An indescribable sense of loneliness permeated and accumulated in the depths of Zhou Qiushui's heart, like an uncontrollable air current, constantly rising and stirring. He stood in front of the window, his expression solemn, his eyes staring straight at the increasingly thick night gradually swallowing up the qiē outside the window, his thoughts were chaotic, remembering a hunt when he was a child. The long guns of the father and the second uncle rang out one after another, and several hunting dogs rushed out with blood, like a lightning bolt, and the big wild boar covered in blood suddenly turned around and quickly crashed into him. The red that jumps and runs is the blood that is gushing, and the green that sways and flutters is the branches and leaves of the bushes. His eyes widened in astonishment, and the moment the blood from the boar's neck spurted onto him, the mighty boar fell like a mountain. The pole and rope slipped from his hands, his face was pale, cold sweat flowed, and the breath exhaled from his nose smelled of blood—it was the breath of death! He was thirteen years old that year, and his life was almost frozen in this seemingly scattered time. This terrifying image was deeply embedded in his mind, and whenever he was excited, nervous, and frightened, it ejected like a racing car that accelerated suddenly.

The high pole lights in the square not far away are lit, adding a bit of noise and commotion to the night sky of the town. A few beams of beige light pierced through the glass, shining on his thick black hair, interrupting his thoughts. He closed the curtains and pressed the switch on the wall. The soft white light spread through the room, making the red paper clip on the desk particularly eye-catching. He returned to his desk step by step, sat down slowly, and absentmindedly flipped through the folder.

It's a tricky puzzle! What he was most annoyed about was that he hadn't heard anything before. As the main leader of the county party committee, he thinks that he has enough ability to control the situation, and he does not dare to say that he has everything under control, at least he has grasped the major policies of the county and the political and ideological trends of the members of the leading group. Now it seems, no, the results of the general election of the county committee members that ended a few days ago show that he is overconfident. The feeling of loneliness hit my heart again, like walking alone in the endless desert at sunset, lonely and helpless. What forces led the current county people's congress meeting astray? Could it be that all four sets of team members are kept in the dark? Knowing that there is a change, but watching the fire from the other side, so that he knows nothing and is caught off guard, what is his intention?

According to the agenda of the meeting, the list of candidates will be discussed and brewed in the afternoon. Usually, it's just a routine session of the National People's Congress to set the stage for tomorrow's elections. However, before adjourning the meeting in the afternoon, the Secretariat received three joint nominations from representatives. The delegations of Panasonic Town, Lingang Town, and Xiangyang Town respectively nominated Liao Yingsheng, Chen Leshan, and Tan Yangchun as candidates for deputy county magistrates. This was tantamount to dropping a bombshell on the conference, and there was a lot of discussion about it immediately. Previously, after careful consideration and selection, the county party committee determined Hu Linsheng, deputy director of the agriculture and industry department of the county party committee, as the candidate for the differential election, and the 12 deputies to the National People's Congress jointly nominated to complete the relevant procedures.

An accident occurred in the general election of Ping'an County five years ago, and a deputy county magistrate was defeated, and the accompanying candidate was elected deputy county magistrate in earnest. Once bitten by a snake, he was afraid of the well rope for ten years. Zhou Qiushui deliberated again and again and decided to hand over this glorious task to Hu Linsheng. Accompanied by him, foolproof. After graduating from the normal school, Hu Linsheng was assigned to work in the office of the county party committee, and a few years later, he was promoted to the secretary of the party committee of Suhu Town as the deputy director of the office. The main body of county people's congress deputies are rural cadres, and such bookish cadres cannot get a few votes. Guan Chong, member of the Standing Committee of the county party committee and head of the organization department, talked to Hu Linsheng, and Hu Linsheng said briskly, "The minister can rest assured that the task will be completed", which made Guan Chong cry and laugh. Now that there are three candidates, they are still the "princes" who are sitting on one side, how can they not make Zhou Qiushui angry? Once the election results do not match the intentions of the higher-level organization, the main leaders of the county party committee are the first responsible persons! This is not only a question of taking responsibility, but also shows that he, as a "squad leader", is not competent enough and lacks sufficient control over the overall situation. He didn't have much time to think about it, no matter what, to make sure the election wasn't derailed. After adjourning the meeting in the afternoon, he assigned two deputy secretaries of the county party committee and the secretary of the county discipline inspection commission to lead a team to talk to Liao Yingsheng, Chen Leshan, and Tan Yangchun, and explicitly asked them to take the initiative to give up their candidacy.

