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墨書 Inktalez
As the Spring Festival approached, the leaders were busier than ever. Mao Weiguo was not at home, while Comrade Zhang Xiuzhen had already taken her leave. She spent the afternoon hand-rolling long noodles to welcome Hu Ruoyun.
During those busy days in Jiangcheng, Hu Ruoyun hadn’t had the chance to buy anything for the two families and felt a bit embarrassed. “Aunt, I rushed here this time and didn’t buy anything…”
She suddenly remembered that Liu Ru Yan had given her a small red brocade box the night before and quickly rummaged through her bag to pull it out. “I was with Sister Lai and Sister Liu last night, and Sister Liu gave me this. Try it on!”
Zhang Xiuzhen had fully embraced her role as a mother-in-law, wearing a smile that reflected her growing fondness for her son-in-law. “We don’t lack anything at home; why buy more? When you return to Lao Gu, you’ll have to take some things with you. Just look at your uncle’s study; it’s filled with cigarettes and liquor…”
Mao Na opened the brocade box to reveal a jade bracelet that shimmered green. Although none of them were experts in jade, they could feel its fine texture—smooth like cheese and as soft as a baby’s skin, with a transparency reminiscent of clear spring water.
Mao Na took Zhang Xiuzhen's hand and slipped the bracelet onto her left wrist without hesitation. “Mom, this bracelet suits you perfectly.”
Zhang Xiuzhen genuinely liked it, though she hesitated to take it off. Still, she said to Hu Ruoyun, “You should take it back for your mother…”
Hu Ruoyun laughed. “Let’s skip that; if I give it to her, she’ll just say it gets in the way of work…”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Hu Ruoyun then pulled out another box from her bag for Mao Na. “This is a cosmetic gift from Sister Lai Wen. I’m not sure if it’s good or not, but she gave it with good intentions, so I accepted it.”
Women have an innate sensitivity towards cosmetics. Mao Na glanced at the box and exclaimed, “Wow, this is Yong Fang! This Changbai Mountain natural plant skincare product hasn’t even been widely released yet! Where did Sister Lai get it? I’ve heard from my dorm mates that this product is excellent for moisturizing, softening, smoothing skin, reducing sun damage and pigmentation, preventing acne, minimizing flaking, whitening skin, restoring elasticity, reducing wrinkles, and delaying aging.”
She turned to Zhang Xiuzhen. “Mom, you should have this too!” This made Zhang Xiuzhen take a closer look at the product.
Hu Ruoyun continued rummaging through her bag and handed two boxes to Mao Jie. “Uncle Mao’s tie and your belt.”
Mao Jie was surprised when he received them. “These are all from Jin Li Lai! Just give them all to me; I don’t want my dad wearing them out and having people say he’s corrupt…”
Zhang Xiuzhen seemed to understand and took off the jade bracelet to hand it back to Mao Na. “You keep this; I don’t want any trouble. Give me that cosmetic instead!”
The family shared another round of laughter.
With only four days until the New Year, Mao Na insisted that Hu Ruoyun not return to Lao Gu immediately but instead accompany her to shop for New Year goods. Together with Mao Jie, the three of them spent an entire afternoon buying food and necessities and even picked out new clothes for Xiao Hu and Xiao Feng. When they tried to buy something for Hu Qihua and Zhao Meirong, Hu Ruoyun stopped them: “They haven’t even shown off last year’s clothes enough yet; if we buy more this year, they’ll just get more anxious…”
In rural areas, people often wear new clothes for two or three years after buying them just once.
That evening, Mao Weiguo returned home looking quite exhausted. Upon seeing Hu Ruoyun at home, his face lit up. “I thought you went straight back to Lao Gu!”
Hu Ruoyun glanced at Mao Na. “How could I?”
Mao Na pouted playfully. “What are you looking at me for?”
After several consecutive days of meetings focused on planning for the new year, Mao Weiguo found himself overwhelmed. With the Spring Festival behind him, two significant conferences loomed ahead, and as the head of the county government, he was busier than ever.
There was another pressing matter weighing on his mind—up until now, he hadn’t even mentioned it to Zhang Xiuzhen. The organization intended to transfer him from Annan to Jinan City as a full-time Vice Mayor. They had already had a preliminary discussion to gauge his opinion.
