Chapter 72

As Mei Xiaofang introduced the school's situation, her eyes reddened at the emotional parts, clearly showing that she knew this was a rare opportunity. Just as the two city officials went out to find the toilet, Secretary Zhao told her that this Mr. An would likely provide several ten thousand yuan to sponsor the schools in the old revolutionary base area. How much each school would receive depended on their own abilities. And since Old Huang chose Majiaying as his first stop, it was evident that he had the deepest feelings for Majiaying. We must not miss this opportunity and let other commune primary schools take the lead.

"Actually, the difficulties of the schools are all similar," Mei Xiaofang said, just as she was about to elaborate on the leaking roof of the school, Lu Zheng interrupted her, which made Mei Xiaofang glare at him.

"Mr. An, I think it would be better to rebuild the school rather than just patching it up," Lu Zheng pondered and said, "Building a school wouldn't cost much. If Mr. An could provide the full funding, the school could be named after you, like 'Yiming... Yiming Hope Primary School.' What do you think?"

An Yiming inwardly smiled bitterly, thinking that Lu Zheng was truly generous with others' resources. However, hearing that the school would be named after him, he felt a slight stir in his heart.

Mei Xiaofang was surprised and said, "How can that be? How can we use..." She swallowed the rest of her words, muttering to herself, "How can we use an ordinary person's name for a school? He's not a revolutionary or a martyr, what are we supposed to teach the students to learn from him?"

Zhao Pingfan's gaze swept over Lu Zheng and An Yiming, then he smiled and said, "If that's the case, it would be more than we could hope for." Naming a school was a big deal, and he couldn't make the decision, but that was a matter for later. For now, he had to play along, as he couldn't outright refuse and offend this financial god from the city.

Now, it was clear that "Director Lu" wasn't called that for nothing. In front of Mr. An, Director Lu was naturally composed and dignified, far better than himself. Of course, if one was Old Huang's personal secretary, they would be used to such grand occasions, and such behavior would be natural.

But wasn't Director Pei, who came with Old Huang last time, also Old Huang's personal secretary?

...

When Zhao Pingfan, An Yiming, and Lu Zheng returned to Grandpa Wang's house, the county party secretary Liu Pingshan, the county magistrate Ma Weiguo, and the commune party secretary Zhang Mingsheng were already there.

Liu Pingshan was making an apology, saying that the county's newly hired waitstaff knew nothing and had been severely criticized.

Old Huang waved his hand and smiled, saying, "I think it's fine. They followed your rules, so you can't blame them. But I heard that in the city, and in Guangning, staying at a hotel only requires an ID, which is much more convenient." He glanced at Lu Zheng when mentioning Guangning.

Ma Weiguo, who had been nodding and smiling or making serious reflections in response to Liu Pingshan's words, suddenly froze when he saw Lu Zheng enter the room. He stared at Lu Zheng, his expression changing, and it took him a long time to recover.

Zhao Pingfan, An Yiming, and Lu Zheng sat to one side, listening to Old Huang's conversation with Liu Pingshan and Ma Weiguo.

Seeing more and more people in the room, Old Huang waved his hand and said, "Let's go to the commune, don't disturb my old friend." He patted Grandpa Wang's shoulder and smiled, "Every time I come, I cause you trouble. Next time, I won't dare to come to your door."

Grandpa Wang rolled his eyes and said, "You know it!"

Everyone was silent after Liu Pingshan.

Liu Pingshan and the others knew that Grandpa Wang had participated in the Korean War and had always been in poor mental health. Now, he spent his days alone, carrying a shovel to repair the convenience road. In reality, he was a "five-guaranteed" beneficiary whose mental health had been affected by the war, and his condition had worsened over the years.

So, it wasn't that Grandpa Wang had a strange temper or treated Old Huang like family; he was simply confused.

Thinking about it, it was truly heart-wrenching.

