Chapter 47

In Ma Weiguo's office, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Just now, Ma Weiguo had a fit of anger because the county public security bureau refused his order to parade all the hooligans from the detention center through the streets to showcase the results of the crackdown. This made him extremely furious and even more convinced that Lu Zheng was deliberately opposing him.

Beside the green hanging plant, Lu Zheng silently drank his tea, maintaining silence in the face of Ma Weiguo's roar.

Liu Baojun, the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, also suffered as a result, being called by Ma Weiguo to listen to his reprimand. Sitting next to Lu Zheng, Liu Baojun frowned tightly.

The municipal organization department had already sent an inspection team, and it was estimated that the adjustment of the Guangning County Party Committee leadership would be made when the team returned.

The rectification campaign in Guangning City was gradually coming to an end. According to the central and provincial party committee documents, one of the main purposes of this rectification was to change the situation where the top leaders of party committees at all levels had the final say, further embodying the principle of democratic centralism in the standing committees of party committees at all levels.

In simpler terms, it meant expanding the membership of the standing committees of party committees at all levels. The provincial party committee had explicitly issued a document requiring that the standing committees of party committees in all cities and counties (districts) in the province should have no fewer than seven members.

Guangning County currently had five standing committee members, and according to the provincial party committee's document, two more members needed to be added.

In Wushan, some brother counties had already made adjustments to their leadership. The secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, who had not previously been a member of the standing committee, usually became a beneficiary of this adjustment.

However, Liu Baojun clearly saw no such hope.

Secretary Qiu's position was now precarious. Seeing Ma Weiguo's increasingly strong performance, he probably had a good idea of what was coming. After the municipal inspection team's return, he might be able to take over as the county party secretary.

If Ma Weiguo became the county party secretary, would he still want to enter the standing committee? Although the appointment of standing committee members was decided by the municipal party committee, it would certainly take into account the opinion of the top leader.

Liu Baojun sighed deeply in his heart, glancing at Lu Zheng. Were they becoming fellow sufferers?

Ma Weiguo gradually suppressed his anger, picked up his teacup, and took a few gulps, saying, "You two! I don't know what you're thinking. Lu Zheng, tell me, why can't those hooligans be paraded through the streets? What, you just want to oppose me? Can't you tell the difference between public and private matters? Do you think I can't do anything about you as the public security bureau chief?!"

Lu Zheng still remained silent. Many things, if said, Ma Weiguo wouldn't understand.

Seeing Lu Zheng's silent resistance, Ma Weiguo's frown deepened, clearly getting really angry. At this moment, there was a gentle knock on the office door.

Ma Weiguo's voice softened, saying, "Come in."

A bespectacled secretary walked in, holding a newspaper, and placed it on Ma Weiguo's desk, saying, "Secretary Ma, today's People's Daily has just arrived. Secretary Qiu asked me to bring it to you."

The People's Daily, and Qiu Dahu specifically asked someone to deliver it, Ma Weiguo knew there must be a deeper meaning. He nodded and turned back to look at Lu Zheng, saying, "You go back first. Write a profound self-criticism and convey it to all the officers in the bureau."

"Secretary Ma, Secretary Qiu hopes you can read this newspaper immediately." The bespectacled secretary didn't leave, urging Ma Weiguo.

Ma Weiguo frowned slightly. Although the bespectacled secretary, Xiao Gao, was Qiu Dahu's personal secretary, when did it become his turn to give orders?

"You go out. Tell Secretary Qiu that I read the newspaper every day, so there's no need for him to worry about it." Ma Weiguo replied indifferently.

"Is that so?" Xiao Gao smiled, nodded, and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Ma Weiguo's eyes flickered, and he casually picked up the People's Daily.

Liu Baojun felt a chill in his heart for Xiao Gao. These young secretaries, some of them were truly overconfident and would likely face some hard times in the future.

But soon, Liu Baojun noticed that Ma Weiguo's expression was off.

After a while, Ma Weiguo waved his hand, expressionless, "You two go back first." His eyes circled around Liu Baojun and Lu Zheng, as if trying to read them.

Liu Baojun felt a chill in his heart but saw Lu Zheng stand up, so he hurriedly stood up as well and followed Lu Zheng out of Ma Weiguo's office.

