Just as Chen Jian reached Qi Tongwei's side, Qi Tongwei spoke directly to the crowd: "You leaders, come with me to the government office. Mayor Chen and I will definitely give you an explanation." Then he turned to Chen Jian. "Isn't that right, Mayor Chen?"
A smile played at the corners of Chen Jian's mouth, but inwardly he thought: *If you want to handle this hot potato, be my guest. I'm not getting mixed up in this muddy water.*
"We'll do whatever Mayor Qi says," Chen Jian replied. "Mayor Qi is an educated man, unlike rough-hewn folks like us. When the time comes, we'll just take Mayor Qi's orders."
A vague feeling nagged at Qi Tongwei that this matter was not as simple as it seemed. Today's events were all too convenient—Secretary Wang had conveniently left, and Chen Jian conveniently knew nothing about anything. Yet Qi Tongwei still couldn't figure out what they were plotting.
Zhang Long immediately took up Qi Tongwei's cue. "Come on, brothers, let's follow me and see what tricks our new mayor has up his sleeve."
Without waiting for Qi Tongwei, the men kick-started their motorcycles and headed into town. Qi Tongwei didn't say anything further and followed right behind them.
Rural areas were like a grand Shura field; complex webs of extended families intertwined even more deeply than in the cities. After all, the pie in the countryside was only so big. Zhang Long and his companions were presumably among the prominent figures in Qingping—former skilled brick-firing technicians. People with brick-making skills were in demand wherever they went, which was why they had been able to rally this group.
As he rode along, Qi Tongwei tried probing Chen Jian a couple of times about the past situation here, but every time, Chen Jian brushed it off with vague pleasantries. Either he claimed ignorance, or he said he would look into it with Qi Tongwei later before making a report. Whenever he couldn't find a way out of it, he simply told Qi Tongwei to go ask Secretary Wang.
By now, Qi Tongwei realized he was essentially a commander without an army here in Qingping. This brick factory incident could either be a deliberate warning shot to intimidate him, or the crucial breakthrough he needed to crack the situation wide open.
When Qi Tongwei arrived at the town government gates, Zhang Long and the others were standing outside smoking. Qi Tongwei got off his bike, exchanged a few greetings, and the group walked straight into the conference room.
Despite everything, Zhang Long and the others held a certain respect for Qi Tongwei. At first, they had assumed the young mayor would be easy to push around, only to discover he was actually a former narcotics cop! Though Zhang Long and his men didn't know all the details of anti-narcotics work, they knew enough about the current state of public security to realize that drug traffickers were utterly ruthless. Dealing with such people earned Qi Tongwei Zhang Long's respect; at least the man wasn't just all talk.
Zhang Long had been driven to desperation. Between paying various agricultural taxes, very little grain was left over from farming, and they had been counting on the brick factory to supplement their household incomes. To learn brick-making, Zhang Long had even traveled all the way to Yantai to study the technique. But for some reason, ever since the government introduced the new machinery, the brick factory had not only failed to turn a profit—it had lost money day after day.
The losses mounted daily, and workers' wages had steadily plummeted from five hundred yuan to two or three hundred, until finally they couldn't even issue the measly sum of a few tens of yuan. Eventually, the factory wasn't even theirs anymore!
You had to understand that when wages hit five hundred yuan, it was double what most people earned working outside. Back then, with over a hundred employees, the brick factory was the largest enterprise in Qingping. But as time went on, things had only gotten worse.
Because of financial troubles, the previous mayor had organized a restructuring meeting, claiming they needed to transfer ownership to someone else. Not only would they get a lump sum of cash, but they could also keep working there. The agreement had been clear: once they signed the contract, they would each receive a two-thousand-yuan relocation allowance and retain their jobs. Up to that point, everything seemed fine.
Then, after taking over for a short period, the new boss simply ran off... because during those months, not a single brick could be sold. Yet somehow, even though it had been signed over collectively, the brick factory no longer belonged to the collective. The government claimed the factory had been mortgaged to secure the imported machinery and, since the loan hadn't been repaid, it had been legally repossessed. Consequently, the promised compensation and continued employment vanished into thin air, and the brick factory became private property.
The mayor who oversaw it was transferred away... yet the brick factory still didn't return to the workers. Later on, everyone found out this had something to do with Secretary Wang.
As if such a stroke of incredible good fortune would ever fall to them! How could they not be furious?
