In April in the south of the Yangtze River, the sky is full of slanting wind and drizzle. Fengling Mountain has many fields and few fields, and the spring ploughing season is not as busy as the northern line township, and the idlers who travel east and west can be seen everywhere on the street. Yuan Jinpeng is also very leisurely, there is no reservoir here, only a small mountain pond, so naturally there is no need to worry about flood control. Although the "three stresses" are being carried out from top to bottom, they are nothing more than a collection of materials and a formality, and there is no substantive work. He has no confidence in using the "three stresses" to solve fundamental problems, and the county leaders may not have confidence. A few days after the "three stresses" were carried out, some people made up a slip of the tongue: "Seriously carry out the three stresses, go through the motions in a down-to-earth manner, and the problem is in the first three rows, and the root is still on the rostrum." He admitted that this slip of the tongue has a level, and he sees the essence of the problem, since the root is on the rostrum, what can he do in addition to the form of walking? Looking at the drizzling rain outside the window, he thought that he would go back to his parents' house tomorrow and accompany his father back to his hometown to sweep the tomb and see the family tree. Although his father is an intellectual, he has a strong clan concept, and when it comes to the story of Yuan Ao's "Nine Sons and Ten Jinshi", he always never gets tired of telling it, and his eyebrows are dancing.

The phone rang, and the bell was loud and urgent. Yuan Jinpeng grabbed the phone and was taken aback, there was a serious car accident in Lujialing!

Lujialing is the highest of the many mountains leading to Fengling Township in the county seat, the top of the mountain is the dividing line between Fengling Township and Hongqiao Township, Fengling Township in the west, and Hongqiao Township in the east. The winding mountain road winds up and down, with many bends and narrow roads, and accidents occur frequently. However, strange to say, the Lujialing section of the road almost overturns every year, but there are very few fatalities. Local people said that there were two ghosts in the Lujialing section. A "death-jerker" who specializes in making bad things on the hilltop road. The other is the "life ghost", who specializes in saving people and saving people under the ridge.

It continued to rain and the roads were muddy, Yuan Jinpeng and Bao Kaixuan rushed to the scene, it was already 11 o'clock in the morning, and many traffic police and doctors were busy working. Yuan Jinpeng saw Dai Guanghua, the head of Hongqiao Township, standing on the side of the road with his hands crossed and a black face from a distance, so he took the initiative to come forward to say hello. Unexpectedly, Dai Guanghua saw that it was Yuan Jinpeng, and complained bitterly: "Secretary Yuan, you can hurt us." The shuttle bus is your Fengling's, and the people are also your Fengling's, but it turned over on our side, how can we pass the comprehensive treatment this year! ”。 Yuan Jinpeng was annoyed when he heard this, and said coldly: "Township Chief Dai, there were a lot of casualties in this accident, everyone is busy, it's not appropriate for us to argue about these things now, right?" ”。 Dai Guanghua blushed and said loudly: "After all, I have to say that the founding secretary will come soon." Yuan Jinpeng also raised his voice: "Just say it, whoever is responsible for the accident is in whose jurisdiction, and this is still a fight?" It stands to reason that we don't come to use it. The two parted unhappily.

The accident was strange, but in the final analysis, it was a joke. At about nine o'clock in the morning, the driver saw that there were only 13 guests in the 24-seater bus, and wanted to delay the time to earn a few guests. After ten minutes, the stationmaster of the Fengling Township National Tax Station, "He Jiaoyu", couldn't help but quarrel with the old manager, and finally got off the car in a bad mood. After a few minutes, a carpenter got on the car with an electric sawing machine, and in the past, the old manager would not let such a large machine get on the car, but today there are few people and the car is empty, so he agreed. The car drove all the way, except for the slow speed because of the muddy road, there was nothing unusual. When the car drove to Lingbei Village under Lujialing, the village director of Fengling Village got into the car. The arrival of the "red nose" made the carriage ripple with a happy and active atmosphere.

