The county head and Liu Bingbing were in the office. The county head then drew a curtain behind him, saying it was for a research visit.
Chen Chu and Zhang Cai both knew what kind of work it was, and it was mostly an unspoken understanding between them.
At this moment, Secretary Yang walked over again and said, "What are you two doing! Why aren't you leaving yet?"
"I..." Zhang Cai stammered.
At this moment, Secretary Yang patted Zhang Cai on the shoulder.
"Old Zhang, we're all cadres now, we should obey orders from our superiors. You... by the way, your village should have some free-range chickens, free-range eggs, and coarse grains, right?"
"Huh?" Zhang Cai blinked. His mind was completely on Liu Bingbing; he wasn't thinking about anything else.
"Ah!" A shout suddenly came from the office.
Then came the sound of a glass being smashed.
Zhang Cai and Chen Chu rushed inside almost simultaneously.
Secretary Yang stretched out her arm to block the two of them.
"What are you doing? Village Chief Zhang, why are you disobeying orders from your superiors! Are you even a Communist Party member?!"
"I..."
Zhang Cai thought to himself, "I really am a member of the Youth League, but I haven't joined the Party yet."
"Comrade Zhang Cai." Secretary Yang took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and handed it to him. When Zhang Cai refused to take it, she forced it into his arms.
"Go ahead, get two free-range chickens, some country-style free-range eggs and whole grains, this stuff is organic food. How much? I'll pay you when you get back..."
"Oh, Secretary Yang, I'll get it done right away, what's the cost..."
"Oh? How could we possibly accept even a needle or thread from the masses!"
Secretary Yang also had a cigarette in his mouth.
They offered Chen Chu a pack of cigarettes, but he refused.
I couldn't help but wonder what to do.
Zhang Cai pondered this as well, but he had no choice but to lower his head and go prepare.
I thought to myself, this is fate. I'm worried about Liu Bingbing, but maybe she'd be happy about it! If she really wasn't happy, she would have complained already.
She's a county magistrate, and as I just mentioned, Liu Bingbing is also capable of being a town mayor.
Isn't it obvious already? As long as you let me be rough, I'll give you an official position.
There's a saying: "If a girl wants to get promoted, she should sweat more in the boss's bed; if a young woman wants to become an official, she should crawl more into the boss's crotch."
Now that the county magistrate has voluntarily given you a big bare bottom, he's already lifted the covers for you to crawl into, and not many people can resist the temptation.
Besides, what kind of society is this now? If you don't try, there are plenty of better-looking women lining up, already stripped naked and ready to crawl into the boss's bed! You might not even get a chance to be fucked!
It's not shameful to follow the county magistrate; you'll have money and status.
Liu Bingbing is a college student cadre; isn't she just trying to become a cadre?
...
With that in mind, Zhang Cai understood.
He's no longer a hot-blooded young man; his temper has long been worn down in the officialdom. There's no need for him to go against the grain of his career!
I'll just sell Liu Bingbing off; all I need is a promotion to deputy town head. Damn it, once I'm a deputy town head, or even just a deputy township head, I'll have my fill of women. As for women? Money talks! In a couple of days, I'll go with Xu Guozhong to the county's brothels and find a couple of sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls to play with…
Thinking of this, Zhang Cai understood.
He lit a Zhonghua cigarette and said to Chen Chu, "Go to the village and get two young hens that have just laid eggs. They're very nutritious. See if anyone's slaughtering a pig. If so, get a piece of pork and a hundred catties of millet or something..."
"Oh, Village Chief Zhang, we don't need that much. Ten or twenty catties is enough for a taste..."
Secretary Yang was smoking a cigarette and chuckling along.
"Oh, Secretary Yang, you've come all this way, and you only come once every few years. Just take my advice and bring a hundred catties. If Secretary Yang doesn't mind, you can keep the rest to eat slowly..."
Zhang Cai waved to Chen Chu, saying, "Go ahead! I trust you to handle things, and then handle the village's accounts..."
Chen Chu nodded, then went outside and saw Liu Haiyan, so he hurried to find her.
"Sister Haiyan, it's urgent."
"Chen Chu? What's up?"
"Let me tell you..." Chen Chu explained the situation.
Liu Haiyan also became anxious.
"Sister Haiyan, do you think Deputy Village Chief Liu and County Chief Liu are already having an affair?"
