Chapter 124
Being in a leadership position means offending people to some extent.
Even someone like Yan Lei has offended people.
But it varies from person to person.
For instance, Secretary Meng offended people with power, such as Guan Tuwei.
And Guan Tuwei was different; he offended many people below him.
Guan Tuwei was beaten to death by an angry mob during a struggle session.
As for why Huang Zengyue, who should have controlled the scene, failed to do so, and why Yan Lei, who should have maintained order, failed to do so, who could blame them?
One can only say that the will of the people is irresistible.
Guan Tuwei had long ago abandoned the masses and embarked on a path of corruption and depravity.
He was a lecherous man who had bullied more than one person’s wife or daughter.
The seeds of hatred had long been sown.
No one would cry injustice for a man like him.
Some people even spat in disgust, unable to help saying, “It’s no wonder Secretary Meng looked down on him.”
The person next to him quickly nudged him with their elbow: “What are you spouting!”
“Oh, Meng Zuoyi, Meng Zuoyi!”
There is no longer a Secretary Meng, only the imprisoned Meng Zuoyi.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Wei did not feel fear or sorrow over the death.
On the contrary, she felt relieved: “He’s dead?”
Yan Lei was already holding her, so he felt her physical reaction very clearly.
Her shoulders had relaxed, and she was just one step away from saying the words “That’s great” directly.
With Guan Tuwei’s downfall, the Revolutionary Committee of Bocheng County has undergone a major reshuffle.
“Huang Zengyue is now the Director of the Revolutionary Committee,” said Yan Lei.
“He refuses to let you return to the district,” he said. “He actually really wants to use you.”
Qiao Wei sighed.
When she worked under Secretary Meng, she and Huang Zengyue worked together very happily.
As colleagues, their pace was very well-matched, and they could both keep up with each other’s train of thought.
Although she missed the leisure time at the Broadcasting Station, she never actually disliked her days at the County Party Committee Office.
A strong, responsible, and visionary leader, quick-witted and well-matched colleagues, and an environment united against outsiders…
Qiao Wei really learned a lot about the inner workings of the system in the office, and during that year and more of working in the office, her corporate slave soul burned brightly.
It even burned happily, until it was crushed by history.
At this time, if a writer had enough courage and could grasp the pulse from above, it was very easy to rise to success.
Qiao Wei actually had this ability.
And in political struggles, although she was a bit greener compared to them, she was sharp-minded and quick to react, so she could grow up quickly.
But she knew the historical trend and deeply understood that she could not get involved.
She had long expressed to Yan Lei that she would not write anything again, at least not for Huang Zengyue’s faction.
Qiao Wei asked: “How did you answer him?”
Regarding the matter of Guan Tuwei, Qiao Wei could guess that Yan Lei and Huang Zengyue must have done something, so there was no need to ask.
She was more concerned about her future arrangements.
“I told him not to be greedy,” Yan Lei said. “It’s enough that one of us supports him. He still wants both of us to follow him? He’s dreaming.”
“We bargained, and finally agreed to arrange for you to go to the Library.”
“In the future, you will be the director of the County Library.”
Qiao Wei pouted and blew on her bangs: “I even got a promotion?”
Yan Lei said: “We can’t let ourselves suffer a loss.”
The county-level Library Director is equivalent in rank to the section chiefs of the various departments in the County Government.
That is to say, Qiao Wei will be at the same rank as Section Chief Zhou in the future.
“Are there other directors?” Qiao Wei asked. “Director? Deputy Director?”
The Library and the Archives Bureau were both the back gardens for the wives.
“The old director has been locked up. Originally, the new director was supposed to be Guan Tuwei’s wife. She divorced Guan Tuwei in time to draw a clear line and exposed him, so Huang Zengyue left her a position as deputy director. It’s fine, she doesn’t go to work; she just holds the title, applies for long-term sick leave, and collects a salary.”
“The Library will be your territory from now on.”
It sounds… unexpectedly good.
Qiao Wei remembered to ask: “What about Huang Zengyue’s wife?”
“She went to the Women’s Federation.”
Qiao Wei nodded.
It’s easy to have conflicts when people are too close. It’s good that everyone isn’t together.
Obviously, Yan Lei and Huang Zengyue both understood this principle.
If it weren’t for this special era, having people around you and working with people who are so smart and clear-headed would be a truly wonderful state.
It’s a pity.
“The Revolutionary Committee is not a place to stay for long,” she reminded him again. “Find a way to get out if you can.”
She was worried about Yan Lei instead.
If he doesn’t get out early, after ten years, everyone will be liquidated.
“Don’t worry,” Yan Lei said. “The Military District also has concerns about this and has already discussed it. The position of military representative will be rotated. They won’t let people stay in this position for too long, to prevent power from breeding corruption.”
The upper levels of the Military District had a sharp sense of smell.
They quickly realized that once the people they sent in participated, there was a risk of having too much power and being backlashed.
People’s hearts are made of flesh, and it is easy for them to change in the face of power.
The Military Unit must maintain its purity and stability.
This was also absorbing the lessons from when some places attempted to storm the Military Unit at the beginning of the movement. For the central government, this was also the bottom line.
“That’s good,” Qiao Wei said happily. “Then I will… just spend a few years in the Library.”
At this time, people rarely traveled far, especially to big places like Shanghai. Before leaving, one would receive many requests from people to bring this or that back.
Fortunately, Qiao Wei was returning to her rural hometown, and it was to take her father-in-law to see a doctor. No one asked her to bring anything back, so it was easy and relaxed.
