When he got off the bus at Xiushan Erdaoliangzi, Li Dongfang noticed that Zhong Mingren, secretary of the provincial party committee, was not quite right, pale as paper, a layer of fine sweat oozed from Xie Ding's head and forehead, one hand was always propped up under his left ribs, and his steps were slow and heavy. Zhong Mingren was wearing square-framed sunglasses, and no one could see the pain in his eyes, but Li Dongfang clearly felt that this fifty-eight-year-old feudal official was suffering from some kind of illness.

No one around him dared to mention this stubble, and the big boss didn't like people to pay special attention to his health.

On the mountain beam of Erdaoliangzi, Zhong Mingren took off his sunglasses, condescendingly looked at the desolate scenery with no grass in the distance, and looked at it for four or five minutes before turning around and saying to Li Dongfang, who was standing behind him: "Comrade Dongfang, take a look, ah?" Isn't our Xiushan a bit of an artistic conception of 'the desert is lonely and the smoke is straight, and the sun sets over the long river'? ”

Li Dongfang said: "Secretary Zhong, this artistic conception is not so wonderful as a living environment. ”

Zhong Mingren sighed softly: "Yes, yes, the precipitation is already small, and I haven't paid attention to protecting vegetation in the past few decades, and the land is completely desertified, so how can the people live!" Therefore, to fundamentally solve the problem of Xiushan, it is necessary to immigrate, the tree is dead, and the person is alive! After a pause, he instructed, "After we go back, we must sum up the experience of immigrants in the past, and this time there must be no reversal of the phenomenon under any circumstances." It is necessary to move well, to be stable, to live firmly, and to strive to relocate all 180,000 impoverished people in Xiushan area to the suburbs of Xiajiang City within three to five years! ”

Li Dongfang responded again and again: "Okay, okay, Secretary Zhong, we will definitely follow the instructions of you and the provincial party committee!" ”

Zhong Mingren looked around and found that Qian Fanxing hadn't come: "Hey, what about you Mayor Qian?" Why didn't you come? ”

Li Dongfang said cautiously: "Secretary Zhong, Mayor Qian is studying the planning plan of Times Avenue at home. ”

Zhong Mingren sighed and turned the topic to Times Avenue: "It's a good thing for you to go to Times Avenue, you must go up if you have the conditions, and you must always make political achievements and do practical things." However, I also give you a reminder: don't spread too big, and don't brag about not falling behind for decades! You say that if you don't lag behind, you won't lag behind? What is the basis for the decision? With such a large scale, where is the funding? The people's power must not be overused, and we must do what we can! ”

Li Dongfang heard the dissatisfaction in Zhong Mingren's words, and couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart: This Qian Fanxing is simply asking for trouble! Everywhere he went these days, he was blowing on the Avenue of the Times, and the new plan must have reached Zhong Mingren's ears. Secretary Zhong is the big boss of Xichuan Province, and he made a plan for Times Avenue as early as ten years ago. I wanted to explain to Zhong Mingren: Their new plan is based on the old plan, and it is still in the retreat demonstration stage, and nothing has been decided. But he couldn't interject. When Li Dongfang hesitated for a moment, Zhong Mingren had already thrown off Li Dongfang five steps away and chatted with Chen Xiutang, secretary of the Xiushan Prefectural Party Committee.

Zhong Mingren said: "Xiutang, you have suffered hardships in the past few years, and it is not easy to be the number one in a poor place, right?" ”

Chen Xiutang said with a smile: "Big boss, it's fine after the immigration work is completed, and now it's finally bright." ”

Zhong Mingren also smiled: "Oh, so you used to live in the dark?" ”

Chen Xiutang looked at Zhong Mingren hesitantly: "Big boss, do you want to listen to me tell the truth?" ”

Zhong Mingren stopped: "Hey, you comrade asks a strange question, of course you want you to tell the truth!" ”

Chen Xiutang said: "To tell the truth, we are living in darkness!" Big boss, you have seen along the way, there is not even grass growing on this desertified land, it is difficult for people and animals to draught, and there are no minimum living conditions at all, so it is long overdue to emigrate, but it is not until today that the resettlement project is officially put on the agenda......"

