Chapter 147 - 147 146 Blind Command

Words : 2105 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

147: Chapter 146 Blind Command 147: Chapter 146 Blind Command “Slap!” Xu Haijiang slammed the table with force, having been a minor official for only a few days, he had learned to throw his weight around quickly, his face suddenly darkened as he spoke, “Ye Mayor this, Ye Mayor that! Do you even take me into consideration?! I was sent here by the County Committee! I am the appointed representative! Never mind that Ren Peiling isn’t here right now! Even if she were, I’d still be the one calling the shots! You must release the funds to me!” The head of the finance department was immediately in a bind, understanding that if he directly went against Xu Haijiang, he’d have a tough time in the future, who knew what kind of backing the man had. But if he really released the funds, Ren Peiling would have his hide when she got back. So he came up with a compromise and said to Xu Haijiang, “Group Leader Xu, the procedure is necessary, otherwise it would be illegal. How about this, you approve a note and I’ll allocate a hundred thousand for now. Let’s start with some ideological promotion work and get the villagers in front to support your plan. It’s just three days, when Mayor Ye comes back we can immediately start on your project. How does that sound?” Xu Haijiang thought about it, realizing that if the finance department head stubbornly disobeyed him, there was little he could do about it without losing face. Since he was being offered a way out, he decided to take the easy way down the slope. And what the man said made sense. Thus, Xu Haijiang snorted and said, “Hmph! I’ll approve the note right away! If you delay the development of Taiping Town, you’ll be the chief culprit!” Having said this, Xu Haijiang wrote a note, signed it, affixed his seal, and pressed his thumbprint before throwing it to the finance department head. The finance head quickly took the note to handle the arrangements. After completing this first step, Xu Haijiang continued, “Those in charge of the Urban Construction Office and the Rural Affairs Office, listen up! Take people to Wanbao Village immediately! Demand that Wanbao Village contribute manpower, money, and materials to help develop the villages in front! For our first project, Wanbao Village must bear half the costs!” The directors of the Urban Construction Office and the Rural Affairs Office were dumbfounded when they heard this. These were some absurd decrees, demanding money was almost like flexing official muscle. But to further demand Wanbao Village to share in the costs of a foolish project, what was this if not robbing the villagers of Wanbao Village? The director of the Rural Affairs Office coughed and forced a smile, saying to Xu Haijiang, “Group Leader Xu... this matter will require Wanbao Village’s agreement.” Who cares about Wanbao Village’s agreement! It is under the jurisdiction of Taiping Town! Taiping Town is under my jurisdiction! They must agree! You two figure out a way to talk to Wanbao Village! Otherwise, if you delay the development of Taiping Town, you’ll both be in deep trouble!” Xu Haijiang said grandly, then announced the meeting adjourned and began to daydream about his glorious plans. The reason for demanding Wanbao Village to provide money, manpower, and materials was all directed at Liu Hun. He had to let Liu Hun know who was the official and who was being managed! Xu Haijiang wanted to let out some of his pent-up anger. This was only the first step; in the future, he planned to use his power to slowly have Liu Hun bend the knee and call him daddy! The directors of the Urban Construction Office and the Rural Affairs Office really felt that Xu Haijiang was playing house, but with Ren Peiling gone at such a critical time, they had no choice but to follow Xu Haijiang’s absurd orders, and with grim faces, they went to Wanbao Village to issue Xu Haijiang’s “decree.” The two directors approached Wanbao Village like zombies, dragging their feet, and relayed the unprecedented news to Liu Hun and Qin Yue with great difficulty. Unexpectedly, Liu Hun agreed right away. The pair immediately came back to life on the spot, nearly hugging Liu Hun and breaking down in tears. They were stunned that such an absurd decree was readily accepted by Liu Hun, who they almost thought was a godsend. They left Wanbao Village with glowing faces and a spring in their step. It wasn’t that Liu Hun was willing to be the sucker but that Xu Haijiang’s decree played right into his hands. To start with the manpower, Wanbao Village didn’t have much labor to begin with, while the poorer village up front had plenty of strong workers. So Liu Hun was happy to provide manpower; in the end, they wouldn’t be doing much and wouldn’t tire themselves out. He promptly instructed Qin Yue to lead Wanbao Village’s gossip brigade to change the scenery, heading to the front village in high spirits, fate non-stop with the villagers there as if they were long-lost relatives. Naturally, their conversations did not lack the praises for Xu Haijiang’s plan, as repeatedly instructed by Qin Yue. “How many years has it been, how did your face go from a shoe horn to a pallet knife? What have you been eating these days? Come to my house tomorrow and I’ll cook a whole cow for you, make sure you’re fed, no problem! Fancy a drink? How about Maotai? No? Then... then it’s sorghum liquor! Sorghum liquor hits the spot! Maotai’s no good!” “Back in the day, you were the flower of our village. Had the looks, had the figure, and two... pah! I mean, you were fertile! Now look at you, like you’ve been fished out of a coal pit?” “How much money? Fifty thousand, eighty thousand, that’s nothing! No problem! We have money! No shortage of cash! Just say the word! How much do you need to borrow? Don’t worry about it! That five... Let’s do this, drop a zero for now, and we’ll add the zero back in a couple days.” “...” As the villagers of Wanbao Village arrived in the front village, they