Chapter Twenty-Two: Overcoming Star

  Xu Aini and other cadres accompanied Lu Zhong as they walked in, after just a few steps, Lu Zhong slightly hesitated, but saw that under the stage, a young man in a white suit and leather shoes was directing a singer, with Gao Zhikai accompanying him. That young man, wasn't it Ma Wenge? "Hehe, that's Secretary Ma's son, he just arrived with Director Gao to take a look at the excitement." Xu Aini explained beside them.

  At this time, Ma Wenge and Gao Zhikai both saw Lu Zheng, Gao Zhikai's eyes flickered, while Ma Wenge directly turned into a bitter melon face.

  This living bandit is simply the nightmare in his memory. The days he was detained in Guangning were a hellish and cruel memory in his life, and even to some extent changed his character.

  "Zhi Kai, let's go." Ma Wenge pulled at Gao Zhi Kai's sleeve.

  Ma Wenge felt that there was nothing good to wait for, this young man who had once shouted in front of him, now a person his father had some fear of. And Ma Wenge in front of his father, was like a mouse seeing a cat, so it can be said that he and Lu Zhong were fundamentally different by several orders of magnitude.

  Running into Lu Zhong, can't still be cold and arrogant? Should we talk about the past with a smile? How much restraint is needed in our hearts? So it's better to avoid him. Gao Zhi Kai nodded, he and Ma Wenge immediately left from another side door. Xu Aini originally wanted to go over and say hello, seeing the two leave in a hurry, she was stunned for a moment, then didn't mind either, cleared her throat, and loudly said: "Comrades, stop for a moment, stop for a moment!"

  The music on stage slowly came to a stop, and both the stage and the audience gradually fell silent.

  Xu Aini said in a slightly excited tone: "Comrades, Lu Zhong County Magistrate has come to visit everyone on behalf of the county party committee and government. Let's welcome him with warm applause." As she spoke, she led the applause, and immediately there was thunderous applause from both the stage and the audience.

  Lu Zhong smiled and raised his hand to signal, waiting for the applause to gradually subside. He then said with a smile: "Comrades have worked hard, let's continue rehearsing! I won't shake hands with everyone now, your time is precious as you rush to rehearse! After the party is over, I'll celebrate with all of you!"

  Xu Aini smiled and said, "County Magistrate Lu has always been concise in his words and considerate of our comrades below. Come on, let's have another round! Thank you for County Magistrate Lu's arrival!"

  The applause rose again, and then Xu Aini accompanied Lu Zhong to the back row of seats in the auditorium. The actors who were rehearsing on and off stage all started their own business.

  "Not bad," Lu Zhong said with a smile, "it's going great."

  The actors came in and out, some had rehearsed to the point of exhaustion and left, while others had just arrived. The hall was still not large enough to accommodate everyone's rehearsal, so some actors simply rehearsed at home or found their own place to practice.

  As for Xu Aini's large-scale social dance performance, the leading couple will definitely be at 9 o'clock in the grand auditorium for a dress rehearsal, with an hour of practice time.

  So Xu Aini and Lu Zhending were also at nine o'clock.

  Lu Zhen nodded repeatedly as Xu Aini introduced the situation.

  "Alright, you attend to your business, I'll take a walk around and go out for a smoke." Lu Zhong made a gesture.

  "Good." Xu Aini smiled and thought to herself that Mayor Lu was not a heavy smoker compared to other county leaders, and he was quite civilized. If it were another leader, they would have already lit up a cigarette by now.

  The auditorium is very large, with some bungalows scattered around, and there are many trees outside the north gate, with weeping willows already sprouting green buds.

  Lu Zhong puffed on his cigarette and strolled, then saw a woman in a red uniform under a willow tree not far away, posing as if she was dancing with an invisible partner, her movements swift and light. Judging from her clothes, she should be a young female worker newly recruited by the county.

  Lu Zhong smiled and was about to walk away, but didn't expect to step on a withered tree branch. The woman immediately turned her head around, and the two of them were about ten steps apart. With the bright moonlight, the courtyard was as bright as day. The woman exclaimed in surprise: "Is that you?" Lu Zhong also recognized the beautiful woman as Ai Fang, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Cui Hong family and the wife of his elder brother Lu Xuehai.

  "Sister-in-law." Lu Zhong smiled and walked over.

  "What brings you here?" Ai Fang asked in surprise.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Just wandering around, didn't see you when I went home for New Year."

  Ai Fang smiled and said: "I've been busy all along, with gatherings and Lantern Festival parties, I couldn't find the time.

