Chapter 106: Observations at the Wine Table

  Feng Siche is not only able to see what everyone thinks, but he can also feel the envy, surprise, shock and even admiration in the eyes of people looking at him from below. Yes, several young girls looked at him with admiration, of course, there were also people who looked at him with jealousy, resentment, and even anger. Of course, these people are representatives of those who complain about heaven and earth. Seeing Feng Siche, who is only in his early twenties, has become a deputy department-level cadre, and is also a county committee member, standing secretary, and executive vice county mayor, ranking sixth after the five secretaries in the county committee, how can this not make people think?

  Everyone has an inertia, that is, they always want to compare their strengths with others. Once they find someone stronger than themselves, they will not look for the reasons within themselves first, but rather look for some objective factors to explain it away. In short, they are unwilling to admit defeat and yield to others.

  Feng Sichao, who stood up, was used to such a big scene in his previous life. Even when facing numerous media and reporters' cameras, he didn't seem flustered. Today's situation was nothing compared to that, so he had no reason to be nervous. He just wanted to show his humble side, so he carefully stood up, then slightly bowed to everyone, showing enough respect. With a smile, he said: "Thank you for the trust from the organization. This time I was sent to work in Dahu, and I completely obey the organization's decision. In the future, I will work hard, strive for progress, under the guidance of Secretary Sun and County Mayor Fang, unite with my comrades, humbly seek advice, and try to do a good job in my position. If there is anything I did wrong, please point it out, and I will accept it humbly." After finishing his speech, he slightly bowed again and sat back down in his chair.

  The speech was also very proper, and even mentioned the names of Sun Shicun and Fang Zhihui, making it difficult for people to pick out any mistakes at first. To get back to the point, Feng Sicong's speech was just his first time speaking publicly, and with the leadership of the municipal party committee organization department present, everyone wouldn't make a big deal about him. Even if they wanted to give him a warning, they wouldn't choose this particular moment.

  Feng Siche's brief speech was met with waves of applause, which was at least more comfortable to listen to than the lengthy lectures of others. Sun Shicun and others also joined in the symbolic applause. Although Feng Siche's age had brought them a lot of surprise, his moderate and steady speech still gave Sun Shicun a certain good impression. This young man was at least not flashy or arrogant, which was very good. As long as he stayed in Dahulu County and waited for two years to mix with others until he could retire safely, that would be enough. When he heard that a 23-year-old deputy county head had been parachuted in from above, Sun Shicun guessed that this must be someone sent down by the higher-ups to accumulate experience. Hmm, accumulating experience was easy, as long as one was honest and didn't make mistakes. But if he really thought he could rely on his youth or the backing of others to look down on these old men, then he would have to be thoroughly thrashed. However, after seeing him today, it seemed that at least in terms of speaking, he was very strict and cautious in his behavior, which was good, very good.

  Sun Shidu was analyzing Feng Sizi, and others were no exception, only everyone just thought about it in their hearts, and no one put it on the surface.

  The meeting continued, and when Fang Xianzhi, the deputy secretary of the county party committee and the county magistrate, spoke, his attitude towards Feng Sizhe was much more sincere. He represented the Dalhu County Government in thanking the superior leaders for their concern, and at the same time, he also expressed that they would unite with Comrade Feng Sizhe to strive to boost the economy of Dalhu County and remove the label of one of the 100 poorest counties in China as soon as possible.

  When Fang County Magistrate heard this, several standing committee members obviously had a slight tremble, but this was just a small interlude and did not hinder the continuation of the meeting.

  At the end of the meeting, the People's Congress directly held a meeting and passed the fact that Feng Sicheng was appointed as the Executive Vice County Chief of Dahu County.

  The meeting was a victorious conference, a successful conference. After the conference ended, the county party committee leaders accompanied Vice Minister Zhou Chunhai to the Dahu Hotel not far from the county party committee. This is to thank the superior leaders for their concern and care for Dahu County, and also to welcome Feng Sizu's arrival.

  Dahuchi Restaurant, located on the east side of Dahuchi County by the lake. Sitting on the second floor of the restaurant, you can overlook the entire lake surface, looking at the city lake with a width of about 3000 temples, and your mood will be particularly open. This is also considered a scenic spot in the midst of poverty.

  Tonight's dinner party was held at the Grand Lake Restaurant, in a large private room on the second floor that could accommodate twenty or thirty people. County Party Secretary Sun Shicun raised his first glass of wine.

  "Come, I represent the Dahu County Party Committee and county government to thank Minister Zhou for bringing new blood to our county. At the same time, we also hope that Comrade Feng Sizhe can quickly familiarize himself with his work and soon throw himself into the new job. We also hope that you can bring a breath of fresh air to Dahu County, just like your age."