"Red Nose" asked, "Old man, why did you make me wait for an extra twenty minutes today?" ”

The old steward sighed: "Alas! There are few people, and you can't make money for oil. I want to wait for a few guests, but He Jiaoyu doesn't scream in his heart. ”

"Red Nose" smiled: "It's wrong for you to quarrel with He Jiaoyu, that's our Fengling's talent." ”

The old manager said disdainfully: "Isn't it just to collect two taxes, who wouldn't do it?" ”

"Red Nose" said: "I will tell you a true story, and you will be convinced when you hear it." Last month, I went to Qingchuan with He Jiaoyu to run errands. After wandering around the street for a long time at night, I wanted to pee, but I couldn't find the toilet, so I was anxious to turn around. Looking left and right, I finally found a unit, which seems to be the Bureau of Justice. Walking into the yard, He Jiaoyu found a corner, took out a water gun and was about to release the water, when suddenly he shouted behind him, what are you doing! Open defecation is fined a hundred! He Jiaoyu looked back, and the old man who watched the door didn't know when he was standing behind him. He Jiaoyu pleaded that I did not urinate. The old man said, you have taken out all your eggs, and you are not urinating? He Jiaoyu said, I'll take it out and take a look, what's in your way? The old man was stunned for a while, wow, nothing happened...... ”

Before the "red nose" finished speaking, they all leaned forward and closed their backs with laughter, and the old man laughed so much that he burst into tears and lay on the steering wheel. This coincides with a curve that resembles a right angle, and the passenger car does not have time to turn and rush out of the highway with a sound and go straight down the mountain, and the huge sawing machine rolls, rolls, rolls and ...... in the car. The joyful laughter floating around the carriage instantly turned into a terrible ghost crying wolf.

Afterwards, some people said that the "ghost of the child" drank that day, so many people died. Some people also say that this is fate, otherwise how can "He Foot Fish" escape the catastrophe.

Yuan Jinpeng was so busy that he went from house to house, and he was not relieved until April 6, when all the dead were laid to rest. After all, there are five dead and nine injured, and the issue of compensation and medical treatment is very complicated, so how can the township government be so easy to be a peacemaker. However, the car accident also made him sigh at the fragility of life, and the "red nose" of five big and three thick, strong as an ox rushed to Huangquan in an instant, paying for the damn joke with his own life. If the old manager didn't delay time, "He Jiaoyu" would not have gotten out of the car, and "Red Nose" naturally didn't dare to tell that joke, then this car accident might have been spared. If it weren't for the huge sawing machine rolling in the car, how could so many people have been killed or injured? It's all fate! That afternoon, the instructor of the county traffic police brigade pointed to the door number of the township government and said, "No. 122, it's no wonder if there is no major incident!" ”。 When he heard this, he immediately felt a chill in his back, and asked the correspondent to pull out the door number with a vice. Even if a person does not believe in gods and ghosts, it is difficult not to believe in fate. Fatalism has endured for thousands of years, and it has its own soil for survival.

After dealing with these miscellaneous things, Yuan Jinpeng planned to go back home, and did not go back for half a month. I was about to go out with my handbag when I heard the phone ringing and turned around to answer the phone. It was Liu Zhenji who called, saying that there was something wrong and asked Yuan Jinpeng to go back to the county seat to see him. Yuan Jinpeng felt strange, hurriedly asked the driver Xiao Liu to drive, and hurried back to the county seat.

Liu Zhenji personally made a cup of tea for Yuan Jinpeng, and said in a calm tone: "Jinpeng, I'm going to transfer away." ”

Yuan Jinpeng couldn't figure it out: "Isn't it only next year?" ”

"That's right, the county is changing next year. My job transfer was not related to the transition, it was purely personal. Liu Zhenji said, as if he was proud.

Yuan Jinpeng asked, "Teacher Liu, you must have arranged it well this time, right?" ”

Liu Zhenji smiled: "It's okay, I was transferred to the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee and became the deputy director of the office." ”

Yuan Jinpeng was taken aback: "Ah! It was the new Minister Zhu who personally looked for you to come over, right? ”

Liu Zhenji nodded: "Minister Zhu used to be an on-the-job graduate student led by Professor Qiu Meihe, and I am his junior brother. He had only been here for three or four months, and he wanted to find a few people who could be used well, and Professor Qiu recommended me to him. After the meeting, Minister Zhu had a good impression of me and asked me to come over. The formalities are almost done, and I will report in a few days. You can just know these things. ”

Yuan Jinpeng suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness. After Liu Jinzhong was transferred away last year, it didn't take long for Yang Dazhong to be transferred to the deputy secretary of the Dongba County Party Committee. Liu Zhenji went to the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee, and of course he was happy for the teacher. On that platform, it is a matter of time before he becomes a department-level leader, and he is expected to benefit from it. However, once Liu Zhenji left, he could no longer find a division commander who could have a long talk among the four sets of team leaders.

