Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 221 The Bench Meeting, the Fool and the Deaf-Mute at the Brick Factory

Guided by Li Dajiang, Wu Zhiyuan found two wells at the entrance of the village.

The well has a cement platform and a manual water pump installed.

The surrounding area is overgrown with weeds, indicating that it has been neglected for a long time.

Wu Zhiyuan approached one of the wells and pressed down the pump handle forcefully.

At first, a stream of murky water with a rusty color came out. After pressing it more than a dozen times, the water became slightly clearer, but it still had a pale yellow tint.

I scooped up a handful of water and smelled it; it did indeed have a faint fishy, ​​rusty smell.

Wu Zhiyuan squatted down and carefully examined the connection between the well platform and the pump body, then touched the inside of the well wall with his hand.

The cement plaster surface is rough and uneven, and may even have air holes.

Although he is not an expert, he still has basic engineering knowledge.

The construction quality of this well platform is definitely not up to standard.

"Uncle Li, the reason I'm going to the village this time is to get firsthand information. Everyone, please feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions, or any difficulties or problems you encounter at the grassroots level."

We had lunch at Li Dajiang's house.

His wife is a good cook; she prepared several rustic dishes.

Stir-fried cured pork with bracken fern. The cured pork was homemade, and the bracken fern was picked from the back mountain. It was savory and delicious.

A plate of bright yellow scrambled eggs with chives; the eggs are free-range, and the chives are fresh and tender.

A bowl of stir-fried pumpkin vines is refreshing and helps to cut through the greasiness;

The staple food is rice with crispy rice crust cooked over a wood-fired stove, which has a unique smoky aroma.

There was also a pot of free-range chicken soup with oil floating on top, the broth was golden in color and had a wonderful aroma.

Wu Zhiyuan said with a smile, "Uncle Li, Aunt Wang, please keep the food simple, otherwise I'll definitely lose money on my food expenses."

Li Dajiang quickly said, "Secretary Wu, you can't say that. It's a blessing for our family that you can come to my house to stay and have a few meals."

"These are all from our own land, not worth much. Mentioning money would be looking down on us."

Wu Zhiyuan's wife chimed in, "That's right, that's right. Secretary Wu, you're a big leader, we can't even invite you to come normally."

These chickens are raised by ourselves, and the vegetables are picked from the garden. We were just worried you might not be used to this simple country food.

Wu Zhiyuan said earnestly, "Uncle Li, Aunt Wang, I appreciate your kindness."

But rules are rules. When cadres go to the countryside to stay and eat at the homes of the people, they must pay for their meals in accordance with regulations.

This is a matter of discipline; I can't be the first to break the rules. If you don't accept it, I won't be able to eat my meal in peace.

Mr. and Mrs. Li Dajiang did not insist any further, and repeatedly exclaimed, "Secretary Wu, you are really different from some of the cadres who came before."

After lunch, Wu Zhiyuan did not rest, but instead gathered some villagers under the old ginkgo tree at the village entrance for a meeting.

Actually, it wasn't really a meeting; there was no conference table. Instead, we sat on benches and chatted casually.

Wu Zhiyuan did not allow village officials to be present.

With village officials around, villagers have reservations and dare not speak the truth.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Wu Zhiyuan smiled and said loudly, "Fellow villagers, my name is Wu Zhiyuan, and I am the Party Secretary of Xindian Town."

The purpose of this visit to Gushu Village is to hear about the difficulties people face in their daily lives and their opinions on the work of the town and village. We want everyone to speak frankly.

We chat like family, talking about whatever comes to mind. Don't be afraid of saying the wrong thing; I don't like hearing lies, I only want to hear the truth.

At first, the villagers were a little reserved, looking at each other without speaking first.

Seeing this, Li Dajiang started by saying, "Secretary Wu asked me to speak, so I'll speak first."

The biggest challenge is water!

As you just saw, the water in that well is so bad that livestock lose their fur after drinking it for a long time, so how could a person dare to drink it?

We've made numerous trips to the village and town regarding this matter, but they always pass the buck and never give us a definite answer.

Your promise to take care of things today has finally given us a glimmer of hope.

But two years have passed, is it still possible to find out the truth? Will this time the problem be completely resolved?

"Yes, Secretary Wu, drinking water is the most important thing!" an old man chimed in. "My wife has arthritis and can't carry water, and my son works away from home. I'm an old man who worries about drinking water every day."

