Chapter 11: How Many True Friends Can One Have in Life?

  Lu Zhong smiled and greeted him, "Director Cheng." Cheng Mingyuan didn't like others calling him "Old Cheng", a taboo that Cheng Kai had secretly told Lu Zhong about.

  Cheng Mingyuan nodded and said, "A gentleman wants to be cautious in words but quick in action. Good!" Cheng Mingyuan's speech always had some Confucian tone, revealing his identity as a former leader of the cultural system.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "You're overpraising me. Zhang Lao is sleeping, must I, a young man, wake him up? Coming to visit him is just a kind intention, as long as the intention is there, that's enough."

  Cheng Mingyuan looked out of the hospital window, watching the lonely father and son inside, and said: "Don't you think this intention shouldn't be known to Zhang Lao? It's also a comfort for him!"

  It's clear that Cheng Mingyuan was moved by Zhang Lao's retirement procedures, and the attitude of those below him changed immediately, forming a stark contrast with the bustle of Zhu Lao's hospital room. Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Director Cheng, actually, now that no one comes to visit Zhang Lao, I don't think it's because people are heartless. When patients are hospitalized, it's always bustling at first, with visitors coming one after another, leaving you breathless. But after a while, the number of visitors decreases, and since they're not family members, they can't come frequently. However, for the patient, it's often during the later stages of hospitalization, when they're about to be discharged, that they feel lonely. Once their condition stabilizes and they have the energy to talk to people, there just aren't many visitors coming."

  "So I think, taking care of patients is still about showing some kindness."

  Cheng Mingyuan looked at Lu Zhong with some surprise, nodded after a while, "So, you chose to come see Old Zhang now?"

  Lu Zhong nodded slightly and said, "I've already been to see Old Zhu, let's go again when he's in better spirits. For now, Old Zhu is definitely worried about his illness, and with his weak body, receiving visitors would be a chore for him."

  Cheng Mingyuan hadn't spoken for a long time. Finally, he nodded and said, "It's rare, really rare. You're still young, but you have so many ideas."

  Lu Zhong smiled silently.

  Cheng Mingyuan waved his hand and said, "Let's go, I'll learn from you too, and not disturb him. Let's go together, I've been wanting to chat with you for a long time."

  He and Lu Zhong spoke as they walked down the stairs together.

  ……

  The next morning, entrusted by Huang Lao, Lu Zhong accompanied An Yiming to Qinglong. This time the treatment was greatly different. Before they arrived, Lu Zhong had called ahead and when he, An Yiming, financial personnel, architectural planners and others arrived at the Qinglong County Committee guesthouse, Ma Weiguo personally led a group of cadres to greet them. Among them was also Vice Secretary Zhao Pingfan who came from Majiaoying Commune to pick up Director An's party.

  An Yi Meng originally wanted to go and take a look at the next few communes, but Ma Wei Guo stopped him, saying it's almost noon anyway, let's eat lunch first, besides, the meal has already been arranged, just eat something casually at the county guest house.

  It's hard to refuse a kind intention, An Yi Ming and Lu Zhong exchanged a glance, then nodded in agreement.

  Zhao Pingfan had no choice but to use the telephone at the reception office to make calls back and forth, notifying the secretary, director, and a crowd of cadres who were waiting to welcome An Zhiyuan that the welcoming meeting that had been arranged could only be changed to the afternoon.

  Ma Weiguo said he was just having a casual meal in the reception hall, but in the small dining room of the reception hall, a full table of sumptuous dishes had been set up. At the banquet, Ma Weiguo frequently toasted An Yiming with wine. In fact, it's not hard to imagine what An Yiming, this god of wealth, means to Ma Weiguo, an official with great prospects who is eager to achieve some success. If impoverished Qinglong can borrow An Yiming's hand to introduce investment and construction funds, and bring in the first foreign capital, Ma Weiguo will also leave a great name in the history of Qinglong.

  Lu Zhong was naturally seated next to An Yi Ming, and Ma Wei Guo was also very polite to him, introducing Lu Zhong to all the cadres. At the banquet, many people frequently toasted Lu Zhong, and Lu Zhong and Ma Wei Guo also clinked glasses warmly several times. In that moment, the cadres present who didn't know the inside story would have thought that Lu and Magistrate Ma were old colleagues of many years, with a very close relationship.

  All the grassroots cadres could drink, Lu Zhong had several cups of white wine in a row, and felt that he couldn't hold on like this. He whispered to Ma Weiguo: "I'll go to the toilet." Ma Weiguo nodded with a smile.