Having laid all this out for Qi Tongwei, Zhang Long fell silent. Qi Tongwei pondered for a moment and asked, "Is what Chen Jian and the others said true?"
True to form, Chen Jian started dodging again, claiming that the matter had been handled by the former deputy secretary and secretary, and he knew nothing of the specific details.
Qi Tongwei sneered. "It seems Deputy Mayor Chen doesn't know a single thing about his job. Just what is Deputy Mayor Chen busy with all day, I wonder? Perhaps Deputy Mayor Chen could share whatever little he actually knows?"
Unflustered, Chen Jian took a leisurely sip of his tea. "I don't understand what Mayor Qi is getting at. This was work handled directly by the secretary and the former deputy secretary—why would I know anything about it? If you have questions, Mayor Qi, you can ask the secretary yourself when he gets back."
Without giving Qi Tongwei the slightest shred of face, Chen Jian stood up and walked straight out of the conference room.
Qi Tongwei's expression darkened; this was a blatant insult. *Very well! If there isn't something shady going on behind this, I'll eat my hat...*
Hoping to defuse the tension, Wu Hao chimed in, "Mayor Qi, this whole issue seems to stem from the remaining balance owed on the machinery. At the time of purchase, they didn't have enough funds, so they used the brick factory as collateral..."
Hearing this, Zhang Long and the others grew anxious again. "Mayor Qi, the former mayor was the one who brought in that machinery! We didn't know anything about it beforehand. They told us the equipment would boost efficiency, so we signed the paperwork. Who could have foreseen what would happen later?"
The grown men hammered their chests in despair, their faces a picture of profound regret.
Sensing the goodwill behind Wu Hao's words, Qi Tongwei gave a slight nod. From the general outline of the events described by the group, Qi Tongwei could safely conclude that this was a case of embezzling collective assets—he simply hadn't expected such schemes to have found their way into the countryside as well.
Not yet knowing where best to intervene, Qi Tongwei promised Zhang Long and the others: "Brother Zhang, I'm aware of your situation now, and the town party committee and government will definitely step in. I've just arrived these past few days and need some time to look into the details. For now, rest easy, go home and wait for news, and bring whatever contracts or slips you signed to show Wu Hao."
Qi Tongwei gave them his word: "No matter who is involved, as long as they have harmed the people's interests, I will not let a single one of them off."
With no other options left and seeing how resolute Qi Tongwei sounded, Zhang Long and the others could only pin their hopes on the government taking pity on them. "We'll wait for your word, Mayor Qi..."
After dismissing the crowd, Qi Tongwei kept Wu Hao behind and asked, "Where are you from, Officer Wu?"
Scratching his head, Wu Hao replied, "I'm a local through and through, born and raised right here in Qingping. My parents are farmers. I managed to graduate from a junior college and got assigned back home. I've been working here for five years now..."
With a bitter laugh, Wu Hao continued, "To be honest, it's quite embarrassing. I came here full of ambition, only to be hit square in the face right from the start. I was the first college student from my rural family, so I didn't see much of the world, let alone understand the ways of the world or social etiquette."
That was why, after all these years, he was still a lowly staff member at the Rural Economic Management Service Center, not even holding a minor supervisory rank.
Qi Tongwei patted him on the shoulder, deciding to test him once more. "Don't you have any familiar connections here in Qingping?"
Wu Hao shook his head, indicating that he had simply been lucky enough to catch the wave of the times...
In his mind, Qi Tongwei began to calculate. The party committee meeting was only a few days away, and it was time for him to promote a couple of loyal people of his own. Could this Wu Hao be trusted? Qi Tongwei had probed him with a couple of questions and found his answers rather green. After five years without a mentor to guide him, Wu Hao remained utterly naive, causing Qi Tongwei to sigh inwardly.
Perhaps this was the tragedy of the first generation rising from ordinary families in China... Every step required stumbling through trial and error; no one was there to guide you. The most others would tell you was to work hard, but hard work alone couldn't solve most problems.
Everyone else was playing the game at the table, and if you didn't even understand the rules, you could only be duped by the rest. By the time you finally grasped the rules, you would realize the card game was already over. If you didn't have the strength to flip the table over, you had better sit quietly in your seat...
At that thought, Qi Tongwei decided to give Wu Hao a hand. On one hand, it would help him break the deadlock in Qingping. Wang Kang had operated in Qingping for over a decade, and the majority of his loyal subordinates filled Qi Tongwei with exasperation.
He just hoped this young man knew how to seize the opportunity.