Li Dongfang interjected with a smile: "Hey, Comrade Xiutang, you don't have a conscience when you say this, right?" The provincial party committee didn't worry about you Xiushan, the immigration pilot work was launched as early as eight years ago, and I remember when the big boss first became the secretary of the provincial party committee! More than 13,000 people were relocated to two townships in that pilot project, but the result was good, and more than 9,000 people ran back in less than two years. ”

Chen Xiutang glanced at Li Dongfang: "Secretary Li, I don't know much about the situation you said, I was still in the research office of the provincial party committee eight years ago." Later, I heard from the veteran comrades in the group that the situation here was rather complicated, and there were not only factors that the villagers could not leave their homeland, but also problems in resettlement. Most of the cultivated land allocated to our migrant villages has not been implemented, and the phenomenon of ripping is serious, and the villagers have no land to plant, so what should we do if we don't go back?! ”

Zhong Mingren was quite surprised: "Comrade Xiutang, why didn't you Xiushan reflect this situation earlier?" ”

Chen Xiutang smiled bitterly: "It is said that I don't know how many times I have reflected, even I thought that your big boss knew!" ”

Zhong Mingren snorted and laughed at himself: "What do I know? Those kind-hearted comrades care about me, but haven't they all pushed for me? With a wave of his hand, "Now it's decided: if there is another situation, you can come to me directly!" ”

Li Dongfang knew that Chen Xiutang would really find the big boss when he was in trouble, and he and Qian Fanxing would not have a good life, so he hurriedly grabbed the conversation: "Secretary Zhong, this situation will never happen again, Comrade Xiutang, if you encounter problems that are difficult to solve in the future, you just have to find me and Mayor Qian, we will not push it, our team is responsible." ”

Zhong Mingren had a calm face and pointed at Li Dongfang: "Comrade Dongfang, I have written down what you said, ah?!" ”

When he said this, Zhong Mingren's body involuntarily tilted to the side, and the hand supported under his left rib trembled.

Chen Xiutang asked, "Secretary Zhong, are you ...... What's wrong with you? Is there something uncomfortable? ”

Zhong Mingren smiled, barely straightened up, and cheered up: "It's nothing, it's nothing, I'm sick." ”

Talking all the way, I arrived at Erdaoliangzi Village. Many grizzled adults and children gathered around, looking at them in a daze. These adults and children were all ragged and glazed-eyed, and none of them showed awe of the officials. Chen Xiutang explained to Zhong Mingren that there is no electricity in the village, and the villagers can't watch TV, and they may not know each other when **** comes. Li Dongfang was furious when he was seen by these people, and he thought, God, what should I do if all these 180,000 poor people moved to the boundary of his gorge and river? !

Zhong Mingren didn't seem to have this kind of worry, his mood was okay, under the numb gaze of the villagers, he looked around, and waved his hand at the crowded place from time to time, looking like a mature politician.

Next to a row of water cellars in the north of the village, Zhong Mingren stopped, pointed to one of the water cellars, and asked Chen Xiutang beside him: "Comrade Xiutang, is this a grain cellar or a vegetable cellar?" ”

Chen Xiutang reported: "Oh, big boss, this is neither a grain cellar nor a vegetable cellar, but a water cellar. Every family has one, and the ice and snow in winter are accumulated, and people and animals have to drink for a year. ”

Zhong Mingren frowned: "What if there is little snowfall in any winter, or if there is no snowfall?" ”

Chen Xiutang said: "Then we will send tankers and fire trucks from Xiushan City to deliver water from village to village." Big boss, there was a joke here: even the donkeys here know our tankers, and when they are thirsty, they can run for miles after the tankers! Whoever in the village is about to lose their donkey, the villagers say: Chase the oil truck! ”

The accompanying officials, big and small, burst into laughter, and Li Dongfang couldn't help laughing.

Zhong Mingren couldn't laugh, sighed, shook his head, and walked forward with heavy steps.

