It was as if the fierce battle had stopped abruptly, and as if a storm had stopped. The dust that had covered the 60-kilometer construction site had disappeared. The clamor of excavators, loaders, mixers, and rollers that roared day and night stopped. The crowd that poured on the construction site disappeared overnight, and only the earth-shattering footsteps and the aftermath of the labor horn seemed to linger in the clear sky of September. The construction site no longer exists. A 60-meter-wide flat avenue paved entirely with high-grade cement is very real on the ancient land of Pingchuan. Standing on the high place of Times Building and Longfeng Mountain, this avenue is like a gorgeous and luxurious ribbon, loosely and elegantly winding around the ancient city of Pingchuan. Four national highways and seven provincial highways converge on the Ring Road. On the nine roundabouts leading to the city, there are nine majestic giant sculptures, which artistically reproduce the glory and dreams of the people of Pingchuan in front of today's ever-changing world.

On the eve of the completion of the entire ring road, Wu Mingxiong and Shu Huaru came to the construction site again.

Driving slowly on the wide avenue like a square, Wu Mingxiong said to Shu Huaru with emotion: "Old Shu, some things are like this, it seems difficult, even incredible, but if you really have to be ruthless and do it, it is not impossible to do it." During this period, I was sent to a large coal mine of the Pingchuan Mining Bureau for labor reform, and participated in the installation of an underground working face, which was thousands of tons of steel, and was installed in a coal hole full of muddy water, and the heaviest large pieces were dozens of tons. I thought it was incredible. But hundreds of worker comrades insisted on shouldering the task and completing the task. I was very impressed. ”

Shu Huaru smiled: "In this way, ***** for your big boss, it really touches the soul?" Is it necessary to do it once in seven or eight years? ”

Wu Mingxiong shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant. I am saying that any experience is beneficial to our lives, including the experience in a disaster. Another implication I would like to make is that the creativity of the masses of the people cannot be underestimated by us, the leaders, at any time and under any circumstances. A wise leader must do everything possible to fully tap the enthusiasm and creativity of the masses of the people. Otherwise, no matter how smart you are, even if you are a dragon, you won't be able to rain a few drops. ”

Shu Huaru said: "That's right. However, there is a premise for this. That is, the determination of you, the leader, and the will of the masses of the people are united; What you want to do must be what people really want to do, so that the creativity of the masses of the people can be brought into full play. You say, don't you? ”

Wu Mingxiong nodded and said: "This is an important premise, without this premise, everything is impossible." **During the period, how hard to cut the tail of capitalism? Can it be cut off? Not really. As soon as the Third Plenum opened, the peasants with the 'capitalist tail' were the first to rush to the forefront of China's political and economic reform, changing their own destiny and even the destiny of our entire China. ”

Shu Huaru asked: "At that time, did you ever cut someone's tail?" ”

Wu Mingxiong shook his head and said, "I'm not qualified." You may not know that I am one of the few deputy county-level cadres who were the last to be 'liberated' in the Pingchuan area, and I am in the same group as Chen Zhongyang. ”

Shu Huaru said: "I went to cut the tail and counted the chicken butts of each household every day." At that time, it was stipulated that each household was allowed to keep only three hens, and one more had to cut off the tail. In the village I went to, there was a paralyzed man who couldn't go to the field to earn work, so he raised a few more chickens and forced the people of the commune to catch and kill them all. As a result, the paralyzed man committed suicide by drinking pesticides that night, leaving behind a sentence when he died, 'I want to live, but the Communist Party won't let me live'. This incident shook me so much that I was shaken by the entire political ideology of the time. At that time, I thought, if we continue like this, one day the common people will rise up and rebel. ”

Wu Mingxiong said: "So, once in seven or eight years, it's really a big joke. Who brought it to you? Is it us, the cadres at all levels, or the masses below? How stupid. As a political party, after taking power, it did not do a good job in grasping the economy, did not want to grasp the overall national strength and the people's livelihood, and engaged in movements and class struggles every day, and in the end, the economy came to the brink of collapse, and the quality of the entire nation also seriously declined. Many of the problems we face today are still inherited from that era. Therefore, I have given a topic to the comrades of the Policy Research Office, that is, what is the basis for our behavior in this period of historical transition, when the old ideological system and values have collapsed and the new systems and concepts have not yet been completely established, from the planned economy to the market economy all at once? How can it be theoretically articulated. For example, the water of the ring road and the desert river in front of us was in the form of a people's war, and some people also said that we were engaged in a movement. Is there a hint of movement? It seems to be a little. Colorful flags are flying, gongs and drums are shaking the sky, I think about it. However, the essential difference here is that we are inspiring a spirit of large-scale construction, and we are solving two fundamental problems that have plagued us for a long time, and we need the full support of 10 million people to accomplish them. In the end, it will lay the foundation for the comprehensive take-off of Pingchuan's economy and the in-depth development of the market economy. ”

Shu Huaru exclaimed: "Secretary Wu, you always think about the problem so far-reaching. However, my idea is that these issues should be studied slowly by comrades engaged in research and comrades in theoretical circles. Let's not care about it, just try boldly, boldly break through, and the winner will not be blamed. Now, isn't there no one talking about water or roads anymore? Even Secretary Xie Xuedong has changed, saying that it is a bold creation for all of us to run water and for the whole party to run roads. This is what he said a few days ago, and Ju Tongan, director of our provincial office, brought it back. ”

Wu Mingxiong smiled with satisfaction and said, "So, I have been telling you that Secretary Xie still really cares about and supports our cause!" There are two forms of support, the old governor is shouting around, it is support; Secretary Xie raised questions and talked about opinions from another aspect, which is also a kind of support, let us always keep a clear head! ”

Shu Huaru smiled and asked, "Big boss, is what you said true or false?" ”

Wu Mingxiong said very seriously: "Of course it's my sincere words, do you still need to doubt it?!" ”

The car stopped before reaching Longfeng Mountain, and Wu Mingxiong and Shu Hua got out of the car.

