Zhao Ershun, the Party Secretary and Village Head of Jixing Village in Baxiang, should be said to be the closest person to Louhua. "In some rural areas in the north, there are still some customs that say a married daughter is like water spilled out of a bowl."
Lan Hua's marital fate was tragic. At twenty-one, she married a young man from a neighboring village, but before they even consummated their marriage, the young man vomited blood at their wedding banquet and died. The groom's family was devastated. At the same time, someone spread rumors that Lan Hua was destined to bring misfortune to her husbands, that she was incredibly resilient, otherwise, how could such a joyous occasion as their wedding have failed to dispel the "evil spirit" that led to the groom's death?
As a result, the groom's family made a huge scene, and the marriage naturally fell through. Lan Hua lost both her parents when she was young, and her older brother and sister-in-law disliked her, considering her unlucky, so they ignored her. Now, many years have passed, and they have lost all contact.
In this marriage, the bride, Lan Hua, was related to Zhao Sanshun. Lan Hua's mother and Zhao Sanshun's husband were related in some way; Lan Hua called Zhao Sanshun "Third Uncle," and Zhao Sanshun's husband "Third..."
The blue flower's influence led to several failed marriage proposals. The woman, upon hearing the phrase "cursed husband," thought it was superstitious and, erring on the side, decided to believe it. Ultimately, all the proposed marriages fell through.
Lan Hua also gave up on the marriage. As she grew older, she learned a lot. In addition, Zhao Sanshun, who treated her like his own daughter, and his wife had no one to take care of them. Zhao Sanshun's son and daughter were both working away from home, so Lan Hua decided to settle down in Jixing Village and consider herself a widow.
Life was quite comfortable. Especially after the completion of Peach Blossom Abode, Lan Hua's life gradually became more exciting, and she developed dreams and goals.
He also spotted a great young man at first glance, Zhang Guodong.
Undeterred, Lan Hua successfully landed a job at Taoyuan Xiaozhu, earning a white-collar salary while looking after the place. Unfortunately, despite her feelings, Zhang Guodong was indifferent and rarely visited Taoyuan Xiaozhu.
It wasn't until Li Yun, Qingzhu, Qin Lina, and Xuan Qingji moved in that Lan Hua felt inferior. These women were all stunning beauties, each with their own unique charm. And she, on the other hand, was just a country woman, and a woman believed to bring bad luck to her husbands—a situation that fueled her feelings of inferiority.
But after many sleepless nights, Lan Hua mustered up the courage to take the first step in confessing her feelings, only to scare Zhang Guodong away and change the subject.
Zhang Guodong has indeed had quite a few women. He now feels at most lust for Lan Hua, not love, so he reluctantly chose not to accept her confession, but instead accepted her joining the ranks of cultivators.
For now, things are pretty much settled. In the short term, Lan Hua won't be so focused on Zhang Guodong anymore. The future Zhang Guodong described fills her with longing.
What attracted her most about cultivators was that they had become more beautiful, their skin had improved, and they were even more alluring to men. For this reason alone, Lan Hua secretly resolved to cultivate diligently and catch up with Li Yun and the others.
Indeed, it has been proven that cultivation does have this effect on cultivators, making women more beautiful and enhancing their temperament, which is incredibly attractive to men.
Lan Hua caught Zhang Guodong's momentary lapse in concentration, which made her feel incredibly confident, as if she had truly become a different person.
At the home of Zhao Sanshun, the Party Secretary and Village Head of Jixing Village.
Zhao Sanshun and his wife looked extremely worried. Zhao Sanshun sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), while his wife sat on the edge, watching her husband with great anxiety.
There have been people at Taoyuan Xiaozhu these past few days, and it seems Zhang Guodong has returned; the villagers had already informed them. However, although Zhang Guodong is the village's executive deputy village head, he hasn't actually handled a single matter, and has even publicly stated that he's just a figurehead with no real involvement. Naturally, the villagers don't want to bother him unless absolutely necessary.
But for Zhao Sanshun and his wife, that wasn't their concern. It was Lan Hua's problem. Both Zhao Sanshun and his wife had noticed that Lan Hua was interested in Zhang Guodong.
Zhang Guodong is indeed outstanding—wealthy and successful. He's a capable man. But he's married, and Lan Hua is having an affair with a married man—how can that be acceptable?
Wouldn't others criticize Zhao Sanshun behind his back?
