I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Qiu Zhongyou, director of the Information Department of the Provincial Department of Agriculture, has been having a tough time lately.

He painstakingly registered all the far-right elements in the province who were privately raising chickens and ducks and handed them over to Minister Zhou. As a result, Minister Zhou turned around and implemented a large-scale liberalization of farmers' livestock farming in Tonggang County, distributing land to individual households.

The most terrifying thing is that he also sent all the best wheat seeds, corn seeds, piglets, chicks, and rabbits in the province to Tonggang County. Even pigs know that Minister Zhou is going to make reforms, so isn't the list he submitted the opposite of Minister Zhou's ideas?

Will he...will he make things difficult for me at work?

No, no, I have to say something to defend myself. I'm just doing my job, and I'm definitely not going against Minister Zhou's reform policies. I stand firmly with Minister Zhou.

However, Minister Zhou had not been seen at the Ministry of Agriculture office building for several days, and it was said that only his secretary, Gu Quan, knew his whereabouts.

When Qiu Zhongyou arrived at the minister's office on the third floor, he was startled. Why were there so many people blocking the entrance to the minister's office?

"What are you doing? What are you doing blocking this way?"

Qiu Zhongyou adopted an official tone and gave a commanding order.

A dozen or so strong men glanced at Qiu Zhongyou, and one of them said, "We don't want to block the way either. Just tell us where Minister Zhou is, and we'll leave right away."

"Do I need to report to you where Minister Zhou goes?"

This is utter nonsense, Qiu Zhongyou was furious.

"May I ask which department you are from? Can you help us with the new wheat and corn seeds? If so, we'll contact you." The middle-aged man wasn't afraid at all.

"What kind of wheat seeds are these? This is all a mess. Get out of here, or we'll call the police," Qiu Zhongyou said impatiently.

The middle-aged man said nonchalantly, "We didn't make a scene. We just wanted to report to Minister Zhou. He hid and wouldn't see us, so we waited quietly until he showed up. Even if the police came, we didn't do anything illegal."

"So, so Minister Zhou was hiding..."

Qiu Zhongyou retracted his previous statement, "So Minister Zhou was hiding from you all."

Qiu Zhongyou was in the information department, and he didn't understand what seeds were either. He stopped arguing with these troublemakers and went straight into the secretary's office.

"Guquan, what's going on outside?" Qiu Zhongyou asked in a low voice.

"Minister Zhou will handle the work matters. Director Qiu, is there something you need?" Gu Quan said casually.

"No, I was just reporting to Minister Zhou. Since he's busy, I'll come again next time," Qiu Zhongyou said awkwardly.

"If there's anything you need, you can tell me. Minister Zhou has been very busy lately, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to reach him," Gu Quan said.

"No, it's nothing serious, you're busy, you're busy."

How should I tell Gu Quan? Should I say that collecting those complaint letters was part of his job and that I hope Minister Zhou won't make things difficult for me?

Some things need to be discussed face-to-face, slowly, observing the other person's tone and attitude to determine whether they trust or dislike you.

Forget it, Minister Zhou must be overwhelmed with problems too, let's talk about it later.

Minister Zhou was in a terrible predicament; he was drinking tea in Governor Feng's office.

"Zhou Zhonghai, you took two ounces of tea leaves, and you drank half a pound of it on the way back. I have work to do, can you please not sit here in my way?"

Governor Feng was very annoyed with Zhou Zhonghai, but dared not offend him.

He was a close confidant of Chairman Pu, and the two shared a life-and-death bond. It's said that Chairman Pu even introduced him to his wife.

Even a provincial governor needs the support of central leaders. If you offend Zhou Zhonghai, he might become the next provincial governor.

It's so oppressive, so incredibly oppressive. Even the provincial governor has to be mindful of the Minister of Agriculture's mood.

