Chapter 93

Everyone was standing.

The staff of the Propaganda Department were all surprised. Some stole glances at Chief Zhou and found that Chief Zhou wasn’t surprised.

Chief Zhou had known long ago that Qiao Wei was in the military.

Some couldn’t help but curse in their hearts.

In this era, it was a society based on relationships. Relationships, connections, and back doors were all very important. Those within the system understood this especially well.

The closer you were to power, the more you understood the power’s influence and advantages.

Chief Zhou allowed them to bully Qiao Wei, and if he could show Qiao Wei who’s boss and make her obedient, it would benefit Chief Zhou, and those who offended her would be the ones in trouble.

If Qiao Wei were just a girl from a backgroundless small town, it wouldn’t matter, but she was military personnel.

Just now, the middle-aged officer heard Qiao Wei call him “Commander.”

After the cancellation of military ranks, it became very troublesome. Everyone’s military uniform looked the same, with only a red collar badge and no shoulder insignia, making it impossible to tell whether you were a general or a private.

This was too annoying.

It was obvious that Qiao Wei knew this commander. If the commander could call out Qiao Wei’s name with just one word, it wasn’t just a simple “I’ve seen you before.” The commander had seen many military personnel, but it was impossible for him to remember the name of each one.

The attitude is still so warm and friendly, and the smile between the eyebrows is obviously sincere, not just formal.

As for the rank of the division commander, it’s the level where even the county leader Secretary Meng has to stand aside and accompany.

Although the military and the government are not directly subordinate to each other, the officialdom is not as simple as just whether you currently have a direct relationship.

There’s an invisible web in this society, and since it’s called a “web,” naturally it’s web-like, not linear.

Secretary Meng said to Mr. Pan, “Qiao Wei’s penmanship is remarkable. I first noticed this comrade when she won the award for her article, so I specifically mentioned her to the county, first let her hone her skills in the propaganda department, and then I’ll have her come to the office to fully utilize her talents. To be honest, when I found out she was a military family member, I was quite surprised.”

Captain Pan said, “Don’t say you’re surprised, I was equally surprised. It’s so rare for a military family member to excel in literature. You must understand. Don’t let talent go to waste.”

“Yes, we must provide her with a platform to showcase her talents.”

“That’s good, that’s good.”

Everyone spoke with smiles.

Qiao Wei also stood aside with a smile, not interrupting the conversation between the leaders.

Captain Pan glanced at the propaganda department and asked, “Who is Qiao Wei’s leader?”

His authority was imposing, and his speech and gaze were pressuring. Section Chief Zhou hurriedly stepped forward and extended both hands, “Hello, sir, I am Section Chief Zhou of the propaganda department.”

Captain Pan shook hands with him and encouraged him like boosting morale, “Don’t relax your demands on her just because she’s a female comrade. Trust that our military wives are very resilient and hardworking. You must strictly demand from her and urge her to progress.”

Section Chief Zhou responded, “Yes, sir.”

Qiao Wei timely added, “Captain, don’t worry, the leaders are all fair and considerate towards me.”

Captain Pan nodded in satisfaction and released Section Chief Zhou, “That’s good.”

Secretary Meng said, “Captain Pan, shall we go to the meeting room now?”

“Sure,” Captain Pan agreed, but then said, “Qiao Wei, come and join us.”

Qiao Wei didn’t know what meeting they were going to, but when Captain Pan spoke, regardless of her current tasks, she had to put them aside.

She respectfully replied, “Yes.”

Captain Pan turned around.

Originally, those who were following him were making way on both sides, and Secretary Meng led Captain Pan out. Everyone followed suit and headed out.

Qiao Wei, being of lower rank, planned to follow at the end and wait until this group finished turning before catching up.

But Yan Lei, who was right next to Captain Pan, didn’t follow the leaders.

Instead, he took a step back into the room and reached out his hand to Section Chief Zhou, “Section Chief Zhou.”

Section Chief Zhou hurriedly shook his hand.

“I’m Qiao Wei’s husband, my surname is Yan,” Yan Lei said.

Section Chief Zhou warmly responded, “I know you, Captain Yan, a war hero. I’ve heard your lectures.”