This just won't do! So Zhao Sanshun had a lot of complaints about Zhang Guodong on this matter. However, the fact that Lan Hua's picture was stuck on made Zhao Sanshun very unhappy. These past few days, Lan Hua has basically never stayed home; she goes to Taoyuan Xiaozhu as soon as she gets up, and she's in such high spirits. She seems happy every day. While Zhao Sanshun and his wife are happy, they are also worried.
He'd checked; it seemed only Zhang Guodong had returned to Peach Blossom Abode. What if something happened between this lone man and woman?
His wife urged him to bring Lan Hua back, fearing that Zhang Guodong and Lan Hua might have some "problems"—a romantic relationship, after all. Zhao Sanshun and his wife were experienced; they understood perfectly well. Lan Hua was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the surrounding township. She seemed to have been dressing up these past few days; she looked even more beautiful than before.
This was clearly a costume for Zhang Guodong. If this hot-blooded young man like Zhang Guodong couldn't control himself, then things would get really serious.
The saying goes, "It's like climbing a mountain for a man to pursue a woman, but it's like piercing a thin sheet of paper for a woman to pursue a man." This tells you how dangerous the situation is.
"Dad, what do you think we should do about Lan Hua? She's barely been home these past few days, except to sleep. This girl seems possessed; if this continues, something bad is bound to happen!" Auntie San said worriedly, leaving the decision to her husband.
Zhao Sanshun calmly smoked, the cigarette crackling loudly. Decades of smoking had turned his fingers a deep yellow. And when trouble arose, smoking had become a habit.
"How should I know what to do?" Zhao Sanshun snorted, sounding annoyed. He had brought this up many times, not just once or twice.
But Lan Hua always said nice things, and at the same time told her third uncle that she would never get married in her life.
Is this how someone who doesn't want to get married looks? Does he intend to become someone's mistress or concubine? Although Zhang Guodong is a really outstanding young man and a very nice person, how can he save face after this?
"How about we find another marriage for Lan'er? My daughter-in-law Xiuli mentioned it last time... There's a nice family in that neighborhood, they have a house and a car, but the man is five years older than the woman and has a three-year-old child. His wife died in a car accident, so what do you think, Dad? Should we have Xiuli make some connections? Lan'er is quite good too, so pretty, even though she's a widow. But she hasn't consummated her marriage yet, she's practically still a virgin!" Auntie said.
Zhao Sanshun was actually somewhat tempted.
If Lan Hua can really marry into the city, that's her good fortune. These days, many rural girls are moving to the city, and staying there isn't so easy.
After a moment's hesitation, Zhao Sanshun said, "Is that so?"
“Yes, when our son Jianwen spoke to us on the phone last time, his wife was also there. She told me that she is very interested in the blue flower matter!” Auntie San nodded happily when she saw that her husband was somewhat interested.
grid!
Zhao Sanshun threw his cigarette butt on the ground, stood up and said, "Then let's do it this way. Let's try it out no matter what, and see if they're willing. It would be best to borrow a photo. Let's take a look at each other. If they agree to a blind date, that would be even better."
Once Zhao Sanshun makes a decision, the Zhao family generally cannot object. Even Lan Hua cannot refuse. When Zhao Sanshun gets angry, Lan Hua is also very afraid.
The news spread quickly throughout the village, whether intentionally or unintentionally, through gossip. The fact that Aunt Lanhua was going on a blind date was major gossip in the village.
After reluctantly agreeing to her third uncle's arranged blind date, Lan Hua remained somewhat sullen at Peach Blossom Cottage. Meanwhile, Zhang Guodong had already left, driving his van to the countryside. Cultivation is cultivation, but what's the point of life if one remains in seclusion forever? This had always been Zhang Guodong's belief. Born here, raised here.
Even as a cultivator, Zhang Guodong longed for the life of an ordinary person. To put it more kindly, if necessary, he would rather conceal all information about his cultivator identity and live as an ordinary person.
But currently, this kind of life for ordinary people is greatly diminished.
The fat man is living a very comfortable life now. He has taken on the roles of the top two leaders in the township, and his words are basically law in Zhangba Township.
The Party Committee, the government, and all key departments are all in Fatty's hands. Even if the district appoints some Party Committee members who are not aligned with Fatty for the sake of some kind of political balance, it doesn't matter. Of the seven Party Committee members, Fatty occupies five, and the remaining two have no influence over major matters.
When Zhang Guodong entered the village, he felt it was quite different from what it had been six months ago. The streets were more than twice as wide, clean and tidy, and lined with restaurants, shops, and hotels on both sides, making it much more prosperous than it had been six months ago.
The fat man put a lot of effort into the construction of Zhangba Township. Now, the proportion of township enterprises, private enterprises, and enterprises from other provinces in the township's total economic output has increased significantly. The taxes paid each quarter have led to a substantial increase in fiscal revenue, which can support the ambitious development of township administration.
