Volume 3 Chapter 132: Encountering Xiao Bao on the Way to Take Office

  Inside a luxurious suite in Guohua Hotel, the only three-star hotel in Xishan County.

  Xishan County Deputy County Magistrate Gong Chunshan, Director of the Finance Bureau Zhang Yongchang, Director of the Public Security Bureau Fu Zhenbo, and Director of the Urban Construction Bureau Yang Xuecheng sat around a card table, shuffling cards.

  "County Magistrate GONG, I bet the new County Magistrate's face turned ugly when he saw that none of us went to welcome him!" said Zhang Yongchang, Director of the Finance Bureau with a sly smile.

  Gong Chunshan smiled and said, "He won't get angry because we went on a trip to the countryside today."

  Gong Chunshan was a man of about 50 years old, with a medium build and a paunchy belly that protruded outward. His face was ruddy, except for a patch of black hair growing near his chin on the left side of his face. If you didn't look at this patch of black hair, he looked quite dignified, but his eyes were somewhat gloomy.

  The head of the Public Security Bureau, Fu Zhenbo, picked up the dice and threw them down while laughing: "County Governor Gong said it's true, we all went to the countryside for inspection today, and County Party Secretary Zhou Wenfu is there. Whether we go or not doesn't matter. Besides, this position should have been taken by County Governor Gong. He's just a young kid who dares to come to our Xishan County to stir up trouble because he used to be the secretary of the provincial governor. We didn't deal with him severely enough, and now we've inadvertently helped this little brat. We finally managed to get rid of Cheng Aiguo (the former county governor) after joining forces, but unexpectedly, we made a wedding dress for this kid. Hmph! Is our wedding dress that easy to wear? This time, I've already set up a trap for him, and from the moment Liu Fei stepped into our Xishan County, all the traps were ready for him. Just wait for him to jump in himself, and within three months, he'll be gone!"

  Gong Chunshan smiled, but didn't respond. Some things only required him to show his attitude and make some hints, without needing to take action himself. His clever subordinates would then handle the matter according to his intentions. Gong Chunshan had taken a liking to this aspect of Pei Zhenbo's character. Pei Zhenbo was extremely cunning and ruthless in his methods, using every trick in the book to get what he wanted. Gong Chunshan had promoted Pei Zhenbo from being just a captain of the criminal police team to the director of the public security bureau. When Pei Zhenbo spoke, Gong Chunshan knew that he had already made arrangements and was aware of his cunning ways. During Pei Zhenbo's tenure as the executive vice mayor of Xishan County, he had made significant contributions to helping Gong Chunshan seize power and control the county government. The downfall of the previous county mayor, Cheng Aiguo, was closely tied to Pei Zhenbo's active planning and participation.

  Yang Xuecheng, the director of the Urban Construction Bureau, drew a card, took a look, and casually threw it away, saying: "I heard that our new county magistrate Liu Fei is only 24 years old. I'm curious, why would the municipal party committee send such a young person with no grassroots work experience to be the county magistrate? Our county is one of the most famous poor counties in Hebei Province. Does he want to make a name for himself here? Although it's easy to achieve political performance in a difficult place, is it that easy?"

  After a few rounds of dealing cards, Gong Chunshan drew a card and smiled, pushing down the cards and saying: "I've won! Self-drawn clear one color!"

  Everyone then took out the chips on the table and handed them over to Gong Chunshan, because everyone knew that this deputy county head had no other hobbies, just loved money more, liked beautiful women, especially young and beautiful women.

  Gong Chunshan smiled and said, "Wanting to make achievements in our Xishan County is not impossible, but we must first ask if the several of us agree or disagree. If he just came to get a little glory and will leave after one or two years, giving him some achievements is also possible, but if he came to snatch our rice bowl, then we must take good care of him."

  The other three nodded in agreement.

  At this time, Zhang Yongchang said: "County Magistrate Gong, I heard from an old friend in the provincial government that Jiang Zhengyuan is now handling the handover procedures and will go to Nan Yue Province to take office in a few days. It's estimated that he might want to mention Liu Fei before leaving, and it's unlikely that he came to curry favor."

  Gong Chunshan couldn't help but furrow his brow and sneer: "Oh, is that so? Then whatever should be done will be done!"

  The sound of shuffling cards accompanied by the ups and downs of storytelling, surrounded by swirling smoke.

  At this moment, Liu Fei and Dong Daquan, deputy director of the Organization Department of Hengyang Municipal Committee, were rushing to Xishan County in a small car of the Organization Department.

  Hengyang City is not far from Xishan County, only 70 kilometers away. After an hour's drive, we arrived at the border of Xishan County.

