Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

Li Xiangqian nodded.

He didn't say anything.

Runye didn't ask any further questions. She took two eggs out of the cloth bag.

"I'll make you two boiled eggs. You can eat them later if you get hungry."

After saying that, she turned and went to the kitchen without waiting for Li Xiangqian's reply.

In the kitchen.

Runye put the eggs into the enamel pot.

She stood in front of the stove, her eyes fixed on the eggs in the pot, her fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the stove.

Absent-minded.

Runye would occasionally stroll to the kitchen doorway and glance into the living room.

Li Xiangqian remained in the same position, reclining in a rattan chair, his face covered by a palm-leaf fan, showing no signs of life.

Runye retreated back into the kitchen.

After the eggs were cooked, Runye took them out and rinsed them in cold water. When she brought them to the living room, Li Xiangqian was no longer in the rattan chair.

The living room is empty.

The door to the inner room was open.

Runye glanced into the inner room and saw that Li Xiangqian was already lying on the bed.

His face was turned inwards towards the wall, with his back to the door.

Runye stood in the living room for two seconds, then carried two boiled eggs into the inner room.

She gently placed the egg on the small desk next to Li Xiangqian's bedside. It was in a small enamel dish with a piece of toilet paper underneath.

"forward."

She called out softly.

"I've left the eggs here. You can eat them when you're hungry later."

Li Xiangqian didn't move.

There was no reply.

Runye stood by the bed for two seconds. Her gaze swept over Li Xiangqian's back and landed on the two eggs on the small desk.

The two egg whites were raw.

She sighed and turned to leave.

I had just reached the door.

A soft sound came from behind me.

"Thanks."

Runye paused, turned to look at Li Xiangqian, and that "thank you" made her feel a sudden pang of heartache.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something back to him.

In the end, he said nothing. He simply tiptoed out of the inner room.

After washing up and changing into clean clothes, Runye returned to the inner room.

She glanced at the small desk.

The two eggs were still sitting there all alone.

None of them have been touched.

Runye sat down on the edge of her small bed and watched Li Xiangqian's back for a while.

"forward……"

She spoke softly.

"How about... I ask Director Du for a day off for you? You can rest at home tomorrow?"

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the bed.

"No."

Li Xiangqian sighed.

Rumors are circulating that Li Dengyun used his connections to get Li Xiangqian into the cultural center, and the public opinion is very intense. If I were to skip work without reason and someone with ulterior motives found out, who knows what they would say? Li Dengyun's career is more important, so I shouldn't cause him any more trouble.

Runye sat on her bed, puzzled.

She couldn't understand why they weren't using it. In her opinion, given Li Xiangqian's condition today, it was perfectly normal for him to stay home and rest tomorrow.

But she didn't ask any more questions.

She felt that Li Xiangqian was behaving very strangely today, and she became even more worried.

The lights were turned off.

The room was plunged into darkness. A few stars shone outside the window, and a sliver of moonlight peeked through the curtains, illuminating the floor in the center of the room.

Runye lay on her small bed, covering her chest with a thin blanket, carefully listening to the sounds coming from the bed opposite her.

Li Xiangqian, who usually falls asleep the moment his head hits the pillow, tossed and turned several times today.

It went on until the early hours of the morning.

Runye then heard a soft snoring coming from the bed opposite her.

……

The Huangyuan Prefectural Committee Office Building. Third floor. Prefectural Committee Meeting Room.

The conference room was more than twice the size of the former Xixian Revolutionary Committee. The long conference table was covered with a dark green woolen tablecloth, and an enamel teacup and an ashtray were placed at intervals on the tablecloth.

On the wall directly opposite the table hangs a large map of the Huangyuan region's administrative divisions, with the jurisdiction of each county marked in red and blue.

On the left wall hung a five-star red flag, and on the right hung several portraits of leaders. The fluorescent lights overhead hummed, illuminating the entire conference room brightly.

Miao Kai sat at the head of the conference table.

