In name only: The land of Handong, I shall rule its fate.

The conference room door opened.

Two elderly people with gray hair walked forward, supporting each other, their bodies trembling.

Lin Zhiyuan glared at Gao Sheng and Zhou Han, who were standing at the door, and helped the two elderly people up, one in each arm.

The two elderly people, one tall and one thin, had no distinguished achievements on their chests, and were not even wearing military uniforms or Zhongshan suits, but were dressed in ordinary home clothes.

The taller, slightly younger-looking one was energetic and walked with a strong gait; his earlier slow pace was clearly to take care of the other one.

Many veterans who have been working in Handong for a long time have already recognized his identity.

Comrade Li Weiguo, former governor of Handong Province.

"Governor Li!"

Gao Yuliang, Tian Guofu, Pan Lin and others stood up one after another, not expecting that Lin Zhiyuan would actually invite him out.

After the initial shock came terror.

Tian Guofu suddenly remembered that when he took office half a year ago, he seemed to have forgotten to visit these veteran cadres in Handong.

Cough!

He is the secretary of the provincial discipline inspection commission, a special position. I suppose these old cadres with lofty ideals can understand... right?

After the two elderly people took their seats.

Lin Zhiyuan stood directly between the two elderly men. "Governor Li, I'm sure many of you know him, so I won't go into details."

"This is the esteemed senior, Chai Weimin."

"Not many comrades know Elder Chai, so let me give a brief introduction. Elder Chai is 102 years old this year. He joined our army at the age of 17, joined the Party at the age of 20, and was later assigned to a certain brigade. He is a veteran of the organization who has come through many trials and tribulations."

"After the liberation of the country, I returned to Handong to live a self-sufficient life and never asked the organization for any preferential treatment."

Lin Zhiyuan's voice was calm and solemn.

All the Standing Committee members felt a sudden jolt; this wasn't some kind of ideological lesson, but rather a wake-up call.

This is a true veteran of Handong, a founding member of the organization.

Based on the current Standing Committee members, Zhao Lichun is a generation above them, Liang Qunfeng's generation is another generation, Chen Yanshi is yet another generation, and Li Weiguo is yet another generation. The thin old man in front of us, who is less than 1.6 meters tall, is a living bodhisattva.

Gan!

In the eyes of the Standing Committee members, this was clearly a warning from Lin Zhiyuan, warning them not to think that they could turn the world upside down just because Sha Ruijin had arrived, and that they would still have to obediently tumble under his Buddha's palm in the future.

clap clap clap!

Someone started it, and continuous applause filled the meeting room.

"Then please, Governor Li, give us younger generation a few words."

Lin Zhiyuan waited until the applause subsided before extending an invitation.

"I prepared a lot of ideas before I came."

"But now..."

Li Weiguo waved his hand, paused for a moment, and continued, "There's no need."

"I also heard the speeches of the current Standing Committee members outside the meeting room just now."

"Very good, that's right."

"This old man who rarely leaves his home has a far less accurate view of current social development than you, so there's no need for me to preach to you."

This is a definite statement, but it also carries pressure.

"Governor Li..."

Liu Changsheng couldn't stop talking.

"Let Elder Chai tell you."

Li Weiguo shook his head firmly.

"Senior Chai, if Elder Li doesn't want to talk about it, you can't keep it from him."

Lin Zhiyuan nodded, then looked at the senior as if coaxing an old child.

"You little brat."

Old Chai was old and had difficulty walking, but his hearing was very sharp. He chuckled and scolded, speaking in a thick Wu dialect, "If Weiguo doesn't want to talk, I will."

"Old Chai, please, there are so many people here, don't call me 'little kid,' I'll lose face in front of them."

Lin Zhiyuan begged for mercy.

But cheerful laughter broke out, instantly dispelling the somber atmosphere that had enlivened the arrival of the two elders.

"Mr. Chai, could you tell us why you joined our organization back then? Was it because, like your name suggests, you were dedicated to creating peace for the country and its people?"

Gao Yuliang's timely intervention was like the perfect comedian.

This question is easy to answer.

Everyone present could rattle off a whole bunch of things off the top of their head.

"No, no, no!"

Old Chai waved his hands repeatedly, patting his thin belly, "How would a country bumpkin like me know how to defend my country? I joined the army back then just for a bite to eat."

"The older generation in the village said that joining the army would ensure I had enough to eat, so I went."

"Later, the political instructor in the army would lecture me on grand principles every day, but I couldn't listen to him."

"But later, following the organization's orders, I went through one war after another."

"When I first received a gun, I was terrified."

"My comrade was perfectly fine in front of me, and suddenly he fell to the ground with a thud, blood splattered all over his face, and I almost peed myself."

"I was just lucky."

"He survived."

"Later, when the new country that our organization established was founded, I retired due to illness and injury, and returned to my hometown in Handong, where I still live now."

As Old Chai spoke, he gestured to indicate the name.

The language is simple and unadorned.

But it is a good medicine for purifying restlessness.

"At that time, the country was in dire need of rebuilding and urgently needed cadres to govern all sectors. Why didn't you stay a little longer?"

Gao Yuliang continued the conversation.

"Why stay? To become a local official? I won't do that."

"I've only learned two things in my life: shooting and farming. I don't use guns anymore, so what else can I do if I don't come back to farming?"

"I am not one of you."

"I've never been able to read more than three characters in my entire life. Even my name was given to me by my instructor, and I still can't write it neatly. Back then, I even applied to change my name to A-Yi or A-Da, and I didn't want my surname anymore."

"The character '柴' (chai) is too difficult to write."

"As a result, my instructor dragged me onto the field and scolded me for a long time."

"Later, the organization also talked to us, saying that we needed to improve literacy and attend cadre training courses."

"But I really can't learn it."

"The Chai family is really not cut out for studying."

"I'm not being lazy."

"I'm not lying to you."

"My great-grandson scored 12 points in Chinese and my great-granddaughter scored 8 points in English when he was in junior high school. My granddaughter-in-law is a university teacher. Even with such good genes, it still couldn't save my Chai family."

"In my granddaughter-in-law's words, putting the test paper on the ground and stepping on it is better than you two kids working hard for half a day."

"How can someone with such a poor reading aptitude be used for literacy campaigns or to become a government official? Wouldn't that be harming the people?"

"Those corrupt officials back then made it so that we ordinary people had no food to eat. Do I also want to become that corrupt official who made it so that ordinary people have no food to eat?"

"That would get you shot."

"I won't do it!"

Old Chai spoke with humor, yet he used the simplest and most unadorned language to tell the Standing Committee members present what they should do most.

"Old Chai, it's not that you don't understand the principles of serving the country and its people, nor that you're illiterate. You understand all too well how hard-won this country's victory was, and you understand all too well what the people need."

Gao Yuliang's eyes were slightly red as he held Chai Lao's hand tightly.

"Wei Guo said you are a great professor."

"You certainly know more than me and more than the average person, so you must be a good official and bring benefits to the people."

"We also need to lead them well."

Old Chai placed his other dry hand on the back of Gao Yuliang's hand.