Therefore, Director Chen wasn't surprised when he saw the food in Qijia Village and the fish they were catching; they were all unclaimed fish and nothing to worry about. However, since the first day of digging the river, he had been patrolling around the canal, and the food in the other villages was just what the commune had distributed; he hadn't seen any fish, loach, or eels or other aquatic products.
He asked the secretaries of other villages, and they said that this year was strange; they couldn't catch a single fish, and they didn't know if there were big fish in the river that ate all the small fish.
It's quite strange that we saw a large number of wild fish in this section of Qijia Village, even though we didn't see any fish elsewhere.
"We fished them out of the water while working. Since we fished them out, we can't just throw them away. Everyone's short on food, so cooking them will give us the energy to work. Look, Director Chen, we've already completed 700 meters. We'll finish half by tomorrow morning. This is the sixth day. This year's 'Advanced Village' award is going to be given to our village, whether you want it or not," Secretary Qi chuckled, joking with Director Chen. He had reason to be proud; not many people from their village came, but they worked very quickly.
This year, Qijia Village has become a star in the commune, and it is always recognized as an advanced village in the commune at every meeting.
Secretary Chen smiled and immediately said, "If you complete the task ahead of schedule, this year's advanced award will go to your village. However, the river project is related to next year's irrigation, so it is of utmost importance. We cannot be careless in the slightest, and we cannot neglect the quality of the river project for the sake of being advanced."
Upon hearing this, Secretary Qi became anxious and said, "Secretary Chen, others may not know my temperament, but you do! I would never cut corners in anything. You looked at the completed work this morning and checked it carefully. There was absolutely no carelessness. If there was, I would swear on my life and offer my head to you."
"Hehe, don't be in a hurry, I'm just reminding you." Seeing that there was no one else around besides his two confidants and Secretary Qi, Secretary Chen whispered, "I really don't mean anything by saying this, I just want to remind you of something. Last time, someone in your village reported you, which shows that someone wants to get you, so you can't be careless no matter what you do!"
Secretary Qi sighed and said, "Alas, I don't know who reported me, saying that I was protecting those who were sent down to the countryside. I don't know about other villages, but in our village, none of the seven people are idle. Those who can work go to the fields to do farm work, and those who can't work are in the livestock team processing fodder. They are all very diligent. They have deeply realized their mistakes and have corrected them. This is not something I made up; it's what everyone in the village agrees on. Besides, I do things uprightly and have nothing to fear from those petty people."
Secretary Qi had a suspicion that it might be those few people. However, since there was no evidence, he couldn't be certain.
"Hehe, it's good that you think that way. You need to be more careful in your work in the future. You did nothing wrong. Even if someone reports you, the higher-ups will send people to investigate, and they will still clear your name," Director Chen comforted him. He valued Qi Dazhu highly because he was very reliable in his work, and Qijia Village had always been among the top villages in the county.
The recent intensive harvest ensured that not a single grain was wet or wasted, making Qijia Village the star of the commune's autumn harvest commendation meeting. The grain delivered as public grain was also plump and of superior quality.
Seeing that Secretary Chen was intentionally reminding him, Secretary Qi cautiously asked, "Director Chen, do you know who reported me? Although Zhou Sihai is a ruthless character, I, as the village party secretary, have no grudge against him. He wouldn't come after our village for no reason. That day, I spoke a few words with Zhou Sihai, and it seemed as if he knew the person who reported me. It made me feel uneasy."
Secretary Chen pondered for a moment, then said, "Zhou Sihai has no personal grudge against you, but he's in charge of this work. If there are no people to be re-educated, he's just a figurehead. So he goes wherever there are complaint letters, not because he intends to target you. The root of the problem is still that complaint letter. You should go back and think carefully about who reported you. However, your guess might be correct. Everyone has a few friends, right? Perhaps the person who reported you knows Zhou Sihai."
Seeing that he couldn't get any other useful information, Secretary Qi stopped asking and invited Director Chen and two other staff members from the commune to eat: "These steamed buns were made by Comrade Zhao, the women's director of our Qijia Village. Her skills are superb, and the dishes taste great too."
"Then we must have a good taste." Director Chen and the other two staff members were already hungry, and seeing Secretary Qi say this, they began to eat heartily.
"Delicious, very good," Director Chen praised, having eaten two large steamed buns and quite a bit of tofu stewed with loach. He also ate a considerable amount of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, which was very appetizing.
In just a short while, Director Chen and his staff had finished their meal. After letting out a satisfied burp, he said, "The food was quite good. If people in other villages could eat like this, they might be able to work just as fast."
"Yes, it tastes really good," another staff member chimed in. "There are no fish in other sections of the river, so they probably all came here."
Secretary Qi smiled modestly and said, "I don't know either. We just set a few baskets and caught some fish and shrimp. If everyone eats well, they'll be more motivated to work harder and build socialism better!"
"Yes, Lao Qi is right. Keep up the good work. I inspected your village's work this morning, and it was good. We're going to other places this afternoon. Xiao Liu, give the grain coupons and money to Secretary Qi," Director Chen said. He had other villages to inspect and couldn't stay here. Not every village is so easy to manage. Some villages are just lazybones, lagging behind in everything, but when it comes to asking for things, they're more eager than anyone else.
"Secretary Chen, you're too kind, no need." Secretary Qi quickly refused, feeling embarrassed to accept the leader's food coupons and money.
Secretary Chen said with a stern face, "Old Qi, we know you mean well, but we are state cadres, we can't knowingly make mistakes. If you don't want our money and food coupons, you're making us make a mistake!"
Secretary Qi had no choice but to accept it. Each person received 50 cents and 4 liang of grain coupons. The staff member named Xiao Liu gave Secretary Qi 1.5 yuan and 1.2 jin of grain coupons.
He Tiantian, with her keen senses, overheard the conversation and couldn't help but admire the integrity of today's officials!
If it were any other village secretary who was greedy for small gains, they would have kept it for themselves. But Secretary Qi's family didn't lack these things, and he didn't want to give anyone cause for criticism over such a small matter. So, in front of everyone, he gave these things to Accountant Qi Shuli, asking Qi Shuli to keep track of them and treat them as village property. (To be continued.)
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