As they left, Lu Zheng noticed that Old Huang sighed softly.

The group moved toward the commune, and Old Huang called over the commune party secretary Zhang Mingsheng to inquire about Grandpa Wang's condition, while Liu Pingshan, Ma Weiguo, Lu Zheng, Zhao Pingfan, and An Yiming followed behind.

Lu Zheng smiled and extended his hand to Ma Weiguo, saying, "County Magistrate Ma, we meet again so soon."

Ma Weiguo also smiled, shaking Lu Zheng's hand and saying with a double meaning, "I didn't expect it either. You're really something, Zhengzi!"

Ma Weiguo couldn't help but be concerned about Lu Zheng's movements, but he hadn't expected that just yesterday, he received a call from a friend in the city saying that Lu Zheng had been assigned to the Gu Committee Office. He was still surprised when he saw Lu Zheng today, especially since Lu Zheng was with Old Huang. It was clear that this guy was truly resilient, like a cockroach that couldn't be killed.

It seemed that Zhang XX hadn't given up on him! Or perhaps, Qiu Da and his backer had put in some effort? Ma Weiguo thought gloomily. Given his young age and his entry into the Gu Committee Office, if he developed well, he would inevitably "return" to power and wouldn't stay in the Gu Committee Office forever.

Seeing Liu Pingshan's puzzled expression, Ma Weiguo smiled and said, "Secretary Liu, this is Lu Zheng."

Liu Pingshan suddenly understood. Which county-level party or government leader in Wushan region didn't know Lu Zheng? If it weren't for the short time since Lu Zheng's rise, Liu Pingshan would have met him at some meetings.

Liu Pingshan quickly extended his hand and shook Lu Zheng's, saying sincerely, "I've learned a lot from your reform ideas!"

Ma Weiguo smiled but didn't say anything.

But Lu Zheng could keenly sense that Ma Weiguo and the top leader in Qinglong didn't get along well. Otherwise, Liu Pingshan wouldn't have suddenly praised him like that.

After a few steps, Lu Zheng suddenly smiled and said, "Secretary Liu, coming to Qinglong reminds me of an old friend named Liu Hanshan."

Liu Pingshan smiled, "What, he's my clansman?"

Lu Zheng sighed, "He's a talented businessman, but it's a pity. It might be due to the differences in policy understanding between regions? He operates legally in Guangning, but after coming to Qinglong, he's under investigation. I think he should learn a lesson; sometimes his thinking is too active." He shook his head.

Liu Pingshan nodded slightly, "Liu Hanshan? I'll ask about it later."

Ma Weiguo remained silent, listening to the two chat as if he had never heard of "Liu Hanshan."

Since leaving Guangning, besides searching for Hu Zi, another matter on Lu Zheng's mind was how to get Liu Hanshan out of trouble. After all, this time, Liu Hanshan was a victim of circumstances, partly due to his own involvement.

Even if Liu Pingshan and Ma Weiguo didn't get along, and even if Liu Pingshan knew that Ma Weiguo was using Liu Hanshan to gather material against him, in the past, he wouldn't have interfered.

But now, by directly pleading for Liu Hanshan, the situation was different. Perhaps, he could really save Liu Hanshan.

In the political arena, it was common to help each other out. Without any conflict of interest and with no difficulty, doing a favor was normal, especially if it could create some embarrassment for the opponent.

Moreover, after being dismissed and then quickly assigned to work in the Gu Committee Office, anyone could see that the higher-ups didn't intend to completely ruin him. The black materials and complaints had become a thing of the past. Helping Liu Hanshan out of trouble was just a favor.

So, Lu Zheng felt that Liu Pingshan might really do him this favor.

Up ahead, Old Huang turned and waved, "Xiao Lu, come here!"

Lu Zheng hurried over, and Old Huang whispered something in his ear.

Liu Pingshan and Ma Weiguo watched the two, both lost in thought, but with different expressions.

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