Chapter 1: The Unbeatable Old Man VS The Green Dragon Gang (2102)

  Qinglong County, poor mountains and rivers, barren land, from the front dynasty, gradually became a synonym for poverty. When mentioning Qinglong, people's first thought is "poor", in Hebei Plain, there is an earlier folk saying "don't marry off daughters to men from Qinglong".

  The Qinglong people jokingly refer to their homeland as "the sky has no three days of good weather, the earth has no three miles of flat land, and people have no three cents of silver". In recent years, it has gradually evolved into "planting a few pieces of slope is not enough for one pot", used to describe the barrenness of Qinglong's land.

  Although Wushan is listed as a coastal economically open city, neighboring counties have been developing rapidly in recent years, but Qinglong remains the poor and backward Qinglong it has always been, with the spring breeze of reform seemingly completely isolated outside the surrounding mountains.

  The county committee's grand courtyard was a newly built five-story building, majestic and tall, with the national emblem shining brightly in the scorching sun on the top floor.

  The fifth floor of the office building, County Party Secretary Ma Weiguo was drinking tea, while beside him, County Party Standing Committee member and Organization Department Minister Hao Baishan reported on the preparations for tomorrow's afternoon meeting to announce the new appointments of county party standing committee members.

  On the sofa, Deputy Secretary of the County Committee and Executive Vice Mayor Tan Wusi smiled and asked: "Secretary Weiguo, you have worked with County Magistrate Lu before. I heard that he has a very bad temper. Is it true?"

  Tan Wusi was not yet fifty years old, but due to the impact of the Cultural Revolution and the exhaustion of recent years, his back was slightly hunched, with wrinkles on his thin face bunched together like orange peel, looking as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

  Hao Baishan glanced at Tan Wusi, Old Tan had been in Qinglong for over a decade and had been the deputy county head for seven years. Originally, this time Liu Pingnan's defeat was a great opportunity for him, and he had made a big fuss about it in the city. However, unexpectedly, someone else took his place. Logically speaking, Old Tan should be very resentful, but this consumptive devil always had a deep city, and not a hint of dissatisfaction could be seen on his face.

  Ma Weiguo smiled slightly: "County Magistrate Lu will arrive this afternoon, you can get to know him yourself, he's a very capable young man." Although he was praising Lu Zhen, there was a hint of condescension in his tone.

  No one noticed that when Tan Wus thought asked about Lu Zhong, Ma Weiguo's eyelid jumped.

  "It's great to be young..." Hao Baishan also sighed, he was promoted to the Standing Committee relatively late and his ranking was always after Tan Wusi. Moreover, above him was the county party committee deputy secretary in charge of the party group, making his position as the organization department head very awkward. Tan Wusi had never shown much respect for him, let alone since two years ago when Tan Wusi started serving as deputy secretary and looked down on him even more.

  The grudge between the two began in the Cultural Revolution era, and it wasn't a life-or-death feud, but they just couldn't stand each other and often sabotaged each other.

  Hao Baishan had always secretly cursed Tan Wusong as a consumptive ghost.

  The sigh of "being young is really good..." is also for Tan Wusong to hear, you're old, out of touch, otherwise the county head would have flown away like a familiar duck?

  Tan Wusi's thin face twitched like orange peel for a moment, but then he smiled and said, "Yes, it's the world of young people."

  Hao Baishan also said: "Now someone says that Lu Xianchang is the unshakeable figure in Wushan officialdom. Well, thinking about it, it's really like this. He has been rubbed twice, right? Each time, he can't be pressed down, and every time he jumps up higher after being pressed down once. I really admire him."

  The "clink" of the teacup and saucer was loud, but it was actually High Zhi Kai slamming the cup heavily onto the tea table beside him.

  It's clear that Hao Baishan didn't infuriate Tan Wusuo, but instead hurt Gao Zhikai.

  Hao Baishan did not know about the old grudges between Gao Zhikai and Lu Zheng. He only knew that Gao Zhikai was a favorite of Secretary Wei's, otherwise Secretary Wei wouldn't have gone to great lengths to bring him over from Guangning to serve as county bureau chief. In any region, if possible, the top leader will always replace the public security chief with their own trusted personnel. The fact that Secretary Wei could bring Gao Zhikai over suggests a very close relationship between them.

