Chapter 49: The Unlucky Bo Le

  The small restaurant at the east gate of the community, Lu Zhong and Wang Boss were having a few small dishes with baijiu.

  Outside, scattered snowflakes danced playfully, falling on the ground, trees, and people's necks, only to disappear quickly.

  This year's first snow in Wushan visited the city like this, and then turned into a patter of small rain.

  Lu Zhong is now, without official position, one body light, returned from Hong Kong, just out of the airport, comrades from the Central Investigation Group appeared and took him away, subsequently, Lu Zhong was removed from his post as Deputy Director of the Municipal Planning and Economic Commission, currently still under investigation.

  Currently, the officialdom of Wushan is still in a state of intense shock. Yesterday, Liu Pingnan, Secretary of Qinglong County Committee, was removed from his post. It is said that he had a relationship of interest transfer with Director Zhang Yugong, and had spent over 1,000 yuan of public funds on clothing for Zhang's family. Before going abroad to North Korea, he also violated regulations by having high-end suits tailored and buying high-end gifts.

  In today's social atmosphere, once these things are exposed, they become a big deal, although imprisonment may not be inevitable, but party disciplinary action is unavoidable.

  The earthquake in the officialdom of Wushan also affected the province, and the Hebei Provincial Party Committee also made adjustments. The most heavyweight bombshell was that Jiang XX, director of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission, would no longer serve as the second secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, marking the end of Director Jiang's nearly decade-long rule over Hebei Province.

  The news of Qi Xuanwang's appointment as a Standing Committee member and Vice Governor of the province didn't attract much attention in Wushan's official circles, perhaps only Lu Zhong would have taken notice, and clearly understood the rich political information contained in this unremarkable appointment.

  In this game of upper-level political factions, the Lu system's people, or the Beijing faction that gradually evolved from the Northeast Bureau, finally quietly infiltrated Jidong.

  Perhaps it is precisely because of the establishment of the Wushan High-tech Development Zone in Hebei Province, which is close to Beijing but has been rarely noticed by high-level officials, that this province has become a new battleground for various political factions.

  But these are still far away from Lu Zhong.

  Lu Zhong was sipping his wine, discussing with Old Wang about asking him to take over the contract for Changming Company's third cafeteria.

  Lu Zhong now holds only one position, which is the Party Secretary of Changming Company.

  "Is this contract really worth it?" Wang Qiuba asked with a bit of intoxication, blinking his blurry drunken eyes.

  "What's wrong? Not enough to have fooled you once, are you afraid I'll fool you a second time?"

  "No, no, it's not what you mean, Director Lu. Look at you!..." Wang Qiuba's face flushed with embarrassment.

  She walked lightly, carrying a plate of fragrant onion and meat, and suddenly asked: "Changming, is that the German-owned factory? How many workers do they have now?"

  "It's like this for now, but I reckon in two or three years, there will be tens of thousands of workers anyway?" Lu Zhong said as he calculated.

  Wang Qiuba and Mao Yunzhu both widened their eyes in surprise.

  "Of course, in the future, the factory area's living quarters will definitely be a very perfect functional zone, just like Wugang now. But no matter how it changes, since you've already entered, the operation of this small community in the future will definitely have your share. On the premise that you can first manage the canteen well and win the reputation of the employees."

  Mao Yunzhu was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but ask: "Such a big factory, can we get in?"

  Lu Zhong said: "Definitely follow the normal procedure, you need to submit a proposal for competition. But like this, I'll find someone from the factory tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to come and talk to you about the situation in the factory, so you can have an idea in your mind. However, how to operate it still depends on you, Old Wang. But Old Wang, I believe in your ability." As he spoke, Lu Zhong patted Old Wang's shoulder forcefully, "Don't worry, this time I won't lead you into a ditch!"

  "Hope you keep your word."

  "Ah-choo! Don't worry, sister-in-law, I've always remembered the kindness you and your family have shown me."

  Lu Zhong's words were very sincere, Mao Yunzhu was stunned for a moment, and nodded lightly. Suddenly, she felt that during this time, she had been unfair to Lu Zhong. After all, the honey garden was gone, and she should have hated Gao Zhikai, that bastard, instead of venting her frustrations on Lu Zhong, which wasn't reasonable in the first place.

  Outside, the sound of rain suddenly grew louder, and the fine rain threads turned into soybean-sized raindrops, rapidly pounding against the window.

  A man and a woman rushed in, the woman shaking water droplets from her hair, saying: "Sorry about this, boss. We're just trying to get out of the rain."

  Mao Yunzhu quickly stood up and smiled: "Nothing, shall I get you a towel?" A harmonious atmosphere brings wealth. All the people passing by the restaurant door are potential customers, which was what Wang Qiuba taught her.

  "Little He?" Lu Zhong raised his head and saw that the man and woman who came in were He Hongmei and Zhang Qingtian.

  "Do you know each other? Then sit down quickly, I'll go get you some tea." Ma Yunzhu said as she walked into the inner room. As for Wang Qiuba, he had already fallen asleep on the table with a slight snore.

  "Looking for me?" Lu Zhong asked with a smile, coming to the Guo Dali community. These two naturally wouldn't be visiting others, and looking at Zhang Qingtian, Lu Zhong smiled: "What's wrong? Didn't get scolded inside?"

  Zhang Qing's eyes flashed with excitement, but he just nodded lightly.

  He Hongmei pulled at his sleeve and said, "What's wrong with you? Didn't you say that for this lifetime, you would give your life to Director Lu? How come when you see him, you become speechless?! You can't even say a simple 'thank you'!"

