Chapter 93
Everyone was standing.
The cadres of the Propaganda Section were all surprised. Some stole glances at Section Chief Zhou, only to find that Section Chief Zhou was not surprised.
Section Chief Zhou had long known that Qiao Wei was a military dependent.
Some couldn’t help but curse silently.
This era was a society of connections. Personal favors, relationships, and back-door deals were all very important. Those within the system understood this particularly well.
The closer one was to power, the more one realized the energy and beauty of power.
Section Chief Zhou had allowed them to push Qiao Wei around, hoping to give her a show of power so she would be obedient and compliant. If it worked, Section Chief Zhou would benefit, while they would be the ones who offended her.
If Qiao Wei had truly been a small-town girl with no background, it would have been fine, but she was a military dependent.
The middle-aged officer before them had just been addressed by Qiao Wei as “Division Commander.”
This was the very troublesome part after military ranks were abolished; everyone’s uniform was the same, with only red collar tabs and no shoulder boards, making it impossible to distinguish between a general and a private.
It was so annoying.
Qiao Wei obviously knew this Division Commander. Since the Division Commander could call Qiao Wei by name immediately, it was clearly more than just a simple “having met.” The Division Commander had met many military dependents, but it was impossible for him to remember every single one of their names.
His attitude was so kind and amiable, and the smile in his eyes was clearly from the heart, not just official pleasantries.
What level was a Division Commander? It was a level that required even Secretary Meng, the top leader of the county, to stand aside and accompany him.
Although the military and the government were not under each other’s jurisdiction, the officialdom was not as simple as looking at whether there was a direct chain of command.
In this society, there was an invisible web. Since it was called a “web,” it was naturally a network, not a straight line.
Secretary Meng said to Division Commander Pan: “Qiao Wei has a real talent for writing. I first noticed this comrade because of her award-winning article, so I specifically brought her to the county to let her gain some experience in the Propaganda Section first, and then I’ll have her come to the office to make good use of her expertise. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I learned she was a military dependent.”
Division Commander Pan said: “Don’t say you were surprised; I was just as surprised. You certainly understand how rare it is to have a writer among our military dependents. You must not waste this talent.”
“Yes, we will certainly give her a stage to perform.”
“That is very good, very good.”
Everyone spoke with smiles.
Qiao Wei also stood by with a smile, not interrupting the conversation between the leaders.
Division Commander Pan swept a glance across the Propaganda Section and asked: “Which one is Qiao Wei’s leader?”
He carried a heavy air of authority; both his voice and his gaze put pressure on people. Section Chief Zhou hurriedly bowed and stepped forward, extending both hands: “Greetings, Chief. I am the Section Chief of the Propaganda Section, my surname is Zhou.”
Division Commander Pan, while being shaken hands with, told him as if boosting morale: “Do not relax your requirements for her just because she is a female comrade. You must believe that our military spouses are very capable of enduring hardship. You must hold her to strict standards and urge her to make progress.”
Section Chief Zhou: “Yes, yes.”
Qiao Wei chimed in at the right moment: “Division Commander, please don’t worry. The leaders are balanced in how they treat me.”
Division Commander Pan nodded in satisfaction and let go of Section Chief Zhou: “That is good.”
Secretary Meng said: “Division Commander Pan, shall we head over to the conference room now?”
“Good.” However, Division Commander Pan said: “Qiao Wei, you come and listen as well.”
Qiao Wei didn’t know what kind of meeting they were having, but since Division Commander Pan had spoken, she had to put down whatever work she currently had on hand.
She said respectfully: “Very well.”
Division Commander Pan turned around.
Those who had been following behind him moved aside to make way, and Secretary Meng led Division Commander Pan out. Everyone followed in turn.
Qiao Wei was low-ranking, so she intended to follow at the end; she had to wait for the group to “turn around” before she could join.
But Yan Lei, who was following closely by Division Commander Pan’s side, did not follow the leaders.
Instead, he took a step into the room and took the initiative to extend his hand to Section Chief Zhou: “Section Chief Zhou.”
Section Chief Zhou hurriedly shook his hand.
“I am Qiao Wei’s husband, my surname is Yan,” Yan Lei said.
Section Chief Zhou said with a warm attitude: “I know you, Regimental Commander Yan, a combat hero. I have attended your lecture.”
Good that you know.
