Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 197 The Thorny Rose

Sun Dewang said, "For example, his relationship with Jiang Furong, the director of the family planning office, was unclear."

Someone saw Jiang Furong go to Zhang Ping's dormitory that night.

Wu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Are these all just baseless rumors?"

Sun Dewang grinned and said, "Secretary Wu, what do you mean? As the saying goes, to catch a cheater, catch him in the act; to catch a thief, catch him with the stolen goods."

Unless caught in the act, the parties involved will never admit to it. But who will catch them in the act?

Wu Zhiyuan nodded: "That makes sense."

He was new to the area, had no connections, and was completely clueless. He needed advisors and assistants by his side; otherwise, he would become a lonely figure, completely blind.

Just like when he was Xu Youwei's secretary, Xu Youwei told him to "keep his eyes open and his ears open."

It's impossible for a town party secretary to have a secretary, but he still needs to have someone trustworthy by his side.

Based on the current situation, Sun Dewang is a suitable candidate.

Sun Dewang added: "Jiang Furong's situation is special. She is a widow. Her husband passed away from illness many years ago, and she raised her daughter alone."

The fault for her having an improper relationship with Zhang Ping lies not with her, but with Zhang Ping, because Zhang Ping is a married man.

Wu Zhiyuan took photos along the way.

This is what Xu Yunxi wanted.

Sun Dewang pointed to a calm stretch of water: "Secretary Wu, look, it's calm here. We can easily wade across to the other side."

However, if a flash flood occurs, the water flow here is very rapid and it is extremely dangerous.

Two years ago, a hiker encountered danger and was swept downstream and drowned.

Although this is a remote scenic area, someone did die here, and the town paid several hundred thousand yuan in compensation to avoid further trouble.

Wu Zhiyuan said with a serious expression: "Director Sun, you've reminded me that safety is no small matter. We must set up clear warning signs in dangerous areas as soon as possible, and it would be best to have physical barriers."

In addition, security patrols should be organized to warn of potential dangers.

The two walked and talked.

Sun Dewang then brought up Hu Lijin, the director of the Party and Government Office: "Some women look alluring, but that's not actually the case."

Like Hu Lijin, whose name sounds like "vixen," she loves to dress up. Judging from her appearance and clothes, nine out of ten people would think she's a flirtatious woman. But that's a big mistake. She's a rose with thorns.

Zhang Ping's predecessor, Chen Aikun, who is now the director of the county health bureau, is also a lecherous old man.

Chen Aikun wanted to make a move on Hu Lijing. On one occasion, he called Hu Lijing to his office, ostensibly to discuss work, but actually to take advantage of the situation and grope her.

If it were any other woman, she would either be terrified, scream for help, or swallow her anger. But what about Hu Lijin? She doesn't play by the rules.

When Chen Aikun touched her, she deliberately said, "Mayor Chen, if you're a man, go all out, don't just go for the ride."

Chen Aikun believed it and actually took off his pants.

However, Hu Lijing seized the opportunity to snatch his pants and underwear and threw them out the window.

She opened the previously closed office door, deliberately raised her voice, and shouted towards the corridor, "Oh dear, Mayor Chen, why did your pants fall down? Is your belt of poor quality? Let me pick them up for you. Oh, it looks like they fell into the flower bed downstairs!"

When someone came to report on their work, Chen Aikun used his desk to cover his lower body.

After Hu Lijin went downstairs, she didn't actually go to the flower bed. Instead, she said to her colleagues, "Sigh, Mayor Chen accidentally dropped his pants downstairs. It's really embarrassing. Can any of you go and help him, quietly retrieve them? Don't make a fuss, let's save face for the leader."

Although the matter didn't cause a city-wide uproar, it quickly spread within a small circle.

Chen Aikun's attempt to steal a chicken backfired, making him a laughingstock. From then on, whenever he saw Hu Lijing, he would avoid her like a mouse seeing a cat, never daring to have any improper thoughts again.

On another occasion, Hu Lijin was having dinner at a hotel in the county town when a leader, after drinking, became sexually indecent and started touching her inappropriately. She grabbed the leader's genitals and almost crushed his penis.

Hu Lijin's reputation for outsmarting lecherous men spread like wildfire, making male leaders who had designs on her or planned to sexually harass female subordinates think twice. This woman is beautiful, but she's too quick-witted and ruthless; she's not someone to be trifled with.

Zhang Ping certainly wanted to take advantage of Hu Lijin, but he didn't dare to force her. He could only tempt her, saying he would help her become a deputy section-level cadre.

But in my opinion, Hu Lijing is not a power-hungry person.

Not long after Wu Zhiyuan returned to his office, Yu Yue from the Party and Government Office rushed in to report: "Secretary Wu, part of the shed at the town's central vegetable market suddenly collapsed, and I heard that people were buried!"