At this time, a middle-aged man in a military coat came up to Li Dongfang: "Comrade, where did you come from?" ”

Li Dongfang noticed that the middle-aged man's military coat was not very worn, but it was dirty, the sleeves and placket were like the sharpening cloth of an old-fashioned barbershop, and the cotton wool in the coat was also hollowed out. Li Dongfang didn't answer the middle-aged man's question, but asked the middle-aged man: "Fellow, this military coat on your body is from relief, right?" ”

The middle-aged man nodded: "It was relieved last autumn, and each family issued one for the winter!" ”

Li Dongfang said: "What about the cotton in the military coat? After the winter, you must have changed your wine and drank it, right? ”

The middle-aged man smiled a little embarrassedly: "More than two catties of new cotton were replaced with a bottle of sorghum roast, and I was fooled, and the old Liu family in front of me changed two bottles, hey, comrade, where did you guys come from?" Are you here to find out the situation and send us relief? ”

Li Dongfang waved his hand and chased Zhong Mingren forward: "Don't ask, we're not here to send relief!" ”

The middle-aged man was a little surprised: "Hey, comrade, don't hide it from me!" We are a national-level impoverished area here, and we have to send relief every spring, and even people from the United Nations have come to see it! We are so poor that we don't even have chopsticks to eat! ”

Li Dongfang snorted and sneered: "Then grab it with your hands, you are the birthplace of the ancient kingdom of Xichuan, and there is a tradition of pilaf in history, I know this situation!" ”

Catching up with Zhong Mingren, he arrived at a broken cave, and he saw a situation that was worse than pilaf: the fellow was eating, and four bare-bottomed children were lying on the edge of the kang like pigs drinking black mush. Not only did there be no chopsticks, not even a bowl, and a trough was made on the edge of the clay kang, and over time, the trough became black and bright, like a layer of glaze. In front of everyone, the children's appetite was not affected in the slightest, and they ate happily and slurped, and after eating, their little heads moved wildly, and the residual juice in the trough was also licked away.

What Li Dongfang didn't expect was that the four children were all healthy, and they were all meaty.

Li Dongfang said to Chen Xiutang in a dialect: "Comrade Xiutang, the poverty here is not the same as the poverty in Africa, it has a bit of Chinese characteristics!" Although they are poor, they all drink so much that their faces are red, and even the cotton in the military coat can be taken out to exchange for wine and drink! These children are not bad, they have no clothes on their bodies and oil in their stomachs! ”

Before Chen Xiutang could react, Zhong Mingren spoke first, looked at Li Dongfang, and said in a rather stern tone: "Why do you comrade talk like this?" Yes?! After more than 20 years of reform and opening up, we in Xichuan and the whole of China have undergone earth-shaking changes, but the Xiushan area has not yet solved the problem of food and clothing, and we all have unshirkable responsibilities! From now on, the first one to be responsible is me, and the second one is you Li Dongfang! 180,000 people have migrated to Xiajiang, and their poverty alleviation work will have to be done by you and the Xiajiang Municipal Party Committee! His eyes moved away from Li Dongfang, and he glanced at the broken cave with no skin and no seats on the wall, and his tone eased a little, "The situation is so serious, I really didn't expect it!" Comrade Dongfang, I think the speed of immigration should be accelerated, and the intensity should also be increased! Think about it, can the number of immigrants increase from 50,000 to 80,000 this year? Come up with an opinion and report it to the provincial party committee as soon as possible! ”

It's really unlucky. Li Dongfang didn't expect that a few sarcastic words against Chen Xiutang would cause the big boss to lose his temper again, and it was in front of so many people. What's even worse is that 50,000 immigrants this year are enough for him, but this time it has become 80,000 people, and I really don't know how to live in the future.

Li Dongfang dared to be angry but did not dare to speak. The big boss has a very high prestige in and outside the province, and his words are the highest instructions in Xichuan, and they must be implemented if they are understood, and they must be implemented if they are not understood. Immediately, he complained that he was too frivolous, and he was a little confused as soon as he sat in the position of the number one in Xiajiang: how could he make such an inappropriate remark on such an occasion?! In this kind of visit to the poor, you have to be heartbroken, and you seem to have a heavier heart than the big boss. I laughed at myself in my heart, Comrade Dongfang, at your level, you still want to be promoted to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee in the capacity of the secretary of the Xiajiang Municipal Party Committee according to historical practice? Rest and rest!