  To others, their whispering manner made them seem even more intimate.

  Lu Zhong lifted the curtain and came out of the compartment, only to see Zhao Pingfan hurrying over with a somewhat unsightly expression.

  "Lu Chu." Zhao Pingfan greeted, lifted the curtain and took a look inside, just in time to see Ma Weiguo clinking glasses with An Yiming. A hint of displeasure flashed across Zhao Pingfan's eyes, and he slowly lowered the curtain.

  Lu Zhong took out a cigarette and said, "Let's go have a smoke? It's a bit stuffy in here."

  Zhao Pingfan sighed and nodded slightly.

  The environment of Qinglong County Committee Guest House is still quite good. Outside the restaurant, there are fake mountains and green trees, and the environment is quiet and secluded.

  The sun was already a bit fierce at noon in May, so Lu Zhong and Zhao Pingfan found a shaded area next to the artificial hill. The gentle breeze brought coolness and comfort.

  Lu Zhong handed over the Red Tower Mountain to himself, and Zhao Pingfan smiled bitterly: "Does Lu also do business?"

  It is no longer a big taboo for cadres to do some business in their spare time, and even the central government has issued documents calling on party members and cadres to take the lead in suspending their salaries and going into business. In commerce, party members should also play an exemplary role, and some high-ranking suspended personnel have been established as models.

  Lu Zhong also knew that a few years later, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange was established, but surprisingly, no one bought stocks. Many people thought that stocks and gambling were of the same nature. At this time, the central government issued a document with hard indicators, requiring party members and cadres to take the lead in buying stocks. Some regions even set a minimum quota for party members and cadres to buy stocks, divided by level. Upon closer examination, it was all about protecting the interests of these people. In the early days, the mainland stock market would surely be booming, after all, the government's influence on the market is too great in China.

  But Zhao Pingfan's sentence, which would scare many cadres twenty years later, now seems nothing serious. Lu Zhong smiled and said: "There are people in my family who do business."

  Zhao Pingfan smiled and said: "Actually, Lu Chu doing business is also very remarkable. I heard that many businessmen in Guangning have given good ideas to Lu Chu."

  Apparently, after meeting Lu Zhong for the first time, Zhao Pingfan quickly inquired about his background.

  Lu Zhong smiled and waved his hand, saying: "These are all rumors, can't be taken as true."

  "However, I think Lu Chu should still develop in his official career. It would be best if he could serve as a local official for several terms. That way, the people will be blessed. The various ideas you proposed in Guangning are now being put into practice, and I think they will necessarily prove to be feasible in the future."

  Last month, Jiang Haiyan was already appointed as the Secretary of Guangning County Committee, and the relocation of the fertilizer plant has been initiated. Meanwhile, under the sunshine bidding, a contractor has emerged, and in the factory, an old worker composed financial supervision committee was elected.

  Another state-owned enterprise reform initiated at the same time also adopted the same model.

  basically, it is following Lu Zhong's path.

  Not long ago, the Provincial Consultative Committee submitted a proposal to the Central Government to establish the "Fines Law", which is said to have received great attention from the central leaders. The prototype of this proposal actually came from Guangning Judicial Bureau.

  Although the driving force of change has now become Jiang Haiyan, in the surrounding areas of Guangning, cadres familiar with grassroots situations have no doubt that Lu Zhong is the real pioneer.

  It seems that Zhao Pingfan also understood the situation, and he truly admired Lu Zhong's ideas and charisma. When speaking, his attitude was very sincere.

  Lu Zhong smiled slightly, puffing on his cigarette, and remained silent.

  Zhao Pingfan sighed, "It's just a pity that those who are ahead of their time will always be misunderstood and excluded. Many pioneers with epoch-making significance often suffer from misunderstanding and exclusion."

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Pingfan, you're praising me too much, let's not talk about this." From the first time they met, Lu Zhong had a good impression of Zhao Pingfan. Not only was he skilled at being an official, but he also had his own ideas and his own set of rules.

  Now, seeing Zhao Pingfan communicating with him wholeheartedly, Lu Zhong immediately changed the way he addressed him.

  Zhao Pingfan smiled and said: "Okay, then what do you want to talk about?" Obviously, with his astuteness, he couldn't help but sense Lu Zhong's affectionate intentions.

  Lu Zhong said: "Let's just be down-to-earth and talk about rural elementary schools. The most important thing for us now is to do a good job in this regard."

