The two got off the car, and Jiang Xinyu saw Hao Shichao and the others waving at her.
"You go ahead, I’ll head into the hall."
"Jiang Xinyu, don’t get mad during the meeting later."
"Hmm, I know. There’s no need to get angry.
Did you all hear about it?"
"Yes, our director told us.
I’m no fool, getting angry over this isn’t worth it. Let’s go, we’ll head in too."
Jiang Xinyu sat behind Qian Jun. By this time, the hall was already quite full, with County Magistrate Tao seated beside Qian Jun.
She exchanged a smile with Secretary Cao, quietly sitting there, her notebook placed on her lap, doing what a secretary should do.
The meeting commenced, and all the leaders were present; this was no trivial matter.
Jiang Xinyu multitasked, observing the lively scene. It turned out that whether one was a commoner or a cultured person, in the heat of an argument, they all looked the same — faces flushed and necks thickened.
By twelve o’clock, there was no sign of the meeting wrapping up.
Jiang Xinyu took out candies, handing two to Secretary Cao and one to Qian Jun, believing that sweets could indeed lift one’s mood, at least she thought so.
Apart from their county remaining silent, leaders from other places were almost shouting at the top of their lungs.
At twelve forty, everyone was a bit tired, and the hall fell into a brief silence.
"Even though there have been a few rains this year, we didn’t plant any wheat in our county. We’ll need over two months until the grain comes in, how will we survive?"
"That’s right, leaders, they have food in F County, while we risk having people starve."
"Leaders, let them lend us some grain, we’ll repay them after next year’s harvest."
Tao Juncheng did not utter a word, maintaining his original expression as he sat there.
"Leaders, this issue requires your intervention for resolution."
"County Magistrate Tao, you’ve heard everyone’s thoughts, right? Please share your views."
Tao Juncheng stood up, "I’m truly powerless right now. This time, more than half of the grain was pooled together by households, and another part was d by all the factories in the county. At the time, when the wheat arrived, it was divided and distributed within two days.
If you want us to lend it, we must possess it first. Right now, there are a few tons of wheat at the grain station, allocated for the residents of the county, how could we lend it out?"
"Then let’s make another round of contributions."
"Haha, Mayor Tang, the journey would take three months, even if there weren’t any difficulties, bringing it back wouldn’t be timely.
Moreover, last time, almost all the wheat was detained, and fifteen crew members almost didn’t make it back.
A few who returned outright considered resigning after knowing the situation; may I ask who would go?
Additionally, if the wheat is detained, who would bear the loss?"
The hall fell silent once more. No one knew what to say. Everyone clearly understood what was being said, unless one was a fool.
"You’ve all heard County Magistrate Tao’s explanation; I also believe this is impractical."
"Leaders, what do we do then? The money we pooled has vanished."
"Haha, that’s a matter for later discussion. Do you think you’re void of responsibility in this?"
"Leaders, even if I were dismissed, I wouldn’t be able to betray the people.
Furthermore, if it weren’t for the leaders who backed this, could we have pooled resources?
Now that there’s trouble, isn’t it just our responsibility?
What have we done wrong? You can’t say it’s top-down directives, we were merely responding positively to higher calls."
The hall grew deathly silent. This person appeared ready to risk everything, prepared for the worst scenario of being dismissed.
"In that case, let’s begin discussing accountability."
This time the upper-level leaders spoke, and no one below interrupted.
The direct organizer of the pooling was immediately dismissed, as there were no additional issues. Hence, no further accountability was pursued. Every participant in the matter was also completely removed.
Jiang Xinyu pondered about how the people’s losses would be addressed.
Next up were the issues with these two county magistrates. They were given major demerits, but not dismissed. However, they could forget about any promotions in their lifetime.
At least their positions remained intact. But Jiang Xinyu felt the two didn’t hope for exemption from dismissal. Ten thousand; in this era, that’s no small sum. Some of it was surely individuals’ money, and if unrest brewed, they wouldn’t be able to bear the burden. They should strive to work hard, to provide the people with a better life.
It was nearing two o’clock, yet the meeting showed no signs of concluding. Jiang Xinyu took out four pieces of candy, giving one to each of the four, not daring to hand them to She Xiaoyun and the others, who were too far to reach.
The meeting lasted until three thirty before finally ending. Sitting through these hours, Jiang Xinyu’s back and waist were sore.
This time Lv Beiguang and Liang Youfa joined them.
Jiang Xinyu drove, Lv Beiguang sat in the front, and the two directors in the back discussed the affair.
"Mr. Qian, is there any hope for County Magistrate Tao to be promoted? Now we’re missing two people."
Qian Jun shook his head, "Who knows? But County Magistrate Tao is indeed quite capable. If he truly gets promoted, we’re uncertain about who will come here."
"Exactly, we don’t know what kind of person will arrive. Dinner together tonight?"
"Not for me, I’ve got something on these last few days. Didn’t sleep a wink last night, I’m heading back to rest today."
"Alright, next time then."
Jiang Xinyu first dropped off Qian Jun before driving Lv Beiguang and the others.
"Jiang Xinyu, are you free on Saturday?"
"Come to my place for dinner, the kids want me to invite you over."
"Evening sounds good, I’m busy during the day. Tell them I’ll bring some treats, and if you can’t cook, wait for me to do it."
"You two are dating?" Liang Youfa nosily butted in.
"Director Liang, which of your eyes saw us dating? We’re just friends, friends."
"Oh! Actually, our Beiguang is pretty good."
"Haha, feel free to introduce him."
Lv Beiguang remained unchanged. Upon encountering topics he disliked, he became mute.
They both got out of the car, and after a parting word, Jiang Xinyu drove away.
"Beiguang, that Director Jiang is genuinely great."
"We’re just friends."
"You’re silly. Forget it, discussing these with a fool will be of no use."
Lv Beiguang smiled. He indeed liked Jiang Xinyu a bit, but it was just a tad more than friendship. Since she only considered him a friend, they’d remain friends, close friends.
Jiang Xinyu returned and soon clocked out, hurriedly heading home, hungry.
As soon as she entered her house, the door was knocked.
"Mr. Qian, why are you here?"
"I’m hungry, came to your place to mooch a meal."
"What do you feel like eating?"
"Cold noodles? I still have sesame paste, and sausage. Stir-fried eggs with pickled vegetables?"
"Alright, I’ll help. The two of us will cook fast, I’m too hungry."
"Alright, have a peach first."