Seeing that Yuan Jinpeng was silent, Liu Zhenji said: "I haven't helped you in the past few years, after all, I'm just an organization minister." Fortunately, you are young, at least at present, you are still the youngest secretary of the township party committee in the county, as long as you grasp it well, there will always be opportunities. However, during Secretary Qiushui's tenure, I am afraid there should not be too many extravagant expectations. He has a deep prejudice against you, and I have tried my best, but unfortunately it has not changed much. Secretary Zhou is very self-motivated and has no intention of working in Ping An for too long. The county magistrate Wensheng is good, you have to go for a walk. ”

Yuan Jinpeng said: "Teacher Liu, after you left, no one in the team spoke for me. County Magistrate Chen doesn't know me yet, there is a process. But it doesn't matter, I'll stay in Fengling for a few more years. ”

Liu Zhenji thought for a while: "Jin Peng, we are a teacher-student relationship, there are some things that others can't say if they don't say anything, I'm leaving soon, I have a few words to say to you." From a personal point of view, you have the advantage of being in politics. You've had a good start in the past few years, and you've got a head start among your peers. If you're content with a director's position, you've basically succeeded. However, if you still want to go up and go further, then you must optimize your personality. On the surface, you are humble and courteous, but in fact, you are arrogant, and deep down you like to compare your real skills with the leader, and you don't look down on a few people in your bones. To tell the truth, it is taboo to be in officialdom. Remember, don't compare yourself to your leader at any time. Try to discover the good points of the leader, and only by admiring your leader from the bottom of your heart can you really have a good relationship with him. In addition, your skin is too thin, and you are not willing to bend down and bow your head to beg even if you are exhausted. Li Zongwu's "Thick Black Studies", you must have read it, it's not that you have to be cheeky and unscrupulous, the problem is that you don't ask for leadership, but you have to beg for you?! Having said that, sometimes you can't rush it, and the twisted melon is not sweet. When working in an administrative unit, you are not afraid of climbing slowly, but you are afraid of lying down and not moving. ”

Yuan Jinpeng admitted that Liu Zhenji was right: "Thank you, teacher!" I keep it in mind. ”

Liu Zhenji is still unsatisfied: "It is not easy to do rural work now, and it is particularly difficult to grasp the proportions, so we must think twice about everything. Professor Qiu said: A township party secretary named Li Changping in Jianli County, Hubei Province, wrote a letter to Premier Zhu, saying that the peasants are really poor, the rural areas are really miserable, and agriculture is really dangerous. However, even if the real situation at the grassroots level in the rural areas is heard from heaven to heaven, what can we do, and we should not expect any major changes in a year and a half. If we do not implement the tax-sharing system, the central government will not be able to strengthen its finances, and if the tax-sharing system is implemented, the finances of the backward areas will not be able to stand it, and this is a dilemma. ”

Yuan Jinpeng nodded: "Teacher, to be honest, the farmers are indeed very poor now, and there is nothing we can do to collect money and pick up grain." I don't know how long you can stay up if this continues. ”

"Don't worry, the sky won't fall. There is a novel called "Chinese Painting", have you read it? Liu Zhenji diverted the topic.

Yuan Jinpeng said: "I heard that there is such a novel, which is enough to be used as a textbook for officialdom, and it is all the rage, and almost everyone at the department level has a copy. I wanted to buy a copy, but I couldn't buy it everywhere, saying that it was banned. ”

Liu Zhenji went to the room to take "Chinese Painting" and gave it to Yuan Jinpeng: "I have a copy here, take it and take a look." Wang Yuewen was born as a secretary, and the novel is written very realistically, and the psychological description of the characters is especially in place. If you take a good look and think about it, you will definitely benefit a lot. ”

Sending away Liu Zhenji, who was proud of the spring breeze, life was still calm, and Yuan Jinpeng returned to Fengling Township in a huff. The monotonous and boring life began again, but fortunately, with a copy of "Chinese Painting" in hand, Yuan Jinpeng quickly immersed himself in it. If the monumental "White Deer Plain" once made him admire and obsessed, "Chinese Painting" had a great shock to his thoughts. He didn't expect that the novel would almost lay out many unknown secrets and tacit taboos in officialdom on the table in a realistic style, giving readers a hearty pleasure. The delicate and expressive description of the psychological activities of the characters has become the finishing touch of the book, and readers are all impressed. He involuntarily walked into the world of the protagonist Zhu Huaijing, Pi Deqiu, Mei Yuqin, Zhang Tianqi and others dangled in front of him, feeling that he and Zhu Huaijing had different life experiences, but they had the same heart and mind, and had the same hesitation and struggle. Of course, Zhu Huaijing is not Yuan Jinpeng, he doesn't have to work hard for the sesame things in the township like Yuan Jinpeng. No matter how like-minded Yuan Jinpeng and Zhu Huaijing were, they didn't have the opportunity to leisurely drink tea and read the newspaper in the spacious and bright buildings of the city.

