Chapter 23: Give it a try
Gunpowder is a dangerous substance and needs to be used under the guidance of professionals. The villagers of Huaixi Village have relied on farming and hunting for generations. Secretary Zhang described Zhou Yong's proposal as nonsense.
Seeing that things were going badly, Xu Jianmin hurried to calm Secretary Zhang down.
"Secretary Zhang, let's talk it over. Please don't get angry..."
Secretary Zhang pursed his lips and looked at Zhou Yong with an unclear gaze, then picked up the teacup and drank some water to ease his inner emotions.
Xu Jianmin helped Secretary Zhang sit down, while Zhou Yong stood by in silence.
"Secretary Zhang, you are busy. I will take this kid back first."
After Xu Jianmin finished speaking, he gave Zhou Yong a look that warned him to stop. After all, the person they were facing was the head of Hongqi Commune. If they offended Secretary Zhang too much, they would not gain anything.
Zhou Yong received a hint from his senior, but he was unwilling to leave like this.
Secretary Zhang is a very busy man and it is not easy to meet him, so Zhou Yong wants to get things done.
He did this not only to gain political achievements for Li Baotian, but also to benefit his own development.
Without that mountain, traveling would be much more convenient. The mountain is full of treasures and he can do whatever he wants.
Besides, if this matter is successful, the villagers of Huaixi Village will benefit the most.
All the issues were there. Zhou Yong pursed his lips and looked at Secretary Zhang. At this time, Xu Jianmin walked towards him with a wink.
"Secretary Zhang, I understand that you have difficulties as the secretary, but you also have to consider the lives of more than 500 households in Huaixi Village, right?
Our village is surrounded by mountains and has limited arable land. Every household has to tighten their belts to make ends meet after working so hard all year long. If things continue like this, we will have no way out…”
Zhou Yong discussed the issue based on facts and expressed the inner suffering of the people of Huaixi Village.
Xu Jianmin's face froze. He mentally blamed his fellow apprentice for speaking without restraint. He grabbed Zhou Yong's arm.
"Zhou Yong, Secretary Zhang has already remembered this matter, so don't say anything."
Zhou Yong looked at his senior brother and knew that he was thinking about him, but he wanted to give it a try and fight for it.
Xu Jianmin pulled his arm and walked out, while Zhou Yong stood there motionless.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you so stubborn? Come back with me now."
Xu Jianmin lowered his voice and whispered something in Zhou Yong's ear.
Zhou Yong glanced at Secretary Zhang, who looked confused, and said, "Secretary Zhang, there are more than 500 households living in Huaixi Village, with a population of more than 3,000. Don't you really care about our lives?
Did you know that other villages have sent cadres to stay there to help villagers with construction and production, but what about our village?
It’s because the mountain roads are difficult to travel, and there are many villages but few cadres, so our village has not yet been assigned village cadres, right?
We understand these things, but the cause of all this is ultimately that mountain..."
Just as he said this, Xu Jianmin looked at Secretary Zhang's face and said, "Zhou Yong, that's enough."
Zhou Yong froze. Secretary Zhang lit a cigarette and said in an unclear tone: "Let him continue."
Xu Jianmin was so angry that he glared at his junior brother. Zhou Yong felt apologetic in his heart, but things had developed to this point, he could only go back and apologize to his senior brother.
Zhou Yong shook off Xu Jianmin's hand that was holding his arm and continued, "Secretary Zhang, now I don't ask the commune to flatten the table mountain for us. We can do it ourselves. You just need to get enough blasting powder for us..."
Without waiting for Secretary Zhang to reply, Xu Jianmin sighed and said, "Secretary Zhang, do you know? When I was a child, I had to leave home at around three in the morning every day to go to school. It was okay in the summer, but the suffering in the winter was secondary. The most important thing was that it was cold and the mountain roads were difficult to travel, and accidents often happened. One of my playmates accidentally fell down the mountain and died on the way to school..."
Over the years, many people have been injured, disabled, or even killed because of that winding mountain road, but this has not attracted the attention of leaders from all parties.
If it weren’t for the difficult winding mountain road, would two-thirds of the people in Huaixi Village be illiterate?
In the words of the villagers, going to school is like gambling with life, so many families would rather their children grow up safely than have any accidents happen to them on the way to school.
It is said that we should find ways to overcome difficulties, but there are some difficulties that ordinary people really cannot overcome.
Not only are they poor, but two-thirds of the village are illiterate. If things continue like this, the villagers of Huaixi Village will probably be repeating their yesterday’s lives forever.
At the end of his speech, Xu Jianmin's voice choked up and his eyes became red. Zhou Yong looked up at the roof, which brought back many sad memories.
Zhou Yong calmed himself down and said, "Secretary Zhang, I invite you to visit our Huaixi Village and see how the villagers in our village live..."
All previous leaders were reluctant to go to Huaixi Village, and many of them even remained silent when they heard the name Huaixi Village.
The cigarette in Secretary Zhang's hand had burned out, with the butt stuck between his fingers.
Xu Jianmin took a deep breath, his face full of desolation and helplessness: "Zhou Yong, stop talking, let's go back!"
Even after saying this, Secretary Zhang still couldn't be moved. The two of them tried their best.
Zhou Yong took a deep look at Secretary Zhang, whose eyes were somewhat dull. He smiled bitterly and nodded, saying apologetically, "Brother, I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."
Xu Jianmin patted his junior brother on the shoulder and said, "You are also thinking about the villagers of Huaixi Village. In the final analysis, it is because you are incompetent and cannot contribute to the village..."
He was only the director of the commune, not the secretary, and had no decision-making power on anything.
Just as they were about to turn around, Secretary Zhang spoke slowly.
"etc."
Xu Jianmin's expression was calm. He had been with Secretary Zhang for half a year and he had a relatively good understanding of Secretary Zhang's character.
However, Zhou Yong did not understand what kind of person Secretary Zhang was. After all, as a timekeeper, he had no contact with the secretary, whether in his past life or this life.
"Secretary Zhang, my junior fellow apprentice has a straightforward personality. Please don't take it personally. I will do some ideological work on him when I get back..."
Xu Jianmin mistakenly thought that Secretary Zhang was angry, and hurriedly apologized and spoke good words on Zhou Yong's behalf.
Secretary Zhang stood up, suppressed his turbulent emotions, and came to the two of them: "Comrade Zhou Yong, right? I didn't expect that you are so young, but you care about the people. I, the secretary, am ashamed of myself..."
People are all made of flesh and blood. Secretary Zhang has also been through hard times, so he naturally knows how difficult life is for ordinary people at the bottom of society.
Secretary Zhang finished speaking and patted Zhou Yong on the shoulder: "In that case, take me to Huaixi Village for a field investigation so that I can apply to the higher authorities..."
Helping the masses solve their problems is the duty of cadres. Secretary Zhang plans to conduct an on-site inspection before making a decision.
It’s not that he wanted to deceive Zhou Yong and Xu Jianmin, but as I said before, the finances were tight and he was powerless to do some things.
Zhou Yong didn't know what Secretary Zhang was planning. After hearing what Secretary Zhang said, he was very excited. Xu Jianmin's face showed an expression of disbelief.
"Are you still not leaving?"
Secretary Zhang walked out and saw the two of them standing there saying these words.
Zhou Yong and Xu Jianmin looked at each other, and the two brothers could not hide their excitement in their eyes.
Secretary Zhang came to the bicycle storage area, and he and Xu Jianmin took their bicycles respectively, and the three of them left the commune.
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