Liu Haiyan shook her head.
"I don't think so. Deputy Village Chief Liu isn't that kind of person. Besides, he's a college graduate. But these days, you can't be sure about college graduates... You're not suggesting I go, are you?"
Chen Chu knew things were going badly the moment he saw her.
"Alright then, Sister Haiyan, you take care of the millet and stuff. The village chief said to use the village's accounts, I'll figure out a way."
"Hey! Chen Chu, listen to me." Liu Haiyan looked around, then pulled Chen Chu to her side and whispered in his ear.
"You little rascal, I know you're interested in Deputy Village Chief Liu. Don't deny it, I'm blind as a bat. But let me tell you, don't mess around. County Chief Liu is involved in organized crime..."
Chen Chu was taken aback by just one sentence.
"Silly boy, don't talk nonsense, don't do anything reckless. Fatty Yin is… he's the one who used to hang around in the county, he split the profits with the county magistrate from the nightclubs and stuff… he even has connections with Hai… never mind, you get what I mean. Don't risk your life, you still have your dad…"
Chen Chu let out a breath.
The first time was a bit of a dilemma. On one side was Liu Bingbing, who was locked in the office and her fate was unknown, and on the other side were herself and her family.
...
Zhang Cai asked Chen Chu to prepare millet, while he drove to the Dayangshu Restaurant to prepare the banquet.
Just then, Xu Guozhong rushed over in a panic.
"Village Chief Zhang, something terrible has happened!"
"What's wrong?" Zhang Cai was already in a bad mood.
"Wang... Wang Xiaoyan is causing trouble!"
"What trouble is he causing?!"
"Oh dear! He's leading his son, Wang Dasheng, dressed in mourning clothes, and he's walking this way! I've gathered a few people to stop him, and when they try to stop him, he kneels at the village entrance, crying out for justice!"
"Oh my god...!" Zhang Cai's head was buzzing.
I was thinking, what's going on today? That damn old crooked in-law of yours just finished causing trouble, and now you, Wang Xiaoyan, are starting to stir things up again! Damn it…
"Let's go! Let's go take a look!"
"Why!"
Xu Guozhong and Wang Xiaoyan didn't get along to begin with, and today Yan San hit him with a brick.
Yan San and Wang Xiaoyan were in cahoots. Yesterday, while Yan San was giving a lecture, Wang Xiaoyan was making sarcastic remarks from below, hoping that Zhang Cai would teach him a lesson so that Yan San could vent his anger!
The two of them swung their sleeves and walked quickly toward the village entrance.
Before we even reached the edge of the village, we could hear Wang Xiaoyan crying out.
"County Magistrate! County Magistrate, please stand up for the people! I've been wronged! I've been wronged..."
Zhang Cai's head was buzzing.
He jogged a few steps to Wang Xiaoyan's side, where the old man was kneeling on the ground, crying and making a scene. The militia company commander, Xu Guangkuan, and a few young men were holding him back, preventing him from going over.
Xu Guangkuan used to be the deputy village chief, but he was laid off due to staff reductions.
Wang Dasheng listened to his father and remained kneeling on the ground, refusing to get up. Several old women shouted, "Wang Dasheng, get up! You're acting like an old woman. With a face like yours, it's no wonder your wife ran off with someone else!"
Wang Xiaoyan pointed at the old women, then at Zhang Cai, and said, "Listen to this, listen to this! Village chief, look at these troublemakers! How am I supposed to live..."
Xu Guozhong shouted, "Wang Xiaoyan, you're a troublemaker!"
Wang Xiaoyan was kneeling, but now his two little eyes widened, and he stood up and rammed into Xu Guozhong's stomach.
"You surnamed Xu, I'll fight you to the death!"
Xu Guozhong quickly stepped back, and Wang Xiaoyan lowered his head and bumped it against him.
If it were anyone else, they would have slapped him twice across the face.
But who would dare to try drawing Wang Xiaoyan's cigarette?
If you don't slap him, he'll try to extort money from you. But if you slap him, he'll lie in your house for three years without moving.
Xu Guozhong didn't dare to touch him, and kept retreating until he finally retreated into the trench. Wang Xiaoyan followed him into the trench, and they were determined to kill Xu Guozhong.