  "Thank you, Secretary Sun, for your love. In the future, I will definitely work hard under the leadership of the county party committee and government." Feng Sicheng smiled and raised his glass from his arms. Although Sun Shicun was toasting both himself and Zhou Chunhai, as the lowest-ranking and youngest person, he naturally had to be the first to express his gratitude.

  Zhou Chunhai also raised his wine glass, just slightly nodding his head, and then poured the wine into his mouth. As a leader of the municipal party committee's organization department, even though he had come to a county-level unit, he still needed to maintain an attitude that was somewhat restrained.

  "Haha, Comrade Feng Sizhe is still very young. Hmm, 23 years old, when I was 23, I was just a squad leader and not even an officer yet, haha. Come on, for the sake of youth, let's have a drink with County Magistrate Feng too!" The county party committee's third-in-command, Deputy Secretary in charge of personnel and also the president of the county party school, Pi Taisheng, chuckled and raised his cup halfway to toast Feng Sizhe.

  As soon as he heard the other party call him "Little Mayor Feng", Feng Si Zhe's eyebrows furrowed, but thinking that he was indeed much younger than the other person, and considering they were at a banquet table where one shouldn't be too serious, it would be better if everyone relaxed a bit. He didn't say anything more about this matter, and simply replied, "I'm new here and young, how can I let you toast me? This cup should be mine to toast you instead."

  After downing the glass, Feng Sicheng had more questions in his mind as he slowly poured wine into the cups on the table. According to protocol, after County Secretary Sun Shicun finished speaking, it should have been County Magistrate Fang Xianzhi's turn to speak, but why did they skip him and go straight to Deputy Secretary Pi Taisheng raising his glass? Don't underestimate this order, as there are unchangeable rules in the officialdom. Now that these rules have been disrupted, not only does it seem like County Magistrate Fang is not angry, but it's also a strange thing.

  Fortunately, it was County Chief Fang Xianzhi's turn to make a toast. He raised his cup and smiled at Zhou Chunhai and Feng Sizhe, saying: "Alright, I think it's too troublesome for us to take turns drinking like this. Why don't I just represent everyone and give you two a toast instead? That way, we can all do it together and save some trouble."

  Fang Xianzhi smiled and raised his cup, saying something while glancing at the others at the table who hadn't toasted yet. As soon as he looked away, Propaganda Minister He Zhuohua and Armed Forces Minister Li Wanli hastily followed suit, also smiling as they looked at Feng Sicheng and the other two.

  "Ah, County Magistrate Fang is indeed a man of his word. We should also show our respect by drinking with him. After all, it's not easy for Young County Magistrate Feng to come here. How can we not keep him company? As someone who has been in the capital before, I'm sure this little wine won't be able to knock him out, haha." After Fang Xianzhi finished speaking, both the Director of Propaganda and the Director of Armed Forces raised their cups as well. Then, Qi Hengsan, the Vice County Magistrate who was famous throughout Yongyang County, finally stood up. And as soon as he opened his mouth, it was clear that his tone was different from that of the County Magistrate, with a completely "you are you, I am me" attitude.

  Looking at this scene, Zhou Chunhai was visibly shaken, but he didn't say much. Feng Sicheng also saw the problem and thought that Fang Xianzhi's proposal was for his own good. He estimated that it was because he was afraid of drinking too much if they toasted one by one, so he proposed that everyone toast together. This was a kind intention, and indeed some people went along with him. However, unexpectedly, Qi Hengsan didn't give face at all, saying "you drink yours, I'll drink mine", which completely showed signs of factionalism even at the dinner table, a very bad phenomenon.

  Feng Sichu carefully watched this scene, and he guessed that Fang Xianzhi and Qi Hengsan were not on the same road. Although they were two county heads, one chief and one deputy, in Qi Hengsan's eyes, he seemed to have ignored Fang Xianzhi, the second-in-command of Dahu County.

  "Yes, yes, Magistrate Jing respects Magistrate Jing, we respect ours. I suppose people who come from Kyoto must have seen the world and their drinking capacity won't be small either." After Qi Hengsan finished speaking, he followed the deputy secretary of the county committee, Yang Chao, the head of the organization department, Niu Daxin, and the director of the county committee office, Li Yige, who all responded one after another. And after waiting for about a few seconds, Deputy Secretary Wu Guangrong, who was in charge of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and United Front Department Head Jia Bin also followed suit and drank along.

  Feng Sicheng vaguely felt something, it seems that in Dahulu County this factional division is indeed obvious, and there are so many people who do not agree with the county magistrate. This situation is very unfavorable to the development of Dahulu County, because infighting will inevitably disperse everyone's energy, and infighting will make some things that were originally for the benefit of the country and the people ultimately become sacrifices in personal political struggles. In the officialdom, proper struggle naturally exists, but if due to struggle, the great cause of enriching the country and benefiting the people is delayed, it would be a loss.