Good father, good mother

Author: Hou Yuxin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-10-01
Features: Chapter 3, The Turmoil at the Morgue the Next Day, Sun Hao was selected as the Secretary of the CPC County Committee of Ancient City County. Sure enough, it was announced at the on-site meeting. Although rumors had been floating around for these few days, the moment it was officially announced, it stirred up a great uproar among the crowd. There were those envious, those jealous, those speculating, those doubting, with whispers and discussions galore. They were nothing but saying that the man was smooth-talking and cunning, able to spin a story into a dozen or a hundred, fooling the leaders. Who knows how many gifts he had sent or how many powerful connections he had relied on to receive this reward. Anyway, they were all veterans, and everyone understood. Isn’t the bureaucracy just like that? If you say you are qualified, it’s a piece of paper. If you say you’re not, it’s another piece of paper. The fate of subordinates is in the hands of their superiors. Everyone is fighting for that piece of paper, and those who hold it use it to play with the ones who desire it. That’s the way of the bureaucracy. However, for a township party secretary to suddenly jump to the position of county party secretary undoubtedly means exceptional promotion and recognition, something without precedent in the entire region. Thus, the shock, dissatisfaction, and psychological imbalance it caused in people’s hearts were not surprising. Tong Huazhi surveyed the various expressions in the meeting hall, listened to the murmured discussions, and said calmly, “Don’t guess or be upset. Sun Hao and I had never spoken directly before this meeting and do not even know each other. Our relationship is as clear as water and tofu—completely transparent. I can say that we’ve even smoked the same cigarette. He hasn’t pulled any strings or received any letters or calls from others. Before the meeting, he was still repairing roads for the people in the mountains! He even resigned from his position as township party secretary. Some of us, though, don’t care about work; we’re always scheming for ourselves and haven’t thought about how much we’ve contributed to the country and the people. We only stare at our superiors, try to guess their thoughts, pull connections, seek favors, and run for official positions. We take the people’s hard-earned money to buy ourselves promotions. Today, I’m putting myself on display—no lust, no greed, no backdoors. I’m not swayed by sweet speeches or fooled by crooked paths. I love talent—the talent! Sun Hao is a perfect example. The prefectural committee has recently made a decision: when appointing cadres, we can’t just look at resumes, reports, or annual evaluations—that’s only one aspect. What’s important is to look at actual work achievements and listen to the reflections of the people. As long as you pass these two tests, you’ll be promoted and given recognition. The truly outstanding ones may even be promoted exceptionally! Sun Hao is now the county party secretary, so you should work harder and aim to become the secretary of the prefectural committee!” He looked at the silent meeting hall, a look of pride, dignity, and solemnity on his face. That was the habitual expression of a leader in a public setting, both inspiring and intimidating. This time, he had brought the main cadres from the four districts and nine counties to the southern meeting, showing great thoughtfulness. Today, the party conduct was declining, and administrative corruption was causing him restless nights. The cadres below were like donkeys in a mill, turning around a few circles when pushed and stumbling a bit when drunk. If you so much as flick an eye, they’ll come up with all sorts of tricks to fool you. Fake results and numbers were making his head spin, and it was only getting worse. He felt as if he had been pushed onto a paper boat, and if things continued like this, the boat would sink! He thought, You wanted a model for study, didn’t you? I’ll let