Chapter 124

Leaders, more or less, will offend people.

Even someone like Yan Lei has offended people.

But it varies from person to person. Take Secretary Meng, for example. The people he offended were mostly powerful figures, like Guan Tuwei.

But Guan Tuwei was different. He offended many people below him.

Guan Tuwei was beaten to death by angry crowds during a riot.

As for why Huang Zengyue, who should have controlled the scene, didn’t, and why Yan Lei, who should have maintained order, couldn’t, who could blame them?

All they could say was that the will of the people is irresistible.

Guan Tuwei had long departed from the ranks of the people and embarked on a path of corruption and degeneration. He was also lecherous, and had bullied not just one person’s wife or daughter.

The seeds of hatred were sown long ago.

No one would plead innocence for such a person.

In fact, after someone spat on the ground, they couldn’t help but say, “No wonder Secretary Meng looked down on him.”

The person next to them quickly nudged their elbow, saying, “Stop talking nonsense!”

“Oh, Meng Zuoyi, Meng Zuoyi!”

There was no longer any Secretary Meng; there was only Meng Zuoyi, who was now imprisoned.

Unexpectedly, Qiao Wei didn’t feel fear or sorrow at someone’s death.

On the contrary, she felt relieved. “He’s dead?”

Yan Lei, who was already hugging her, was very aware of her physical reaction.

Her shoulders relaxed, and she was on the verge of saying “Great.”

With Guan Tuwei’s downfall, the Revolutionary Committee of Bocheng County had undergone a major reshuffle.

“Huang Zengyue is now the director of the Revolutionary Committee.” Yan Lei said.

“He’s refusing to send you back to the district.” He continued, “But he actually wants to use you.”

Qiao Wei sighed.

When she worked under Secretary Meng before, she and Huang Zengyue cooperated very happily. As colleagues, they were in sync with each other, able to follow each other’s train of thought.

Although she missed the leisurely days at the radio station, she had never disliked her time in the County Party Committee office.

Under strong, capable, and visionary leadership, with colleagues who were quick-witted and synchronized, and a united external environment…

Qiao Wei had really learned a lot of institutional knowledge in the office. During the more than a year she worked there, her workaholic spirit had always burned brightly.

In fact, it burned so brightly, until it was extinguished by history.

At this time, if a writer had the courage and could grasp the pulse of the higher-ups, it was very easy for them to soar.

Qiao Wei actually had this ability.

Although she was slightly inexperienced in political struggles compared to them, her mind was agile, and her reactions were fast. She could quickly grow in this area.

But she knew the direction of history, and she knew she couldn’t get involved. She had already expressed to Yan Lei that she wouldn’t write anymore, at least not for Huang Zengyue’s faction.

“What did you say to him?” Qiao Wei asked.

Regarding Guan Tuwei’s matter, Qiao Wei could guess what Yan Lei and Huang Zengyue had done. There was no need to ask again. She was more concerned about how her future would be arranged.

“I told him not to be greedy,” Yan Lei said. “As long as you and I support him, that’s enough. Does he really want both of us to be on his side? He’s being too ambitious.”

“We negotiated, and finally agreed to arrange you to the library.”

“In the future, you will be the director of the county library.”

Qiao Wei pouted and blew her bangs. “So I got promoted?”

Yan Lei said, “We can’t let ourselves be at a disadvantage.”

The director of the county library is at the same level as the heads of various departments in the county government.

In other words, Qiao Wei would be at the same level as Section Chief Zhou.

“Are there any other directors?” Qiao Wei asked. “Assistant directors?”

Both the library and the archives bureau were in the women’s backyard.

“The former director has been detained. Originally, the new director was Guan Tuwei’s wife. She timely divorced Guan Tuwei and exposed him. Huang Zengyue left her a position as deputy director. It’s fine, she doesn’t have to go to work. She’ll just keep her title, go on long-term sick leave, and collect her salary.”

“The library will be your domain from now on.”

It sounded unexpectedly good.

Qiao Wei thought for a moment and then asked, “What about Huang Zengyue’s wife?”

“She went to the Women’s Federation.”

Qiao Wei nodded.

Being too close to people often leads to conflicts. It’s better if everyone stays apart.

It was clear that both Yan Lei and Huang Zengyue understood this principle.

If it weren’t for this special era, where the people around her and her collaborators were all smart and clear-headed, it would have been a fantastic situation.

Unfortunately.

“The Revolutionary Committee is not a place to stay for long,” she reminded him again. “If you can get away, find a way to do it.”

She was now worried about Yan Lei.

If he didn’t get out early, he would face consequences ten years later.

“Don’t worry,” Yan Lei said. “The Military District also has concerns in this regard and has already discussed it. The military representative’s position will be rotated. They won’t let people stay in this position for too long to prevent the corruption of power.”

The upper echelons of the military had a keen sense of smell.

They quickly realized that once their people got involved, there was a risk of their power becoming too great and backfiring.

People’s hearts are made of flesh and are easily corrupted in the face of power.

The military must maintain purity and stability.

This was also a lesson learned from the attempts of some localities to attack the troops at the beginning of the movement. For the central government, this was also a bottom line.

“That’s good,” Qiao Wei said happily. “Then I’ll… spend a few years at the library.”

At this time, fewer people traveled far away. If they went to a big city, especially a place like Shanghai, they would receive many requests before leaving, asking them to bring this or that.