More than an hour passed, and there was still no news. It seems that the conversation did not go well. He couldn't help but be worried, and he had to accompany these "ancestors" to eat and boil slowly. He grabbed the phone and dialed the "big brother" of the county magistrate Xie Jianping. "Big Brother" is a colloquial name for analog mobile phones. It is said that the name is derived from Cantonese, and in some Hong Kong police and gangster films, the older members of the triad are generally referred to as "Big Brother", and the leader is called "Big Brother". Because these "big brothers" often appear on the screen with mobile phones in their hands, people call mobile phones "big brothers". In October last year, Ping'an County opened a mobile communication network, and some leaders secretly configured this kind of new gadget for more than 10,000 yuan a piece.

At this time, Xie Jianping was drinking with the deputies of the county people's congress, flying drunk and drunk, so lively.

In early spring, it is warm and cold. When the meeting adjourned at five o'clock, the sky was gray and the breeze carried a chill. After the meeting changed, Xie Jianping immediately contacted Zhou Qiushui. They agreed that Xie Jianping would not change according to the established plan and accompany the deputies to eat and drink well in the evening. Zhou Qiushui sent people to do the ideological work of Liao Yingsheng and several people. Before going to the table and drinking, Xie Jianping learned that things had not made any progress, and none of the three of them let go of their candidacy. He vaguely felt that the situation was serious, but at this time he had no time to take care of it, and it was imperative to grasp the atmosphere of drinking at night. Usually, the dinner is the day before the election. The leaders of the county people's congress, the county government, and the two chiefs of the law and procuratorate took turns to toast at each table, communicate their feelings, and win votes. For those who know the roots, a glass of wine may not do much. But when you meet strangers, wine is a bridge, and a glass of wine may be a table of votes. There is no risk in the equal election of county magistrates. However, the number of votes is an eye-catching hard indicator, and even if you can't be elected unanimously, you shouldn't lose too many votes, otherwise, you won't look good. What's more, there is an abnormality at the moment, and how to drink this meal is even more important.

Box No. 1 is the largest box in the county government guest house, with a capacity of more than 20 people. In addition to Xie Jianping, there were also Wang Yeqin, director of the county people's congress, Xu Huaqiang, Huang Tao, deputy county magistrates, Lin Hao, director of the people's congress office, Zou Kemin, director of the government office, and more than ten heads of delegations. used to drink alcohol, mostly others toasted, and Xie Jianping returned the salute. The night was different, as soon as he sat down, he attacked frequently. First to Wang Yeqin, and then to the heads of delegations. Everyone drank and chatted, but no one mentioned tomorrow's election, just some current political news topics. For example, the formation of the Hong Kong Garrison, or the crisis in the Taiwan Strait, especially the just-concluded missile test launches and military exercises.

The atmosphere was not lively enough, Xie Jianping said: "I'll tell you a joke and give everyone a drink." ”

Huang Tao immediately applauded and responded: "Good, good!" ”。 The others applauded.

Xie Jianping habitually pushed the tortoiseshell glasses on the bridge of his nose, slowed down his speech and said: "In the mountains, there is a female bear, very strong. At the foot of the mountain, there lives a hunter who has always wanted to hunt this she-bear. The first time he went up the mountain, he not only did not catch the female bear, but was beaten to the ground and raped by the female bear. The hunter was ashamed and angry, and after a few days of rest, he went up the mountain again, only to be wounded again and raped again. After the hunter limped home, he recuperated with peace of mind, and when his body was fully recovered, he went up the mountain again, and when the mother bear saw him, she laughed and asked, "Are you here to hunt or to send warmth?" ”

Before Xie Jianping finished speaking, there was already laughter in the box, and some people leaned forward and laughed with their stomachs pressed against their stomachs.

At this time, Xie Jianping's "big brother" rang, and it was Zhou Qiushui on the other end of the phone. He told Xie Jianping that the current situation is not optimistic, and they went out together in the evening, talking to the three people one by one and having a showdown.

Put away "Big Brother", Xie Jianping still chatted and drank with everyone, as if nothing happened. But careful people saw that he accelerated the pace of socializing, sat in box No. 1 for a while, and went out to toast with a cup, accompanied by Zou Kemin.