Hu Ruoyun understood that this was Mao Weiguo's greatest concern. Noticing Hu Ruoyun deep in thought, Mao Weiguo, who rarely smoked, lit a cigarette.
After a long pause, Hu Ruoyun seemed to regain his composure. “Uncle, if the organization is considering your opinion, you should definitely stay!”
Mao Weiguo replied, “Hmm, go on.”
Hu Ruoyun continued, “In Annan, you are in charge. Although Secretary Li is the top leader, you two work well together. As long as you both reach a consensus, everything will proceed smoothly!”
Mao Weiguo nodded in agreement.
“If you move to Jinan,” Hu Ruoyun elaborated, “while your title may be higher in name, if you’re not the executive deputy, you’ll have to wait for others to vote on your ideas and opinions. As an ordinary deputy, any issues that arise will lead to criticism from many people. Even if you manage to achieve something significant, it might not be recognized…”
Mao Weiguo took a deep drag from his cigarette. “That’s why I feel so conflicted.”
Hu Ruoyun pressed on, “For you, while I can’t say that the situation in Annan is perfect, it’s definitely stable for the foreseeable future. As long as you continue to perform well in your current position, your rank will eventually be addressed.”
Mao Weiguo remained silent.
Then Hu Ruoyun surprised him with his next statement: “Uncle, have you encountered someone trying to ‘pick peaches’?”
Mao Weiguo sighed deeply. “The Deputy Director of the Municipal Development Planning Committee, Wang Bingcheng, is related by marriage to Deputy Minister Zhu Zhengying from the provincial organization department… Initially, they wanted me and Wang to swap positions. Mayor Meng Xiangjun and Secretary Zheng disagreed. In the end, I was assigned as the actual deputy mayor overseeing the Planning Commission. After that, neither Mayor Meng nor Secretary Zheng could say much…”
Hu Ruoyun asked, “If you decide not to leave, will Wang still be transferred to Annan?”
Mao Weiguo sighed again. “They are all part of Chen Hanjie’s faction. Chen Hanjie is the Deputy Secretary; Wang would likely become the executive deputy here…”
Hu Ruoyun said candidly, “Uncle, please don’t mind my bluntness… Your rise has been remarkable these past two years—from Deputy Town Head to Town Head, then Vice County Head and County Head; now you’re also a Vice Mayor… Many people probably think your success is due to how easy it is to achieve results in Annan rather than your own efforts!”
Mao Weiguo smiled wryly but understood what Hu Ruoyun meant. He felt a sense of relief as he said, “I’ll discuss my thoughts with Mayor Meng and Secretary Zheng. They were worried about hindering my progress and feared I might feel frustrated… I’m willing to stay here; that’s something they would like too!”
He sighed once more. “I’m just someone who gets things done; I can’t handle too much chaos.”
Hu Ruoyun responded thoughtfully: “Secretary Li has a grasp of the overall situation; if you cooperate well with him, that’s what matters. Right now, you two are a golden team. If you want to stay and continue working with him, I’m sure he won’t have any objections.”
Mao Weiguo chuckled to himself, "There’s really nothing in this world; it’s just the foolish who trouble themselves!" He realized he had been overly concerned and narrow-minded. Secretary Li had also spoken to him, hinting that he wanted him to stay, but he still held onto some 'progressive' thoughts. "I’ll call Secretary Li now to reassure him and put my mind at ease."
Hu Ruoyun stepped out of the study while Mao Weiguo was on the phone with Li Gaoqiang. A moment later, he came out to Zhang Xiuzhen and said, "On the twenty-ninth of Lunar December, we’ll go to Secretary Li’s house to celebrate the New Year in advance and have dinner there..."
After all, the New Year was approaching. Knowing that Hu Ruoyun would be going back soon, he arranged for Mao Jie, "Please tidy up the things in my study and have Xiao Hu take them to his parents."
Then he turned to Mao Na, "On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, I’m going to Niu Huahua for research. Do you want to come with me?" The others exchanged knowing glances, looking at Mao Na.
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