Fortunately, Qiao Wei was going back to her hometown in the countryside, and she was going to take care of her father-in-law. No one asked her to bring anything, so it was easy.

But since she was going to the provincial capital, she had to bring back some local specialties to share with her close relatives.

When she returned, the women gathered together, cracking melon seeds, eager to hear the gossip about her trip to Yan Village.

This was also an important form of entertainment in their lives.

Qiao Wei cracked melon seeds and said, “What else can I do? It’s just like that.”

They asked, “Did you get to sit at the table for meals?”

Sister Yang said, “You’ve left, and we’ve discussed it several times, wondering if you’d be able to sit at the table.”

“I think you can. Qiao is a Grade 6 civil servant. Do they even know what Grade 6 is? Her monthly salary is more than their annual salary.”

“It’s impossible. No matter how glamorous she is outside, she’s still the daughter-in-law at home. If she sits at the table, what can the other sisters-in-law do?”

“Qiao, just tell us already, did you sit at the table or not?”

With everyone arguing so intensely, Qiao Wei couldn’t help but laugh.

She teased them, “I sat at the table once.”

Now everyone was satisfied.

“Yeah, that’s good, it makes everyone look good.”

“Indeed, there’s mutual respect between face and substance.”

Qiao Wei chuckled and didn’t tell them that she only had one meal at Yan Village.

Qiao Wei didn’t immediately return to the county to report back to work.

She lounged around at home for several days, mainly because she felt like she was on honeymoon again and couldn’t get up in the mornings for several days in a row.

Every day was lazy and leisurely.

It wasn’t until September approached that Qiao Wei finally asked Yan Xiang, “Do you want to go to elementary school?”

Yan Xiang said, “Huh?”

Qiao Wei said, “The kids in kindergarten are too young for you.”

But Yan Xiang replied, “Huazi is not much older.”

For Big Brother and Big Sister, Yan Xiang acknowledged that they were indeed big kids. But for Huazi, Yan Xiang considered him an equal.

As for Jun Jun, Yan Xiang was very fond of him.

“Because it’s not convenient to go to the old kindergarten anymore,” Qiao Wei sighed.

Actually, she could go if she wanted to. After all, the library belonged to the public.

But that kindergarten was inside the government compound.

In the years to come, no matter what happened in the county, the government compound would be the center of the storm. Qiao Wei didn’t want to leave Yan Xiang in the government compound while she was away.

Although the library was only two streets away from the government compound, she still felt uneasy.

But it wasn’t good to always put Yan Xiang in an environment full of adults. Not to mention that the environment for adults in recent years was far from normal.

Fortunately, the chaos hadn’t reached the elementary school yet. After all, elementary school students were too young and didn’t have the ability to cause trouble. Elementary schools were still pure lands.

Yan Xiang agreed, “Okay, I’ll go to school then.”

At the end of August, Qiao Wei had rested enough and finally returned to the county to report back to work.

The county seemed to be more stable than she had expected.

Huang Zengyue was the cadre representative, and Yan Lei was the military representative. The two of them occupied two-thirds of the seats in the Revolutionary Committee and worked together to control the situation in Bocheng County. Not to mention, the public security aspect was quite good.

After becoming the director, Huang Zengyue pushed forward the work that had been delayed due to previous neglect, and didn’t indulge in the past.

One could even say that what he was doing now was in line with what Secretary Meng had previously promoted.

This reassured Qiao Wei quite a bit.

She went to see Huang Zengyue.

Huang Zengyue seemed to be both the same and different from before.

Everyone inclined slightly when passing by him: “Director.”

Huang Zengyue saw the smile in her eyes and asked, “You’re back? Was it smooth?”

“Pretty good,” Qiao Wei said, “Congratulations on your promotion again.”

Huang Zengyue didn’t boast; he candidly said, “Without Yan Tuan’s help, I couldn’t have done it alone.”

He continued, “I arranged for you to go to the library, and I’ve already informed them over there. They all know who you are, so there won’t be any troublemakers. As for the names on the list, you don’t need to worry about them. Just let them be. You know how it is in every department.”

They avoided discussing Guan Tuwei and how he and Yan Lei cooperated.

Everyone knew what was going on, and that was enough.

Huang Zengyue personally called the library to inform them that Qiao Wei would take up her new position today.

When Qiao Wei arrived at the library, they even held a welcome ceremony for her, with several pots of flowers placed at the entrance. They also hung a banner—by now, banners were all over the streets, with words written on paper and pinned up for reuse.

The time it took Qiao Wei to walk two blocks was enough for them to write the banner, or maybe it had been prepared beforehand.

In any case, Qiao Wei’s inauguration as the director received a warm welcome from everyone.

They applauded vigorously, saying, “Welcome, Director Qiao, to lead and guide our work!”

The county library had been around for a long time.

It was said to be an ancient county school, where scholars used to study and live.

It used to be much larger in the past, but now it was only half its original size. The other half of the building had been divided among other departments, leaving only half for the library.

But even half the size was quite spacious!

Although there had been many renovations over the years, the basic structure remained ancient.

The carved corridors, the vermilion pillars, the carved windows…

There was also a large courtyard that was said to be where scholars practiced the Six Arts.

As soon as Qiao Wei stepped through the gate, she knew it was a good place.

Another beautiful retirement spot!

Thank you, Old Yan, thank you, Old Huang!

Yan Xiang circled around the carved corridor, exclaiming, “Wow~”