The well water won't do; I have to fetch it from the mountain stream, a round trip of three or four miles. My legs... sigh!"

Once the topic of water was brought up, it was like opening a floodgate.

A middle-aged man said, "Secretary Wu, water is the biggest problem, and roads are a matter of life and death!"

The road leading out of the mountains is dusty on sunny days and muddy on rainy days.

Last year, Liu Laosi's grandson had a high fever. They wanted to take him to the town's health center at night, but the tricycle got stuck in a mud pit halfway there, almost causing a delay.

Trucks that come to buy mountain produce don't like to come in because of the bad roads; our good stuff doesn't fetch a good price.

"Yes! The road must be repaired! We don't need to repair it to a high standard, but at least we need to pave it with gravel to make it passable for vehicles." Several villagers echoed.

A woman said, "Secretary Wu, let me tell you about my child's schooling."

The few houses in the village school leaked when it rained and were drafty in winter.

We can't retain teachers either; all the good ones have transferred away. Can the town government think of a solution?

A young man said, "There is still cell phone signal, but it's intermittent. When I video chat with my wife who works away from home, the signal drops after only a couple of sentences."

"These days, selling local specialties or making a call is really inconvenient without a signal."

An older man said, "Secretary Wu, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

Last year, the village implemented a "one matter, one discussion" system to raise funds to repair the small irrigation canal in our area, and each household paid money based on the number of people in their household.

The money was collected, and the irrigation ditch was dug, but the quality was terrible. Last summer, a heavy rain washed away more than half of it.

Later, the village said they would make up for it and asked each household to contribute labor, but they just built it up haphazardly. I think it's still unlikely this year.

We've taken the money, but the job wasn't done properly, and we're still upset about it.

"Secretary Wu, could the town introduce some projects, or help us find sales channels to get our tea, bamboo, and medicinal herbs from the mountains out of the town, so that our families can earn more income?"

Wu Zhiyuan listened attentively, taking notes in his notebook from time to time, and asking detailed questions when he encountered unclear details.

The meeting lasted for more than two hours. Wu Zhiyuan said, "Fellow villagers, I have written down everything you said today, and I will remember it in my heart."

To be honest, I feel very heavy-hearted. The people of our Gushu Village have suffered greatly.

Difficulties in accessing drinking water, transportation, communication, and development...

Some of these problems are due to objective limitations, but others, like water wells and "case-by-case" projects, are indeed due to our shortcomings in our work.

It's even possible that things went astray or were distorted along the way, causing good policies to fail to achieve good results and leaving people disheartened.

Here, I would like to apologize to everyone!

As I just said, I'm not here just to make a formality.

I will take every issue that everyone raises back to the town party committee meeting, study them one by one, and implement them one by one.

If something can be resolved immediately, it should never be delayed.

If it takes time, we will develop a plan and give everyone a clear explanation;

For matters involving policies, funding, or more complex situations, I will actively report them to higher authorities to seek support.

Especially regarding the well issue, I assure everyone in the name of the town's Party committee that we will investigate it thoroughly and get to the bottom of it!

If it's a problem with the construction quality, it needs to be reworked or repaired.

If anyone in this group engages in any wrongdoing, takes advantage of the country, or harms the people, no matter who is involved, they will be dealt with seriously and without leniency!

At the same time, we will re-survey and find reliable water sources as quickly as possible, and strive to ensure that our fellow villagers have access to clean and safe drinking water in the shortest possible time!

As for other issues, we will take them into consideration in a comprehensive manner, including road construction, schools, signal coverage, village affairs, and industry.

Our ancient tree village has ancient trees, a beautiful ecology, and abundant resources. As long as everyone works together, the cadres take the lead, and the policies are in place, we can take it one step at a time and our lives will gradually improve!

Thank you all for sharing your heartfelt thoughts with me today. This is my phone number.

Wu Zhiyuan gave out his mobile phone number, "If you need anything in the future, you can call me directly or send me a text message."

I may not answer immediately, but I will definitely reply when I see it.

I also welcome everyone to supervise me and the town's officials.

Let's work together to build up the ancient tree village!

Applause erupted. The villagers chattered amongst themselves, saying, "Secretary Wu, we believe in you!" "You have to keep your word!" "Now we have hope!"

……

After the meeting ended, Wu Zhiyuan said to Li Dajiang, "Uncle Li, come on, I'll go with you to do some work in the fields."

