Chapter 216

At this moment, Head Chen had only one thought in his mind: “It’s over; it’s completely over.”

He had no intention of deceiving them, but it was the leader’s words, “We will include it in your political achievements, and you’ll be promoted,” that clouded his judgment and led him to conceal part of the truth. He believed that a grassroots cadre like Su Weimin, who didn’t like to show off, would not come to the county to deliberately talk about this matter. Besides, when commendations were given out later, he would surely receive recognition for his role. Su Xiaoxiao, formidable as she was, was just visiting relatives. Once she returned, it wouldn’t concern her anymore.

Head Chen never expected that they would come to the county magistrate’s office today and personally expose his lies in front of the leaders.

No, it wasn’t a lie. He hadn’t lied.

“That’s exactly what happened, County Mayor Li, Secretary Zhang. I told you before that Su Weimin deserves credit for his outstanding achievements, as well as the comrades from the meteorological station and several villages who contributed. Weren’t you planning to commend them together? What’s wrong with that?” 

That’s right; that’s what he said at the time. He just didn’t elaborate on the whole process, and the leaders didn’t inquire further.

With this thought, Head Chen became much calmer.

Secretary Zhang sneered. He has been involved in the officialdom for many years and has been sent to the grassroots for experience; he has encountered all kinds of people. He knew how tempting such great achievements could be for someone nearing retirement age after working as a department head in a small bureau for over a decade. When he took credit, he hadn’t anticipated the current situation, but no matter how noble his intentions sounded, the fact that he was taking credit couldn’t be denied.

County Mayor Li, on the other hand, had risen through the ranks step by step from the grassroots. He despised deceitful behavior like this the most. Su Weimin and Su Xiaoxiao’s audacious proposal didn’t warrant any severe punishment in his eyes because they were open and honest about their intentions, which were not for personal gain but for the greater good. The overall direction wasn’t wrong; it’s just that there wasn’t currently a policy supporting it. They hadn’t bypassed him to take credit first. He wouldn’t approve of such actions, but he would leave it at that and not pursue the matter further.

But Head Chen is different. He knows how much benefit he can get from taking this credit, so he deliberately concealed the truth and swallowed all the merits. If every cadre in the county acted like him, how many grassroots village officials like Su Weimin would be overshadowed by those seeking personal glory?

No wonder none of those people outside ever uttered a word of gratitude to Head Chen.

County Mayor Li broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about it. If he promoted Head Chen because of this incident and merely gave Su Weimin and the others who had truly contributed a simple commendation, what would the general public think? They’d surely believe he was colluding with Head Chen and engaging in corrupt practices.

Head Chen did have some merit; he had inadvertently salvaged part of the losses for other communes. But it wasn’t the primary merit. What County Mayor Li couldn’t bear the most was that he treated him like a fool. The words he had just spoken clearly indicated an attempt to shift the blame onto him.

He did bear some responsibility for this matter. He had been too presumptuous and trusting of Head Chen’s one-sided report. This was something that could have been easily clarified with a simple investigation, which he had overlooked.

County Mayor Li quickly sorted out the cause and effect and waved his hand to Head Chen, saying, “Okay, I understand this matter now. You can go now; there’s nothing for you to worry about here.”

For a moment, Head Chen couldn’t figure out the attitude of County Mayor Li for a while, but he understood the situation and knew that with “outsiders” present, speaking too much would only lead to trouble. County Magistrate Li wouldn’t want to show any favoritism to others around. He would explain himself to the leadership later.

As they say, “Don’t air your dirty laundry in public.” Head Chen is also a county official, and it’s easy to say anything behind closed doors. It wouldn’t be appropriate to argue in front of Su Weimin. Doing so would make him appear incompetent as a leader. After Head Chen left, County Mayor Li shook Su Weimin’s hand and said, “My apologies; I almost made good comrades feel wronged.”