Knowing is good.

Yan Lei said, “Thank you for looking after Qiao Wei during this time.”

“Where would that be? Qiao Wei’s temporary transfer here has eased our workload, and she’s been a great help.”

The two of them exchanged insincere pleasantries here, and suddenly Wu Aizhen widened her eyes and covered her mouth.

She remembered!

She quickly nudged her colleague with her elbow, lowering her voice, “It’s Yan Lei! It’s that Yan Lei! Do you remember?”

Back when she had just started working, the war hero came to give a lecture.

“It’s the one you said was too good-looking back then! Remember?” Wu Aizhen poked her colleague’s waist vigorously.

Her colleague was annoyed and quickly kicked her foot to make her stop.

When Yan Lei came in, she recognized him at a glance.

But… unexpectedly…

Watching Yan Lei exchange pleasantries with Section Chief Zhou and walk out with Qiao Wei, Yan Lei walked beside Qiao Wei, reaching out to pat her back momentarily. They exchanged a glance outside the door, then followed the rest of the group and disappeared into the corridor.

Wu Aizhen and her colleague exchanged bewildered looks.

Qiao Wei turned out to be Yan Lei’s spouse.

How could anyone have guessed that?

Everyone moved their lips, feeling like they wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

Mixed feelings.

Some suddenly realized, and in their minds, they had cursed Section Chief Zhou’s ancestors for eighteen generations.

This old fox knows everything, yet he doesn’t say a word.

Some remained calm, feeling that getting closer to Qiao Wei these past few days was indeed the right move. It seems one shouldn’t underestimate anyone within the system, nor should one easily offend anyone. This rule must be remembered for the future.

Each person in the office had their own feelings to digest.

Qiao Wei sat at the end of the table and listened to the meeting.

She understood that the county needed help from the military region.

They needed to build roads.

With the merging of counties and towns, Yongming County had incorporated Qingshan Town and Xiahekou Town into its territory, making them two districts of Bocheng in the future.

Secretary Meng was obviously an ambitious person; he wanted to achieve something here.

People in later generations all know that if you want to prosper, you must build roads first. Nowadays, you can’t talk about becoming “prosperous” in this era; being poor is considered honorable. But the truth that building roads is essential for development remains unshakable in any era.

This is a basic operation understood by rulers.

In this era, there isn’t widespread mechanization; large-scale projects like road construction mainly rely on human resources.

Building roads is not as simple as just spending money to hire a construction team. In later generations, road construction is a project developed through cooperation among the government, enterprises, and banks.

During this time, there was no planned economy, and you could say that the financial industry didn’t exist. The government didn’t have enough money to build roads on its own; it had to seek partners.

Currently, the best partner was the military region.

With the military region stationed here, any significant actions in the region were almost impossible to carry out without involving the military region.

In the first ten minutes of the meeting, all Qiao Wei heard were phrases like “deepening military-civilian cooperation,” “achieving integration of military and civilians,” “effectively integrating forces,” and so on—empty but politically correct rhetoric.

It didn’t really matter to her as a military spouse. She wasn’t in a hurry, sitting at the end of the table observing, waiting to see how both sides played their cards.

She knew that if the military region appeared in this meeting room, they definitely had their own demands.

Sure enough, the military region wanted land.

No matter what you do, you always need land first. Land outside of the military region was all in the hands of the local government.

Qiao Wei understood that those in higher positions would always see signs of trouble earlier than those below. In such circumstances, maintaining logistical support for the military, being self-sufficient to a high degree, was the safest.

The leaders negotiated there, dividing interests, none willing to let others take advantage.

The meeting lasted for a whole morning, finally reaching a preliminary agreement for cooperation between the two sides. Specific details would surely need to be followed up later, but as long as there were no major disruptions, this matter was settled.

In addition to significant benefits, the military region also had some additional conditions.

For example, expanding employment opportunities for military dependents.

There were quite a few military dependents in Xiahekou Town. How many job positions could a small town like that accommodate?

Some military dependents were assigned to the factories along the road from the town to the county seat, where Qiao Wei passed by every day. Qiao Wei had been assigned there just after getting married.

