Chapter 140

"That's the way it is. You don't have to rush to give me an answer right now. So, you can discuss it carefully tonight and consider all aspects clearly. Dongxu, you can tell me the result after work tomorrow. If you reply later, it won't be good to keep the leader waiting."

Li Jiandong stood up and said, "Then I'll go back first."

Jia Dongxu quickly stood up and said, "Master, let's eat first before we go."

"No, I have to talk to your mistress about this when I get back. I don't know how long I will be gone, and I have a lot of things to arrange at home."

Li Jiandong said with a smile.

When Jia Zhang and Liang Ladi heard this, they remembered that Li Jiandong would also go to Jilin and Liaoning, and they felt much more at ease.

With Li Jiandong watching over Jia Dongxu, there shouldn't be any accidents when he leaves this time.

Just now they were so busy thinking about Jia Dongxu that they forgot that Li Jiandong would go with them.

"Okay, I'm leaving now. You don't have to come out to see me off."

Li Jiandong pushed open the door, stopped Jia Dongxu at home, asked the three of them to discuss business, and then walked out of the yard.

When Ye Xiaoning and He Daqing saw him, they came over to say hello and asked Li Jiandong what brought him here today.

Li Jiandong did not hide it from them and told them about his plan to go to Jilin and Liaoning.

He Daqing and Ye Xiaoning were also very excited when they heard that a super-large iron mine had been discovered there.

After leaving the courtyard, Li Jiandong returned home.

Qin Huairu was used to him coming home late often, so she went up to him, took his coat and hung it on the coat hook on the wall.

"Brother Jiandong, wash your hands first. I'll go heat up some food for you."

Now that the weather is getting warmer, the stove has been removed and the kitchen is in the front yard, it is more difficult to heat up meals.

"okay."

Li Jiandong agreed but did not immediately tell her about going to Jilin and Liaoning. After he washed his hands and wiped his face, Qin Huairu came over with the hot meal.

Li Jiandong started talking about business while eating:

“Huai Ru, the ministry is going to appoint me as deputy director of the Energy Department and send me to Jilin and Liaoning to supervise the mining.

I originally refused, but this is a rare opportunity, and my leader specially helped me get it, so..."

Li Jiandong stopped talking here and picked up a peanut and chewed it slowly.

Qin Huairu was also stunned when she heard that Li Jiandong was going to Jilin and Liaoning.

However, she soon said, "Since the leader cares about us, we can't just let him down. How long will we be gone this time?"

Li Jiandong said, "Originally I was supposed to be gone for about three years, but I can't bear to leave you and the child for that long. It would be inconvenient if I took you all with me. After all, the child is still young, so I plan to try to come back in about half a year."

Qin Huairu breathed a sigh of relief:
"Half a year? That's not bad. It's not a long time."

What Qin Huairu was most worried about was that Li Jiandong would be snatched away by someone outside.

If it was only half a year, she felt that nothing would happen in such a short time.

As for the children, the three sons are now growing up, and even the third son has begun to become sensible.

Li Jiandong has been on a business trip for half a year. As long as he explains it clearly to them, the children should not have any wild thoughts.

"Yes, it won't take long. It's mainly because it's hard to refuse. What I'm most worried about is your thoughts. If you don't have any objections, I'll feel much more relaxed."

Li Jiandong said with a smile.

Although, no matter whether Qin Huairu agreed or not, the final result would be the same.

But if she can figure it out, it's obviously for the best.

After dinner, Li Jiandong called his three sons over and told them that he would be on a business trip for a while.

The eldest son Li Xunfu patted his chest and said that he would take care of the family, so Li Jiandong could rest assured.

Li Jiandong laughed. Of course, he couldn't really feel at ease letting a child take care of the family alone.

But he was very happy that his son could take on this responsibility.

However, Li Jiandong was not too worried because he had Sha Zhu at home.

Now Sha Zhu and Chen Xueru live together, with their homes separated by a wall.

Two months ago, Chen Xueru gave birth to a big fat boy for Sha Zhu, and Sha Zhu is now the deputy director of the street.

He no longer has to work overtime like he did at the police station, and comes home early every day. He can help solve any problems.

the next day.