Su Weimin, having raised a daughter as intelligent as Su Xiaoxiao, was naturally not a fool. He could guess the gist of what was going on. If he continued to insist on the truth at this point, it would be a lack of understanding of the situation and disrespect to the leadership.

He shook his leader’s hand and said, “Thank you for your understanding. I haven’t suffered any injustice. It’s just that someone took advantage of this situation to report and slander my daughter. This has always made me feel guilty.”

County Mayor Li said, “Rest assured, I will investigate this matter thoroughly. Head Chen is definitely in the wrong, but his prompt action also saved us from a considerable amount of losses. Strictly speaking, his merits offset his faults. There won’t be any punishment, but there won’t be any commendation either. His original reward will be transferred to you instead. Would that be acceptable to you?”

Su Weimin was flattered and waved his hand repeatedly, saying absolutely not. I also have faults in this matter. It was an emergency, and I was worried that waiting to consult with the county would delay us, missing the best opportunity to harvest. I privately called on everyone to harvest the rice. This time, it’s just a stroke of luck. Weather forecasts are unreliable; if my judgment had been wrong and caused losses to the country’s grain, I would have to take responsibility. I cannot accept any commendation.”

.

Without something to measure against, there is no sense of lacking. Su Weimin’s and Head Chen’s characters were clear: one risked punishment to do something beneficial for the public, while the other tried to claim credit for personal gain.

County Mayor Li felt ashamed for almost misunderstanding Su Weimin.

“Alright, I understand the situation. You don’t need to worry about it. Also, the matter you just mentioned, only a few of us know about it. After leaving here, you must not leak a word of it. Do you understand?”

Su Xiaoxiao and Su Weimin nodded.

Su Weimin said, “We know the seriousness of the matter and won’t disclose it to other people, but we hope the leaders can reconsider this matter.” 

Su Weimin gritted his teeth. “If the leaders agree to our village as a pilot for large-scale contracting, starting next year, our Sujia Village is willing to contribute an additional 20% of public grain compared to previous years. If I fail to fulfill this promise, I’m willing to be held accountable, even if it means revoking my position as the village head.”

Su Weimin refused to believe that among those skilled in farming, there weren’t individuals willing to put in extra effort. If everyone worked together, with the promise of more rewards for more labor and the extra harvests being stored in their own granaries, he believed “great rewards attract great risks.” Even if they didn’t double the yield, an additional 50% would be achievable with ease.

County Chief Li and Secretary Zhang exchanged a glance, sighed, and thought, If grassroots cadres in rural areas were all as courageous and responsible as Su Weimin, how could forty million mouths ever go hungry?

Only Su Xiaoxiao knew that when their village became the first to implement the household responsibility system, their first year’s harvest was five times the total of the past five years. Su Weimin’s promise of a 20% increase could be disregarded. She dared to pledge to double the amount of public grain, but there was no need to make such a fuss at this time.

Secretary Zhang patted Su Weimin’s shoulder reassuringly, saying, “This is not a small matter. You need to give us some time to discuss. The autumn rice has just been planted, and there’s still half a year until spring plowing. Don’t worry.”

Su Xiaoxiao, holding Su Weimin’s hand, said, “Dad, Secretary Zhang is right. There’s no need to rush this matter. Even if Sujia Village becomes the first to implement this, we can’t publicize it yet. We need to sign confidentiality agreements with other villagers. The leadership also needs time for research. Once the direction of reform is determined, it’s fine.”

County Mayor Li and Secretary Zhang both strongly agreed with Su Xiaoxiao’s words, and Su Weimin also understood. After explaining everything clearly, he left with his daughter.

-o-o-o-o-

After they left, Secretary Zhang said, “What do you think of this matter?”

County Mayor Li said, “The first to take action is often the target. Even if it’s feasible, it needs to be suppressed first. During this period, we must closely monitor the movements of other places. Once someone else starts it, we’ll follow immediately. Su Xiaoxiao just reminded me; that if the secret household responsibility system pilot fails, no one will know. We can quietly resume it next year. Sujia Village is under Su Weimin’s jurisdiction, and everyone looks up to him. There shouldn’t be any problems. If it succeeds, we can promote it countywide next year and report it later. We’ll be the pioneers of reform.”