Standing on a rock halfway up the mountain, Wu Mingxiong pointed to a large blank area surrounded by the brilliant lights of the ring road and said: "The next step is to plant buildings in these places, the ring road has expanded the urban area of our city from 78 square kilometers to 212 square kilometers, and this building is enough for us to plant for a few years." ”

Shu Huaru said: "I'm afraid it will take more than ten years to plant until the next century!" I think that for at least 50 years, the development space and living space of Pingchuan will allow us to stay. In this sense, it is undoubtedly the most revolutionary leap in the history of Pingchuan urban construction. ”

Wu Mingxiong said: "Let's not say this, let's let future generations say it!" Thousands of achievements have their own posterity to comment! Maybe our vision today is not big enough, and maybe our children and grandchildren will laugh at us when they talk about us today. Who knows?! Let's not brag, don't brag about political vision. When I was squatting in the cowshed, I didn't expect that China would have a new era of rapid economic development today! I, Wu Mingxiong, did not commit suicide when I was most desperate, not because I had seen today, but because I had a wife and three underage children who depended on each other. ”

- It is strange that on this glorious night when the Ring Road is about to be opened to traffic, Wu Mingxiong always thinks about those disastrous days from time to time—the disasters in his personal history and the disasters in the history of a nation.

When I got into the car again, it was already very late at night, and Wu Mingxiong was still in good spirits, asking the driver to speed up and speed up again.

The driver obeys the order to shift gears and accelerate.

The No. 0001 Audi sped on a smooth and uninhabited road, reaching a speed of 140 kilometers per hour in the blink of an eye.

Shu Huaru was a little scared and said, "Big boss, let's not play with our lives, we will cut the ribbon tomorrow morning." ”

Wu Mingxiong said: "My mayor, what are you afraid of? Let's just feel the quality of this road! After the opening of the road tomorrow, you don't feel like you have a chance. ”

However, the speed slowed down.

Wu Mingxiong was about to protest, but found that the road in front of him was full of burning lights and torches, and many people were noisy and shouting.

I don't know what's going on.

Wu Mingxiong and Shu Huaru glanced at each other in the car, and neither of them made a sound.

When the car arrived, the two got out of the car through the two doors, and then they saw that there were hundreds of people drinking on the road. Everyone sat in a pile of ten people around a few basins of dishes, and several large bowls full of wine were passed around in the crowd. Seeing that the secretary of the municipal party committee and the mayor came together, many people stood up and toasted Wu Mingxiong and Shu Huaru.

At this time, Deputy Mayor Yan Changqi and Ning Jin, Director of the Municipal Transportation Bureau, arrived and reported to Wu Mingxiong and Shu Huaru: "The acceptance of the whole line just ended an hour ago, and our headquarters and the Municipal Transportation Bureau invited the captains of the construction teams in various counties and cities and the representatives of the model workers who stayed to participate in the completion of tomorrow's completion and ribbon cutting to drink a celebration wine!" ”

Wu Mingxiong said: "Okay, good, this celebration wine should be drunk." ”

Shu Huaru said with a smile: "Lao Yan, Lao Ning, you are really, if you want to drink, find a good time and a good place to drink, and drink on this road in the middle of the night, can you have fun?!" ”

Ning Jin, director of the transportation bureau, said: "It was everyone who proposed to drink here, and everyone has too deep feelings for this high-standard road they have built!" He also said that the ribbon will be cut at dawn, and he can't sleep when he goes back, so it is better to use the night sky as a roof and the earth as a wine table, and drink to relieve fatigue. ”

Wu Mingxiong clapped his hands and shouted: "What a night sky as a roof, and the earth as a wine table!" It's a big deal! I think it can be compared to Mr. Liu Bang's "Song of the Great Wind" by Mr. Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty. Isn't it, comrades? ”

In the crowd, there was immediately a construction captain who recited through wine:

The wind is blowing and the clouds are flying,

Weijia Hai Nei Xi returned to his homeland,

Ande warriors guard all sides.

Wu Mingxiong said to the road builders under the stars and moon in the night sky: "Today's warriors are you!" You have turned the historical aspirations of the people of Pingchuan into reality, and in one fell swoop pushed the per capita road area of our urban area in Pingchuan to the first place among all cities in our province and to the top five in the country! Today, Mayor Shu and I, on behalf of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Party Committee respectively, toast everyone with a glass of wine and say to the comrades for their hard work! ”

Holding up a large bowl full of wine, Wu Mingxiong and Shu Huaru took a big sip.

The road was boiling, and hundreds of people stood up and drank the wine in their bowls.

Shu Huaru also said at this time: "The construction of the ring road is just the beginning, there are still many things to do in the future, and the task is still very heavy." Just now, Secretary Wu also told me that the next step is to plant a building in the ring road. Whoever will plant it will have to work together to plant it. We also have to carry out the reconstruction of the roads in the city, and we also need to turn the stinky water left by the collapse of the Sankong Bridge into a new West Lake, so that the water of Daze Lake will ripple in our new West Lake. We still have a lot of things to do! Comrades, today is the end and the beginning! ”

It was really an unforgettable night, Wu Mingxiong thought, maybe tonight's blood would stain Pingchuan red for countless dawns in the future.