Chapter Sixty: The Idealist's Fate

  Jiang Haiyan's office is always so elegant and tidy, with a stack of thick economic books on the desk. The owner of this room is obviously very ambitious and has been chasing the pulse of the times.

  Lu Zhong sat down and couldn't help but laugh: "I've been studying junior high school math recently, Haiyan County Mayor, this is doctoral material!"

  Lu Zhong rarely came to Jiang Haiyan's office, originally Jiang Haiyan was slightly surprised, but after hearing Lu Zhong's words, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, apparently thinking that Lu Zhong was mocking her.

  In fact, Lu Zhong really admired the female county magistrate in front of him.

  Sitting across from each other at the black marble tea table, Jiang Haiyan said calmly, "There's no end to learning, it's always good to learn more. You..." Then she shook her head, "Nothing."

  Maybe I just wanted to remind Lu Zhong to read more books? But then I felt that there was nothing to talk about with this person, and no need for communication.

  The person opposite, although not a complete rustic, has thoughts and ideas that are mysterious and unpredictable, making it impossible to keep up with their rhythm or even find a way to communicate. It's as if this person lives in a different world from normal people. If possible, it would be best to send them away as soon as possible.

  Lu Zhong nodded and said: "I've enrolled in the correspondence course of Wushan Mechanical and Electrical, it's about to start soon."

  Jiang Haiyan looked at Lu Zhong with some surprise, but didn't say anything.

  Lu Zhong also said: "The other day, Haiyan County magistrate suggested that I go to the party school for further study. After careful consideration, what you said makes sense. I should go for further study. All along, I haven't had much opportunity to systematically study the Party's theory. This is a great opportunity, and thank you, Haiyan County magistrate, for giving me this opportunity."

  Jiang Haiyan was taken aback for a moment, staring at Lu Zhong for a few seconds before nodding slightly and saying, "You just need to know that I'm doing this for your own good!"

  Half a month ago, Jiang Haiyan had a conversation with Lu Zhong, telling him that the county party committee was planning to recommend him to participate in this young and middle-aged cadres training class organized by the municipal party school. At that time, Lu Zhong did not express his attitude, only saying that he would consider it and see if work could be arranged to open up, after all, this is a three-month study class that requires leaving work.

  Lu Zhong left Jiang Haiyan's office and went to Qiu Dahai's office on the same floor.

  Lu Zhong pushed the door open and went in, while Qiao Da was watering the flowers on the windowsill with his back to the door, humming a little tune, looking very happy.

  "Secretary Qiu is so elegant and refined!" Lu Zhong said with a smile.

  Ji Da and Cai turned back upon hearing Lu Zhong's voice, smiling and beckoning him: "Come on, Zhongzi, sit down."

  "I heard that Secretary Qiu is going to be promoted?" Lu Zhong had already heard Liu Baojun mention it over the phone, and it was certain that Qiu Dahe would leave Guangning. The new position was either Vice Director of the Municipal People's Congress or Vice Chairman of the Municipal Political Consultative Conference, which must have been a result of coordination from above.

  In this era, being promoted to the People's Congress or CPPCC is actually a way of retirement and stepping down from frontline politics. However, Qiu Da was able to retire with honor, which is the best outcome.

  Qiu Dahai smiled and pointed at Lu Zhong with his finger, apparently, the current Lu Zhong has also received a lot of information from various channels.

  "I'm also leaving, going to the Municipal Party School for study." Lu Zhong said with a smile after sitting down and taking over the teacup handed by Ju Da.

  Qiu Dahua let out a deep sigh and rubbed his head, saying: "This time the middle-aged class, Haiyan mentioned it to me, I said, see your own opinion."

  It's good for reserve cadres or those to be promoted to attend party school, and it's also a precursor to being reused. But Lu Zhong was just promoted not long ago and holds great power, attending this kind of full-time study class is hard to say, maybe in the blink of an eye his original position will be taken over by others.

  And judging from all kinds of rumors and signs at present, it may be true indeed.

  Qiu Dahe patted Lu Zhong's shoulder and said, "You're still young, it's a good thing to have more experience."