  Zhao Pingfan nodded and then shook his head, saying: "Can it be done well? I think, County Magistrate Wei Guo, would rather have An Zong stay in Qinglong and not go anywhere else. It's best to invest in building a big hotel in the county seat. Can't figure out why he's still bringing such a intercepting move."

  It was just ten minutes ago that Zhao Pingfan wouldn't have said these words to Lu Zhong, but now he felt a deep connection with him and could say anything.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Covering the hotel and donating to aid education are not contradictory, it's not a opposing side. Otherwise, even if Ma Weiguo had ten times more guts, he wouldn't dare intercept Huang Lao's orders. It's just troublesome for Comrade An to wait below. He said noon, I think it might be afternoon before he arrives, or maybe even tonight."

  Mentioning this matter, Zhao Pingfan shook his head helplessly. Just now, he had just made another phone call to tell Secretary Zhang that General An would probably arrive tonight.

  Now, looking at An Zong being frequently persuaded to drink wine, I'm afraid he will get drunk. After the banquet is over, it's likely that they will open a room here to rest, and tonight they may not be able to get up, let alone rush on the road in the dark.

  After going back, I will definitely be severely criticized by Secretary Zhang, and this small matter cannot be handled properly.

  Lu Zhong patted Zhao Pingfan's shoulder, "Alright, don't worry about it. The welcoming and sending off, the tedious formalities, are all trivial matters. Getting entangled in these things will make you lose sight of what's important." He extinguished his cigarette butt and said, "Let's go back."

  Lu Zhong and Zhao Pingfan returned to the room, Lu Zhong helped An Zong block two cups of wine and toasted the cadres present with another cup. Taking advantage of the gap, he whispered a few words in An Yimeng's ear.

  Soon, An Yiming raised his wine glass and smiled: "Let's do this, the comrades of the commune are still waiting, we won't drink anymore. I'll toast everyone a cup, thank you all for your warm hospitality. After this matter is over, I'll invite everyone again! How about we toast to the leadership of Qinglong together?" An Yiming turned his head and looked at the entourage behind him.

  When Ting An heard this, the employees and technicians who came down with Ting An also stood up one after another, raised their glasses.

  Ma Weiguo stood up and smiled: "An Zong, don't worry? You don't need to worry about the commune side, I'll call someone to hang up the phone and notify them."

  An Yi Meng smiled and said: "Ma Xian, let's just leave it at that for today. We have important things to attend to. Next time you go to Wushan, we'll get together properly."

  Ma Weiguo could only laugh and say, "Alright then, it's settled." At this point, he could only raise his cup and clink glasses with An Yimeng. He glanced at Lu Zhong out of the corner of his eye, clearly knowing that it was what Lu Zhong had just whispered to An Yimeng that had ruined things for him.

  Zhao Pingfan looked at the scene in front of him, and recalled Lu Zhong's words in his ear, "Welcoming and sending off, tedious formalities, are actually small matters. Getting entangled in these things will make you lose sight of what's important."

  Yes, these things, actually didn't need to be so entangled, even if An Zong couldn't make it today, he would tomorrow, with Huang Lao's orders in front and the donation for education wouldn't fall through.

  Every day, entangled in these things, is indeed not right. Even if An Zong temporarily can't get down, at most, he will be scolded by Secretary Zhang a few times, and it won't affect the donation to help with education, after all, this is the main thing.

  Lu Chu said that his vision is narrow, which is true, but at the grassroots level, what's been entangled every day isn't just this matter, how wide can one's vision be?

  What's important to him? What does he consider a big deal?

  Although the contact time is not long, I can feel that Lu Chu is not an ordinary person, nor is he a rough man as rumored by outsiders, but a very astute and vigilant person who can quickly make people let their guard down.

  Why is it that with Lu's cleverness, there was such a huge commotion in Guangning?

  Isn't it? In his eyes, official promotion and advancement are not a big deal at all?

  So what is he after? And how big is it?

  Lu Zhong was smiling and shaking hands with Ma Weiguo to bid farewell, the two were still very close, as if there had been no disagreement at all, nor had they secretly competed because of An's departure. Instead, they parted ways warmly, even hugging each other.

  Lu Zhong himself would never have thought that Zhao Pingfan was thinking what he was thinking. If otherwise, it's likely that they would have had a big falling out with Zhao Pingfan.

  Having one bosom friend in life is enough!