The Second Oolong

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  Tang Secretary's home is located in the No. 1 building of the county committee reception office, situated on the riverbank in the middle of Mashizhen Town, Changja County, at the foot of Xishan Mountain. The river running through Mashizhen Town from the foot of "Xishan" winds its way eastward for nearly a thousand meters, with cobblestones covering the riverbed and crystal-clear water that allows you to see to the bottom. The river flows gently all year round, forming the most beautiful scenery in Changja along with Xishan Mountain.

  "The water is sparkling and the sunny side is good, the mountain color is empty and the rain is also strange." Su Dongpo's "Drinking Lake on the First Sunny Day after Rain" is also a portrayal of this place.

  Ye Ziran rode his bicycle in the warm twilight breeze, thinking as he went, and felt grateful to Secretary Tang.

  Tang Guoqiang, the Secretary of Changjia County Party Committee, was transferred from the deputy department level position in Jianan City Party Committee Organization Department three months ago. Coincidentally, this Secretary Tang is the official who interviewed Ye Zhenran during his recruitment, and can be said to be the guide for Ye Zhenran's entry into officialdom, which in ancient times would be called "mentor".

  When you reach the level of Tang Secretary, your perspective on things is very broad. Ye Zhenran and ten others are the products of the reform of the cadre selection system by the Jianan Municipal Party Committee Organization Department, and Tang Secretary is one of the initiators of the pilot work, so he naturally pays attention to the growth of these ten people, especially Ye Zhenran, who was personally evaluated by Tang Guoqiang as the first in comprehensive performance. When arranging specific jobs for the ten people, Tang Guoqiang personally asked about Ye Zhenran's whereabouts, and was directly appointed as the director of the Mashan Township Party and Government Office.

  After Comrade Tang took office, Ye Zhenran went to visit him soon after. Secretary Tang received him warmly and didn't treat him as an outsider. After a few visits, Ye Zhenran became familiar with everyone in Secretary Tang's family.

  Ye Ziran rode his bike to the county committee's guest house and arrived at Secretary Tang's home. Before he even entered, a familiar Santana car stopped in front of Secretary Tang's door. The car door opened and out came Li Jun, the head of Ma Shi Township.

  Li Jun, about forty-five years old, slender build, with spirited eyes, got out of the car and saw Ye Zhenran at the entrance of Tang's office, who was just about to go in. He hastily pulled him over and said: "Little Ye, you're here! I was just looking for you."

  Ye Ziran stopped in his tracks and politely asked, "Li Chang, do you have something to discuss with me?" It was a common practice in the officialdom to address the village head and deputy village head by adding the character "Chang" after their surname.

  Li Xiangzhang nodded and said anxiously: "Director Ye, hurry to the county hospital, Secretary Qin was in a car accident and has passed away. It's definitely chaotic over there, you go handle it first."

  Ye Zhen was shocked and asked repeatedly: "Really? What time is it?"

  "Half an hour ago, go quickly."

  Here is the translation:

  It was like this: Li Xiangzhang was eating dinner when he received a message on his Chinese BB machine from He Guitian, deputy head of the township party and government office: "Lin Chang had a car accident, Qin Secretary is gone." Seeing the message, Li Xiangzhang was first shocked, then delighted. He looked at the message for several minutes, feeling more and more excited. He couldn't help but think: "The opportunity has finally come! The opportunity has finally come! I've been in this position as township head for five years, from a young deputy department-level cadre to now when my age is no longer an advantage. My work in the township has also been suppressed by Qin Secretary, with no room to move. But now the opportunity has come, if I can be promoted to township party committee secretary, although it's still at the same level, as a grassroots cadre, not holding this position would mean no chance of being promoted to deputy department-level. I must act quickly, report my work to Tang Secretary and Yin County Magistrate. Yin County Magistrate is my former superior, he will definitely help me. Tang Secretary may be cold towards me, but it should be fine. He's a new leader, if I take the initiative to get close to him, he'll probably accept." Li Jun became more and more excited as he thought about it, first calling Yin County Magistrate. "County Magistrate Yin, it's Li Jun. Ah, sorry to disturb you during dinner? Oh, you've finished eating. It's like this, I have something to report to my former superior, Ma Shi Township Party Committee Secretary Qin Daming had a car accident and is gone. Yes, yes, it just happened, as soon as I got the news I reported it to you. Superior, I've been township head for five years now, can I make a move this time? I'm capable of doing this job. Yes, yes. Thank you, superior, for your concern, I know that now... do you think I should go and report to Tang Secretary in person? Okay, I'll listen to your advice, please don't worry, I will always be your subordinate."

  Li Xiangzhang was moved by Yin County Magistrate's magnanimity when he told him to report to Tang Secretary first. As a leader, the most taboo thing is for subordinates to get close to their political opponents. So, Li Jun felt grateful that Yin County Magistrate had arranged for him to report to Tang Secretary and seek his support. He knew that Yin County Magistrate trusted him deeply, and it was likely that he knew that the county party committee secretary controlled the official hats of all county cadres. To become the township party committee secretary, one could not bypass Tang Secretary. After hanging up the phone, Li Jun hastily called for his driver to pick him up.

  He rushed all the way to Secretary Tang's home, where he happened to meet Ye Zhenran at the door. He knew that Ye Zhenran was close to Secretary Tang, and if it were any other time, he would have definitely pulled him along to see Secretary Tang together. But now, what he wanted to report to Secretary Tang was false, while his intention of seeking an official position was true, so it wouldn't be convenient for Ye Zhenran to know about this. Therefore, he sent Ye Zhenran off to the hospital first.