Half of the strong labor force in the town worked in those factories.

But now, the military region hoped to expand the employment opportunities for military dependents to the county. The county could provide more job positions.

Military spouses had low levels of education, poor living habits, and often had strong temperaments, so many units didn’t welcome them.

But now, the county needed favors, so naturally Secretary Meng couldn’t refuse this offer.

“Qiao Wei,” Captain Pan suddenly turned his head towards her, “You’re the first military spouse from our area to come work in the county. Do you have any thoughts on this matter?”

Qiao Wei inclined her head slightly.

“If the leaders give me the opportunity, then I’ll share my humble opinions.”

She had brought her notebook with her, and it was always open. In fact, just now, Yan Lei had caught sight of her writing something in it.

Everyone was taking meeting notes, but Qiao Wei was an outsider to this meeting, and her relationship with it wasn’t significant, so no one knew what she was writing.

But since everyone else was taking notes, her doing the same seemed normal.

“Road construction is a major project with a long construction period; it’s not something that can be done overnight. However, the ultimate goal of road construction is to promote the circulation of personnel throughout the entire county, making it more convenient and faster to gather and mobilize labor.”

“As far as I know, one of the reasons military dependents have rarely worked in the county before is because of the inconvenience of transportation, mainly due to the lack of convenient transportation vehicles.”

“Like me, I’m currently riding a bicycle, which takes approximately 50 minutes to an hour one way. But not every family has a bicycle, and the proportion of female comrades who own bicycles is even lower. So, military dependents rely more on public transportation to commute between their place of residence and work.”

“At present, there’s no short-distance public transportation between the town and the county. The buses available are part of long-distance routes, and the timing is completely unpredictable. You might have to wait three or four hours for a single ride. If I were to take a bus to work, I might not arrive at the office until noon. Just being late could wipe out my entire salary.”

She paused, and everyone chuckled.

After everyone finished laughing, she presented her demand: “So I hope that regardless of when the road construction starts or finishes, we could first open a short-distance bus route between the town and the county. Specifically, a shuttle service between the town and the county.”

“This includes not only Xiahekou Town but also Qingshan County.”

“Since the merger, it’s one entity. If, after the merger, coming to the county still feels like a long journey, it would lose its significance.”

“My personal suggestion is to open a dedicated short-distance bus service between the town and the county. At least four round-trip buses should run in the morning, late morning, afternoon, and early evening. Stations should be set up in the factory area, making it convenient for workers at both ends to commute to and from work.”

“The one-way commute between the town and the county should ideally take between fifteen to twenty minutes, and the departure times should be precise to ensure a predictable journey and minimize time wasted waiting at the stations.”

Captain Pan was the first to appreciate: “Qiao Wei’s suggestion is excellent.”

The leaders looked at the big picture from a high perspective, while Qiao Wei spoke from the grassroots level, addressing the personal needs of ordinary people.

If this demand were met, military spouses would have no concerns about the county being too far away, and they would be willing to accept job positions even farther away.

Qiao Wei was filling in the gaps for the leaders, offering suggestions, precisely what Captain Pan wanted to hear when he gave her the opportunity to speak.

Captain Pan threw the question to Secretary Meng: “Secretary Meng, what do you think?”

Secretary Meng also expressed his appreciation.

From their first meeting, he knew this girl was articulate. But this time, he saw that she wasn’t just good at speaking on the surface. She could also think critically, rationally, and offer suggestions.

She was only 22 years old, yet her qualities surpassed those of many of her peers.

She was highly malleable, a good seedling in the eyes of the leaders.

Secretary Meng was also sincere and immediately decided to open a short-distance bus service between Xiahekou Town and Yongming County.

Why call it a short-distance route? Because the distance between the town and the county was only ten miles, or in modern terms, just five kilometers. Many restaurants in later years would even be within delivery range.

If opened, as Qiao Wei said, the one-way commute could be shortened to fifteen to twenty minutes.

This road construction was the ten, twenty, or fifty-year plan for Yongming County, for Bocheng.

This leadership team led by Secretary Meng would be remembered in the county annals.