Outside the window, snow piled up like cotton, and in the courtyard, two snowmen were stacked up, which should be the masterpiece of the team of little girls from the Youth League Committee. It added a bit of playful life to the solemn and majestic atmosphere of the county committee's compound.

  In the county magistrate's office, Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee and Chairman of the CPPCC Qu Xuan frowned, picked up his tea cup, and took a sip.

  Minister of the Organization Department Hao Baishan flipped through the documents in his hand.

  County government office deputy director Wang Jiabin was seriously taking notes, he is only twenty-nine years old, after Qu Ping Shi was taken away by the discipline inspection committee yesterday, Lu Zhong found him to talk and temporarily presided over the daily work of the government office.

  Behind the office desk, Lu Zhong tidied up his drawer and said, "Today is Saturday, I have to leave work early, tomorrow Ushan Electromechanical School still has classes, so I have to rush over today."

  Hao Baishan laughed and said: "County Magistrate, what you've learned is all technical skills. Even if you tell us, we won't understand. This is a regular secondary specialized school diploma, much better than the certificate from the TV university."

  Lu Zhong smiled silently.

  The wrinkles on Qu's face seemed to deepen as he said, "I think the appointment of Zhao Pingfan should be taken with caution. It's best to wait until Secretary Wei returns before making a decision."

  Ma Weiguo is not around, Lu Zhong is in charge of the county party committee's daily work, and today he called the deputy secretary in charge of organization and the head of the organization department to come over, it turns out that he wants to nominate Zhao Pingfan as the party secretary of Ma Touxiaoying Township.

  When the stone slab incident occurred, Qu Xuan thought of calling Ma Weiguo to communicate, but unexpectedly, the line from Wushan to the provincial city seemed particularly poor. Often, before two sentences could be spoken, the phone would be filled with static noise. To this day, Qu Xuan still doesn't know if Ma Weiguo heard his words clearly or received the telegram he sent.

  "Old Qu, the situation in Ma Touying is complicated, and the leadership team must determine it as soon as possible. If not, if there's a problem, will this responsibility be yours or mine?" Lu Zheng said slowly while flipping through files from his drawer.

  Every time Lu Zhong shouted his old name, Qu's eyes would twitch slightly, and Ma Weiguo still respectfully called him Lao Qu.

  "County Magistrate Lu Zhong, our cadres' appointments can't be rushed! Rushing will easily lead to mistakes." Qu Xuan said slowly.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Old Qu, it seems like you're not taking the organization's work very seriously?"

  Hao Baishan smiled in a timely manner: "Qu Lao, the assessment of Zhao Pingfan was conducted by a team sent by the Ministry last year when Secretary Pingnan was still there. Zhao Pingfan has always been a young reserve cadre registered with the Ministry, and my understanding is that this person can be entrusted with great responsibilities."

  He looked down for a moment, and his eyes immediately locked onto Hao Baishan. His dull eyes suddenly became sharp.

  Hao Baishan just smiled at him.

  "Alright, Lao Qu, it's settled then. I'll go communicate with the other standing committee members." Lu Zhong waved his hand and said another sentence: "You should also go back home and enjoy your leisure time. I look at your eyes, they seem to have some problem, haven't you gone to the hospital for a serious check-up?"

  The eyelid twitched again, and she looked deeply at Lu Zhong, but didn't say a word.

  ……

  The car rattled and shook, from Qinglong to Guangning, it took about three hours, entering the territory of Guangning, turning onto National Highway 205, the view suddenly opened up, and the wide highway in front stretched out as far as the eye could see, making the driver who had just struggled with the difficult road conditions on the bumpy small road feel a sense of relief.

  Lu Zhong, like all drivers, let out a long sigh of relief at this moment, as if he had just ended a long march.

  "Alright, it won't be long now, just over an hour and we'll arrive at Wushan." Lu Zhong glanced in the rearview mirror, where Bai Erqiang and Bai Xiaoxue were sitting.

  The principal and teachers of Ma Touying Middle School are very good. After Bai Erqiang took Bai Xiaofeng to school, the principal helped Bai Xiaofeng with the re-enrollment procedures without saying a word. However, since Bai Xiaofeng dropped out last year when she was in her first year of junior high, and now all her former classmates have been promoted to the second year of junior high, Bai Xiaofeng has to start over from the first year again.

  It just so happens that tomorrow is Sunday, and they are going to Wushan to study. Lu Zhong said to bring Bai Xiaoxue along, to buy her some reference books, study materials, and also some of the textbooks for her first year of junior high school which were incomplete. The Xinhua Bookstore in Qinglong couldn't get them, so it just so happens that they are going to the city to look for them. According to Lu Zhong's idea, they might as well buy all new ones.

  Lu Zhong suddenly had the urge to scold Bai Erqiang again, as several of Bai Xiaoxue's textbooks had been torn up by him to paste over the window gaps.

  As soon as Bai Erqiang heard that Lu Zhong was taking Bai Xiaoxue to the city, his eyes lit up and he insisted on coming along. After some thought, Lu Zhong agreed to bring him too. Although modern society is not as sensitive about adults and young girls being together, it's still best to avoid any potential trouble whenever possible.

  "How about it? Didn't you guys get carsick?" Lu Zhong asked.

