Du Bing, Chu Xiuhong and others came over to meet Zhu Yan quickly.

Hou Weidong introduced: "This is Du Bing. I used to be the secretary of Chengjin. The young man worked in the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee. This is Chu Xiuhong and Governor Zhou's secretary. This is Duan Ying. He used to work in Shazhou Daily and is now a big reporter of Lingxi Daily."

Zhu Yan looked at Duan Ying. He had a good memory. He even remembered that Duan Ying was the daughter-in-law of the Propaganda Minister Liu Jun's family. When he was transferred from the silk threading factory to the newspaper, Liu Jun also came to find him. When he saw Duan Ying was pregnant at this time, he guessed that he was no longer Liu Jun's daughter-in-law.

Hou Weidong pointed at Zeng Xiangang again and said, "This former director of Jianshan Village Committee Zeng Xiangang, who was Shangqinglin, later made money by opening a stone yard and opened a shop in Lingxi. He is a big boss from Shangqinglin."

Zhu Yan shook hands with Zeng Xiangang specifically.

"These are all your old subordinates. Secretary Zhu, can you meet us?" Hou Weidong saw that Zhu Yan was a family for dinner, and he knew in his heart that he must be a family dinner, but he still sent a courteous invitation.

Sure enough, Zhu Yan bowed and said, "It's rare for me to have dinner with my family, so I won't get involved with you young people."

Old Xing accompanied Hou Weidong to choose a room with the best environment for Zhu Yan. When arranging the meals, Hou Weidong whispered: "This table of food is counted on my head. It is best to have special dishes."

Lao Xing said without hesitation: "I have the talented dried pheasants and flat fish that have been brought from Shazhou, which are absolutely authentic."

"Secretary is a family dinner. Don't need to be too much, you need to be very careful."

"Okay, let's choose this myself."

Old Xing went out to arrange dishes. Hou Weidong sat with Zhu Yan. He and Zhu Yan's family were very familiar with each other. Although Zhu Yan made it clear that it was a family dinner, Hou Weidong did not regard himself as an outsider, and Zhu Yan's family did not regard him as an outsider. Everyone sat together naturally.

Hou Weidong praised Zhu Mei: "Zhu Mei, you speak Mandarin very well."

Zhu Mei calmed down a lot at this time. She said, "My hearing is still a little worse, and I can't hear clearly if I speak quickly."

Hou Weidong slowed down his speech and said, "I've graduated from college, are you still going to study for a postgraduate degree?"

Zhu Mei nodded and said, "I can't do anything besides drawing, but I have to continue learning to draw."

Hou Weidong joked: "You have to give me a few paintings, I will collect them first. When Zhu Mei becomes famous in the future, these paintings will become priceless treasures."

Zhu Mei said again: "Is Aunt Li still Hong Kong? I still want to see her during the summer vacation?"

Hou Weidong felt slightly stabbed in his heart and said, "Aunt Li stayed in Hong Kong and rarely came back."

After chatting with Zhu Mei for a few words, Hou Weidong and Zhu Yan's topic turned to Huang Ziti and Yi Zhongling. They had already talked about this topic on the phone, and it was naturally different when talking about this topic face to face. Zhu Yan asked some details. He sighed: "This is done well. If you can't withstand the pressure of Huang Ziti in recent years, you might also fall into it. The outside is round and the inside is square. This word seems to be tailor-made for the official people, but it is really not easy to do it."

He originally wanted to say, "Zhou Changquan is also responsible for this matter." Thinking that Hou Weidong had served as secretary for Zhou Changquan, he kept his words in his mouth.

Hou Weidong told the truth. He said: "I have pushed Huangzidi several times. In fact, the main reason is Yizhongling. Who is Yizhongling? I can see clearly in the case of the Procuratorate that something will happen sooner or later when dealing with such a person. This is also the reason why I would rather offend Huangzidi than help Yizhongling with affairs."

Zhu Yan said: "Huang Ziti will not come back abroad, which is a good thing for Shazhou now. If he comes back, I don't know how many people will be implicated. If it becomes a major case like Maoyun back then, it will have a very bad impact on the development of Shazhou, and the development of Shazhou cadres will also be affected. I have been in Maoyun for so many years, and now I have eliminated the bad influence at that time."

