Chapter 45: Lijian's Confession

  "How's it going? Qingyun, you're working now, should be busy, right?" Geng Shuang said with a smile.

  Zhang Qingyun nodded, and sighed inwardly: "It's not just busy, it's so busy that I'm exhausted, and at night I may not even be able to sleep a wink." He complained for a few sentences, when his phone rang in his pocket. He took out the phone and saw that it was Li Gang calling him. He quickly got up and walked to the balcony before answering the call.

  "Clouds? Not resting yet!" The thick voice of Li Gang came from the other end of the phone, judging from his tone, Li Gang's mood was not bad, it seemed that he had gained something from his long conversation with Huang Songshan earlier.

  "Not yet, County Magistrate Lai. After the meeting was adjourned, I happened to run into Wu from the Finance Bureau in the government office, and he insisted on taking me out for a meal. Look, the banquet has just ended!" Zhang Qingyun said with a smile.

  On the other end of the phone, Lijiang was slightly silent for a moment before saying, "En, no problem! Today I was emotionally agitated at the meeting and said some excessive words. It's good that you can represent me to get in touch with him. How is Wu Xue's emotional state now?"

  Zhang Qingyun laughed and said, "His mood is not bad, his attitude towards admitting mistakes is very positive. He said that in the next few days he will personally check with you and the organization, and guarantee that in the future he will be more careful with financial matters."

  "Haha." With a loud and clear laugh, Zhang Qingyun said it clearly, how could he not understand the key point? He said: "That's right! Which leader has never made mistakes? Knowing one's mistakes and being able to correct them is the greatest virtue. For cadres who make mistakes, we should still take criticism and education as the main approach, with the aim of helping them reform their thinking and making their work better and better. Secretary Huang also meant this."

  Zhang Qingyun's heart moved, thinking that Li Gang had indeed made some gains today. Huang Songshan was older and only wanted to do a good job in this position. Li Gang had grasped the soft spot, and Wu Xue Shu had admitted his mistake with an active attitude, so he should be able to keep his position. As for Ma Long, he belonged to serious disciplinary violations, and the Tea Office was just a special institution of Yongping, without any superior department in charge. Those who should be dealt with would still have to be dealt with; otherwise, it would not work to just make empty noises without taking action.

  "Qingyun, I may go to Wude City for a few days tomorrow. Pay attention to work matters, if there's an emergency, you can find Secretary Wang. If Secretary Wang is having trouble, just give me a call!" Li Gang said.

  "Alright!" Zhang Qingyun said, he naturally understood what kind of urgent situation Li Gang was referring to. Wu De had suffered a secret loss this time, how could he let it go so easily? Li Gang went to see Wu De at this time, on the one hand, to smooth out the relationship in the city, and also to avoid him for a while.

  "Wang Ping and Li Gang indeed have an understanding." Zhang Qingyun thought to himself, then suddenly he changed his mind and said: "County Magistrate Li, how long are you going this time? Aren't you also going to Lizi Ping and several other towns for investigation?"

  "Well... it's hard to say, but that doesn't stop you from communicating with them, does it? Anyway, I'm going there recently, just let them know." Lei Gang said after a moment of contemplation.

  Li Gang said that, Zhang Qingyun also didn't say anything else, the two people's work problems were considered to be finished discussing, Zhang Qingyun again said a few sentences of concern, such as "have a smooth journey" and so on, the two then ended this call.

  Hanging up the phone, Zhang Qingyun didn't immediately go inside, but instead paced back and forth on the balcony. Lijiang had gone to Wude, and he felt a bit empty. As the deputy director of the county party committee office, if there really was something going on, what ability did he have to handle it?

  Zhang Qingyun felt a sense of unease as soon as he thought of Wu De. The calm and composed manner in which Wu De had spoken to him earlier when they were dispersing from the meeting made Zhang feel uncomfortable all over. Zhang was clear in his mind that Wu would not remain unmoved, but how would he move? Where would he start?

  *****

  The home of Wu De is located on the banks of the Liu Shui River, which winds its way through and divides Yongping County into two areas: north and south. The county government and main commercial districts are in the northern area, while the southern area is a development zone with a state-invested thermal power plant and some supporting factories that make up the entire southern area at present.

  Wu De's home was not as bustling as it usually was today. Wu De sat quietly on the sofa in the living room, watching the news. His wife and Wu Zhiqiang sat silently on either side of him, not saying a word.

  Wu Zhiqiang sat up straight, his feet together, looking very respectful, but with a hint of anxiety on his face. He occasionally glanced at Wu De with his eyes, and his lips moved several times, but he didn't dare to speak.

  "De zhi a, I heard Zhi Qiang say that today Lijian County Magistrate scolded Xiao Ma from Tea Leaf Office and Xiao Wu from Finance Bureau severely at the meeting. He won't be targeting you, will he?" Wu De Zhi's wife finally couldn't help but speak up.

  Wude let out a soft "hmm" and then remained silent for half the day, staring at the TV screen. Wude's wife and Wu Zhiqiang exchanged a glance, not daring to ask again, but their faces showed even more anxiety.

  "You're always worrying about nothing, why don't you just take good care of your precious son?" After who-knows-how-long, the old man suddenly popped out a sentence, and then he let out a cold hum, his tone suddenly rising by eight degrees, as he shouted at Wu Zhiqiang beside him:

  "You good-for-nothing thing, you say that apart from fooling around with women all day, what else can you do? Don't think I don't know, those few girls at People's Hospital, like little demons, running to Qinghe every day. Can't you do something to make your old man proud?"

  Wu Zhiqiang's face changed, and he immediately became as silent as a cicada in winter. In his heart, however, he was secretly cursing the son of a bitch who had leaked the secret, causing the old man to take him out again. This old man is also something else, with Li Gang being so overbearing, yet he still sits there calmly, who knows what he's thinking in his heart.

  "Ding, ding, ding." The doorbell rang, and Wu De's wife hurriedly got up to open the door.

  "Hey, Director Liu! Come on in, come on in. I don't know what's wrong with De today, he came back and didn't say a word. You're just in time to talk some sense into him." Wu De's wife said warmly as soon as she opened the door and saw it was Organization Department's Liu Wanhe.

  "Really? I came over just to chat with County Magistrate Wu. Sister, it's better to leave these shoes outside! They're dirty and muddy. This weather in Yongping is really unpredictable, and the outside is all muddy!" Liu Wanhe said with a smile.

  "Has Old Liu arrived? Sit down! Zhiqiang, go get Director Liu some ginger soup to warm him up." Wu Dezhi stood up and said, as if he hadn't heard the meaning behind Liu Wanhua's words at all.

  After Liu Wanhua sat down, Wu Zhiqiang respectfully served him a bowl of ginger soup. Liu Wanhua didn't decline and took it over to drink several mouthfuls before taking off his coat and hanging it on the clothes rack, then went forward to sit beside Wu Dezhong.