Everything is moving in a better direction!
However, the fat man has recently encountered some troubles.
Several months have passed since the reshuffling of party and government leaders at the central, ministerial, provincial, municipal, county, and township levels in Xiqin Province. Many officials have been replaced at the provincial, municipal, and county levels, with nearly half of the leadership in the High-tech Zone under the provincial capital being replaced. Notably, the district party secretary, Luo Jianhui, and the deputy party secretary and district head, Xiang Chunyan, are both newly appointed.
The top two leaders of the district have both changed.
However, the fat man from Zhangba Township remained completely unmoved within the High-tech Zone. Xiang Chunyan intended to get the fat man into the district committee and make him a standing committee member, but Zhang Guodong and the fat man refused.
Wang Yunyi has specific plans for his son Wang Kang's political career. Back when Zhang Guodong was with the Wang family, he heard the fat boy complain. As long as his father hadn't taken over as provincial governor, he wouldn't be able to move. Moreover, the fat boy had achieved considerable success in Zhangba Township, and Wang Yunyi intended to further temper his character, so he hadn't mentioned it yet.
Of course, the fat man was promoted two ranks from deputy section chief to deputy division chief in a very short time. Promoting him to division chief would be too conspicuous. It would be better to wait a while, until Governor Wang has stabilized his position and taken control of the provincial government.
That matter was never mentioned again.
But instead of forcing growth, an opportunity presented itself to Fatty, who was very tempted. Fatty was now a township leader skilled in economic development, with a prestigious title and decent performance in Party committee work.
Meanwhile, in the city, a newly established state-owned machinery factory faced a major crisis. A massive financial deficit was reportedly exposed, implicating the factory's Party Secretary, director, deputy director, and leaders of the finance, logistics, and sales departments. Production at the factory immediately came to a standstill. Many workers stopped working and stopped receiving their wages. Seeing this situation, they panicked and rushed to petition higher authorities. What would happen to them if the factory closed? Over two thousand employees were no small number; if the problem wasn't resolved, it could easily escalate into a mass protest. The city government was also in a state of chaos, and no one wanted to take over this mess.
With annual sales of less than 100 million and annual profits of less than 3 million, there's a staggering deficit of 80 million! Who can cover that? Frankly, whoever gets promoted... Even if things go smoothly, they'll be stuck in their position for years; that's the best-case scenario. But if they can't resolve the issue, it could mean the end of their career—the responsibility is immense!
Someone seemed to have mentioned the fat man, but Zhou Qing and the others suppressed the question.
The fat man is Governor Wang's son. In the city, only a few high-ranking officials know this, basically limited to Governor Wang's close associates and some members of the municipal party committee's standing committee. Some of the newly appointed standing committee members are still unaware of this.
Zhou Qing didn't dare put the fat man on the hot seat. This was clearly a powder keg. If the fat man took office, even though he was promoted to the rank of division chief, if he still couldn't solve the problems at the machinery factory, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand Governor Wang's anger.
The fat man's proposal was rejected just like that.
But when the fat man heard this, he was very interested. The city-level state-owned enterprise, Hongxing Machinery Factory. The factory's Party Secretary and Factory Director, both at the level of a department head, were usually two people, one for the Party and one for the administration. They also secretly studied and discussed the situation of Hongxing Machinery Factory. The biggest problem facing them was how to keep the factory running normally, prevent the more than two thousand employees from losing their jobs, and further, make it profitable!
As for the financial deficit of 80 million, that cannot be made up in a short time. We can only take it one step at a time!
Fatty had done research on products and markets, and consulted with some professionals. He wasn't without a chance to turn the factory's current situation around.
Hongxing Machinery Factory, with just a little capital, has a chance to turn this unfavorable situation around.
Risk and opportunity go hand in hand. Fatty is now living a comfortable and peaceful life in Zhangba Township, but he lacks challenge. This seems inconsistent with his inherent drive and ambition. Fatty is an ambitious man!
His confidence grew even stronger after he became a monk.
"Secretary, Mr. Zhang has finished!" Just as the fat man finished processing a document, there was a knock on the door. He opened the door, and it was the fat man's secretary.
"Mr. Zhang? Guodong?" The fat man was taken aback at first, then overjoyed. He had just been thinking of finding someone to confide in and analyze things, and here it was, Zhang Guodong had arrived! "Quickly, let him in. It's nothing particularly important. Don't disturb him for a while; Guodong and I have something to discuss!"