Wu Zhiyuan went to the vegetable market in the morning and found the greenhouse was about to collapse; it collapsed in the afternoon. Just what I feared most happened!

Wu Zhiyuan rushed to the scene to organize the rescue.

The farmers' market is less than one kilometer away from the town government.

From afar, one could see a scene of chaos, with a crowd so dense that it was impossible to move.

On the west side of the market, a section of the steel-framed shed had completely collapsed, with the twisted steel frame and tattered plastic roof pressing down on the mess of vegetable stalls.

A vegetable stall owner, still shaken, said, "I had only taken a few steps when the greenhouse collapsed with a loud bang."

Fortunately, it's afternoon now; if it were during the morning rush hour, the consequences would be unimaginable.

I know there's a homeless old man in one corner of the shed; he's probably been crushed.

Rescue workers arrived one after another.

Wu Zhiyuan personally joined the rescue efforts with other personnel.

Fortunately, only one homeless elderly man was crushed, and because he was right at the corner, he was unharmed.

The old man was about seventy years old, dressed in tattered clothes, his head and face covered in dust, and he had some abrasions and bruises on his body.

The doctors and nurses from the town's health center immediately stepped forward to conduct a preliminary examination and bandage the wound.

The elderly man was taken to the town's health center.

A nearby resident said that the elderly man had been living here for several months and was probably suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He didn't know his own name or home address and didn't talk much.

One resident added that the homeless elderly man was brought here by a vehicle from out of town.

Wu Zhiyuan knew that many local governments now clear out homeless people for the sake of city appearance, and then transport them to another place by car at night.

Regarding the next steps for the injured elderly man, Wu Zhiyuan said, "After he is discharged from the hospital, we will first send him to the town's nursing home, and then we will try our best to find his family."

Zhang Ping immediately voiced his dissent: "Secretary Wu, you've just arrived, so you may not be familiar with the situation."

The town's nursing home has a limited budget; every additional mouth to feed means more expenses.

This homeless man has an unknown origin and is not one of the "Five Guarantees" recipients in our town, so he does not meet the requirements for admission.

"If you put him in there and open this door, what will happen when other homeless people and people from other places find out and send them to us? Should we take them in or not?"

Wu Zhiyuan said firmly, "Mayor Zhang, I understand your concerns. But what we're discussing now isn't just a simple resettlement issue, but a matter of responsibility, a matter of conscience!"

"This elderly man was trapped under a public facility in our Xindian Town because we failed to promptly investigate and rectify safety hazards!"

He was injured and frightened! This incident is primarily due to our negligence! Our town bears an undeniable responsibility!

"The elderly man did not ask us for compensation, and may not even know who to ask for it from."

In this situation, should we treat him as a burden simply because his identity is unknown, kicking him around and ignoring his life or death?

Is this acceptable? Does it align with the principle of putting people first? Does it conform to basic morality and conscience?

Zhang Ping was taken aback by Wu Zhiyuan's words, his face flushing slightly, but he still argued, "Secretary Wu, you can't say that. Nobody wants safety hazards to occur; this is an accident."

Our responsibility is to rescue people and handle the aftermath. As for resettlement, that must be done according to policies and regulations, and we cannot let emotions cloud our judgment.

The conditions and capacity of the town's nursing home are what they are. Forcing unqualified elderly people to be admitted would be unfair to other elderly people who are admitted according to regulations, and would also bring chaos and burden to the management of the nursing home.

My suggestion is to first contact the county rescue station, or try to find out his identity and place of origin through the police. Whoever is responsible should bear the responsibility, and he should be sent back to where he belongs. This is the proper way to act in accordance with the law and regulations.

"In accordance with the law and regulations?" Wu Zhiyuan stood firm. "Mayor Zhang, the core spirit of laws, regulations and policies is to protect citizens' basic right to survival, especially to provide assistance to the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups."

The elderly person is currently in need of physical recovery, is homeless, and has mental health issues; they are in the most vulnerable stage of their lives and require the most help.

Is it really protecting his rights in accordance with the law to send him to a shelter or subject him to a lengthy and uncertain identity verification process, leaving him in a state of uncertainty and lack of care?

Or are they using regulations as a shield to evade our due responsibilities and moral obligations?

He turned to the other town officials present: "Comrades, what is the purpose of our Party committee and government? Isn't it to stand up and take responsibility when the masses encounter difficulties?"

If we can't even settle down a homeless elderly person who was injured due to our negligence, or if we're unwilling to do so, what will the people think of us?

Can our officials feel at ease? To put it simply, this is about settling an elderly person;

On a larger scale, this is a test of the governing philosophy and people-centered approach of the Xindian Town Party Committee and government!