The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

"Me? I have a strong constitution, so naturally, my face wouldn't turn red, and you two know that."

Chen Fang said it nonchalantly.

But Fang Mei seemed not to believe him.

She scolded Fang Gui, "Get out of the car with me!"

Dragging Fang Gui to a small path nearby.

Just as Fang Gui was about to explain, Fang Mei said, "Shh, listen to me, I've already searched his suitcase, and the notebook isn't in there. I feel like it must be on him."

So that was it.

Fang Gui breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

He asked, "Is it possible that he didn't bring it with him at all?"

Fang Mei shook her head and said, "Brother Zicheng said that the notebook is very important; he definitely would have it with him."

"Then why don't we knock him out with a stick when he's not paying attention and search him?"

As soon as Fang Gui finished speaking, Fang Mei hurriedly said, "What are you thinking? Neither of us is a match for him. If our sneak attack fails, we might expose ourselves. Besides, Brother Zicheng also said to get it quietly without causing a fuss. That's why I asked you to come here, to tell you that once we reach Fuguang Town, we'll find a place to stay and act when the opportunity arises."

"Will staying over make any difference?"

"Whether it works or not, we can only try. He has to take a bath and sleep; we will definitely have a chance."

Upon hearing that they could stay,

a smile unconsciously appeared on Fang Gui's face.

"What are you smiling about?"

Fang Mei asked, puzzled.

Fang Gui quickly said, "Nothing, I was just thinking about giving him a good beating once he falls asleep."

"Don't think too much, let's first complete the task Brother Zicheng gave us. Come on, get in the car and don't slip up later."

After speaking,

the two got back into the car.

As Fang Mei started the car,

Fang Gui snickered at Chen Fang.

The two shared an unspoken understanding, feeling like survivors of a great peril.

The journey was bumpy again.

Even Fang Mei started to complain.

While driving, she said to Chen Fang, "If you go to Fuguang Town to be the mayor, you don't have to do anything else. Just getting this road fixed would be a historic achievement."

"It can't be done,"

said Chen Fang.

"Why? Is it because of a lack of funds?" Fang Gui asked curiously.

Chen Fang shook his head and said, "A long time ago, the county planned to renovate this road, and the funds were in place too. Was it the strong opposition from the people of Fuguang Town that stopped it from happening?"

"The residents of Fuguang Town opposed it? Are they crazy? Don't they understand the principle that to get rich, you must first build roads?" Fang Gui complained.

Chen Fang chuckled and said, "They understand, of course, they understand. There's a saying, 'I hope you have money, but I hope you don't have more money than me.'"

This road had never been built due to the internal conflicts within Fuguang Town.

The population of Fuguang Town was around thirty thousand.

Not a large base.

Although there were many surnames in the town,

when it came to major surnames, there were only the Yuans and the Cuis.

These two surnames accounted for about 60% of Fuguang Town's entire population.

The Cuis mainly lived in Chagang Village, mostly as tea farmers.

The Yuans were concentrated in Songlin Village, with the bamboo product industry as their major trade.

Originally, the two major clans coexisted peacefully and amicably.

Twenty years ago, like Chagang Village, Songlin Village also made its living growing tea plants.

In those less economically developed times, coupled with inconvenient transportation, it was impossible to sell such a large scale of tea leaves cultivation, so most of Fuguang Town's residents could only barely make a living.

At that time,

Yuan Zhenting became the mayor of Fuguang Town.

He proposed an industrial structure reform.

Besides the tea industry, he wanted to develop another completely new industry.

Since a large bamboo forest was near Songlin Village,

he proposed the development of the bamboo product industry.

Following his advocacy, Songlin Village introduced bamboo crafting technology, abandoned tea cultivation on a large scale, and took a 180-degree turn to plant bamboo.

After years of perseverance, Songlin Village's bamboo products gradually gained a reputation.

As a result,

the residents of Songlin Village naturally became prosperous.

Everyone was living in poverty, but then you started to get rich first.

The residents of Chagang Village began to get jealous.

Little quarrels slowly arose between the two sides.

Later, due to a dispute over the ownership of a hilltop, the two families triggered a large-scale brawl, causing a very bad and terrible influence.

After this incident,

members of both families were sent to prison.

