun knew they didn't get along, but still wanted them to attend the conversation together, probably not wanting them to make wild guesses and create misunderstandings.

  Their astonishment was far less than that of the Liu father and son.

  The head of the local revolutionary committee is so high and unattainable in the eyes of ordinary people. Even if Liu Jun were reborn as a human, he would still find it hard to calm down like a balance scale.

  Liu Jincai walked into the conference room, and Liu Jun stood outside as usual. Although it was a county revolutionary committee meeting, no one came to drive him away. No one would pay attention to this little kid.

  "Are you Comrade Liu Jincai from Hongqi Commune?"

  Liu Heqian's voice was calm and low, without any emotional tone.

  "Yes, I am Liu Jincai."

  "Comrade Liu Jincai, please take a seat. My name is Liu Heqian, and I am the secretary of Director Long Tiejun of the local revolutionary committee. I have been entrusted by Director Long to ask you about some matters."

  Liu Jincan didn't make a sound and nodded his head.

  "Comrade Liu Jincai, were the two articles you and Comrade Yan Yucheng co-authored in the provincial newspaper, 'On Seeking Truth from Facts' and 'Again on Seeking Truth from Facts', written together by you and Comrade Yan Yucheng?"

  "Yes."

  Liu Jinchai didn't hesitate at all.

  Liu Jun's heart skipped a beat, wondering if the higher-ups had heard some rumors and suspected that these two articles came from Zhou. To think that Mr. Zhou hadn't even been cleared of suspicion yet, if the higher-ups really found out that these two articles were written by Mr. Zhou, the consequences would be severe.

  Fortunately, Liu Heqian did not get entangled in this issue and continued to ask in a calm and low tone: "What do you want to express with these two articles?"

  This question is too general and difficult to answer.

  Liu Jinchai hesitated and said, "It's just to express that a party member should uphold the spirit of 'seeking truth from facts' in their work, rather than blindly following superiors or books. Only through practice and seeking truth from facts can one verify the truth."

  "Oh... then what is your attitude towards the two disciplinary actions taken against you by the Yangyang County Revolutionary Committee?"

  Liu Jun's heart skipped a beat again. Liu He asked in a calm tone, but his words were sharp enough to leave little room for evasion.

  Liu Jincai's answer made me breathe a sigh of relief once again.

  "As a party member, I resolutely obey any decision of the organization."

  "Even if this decision is a penalty for you?"

  Liu Heqian kept staring at him without blinking.

  "Yes! Party members should believe in the party and believe in the organization!"

  Liu Jincai's response was also without hesitation.

  "So... Comrade Liu Jinchai, tell us about your election as a representative of Yangyang County People's Congress this time."

  "Director Liu, this is the trust of the masses of Hongqi Commune in me. I originally did not know that I had been elected as a people's congress representative, and it was Comrade Liu Jinwen, secretary of the branch of Liujia Mountain Brigade, who informed me of the election results."

  "Is your hometown also in Liujia Mountain Brigade?"

  "Yes."

  "What is the relationship between you and Liu Jinwen then? Are you brothers or cousins?"

  "No. We are just a big group of people with the surname Liu. If we must talk about brotherly relations, tracing back seven generations, we come from the same ancestor."

  "Ah, yes, it's our clan's brother."

  "Yes."

  "Comrade Liu Jincai, do you know who was originally the candidate for people's congress representative from Liujia Mountain Brigade?"

  "I didn't know at first. Later, Director Zhang of the commune told me that the candidate designated by the commune was Liu Jinwen, the branch secretary."

  "Oh, I see. So... Comrade Liu Jincai, if the superior organization asks you to give up this People's Congress representative qualification, will you accept it?"

  Liu Heqian's tone was still flat, as if chatting casually.

  Liu Jinchai did not respond.

  Liu Jun was stunned. Could it be that this was the real intention of Long Tiejun's call to Liu Heqian in Yangyang County? Or did Wang Benqing feel that it was absolutely unacceptable for his father to become a people's congress representative, so he brought out this "big shot" Long Tiejun? If that's the case, then Wang Benqing had invested a lot.

  "Excuse me, Director Liu, is this an organizational decision?"

  After a moment of silence, Liu Jin finally asked.

  "No, don't get me wrong, this is just a casual question from me, it doesn't represent the organization's decision, nor is it Director Long's opinion."

  "...since it's not an organizational decision, I still feel that I must not betray the trust of the masses of Hongqi Commune and strive to be a qualified people's representative."

  "Oh... alright, Comrade Liu Jincan, I have no more questions. Director Wang, Director Zheng, do either of you have any further questions to discuss with Comrade Liu Jincan?"

  "There is no nothing..."

  Wang Benqing and Zheng Xingyun were of one mind.

  "Alright, Comrade Liu Jincai, you can go back now. Thank you!"