Xie Jianping was a little apprehensive. He is a rational and thoughtful person who is accustomed to preparing for the worst when encountering difficult problems and finding the right entry point. Judging from the personal relationship alone, he gets along well with Liao Yingsheng, Chen Leshan, and Tan Yangchun. But the relationship is a relationship, and at this moment of stake, he does not dare to convince the other party lightly. He even thought that once it got out of control, who among the several deputy county magistrates of the county government would lose the election? Is it Xu Huaqiang, the executive deputy county magistrate? In addition, he felt that Zhou Qiushui arranged for Liao Yingsheng, Chen Leshan, and Tan Yangchun to drink and eat together in the evening, which was a bit inappropriate. If they come to an offensive and defensive alliance, things will be out of control. He felt that he should end the entertainment here as much as possible and rush to the county party committee canteen, so that he could at least ease the antagonism between Liao Yingsheng and a few people.

However, Xie Jianping was unable to leave the county government guest house at the scheduled time. While toasting in the restaurant, a man was killed halfway through and dragged him down. Table 6 of the restaurant sits the deputies of the People's Congress of Fengling Township. Fengling Township is located in the southernmost part of Ping'an County, with vast land and sparsely populated areas, high mountains and dense forests. There used to be South China tigers, and the traffic was inconvenient, and a five-meter-wide gravel road was interrupted every three forks. Lan Shunsheng is the party branch secretary of Tiger Brain Village, Fengling Township, in his forties, with an upright temperament and a voice like a bell. Before Xie Jianping came, he drank five or six taels of liquor, his dark face gradually turned the color of pig liver, and his head was snorting hot.

Xie Jianping had just walked to table No. 6, and before he could speak, Lan Shunsheng suddenly stood up and shouted, "County Magistrate Xie, I have an opinion on your county government!" ”

Wang Lide, the head of Fengling Township, hurriedly left the table, stepped behind Lan Shunsheng in one step, pressed his shoulders with both hands, and scolded in a low voice: "What are you crazy again, sit down for me!" ”

Xie Jianping smiled slightly and waved his hand at Wang Lide: "Lide, it's okay not to let the people's congress deputies reflect the situation, let him say it." ”

Lan Shunsheng stood up happily: "That's it, I complained to the county magistrate." In May last year, County Magistrate Huang patted his chest and said that the bridge at the entrance of our village would be repaired within half a year, and now it has been almost a year, and the shadow of the bridge cannot be seen. The flood is coming, and the small cedar bridge in the river will be washed away at any moment. When the time comes, how will we get out of the village? ”

Xie Jianping remembered that Huang Tao had reported to him last year about the construction of the bridge in Tiger Brain Village, when he asked Huang Tao to take the road of poverty alleviation project funds, but he didn't know what happened later. The bell must be tied to the bell, and he said to Zou Kemin: "You let the county magistrate Huang Tao come here." ”

Seeing Huang Tao coming over, Lan Shunsheng tore his throat and explained: "County Magistrate Huang, it's not me who complains, it's really impossible to do anything, the mountain flood will come in a few days, I'm afraid that something will happen, and it will be over if you soak people to death." ”

Huang Tao smiled on his face: "The complaint is good, it's okay if you don't beat people after drinking alcohol!" ”

When everyone heard this, they laughed.

Xie Jianping asked: "How much is this project, why hasn't it been approved?" ”

"The money is not much, more than 800,000 yuan, and when I was countersigning in the region, I was stuck by Director Qiu of the Planning Commission." Huang Tao said, looking helpless.

Xie Jianping said briskly: "I'll come to him, let's go after the meeting." ”

Huang Tao said with a smile: "Lao Lan, the county magistrate personally went out, now you can rest assured." ”

Lan Shunsheng filled the cup with wine and brought it to Xie Jianping: "County magistrate, on behalf of the people of Tiger Brain Village, I toast you with a glass, thank you so much!" ”

Xie Jianping grabbed Lan Shunsheng: "Old Lan, you can't drink like this, it hurts your body." The bridge thing, we go to run. But you can't count on Shimbashi this year, so you have to be prepared. ”

Lan Shunsheng took Xie Jianping's hand away and poured the wine down his throat in one go: "Thank you county magistrate, our whole village is grateful to the county magistrate!" ”

Xie Jianping has always been refreshing when drinking, and he was infected by the atmosphere, so he drank all the liquor in the cup.

Huang Tao lost no time in applauding vigorously, so everyone applauded, and there was a round of applause in the restaurant.