But since she had gone to the provincial capital over there, she had to bring back some local specialties to share with the few families she was close to.
When she returned, the women gathered together, cracking melon seeds, and asking about the gossip from her trip to Yan Village.
This was also an important entertainment in everyone’s life.
Qiao Wei cracked melon seeds: “What else could it be like? Just like that.”
Everyone asked: “Did you get to eat at the table?”
Sister Yang said: “After you left, we discussed it several times, wondering if you could eat at the table.”
“I think she could. Qiao is a Grade 6 clerk. Do they know what Grade 6 is? Her monthly salary is equal to their annual salary.”
“Probably not. No matter how glorious she is outside, she is still a daughter-in-law when she goes back home. If she eats at the table, would the other sisters-in-law be okay with that?”
“Qiao, tell us quickly, did you eat at the table or not?”
Everyone was arguing so fiercely that Qiao Wei just laughed.
She used a bit of clever phrasing: “I ate at the table once.”
Now everyone was satisfied.
“Exactly, that way everyone saves face.”
“True, both face and substance are preserved for each other.”
Qiao Wei pursed her lips and smiled, not telling them that she only ate one meal at Yan Village.
Qiao Wei did not immediately return to the county to report back from leave.
She rested at home for several more days with her feet up; mainly because absence makes the heart grow fonder, and she couldn’t get up in the mornings for several days in a row.
She was lazy every day.
Until time approached September, Qiao Wei finally asked Yan Xiang: “Do you want to go to elementary school?”
Yan Xiang: “Huh?”
Qiao Wei said: “The children in Kindergarten are too young for you.”
But Yan Xiang said: “Huazi isn’t that big either.”
As for Gangzi and Yingzi, Yan Xiang admitted they were truly big kids. But Huazi, Yan Xiang treated him as an equal.
As for Jun Jun, Yan Xiang was very affectionate towards him.
“Because it’s not very convenient to go to the original Kindergarten anymore,” Qiao Wei sighed.
Actually, she could go if she wanted to, the Library was public property after all.
But that Kindergarten was inside the County Government Residential Compound.
In the coming years, no matter what happened in the county, the Residential Compound would be the center of the storm. Qiao Wei didn’t want to leave Yan Xiang in the Residential Compound while she wasn’t there.
Although the Library was only two streets away from the Residential Compound, she still felt nervous.
But it wasn’t good to always place Yan Xiang in an environment of purely adults. Not to mention that in recent years, the adult environment was simply an abnormal one.
Fortunately, the chaos hadn’t reached the elementary schools yet; after all, elementary students were too young and had no fighting power, so it couldn’t get chaotic. Elementary school was actually a pure land.
Yan Xiang agreed: “Okay, then I’ll go to school.”
At the end of August, Qiao Wei had rested enough and finally returned to the county town to report back from leave.
The county town seemed even more stable than she had expected.
The cadre representative was Huang Zengyue, and the military representative was Regimental Commander Yan. The two of them occupied two-thirds of the seats in the Revolutionary Committee and joined forces to control the situation in Bocheng County. To say nothing else, the public security was quite good.
After Huang Zengyue became the director, he restarted the work that had been delayed before, and did not blindly indulge in the movement.
It could even be said that what he was doing now was in the same vein as the work Secretary Meng had previously promoted.
This made Qiao Wei feel much more at ease.
She went to see Huang Zengyue.
Huang Zengyue seemed no different from before, yet also completely different.
Everyone leaned slightly when passing by him: “Director.”
When Huang Zengyue saw her, there was a smile in his eyes: “You’re back? Did it go smoothly?”
“It was fine,” Qiao Wei said. “You’ve been promoted again, congratulations.”
Huang Zengyue didn’t get carried away and said frankly: “Without Regimental Commander Yan’s help, I couldn’t have done it alone.”
He said: “I arranged for you to go to the Library, and I’ve already greeted them there. They all know who you are, so there won’t be any troublemakers. You don’t need to worry about the people on the list; just let them hang around. You know all units are like this.”
They both avoided talking about Guan Tuwei and didn’t talk about how he and Regimental Commander Yan cooperated.
It was enough that everyone knew it in their hearts.
Huang Zengyue personally made a phone call to the Library, notifying them that Qiao Wei would report for duty today.
When Qiao Wei arrived, the Library even held a welcome ceremony, with a few new potted flowers placed at the entrance. They also hung up a banner—at this time, banners were everywhere on the streets, with characters written on paper and pinned on, so they could be reused.
The time it took for Qiao Wei to walk two streets was enough for them to write the banner, or of course, it might have been prepared beforehand.
In short, Library Director Qiao reported for duty and was warmly welcomed by everyone.
Everyone applauded vigorously: “Welcome Library Director Qiao to lead and direct our work!”
This courtyard of the County Library had quite a history.
It is said to be the ancient county school, the place where the government-supported students studied and lived.
It is said that it was larger when it was complete in the past, but now it is only half the size it used to be. The other half of the buildings were divided up by other departments, leaving half of the houses for the Library.
That’s still several courtyards!
Although there were many places that were renovated later, the basic main body was ancient architecture.
The covered walkways, the vermilion-painted pillars, the carved windows.
And there was a large courtyard that was said to be the place where the scholars practiced the six arts.
As soon as Qiao Wei entered the courtyard gate, she knew it was a good place.
Another wonderful place for retirement!
Thank you, Old Yan, thank you, Old Huang!
Yan Xiang circled around in the covered walkway: “Wow~”!