immediately took on the appearance of well-to-do kin back home, and one by one, they forgot all about the tasks Qin Yue had assigned them, starting to show off. Villagers had forgotten, but Qin Yue dared not forget. As she watched the situation, unable to speak openly about it, a stroke of inspiration struck her. Pulling Tie Dan to her side, she said, “Tie Dan, do you still remember the nursery rhyme Teacher Luo taught you?” “Hehe, I remember! I was just too busy rolling my hoop, and I forgot about singing the nursery rhyme,” Tie Dan said with a hoop in one hand and scratching his head with the other. “Hurry up then, take your classmates and sing! Whoever sings the loudest will get a corn cob as a reward later, go on!” After giving this instruction, Qin Yue gave Tie Dan’s bottom a pat to send him off to sing. Qin Yue’s words didn’t matter much to Tie Dan, but a task assigned by Luo Xiangjun, that was like an imperial edict! Thus, he immediately gathered his little friends and began to sing amidst the group of adults who were chatting. “Xu Haijiang, is the imperial envoy! Leading us, to fortune vast! The plans are set, without a need for cash! In just a few days, all will be envious!” As the nursery rhyme started up, the villagers of Wanbao Village then remembered the task Qin Yue had assigned. No matter whether they were talking about the birth of a child over sorghum liquor or boasting about wealth without lending money, they could all somehow naturally steer the conversation toward Xu Haijiang’s planning. It has to be said, chatting is truly a skill! After contributing manpower, Liu Hun continued to offer money as well, which was genuine, hard cash, not some cunning trick like contributing manpower. For families that were struggling due to a loss, Liu Hun distributed living expenses on a weekly basis. For those who needed to borrow money, he would lend it without hesitation. After all, once the two villages merged, the profits brought by the former village far exceeded his current weekly expenditure of a thousand or so yuan. As for the materials, it was even easier to explain. Wanbao Village regularly provided rice, flour, oil, and vegetables to the impoverished families of the former village, so this matter could easily be accounted for as well. Over the course of two days, with reports coming from all sides, Xu Haijiang truly hadn’t expected his policies to be so effective, as if using the Immortal Elixir and seeing immediate results! What surprised him even more was that the 100,000 yuan budgeted for publicity had barely been touched, and now the villagers of the former village were already grateful to him. His fame had even spread to Taiping Town, with children starting to sing nursery rhymes praising him. “Hmph! Liu Hun, you think you’re so capable? You think you’re so tough? What’s the situation now? Aren’t you still obediently listening to me? If I tell you to give money, you give money, if I tell you to exert effort, you exert effort! Tomorrow Ren Peiling will be back, and daddy has even more spectacular shows waiting for you! We’ll play the long game, eventually you’ll call me ‘daddy’!” Xu Haijiang sat in the Mayor’s office in Ren Peiling’s chair, acting as if he held all the power in the world, with the figurine in his mind already drawing the scene of Liu Hun kneeling down and begging for mercy. The next afternoon, Ren Peiling’s official car finally stopped in the courtyard of the Township Government. Stepping out, she looked around the government compound, hopeing that everything would be as Liu Hun had planned. She hadn’t really been away because of any issues at home; she had merely followed Liu Hun’s strategy, intentionally disappearing for three days, giving way to advance, and letting Xu Haijiang flail around for those three days. Assuming that Ren Peiling’s return meant that everything was set up for him as if he were Zhuge Liang who had gotten his east wind, Xu Haijiang immediately called a meeting. “I do not agree with Team Leader Xu’s approach and demands. The town’s finances are already tight, and apart from the former village, there are many other things that need doing. The management, planning, and development of the former village should be a long-term process,” said Ren Peiling, seated at the head of the table, speaking with a calm and steady voice, exuding an air as if she had the final say. Xu Haijiang, full of anticipation, thought that Ren Peiling, a mere woman, would be as easy to poke holes into as tofu, but she turned out to be harder than a rock in a cesspit. His face fell as he confronted her, “Mayor Ye! I am assigned here by the County Committee! And I have a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the former village! The issues of the former village are now the most important in Taiping Town! The money for this management, development, and planning must be provided!” Ren Peiling, with a cold smile, picked up the research plan for the former village that Xu Haijiang had made and said, “Team Leader Xu, these plans of yours might work anywhere else, but they absolutely will not work for the former village!” “Why not?!” Xu Haijiang, face hardening, demanded of Ren Peiling. During the days she was gone, he had gotten used to calling the shots. Now that Ren Peiling was back, he felt constrained everywhere. “You should know about the pollution issue that resulted in deaths in the former village. Much of the village has been contaminated, and it’s difficult for people to live there, let alone the impractical development plans you’ve proposed. Besides wasting money, I see no other purpose they serve. So, I will not approve your plan!” Ren Peiling said to Xu Haijiang, unapologetically and icily. The moment Ren Peiling finished her statement, everyone present was taken aback. This wasn’t just a disagreement anymore; it was clear she was ready for a confrontation. Everyone was mentally calculating what Xu Haijiang’s reaction would be.

Chapter 147 - 147 146 Blind Command

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