PCJ – Chapter 631 The Meeting

“Xiao Zhang, after receiving your remediation plan, both Secretary Yang and I took it very seriously. The town immediately submitted an application report to the county, and it has attracted significant attention from both the county committee and the county government. They hope we can present a more detailed plan. I told you last time — we must ensure that no new salinization occurs after the treatment. Once the funding is used, there will be future assessments. If any issues arise, it will affect the county’s future project applications. After all, a substantial investment is being made in Yingpan Village,” said Zhu Qingdong. Other than a brief greeting at the beginning, he hadn’t paid any attention to Gu Baishui at all.

But Zhu Qingdong couldn’t really be blamed. Gu Baishui had always been a headache for him — every year he only thought about getting more aid for Yingpan Village, never about how to solve its problems at the root. Besides lacking ability, Gu Baishui was also passive. So this time, Zhu Qingdong wasn’t placing any hopes on him.

“Mayor Zhu, I still don’t understand what’s going on. Is the higher-up planning to give our town some poverty alleviation funds?” Gu Baishui asked.

“You’re just thinking about aid and handouts, never self-reliance. Comrade Xiao Zhang is different from you. He’s only been in your village a short time and has already identified the root cause of the salinization and come up with a treatment plan. This time, the county is planning to invest heavily to fundamentally resolve the problems in your Yingpan Village,” Zhu Qingdong said disapprovingly. He was aware that Yingpan Village still had many issues.

Gu Baishui gave Zhang Jiaohua a dissatisfied look. He was quite upset that Zhang had reported directly to the town without informing him, making him feel passive and sidelined.

Zhang Jiaohua, however, didn’t feel he had done anything wrong and completely ignored Gu Baishui’s reaction.

Zhu Qingdong continued, “Let’s go to the conference room. Secretary Yang wants to hear your ideas too. Director Li, please inform Secretary Yang that the Yingpan Village cadres are here — we’ll wait for him in the meeting room.”

Li Lin quickly replied, “Sure, sure,” and hurried toward Secretary Yang Yongqiang’s office.

Zhu Qingdong then turned to Zhang Jiaohua and said, “Xiao Zhang, let’s go to the office. Secretary Gu, come along too. Don’t be upset. Comrade Xiao Zhang didn’t come to the village just to be an ordinary village official. He’s an educated person here for grassroots training. After a few years, he’ll be considered for more important positions. You should ask for his opinion more often. Problems that seem unsolvable to you may not be problems at all to Comrade Xiao Zhang.

“Take the current situation for example. The salinization problem has long been considered unsolvable by your village and even by the town. But after Zhang’s on-site investigation, he identified the real cause and came up with an effective remediation plan. We submitted this to the county, and they took it very seriously. They’re preparing to implement it in your village. Wouldn’t you say that’s a good thing for Yingpan Village?”

Gu Baishui quickly nodded. “If we can solve the salinization problem, of course it’s a great thing — a huge blessing for our village. But Mayor Zhu, the salinization has been there for so many years. Can it really be solved?”

“It can. The salinization in Yingpan Village is mainly caused by the dissolution of saline-alkali minerals in the Yingpan Mountains. These minerals are buried very deep. Normally, they wouldn’t cause salinization unless groundwater seeps in due to fractured rock layers. I’ve already located the groundwater seepage points. If we seal those, we can fundamentally resolve the issue,” Zhang Jiaohua explained.

“Comrade Zhang, why didn’t you talk to me about this? If it benefits the village, of course I would support you. Now you’ve reported directly to the town — it makes it look like I’m dragging you down,” Gu Baishui said, unable to hold back.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded, “I didn’t really think much of it. I just happened to be in town to withdraw some money and mentioned my idea to Mayor Zhu while I was there.”

“Are you short on money, Comrade Zhang? You’re officially part of the Bijing City system, but as a cadre working in Tianbaqiao Town, we do offer a certain subsidy,” said Zhu Qingdong.

“No, I’m not short. I withdrew money because of an issue with mountain goods,” Zhang explained, and then described the situation.

Zhu Qingdong looked somewhat helpless after hearing it. As the mayor of Tianbaqiao Town, of course he knew — the mountain goods and medicinal herb market was essentially monopolized by Cui San. And who was Cui San? Zhu Qingdong knew that well — he was the leader of the town’s local ruffians, able to operate above the law because he had both underworld and official connections. His uncle was a county-level official, which gave Cui San free rein in Tianbaqiao.

So upon hearing Zhang’s complaint, Zhu Qingdong’s expression turned awkward. He somewhat regretted even bringing it up.

“Xiao Zhang, the town really can’t deal with that issue. To be frank, the man monopolizing the market is too powerful, and legally speaking, he hasn’t broken any laws on the surface. So, for now, we’ll have to set that matter aside. Solving the salinization in Yingpan Village is the priority,” he said, changing the topic.

Zhang Jiaohua followed Zhu Qingdong into the meeting room. Not long after they sat down, a few town officials entered one after another, greeting Mayor Zhu as they arrived. Most didn’t recognize Zhang Jiaohua but gave him a nod upon seeing him — a polite acknowledgment.

Once the meeting room was almost full, Yang Yongqiang finally walked in. He had a serious bald spot, his forehead shiny and bare all the way to the top of his head. A few strands of hair were pulled over from the sides to cover it, making him look a bit comical. His figure was also quite plump, and his round belly looked like that of a pregnant woman.

“Mayor Zhu, is the university graduate village official from Yingpan Village, Xiao Zhang, here?” Yang Yongqiang asked as soon as he entered.

“Yes, he’s here,” Zhu Qingdong quickly replied. “This is one of the two top students assigned to our town as university village officials — Comrade Zhang Jiaohua.”

Zhang stood up and calmly said, “Hello, Secretary Yang.”

Yang nodded slightly. “A young man with ideas and drive — very good. Since everyone’s here, let’s begin the meeting.”