  Xishan County is a provincially designated poverty-stricken county. Before arriving, Liu Fei had already learned that Xishan County is located in a semi-mountainous area with very low per capita income levels. It is also a large agricultural county and a financially impoverished county. In 2008, the county's fiscal revenue was only 280 million yuan. The contradiction between fiscal revenue and expenditure is extremely prominent, and the central government provides several hundred million yuan in subsidies to Xishan County every year. Due to Xishan County being a financially impoverished county with insufficient financial resources, there is very little money for handling affairs, mainly just enough to cover wages. Since entering Xishan County, Liu Fei had keenly felt a strong change.

  The flat National Highway 106 in front becomes bumpy and uneven after entering Xishan County, and the speed of the car slows down. However, the bumping feeling is very strong. Looking at the roadsides, there are low-lying villages with only a few decent houses, most of which are dilapidated and crumbling. Some small courtyards still have strings of golden corn hanging from the trees.

  Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt with an emergency brake. Liu Fei and Dong Daquan, Vice Minister of the Municipal Organization Department, who were sitting in the back, fell forward onto the backrest.

  Dong Daquan couldn't help but furrow his brow and asked the driver in front, "Little Li, how are you driving? You didn't even give a warning before slamming on the brakes."

  "Director Dong, there's a situation ahead. We can't move forward."

  "What's going on?" Liu Fei frowned, pushing open the car door to look ahead. In front of him was a bend in the road, and at the center of the curve, a boy of over ten years old sat on the ground, wearing tattered clothes with patches, his head and face covered in dust, wailing loudly as he sat on the ground. Next to him, a sheep lay lifeless in a pool of blood. Behind the boy, several sheep stood in the middle of the road, bleating as if urging the boy to hurry up and leave.

  Dong Daquan furrowed his brow, while Liu Fei walked forward and squatted in front of the little boy, saying gently: "Little friend, what's wrong? How did this sheep die?"

  The little boy sobbed and said: "Waaahhh... I was herding sheep on my way home, when a car hit me and killed them while crossing the road. When I get home, mom will definitely beat me to death! 555555555~~~~, these government officials are all useless! They don't even care about someone's sheep getting run over!"

  Liu Fei's eyebrows furrowed tightly as he patiently asked, "Little friend, how do you know the person who hit and killed your sheep with their car is an official?"

  The little boy wiped away the tears on his face, and his small face looked even more dirty. In his young eyes, two flashes of anger that didn't match his age appeared, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Of course I know they're officials, I'm in third grade elementary school, I can recognize the words written on the car."

  Liu Fei's heart moved slightly, and he asked: "What are the words written on that car?"

  The little boy thought for a moment and said: "It seems to be written on it 'Going to the countryside to help with poverty alleviation' four words. I heard my dad say that going to the countryside to help with poverty alleviation, the more you help, the poorer you become, government buildings, the more you build, the more diligent!"

  At that moment, Liu Fei felt a burning sensation on his face, his heart was in pain. This is just a 10-year-old kid, he said he's in the third grade of elementary school, still with that proud look on his face. And those 16 words the kid said earlier, each word was like a steel needle piercing Liu Fei's heart. Is this really what I'm supposed to govern in Xishan County? Is this really how the people perceive us leaders of Xishan County? But when his gaze fell upon the sheep lying in the pool of blood, his anger was completely ignited. Who is it? Who did this and didn't even show any sign of remorse before running away with impunity! I will definitely investigate him thoroughly when I get back!

  The sheep suddenly struggled and seemed to want to get up, but soon its head tilted to one side and it died completely.

  The little boy originally saw the sheep suddenly struggling to get up, with a joyful expression on his face, but when he saw the sheep suddenly unable to get up again, he let out a painful cry once more!

  That childish voice was so mournful and pathetic, heart-wrenching.

  Liu Fei gently patted the little boy's shoulder and said softly, "Little friend, don't cry anymore. Uncle has bought this sheep with his own money, okay? This way, you won't be beaten by your dad when you go back."

  The little boy immediately looked at Liu Fei with a vigilant expression, tightly protecting the dead sheep and said: "No, I won't sell it. My dad said that we can't easily trust strangers, especially those who drive cars. In the past, our village's mine was cheated away by strangers."

  At that moment, Liu Fei's head shook slightly. This little boy, who was only around 10 years old, already understood so much. City kids at the age of 10 were probably still being driven to and from school by their parents every day. But listen to what the kid had to say - don't trust strangers, the mine was cheated away!

  At this moment, Liu Fei felt the impulsive blood in his body a few years ago came back. His heart coldly smiled: The cars with "going to the countryside to help with poverty alleviation" written on them, swindling away the village's mine, I, Liu Fei, don't care who you are, just don't let me catch your handle, otherwise I will definitely bring you to justice!