At this time, the accompanying provincial TV reporter was carrying a camera and shooting at the broken cave. Zhong Mingren pulled the man's hand and asked the man to pay attention to the issue of family planning very kindly. Zhong Mingren said, you can't be poorer and poorer, the poorer you are, the poorer you are, the poorer you are! After that, he patted the man's shoulder affectionately. The man also told the truth, saying that many relief is calculated according to the capitation, and if there are more people, you will not suffer when you receive relief.

Zhong Mingren immediately criticized Chen Xiutang: "Look, there is a problem with your work ideas!" ”

Chen Xiutang complained bitterly and said: "Big boss, what do you say? You can't starve all these superborn people to death, can you? The situation in Xiushan is relatively special, and the minority population accounts for half of the population. Internationally, I have always been very concerned, and some international relief organizations talk to you about human rights at every turn, and always talk about our family planning policy. ”

Zhong Mingren got up and walked out the door: "Don't ignore them, our position is very clear, human rights are first and foremost the right to survival and the right to development!" At the door, when walking in front of several bare-bottomed children, Zhong Mingren bent down, touched the bare head of one of the children, and asked kindly, "Little guy, what are you going to do when you grow up?" Yes? The little guy didn't think about it, so he said clearly: "Eat relief." Zhong Mingren was stunned and embarrassed.

This time, no one around him dared to laugh, including Li Dongfang, who wanted to laugh the most.

When he went back, Zhong Mingren beckoned and motioned for Li Dongfang to get into his car and walk with him all the way.

Li Dongfang knew that the big boss might have something to say to him, so he got into Zhong Mingren's car nervously.

The big boss was obviously in poor health, as soon as he got into the car, he seemed to be paralyzed, didn't say a word, leaned back on the back of the chair and gasped and closed his eyes to recuperate. Li Dongfang wanted to persuade the big boss to pay attention to his body, but when the words came to his mouth, he still didn't dare to say it. He is not Chen Xiutang, he has never been a secretary to a big boss, no matter how he says it, it is not good. A while ago, there was a rumor that the big boss was not in good health and wanted to retire to the second line, and the big boss was very angry and lost his temper at a meeting in the province.

But the big boss said it himself, his tone was heavy, revealing a certain helplessness: "Comrade Dongfang, my body is really worse day by day, I ran to Xiushan, and I didn't walk much, so I was tired like this!" ”

Li Dongfang pretended to smile lightly: "I also said that I didn't run much, from Xiajiang to Xiushan for 240 kilometers, and went to three points, even I can't bear it, big boss, I see that your body is not bad!" ”

Zhong Mingren waved his hand: "Don't talk about my body, let's talk about immigration." Dongfang, we are old comrades of a team, when I presided over the work in Xiajiang, you were the deputy mayor, right? Seems to be the youngest one, right? ”

Li Dongfang said indifferently: "I was young at the time, and I am not young now, I am old, and I am fifty-two." ”

Zhong Mingren said: "Old what? Fifty-two to sixty, there are still eight years to do, what are you doing in these eight years? You have your work ideas, I don't interfere, but there is one thing: in the first three years, you must be determined to help me solve the immigration problem in Haoxiushan. Last year, on behalf of the provincial party committee, I promised the central authorities that the Xiushan problem would be resolved within three to five years! If I don't solve the Xiushan problem, I won't be blind! ”

Li Dongfang hurriedly said: "Big boss, I and Mayor Qian both know your wish, we will work hard!" ”

Zhong Mingren looked out the window, as if he hadn't heard Li Dongfang's words, and said to himself: "I ran around like this today, and when I looked at it, I really didn't feel good in my heart!" The situation seems to be much more serious than originally thought! The most serious thing in my opinion is not poverty, but the human spirit! What's wrong? Yes? Babbling children grow up to only know how to eat relief! Not only do you have to do a good job of immigration, but you also have to rebuild their spirits! Xiushan was the birthplace of the ancient kingdom of Xichuan, where did the spirit of Luoyang, the ancestor of Xiushan people, go to Luoyang? You're going to get it back! ”

Li Dongfang's heart was hot: "Big boss, your instructions are too timely, and this is exactly what I want to say!" ”

