Chapter 17

"Xu Jia's boy, what do you mean by that!"

Even the most patient person would find it hard to tolerate Xu Junran's completely ungracious tone and words. Wang Qianian's old face darkened, and he immediately reprimanded Xu Junran with dissatisfaction.

On the side, Wang Musheng directly said to Yang Weitian in a stern voice, "County Chief Yang, did you call us here just to be humiliated by the people of Li Family Town? I will report you to the county committee!"

At that time, the functions of the party committee and the government were just beginning to be separated, and they were not yet clearly defined. For example, in the county committee, there were as many as six or seven deputy secretaries, and every cadre concurrently held the position of deputy secretary of the party committee. The status of the government was far from as high as it would be in later times. For instance, County Chief Yang Weitian was basically a puppet in front of County Party Secretary Yan Wangsong. He had little say in many matters of the county government, with most decisions being made by Yan Wangsong.

The situation at the grassroots level was similar. For example, Wang Musheng, as the party secretary of a people's commune under the county, did not take County Chief Yang Weitian seriously. On one hand, this was because the clan forces in Wude County were powerful, and the government leaders had little prestige at the grassroots level. On the other hand, it was because Yang Weitian was the head of the county government, while Wang Musheng was the head of the Dawa Village Commune Party Committee. In principle, the commune party committee was directly led by the county committee.

Xu Junran, watching Wang Musheng's attitude, couldn't help but frown.

He remembered that in just a few years, the central government would address the confusion between the functions of the party and the government, and the phenomenon of the party replacing the government, proposing the strategy of separating the party and the government. Additionally, in the autumn of 1983, the formal abolition of the grassroots people's communes would begin. In the coming years, the entire country would gradually move towards a situation where the government and the party committee had separate functions.

To be fair, Xu Junran also felt that the lack of separation between the party and the government was not good. In the current situation, the party committee was both the father and the mother, at the forefront of administrative work, and even became one side of the conflict. Party cadres are also human, and there will inevitably be different opinions and disagreements in their work. Although they share common interests, their special interests cannot be ignored. Where there are conflicts, there must be coordination. The government must coordinate various interests and conflicts, and the party committee must be good at coordination work. One of the five responsibilities of the local party committee is to "coordinate the activities of various organizations in the region." If the party committee takes over the work of the government and various economic and cultural organizations, making all decisions and executing them, it becomes a party to the conflict, leaving no room for maneuver and actually losing its qualification to coordinate conflicts.

Just like in Wude County now, everything is decided by the party committee led by the old secretary Yan Wangsong, and County Chief Yang Weitian is mostly a figurehead, with even the party secretaries of the communes not respecting him. If this dispute between Dawa Village and Li Family Town were to happen twenty years later, in the era of separation between the party and the government, a deputy county chief could probably resolve the issue. But now, with Yang Weitian leading over a hundred public security officers and county committee staff, they were still flustered by a group of ordinary people.

"Secretary Wang, you'd better understand one thing! This is the County Chief of Wude County, not a member of the Dawa Village community. If you keep shouting at the County Chief, do you believe I will report to the disciplinary committee that you, as a commune leader, are inciting the masses to fight?"

Xu Junran's stern words made Wang Musheng's face change instantly.

Just as he was about to speak, Wang Qianian pointed his cane at himself and said, "Musheng, apologize to County Chief Yang!"

Wang Musheng might be slow to react, but Wang Qianian, the old fox nearly eighty years old, was not. Having walked more bridges than most young people had walked roads, he could see that Xu Junran's words were clearly a trap for Wang Musheng.

Since his uncle had spoken, Wang Musheng naturally did not dare to be negligent and reluctantly apologized to Yang Weitian, though his expression remained unpleasant.

Yang Weitian, of course, did not mind such a small matter, or rather, even if he did, he would not show it. If he lacked such composure, he would not have made it in the political arena.

Xu Junran gave a deep look at the quick-witted old man and smiled slightly, "Old Mr. Wang, I'll say it again. I can make all the decisions regarding Li Family Town. What about you?"

Wang Qianian's cane tapped the ground, and he replied calmly, "Of course. This old man, though incompetent, is the clan elder of the Wang family. In Dawa Village, my words still carry weight."

His words were not exaggerated, and Xu Junran knew that this old man had very high prestige in Dawa Village. Li Family Town had many people from other surnames, but Dawa Village was mostly relatives of the Wang family. As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water, and Wang Qianian's words were indeed effective in Dawa Village.

"Grandpa Wang, then let's settle it. The County Chief will be the witness. Starting from this year, the water in the canal will be divided, with Li Family Town getting 40% and Dawa Village getting 60%. But one thing: no one is allowed to block the water source as before. I believe, with your high moral standing, you won't play tricks with me, a young man, right?"

Xu Junran spoke each word clearly, and finally looked at Wang Qianian with a half-smile.

Wang Qianian, though puzzled by Xu Junran's concession, nodded proudly, "Rest assured, I will say this in front of County Chief Yang. As long as I am alive, no one will block the canal."

Xu Junran nodded and looked at Yang Weitian, "County Chief, let's do it this way."

Yang Weitian felt a bit dazed, not understanding where Xu Junran's confidence came from to persuade the people of Li Family Town, but since the result was acceptable, he could accept it. As long as there was no bloodshed, it was a good thing.

"Since that's the case, Old Mr. Wang, please lead the people of Dawa Village to leave," Yang Weitian said, regaining his composure.

Wang Qianian nodded with a smile, gave Xu Junran a deep look, and left with Wang Musheng.

Yang Weitian turned to Xu Junran, "Xiao Xu, are you really confident you can persuade the people of Li Family Town?"

Xu Junran smiled, "Family is always more likely to listen than outsiders."

The two went down the mountain and arrived at the gathering place. Before Xu Junran could speak, several county leaders surrounded him, asking how things went. Yang Weitian didn't know how to answer and could only laugh it off.

Soon, the people of Dawa Village began to leave, and the people of Li Family Town burst into cheers.

Yang Weitian, however, looked worriedly at Xu Junran, unsure how the people of Li Family Town would react once they learned that Xu Junran had resolved the water dispute with a 40-60 split.

"Junran, what exactly did you say to that old fox Wang Qianian?"

Standing next to Xu Junran, an elderly man from Li Family Town asked in a low voice.

Xu Junran smiled, "Grandpa Wu, it's simple. I told Old Mr. Wang that from now on, the water will be divided, with Li Family Town getting 40% and Dawa Village getting 60%."

"What!"

A cry of surprise, and everyone's expressions changed.