"Can I go back? There are more than a dozen county party secretaries blocking the door of my office, asking me for wheat seeds, corn seeds, piglets, and rabbits. You gave me a total of 100,000 yuan, but I still owe the Forestry University Research Department another 100,000 yuan. How can I go back? Even if I give them my life, I still won't get the money."

Those who came from military backgrounds often had a thuggish demeanor, especially Zhou Zhonghai, who looked at the provincial governor as if he were a Japanese soldier.

"You still think 100,000 is not enough? This year, universities are expanding their enrollment. Each student receives a subsidy of 17 yuan per month. Do the math. How much subsidy would that be for 30,000 students? National documents clearly stipulate that education should be strongly supported. Which one says that agriculture should be supported?"

The Ministry of Finance only has so much money, how can they give you that? You ran so fast, with your household contract responsibility system, they gave you 100,000 yuan for a pilot program, and now other counties are envious and are asking you for wheat seeds, and you're blaming me. Zhou Zhonghai, running so fast, be careful you don't break your leg.

Zhou Zhonghai remained calm and spoke slowly and gently: "Governor Feng, when we fight a war, we think ten steps ahead for every step we take. How can we win this war? Luring the enemy, penetrating deep into enemy territory, and pursuing the enemy are all based on established strategies. If you successfully lure the enemy and then pursue them, you will inevitably be ambushed."

Developing agriculture is like fighting a war. First, you have to lure the enemy in, which means setting up pilot projects. Without anyone knowing, we can develop Tonggang County. Once the central government's document comes out, wouldn't you say Tonggang County is number one in the country? If the province wants to establish a model, shouldn't the central government also establish a model? I can assure you that our Tonggang County will be a national model.

"When the time comes, you, the provincial governor who's about to retire, will be transferred to the central government. Hehe, you can serve for a few more years."

Governor Feng listened quietly. He was already sixty years old, and after another three to five years of service, he would have to retire and go home to live out his retirement.

Once he goes to the central government, he can remain in office as long as his health permits.

Only with a position can one have power; only with power can one swagger and act arrogantly—no, no, only then can one serve the people.

"Just tell me what you want to do," Governor Feng said coldly.

"If large-scale contracting out to individual households causes problems, it has nothing to do with you, the provincial governor; the Ministry of Agriculture will take responsibility. Give me another 500,000 yuan, and I'll provide wheat and corn seeds to each county first. As for pigs and rabbits, whoever raises them can buy them themselves; I can't afford to give them away for free. By the end of the year, if each county has a bumper harvest, I guarantee that if you give me 500,000 yuan, I'll return 1 million to you."

Governor Feng slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Zhou Zhonghai, what a big mouth you have! Five hundred thousand? Are you trying to kill the Ministry of Finance? You write the report, I'll approve it, whether the Ministry of Finance gives it or not is your business."

Governor Feng is really going all out to stay in office for a few more years.

Zhou Zhonghai laughed heartily: "Governor Feng, if the two of us work together, we'll be invincible. It's better for you to stay in the province. I'll miss you if you go to the central government."

"Get lost!"

"Can I borrow the phone? I need Secretary Gu to write a report," Zhou Zhonghai said shamelessly.

"Get this sorted out of the way quickly. A dozen county magistrates blocking the entrance—does that sound good to people?"

"When doing anything, look at the results, who cares if it sounds good or bad? Ah, Xiao Gu, hurry up and write me a report, apply to the Ministry of Finance for 500,000 yuan for agricultural development. Yes, yes, after you write it, send it to Governor Feng's office for his signature. I'm not going back, I'm going to the Agricultural University for lunch. Hmm, I'll call you if anything comes up."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Zhonghai didn't linger. He took out a can of fine tea and said, "Those old fogies at the Agricultural University Research Institute won't accept any other gifts, they just love drinking tea. I don't have money to buy any, so consider this can a contribution to the socialist cause."

"Zhou Zhonghai... you son of a bitch, if you dare bring gifts again next time, I won't let you in the door."

He gave me two ounces of tea, drank half a pound of it, and then tried to steal a whole can of it. What a scoundrel!