Zhong Mingren narrowed his eyes again: "Jin Ge Iron Horse is in a dream, standing in Erdaoliang, Dongfang, who do you think I remember?" Somehow, I remembered Professor He Mengqiang, the father of Comrade Jiaguo. Professor He wrote a book "Manuscript of the History of the Ancient Kingdom of Xichuan" before, but it was killed before it was published. Now I don't know where this manuscript is? Find it, arrange publication as soon as possible, and let our comrades take a good look at it! This will be beneficial to understanding our Xichuan humanities and history, invigorating our spirits, and forging ahead. When he opened his eyes, he gave a special explanation, "Oh, I think I can ask Comrade He Jiaguo to do this work, the son inherits his father's business, tell this madman: Don't forget your ancestors, your ancestors can't be lost!" ”

Li Dongfang responded again and again: "Okay, okay, I will tell my comrades in the country when I go back and ask him to arrest this matter." ”

Zhong Mingren followed this topic and talked about the appointment of He Jiaguo, and his tone became more and more easy-going: "Comrade Dongfang, by the way, I have read the report of your municipal party committee, and I have asked everyone to discuss it at the standing committee of the provincial party committee, and agree with your opinion: To further emancipate the mind on the issue of employing people, I will hire He Jiaguo as the mayor's assistant for a period of three years, and the document has already been issued. However, Comrade Dongfang, I also said the ugly things in the front: You and Comrade Fanxing should not be led by the nose by this madman, this is Xichuan in China, not Harvard in the United States, nor Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and we must pay attention to the national conditions and our Chinese characteristics in everything and everywhere! ”

Li Dongfang suppressed the joy in his heart: "Big boss, don't worry, we will grasp these proportions!" ”

Zhong Mingren thought for a while, and said in a consultative tone: "Dongfang, you and Comrade Fan Xing think about it, should you let He Jiaguo be in charge of immigration work after he arrives?" He Lao Tzu has studied the ancient kingdom of Xichuan all his life, and his family and country first grasp immigrants, and then engage in the tourism development of the ancient kingdom, I think it is still very suitable! Yes? ”

Li Dongfang said with a smile: "Big boss, you are really good at knowing people, let him do chores, but how dare I rest assured?" If you even say something that you don't even look at, I will have to arrest the immigrants myself! Comrades from the country should familiarize themselves with the situation first! ”

Zhong Mingren didn't insist: "It's okay to do chores first, run more, do some practical things, don't look at people who don't have to work hard!" ”

After that, the big boss didn't say anything anymore, just took a few pills with mineral water, and slept all the way.

Li Dongfang also squinted and took a nap, but he didn't even feel confused for a moment. The daughter-in-law has become a mother-in-law for many years, and now, he has finally become the leader of the provincial capital city of Xiajiang. However, the temporary satisfaction of power is followed by endless troubles. This trouble is still inexplicable, even if you say it, I am afraid that others will not understand it. There may be only one person who can really understand, and that is He Jiaguo, even though he is a fanatic.

Just thinking about it like this, the phone in the duty room of the municipal party committee called the mobile phone, saying that there was another accident in the international industrial park, and Lu Chengwei, secretary of the Qinghu Municipal Party Committee, came to the door, and Qian Fanxing suggested that the meeting place in the afternoon should be changed. Li Dongfang didn't mind the change of meeting place, but was worried about the serious consequences of pollution, so he pressed his voice and repeatedly asked about the situation.

Despite suppressing his voice, Zhong Mingren was awakened and asked, "Comrade Dongfang, what's wrong?" ”

Li Dongfang saw that Zhong Mingren was alarmed, so he didn't dare to ask, turned off his mobile phone, and covered up: "Secretary Zhong, it's nothing, it's really nothing, I ran into a little trouble,—— such a big city, it's inevitable that there will be a little trouble......

At this time, a dust storm suddenly broke out on the sandy ground outside the car. The windshield crackled with the wind and sand. The sky and the earth were yellow, and the road ahead became cloudy. For safety reasons, the driver first slowed down, and later, simply stopped the car. Li Dongfang was worried about the pollution of the Xiajiang River, and he was so anxious that he couldn't wait to fly back, but he didn't dare to show it on his face, and he pretended to be smiling against his will, and from time to time accompanied Zhong Mingren to say something without oil and salt in the raging dust storm.