Li Dajiang waved his hand repeatedly: "Secretary Wu, you should rest. There's no rush with the work in the fields."

Wu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "If we come here, we'll eat, live, and work together. If we just talk the talk but don't walk the walk, then we're just faking it."

I grew up in the countryside, and I can do most farm work.

Come on, take me to see your land.

Li Dajiang couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he led Wu Zhiyuan toward his contracted land.

The two walked along a dirt road behind the village, passing a brick kiln.

The factory area was piled high with brick blanks and fired red bricks.

Suddenly, a series of shouts and the sharp crack of a whip came from a corner of the factory area, which was particularly jarring.

Wu Zhiyuan immediately stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.

A middle-aged man in overalls with a fierce face was seen brandishing a short whip made from a leather belt, lashing it hard at a worker who was squatting on the ground.

The worker was dressed in rags, clutching his head, his body curled up, uttering muffled sobs, but dared not resist or run away.

Several other people, dressed in similarly tattered clothes and with blank expressions, stood nearby, watching numbly.

Wu Zhiyuan's heart tightened, but he did not step forward immediately.

He pulled Li Dajiang aside and quietly retreated behind a sloping hill by the roadside, where he could see the factory clearly but would not be easily noticed.

"Uncle Li, what's going on here?" Wu Zhiyuan asked in a low voice, pointing to the factory.

Li Dajiang leaned close to Wu Zhiyuan's ear and said, "Secretary Wu, don't go over there!"

That's Wang Gang, the boss of the brick kiln. He's very powerful and has some connections.

His factory...sigh, what a mess!

They employed many mentally challenged and deaf-mute people to do the work; I heard some of them were brought in from outside or were homeless people they picked up.

They eat worse than pigs, don't get paid, live in conditions like a pigsty, get beaten if they work slowly, and don't even get food.

Many people in the village knew about it, and some had mentioned it before, but Wang Gang said he was doing good deeds, giving these mentally challenged people a meal, otherwise they would have starved to death long ago.

The village officials didn't do anything about it; it was heartbreaking to watch, but nobody dared to mess with him.

Wu Zhiyuan was furious.

He carefully observed the factory area. Most of the workers standing there had blank expressions and empty eyes. Some were even drooling. They were clearly not normal people.

Next to the cave dwellings were low and simple sheds, and the environment was extremely harsh.

This is hardly an act of charity; it is clearly illegal employment, detaining and forcing intellectually disabled and deaf-mute individuals to work, which constitutes serious illegal and criminal activity!

He took out his phone and dialed the number of Qin Xiaotong, the director of the police station.

"Director Qin, this is Wu Zhiyuan. I am currently in Gushu Village."

At the brick kiln behind the village, a serious incident was discovered involving suspected illegal detention, forced labor of people with intellectual disabilities and deaf-mute individuals, and instances of beatings and abuse.

You bring your men over here immediately and take control of the scene and all relevant personnel!

Note: Do not alert the factory yet. Contact me when you reach the village entrance.

Qin Xiaotong quickly replied, "Yes, Secretary Wu, we'll set off immediately!"

Wu Zhiyuan and Li Dajiang continued to observe from their hiding place.

Then Wang Gang kicked the worker on the ground while cursing, before walking away cursing as well.

The workers who had been standing there for a moment slowly gathered around and helped the beaten man up, their movements slow and their expressions numb.

Qin Xiaotong has arrived with his men.

Once Wang Gang was restrained, he argued defiantly: "What right do you have to arrest people? These idiots would have starved to death long ago without me. I'm just doing a good deed!"

Wu Zhiyuan said coldly, "Using a whip to accumulate virtue?"

Is it good to accumulate merit by working in a pigsty-like shed?

Is it a way to accumulate good karma by starving people?

You are suspected of illegal detention, forced labor, and intentional injury; these are crimes!

Wu Zhiyuan walked up to the group of victimized workers and asked gently, "What are your names? How old are you? Where do you live?"

One of the workers grinned foolishly, muttering something unintelligible.

The other one kept his head down, not daring to speak.

Wu Zhiyuan asked one of the middle-aged men, who looked quite old and had a weathered face, "How old are you?"

The man grinned and mumbled, "Ten...eighteen."

Wu Zhiyuan felt a pang of sadness. This man looked to be at least forty or fifty years old, yet he claimed to be eighteen.

"What's your name?"

"Big Fool."