Chapter 37

After the party group meeting, Ma Weiguo's secretary, Xiao Zhang, told Lu Zheng that the leader was temporarily busy and would talk to him another day. Lu Zheng understood the situation and was not particularly concerned.

When he returned to the bureau around three in the afternoon, Lu Zheng saw a group of people standing outside Wang Yuguo's office and walked in. The police officers and public security officers quickly dispersed; they had been surrounding a new photocopier. Lu Zheng smiled, "Canon, it's a brand name."

Wang Yuguo chuckled, "Recently, the bureau has received a lot of fees from handling economic disputes, and various functional departments are updating their office equipment. The bureau office is leading the way, with new typewriters and photocopiers being introduced."

Lu Zheng looked at his watch and said, "Get ready, we're going to Gold Coast."

The first public security patrol team in Wushan County, the Qinglong County Public Security Patrol Team, was conducting military training at Gold Coast. The provincial newspaper had already reported on it, and this training had received widespread attention throughout the Wushan public security system. As the head of Guangning County Public Security Bureau, Lu Zheng had to show up and learn from the experience, despite his reluctance, because the city bureau placed great importance on it.

Wang Yuguo knew about this and said with a smile, "Alright, I'll call Wei Xiangxiu." Wei Xiangxiu was very capable in propaganda work, good at dealing with the outside world, and could write excellent articles.

Lu Zheng nodded slightly and was about to return to his office next door when Wang Yuguo hesitated and said, "Director, a Mr. Yang from the provincial department came down, and Deputy Director Gao accompanied him to the city. They seem to be good friends, and Mr. Yang's visit is not official; Deputy Director Gao is receiving him privately..." Although it was Deputy Director Gao's personal friend and a private matter, Wang Yuguo thought he should mention it to the director, or he would be considered an incompetent bureau office director.

Especially since he heard that Lu Zheng would take him to Nanying, Wang Yuguo felt reassured. It seemed that Director Lu intended to keep him in the bureau office, so from now on, he should be even more diligent in helping the leadership.

Lu Zheng hummed in response and walked out. Wang Yuguo didn't notice that when he heard "Mr. Yang from the provincial department," Lu Zheng's eyes narrowed, even becoming somewhat sharp.

Back in his office, Lu Zheng sat down, lit a cigarette, and slowly narrowed his eyes. When he had this expression, his business rivals in his previous life would often be on guard.

Lu Zheng knew a person surnamed Yang from the provincial department. This family had a young man surnamed Yang who was currently in the provincial department. Although the Yang family was now at the lower end of the red aristocracy in Beijing, Lu Zheng was concerned about their activities because he believed that the Yang family was likely behind the push to investigate him in his previous life. In his previous life, the Yang family rose quickly, especially after his father retired. The father of the current "Mr. Yang from the provincial department" became one of the core power figures in the central government. Not long after his father's death, his company was investigated.

This also involved some grudges between him and this "Mr. Yang." He had offended him heavily in business, and although "Mr. Yang" might not have had the final say in moving against him, he definitely played a role in stirring up trouble. After he was imprisoned, he was beaten and had a leg broken, which was likely the work of "Mr. Yang" and Gao Zhikai.

However, the past is the past, and the present is the present. The relationships in this life would inevitably be rewritten. He couldn't seek revenge for something that hadn't happened yet, although it seemed that his relationship with Gao Zhikai might be even worse than in his previous life.

We'll see how things develop, Lu Zheng thought to himself.

...

Gold Coast was about twenty miles from Guangning County, with clear blue skies and an endless sea. From the top of Mingstone Mountain, the deep and distant sea was encircled by a golden line. Up close, it was a golden beach with soft, golden sand. There were also several rocky areas where white waves splashed and seagulls circled, making it an excellent place for recreation.

Since the founding of the country, some leisure and health resorts had been built in the Gold Coast area. Even some central government departments from other provinces had built sanatoriums here. For example, the Qinglong Patrol Team's military training was being held in the dormitory building of the provincial trade union sanatorium.

Two years ago, a "commercial street" began to form near the provincial trade union sanatorium. It was actually a stone-paved road near the Bayili Village bus station, which was the intersection of the main asphalt road leading to various sanatoriums. Buildings gradually appeared on both sides of the stone-paved road, mostly inhabited by fishermen from the nearest fishing village, Bandan Harbor. They mainly sold seafood to the sanatoriums and their staff, making the entire street smell of fish, which led to complaints from the sanatoriums and multiple requests to the local government to remove the "fishy street."

Last year, with the acceleration of reforms in Wushan, Gold Coast began to see genuine tourists. This summer, the number of tourists visiting Gold Coast exploded, and it became a popular destination for honeymooners. In the north, many newlyweds chose Beijing as their top destination, followed by Wushan or Gold Coast.

