booktalesy Chapter 190 Is there a woman under the table?
Chapter 190 Is there a woman under the table?
"Brother Zhiyuan!" Xu Yunxi's cheerful voice came from the other end of the phone, "Did I disturb your work?"
"No, are you doing well at school?"
"It's great! Hangzhou is so beautiful in spring. The peach and cherry blossoms are in full bloom around the school; it's breathtaking. Zhiyuan, did you go to Longcheng?"
"I just arrived in Qingshan County today to report for duty. Qingshan County is a county under the jurisdiction of Longcheng City."
"Hehe, Brother Zhiyuan, what kind of official position do you want to be?"
"A member of the Standing Committee of the Qingshan County Party Committee, concurrently serving as the Party Secretary of a town."
"Secretary Wu, are there any good food or fun activities over there?"
"Of course there are. Qingshan County has a food street. The town where I work has a Qingshan Gorge, which I've heard is very beautiful, but I've never been there."
Previously, there was investment from out-of-province investors, but the project failed and has now become a wild scenic area, a popular spot for backpackers.
"Great! Brother Zhiyuan, we have sketching classes now. The teacher encourages us to go out more and experience different natural and cultural landscapes."
"Qingshan Gorge is so beautiful, I'd like to come for a spring outing and do some sketching. Is that alright?"
"Of course. You're welcome to come anytime."
"Zhiyuan, this weekend won't work. The classmates want to go out for team building. Let's tentatively schedule it for next weekend."
"No problem, I'll just go to Qingshan Gorge to scout it out beforehand."
"That's great! Zhiyuan, take a few more pictures and send them to me, I want to whet my appetite first!"
"Okay, I'll take pictures of any good scenery I see and send them to you. Let me know in advance when you've planned your trip."
"Okay! It's decided then! Zhiyuan, you go ahead with your work, I'm going to class!"
Wu Zhiyuan decided that after arriving in Xindian Town, he would visit Qingshanxia Scenic Area to see just how beautiful this popular tourist destination really is, and also to find out why the scenic area was abandoned.
He couldn't help but recall the first time he met Xu Yunxi. At that time, she was still immersed in the grief of losing her mother and was depressed all day long.
But now, she has completely emerged from the shadows.
The beautiful seventeen-year-old girl is now a twenty-year-old young woman.
It's only about 20 kilometers from the county seat to Xindian Town.
Wu Zhiyuan rode his motorcycle to the new store.
The road conditions were poor; the road was narrow and full of potholes.
"To get rich, build roads first." This is definitely not just empty talk.
No matter how beautiful a scenic spot is, tourists will not be willing to come if the traffic conditions do not improve.
Qinghe River is a major river in Qingshan County, flowing through several towns and townships.
After crossing the Qinghe Bridge, you'll reach Xindian Town.
Near the bridge is the Xindian Town Industrial Park.
This was a political achievement project created by the then Party Secretary of Xindian Town five or six years ago.
The town's industrial park was not yet completed when the Party Secretary went inside.
Wu Zhiyuan parked his motorcycle on the side of the road.
The park's main gate is very grand, with the words "Xindian Town Industrial Park" in gilded characters hanging on the tall gatehouse.
The guardhouse at the main gate was empty, with an old chair lying askew on the ground.
The main roads in the park are wide and straight, but there are many cracks in the cement pavement, and weeds grow in the cracks.
The land that should have been used to build standardized factory buildings is now covered with weeds and shrubs.
Some plots of land have even been cultivated by villagers into vegetable gardens.
The vast industrial park has only a few factory buildings, but there is no sound of machinery and almost no one in sight; it is deserted and quiet.
A factory building had a sign that read "Qingshan County Green Agricultural Products Co., Ltd." At the entrance sat an old man wearing an old military overcoat, listening to opera on the radio.
Wu Zhiyuan took out a cigarette and offered one to the old man: "Grandpa, have a smoke. I heard there's an industrial park here, and I was just passing by to take a look."
The old man took the cigarette, lit it with the light Wu Zhiyuan offered, took a puff, squinted, and asked, "Are you here to invest?"
If so, I advise you to change your mind as soon as possible. Go anywhere else, just don't come here. Anyone who comes here will be scammed.
Wu Zhiyuan sat down on a stool and asked, "Sir, why do you say that? This industrial park looks quite large, and the roads are all repaired. Why can't we invest in it?"
"Are you from out of town? Look, in such a big place, why are there only two or three businesses, and they're all barely surviving?"
That tourism development company in Qingshan Gorge invested tens of millions of yuan, and what was the result?
They didn't get anything out of them, slunk away, and lost all their money. Why? Because they were completely taken advantage of!
"Who took advantage of you?" Wu Zhiyuan pressed.
"Who else could it be? The local earth god and mountain god of Qingshan!"
If you invest, it's a lucrative opportunity.
Today this department comes to impose quotas, tomorrow that unit comes to impose fines, and the day after tomorrow some boss's relative wants to take some shares...
The old man was grumbling, getting angrier and angrier as he spoke: "This factory is owned by my son-in-law. We are all from out of town and were lured here by the preferential policies for attracting investment."