Gao Fengge sat to Miao Kai's left, and Hu Zhengwen sat to Miao Kai's right.

Gao Fengge was the deputy secretary of the prefectural committee, mainly responsible for cultural propaganda work in the Huangyuan area. His rank was half a grade higher than Hu Zhengwen's, but his power was half a grade lower. Hu Zhengwen was a member of the Huangyuan Prefectural Committee Standing Committee, responsible for the organizational work of the entire Huangyuan area, that is, personnel arrangements.

In this conference room, Miao Kai made the decisions, Hu Zhengwen managed personnel, and Gao Fengge controlled communication. The three of them each performed their duties.

Wu Dequan, deputy director of the Labor and Personnel Bureau, was also present.

Some staff members from the Prefectural Party Committee Office also attended the meeting. Miao Kai's secretary, Bai Yuan, sat in a chair in the back row, a small black notebook open in front of him, and a pen in his hand ready to take notes at any moment. He was not qualified to sit at the table and could only sit in the back row.

Today's main discussion will focus on personnel arrangements.

Personnel matters are politics, and also the ultimate manifestation of power. Everyone arrived at the venue well in advance.

Before the meeting had even officially started, Gao Fengge had already moved closer to Miao Kai. The two of them lowered their heads and chatted while laughing. Gao Fengge always had a smile on his face. When he spoke, the corners of his mouth turned up, and his eyebrows curved into crescent moons, making him look like a Maitreya Buddha.

Hu Zhengwen, standing to the side, was clearly not as close to Gao Fengge and Miao Kai. However, he wore a faint smile, showing neither embarrassment nor any other emotion. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers gently twirling the enamel teacup on the table.

There are not many people participating in the Standing Committee of the Prefectural Party Committee.

There's nothing we can do about it. The leadership of the Huangyuan Prefectural Committee has yet to be fully assembled. The selection of the Standing Committee members has been a subject of much negotiation between the provincial and prefectural governments for almost half a year, but no conclusion has been reached yet.

For example, after the former Huangyuan Regional Administrative Office Commissioner was transferred to the Second Provincial Bureau of Land and Resources as Director last year, the position of Regional Administrative Office Commissioner, which is second only to Miao Kai, remains vacant.

Miao Kai made several attempts to promote Gao Fengge. At the end of last year, Miao Kai went to the provincial capital specifically for this matter, but some provincial leaders, led by Comrade Shi Zhong, maintained their reservations.

At the beginning of the year, Miao Kai again approached Zhang Shengmin in the provincial government. Zhang Shengmin was Miao Kai's fellow townsman; both were officials from Shanxi and had always maintained a close relationship. Miao Kai also took Gao Fengge to visit Comrade Wu Bin in the provincial government. Wu Bin and Gao Fengge were also from the same hometown, and Gao Fengge's advancement had always been inseparable from Wu Bin's recommendations.

Miao Kai and Gao Fengge both felt that with the combined efforts of Wu Bin and Zhang Shengmin, two comrades from the province, Gao Fengge's promotion to commissioner of the Huangyuan Regional Administrative Office was practically a done deal.

But starting last month, rumors began circulating in the province that a provincial official might be parachuted in. Many personnel arrangements that had already been planned were put on hold.

Miao Kai keenly sensed that he had to take advantage of the gap to make some personnel arrangements for the prefectural committee leadership team in advance, and fill the team with his own people in advance.

Miao Kai looked around the conference room.

He smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly.

"Oh dear. In such a large region as Huangyuan, it's unacceptable for the Standing Committee to remain incomplete like this. Look at this."

He pointed to several empty chairs behind the conference table, then raised his hand and drew a circle in the air.

"Several seats are still empty. With fewer people, your voices will echo."

Everyone smiled in agreement upon seeing this.

Miao Kai continued to laugh.

"If comrades from other regions saw this, they would think that there are no good comrades in Huangyuan. The whole of Huangyuan is counting on our few guns."

Everyone relaxed and smiled. Some picked up their cups to drink tea, while others took out cigarettes and lit them.