On this morning, the hazy sky was torn open, and the sun broke through the fog and splashed on the damp earth. Yuan Jinpeng saw that the weather was good, invited Zhang Mujian, called the driver Xiao Liu, and went straight to Zhangfang Village, six kilometers away. This is a village of about seven or eight hundred people, with more than 2,000 acres of paddy fields scattered between the mountains and rivers, and is called the "granary" of Fengling Township. The peasants in Zhangfang Village are relatively wealthy, and in previous years they always took the lead in paying taxes and fees, but this year not only did they not take the lead, but they dragged the whole township back. Zhang Mujin is a cadre of Bao Village in this village, and he has made several trips in a row, with little success. In the end, Zhang Huasheng, the village party secretary, simply handed over his resignation letter to pick a child. Yuan Jinpeng knows that at present, no one in Zhangfang Village can replace Zhang Huasheng. This is the case in rural areas, in addition to character, qualifications and work ability, you must also consider the clan and family power, otherwise the work cannot be done.

Seeing that Yuan Jinpeng came to the door in person, Zhang Huasheng was not good at holding the shelf, so he hurriedly instructed his wife to boil water and pour tea, and kill chickens to welcome guests. Zhang Huasheng's question is actually not complicated. In previous years, the people of Zhangfang Village went up the mountain to cut down some trees and bamboos at this time, and they also paid the "double more than half" taxes and fees. This year, the situation has changed, and the township government has issued a ban on closing mountains and cultivating forests, and some ordinary people have lost their money to pay taxes and fees, so they have to drag it out. Here, the township government is in a hurry, and the cadres of the village committee are unwilling to take the money to pay in advance. Zhang Huasheng suddenly had no choice, so he wrote his resignation.

Yuan Jinpeng didn't take the initiative to talk about work or Zhang Huasheng's resignation, but just drank and did a lot of business.

After three rounds of drinking, Zhang Huasheng couldn't hold back: "Secretary Yuan, I didn't do my job well, you can choose another master." ”

Yuan Jinpeng picked up the wine glass and knocked on the wine glass in Zhang Huasheng's hand: "Lao Zhang, you are an old party member." You say, who are you going to push this stall to? ”

Zhang Huasheng was speechless for a while.

Yuan Jinpeng continued: "There are fifteen party members in Zhangfang Village, five under the age of 40, but three are working abroad. You have been a party secretary for six years, and you have only developed a total of two party members. If you want to let go now, who will take over? You have to train a successor. I know that as a secretary, you have suffered a lot of grievances. The work is difficult to do, the pay is low, and there is no rush. However, the eyes of the people of Zhangfang Village are bright, and your old Zhang has a high prestige in the village. People, sometimes you can't just look at how much money you make, you also have to have a spiritual pursuit. Now is the most difficult time for the rural grassroots level, and you, a veteran party member with 30 years of party experience, cannot escape from the battle! ”

Zhang Huasheng was a little embarrassed, lowered his head, and snorted: "Alas, it's not that I don't do it, it's that I can't do it well." Now the tax has only received more than 20 percent, and it is difficult to exceed half! ”

Yuan Jinpeng said sincerely: "When will you find someone more suitable than you and resign." We must insist on closing mountains and cultivating forests, and this point cannot be shaken, otherwise, in three or five years, everyone will drink the northwest wind. Now you have to get a good grasp of the work, collect taxes and fees first and then make it difficult, and mobilize party members, cadres, and peasant households that have always cooperated with the work to complete the task of taxes and fees for the whole year. Zhangfang Village is a grain-producing area, which has advantages in this regard, and the money advanced must be no problem. Cadres at all levels must not waver ideologically, and you must do a good job in the work of all village cadres and village group leaders, and form a joint force to tide over the difficulties together. ”

After eating, Yuan Jinpeng asked Zhang Huasheng to convene a meeting of village cadres, village group leaders, and party members at home to discuss problems and find solutions, unify understanding, and refine the task of tax collection to the person. After finishing these things, it was already more than five o'clock in the afternoon, Yuan Jinpeng and Zhang Mujin got up to say goodbye and left by car.

The car walked three or four kilometers, and suddenly heard a bang, Yuan Jinpeng was shocked, who is still hunting in broad daylight? asked Xiao Liu: "Is it the sound of the gun?" Which direction? ”

Xiao Liu tilted his head and recalled: "It seems to be the Lujialing toll station." ”

Yuan Jinpeng was skeptical: "Wait a minute, when you get to the road, don't go back to the township government, go to the toll station to have a look." Nothing will happen again, will it? ”