  Ye Ziran was also tense when he heard that Secretary Qin had an accident, and he quickly said to Li Xiangzhang: "Okay, Director Li, I'll rush over right away." He turned around, got on his car and rushed to the county hospital.

  Ye Ziran rode his bike quickly and arrived at the emergency department of the county hospital in just eight minutes. As soon as he entered the emergency room, he saw He Chunying, the wife of Deputy Mayor Lin, hugging her son and crying loudly, surrounded by what seemed to be her family members. Thinking to himself: "This is bad, it seems not only Secretary Qin but also Deputy Mayor Lin has met with an accident, this will make things even more chaotic in the countryside." He looked around and saw that Secretary Qin's family members were not there. Just as he was wondering about this, he saw Vice Director of the Party and Government Office He Guitian walking out from inside, and quickly went up to ask: "Old He, what happened? How is the situation now? Where are Secretary Qin's family members?"

  He Guitian looked at him and asked in confusion, "Is this a family member of Secretary Qin? What is a family member of Secretary Qin doing here? Is something wrong with Lin Chang? Is Secretary Qin inside talking to the traffic police?"

  Ye Ziran was shocked again upon hearing this and asked: "How could Li Chang tell me that Secretary Qin had died in a car accident?"

  "Li Chang told you that Secretary Qin had an accident? How is that possible? Where did Director Ye meet Li Chang?" He Guitian asked, bewildered.

  "At County Committee Secretary Tang's home." Ye Zhenran replied.

  "But I left a message on the BB machine for Li Chang, saying that Lin Chang had an accident and Secretary Qin had left...". At this point, He Guotian suddenly slapped his forehead, turned pale, and exclaimed: "Oh no, oh no! Li Chang misunderstood me. I meant to say that Secretary Qin had left the township government to go to the hospital. No good, I'll immediately make another call to the BB machine to clarify urgently and let Mayor Li know." After saying this, he hastily rushed off.

  Ye Ziran listened to He Guotian's words and understood the whole story, his face changed again, and he couldn't help but feel angry and anxious towards He Guotian. Such an important matter, Old He hastily sent a message through BB machine to Li Xiangzhang, and the message was unclear, causing such a big misunderstanding. He knew that Old He was originally Li Xiangzhang's man, and when he saw Qin Shuji rushing to the hospital, he reported his whereabouts to Li Xiangzhang in order to get Li Xiangzhang's attention. But at the critical moment, he was too unreliable, really a "Liu Adou" style character. This time, such a big misunderstanding was made, causing Li Xiangzhang to misunderstand that the owner of the car accident was Qin Daming, and then he urgently took action. Even if he understood the truth now, it would be difficult to make a satisfactory explanation to Tang Shuji and Yin Xianzhang. The two big bosses in the county would inevitably have an unfavorable view of him, and his future would be over. How could he not resent He Guotian?! And once Qin Shuji understood Li Xiangzhang's actions, he would also have a bad feeling towards Li Xiangzhang. Li Xiangzhang would put Old He on the spot to reduce Qin Shuji's anger towards him, and Old He's future would be over too. Ye Ziran thought more and felt his head getting bigger and more confused. The situation in Mashan Township was completely messed up! Not only did a deputy township head die, but also because of He Guotian's meddling, the top two leaders had a huge misunderstanding, making it difficult to carry out work in Mashan Township in the future.

  Ye Zhenran was resentful of Li Xiangzhang in his heart. He encountered such a big thing without verifying it clearly and acted hastily, which was too eager to be an official. Just as he was thinking wildly, Qin Daming, the party secretary of Mashixiang Township, came out of the emergency room doctor's office and saw Ye Zhenran. He immediately called out: "Director Ye, you're just in time. I still need to talk to the traffic police about something. According to the traffic police's on-site investigation, it was initially determined that Lin Chang was driving drunk. This matter is difficult to handle. If it's true, Mashixiang Township will be scolded by the county committee." Secretary Qin shook his head and sighed, saying: "Lin Chang was such a good cadre, but he just left like this without any reason. What a pity!"

  Ye Ziran deeply felt the same way, saying: "Yes, it was too sudden. I still feel a bit dizzy now. When I met Li Chang at Secretary Tang's door, I was startled. All the way here on my bike, my mind went blank. Li Chang said that both you and Lin Chang had accidents."

  Qin Secretary was shocked and asked repeatedly, "You met Li Chang at Tang Secretary's door? He said that both Lin Chang and I were in a car accident? Then why didn't he come over? Knowing the situation, why didn't he come to deal with it and instead went to Tang Secretary's house?"

  A string of questions left Ye Ziran unable to respond and also unable to answer.

  Secretary Qin, who had been in charge for many years, understood the urgency and importance of the matter. He temporarily put aside his dissatisfaction with Director Li and said to Ye Zhenran: "Director Ye, let's do this: we'll split up and take action separately. You go talk to Lin Zhang's family first, understand the detailed situation before Lin Zhang got into trouble, and see what requirements they have. The party and government office will be specifically responsible for Lin Zhang's aftermath. I'll go to the traffic police to understand the situation, and we'll meet up after we're done."

  Ye Ziran nodded hastily: "Alright, Secretary Qin. I'll go talk to Lin Zhang's family first and report back to you later."

  "Alright, let's leave it at that for now." Secretary Qin said and went to continue verifying the situation with the traffic police.