  Lu Zhong nodded, knowing that these were all excuses. Ai Fang had grown up in the city and was a bit spoiled, not very fond of her husband's family, and looked down on Lu's rural background. If there was an excuse, she would inevitably not go back.

  "By the way, little brother, your big brother has mentioned it several times, but I haven't seen you come home for a meal. Are you not often in Qinglong?" Aifang's voice was soft and gentle, very different from her attitude towards Lu Xuehai.

  "En, I'll be running around all the time, maybe next time. Lu Zhong knew that this sister-in-law was afraid of forgetting her own name, but it was also understandable, they were just acquaintances and not even close relatives of Lu Xue's."

  "Ai Fang's eyes sparkled as she said, 'Alright then, come over for dinner tomorrow.' These past few days, she had been arguing with Lu Xueyou. Lu Xueyou was being stubborn and refused to apologize, while Ai Fang never had the habit of admitting defeat first. Seeing Lu Zhong, she suddenly had an idea - inviting her little brother over for dinner would give everyone a chance to save face."

  Moreover, Lu Jia's brothers and sisters all think that this outsider younger brother gives people a good impression. Although his clothes are a bit rustic, he is clean and tidy, and his temperament is different. It is obvious that he has been traveling around outside for a long time, and there is a hint of a formidable character about him.

  "What's tomorrow?" Lu Zhong was in a dilemma for a moment. Tomorrow is Saturday, and he has to go to Wushan after work. Although it's the second year of correspondence study now, his studies are gradually getting easier, with more professional courses, and the concentrated teaching time has been changed to half a day every Sunday, but on Saturdays, he still needs to prepare.

  Just then, a footstep sounded, and a figure emerged from the side door of the auditorium. It was a man in his late 20s wearing glasses, dressed in a black woolen coat, looking very much like an official.

  Ai Fang's expression changed slightly when she saw this person, and she said to Lu Zhong: "Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. I have to practice my dance steps. You should hurry up and leave."

  At this time, the young cadre had already walked to the front of Lu Zhong and Ai Fang, frowned at Lu Zhong, and said to Ai Fang: "You don't say no one else is needed, do you want your family's old Lu to accompany you? Who is this person?"

  "This is my little uncle."

  Lu Zhong listened to what the other person said without being polite, looked at him a few times, smiled and said, "Yes, I also have the surname Lu."

  The young cadre's eyes, fixed on Aifang, revealed a hint of gloom. "Aifang, is this your little uncle? How come I've never heard of him? You're really problematic, I was kind enough to suggest accompanying you to practice dance, but you pushed and resisted, what do people in the department think of me? The impact on me is terrible! So, it turns out you have a young lover?"

  Ai Fang's pretty face turned red, and she said: "Tang Suo, how can you talk like that?!"

  The young cadre sneered, "I haven't said the worst yet! Ai Fang, don't forget that this is a critical period for your conversion to regular employment. If you can't convert to contract employment this time, who knows when it will be next? I can fire you anytime!"

  Ai Fang's face turned pale, and she stopped talking. Suddenly remembering that Lu Zhong was present, her heart felt both ashamed and angry, unable to express the humiliation she felt. She turned to Lu Zhong and said: "Younger brother, you...you go first." Her eyes showed a pleading expression.

  Young cadre Tang Gen Shui, originally the director of the county government office, was transferred to be the deputy director of the county party committee office and the head of the county party committee reception house. After the new promotion, he became the deputy director and was trusted by Tu Pan Shi, basically responsible for the daily work of the county's reception office.

  Tang Gen's water has been rippling for a long time, and now the county is also preparing to promote reform. I heard that if temporary workers still can't be converted to formal employees this year, they will have little chance of being converted in the future. As a result, the situation in our department is turned upside down. After all, the young people newly recruited by the county in the past two years are all temporary workers. Following the usual practice, after slowly working for several years, they can be converted to formal employees, but now the situation seems different.

  The staff who have not been included in the compilation are all eyeing the few positions of public institution and contract personnel sent down by the county.

  According to her seniority, Aifang has been working at the reception house for four or five years. According to her ability, she is now the director of the guest room department. Of course, the top floor reception rooms for county committee members and visiting leaders from other provinces are not under her management.

  If nothing unexpected happens, the indicators that have been coming down for a year or two should be changed in some way, breaking all conventions. All temporary workers who haven't been converted to permanent positions hope to do so before the change, and those who can enter the county's recruitment process originally had more than half of them with some social connections, let alone the small service staff serving the county leaders on the top floor of the reception hall. If they are liked by the county leaders, they will naturally be taken care of in all aspects. Therefore, being able to go upstairs for duty is also a goal that many service staff strive for.