  Lu Zhong just smiled: "Forget it, if Qing Tian really said that to me, I'd be afraid of having nightmares tonight." Looking at Zhang Qing Tian, he said: "We understand each other!"

  Seeing Zhang Qingtian just silently nodding, He Hongmei couldn't help but anxiously say: "What's wrong with you? You were hugging me and crying in the middle of the night, what got you so worked up? I said your life belongs to Director Lu now, what's going on now?"

  Zhang Qingtian glared at He Hongmei: "Shut up! No one takes you for a mute!"

  He Hongmei said helplessly: "See, I knew you'd be fierce with me."

  Lu Zhong smiled: "Little Hei, you don't understand the world of men. Sit down, I'll take a look at Qingtian again and see if he's still as fierce and powerful as before, then I can rest assured."

  When Zhang Qingtian and He Hongmei sat down opposite him, Lu Zhong asked: "The letter I gave you?"

  He Hongmei hastily said: "It's been burned, and even the ashes can't be seen."

  Lu Zhong wrote a letter detailing the causes and consequences of Zhang Qingtian's case, which he personally handed over to He Hongmei. Despite being delivered in person by Lu himself, and the recipient being He Hongmei, Lu was still very cautious and used a typewriter to write the letter, in order to prevent it from becoming a handle for someone to use against him in the future.

  Lu Zhong nodded slightly and said, "I'm writing this letter to you, not to show off or make you owe me a favor. I want you to clearly understand the truth of this matter, so that you can be on guard. And, Zhang Qingtian," Lu Zhong looked at Zhang Qingtian, "you must change your way of working. You're not yet in a position where you can fully utilize your abilities. To eliminate enemies, first and foremost, you must ensure your own safety."

  "Otherwise, even if you sacrifice and shed blood, can you awaken something? Can you change anything? No! And you will disappear silently, in the rolling river of history, just like you never existed! To change some things, you cannot blindly believe in your own strength, nor blindly believe in ideals. Instead, you need to have a group of people with similar goals and aspirations, working together on this matter. Even if they are not exactly like-minded, as long as they can be used for our cause, we must unite, unite the power of the majority, and slowly take the stage!"

  Lu Zhong had a lot of things in his heart that he had never told anyone, but the person in front of him was Zhang Qingtian, and Lu Zhong suddenly wanted to have a chat with him.

  He himself is the one who wants to change this world. Perhaps, his way of doing things is different from Zhang Qingtian's, but they share the same ideals. So, there are some words that Lu Zhong suddenly wants to talk to him about.

  Zhang Qingtian listened intently, and from Lu Zhong's firm words, he could hear the grandeur of his ambitions. Perhaps only those who have a broad mind can have such courage.

  Ordinary people may have grand ideals, but they are just daydreaming to themselves. If you really ask them to speak up in front of others, they themselves feel unconfident.

  With a slight excitement in his heart, Zhang Qingtian nodded silently and said, "Director, I will listen to you from now on."

  He Hongmei smiled as she looked at Zhang Qingtian, intuitively knowing that he had finally met a like-minded friend, or rather, someone who would appreciate and take care of him.

  However, He Hongmei's heart suddenly felt a little downcast. The great mentor of the Qingtian clan was now struggling to survive from day to day.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said to Zhang Qingtian, "How about it? Are you interested in coming to Changming to help me out? Come join the party committee as the secretary of the discipline inspection commission?"

  Zhang Qingtian nodded and said: "I'll make a report to the organization tomorrow and apply for a job transfer."

  Lu Zhong smiled, stretched out his hand and patted him: "One board one eye, I just thought you'd come, but I don't have the power to assign your work, do I? But I hope that one day, we can set up a team together."

  He glanced at his watch and said, "The rain has also subsided, and the time is about right. I'll go take a look at Director Yu Gong." He picked up an exquisitely packaged gift box from under the table and patted it with a smile: "I brought this back from Hong Kong - a supplement that's very effective in preventing cardiovascular diseases for the elderly."

  He Hongmei asked in surprise: "You want to go see Director Yu Gong?"

  Lu Zhong hummed: "I've been wanting to go for a long time, but you know, both of us are being investigated, it's not convenient to meet. However, I made a phone call this morning and heard that the organization has already ended its investigation on him. Hmm, let's still avoid suspicion, how about grabbing some time tonight?"

  "Okay, okay... " He Hongmei was a bit anxious. Although Yu Gong's case has been settled, you are still being investigated because of him. How can you get involved again? But she also felt that it wasn't right to interrupt Director Lu's words, as that would be too disrespectful to him.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Alright, Xiao He, I know what you want to say. But I'm not afraid, besides, didn't you all come to see me? Why aren't you afraid of being dragged down?"

  He Hongmei let out a deep sigh and said: "Director, you're really one of a kind. This is both your strength and weakness."

  Lu Zhong smiled and stood up, saying: "I'm leaving!" He also shouted to the inner room: "Sister-in-law, I'm leaving! Old Wang is still sleeping outside, don't let him catch a chill."

  Mao Yunzhu had just sent out a pot of hot tea and retreated into the inner room as soon as he heard others discussing serious matters.

  Lu Zhong smiled and nodded at Zhang Qingtian and He Hongmei, then turned around and walked out.

  Looking at Lu Zhong's back, Zhang Qingtian and He Hongmei exchanged a glance, and in their hearts, they didn't know what kind of feeling it was.

  He Hongmei murmured: "Director must be fine, must be fine, right Qingtian?"

  Zhang Qing looked blankly at the window outside, where the rain threads were woven together like a net, and remained silent for a long time.