  Moreover, Secretary Weiguo is preparing to suggest to the Municipal Party Committee in the name of the County Party Committee that Director Gao Zhikai concurrently serve as Vice County Governor. It's likely to be put on the agenda of the Standing Committee soon.

  So although Gao Zhikai is now just a deputy department-level cadre, with an identity far inferior to his, he doesn't dare look down on Gao Zhikai.

  Jian Gao Zhi Kai suddenly slammed his cup, Hao Bai Shan was somewhat perplexed, blinked his small eyes, and didn't speak.

  Isn't that Lu Zhong? Ma Weiguo suddenly remembered a time when he met with Qinglong and himself, his impression of him was: a cockroach that can't be killed!

  Now, "cockroach" is far from enough to describe Lu Zhen's adaptability, survival ability and fighting spirit in the officialdom.

  The unshakeable official of Wushan? Ma Weiguo's eyelids twitched again, but this metaphor seemed to be really apt. Especially for someone like himself who understood Lu Zheng's background and had witnessed his repeated falls and rises, Lu Zheng was indeed a formidable figure.

  No, he must have a backing, but who doesn't? No matter how deep the backing is, it's still up to you to get back on your feet after falling. Moreover, in officialdom, there's this thing called "momentum", and the biggest taboo is going against the wind. One wrong step and you'll lose everything. But these rules of officialdom seem to be completely useless when applied to Lu Zhong. It's as if he's above all that, like a floating cloud. If we consider Lu Zhong as a chess player, his moves are completely lawless, but by the endgame, you'll find that he's won by just a few pieces, precisely because of those few pieces.

  "What's wrong with Daogong? He was lucky, Zhang Yukong fell down and then Wang Huisheng stuck to him." Gao Zhikai said with a gloomy face.

  Ma Weiguo smiled slightly and said, "Little Gao, you're still a bit anxious."

  He can understand Gao Zhikai, who has just started to get on the right track in the past six months and is expected to go further in his official career in Qinglong. Who knows that at this time, the person who once stole the spotlight from him in Guangning came again, and once again became his leader.

  Xiao Gao, it's not easy either.

  Thinking of the future, Gao Zhi Kai and Lu Zhong's dealings, Ma Wei Guo also felt a little sentimental.

  ……

  At the same time, in the county seat of Guangning, a black Santana slowly drove into the old residential area of the fertilizer plant. The Guangning Fertilizer Plant has now relocated, and the renovation project of the residential area is said to be about to start.

  In the car, Jiao Yue was driving and Zeng Jiang, deputy director of the Organization Department of the Municipal Party Committee, sat in the passenger seat.

  Sitting in the back row with Lu Zhong was Gao Yanyan, the newly appointed Standing Vice Minister of the Municipal Organization Department.

  It goes without saying that Gao Yanyan and Zeng Jiang came to accompany Lu Zhong on his new appointment, but Lu Zhong said he would first return to his hometown for a visit, anyway it was also on the way. From Wushan down Qinglong, taking the southern route first to Guangning, then to Qinglong, although it's a detour, it's much faster than taking the northern route.

  The northern route runs from Wushan to Qinglong, which seems relatively straight, but the road is rugged and has the Qinglong River (a branch of the Luan River) in between. In the summer, it's impassable by car, and people rely on ferry boats to cross. In the harsh winter season, the Qinglong River freezes over, allowing vehicles to barely pass through.

  Sitting in the leather seat, Gao Yan liked the steady feeling of this luxury sedan, compared to the bumpy ride of the Jeep, this was truly enjoyable.

  A gentle breeze blows outside, where snowflakes dance in the air. Inside the car, it's warm and cozy like spring, making one feel drowsy.

  Envy looked at Lu Zhong, as a manager of enterprises, especially large joint ventures, is different. In Wushan, only the municipal party secretary Duan Zhongyuan had just sat in a Santana.

  As for Lu Zhong, when he was in Hong Kong, Gao Yanyan had a good impression of him. His fluent English and witty responses were quite elegant, giving people a completely different feeling from other cadres. The only thing that didn't match was his usual gray Lenin suit, which was a bit too rustic.

