Chapter 76: The Grudges and Resentments Between People
Xiao Liang knocked on Liang Chaobin’s office door.
Liang Chaobin had only just arrived. He had switched on the electric fan and was wiping down his desk with a rag. Xiao Liang handed him a cigarette.
“I’ve been in Xijiang for over a month and haven’t reported to Director Liang once. Did you miss me?”
“I heard from Gu Peijun that you’ve done very well in Xijiang.”
Liang Chaobin accepted the cigarette and sat down with a pleased smile.
“Looks like you chose the right path.”
“Isn’t that because Director Liang and Secretary Wang gave me the opportunity?” Xiao Liang said with a smile.
After Xiao Liang took unpaid leave, his actions during that period no longer had any direct connection to the Yunshe Township Party Committee or government.
His positions as deputy director and sales manager of the juice factory became an appointment by the Nanting Village committees, rather than a township assignment.
Next, if he resigned from those positions and cooperated with the juice factory through his new company to take over future market sales, in theory, he would only need the Nanting Village committees to approve it.
But matters at the township level never stayed neatly within theory or legal principle.
If he didn’t speak to Liang Chaobin or Wang Xingmin first—or failed to secure their support—and simply pushed the matter through under the authority of the Nanting Village committees, even if Liang Chaobin and Wang Xingmin didn’t resent him or step forward to block it, they would become strangers watching coldly from the sidelines.
That was human relations.
That was how the world worked.
If Wang Xingmin and Liang Chaobin were narrow-minded, even if they could no longer strongly restrict Xiao Liang personally, they would still have the ability to choke the juice factory.
Of course, the most important thing was Yuan Wenhai’s attitude yesterday, which had changed some of Xiao Liang’s thinking.
Otherwise, Xiao Liang truly would not have had the patience to untangle the muddy, complicated web of relationships in Yunshe—and even Shishan County. He might not have been willing to spend so much effort cultivating ties with Wang Xingmin and Liang Chaobin.
In Liang Chaobin’s office, Xiao Liang described his work in Xijiang in more detail. Finally, he brought up his plan to have his personal new company take over the juice factory’s market sales.
That was the reason he had come to the township government today—to report the matter to Liang Chaobin and Wang Xingmin.
“This is a good thing. You’re capable in this area, so I personally support you in giving it your all,” Liang Chaobin said first, making his position clear.
Then he asked, “By the way, Yuan Wenhai has already been transferred to Yunshe as station chief. Are you still in contact with him?”
“Yesterday was a coincidence. I ran into Officer Sui near Dongzhou Institute of Technology. She happened to be calling Station Chief Yuan at the time. That night, Station Chief Yuan dragged me to Shishan for drinks and tea, and we talked until midnight before I got home.”
Xiao Liang said it casually.
“I hadn’t been back to Dongzhou for over a month. I only got back yesterday, and before I could even go home properly, Station Chief Yuan kept me out drinking and drinking tea until midnight. My mother scolded me for it.”
Xiao Liang had saved Yuan Wenhai at the crash scene, and Yuan Wenhai had helped clear his name in the Xiao Yujun case. Liang Chaobin had guessed Xiao Liang would maintain contact with Yuan Wenhai.
Now, hearing that their connection was even closer than he had imagined, Liang Chaobin picked up his notebook and said, “I report to Secretary Wang every morning anyway. Come on, let’s go sit in his office together.”
As soon as they entered Wang Xingmin’s office, Liang Chaobin had not even sat down before mentioning Xiao Liang’s close relationship with Yuan Wenhai.
“Secretary Wang, you’ve been thinking about Xiao Liang all this time. This kid finally went back to Dongzhou yesterday, but instead of visiting us first, he ran off to Shishan to drink with Yuan Wenhai. Only today did he remember the two of us…”
The township police station was mainly under the direct management of the county public security bureau, and it was relatively independent at the grassroots level. But no one could deny the important role it played in township affairs.
Because of that importance, the station chief formally belonged to the township-level leadership ranks. Even though an instructor was considered second-in-command at a township police station, he was not truly part of that level.
In Shishan County, Yuan Wenhai had now entered the circle of nearly thirty county-level and more than five hundred township-level cadres. In the smaller pond of Yunshe, he counted among the top four or five figures. An ordinary deputy mayor might not even be as influential as the police station chief.
“Xiao Liang is standing right here. Are you afraid you won’t get a meal out of him?” Wang Xingmin said with a smile, inviting Xiao Liang to sit.
“You’ve done very effective work this past month. At least now we don’t have to worry about the juice factory turning into a complete mess. That resolves a major concern for the township.”
Yuan Wenhai’s transfer to Yunshe gave him a very prominent position. Xiao Liang’s close relationship with Yuan Wenhai was certainly worth looking at differently.
The juice factory’s problem had been resolved so quickly and so well that there was no longer fear of a major disaster. It also made wrapping up the Xiao Yujun case much easier. Wang Xingmin was in a good mood.
On top of that, Wang Xingmin had just heard that Mayor Yu Shufu had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and the situation was serious. Meanwhile, Municipal Party Secretary Yan Feng would retire by the end of the year. That completely disrupted the expected transition most city and county officials had anticipated: Yan Feng retiring and Yu Shufu taking over.
Over the past two years, the top Party and government posts in Dongzhou’s three districts and counties had all been filled by people parachuted in directly from the province.
Now rumors were spreading that not only would the province likely parachute in a new mayor this time, but the municipal Party secretary might also be replaced with an entirely new face.
That meant many old matters from two years ago—including the connection between Xiao Liang’s family and the Chen Fushan case—might soon become passing smoke.
All these factors made Wang Xingmin’s attitude toward Xiao Liang much warmer than before.
Grudges and resentments between people were subtle things.
Xiao Liang certainly still felt resentment toward Wang Xingmin for his indecision and initial hands-off attitude.
But after all the setbacks he had experienced in his previous life, he had long since grown indifferent to the warmth and coldness of human relationships.
More importantly, over the past month, his most important first move had succeeded. Xiao Liang had begun to seize the initiative. Psychologically, he was no longer as defensive toward people and events as he had been at the beginning.
That weakened his resentment toward Wang Xingmin.
And thinking about it, it was true. If he stood in Wang Xingmin’s position, facing Fan Chunjiang and Zhou Jianqi—major township officials deeply entangled with Xiao Yujun—and strong resistance from the county, would he truly not have thought of sacrificing a pawn to save the chariot?
Liang Chaobin, who had deliberately kept his distance from people like Fan Chunjiang and Zhou Jianqi all these years, was even rarer at the township level.
Now that Wang Xingmin’s attitude had grown warmer, Xiao Liang’s mental barrier thinned further.
In the end, Xiao Liang’s nature leaned toward tolerance. He was not stubborn or extreme.
In his previous life, because of Lin Xi, even his resentment toward He Hong had faded deep down.