Hou Weidong believes that Zhu Yan’s view is very realistic. Although this view does not conform to the legal concept and the traditional view of good and evil, the reality is this. It is certainly noble to do things by adhering to the concept and is the favorite of light-minded people, while capable leaders who do practical things are not so stubborn.

When the dishes came, Hou Weidong asked for a bottle of wine and drank two glasses with Zhu Yan. It was soon seven o'clock. Before he got up and said goodbye, he hesitated for a while, and decided to tell the truth, saying, "Then I'll go over and sit there. The meal has not started yet, and we are still waiting for Deputy Director Zhao Dong." Between Zhao Dong and Zhu Yan, Hou Weidong felt very subtle. This is something that can be understood in the officialdom.

Zhu Yan said "Oh" and said, "Zhao Dong is coming. He is a busy man. It is rare to be able to accompany you young people to have dinner."

Hou Weidong smiled and said, "Zhao Dong is also a young man, a young old leader."

Zhu Yan knew Zhao Dong's weight as the secretary of the provincial party committee, and said intimately: "In the past few years, Hou Weidong has been completely enlightened. He has a high understanding. If he can seize the opportunity, his future will be limitless." When Hou Weidong left the room, he said: "Director Zhao is here later, I will come over to toast a glass of wine."

It was seven o'clock that Zhao Dong came over. As soon as he sat down, Hou Weidong seemed to say unintentionally: "Shazhou Impression business is very good. Many comrades who have worked in Shazhou like to eat here, and Secretary Zhu of Maoyun is also next door."

When Zhao Dong was the Organization Minister of the Shazhou Municipal Party Committee, Zhu Yan was already the Secretary of the Maoyun Municipal Party Committee. When he heard that Zhu Yan was also there, Zhao Dong did not take the airs and took the initiative to say, "Secretary Zhu is next door, so I will go to toast a glass of wine."

Zhu Yan is the secretary of the Maoyun Municipal Party Committee and a member of the Lingxi Provincial Party Committee. He is also a figure in Lingxi. Zhao Dong is originally a low-key person, and it was reasonable to toast in the past.

Hou Weidong hurriedly took Zhao Dong to the private room where Zhu Yan was.

Seeing Zhao Dong coming to toast first, Zhu Yan stood up and shook hands with Zhao Dong, and said with a smile: "Director Zhao, when did you come to Maoyun to inspect? We have met with nectar after a long drought." He said in his mouth, thinking to himself: "People say that Zhao Dong is arrogant and difficult to talk to. Now it seems easy to get along with. Hou Weidong is smart."

Zhao Dong and Zhu Yan socialized for a while. Hou Weidong accompanied him back to the private room where the young man was.

It was ten o'clock when dinner was over, and everyone had fun and parted.

Hou Weidong sent Zhao Dong to the entrance of the community. Zhao Dong was a little drunk and said when he broke up and said, "I have almost finished the burden reduction office in the province from Shazhou to the provincial cities and counties. The more I know about the rural burden problem, the more I know, the more I know, that a burden reduction office cannot solve the rural burden problem. We work hard and at most can solve a very small number of illegal behaviors. Most of the burden is indeed the burden of farmers that comply with the policy regulations."

Hou Weidong understood Zhao Dong's meaning and said: "The burden on farmers is indeed related to a few grassroots units, but most of the burden is caused by the current system and the financial resources of the state. To solve the problem of farmers' burden, the central government must have major policies."

Zhao Dong nodded and said, "I was transferred from the Organization Department of Shazhou Municipal Party Committee to the Provincial Burden Reduction Office. The cause of the incident was actually in Chengjin. At that time, you were still in Chengjin and you were in charge of the county party committee. I conducted an investigation in Shuanghe Village and found the problem of the land in the farmers' burden. Later, this article was added to the editor's note and posted it in the internal reference. When I was transferred to the Provincial Burden Reduction Office, I couldn't figure it out. I thought that this was Zhu Minsheng excluding me. Looking back now, I did not have a job in reducing the burden. I would not have an in-depth understanding of the rural areas in Lingxi. I could not understand the real situation in the rural areas by simply browsing the blueprint."