  "It's nothing, I can still afford this little luxury." Bai Erqiang said with a strong smile, his face was pale, he had just been shaken all the way, and was really shaken to the point where his five internal organs seemed to have shifted. But if he got carsick every time he rode in a car, wouldn't that make him a born loser? He must force himself to hold on.

  Bai Xiaofeng didn't have much to do, curiously looking out the window at the rapidly passing trees, even counting them one by one.

  At four o'clock, the green dragon came out. The sedan didn't enter the Guo Dali community until almost nine o'clock. The city's streetlights were like a tapestry, and the high-rise buildings shone brightly. In comparison, Qinglong County was indeed a small mountain village in the countryside.

  Bai Erqiang had been to Wushan six or seven years ago, and at that time he already felt that Wushan was like a paradise, high and unattainable. Now, he is even more stunned.

  "Lu Zhong, you're a city boy, huh?" Bai Erqiang asked with envy as he followed Lu Zhong upstairs.

  "Alright then." At this time, they had arrived at the third floor. Lu Zhong took out his key and opened the door, which was a newly installed anti-theft door with iron bars, a type that was currently popular in Wushan.

  After hearing Lu Zhong's answer, Bai Erqiang's face became even more flattering, "I said so, if you weren't a city person, where would you get so much money and such a good heart?"

  The anti-theft door across the street suddenly creaked, and Bai Erqiang turned his head to look, his eyes widened instantly. He saw a stunning beauty coming out of the house opposite, wearing a tight black leather dress that accentuated her curvaceous figure, with a pair of black stockings wrapped around her slender legs, paired with a pair of black high-heeled shoes with pointed toes. The temptation was almost at its peak, making people want to kneel down at her feet and be kicked hard, which would also be an enjoyable experience.

  "Huh, who are they?" Wei Xiangxiu curiously sized up Bai Erqiang and Bai Xiaoxue. She had received a call earlier that Lu Zhen would be returning and had been waiting for him. She had especially put on the clothes that Lu Zhen had given her - he had given her several sets of winter clothing, which were said to have been bought from abroad through someone's help.

  "I just recognized my sister, and her father, Old White, Bai Erqiang." As he spoke, Lu Zhong had already opened the door and said to Bai Erqiang and Bai Xiaoyan: "Come on in."

  Looking at the beautiful light red flower patterned tiles indoors, and then lowering her head to look at her own mud-stained canvas shoes, Bai Xiaoxue couldn't help but hesitate, not daring to step inside.

  Wei Xiangxiu smiled and took her hand, saying: "Little sister is really beautiful." With a gentle force, she led her into the house.

  The distant fragrance of Wei Xiangxiu's rose perfume, which was emitted from her bones, made Bai Ergou feel suffocated with desire.

  Bai Erjiang knew that such a woman was someone he couldn't normally get in touch with, and in other people's eyes, he was just a piece of rotten wood, not even worth stepping on. It was better to keep a distance from her, so as not to be an eyesore in front of her, or else she would spit at him like a prostitute, and all he could do was silently endure it. Wasn't that what happened last time he came to Wushan, when the city people spat at him? Not to mention such a beautiful, fashionable, and sexy woman, who was even more so a city person among city people, looking down on ordinary urban dwellers. A country bumpkin like him would be lucky if she didn't think he was dirty just by looking at him twice.

  However, Bai Erqiang's heart moved slightly again. If she spat a few mouthfuls of saliva on his face and tasted her saliva... it would be an exquisite pleasure. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sneak a peek, only to see the sexy woman leading her daughter to sit on the sofa, her bright red lips gleaming with allure, tender and seductive, chatting with her daughter. Bai Erqiang's heart suddenly began to beat violently out of control.

  But soon Bai Erqiang didn't dare to look again, this girlfriend of Zhen's was definitely not easy to mess with. Seeing himself, a country bumpkin, looking at her, he didn't want to get scolded. He also didn't dare sit on the sofa, so he simply squatted on the floor, took out the cigarette that was tucked behind his ear, and just as he was about to light it up, he thought again and put the cigarette back behind his ear. It's said that many city people dislike smoking, what if Zhen's girlfriend didn't like people smoking either? Better not risk it.

  "I'm going to class tomorrow, you're free during the day, take Xiaofeng to the bookstore and stroll around, buy a few more books." As he spoke, Lu Zhong took over the tea cup handed by Wei Xiangxiu and drank a few mouthfuls.

  "Alright, I'm bored anyway. It's just in time that someone will accompany me to go shopping tomorrow." Wei Xiangxiu nodded and replied, "As for the dumplings, I've already wrapped them up early. Should we cook them now or should you guys rest first? However, I don't know how many of you are coming, and I'm not sure if the ones I just wrapped will be enough for you to eat. Anyway, there's still some in the fridge, and I'll cook those too."

  Lu Zhong smiled: "You haven't eaten yet?"

  Wei Xiang shot a white glance at Lu Zhong, "You know it clearly but still ask, if I don't wait for your words, you'll turn around and scold me again!"

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Alright, go cook the dumplings."

  Wei Xiangxiu got up, walking towards the kitchen with a rustling sound, her black skirt fluttering, revealing a beautiful curve of her hips and legs, and those delicate black stockings made her legs look even more attractive as they moved lightly, making one's blood vessels swell.