The secretary nodded, knowing full well that he knew Zhang Guodong better. But he couldn't afford to neglect Zhang Guodong, who was a close friend of Secretary Wang.
Zhang Guodong's arrival put the fat man at ease. He was very happy.
He had barely sat down when he teased, "Oh, it's Guodong! I've missed you so much! You haven't shown your face in the past six months. Have you been having a good time in the desert? But congratulations again, Chairman Zhang, the largest private shareholder of Shennong Holdings!"
Zhang Guodong snorted and ignored him, taking out a cluster of tea leaves, a teacup, and hot water as if they were out of thin air, making the fat man almost drool.
He also had a storage bag, but it was the lowest grade, only one-tenth of a cubic meter, and it could only hold some crystals. There was basically no room for anything else.
The fat man, with a smirk, ordered a steaming cup. He couldn't wait to take a sniff.
"I heard it when I came in: Secretary Wang is living a very comfortable life. He's very authoritative and respected, and everyone in the township praises him. The economy has developed, the township has been beautifully built, and he's living a comfortable life. I definitely can't compare to that fat guy," Zhang Guodong said.
"Heh heh, this life is so boring, no challenges at all. Every day is just office work, or drinking and eating with the leaders who come from above. Damn, this life is so depressing!" the fat man grumbled. "The only time I feel relaxed is when I'm with my Yu Jiao. Sigh, it's so tough!"
"Guodong, to be honest, I don't like this kind of life. Staying in the same position all the time is making me feel like an old monk. Speaking of which, I've been in Zhangba Township for quite a while now, more than two years. I want to make a change. Recently, there's been an opportunity with both risks and opportunities. But I'm afraid my dad might not be able to get through it!" the fat man continued, sounding very distressed.
"Oh?" Zhang Guodong was surprised. He thought the fat man was joking, but it seemed the fat man really wanted to make a move. But if he did, wouldn't he be a member of the district committee standing committee by now?
The top two leaders of townships are all holding the same positions, unless they're also members of the district party committee standing committee, which carries significant weight. Otherwise, life would be far less comfortable than it is now.
Zhang Guodong has little interest in politics, but he does understand some things. "Zhang Guodong said with interest."
Fatty was about to speak, but then suddenly stopped. Looking at Zhang Guodong, his eyes gradually brightened, a look that made Zhang Guodong somewhat uncomfortable.
"Guodong, I need your help, you'll definitely help, right?" the fat man suddenly said.
Zhang Guodong paused for a moment, then nodded, but said cautiously, "Of course, I'll help if I can, but there are certain things like the wedding night that I can't do for you!"
"Damn it! You don't need to do these things for me!" The fat man wanted to pounce on Zhang Guodong and punch him a few times, but when he thought about how powerful Zhang Guodong was, he immediately deflated.
Lin Yujiao is his precious darling. If someone were to take her away, wouldn't he be heartbroken?
Seeing that the fat man was interesting, Zhang Guodong narrowed his eyes and finally regained some of his initiative.
"You're just a horse!" the fat man said through gritted teeth.
"Damn it, just spit it out!" Zhang Guodong was immediately embarrassed and annoyed. Was he really like that? He did have a lot of women, and recently he'd taken in Xuan Qingwei, so to be fair, her reputation wasn't entirely unfounded. But talking about this with Fatty made him feel a little guilty. Compared to Fatty, he really was pathetic.
The fat man snorted, having won a round, and got back to the point, saying, "You're still the executive deputy village head of Jixing Village, right? And a Party member, aren't you?"
"What's wrong?"
Zhang Guodong, unsure of the fat man's intentions, nodded. This position, though lacking any administrative rank and merely a township appointment, still retained his status as a Party member admitted on the front lines and as the executive deputy village head. "The medicinal herbs in Jixing Village are growing well. They're almost ripe. Some surrounding villages are also taking advantage of your opportunity to showcase other medicinal herbs. It can be said that the medicinal herb base construction in Zhangba Township has been initially established! Guodong, you've made a great contribution!" the fat man flattered.
This made Zhang Guodong even more puzzled. The fat man's blatant flattery was definitely not going to end well.
Bar?
Zhang Guodong quickly said, "This has nothing to do with me. I just provided some medicinal herb seeds, and I've already made several million yuan. It's a transaction. Don't take the credit; it's the township leaders who deserve the credit, otherwise the medicinal herb base wouldn't have been able to be built!"
The fat man thought to himself, "They're so cunning. They haven't even gotten to the point yet, and they're already trying to shut me up? That won't do!"
Note: One chapter every 5,000 words. To be continued tomorrow.
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