"Without the experience of reducing the burden, I did not have the opportunity to work at the General Office of the Provincial Party Committee. This is called "Sai's loss of horses, no one knows the ups and downs of the officialdom. Who can see clearly?"

Zhao Dong is usually quite steady. Today he drank with a group of young people. He was with the client of that year, so he talked a little more and said what he said was his heart.

Hou Weidong took over the conversation and said, "The Hengshan who wrote the editor's note is the son of President Duan of Shazhou University. He was originally going to attend the party today, but he couldn't come if he had something to do."

"Hengshan's writing is sharp, and I want to meet him. As a reporter from the central media, it is very important to establish a good relationship." Hearing Hou Weidong accidentally mentioned Shazhou University, Zhao Dong remembered another beautiful figure and said, "Did Guo Lan be transferred to Shazhou University? She has a lot of promise? Why do you want to go back to university? If you really want to go back to university, you can go to Lingxi University. Lingxi University is the best university in the province."

Hou Weidong didn't like to hear Zhao Dong mention Guo Lan's topic, and responded to it: "I guess it was Professor Guo's death, which made Guo Lan think about returning to university."

Zhao Dong shook hands with Hou Weidong again and said, "Guo Lan works at Shazhou University. If you find something, Wei Dong can give the green light." He is a smart person. After a period of contact, he discovered that Guo Lan really has no idea of ​​falling in love with him. His identity and cultivation made him feel very regretful and unable to take further actions.

Seeing Zhao Dong go home, Hou Weidong returns to the Jinxing Hotel.

Lying on the big bed of the Jinxing Hotel, through the floor-to-ceiling window, he could see the bright street lights outside, thinking about his own experience, and couldn't help but ask himself: "What is the purpose of being an official?"

“For the sake of the country and nation, this topic seems to be a little bigger?”

"In order to get a bowl of rice, I have already solved the problem of survival. Do I need to run around for the sake of my official position?"

"Being an official is like climbing a mountain. There is a mountain with a mountain high, and there is no end. When you finally climb to a high position, you are already old and weak. What is the point of constantly climbing a mountain?"

Several questions kept circling in my mind. Finally, Hou Weidong ended the brainstorming with a local saying in Qinglin: "Whatever worm is, you have to drill wood. Since I am in the position of Deputy Mayor of Shazhou, I have to do things well. This is professional ethics and the basic morality of being a human being."

Then he thought again: "It was really a coincidence that I could advance and retreat now. If I had not opened a stone yard in Shangqinglin and laid a strong economic foundation, could I still be able to advance and retreat so casually, and could I have such a good mentality?"

In the middle of the night, I met Guo Lan in my dream. The two of them were in the professor's building of Shazhou College, looking at the foggy lake water and listening to the faint sound of the piano. When they woke up, it was already dawn.

Back in Shazhou, he participated in the first municipal government executive meeting held by Acting Mayor Ning Yue. There were many topics at the meeting. Hou Weidong clearly raised the issue of financing projects in the southern new district of Shazhou.

Ning Yue was still as sharp as before, and did not hide the edge because she was the "acting mayor". When Hou Weidong proposed the financing project in the Southern New District, she said: "Shazhou is the third largest city in Lingxi, but the financial concepts of the cadres in the city do not match the third largest city. Financial capabilities are an important ability that the city government leaders should have. Mayor Weidong raised the issue very well, which shows that he was considering the financing issue. We cannot build Shazhou City with just financial funds."

Ning Yue changed the subject and said, "I don't think I will study this topic for now. I think what should be studied is the city's financing issues, not just the issue of the southern new district. Since Mayor Weidong raised this issue, my idea is that you will take the lead in doing this."

In Shazhou, the executive vice mayor is generally in charge of economic work. Ning Yue's arrangement was to let Hou Weidong do a job as the executive vice mayor.

Hou Weidong was very sensitive to this problem, raised his head and happened to face Ning Yue's eyes. Ning Yue's eyes were quite meaningful, and he swept over Hou Weidong's face as if nothing had happened.

In the new municipal government team, Ji Cheng came down from the province and was very high-profile. Ma Youcai was at the grassroots level and worked very deeply in Chengfu. Qian Ning was selected and had little prestige. Ning Yue became the acting mayor, and the first person she wanted to use was Hou Weidong.
Chapter completed!