  Lu Zhong smiled and nodded. Although Qiu Dahe showed some sympathy for himself, in fact, he wouldn't really care about his own affairs. He was waiting to retire with honor, as for what would happen to him in the future, he didn't care, originally, they didn't have much of a relationship anyway.

  "Maybe I won't be able to come back to Guangning again." Lu Zhong said casually while drinking his tea.

  Qiu Dahua finally let out a sigh, perhaps from the bottom of his heart. At this time, his mood should also be somewhat desolate. It is the death of the cunning rabbit, the boiling of the walking dog, the exhaustion of the flying bird, and the hiding of the good bow. With Qiu Dahua being transferred away from Guangning, his old team will certainly have to find their own way out. And Lu Zhong, this so-called "golden fighter", may be the most unfortunate one.

  Lu Zhong thought to himself, if he really couldn't come back to Guangning this time, what would he leave behind in Guangning?

  I hope Jiang Haiyan can continue to promote the 778 fertilizer plant reform that she has already planned. After all, if it is successful, it will be a remarkable achievement worth recording in history books. And if it fails, it will also be enough to bring down many officials. These are things that Jiang Haiyan should understand clearly, let's see how she chooses to handle them.

  As I understand Jiang Haiyan, she shouldn't be someone who easily changes her mind or gives up, otherwise, she wouldn't have been given the green light all along to do what she wants.

  When he left, the resistance to reform was greatly reduced. Generally speaking, some opponents of certain reforms also have a subconscious reaction that is unfair to people but not to things. The first person who took the lead in making suggestions and eating crabs failed, and the second one followed, even if they still followed the previous administration's policy trajectory, the corresponding resistance would be much smaller. Because the opponents had overthrown the first one, they felt that their opinions had been taken seriously, had been vented, and instead, the psychology of resistance to the latter would fade away.

  This is also a kind of inferiority complex.

  Jiang Haiyan must also understand this point, so maybe she herself leaving Guangning is also what she hoped for, or perhaps the mastermind behind the scenes, and she is one of them.

  In addition to relevant enterprise reform, I also hope that the judicial reform in Guangning can be further explored, playing a pioneering role in the future social rule of law.

  Public security mouth, all kinds of measures, hope also don't follow one's own departure, people die and politics stop.

  It wasn't until recently that I realized why I've been trying so hard to change the world. It's not because I'm particularly noble, but rather it's a form of revenge for all the injustices I suffered in my past life. Changing the direction of future society is probably the best revenge, isn't it?

  Perhaps it's a great awakening after experiencing life and death, maybe there is a little bit of that.

  Lu Zheng silently thought, silently drinking tea.

  In the afternoon, in the office, Lu Zhong received a call from his father, Lu Tianhe.

  Lu Zhen couldn't help but smile wryly when he heard his father's slightly stern voice. He had just been told by his older sister over the phone that their father would soon be transferred to become the Secretary of a southern province, an economic powerhouse. If things went well, his future would be bright and promising. But as for himself, he was still drifting aimlessly, his future uncertain. The gap between him and his father was truly like heaven and earth.

  "Don't bring that style of working in the troops to the government offices, being reported to the province one after another, are you proud?" Lu Tianhe's words had a hint of anger, this was also his first time scolding his son.

  Lu Zhong hummed in agreement.

  Lu Tianhe was clearly taken aback, and for a long time he couldn't say anything. Originally, he had thought that Lu Zhong would talk back to him, so he had prepared a set of words to retort with. But unexpectedly, Lu Zhong's reaction completely exceeded his expectations, leaving him at a loss as to how to respond. Should he continue scolding? His stubborn son had already softened up, and continuing to reprimand him seemed unjustifiable, but neither could he just let things slide like this.

  This son is apparently more of a headache for him than his political opponents.

  "Dad, in a few days, I'll be going to the municipal party school for studies." Lu Zhong smiled, "Take a step back and the sea is vast and the sky is wide. Sun Wukong made a big fuss in heaven and was pressed down for 500 years. After his tribulations were over, he remained a hero. I'm thinking of making a name for myself first, now it's time to cross the calamity."