Xu Guozhong had no choice but to retreat to a big tree, with his back against it. Wang Xiaoyan tried to ram into it, but unexpectedly, he bumped his head to the side.
His forehead hit the tree trunk, causing him to stumble.
A big bruise immediately appeared on his head.
This made Wang Xiaoyan even more unhappy!
He shouted, "There's no law anymore! County magistrate, come and see! In broad daylight, village cadre Xu Guozhong beat people up! Militia company commander Xu Guangkuan is an accomplice! They're not letting the people live! I'm going to set myself on fire..."
Zhang Cai stood with his hands on his hips, pointing at Xu Guozhong.
"Old Xu! Go! Bring me the gasoline can from my car. Wasn't Wang Xiaoyan going to set himself on fire? Fine, Wang Xiaoyan, go ahead and set yourself on fire, I'll be watching... Come on!"
Wang Xiaoyan lowered his eyes and stopped making a fuss.
Zhang Cai snorted, "Wang Xiaoyan, if you don't let me have a good time, I, Zhang Cai, will risk everything. You just want to take advantage of me, don't you? Tell me! What do you want?"
"Village chief, that's not what I meant!"
"Get lost! Just say it, what do you want? Stop with the nonsense! If you don't mean it that way, what do you mean? You know the county magistrate is here? Let me tell you, if you make a scene today, you won't get anything! Tell me what you want now!"
Wang Xiaoyan grinned: "I just want to build a house. Everyone says that Chen Chu set my house on fire, and then my three big brick houses burned down. Chen Chu even became the village's primary school teacher. The village is protecting Chen Chu. I want justice! Unless you rebuild my house for me, I'll kowtow to my death here today!"
Paralyzed...
Zhang Cai was so angry he almost fainted.
That's fucking amazing! This is blatant extortion.
Not only Zhang Cai thought this way, but the onlookers also thought the same.
Xu Guozhong's eyes darted around, and he pulled Zhang Cai aside, whispering, "Village chief, just agree to it. Otherwise, if he makes a scene, it'll be a big deal. That old bastard..."
"Nonsense, where would we get the money to build him a house? These days, people in the village are even paying for their meals with IOUs..."
Xu Guozhong swallowed hard and whispered in his ear, "Agree to him first, and we'll talk about it after the county magistrate leaves. Promise to give him bricks first, and we'll discuss the rest later. If all else fails, just demolish the pigsty that the village built a few years ago. That should yield about ten thousand bricks. That's all we have. Take it or leave it..."
Zhang Cai nodded, thinking that this was the only way to do it. If something went wrong today, he could forget about getting promoted.
Zhang Cai pointed at Wang Xiaoyan sitting on the ground and said.
"Wang Xiaoyan! Didn't you want to build a house? The village will provide the bricks. Fine, get lost!"
"And then there are the tiles, the purlins, the cement, the labor, and so on..."
"Wang Xiaoyan, we've lived in the same village for so many years. I'm only helping you with the brick issue because I'm giving you face. If you don't want to do it, I won't care anymore. Sue me wherever you want! Chen Chu burned down your house? Where's your evidence? You didn't want to work for the government, so you cheated and left firewood to dry around your house in this sweltering heat. Who can you blame? The trucks are all witnesses!"
"Yes! He has only himself to blame..."
"Yes! He's trying to scam people..."
The villagers watching couldn't stand it anymore and started criticizing Wang Xiaoyan.
"Alright! Village chief, I believe you! I'll ask you for bricks in a couple of days. Village chief, um, do we need to drink with you when we entertain the county magistrate? My son and I can both hold our liquor..."
"Get out of here!" Zhang Cai shook his head, his head hurting more from the sight of Wang Xiaoyan than from the blow he had just received.
Afterwards, Zhang Cai went to the Dayangshu Restaurant to arrange the meal.
Xu Guozhong was pulled back by Chen Chu.
"Director Xu, hurry up, the county head is calling you! It's good news!"
"Where? What good news?"
Xu Guozhong was dragged by Chen Chu and staggered to the village office.
Xu Guozhong heard a sound inside and was about to knock on the door.
However, Chen Chu kicked the door open with a bang.
Then he pushed Xu Guozhong.
You go inside and get yourself...
Xu Guozhong rushed inside, nearly tripping and falling flat on his face. When he saw what was inside, he was dumbfounded.
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