Chapter 9

Chapter 1: The New Official Takes Office

On January 3, 1992, just after the New Year's holiday, a political earthquake shook Daming City. The main leadership of the Hongshui Textile Factory, including the Party Secretary and the Factory Director, were placed under dual regulation by the Daming City Discipline Inspection Commission. Soon, they confessed to bribing County Chief Li Sicheng and County Party Secretary Xu Fuguo, who had received nearly 500,000 yuan in bribes. The Discipline Inspection Commission then placed Li Sicheng and Xu Fuguo under dual regulation for isolation and review.

Due to the large amount involved, the incident even alarmed some leaders in the provincial party committee. The mayor who had recommended and promoted Li Sicheng, Tang Lu, was called to the provincial party committee for a talk. Tang Lu, who had always been a prominent figure of the local faction in Daming City, began to keep a low profile.

From then on, the local faction in Daming City suffered a heavy blow, and the era of Lin Pei truly began in Daming City!

A county-wide cadres' meeting was held in Hongshui County, with Li Li, a member of the Daming City Municipal Party Committee and the Organization Minister, attending and giving a speech. Lin Cunxin, the Deputy Organization Minister of Daming City, read the decision on the appointment and adjustment of the main leaders of Hongshui County: Yang Zixuan was appointed as a member of the Hongshui County Party Committee, a Standing Committee member, and Deputy Secretary, and was proposed to serve as the County Chief. Li Sicheng was relieved of his duties as Deputy Secretary, Standing Committee member, and member of the Hongshui County Party Committee, and no longer served as the County Chief.

Subsequently, Li Guang, the County Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary, who was a vanguard brought by Xu Fuguo, was transferred to the lowest-ranking Deputy Secretary-General of the Daming City Government. The Organization Minister, who had been closely associated with Li Sicheng, was demoted to the Propaganda Minister as a warning. Liu Xiao, the neutral Propaganda Minister, was appointed as the County Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary.

An Zai, the Deputy Chief Judge of the County People's Court, was transferred to the position of the top-ranking Deputy Secretary of the County Political and Legal Affairs Commission, concurrently serving as the Deputy Director of the County Public Security Bureau.

The County People's Court and the County People's Procuratorate are vice-county-level institutions, with internal departments set up as full-section-level frameworks. The Chief Judge is a vice-county-level official, and the Deputy Secretary and Deputy Chief Judge responsible for routine affairs are full-section-level officials. Other Deputy Secretaries and Deputy Chief Judges are vice-section-level officials. The Political Department and the Enforcement Bureau are vice-section-level institutions, with the Director and Bureau Chief being vice-section-level officials. An Zai was just an ordinary Deputy Chief Judge, and this transfer could be considered a lateral move. However, for An Zai, it was a significant step, moving from the judicial system to the public security system.

As the Spring Festival approached, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and a light drizzle fell to the ground. However, the streets of the Hongshui County area were still abnormally bustling, with people busy buying New Year's goods and new clothes. The streets and alleys were filled with the sound of bicycles and the clamor of people, presenting a scene of joy and festivity...

Most of the people did not notice that Hongshui County had produced the youngest County Chief in Luofu Province.

At this moment, our seventh-rank county magistrate, Yang Zixuan, was standing on the street, shivering in the rain, wearing a large coat.

In fact, he was somewhat surprised to have obtained this position as County Chief. Although he knew that his position would definitely be adjusted in this political earthquake, being promoted to County Chief still surprised him.

After all, Luofu Province is a large southern province with a complex web of political relationships and is one of the provinces where the Yang family's influence and control are the weakest. It can be said that there are almost no officials in the entire Luofu Provincial Party Committee who are close to the Yang family, not even those who are loosely associated. The Yang family had completely forgotten about him, leaving him to fend for himself.

So, for him, a small figure with no roots, to rise to the position of County Chief was still hard for him to understand.

The only explanation was that he, as a Standing Committee member, did not have strong factional colors. Whether it was the strong external faction represented by Lin Pei or the local faction represented by Tang Lu, both sides could accept him as County Chief.

However, the positions of County Party Secretary, Deputy Secretary in charge of party affairs, and the vacant Organization Minister, who held the power of personnel, had not been filled by the city yet.

The ambiguous attitude of the city left Yang Zixuan with a bone stuck in his throat.

"If I hadn't met you, where would I be? How would my life be? Would I cherish life more? Maybe I would meet someone, live an ordinary life, and not know if there would be love as sweet as honey. Let the time pass, I only care about you..."

A radio on the side of the road was playing a classic song by the influential Chinese female singer Teresa Teng, who was also one of the singers Yang Zixuan liked in his previous life. She was still alive at this time and passed away in Thailand in 1995, leaving behind countless sighs...

"County Chief Yang..." A female voice sounded behind Yang Zixuan, breaking his reverie.

Yang Zixuan turned his head and saw Wang Ling, a small clerk in the County Party Committee Office. She was the daughter of a bureau chief in the County Transportation Bureau, with a rather pleasant appearance. Of course, she couldn't compare to Su Chen or Lin Ruoshui, whom he had met in the No. 1 Building of the Municipal Party Committee, but in a county like Hongshui, she was still considered an outstanding beauty.

Wang Ling didn't expect to run into Yang Zixuan here, feeling both surprised and delighted.

Although Yang Zixuan had often been unkempt and made a fool of himself in the County Party Committee in the past year, after the downfall of Xu Fuguo and Li Sicheng, who had dominated Hongshui County, and the promotion of this "foolish County Chief" to County Chief without any impact, no one dared to underestimate this young County Chief anymore.

There were even rumors circulating about how this young County Chief had feigned deafness and dumbness, outsmarting the two old foxes, Xu and Li, and finally bringing them down, making the story sound almost legendary.

Now, Yang Zixuan had become the ideal lover in the eyes of the daughters of the cadres in the County Party Committee. Wang Ling was one of them.

"Are you taking shelter from the rain? I have an umbrella. Would you like me to cover you and take you back?"

There were many people around, so Wang Ling didn't dare to call him "County Chief Yang." Her sweet dimples on both sides of her mouth also attracted the attention of a few young men nearby.

"No, I just wanted to take a walk alone," Yang Zixuan smiled and declined. Although walking under the same umbrella with a beautiful woman, even if it wouldn't lead to anything, would be a pleasant experience, he was now the County Chief, and every move he made was watched. Any slight change could lead to a lot of gossip, so he could only politely refuse.

At this moment, a tall young man appeared with an umbrella and walked to the entrance. Seeing Wang Ling, his playful expression turned into a smile: "Lingling, you're here. I went to your house, and your mother said you came to buy vegetables. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to go back in the rain, so I came to pick you up."

However, he soon noticed Yang Zixuan standing next to Wang Ling, and his eyes became wary.

Yang Zixuan, wearing a large coat, looked somewhat weak but exuded a refined and elegant demeanor. Standing next to the delicate Wang Ling, they made a rather matching pair.

However, Wang Ling clearly didn't like this tall young man. She pursed her lips and said impatiently, "I didn't ask you to come. Why are you here?"

"Who is he?" The tall young man was somewhat angry. He had come all the way to pick her up and didn't even get a smile, but she was chatting and laughing with this thin man.

"Yang Zixuan," Yang Zixuan answered before Wang Ling could, glancing at the bag of vegetables in Wang Ling's hand and noticing a full bag of garlic. He laughed and said, "Wang Ling, why did you buy so much garlic?"

Hongshui County is in the south, and not many people have the habit of eating garlic. However, during the New Year, people often buy some garlic to use as a side dish, but it's rare to buy so much at once, so Yang Zixuan was somewhat surprised.