At seven o'clock in the evening, Zhou Dazhu finally met up with Secretary Lin of the commune and his friend—a middle-aged man in his forties with an extraordinary demeanor.
The two arrived by bicycle.
After they parked their car, Zhou Dazhu stepped forward, shook hands with Secretary Lin, and said warmly, "Secretary Lin, welcome to my humble abode."
"Zhou Dazhu, this is Secretary Tao, our new secretary in Taohua Town. Secretary Tao, this is Zhou Dazhu, the head of Zhoujia Village, a very ambitious village cadre." Secretary Lin introduced Tao Jiadong and Zhou Dazhu with a smile.
"Oh my, it's Secretary Tao! It's an honor to have you here." Zhou Dazhu hurriedly wiped his hands on his clothes before shaking hands with Tao Jiadong.
"Hello, I'm Tao Jiadong. I'm here today because I need your help with something." Tao Jiadong smiled and shook hands with Zhou Dazhu.
"No trouble at all, no trouble at all. I can't even invite people like Secretary Tao and Secretary Lin normally! Please come in, leaders." Zhou Dazhu quickly ushered them into his home.
Upon entering the house, Zhou Dazhu shouted at the top of his lungs, "Yu Feng, is the food ready? The guests have arrived."
"Alright, alright, I'll bring it out right away," Chen Yufeng replied.
"Zhou Dazhu, we've already eaten before we came. Tell your family not to bother with this." Tao Jiadong hurriedly stopped him.
"Secretary Tao, Secretary Lin, please eat less after dinner! We've already made it, it would be a waste not to eat it." Zhou Dazhu said anxiously.
Zhou Dazhu and Secretary Lin had a fairly good relationship.
Every time Secretary Lin came to Zhoujia Village, he would have a meal at Zhou Dazhu's house.
Secretary Lin likes to eat fish, so Zhou Dazhu specially sent someone to catch a few fish from the village's fishpond today. He also went to the town's supply and marketing cooperative to buy some good wine, preparing to treat him to a good meal.
Feelings are built up over time!
If Secretary Lin eats and drinks well, he'll think of Zhou Dazhu if anything good happens in the future, right?
We have an even more distinguished guest today, and Zhou Dazhu is hoping Chen Yufeng will cook a couple more dishes!
"Dazhu, listen to Secretary Tao! If you're hungry, eat first, and we'll take a walk around the yard," Secretary Lin said hastily when he saw Tao Jiadong's refusal.
Secretary Lin and Tao Jiadong were not friends, but rather had a superior-subordinate relationship.
Tao Jiadong had only been in Taohua Town for a short time, and Secretary Lin had not yet figured out his personality.
However, when Secretary Lin heard about it, he found that Tao Jiadong was efficient, straightforward, and didn't mince words.
“I ate a lot at noon and I’m not hungry yet. Secretary Tao, if there’s anything you need me to do, just let me know.” Of course, Zhou Dazhu wouldn’t go off to eat and leave the two secretaries waiting in the courtyard.
Chen Yufeng was very perceptive. Seeing that Tao Jiadong and the others weren't eating, she quickly made a few cups of tea and brought them over.
"This is high-mountain tea grown by Zhou Dazhu's relatives. It has a refreshing aroma and tastes just as good as some famous teas. Every time I come to Zhou Dazhu's house, I always have a couple of cups before I leave. Secretary Tao, you should try some." Secretary Lin used the tea-drinking opportunity to flatter Zhou Dazhu.
"It does look quite good." Tao Jiadong readily agreed and picked up his cup.
When you visit a fellow villager's home, you can't just eat there for free; you can at least have a cup of tea.
Zhou Dazhu took the opportunity of drinking tea to steal glances at Tao Jiadong.
This is the top leader of their Peach Blossom Town! The position Zhou Dazhu dreams of sitting in.
If Secretary Lin hadn't brought Tao Jiadong to his home today, Zhou Dazhu wouldn't have been qualified to get close to Tao Jiadong even if he went to a meeting in town.
After taking a sip of tea, Tao Jiadong said, "Zhou Dazhu, I need sufficient data to support one of my investigation reports. So I'd like you to help me find two sets of data. One set is a list of all people born in the village between 1948 and 1950, separated by gender. The other set is a list of families in your village who have adopted children over the past thirty years, including the parents' names, the child's name, the child's gender, and age." Tao Jiadong considered for a moment before speaking.
This method was devised by Tao Jiadong, incorporating suggestions from Zhao Qingshan and Wang Jing.
Originally, Tao Jiadong wanted to find a man in his thirties who had been adopted as a child.
However, Zhao Qingshan advised him not to do so.
Whether the person who adopted the child is a good person or a bad person is currently unknown.
If he were an accomplice of spies, Tao Jiadong's actions could easily alert them, putting the children in danger.
Wang Jing suggested that they use writing a report as an excuse to have someone compile the information Tao Jiadong needed.
Tao Jiadong felt that what the two said made a lot of sense, which led to his trip to Zhoujia Village today.
Zhoujia Village is under the jurisdiction of Liushui Commune.
Liushui Commune was the first commune Tao Jiadong chose. Zhoujia Village was the first village Tao Jiadong chose.
Tao Jiadong certainly wouldn't tell Zhou Dazhu about these things.
“Okay, I’ll prepare the materials as soon as possible. Secretary Tao, should I give the materials to Secretary Lin, or should I give them to you directly in town?” Zhou Dazhu asked.
Zhou Dazhu naturally hoped that Tao Jiadong would let him go directly to town to find him.
Practice makes perfect!
By their second meeting, Zhou Dazhu and Secretary Tao had become acquainted.
However, Zhou Dazhu couldn't say that directly, because doing so would be seen as abandoning Secretary Lin and currying favor with Tao Jiadong.
Zhou Dazhu could only raise the issue and let Tao Jiadong decide.
Sure enough, after Zhou Dazhu said that, Secretary Lin had an even better impression of him.
This Zhou Dazhu is quite a clever man. He's probably not the kind of person who'd abandon old friendships for someone better.
While Zhou Dazhu and Tao Jiadong were talking, Secretary Lin's thoughts had already jumped to how likely it was that there would be another opportunity to consider recommending Zhou Dazhu for a job in the commune.
"Just send it to the town! If I'm not in the office, give the documents to my secretary, Xiao Li, and have him pass them on," Tao Jiadong said after thinking for a moment.
Liushui Commune has eighteen villages.
If Secretary Lin were to pass everything on, he wouldn't need to do any work these days; he could just focus on running around town.
This is a private matter, and Tao Jiadong tries his best not to trouble others.
Tao Jiadong and his group left after sitting at Zhou Dazhu's house for about ten minutes.
Tao Jiadong had to rush to another village.
Unfortunately, too much time has passed, and many clues have been lost.
Tao Jiadong had no choice but to use this cumbersome method, searching village by village.
Night fell, after ten o'clock. The entire Zhoujia Village fell into silence.
In those days, there wasn't much entertainment in the countryside. Villagers always preferred to go to bed early and get up early.
After eight o'clock, many people went to bed.
After 10 o'clock, most people are already sound asleep.
Just after ten o'clock, the front door of Zhou Fugui's house quietly opened. The next second, a dark figure stepped out.
Hearing the noise, Zhou Bingchen hurriedly jumped out of bed.
Looking at Zhao Zhenzhu's peaceful sleeping face, Zhou Bingchen bent down and tucked the blanket around her.
Zhou Bingchen didn't notice that when he straightened up, two suspicious "red clouds" appeared on Zhao Zhenzhu's face, who had been fast asleep.
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