Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

This was Feng Shih-kuan's old trick. He knew Zhang Youzhi would side with Tian Fujun, but he still had to ask. Because what he really wanted to pressure wasn't Zhang Youzhi, but Li Dengyun. He wanted Li Dengyun to see that Tian Fujun's side was just two people putting on a one-man show, and Feng Shih-kuan's side was also two people. The scales were balanced; the key was which side Li Dengyun chose.

Zhang Youzhi certainly didn't disappoint him.

"What do I think? I think Director Feng is right, discipline is indeed necessary for construction. But discipline is for managing cadres, not for punishing commune members. Xu Zhigong from Shigejie sent commune members to labor camps, and Zhou Wenlong from Liucha used hemp ropes to arrest people. Is this discipline? Is this revolution? Is revolution about torturing commune members to death?"

Feng Shih-kuan placed his enamel mug heavily on the table, spilling tea.

"Zhang Youzhi! Don't use this as an excuse to make trouble!"

The air in the meeting room was already on edge.

All eyes eventually fell on the same person.

Li Dengyun.

Li Dengyun picked up his enamel mug and took a sip of tea. The tea was bitter. His heart was even more bitter than the tea.

Is Tian Fujun right? Yes. He himself has witnessed food shortages when he went to the countryside. Once, when he went to Shigejie Commune to inspect the work, he found that even if he turned the rice jar over, he couldn't pour out more than two ounces of grain, and the children were so hungry that their faces were yellow.

He felt bad after seeing this, but he didn't mention it to Feng Shikuan when he got back. It would have been pointless to mention it anyway; Feng Shikuan only cared about the title, not whether there was any grain in the jar.

But Feng Shih-kuan was his powerful backer.

From the day he joined the county revolutionary committee, Feng Shikuan had been promoting him. To put it bluntly, half of his position as deputy director was given to him by Feng Shikuan. If he were to openly side with Tian Fujun at a meeting, it would be tantamount to slapping Feng Shikuan in the face; how could he possibly live his life afterward?

Unfortunately, Tian Fujun is also related to Tian Fujun by marriage.

Runye is Tian Fujun's niece, and she married his son, Li Xiangqian. This relationship puts him in a very passive political position. Feng Shikuan may not say it aloud, but he certainly holds a grudge. "Your daughter-in-law, Li Dengyun, is on Tian Fujun's side. Whom are you truly loyal to?"

Can't Tian Fujun, that stubborn mule, just calm down for a few days?

Hey, only you know what's in your crotch.

"I think..."

Li Dengyun cleared his throat, and several pairs of eyes turned to look at him.

"Comrade Fujun and Director Feng both have valid points. Protecting the title is right, and caring about the people's lives is also right. There's no conflict between these two things; we can discuss it further."

After Li Dengyun finished speaking, he picked up the enamel mug and took another sip.

Feng Shih-kuan frowned. This attitude was tantamount to not stating anything at all. Li Dengyun wasn't like this before; he would always agree as long as Feng Shih-kuan made a statement. Now he was playing coy.

Tian Fujun frowned and remained silent. All he could think about was how to ensure that the commune members had food to eat and warm clothes to wear in the winter.

Two days ago, during an inspection tour, he visited a family where the daughter, already a teenager, didn't even have a pair of pants to cover herself, and had to stay on the kang (a heated brick bed) every day. After returning from the inspection, Tian Fujun sat in his office for an entire night.

Zhang Youzhi glanced at Tian Fujun, and seeing that Tian Fujun didn't speak, he didn't intend to continue speaking either.

Ma Guoxiong glanced at Feng Shikuan but remained silent.

The meeting ended unhappily.

……

After the meeting, most of the people had left.

Feng Shih-kuan called out to Li Deng-yun in the corridor.

"Ascending to the Clouds".

"Director Feng."

Feng Shih-kuan walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. The pat was light, his hand resting on Li Dengyun's shoulder.

"Dengyun, I heard that the Tian family girl and Xiangqian have never gotten along well?"

Li Dengyun smiled helplessly. It wasn't that they were bad; they were practically sworn enemies. He didn't know what was so good about Runye, but his son was like a poisoner, insisting on having this girl from the Tian family. He was practically dying over her.

"Hey, let the children handle their own affairs. I, as their father, can't get involved."

Li Dengyun dodged the question, but there was a hint of helplessness in his tone.

Feng Shih-kuan nodded. "Children are children, and work is work. Deng-yun, we are revolutionary cadres. If we go in the wrong direction, it will not only affect our work, but also our children."

"Director Feng is right."

Li Dengyun quickly replied.

Feng Shih-kuan smiled, said nothing more, and turned to go downstairs.

Li Dengyun stood alone in the corridor, watching Feng Shikuan's figure disappear at the top of the stairs. The smile on his face gradually faded.

This is Tian Fujun.

What zodiac sign is it anyway, that it's so stubborn?

……

night.

Li Dengyun was curled up on the sofa, smoking one cigarette after another. The ashtray on the coffee table was piled with seven or eight cigarette butts, and the tea in the enamel mug had long since gone cold.

Liu Zhiying came out of the kitchen and fanned herself in front of the kitchen.

What's wrong with you?

"Don't even mention it."

Li Dengyun stubbed out his cigarette and then took out another one and lit it.

"Tian Fujun is too stubborn! Doesn't he know Miao Kai is in charge? What's the use of him resisting? In the end, not only will he suffer, but also all of us who are related to him."

Liu Zhiying sat down next to her.

She understood her husband's anxiety. The Tian and Li families were related by marriage; if Tian Fujun was persecuted, Runye would suffer. If Runye was in trouble, Xiangqian would suffer even more. Xiangqian was already in his current state; she didn't even want to think about what might happen to him.

"What did you say at the meeting today?"

"What else can we say? We have to compromise. We don't want to offend either side, but neither side is satisfied either."

"So what are you going to do?"

"What are you going to do? I'm going to be a coward."

Li Dengyun took a deep drag and exhaled a plume of smoke.

"Sometimes I really want to give Tian Fujun a piece of my mind. You say you have ideas and abilities, why don't you go and talk to the provincial authorities? What's the use of you going against Feng Shikuan in Yuanxi County?"

Liu Zhiying looked at him, wanting to say something, but finally sighed.

"How's Xiangqian doing lately?"

Li Dengyun suddenly asked.

"Hi, things are a bit better than before. There were even rumors a couple of days ago that Runye is pregnant."

"Pregnant?"

Upon hearing this, Li Dengyun sat up straight. He had been wanting a grandson for a long time. If Runye could give him a big, healthy grandson, he would quit his job immediately, stop caring about anything else, and spend all his time at home playing with his grandson.

Seeing this, Liu Zhiying could not hide her dejection.

"I already said it's just a rumor. I asked Xiangqian, and it's completely unfounded."

Upon hearing this, Li Dengyun immediately looked deflated.

"This son is just here to collect a debt, sigh."

Liu Zhiying looked helpless, but then her eyes lit up slightly. "I heard that Xiangqian and Runye have been having dinner together recently. They're a young couple, let's give them some time."

"snort!"

Li Dengyun gave a cold snort, as if mocking himself.

"What kind of life we ​​live, even having a meal together, can be a big deal."

Liu Zhiying smiled and then shook her head.

Smoke less.

"Um."

Li Dengyun responded and took another big breath.