Yan Lei said: “Thank you for taking care of Qiao Wei during this time.”
“Not at all, not at all. Qiao Wei being seconded here has actually eased our work pressure; she has been a huge help.”
As the two engaged in hypocritical pleasantries, Wu Aizhen suddenly widened her eyes and covered her mouth.
She remembered!
She hurriedly nudged her colleague with her elbow and whispered: “It’s Yan Lei! It’s that Yan Lei! Do you remember?”
That year, she hadn’t been working for long, and the combat hero had come to give a lecture on his deeds.
“He’s the one you said was too good-looking at the time! Remember?” Wu Aizhen poked her colleague in the waist repeatedly.
The colleague was furious and quickly kicked her foot, telling her to stop poking.
As soon as Yan Lei walked in, she had recognized him at a glance.
But… to think…
Watching Yan Lei finish his pleasantries with Section Chief Zhou, he walked out with Qiao Wei. Yan Lei walked by Qiao Wei’s side, reaching out to support her back briefly. He let go once they were out the door.
The two exchanged a glance outside the door, then immediately followed the main group and disappeared into the corridor.
Wu Aizhen and her colleague looked at each other.
Qiao Wei was actually that Yan Lei’s wife.
Who could have imagined this.
Everyone moved their lips, feeling a sense of wanting to say something but being unable to.
A mix of complex emotions.
Some suddenly realized the truth, and in their hearts, they had already cursed Section Chief Zhou’s ancestors to the eighteenth generation.
This old fox knew everything, yet he hadn’t said a word.
Some remained calm and composed, feeling that getting close to Qiao Wei these past two days was definitely the right move. Indeed, one should never underestimate anyone in the system, and never easily offend anyone. This was a rule to remember in the future.
Everyone in the office had their own feelings, left to digest them on their own.
Qiao Wei sat at the end of the table to observe the meeting.
She understood; the county had a request for the Military District.
They wanted to build a road.
The county and towns were merging; this time, Yongming County had incorporated both Qingshan Town and Xiahekou Town into its territory, and they would become two districts of Bo City in the future.
Secretary Meng was clearly an ambitious man; he wanted to achieve something here.
People in later generations knew that to get rich, one must first build roads. In this current era, one could not mention “wealth”; poverty was glorious. But the idea that to develop, one must first build roads was an irrefutable truth in any era.
This was a basic operation that all those in power understood.
In this era, there was no large-scale mechanization; major projects like road construction relied mainly on human resources.
Building a road was not as simple as just paying to hire a construction team. One had to know that in later generations, road construction was a project developed through the collaboration of government, enterprises, and banks.
At this time, it was a planned economy; one could say that the financial industry basically didn’t exist. The government didn’t have that much money to build roads, so it had to seek partners.
The best partner nearby was the Military District.
The Military District was stationed here, and within the area it radiated, almost any major action could not bypass the Military District.
For the first ten minutes of the meeting, Qiao Wei heard nothing but “strengthening military-government cooperation,” “achieving military-civilian integration,” and “effectively integrating forces”—all those empty but politically correct things.
It had nothing to do with her, a small military spouse. She wasn’t in a hurry either, observing from the end of the table and waiting to see both sides play their cards.
She knew that if the Military District appeared in this conference room, it must also have its own demands.
Sure enough, the Military District wanted land.
No matter what one wanted to do, one first needed land. Land outside the Military District was in the hands of the local government.
Qiao Wei knew that those at the top must have seen the change in the wind earlier than those below. In this situation, maintaining the military’s logistics, not being subject to others, and having a high degree of self-sufficiency was the safest path.
The leaders were there negotiating, dividing up interests; none of them were people who would let others take advantage of them.
This meeting lasted the entire morning and finally reached a preliminary intention for cooperation between the two sides. Specific details would certainly need to be followed up later, but as long as no unexpected trouble arose, the matter was settled.
Besides the major interests, the Military District also had some additional small conditions.
For example, expanding the scope of employment for military dependents.
There were quite a few military dependents, all in Xiahekou Town. How many job positions could a small town accommodate?
Some military dependents were assigned to the factories on the road from the town to the county seat, the ones Qiao Wei passed every day. Qiao Wei had also been assigned there when she first got married.
Half of the able-bodied laborers in the town worked in those factories.