Resentment grew deeper and deeper.

In recent years, it has developed to the point where the two major families no longer intermarry.

Originally, Yuan Zhenting had achieved enough to be promoted to the county level.

It was precisely because of such a large-scale brawl that he ended up marking time for twenty years, never advancing a step further.

The topic returns to this road once more.

As the bamboo product industry in Songlin Village flourished more and more, transporting large quantities of bamboo products necessitated higher road standards.

The county also took it very seriously.

However, after publicizing the plan, it met with the unanimous opposition of all the villagers in Chagang Village.

They claimed that renovating the road would affect the village's feng shui.

They wouldn't allow the survey team into the village nor the government officials to come and discuss the matter. The county, fearing another large-scale public incident, had no choice but to drop the plan.

After hearing the whole story,

Fang Gui spoke with a sense of righteous indignation, "Selfish, it's just selfishness. They can't stand to see others doing well because of jealousy, it's utterly ignorant."

Chen Fang chuckled and said, "You can say that in the car, but once we get to the town, you'd better not mention it, or you might get a beating."

Upon hearing this,

Fang Gui quickly stuck out her tongue, not daring to speak recklessly anymore.

It was nearly eleven.

The car stopped at the entrance of Fuguang Town's town government compound.

"You're here, so we'll be going now,"

Fang Mei said coldly.

"It's almost time for lunch, won't you go in for a bite before you leave?"

Chen Fang asked.

Fang Gui was about to agree when Fang Mei glared at her, and she too could only close her mouth resentfully.

Seeing that Fang Mei was so resolute, Chen Fang did not insist, took his luggage, and got out of the car.

He had just reached the entrance.

When he heard someone shouting, "Mayor Chen has arrived, start playing, let's make some noise!"

Before he could figure out what was happening,

the courtyard erupted with the sounds of gongs and drums, and firecrackers began sounding off.

Amidst the smoky haze,

a middle-aged man quickly came out to greet him.

He grabbed Chen Fang's hand and said, "Mayor Chen, you're finally here. Let me introduce myself, I'm Xu Ming."

"Secretary Xu, hello, hello,"

Chen Fang eagerly replied.

The man before him was Fuguang Town's top official, Party Secretary Xu Ming.

"You must be tired from the journey. Xiao Gao, come here, take Mayor Chen's luggage inside."

At his command, a young man quickly ran down the steps.

And took Chen Fang's luggage from his hands.

"Come, Mayor Chen, we'll go to the auditorium, and I'll introduce you to the Fuguang Town leadership team."

Secretary Xu was really too polite.

As they climbed the stairs, he continuously supported Chen Fang, making Chen Fang feel somewhat embarrassed.

Inside the auditorium,

it was already bustling with people.

When Xu Ming walked in holding Chen Fang's hand, everyone sitting in the hall stood up and began to applaud loudly.

"Mayor Chen, let me introduce you. This is Luo Yide, the Chairman of the People's Congress."

In the midst of the endless applause,

Xu Ming pointed to a middle-aged man in the center of the stage and introduced him.

"Chairman Luo, nice to meet you,"

Chen Fang said politely.

"Mm, hello,"

Luo Yide, who looked to be about forty years old,

wore a pair of thick glasses and had a chubby appearance, which made him seem very approachable.

However, when shaking hands with Chen Fang, he only briefly touched it before letting go,

then turned his head to chat with someone nearby.

"Come, Mayor Chen, let me introduce you to this special person, Cong Duo, the flower of Fuguang Town, Deputy Party Secretary, a college graduate just like you."

Next,

Xu Ming pointed to a young, beautiful woman and said.

Chen Fang had looked over the information about Fuguang Town before he arrived.

The Cong Duo he saw before him was 26 years old this year and had graduated from a prestigious university.

She was not short at 1.68 meters tall.

Her appearance was quite attractive,

especially with her shoulder-length hair which gave her an air of sophistication.

Today, she wore a plaid sundress with a short white jacket over it,

elegant yet fashionable.

"Mayor Chen, I've long admired your reputation,"

Cong Duo said with a smile, stepping forward to meet him.

When their hands met, Chen Fang suddenly felt Cong Duo scratch the palm of his hand twice with her index finger.