During the investment promotion process, those people were incredibly sweet-talking, guaranteeing land discounts, tax breaks, and various subsidies, promising expedited processing of all procedures, and saying things like "businesses handle domestic matters, the government takes care of international matters," and absolutely no extortion or bribery.
The old man sneered and flicked his cigarette ash: "My son-in-law was fooled by these nice words."
Once we invest real money, their attitude changes faster than turning the pages of a book.
Not long after the factory started production, all sorts of officials arrived: industry and commerce bureau, tax bureau, environmental protection bureau, safety supervision bureau, fire department, health bureau, public security bureau...
Apportionment, fundraising, fines, donations—one after another.
You won't give it to me? Fine. The environmental protection department will say your emissions don't meet standards and order you to stop production for rectification.
The safety supervisor said you have significant safety hazards and put up a seal.
The fire department said you do not meet fire safety requirements and must suspend production for rectification.
The local police station also came to collect protection money. Of course, they didn't call it protection money; they called it public security management service fee. If you didn't pay, they said that if anything happened to your factory, don't come to them.
Even the water company can find an excuse to cut off your water supply!
That's not all; all the extended family members of the county and town leaders came.
This company will supply you with raw materials, and that company will contract to provide your factory's canteen and cleaning services.
Street thugs also came, openly demanding protection money. If you didn't pay, they would block the road, vandalize your car, and smash your windows in the middle of the night.
Call the police? The police station comes, asks a few perfunctory questions, takes the person away, detains them for two days, and then releases them, only to cause even more trouble later.
Later I found out that those gang leaders were sworn brothers with relatives of some of the town's bigwigs!
Wu Zhiyuan offered the old man another cigarette.
The old man continued to complain: "Young man, if you hear the rest of the story, you'll know I'm not just complaining, I was really driven to the brink of desperation."
"Sir, please speak, I'm listening."
"At the end of last year, the son of a county leader came to my door and said he wanted to cooperate with my son-in-law for mutual benefit."
He immediately asked to become a shareholder, but not in the normal way. He wanted a 30% stake, without investing a single penny, and to receive dividends at the end of the year.
They said my son-in-law's factory has great potential, that he can provide resources and sales channels, and that no one will cause trouble again.
My son-in-law is honest, but not stupid; he refused on the spot.
Later, troubles kept piling up. That young master even set a trap for my son-in-law, who is now suspected of contract fraud…”
"Sir, what's that young man's name? Whose son is he?"
"Liu Tianci is the son of Liu Maocai, the director of the county people's congress standing committee. Liu Maocai once served as the secretary of the county political and legal committee."
Liu Tianci runs a nightclub and casino in the county town. He also makes money by cheating and swindling people everywhere. Many people know about his evil deeds, but he has connections and is protected by officials!
My poor son-in-law! He invested all his savings in this factory, and now he's lost everything!
I guard the factory to prevent thieves from stealing the machinery.
My daughter has been appealing her case everywhere, and was even detained for a few days recently on charges of disturbing social order and causing trouble.
"Sir, is everything you've said true?"
"Every word is true! If there is even half a lie, may I be struck by lightning!"
Wu Zhiyuan did not reveal his true identity.
He needs to verify the old man's words through other means.
Because humans have an instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, they will choose to say what is beneficial to themselves.
But if what the old man said is true, then the waters of Xindian Town and even Qingshan County are probably deeper and more murky than imagined.
Wu Zhiyuan wandered around to other places, and arrived at the town government around 11 o'clock.
The town government is located at the foot of a small hill and is a five-story office building.
There is a small square in front of the office building.
Wu Zhiyuan walked around the first and second floors and found that, apart from the Party and Government Office, the other offices were basically empty.
A voluptuous and rather attractive young woman called out to Wu Zhiyuan, "Who are you looking for?"
Wu Zhiyuan casually said, "I'm looking for Mayor Zhang Ping."
The young woman said, "He's in the easternmost room on the third floor."
Some leaders are very particular about the floor and location of their offices.
If it's a high-rise building, I would never go to the 18th floor, for fear of being sent to the 18th level of hell.
I want the seventh floor, not the eighth, because "seven up, eight down" is a Chinese idiom meaning up and down.
We want the east, not the west. The east is where auspicious purple clouds rise, while the west is where the sun sets in the west.
If the office was previously occupied by a former leader who had gotten into trouble, then it would be absolutely unacceptable, for fear of bringing bad luck upon oneself.
The third floor was quiet.
In the easternmost office, a notice board on the door indicated that Zhang Ping was "on duty," but the door was ajar, and there seemed to be a clattering sound coming from inside.
Wu Zhiyuan knocked on the door a few times as a courtesy.
A gruff voice came from inside: "Come in!"
Wu Zhiyuan pushed open the door and entered.
He immediately noticed a pair of striking red sneakers under the desk.
This type of desk has a gap of a few centimeters under it, and its red color is very eye-catching.
How come there are red sneakers under Zhang Ping's table? Could there be a woman hiding there?