Early in the morning of August 17, after Sun Zongyuan had breakfast made by Xu Rui, he hugged his son:
"Be good, I'm going to work. Listen to your mother at home."
The road from Liuzhuang Town to Honghua Township is still a gravel road. Once a motor vehicle passes by, a long trail of dust will be left behind. The road between the two places is not only full of bends, but also follows the mountains and the river bank. It is a winding and ups and downs journey of eleven kilometers. It took Sun Zongyuan forty minutes to reach Honghua Township.
The Honghua Township Government is located on the south side of the residence, backed by mountains to the west and a river to the south. The yard is divided into three platforms, one higher than the other, with a height difference of about 1.5 meters between the two platforms. There is a gentle slope in the middle for motor vehicles, and nine steps on both sides for pedestrians to travel.
At 8:20, Sun Zongyuan came to the Party and Government Office, took out the transfer order and presented it to Secretary Zhang Zhenyu. Secretary Zhang had known Sun Zongyuan for a long time from Secretary Li, so he shook hands with him warmly as soon as he came up and said, "Zongyuan, you are here. The roads of our township are counting on you!"
"Secretary Zhang, you're welcome. I will still need your support and help in my future work."
"Come, Xiao Wang, this is the newly transferred technician Sun Zongyuan. Take him to find the village chief Wang who is in charge of the roads and report to him," Secretary Zhang said to the civil servant Xiao Wang.
"Thank you, Secretary Zhang. Let's get together sometime. I'll treat you to a drink."
After Sun Zongyuan finished speaking, he shook hands with Secretary Zhang again and then followed Xiao Wang out.
Deputy Township Chief Wang Anyou's office was also his dormitory. When Sun Zongyuan went to report to him, he was boiling water. Civil servant Xiao Wang introduced Sun Zongyuan to Township Chief Wang and then left. Secretary Li said:
"You are a teacher by profession, and you learn the technology of bridge and road construction in your spare time. Our Honghua Township is in urgent need of talents like you."
"Village Head Wang, I've heard you're a promising cadre in our township, highly respected by the masses and a well-received leader. Please don't take me for granted. If I encounter any difficulties in my work, you must provide me with guidance and support."
Sun Zongyuan had experience from his previous life and knew the principle of having everyone carry a fancy sedan.
After chatting for a while, Township Chief Wang said:
"Zongyuan, your office is temporarily set up at the Water Conservancy Station. Let's go over and take a look."
The water conservancy station has only two rooms, an inner and outer room. The inner room has two desks, two filing cabinets, and a small bed in the corner. A map of Honghua Township is hung on the wall, with villages, mountains, rivers, transportation roads, etc. marked on the map.
Village head Wang placed him in the inner office, and then called two people from the water conservancy station to hold a meeting. "This is the new technician Sun Zongyuan, he is a college student. From now on, the three of you will work together. If there is anything, Sun Zongyuan will take the lead temporarily. You two can get to know each other first. At 10 o'clock, Zongyuan and I will go to the primary school to take a look."
"Okay, Mayor Wang, you go ahead and do your work. I'll wait for you at the gate at 10 o'clock."
After Township Chief Wang left the water conservancy station, Sun Zongyuan spoke with two people there. They learned that one was Yang Zhiwu, 27, a disabled veteran who had only been there a year and a half, knew nothing about the business, and was a local. The other was Li Zhen, 18, the son of a nearby township leader, a temporary worker who had come to the station to make ends meet after graduating from junior high school. Sun Zongyuan introduced himself and expressed his hope that the three of them would work closely together.
At 9:50, Sun Zongyu was waiting for Village Chief Wang at the government gate, pushing his bicycle. A cloth bag was hung on the handlebars, which contained a tape measure, a notebook, and a can of boiled water.
At 10:05, Township Head Wang and Sun Zongyuan left the government office and arrived at the gate of the township primary school. Principal Jiang, Zhang Qingcai from the Honghua Work Area, and Li Zhitang, secretary of the Honghua Village Party Committee, were also waiting there. After introducing themselves to each other, Township Head Wang said to them:
"Education is the foundation of a century-long plan. Our town Party Committee and government attach great importance to this work. In recent years, they have invested in the renovation of many schools and resolved the ten-month wage arrears for many teachers. However, the road in front of Honghua Township Primary School does not truly reflect the achievements of our township's emphasis on education. Driven by the idea that education serves the people, the township Party Committee and government have decided to renovate this road in front of the primary school. From now on, this road will be called Yucai Road, and the road construction project will be called the Yucai Road Project. We are here today to hold a meeting. If you have any questions, please discuss them one by one. Technician Sun, please take notes."
People in the village and the work area spoke one after another, but they all expressed their willingness to listen to the Party Committee and not to lag behind. There was too much water in their speeches and they lacked substance.
"Sun Zongyuan, please tell me."
Village head Wang called out Sun Zongyuan's name.
"Okay, let me say it. If my words are immature, please feel free to criticize and correct me, leaders." Sun Zongyu said modestly.
"I thought about it. The school is a project that wins the hearts of the people. We want to build it into a benchmark project and a demonstration road. This is first of all a question of concept. So, how wide, long, and flat should this road be? Should it be made of cement or gravel? Should there be greening on both sides? What is the investment budget? We need to study these first. Then we can organize the road design, make a budget, and then organize the construction. Um, this is my first time working in Honghua Township. I am not clear about the ideas of the Party Committee and the government. If I said something inappropriate, please feel free to give me your advice."
As Sun Zongyuan spoke, he looked at everyone one by one. Finding that everyone was thinking about something, he lowered his head, holding his notebook, ready to accept criticism from others. After all, this was his first time working in the government after graduating from school. Although he had experience in his previous life, he pretended to be unsure.
After about a minute, Township Chief Wang said:
"After all, intellectuals consider issues comprehensively. We think about building roads every day, but we haven't considered these issues. Why don't we take a look at the site of the road to be built."
Everyone followed the principal to look at the road on the spot. The road runs east-west and forks at the foot of the mountain on the west side. On the east side, it reaches the river bank. There is a five-meter-wide stone arch bridge across the river. The road on the other side of the river also forks. The total length is 1.5 kilometers. The road is uneven. There is a small hill in the middle and a small valley to the west of the hill. There are also two houses located in the middle part of the road. The so-called road is in a dilapidated state as a whole. I don’t know how the primary school students get to school.
It is said that last year the county party secretary came to inspect Honghua Primary School. His car was broken down while driving on this road. The secretary returned to the county in anger. At the standing committee meeting in the evening, he dismissed the previous secretary of Honghua Township and then promoted Secretary Li Jianguo to come here.
After watching, everyone went to the elementary school principal's office, and Township Chief Wang said:
"Sun Zongyuan, we just saw the actual condition of the road. I feel that construction of this road is imminent. Please first make a suggestion on how to build it. We will discuss it and then make a plan. After reporting it to the leadership, we will bring it to the Party Committee for study."
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