  However, the impression was not bad, and Gao Yanyan didn't think much about this person. After returning to Wushan, Lu Zhong was suspended for investigation. Although Gao Yanyan sighed in her heart, "What a pity", she also felt that this person would disappear from her memory later. Who knew, it was Lu Zhong again, and the materials for his appointment as a member of the Qinglong County Committee, Standing Committee, and Deputy Secretary were sent to her office desk, leaving her stunned for a while.

  Lu Zhong's ups and downs are easy to forget, but in fact, he is only 23 years old this year.

  Even Gao Yanyan, who was sitting next to Lu Zhong at this moment, couldn't help but ignore Lu Zhong's age and wonder if the new Magistrate of Qinglong would bring some changes to Qinglong.

  But when she first saw Lu Zhong's age on the organization's inspection materials, Gao Yanyan was shocked and almost didn't dare to believe her eyes. Although young cadres are being promoted across the country, a 23-year-old county head is probably unheard of, right?

  "Xiao Jiao, here's this." Lu Zhong had been writing something in his notebook, then tore out a page and patted Jiao Hui on the shoulder.

  Jiao Yue took it over and carefully put it into his pocket.

  Gao Yanyan was very curious about what Lu Zhong had handed over to Jiao Ye, but she naturally wouldn't ask more questions.

  Zeng Jiang, sitting in the passenger seat, and Lu Zhong are old friends, but now their status is vastly different. He is just a high-ranking deputy minister assigned by the organization to be Lu's follower, so he can no longer chat with Lu as freely as before.

  It seemed like a dream when he recalled that more than half a year ago, Zeng Jiang was still putting on airs to teach Lu Zhong a lesson.

  The sedan screeched to a halt with a loud "screech", but it was a bicycle that suddenly rushed out of the alley, almost colliding with the car. The cyclist, in a state of panic, fell to the ground along with his bike.

  "Director Lu, is everything all right?" Jiao Ye hastily turned his head to ask, he had always addressed the old leader as "Director Lu", feeling it was more intimate.

  Lu Zhong glanced at Gao Yanyan and saw that she was fine, so he said: "It's okay, you go down and take a look to see if anyone has been hit."

  Jiao Ye snorted: "I saw him fall down by himself! I'd like to see what he dares to say?!" He opened the door and got out of the car, looking at his appearance, it seemed that he was about to fight with someone. Obviously, Jiao Ye had some old habits again, and it was no longer the time when the couple lived apart in two different places.

  It's no wonder Jiao Lei is worried, the thing that drivers fear most is this kind of situation. If they accidentally hit someone, according to current traffic laws, the driver will have to take some responsibility. And if they kill someone, it's not just a matter of whether it's a human life or not, but also a matter of bad luck for the rest of their life.

  The person riding the bicycle slowly got up, and Jiao Yue, who had originally gotten off the bike with a gloomy face, seemed to know that person, suddenly didn't have the attitude of going down to scold him, and even hugged him.

  Lu Zhong immediately said: "I met an acquaintance, I'll go down and say hello."

  In front of the sedan, the person who had just crawled up from the ground was Zhou Daqing, who had been a secretary for Lu Zhong for a short period of time. At this moment, he looked at Lu Zhong with some trepidation.

  "Great!" Lu Zhong smiled and walked up, extending his hand to shake hands with Zhou Daqing, asking: "How have you been lately? Everything's all right?"

  Zhou Daqing is actually in a difficult situation, two months ago, he was expelled from the police force by Gao Zhikai.

  The public security system is now promoting standardized construction, and the reform of police numbers is an important part of it. Wushan is one of the pilot areas for the reform, which requires each police officer to have a unique number, and the number must be worn on the uniform. It is expected that in one or two years, this will be promoted nationwide.

  Zhou Daqing was on the roster, but not in the national system. He was only recognized as a public security policeman in Wushan. Nowadays, this situation is very common. After working for a few years, he will slowly transition to the national system.

  But after promoting the reform of the police number system and requiring one policeman to have one number, Zhou Daqing did not have a police number. Gao Zhikai took this as an excuse to transfer several contract policemen, including Zhou Daqing, out of the agency. The remaining civilian policemen were arranged to work, but Zhou Daqing was left unattended for a long time. It wasn't until Director Ma intervened that he was transferred to the Industrial Bureau and became an employee there.

  Gao Zhikai's strong desire for revenge was even looked down upon by Ma Yuewu.