Chapter 71

Qinglong County is an old revolutionary area. Although it is also under the jurisdiction of Wushan, compared to the other counties in Wushan, it is almost a different world. It was transferred to Wushan when the city was established, from the Wuxiang region. It is mountainous with few water resources, and the hills stretch across the landscape. Like many old revolutionary areas, it is isolated, backward, and impoverished.

The people of Qinglong have always been known for their fierce and bold nature. Last year, two villages even broke out into armed conflict over water, causing a significant headache for the local government.

Old Huang paid special attention to Qinglong because he had fought guerrilla warfare here in the past and had once hidden in a local family's home for an entire winter after being injured. He should have deep feelings for this old revolutionary area.

After a bumpy ride of nearly three hours, they finally arrived at the county town of Qinglong. Lu Zheng's "Little Potato" seemed to be on the verge of falling apart, and the sound of the accelerator was off.

Although the economic development of Guangning was just beginning, compared to the dusty county town of Qinglong, it was like heaven and earth. Not to mention, coming from the bustling metropolis of Wushan, Qinglong gave the impression of a poor and remote area.

"Xiao Lu, are you worried about your car?" Old Huang, sitting in the passenger seat, asked with a smile when he saw Lu Zheng about to get out of the car to check.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "No, safety first, right?" He got out of the car, lifted the hood, and fiddled with it for a while, but found no serious issues.

The quota for vehicles for the city's advisory committee had been repeatedly reduced by these old comrades. Initially, the advisory committee office had borrowed a Toyota Crown from a foreign hotel, but after being severely criticized by Old Huang, they had to return it.

This time, seeing that Lu Zheng had a private car, Old Huang simply said that they didn't need the committee's car and could use this one.

Lu Zheng had no choice but to use his private car for official business.

Another person who came with them and sat in the back seat was a middle-aged man in his forties, An Yiming, the chairman of the Wushan Catering Industry Joint Service Association and the owner of the Wushan's first privately operated five-star hotel, the Wuzhou Grand Hotel.

In Lu Zheng's view, the Wushan Catering Industry Joint Service Association was essentially a prototype of a trade chamber, just with a different name.

An Yiming's father was a Chinese expatriate in Japan, and the Wuzhou Grand Hotel was a Sino-Japanese joint venture. However, An Yiming was a native of Wushan, having gone to Japan after the Cultural Revolution and returned last year to help his father manage the newly invested hotel.

"Mr. Lu, is everything okay?" An Yiming asked with a smile as Lu Zheng got back into the car. He was a shrewd businessman who was good at reading people's moods. Before they set out, he had already inquired about Lu Zheng's basic information. At 23, Lu Zheng was a deputy section-level official, and An Yiming treated him with extra courtesy.

Lu Zheng said, "Everything's fine," and started the car.

Arriving in Qinglong County, Lu Zheng was far from as calm as he appeared. Ma Weiguo was now the second-in-command in Qinglong County, and Liu Hanshan was still suffering in the Qinglong detention center. Qinglong was one of the sources of the anti-Lu movement in Guangning. How could Lu Zheng be as indifferent as he appeared?

When they arrived at the county reception center, they encountered trouble. A snobbish young waitress insisted that Lu Zheng show a letter of introduction from his unit, saying that just an ID card wouldn't do. Even when Lu Zheng showed his work ID, the rather pretty waitress still looked impatient and threw it back at him, saying, "Advisory Committee? Deputy Researcher? Why don't you go be a gatekeeper outside?" Clearly, she didn't know what the Advisory Committee was and thought it was some miscellaneous civilian organization.

Lu Zheng was at a loss. In Guangning, he would have had Hou Jianjun, Du Xiaohu, and other powerful figures to back him up, but now, he had no leverage against this young waitress.

"Call your director," Lu Zheng said helplessly, trying to negotiate with the young woman.

Old Huang, however, walked over, patted Lu Zheng on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go, we'll go directly to the countryside."

Lu Zheng nodded, having no choice but to agree.

This time, Old Huang came to conduct a survey and donate educational assistance funds to the primary schools in the communes under Qinglong. Needless to say, An Yiming was the one footing the bill.