  "Nonsense!" Lu Tianhe scolded with a smile, perhaps also pondering Lu Zhong's words. After a while, he said: "It seems that you have your own ideas, and my worries are unnecessary." These words coming from his mouth were quite a compliment.

  "In the province, you have an uncle, Qi, who might not know is my old classmate. He has been paying close attention to you. If you have a chance, go visit him. His home phone number is xxxxxx......" Lu Tianhe instructed solemnly and added: "It's good for young people to experience some setbacks. You need to be tempered."

  Lu Zhong hummed in agreement.

  ……

  The second floor of the Honey Garden, a table full of people, except for Lu Zhong, were all the leaders of the county, and the heads of various departments, committees, offices, and bureaus who had dealt with Lu Zhong.

  Li Xiangyang, Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department and Director of the Radio and Television Bureau, Cai Jin, Director of the Administration for Industry and Commerce, Feng Decai, President of the Court, Wang Gui, Procurator-General of the People's Procuratorate, Zhang He, Director of the County Judicial Bureau, Hao Guodong, First Deputy Director of the County Economic Commission, etc.

  These past few days, Lu Zhong has been throwing parties for several days in a row. Probably only he could stir up such a big commotion when leaving.

  On the first day, Lu Zhong entertained his old subordinates from the county public security bureau; on the second day, it was deputy county-level cadres; and on the third day, today, those who came were all section-level officials from various departments and bureaus.

  These cadres who had contact with Lu Zhong, after receiving the invitation, mostly gave face and no one didn't come to avoid suspicion. Although everyone knows that Lu Gang is overbearing, except for a few of his sworn enemies, it's really hard to say how bad Lu Zhong is, but instead, most people think that Lu Zhong is a straightforward and generous person with a broad mind, who is worth befriending and also a good leader.

  Compared with those who have achieved success and have a strong backing, these old officials in the government are many times stronger.

  So, even the white-haired prosecutor Wang Gui was very respectful and toasted Lu Zhong several cups of wine.

  Lu Zhong drank to the point of intoxication, laughing and saying: "I, Lu Zhong, don't understand many things, but my relationships with people, I think are extremely good? Some people must be very envious."

  Everyone laughed, but in their hearts, they mostly felt a bit unpalatable. Some people had been waiting to see Lu Zhong's joke from the moment he came on stage, but now they couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy. Perhaps it was the feeling that when one rabbit dies, another fox grieves.

  Some people who know the recent rumors can't help but think that maybe one or two months later, Lu Zhong will be imprisoned. From rising to fame to falling from power, this Guangning political star fell so quickly, yet it is similar to what happened to several red figures during the Cultural Revolution. So, in the official circle, being capable or mediocre doesn't matter, but standing on the wrong side is absolutely unacceptable.

  Of course, there are also people who think that at Lu Zhong's age, it is only a temporary setback, and the prospects are still quite bright. Being able to get on this line may not be without help for the future.

  Some people are confused and don't know why Lu Zhong went to party school for no reason.

  When it was time to leave, Lu Zhong was still very sober, but after being taken home by Du Xiaohu, he became somewhat unclear on the way due to the wind.

  The next day when I woke up, my head was splitting with pain, and the events of last night were not very clear in my memory. All I remembered was Du Xiaohu anxiously asking himself: "Isn't going to Party School a good thing? How come I heard that someone is secretly plotting against me and wants to take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of me?"

  He casually made a few remarks to him, many things, even if he said them to a tiger, it's unlikely the tiger would understand.

  Shook head, last night, really drank a lot.

  While getting dressed, Lu Zhong found a note on the bedside table. He picked it up and saw that it was Du Xiaohu's crooked handwriting: "Zhong-ge, take good care of yourself, I'm going to find Jiang Haiyan and Gao Zhihai to settle accounts. If I don't come back, please take care of my dad and mom."

  Lu Zhong suddenly sat up with a start, his body covered in cold sweat. At this moment, what intoxication was left?