As a result, the "commercial street" gradually expanded, with the addition of the Guangning Department Store, state-owned hotels, and various retail outlets and private hotels and restaurants. At the same time, the Guangning County Public Security Bureau's Bandan Harbor Border Police Station was relocated here, and the jurisdiction of the "Red Flag Road" commercial street and the surrounding area was transferred from the Nanying Police Station to the Bandan Harbor Border Police Station.

It was now early autumn, and with the departure of the tourists, most of the shops on both sides of Red Flag Road were closed, making the street look somewhat desolate. The commercial activity here only existed during the summer.

However, when Jiao Lei slowly drove the jeep and turned onto the coastal road, Lu Zheng was surprised to see a white building slightly taller than a bungalow next to the border police station. The building's eaves were decorated with colored light bulbs, and a wooden sign supported by a wooden frame read "Music Tea House" in golden, flowing characters.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but think, "We have this in Guangning now."

Music tea houses first appeared in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in 1980. They quickly gained the interest of a significant portion of society. In a short time, various music tea houses sprang up. By the end of last year, music tea houses began to appear in Wushan.

According to statistics, by the first half of this year, there were already 70 music tea houses in Guangzhou, with nearly one-third featuring live band performances, and the rest playing domestic tapes and records. Eighteen bands regularly performed, with over 15,000 listeners daily.

Lu Zheng knew that many of the popular singers who would later become famous started in these music tea houses, but they were still struggling to make a living.

Wushan now had about a dozen music tea houses, some of which would produce singers who would become well-known in the future.

Lu Zheng was slightly excited. As a nostalgic person, he always felt that music tea houses were more refined and appealing than later KTVs, bars, and discotheques. Sipping a cup of tea or an alcoholic drink while listening to a singer, whether famous or not, was a way of life.

However, Lu Zheng also knew that the emergence of music tea houses had touched many nerves, especially among the upper echelons of the red aristocracy, of which his grandfather was a representative.

The upper echelons criticized music tea houses and performance teams for being overly Westernized, lacking in ideological and political work, having poor artistic quality, and being overly focused on money. Some even argued that they were a source of spiritual pollution. Therefore, some high-ranking officials advocated using administrative means to ban music tea houses, while others suggested imposing heavy taxes to make them disappear naturally.

Having experienced the future, Lu Zheng agreed with many of his grandfather's views, but he also recognized that some of his grandfather's views were biased. Every class needed its own entertainment; otherwise, they would be no different from robots.

As he pondered these issues, the jeep sped down the asphalt road, and the sudden jolt brought Lu Zheng back to his senses. He shook his head, realizing he had been thinking too far ahead.

The southern end of the asphalt road was a golden beach, with the vast blue sea stretching to the horizon, a sight that was both refreshing and beautiful. Wei Xiangxiu, sitting in the back seat, gazed out the window, captivated by the view, even though she had lived in Guangning for three or four years and had never been to the sea before.

Soon, the asphalt road began to curve, and through the protective forest, they could see a large, secluded compound with greenery. The greenery partially concealed several buildings.

Wang Yuguo, who had been to this place before, took the opportunity to introduce it, "Director, that's the provincial trade union sanatorium ahead."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly.

At the iron gate of the sanatorium, two uniformed police officers stood guard. One was a burly man in his thirties, the head of the Bandan Harbor Border Police Station, Tan Qiang. The other was the head of the Nanying Police Station, Du Xiaohu.

Before coming, Wang Yuguo had called both stations to inform them that Director Lu was coming to the provincial trade union sanatorium at Gold Coast and would not stop at the Nanying Police Station or the border police station. Tan Qiang and Du Xiaohu discussed it and decided to wait at the sanatorium.

The Nanying Police Station and the border police station had adjacent jurisdictions and many overlapping responsibilities. Tan Qiang, a former soldier, had quickly bonded with Du Xiaohu, and they called each other brothers, finding each other to be a perfect match.

The border police station belonged to the armed police force. Before the establishment of the People's Armed Police Force last year, border police were on active duty and enjoyed the same benefits as soldiers, with different uniforms from regular police officers. After the establishment of the armed police force, fire and border police were unified under the People's Armed Police Force, which was under the Ministry of Public Security.

Therefore, Tan Qiang always considered himself an active-duty soldier and was envious when Du Xiaohu talked about the South China battlefield. He even shed tears when Du Xiaohu described the intense battles.

Tan Qiang had long admired the young county bureau director, Du Xiaohu, who was a legendary combat hero, a fierce tiger battalion commander on the South China front, and a man of iron will. He had led his battalion to victory against a superior enemy force and had also led his battalion deep behind enemy lines to trap the enemy, preventing them from advancing.

As for solving major cases and killing the notorious bandit Zhang Zili, Tan Qiang felt these were minor achievements for Director Lu.

Several times, Tan Qiang had missed the opportunity to meet Director Lu when he went to the county bureau for work. Today, he wouldn't miss this chance.

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