Secretary Zhang nodded and said, “That’s what I was thinking too. Don’t worry; I’ll have someone keep an eye on it. As long as someone becomes the vanguard, we’ll catch up immediately.”‘With achievements like these, his future promotion wouldn’t be too bad.’ 

“Oh, by the way, what are your plans regarding Head Chen?” Secretary Zhang asked.

County Mayor Li snorted coldly and said, “I was too naive, actually believing his one-sided story. Even if his merits offset his faults, he’s reached the end of the road as the head. If nothing else goes wrong in the future, he can retire peacefully. But forget about promotions and wealth. If there’s another mistake, we’ll let him retire early.”

Secretary Zhang said, “Are we just going to leave him hanging like this? He’s the type to act out when cornered.”

County Mayor Li said, “That’s perfect. It gives us the opportunity to send him down to the grassroots to experience the hardships of the people and the feeling of having credit stolen by his superiors.”

County Mayor Li felt disgusted just thinking about Head Chen’s eagerness to claim credit and shirk responsibility.

Secretary Zhang didn’t say anything more. Seeing his imminent promotion suddenly revert back to square one was hard to swallow.

In fact, Su Xiaoxiao doesn’t care about who reported her; it didn’t hurt or implicate her at all. She didn’t plan to retaliate, nor did she bother to think about it. Anyway, it’s almost time to return to the capital after the Double Harvest ends. There was still a “big project” waiting for them in the capital, and the “project funds” had already been prepared. They were only waiting for the kids to go back. This summer vacation, the children were truly busy. Luckily, they had finished all their homework before coming back, or they wouldn’t have had time to do it now.

In the past few days, with some free time on their hands, the family has been wandering around the village with the children. Sometimes they went to the river to catch fish; sometimes they went up the mountain to hunt for birds and wild fruits; and sometimes they climbed trees to catch cicadas and turtles. The sows in the pigsty had given birth to a litter of piglets, which the children adored. They insisted on going to see them with Su Zhenhua every day, and after seeing them, they pestered Su Zhenhua to take them swimming. They were busy from dawn to dusk.

What’s even more interesting is that they went to the field with Li Yufeng to dig sweet potatoes. Instead of pulling them out, they dug holes in the base of the sweet potato plants and roasted them directly over charcoal fires. As a result, the sweet potatoes were cooked with their fresh leaves still attached. Fantuan even said that eating them this way was the freshest and most fragrant. After finishing the sweet potatoes, they felt like they were alive.

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but remark on how the city dwellers knew how to have fun.

The childhood life of rural children was indeed difficult, but it was also colorful. After running around and jumping around, even Xiao Roubao and Tangyuan had darkened a few shades. The children were having so much fun that they forgot all about their promises to Gu Zhanwang.

Xiao Yu had already called the commune three times, asking when they were going back to the capital. He had already explored the capital thoroughly, so why hadn’t they returned yet?

Han Cheng has also made two phone calls to the commune, and even Zhao Xianfeng has urged them several times, saying that if they didn’t return to the capital soon, his son would start causing trouble on his own.

It was only now that the children realized they were about to leave this fun and interesting “paradise.”

The three Baos of the Su family all followed Su Xiaoxiao back to the capital. Su Xiaoxiao originally planned to trick Li Yufeng into staying for a while, but she refused no matter what. The seedlings had been planted, but there was still weeding, fertilizing, and replanting behind them. There was also peanut picking and harvesting of various beans to be done. Moreover, according to past experience, there would be typhoons in August, which would require a lot of work. In short, she was busy and couldn’t leave.

Su Xiaoxiao’s coaxing didn’t work, not even when all the children joined in. She had no choice but to give up.