Old Huang was now most enthusiastic about participating in educational causes. Most of his titles were related to education, such as "Honorary President of Wushan Normal University," "Chairman of the Provincial Old Cadres Concerning the Next Generation Association," and "Honorary Chairman of the Provincial Social Sciences Federation."

At the same time, Old Huang supported the emergence of private economies. For example, the Wushan Catering Industry Joint Service Association was able to register successfully, reportedly due to Old Huang's intervention. Old Huang personally accepted the position of "Honorary Chairman of the Wushan Catering Industry Joint Service Association."

By the time Lu Zheng drove to Majiaying, it was already dusk.

Old Huang seemed very familiar with the roads here, directing Lu Zheng to turn left and right. They finally stopped in front of a house at the end of the village. Old Huang got out of the car and called out, "Old Wang, is Old Wang at home?"

After a few calls, a white-haired old man came out of the house, walked up to Old Huang, and playfully punched him, saying, "Old guy, you're back again?"

Lu Zheng watched this scene in confusion. Beside him, An Yiming smiled and explained, "I was also surprised the last time I came. Later, I learned that before liberation, Old Huang and his guerrilla team often operated in areas like Majiaying, Qingtuozi, and Yachuan. He has deep feelings for the people here. This Old Wang, for example, saved Old Huang's life back then and later joined the army and went to Korea."

Lu Zheng nodded but didn't say anything.

"Come on, come inside, come inside!" Old Wang smiled and invited Lu Zheng and An Yiming into the house.

It wasn't clear who had notified them, but after they had been sitting for a short while, the room was filled with villagers, all warmly chatting with Old Huang.

In the middle of the conversation, a middle-aged man in a green military uniform squeezed through the crowd, smiling and said, "Old Huang, you're here. You didn't even call ahead..." He then turned to the gathered villagers and said, "Everyone, please disperse, disperse!"

Old Huang just smiled and didn't say anything. The villagers dispersed, and soon, police officers arrived to maintain order, presumably from the local police station.

"Old Huang, the county party secretary, Mr. Liu, is on his way. The commune party secretary, Mr. Zhang, just got home, and someone has gone to fetch him. Would you like to go to the commune office for a while?" the man in the green uniform asked, quite nervously.

Old Huang waved his hand and said, "No, Xiao Zhao, you go about your business. Mr. An, you've met him; he's a godsend. Take Mr. An to the school and see what needs to be done. This is important work. I'm just an old man, so you don't need to entertain me. I'll meet with my old friend and catch up." He then waved at Lu Zheng and said, "Xiao Lu, you should go too and offer some suggestions. You have a lot of good ideas, coming from the grassroots."

Everyone knew that Old Huang's word was final. The man in the green uniform had no choice but to nod and smile, leading An Yiming and Lu Zheng out of the house. He then smiled at An Yiming and said, "Mr. An, thank you very much." He then said to Lu Zheng, "Mr. Lu, thank you for your hard work." Clearly, he had taken to heart Old Huang's casual mention of "Xiao Lu," showing his adeptness in dealing with people.

An Yiming smiled and said, "Mr. Lu, you don't know him, this is the deputy party secretary of Majiaying Commune, Mr. Zhao."

Lu Zheng smiled and shook hands with the man in the green uniform, who said, "I'm the deputy secretary, Zhao Pingfan. Hello, Mr. Lu." Hearing An Yiming call Lu Zheng "Mr. Lu," he followed suit, though he didn't realize that Lu Zheng was a genuine deputy section-level official.

Zhao Pingfan looked at his watch and said, "Let's hurry and go to the school. It's getting dark."

"Is the school far? Should I drive us there?" Lu Zheng interjected.

"Not far, just at the other end of the village. We can walk," Zhao Pingfan pointed to the west.

Seeing the bumpy asphalt road, Lu Zheng nodded, thinking it would be better to walk.

Qinglong was the only county in Wushan that had not yet been converted from communes to townships, and even in Jidong Province, this was rare.

The Majiaying Commune Central Primary School was at the western end of the village. It was called a central primary school, but it didn't even have a wall, just three rows of bungalows