Although Liu Baojun was a deputy county-level cadre, he had never held real power. He often found himself in a difficult position, and in many ways, he lacked the confidence that Lu Zheng had.

Outside the office, Xiao Gao was waiting. Seeing them come out, he smiled and said, "Secretary Liu, Director Lu, congratulations! The reform spring breeze is blowing across the land, and you two are about to become role models for Guangning."

Liu Baojun, though confused, just smiled and said nothing.

Xiao Gao smiled again and said, "Since you two are both here, it saves me a trip. Secretary Qiu wants to see you."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly, having a rough idea of what it was about.

Liu Baojun, however, was puzzled. Qiu Dahu had never looked at him favorably and rarely communicated with him privately. He wondered why he was being called.

Qiu Dahu's office was a different style from Ma Weiguo's. Although it gradually had more modern furniture like sofas and marble coffee tables, the portraits of great leaders on the walls and the busts of leaders on the bookshelves made it feel like the Cultural Revolution era.

Seeing Liu Baojun and Lu Zheng enter, Qiu Dahu laughed heartily and said, "Great! Zhejiang has a Bu Xingsheng, Hebei has a Zhang Shengli, and now Guangning has Liu Baojun and Lu Zheng. Excellent, excellent!"

Then, Qiu Dahu patted his head and laughed, "You two probably didn't know, did you?"

The clever secretary, Xiao Gao, quickly handed today's People's Daily to Liu Baojun and Lu Zheng. It seemed that Qiu Dahu's favor was not without reason.

Lu Zheng flipped through the newspaper, still smelling of ink, and quickly found the article titled "Breaking Old Evils for New Life—Reflections on the Reform of the Guangning County Party Committee Reception House" on the fourth page. The article, with an editor's note, highly praised the reform of the Guangning County Reception House. Phrases like "the customer is king" and "the market economy tests success"—terms learned by Liu Baojun from Lu Zheng—were quoted and explained. The article not only praised Deputy County Chief Liu Baojun, who led the reform, but also mentioned the contributions of Guangning County Public Security Bureau Chief Lu Zheng, particularly highlighting his status as a war hero. It called on cadres in various systems to learn from Lu Zheng and contribute to the reform.

Qiu Dahu smiled and said, "It turns out that we have a Peking University journalism graduate in Guangning. I've always heard about the reform of the county reception house, and he brought his classmates down to observe and find news. Their article was originally for the school publication, but it was unexpectedly selected by the party newspaper. Baojun, Lu Zheng, you two have truly brought glory to Guangning!"

In the article from the party newspaper, which cited the Peking University school publication "Social News," Qiu Dahu was only mentioned briefly, saying that the reform received strong support from the county party secretary and county chief, Qiu Dahu. But this one sentence was enough, given that Qiu Dahu held both party and government power, and the reform of such a public institution could not have proceeded without his approval.

The People's Daily has always been the mouthpiece of the party and a barometer of policy. In recent years, it has been particularly enthusiastic about promoting reform. For example, Bu Xingsheng from Zhejiang was a typical figure who broke the iron rice bowl, and Zhang Shengli from Hebei was the first factory manager to implement a contract system. Now, the enthusiastic praise for the reform of the Guangning County Reception House was opening the door for the reform of many fully-funded, profit-making public institutions across the country.

This was not something a small journalist could decide. Perhaps the editor's note was written by a high-ranking official from the Central Propaganda Department or the State Council Research Office, and it had certainly caught the eye of a leader at the central level.

This was like a windfall, and Qiu Dahu had every reason to be excited.

Lu Zheng, however, felt a bit helpless. When he had asked Xiao Guang to write the news article about the county reception house reform, he hadn't asked him to mention his name. Now, the public security bureau chief's suggestions on reform were too conspicuous.

As for the article moving from "Social News" to the People's Daily, Lu Zheng had used some influence behind the scenes, asking his sister for help, but its selection was also due to the trend of the times. The article resonated with the tastes of those who held the power of public opinion.

Liu Baojun, however, was still dazed. Even after leaving Qiu Dahu's office, he still felt confused and suddenly asked Lu Zheng, "What's going on, really?"

Lu Zheng shook his head and said, "Who knows?"

In another office, Ma Weiguo was holding the newspaper, flipping through it page by page, his face growing increasingly grim.