But now the Military District hoped to expand the employment scope of military dependents to the county. The county could provide more job positions.
Military spouses had low education levels, poor living habits, were troublesome, and had bad tempers; many units did not welcome them.
But now that the county had a request for them, Secretary Meng naturally couldn’t refuse to take this on.
“Qiao Wei,” Division Commander Pan suddenly turned his head to look over, “You are the first among our military dependents to come to work in the county. Do you have any thoughts on this matter?”
Qiao Wei leaned forward slightly.
“Since the leaders are giving me the opportunity, I will share my humble opinion.”
She had come with a notebook, and the notebook had been open the whole time. In fact, just a moment ago, Yan Lei had caught a glimpse of her writing something in the notebook.
Everyone was taking meeting notes, but Qiao Wei was an extra-staff member of this meeting, and it didn’t have much to do with her, so they didn’t know what she was writing.
But since everyone was writing, her writing along with them actually seemed normal.
“Road construction is a major event with a long construction period; it cannot be accomplished overnight. But the ultimate goal of building the road is to promote the flow of people throughout the county so that the workforce can be assembled and mobilized more conveniently and rapidly.”
“As far as I know, one of the reasons why military dependents have almost never come to work in the county seat is the inconvenience of transportation. Mainly, the inconvenience of transportation tools.”
“Like me, I currently ride a bicycle, which takes about 50 minutes to an hour one way. But not every family has a bicycle, and the rate of female comrades owning bicycles is even lower. Therefore, the commute between the place of residence and the place of work for military dependents relies more on public transportation.”
“At present, there is no short-distance regional public transportation between the town and the county. The buses available are just a segment of long-distance routes. The timing is completely uncontrollable. You might have to wait three or four hours for a bus. If I took a bus to work, I might not arrive at the unit until twelve noon. The wage deductions for being late alone would wipe out my salary.”
She paused, and everyone laughed.
After everyone finished laughing, she put forward her request: “So I hope that, regardless of when the road is built or finished, can we first open a short-distance bus route between the town and the county? Specifically for commuting between the town and the county.”
“Not only Xiahekou, but also Qingshan.”
“Since they are merging, they are one. If after the merger, coming to the county is still a long, strenuous trip, then this merger loses its meaning.”
“My personal suggestion is to open a dedicated short-distance shuttle between the town and the county. Ensure at least four shuttle trips: morning, forenoon, afternoon, and evening. Set up a station in the factory area in the middle, which can also make it convenient for the brother workers at both ends to commute.”
“For the one-way trip between the town and the county, strive to control it to fifteen to twenty minutes, while ensuring precise departure times, making the journey controllable so that too much time is not wasted waiting at the station.”
Division Commander Pan was the first to praise: “Qiao Wei said it very well.”
The leaders looked from a high perspective, focusing on the big picture. Qiao Wei started from the grassroots, talking about the personal needs of the common people.
And if this request were met, military spouses would not have the concern that the county seat was too far, and they would be willing to accept job positions farther away.
Qiao Wei filled in the gaps for the leaders and made suggestions; this was exactly what Division Commander Pan wanted to hear when he gave her the opportunity to speak.
Division Commander Pan threw the question to Secretary Meng: “Secretary Meng, what do you think?”
Secretary Meng also showed appreciation in his eyes.
He knew this girl was articulate the first time he met her. But this time, he saw even more that she wasn’t just good at speaking well to superiors. She was capable of down-to-earth, serious thinking and rationally proposing suggestions.
She was only 22, and her caliber was far ahead of her peers.
Her malleability was too strong; in the eyes of the leaders, she was truly a good seedling.
Secretary Meng was also very sincere and made the decision on the spot to first open the short-distance bus shuttle between Xiahekou Town and Yongming County.
Why was it called a short-distance shuttle? Because the distance from the town to the county seat was actually only ten *li*; later generations liked to use kilometers, and it was actually only five kilometers. For many restaurants in later generations, it would even be within the delivery range.
If opened, the one-way trip, just as Qiao Wei said, could be shortened to fifteen to twenty minutes.
This was still because the road was not good. If they cooperated with the Military District and built the road into a paved asphalt road, it might be even shorter.
If this road were built well, it would be a major plan for Yongming County, for Bo City, for the next ten, twenty, fifty years.
The leadership team of Secretary Meng’s term could all leave their names in the county annals!