Li Jiandong arrived at the steel rolling mill, and before he started working, Jia Dongxu came to him.

"Master, let me go to Jiliao with you."

The family discussed it for half the night last night and finally decided to let Jia Dongxu follow Li Jiandong to Jilin and Liaoning for training.

People always strive for higher goals, and who wouldn’t want to seize the opportunity?

Perhaps Li Jiandong is the only one who relies on the system and doesn't care about making progress.

"Okay, in that case, I'll call the boss. This matter cannot be changed now that it's decided."

"Ah."

Jia Dongxu nodded vigorously. After all, he was going to follow his master, so he was not nervous at all.

Li Jiandong called the boss and told him that Jia Dongxu had agreed to go to Jilin and Liaoning together.

The top leader there immediately asked people to make arrangements and notified Li Jiandong that he would officially go to Jilin and Liaoning next Monday.

There are still two days left until the weekend. Li Jiandong handed over all the work on hand and took a day off in advance to spend time with his family.

When Monday came, Li Jiandong and Jia Dongxu went to the airport together.

There were no civil airports in those days, and only civil servants could take planes.

This was Jia Dongxu’s first time on a plane, and he was very excited after boarding the plane.

Li Jiandong was relatively calm, even a little disgusted.

The seats on this plane are too crowded. The flight lasts for several hours. How can I endure curled up in such a small seat?

After several hours of turbulence, Li Jiandong and Jia Dongxu finally got off the plane. When they walked off the plane, their waists and legs were sore.

"Master, this plane is not comfortable to sit on. It's so crowded that my back and waist ache. There's not even a place to move around. It's shaking all the time, and it makes me dizzy."

Jia Dongxu's face was pale, his waist was hunched and his neck was drooped. It was really difficult for him along the way.

Li Jiandong is similar, but Li Jiandong's physical fitness has been strengthened.

Although the journey was uncomfortable, I could still bear it.

"Work hard. When you become a high-ranking official, you will have a private jet and will be comfortable."

Li Jiandong patted Jia Dongxu on the shoulder and encouraged him.

Jia Dongxu grinned immediately:

"Master, please stop teasing me. How high of an official must one be to have a private jet? I dare not even think about it in my lifetime. If one day you have a private jet, just take me on a flight to let me feel it."

Jia Dongxu is self-aware and does not become complacent just because he became a leader at a young age.

In fact, none of Li Jiandong's disciples are fools, and they all know how they got to where they are today.

If it weren't for his relationship with Li Jiandong, Jia Dongxu felt that he might not even be able to become a workshop director now.

At this time, several people in front ran towards this side.

One of them was fat and chubby, and his belly shook when he ran. After running a few steps, he began to breathe heavily. He stood in front of Li Jiandong and asked, "You two are from North City, right? Director Li and Director Jia?"

Li Jiandong nodded: "You are from the new mining area, right? I am Li Jiandong."

When the fat man heard that it was really Li Jiandong, his face was immediately filled with smiles.

He bent down and stretched out his hands and said, "Hello, Director Li. I am Gao Qiu, the mine manager of the new mining area. I welcome the two leaders to come and guide our work. These two are our deputy mine managers Ma Nan and Liu Hongxin."

Li Jiandong stretched out his hand and shook hands with the other party, and just nodded to the other two deputy mine managers.

"Director Li, let's get in the car first. I have prepared a welcoming banquet for you at the factory, and the cadres at the mine are waiting for you."

Gao Qiu smiled and took Li Jiandong to her car.

Jia Dongxu followed the two deputy mine managers into another car.

On the way, Gao Qiu was extremely flattering and kept kissing up to Li Jiandong.

As the mine manager of Asia's largest iron mine, his rank is the same as Li Jiandong.

However, Li Jiandong came from the higher authorities to supervise, and based on his position, he can manage everyone in the mine, including the mine manager.

Officials who come down from above must be respected.

Of course, many times it is just superficial respect. If the other party’s core interests are really affected, it may be another matter.

We soon arrived at the place and saw a group of people standing at the gate of the mining area from a distance.

The two cars stopped at the door. After Gao Qiu got out of the car, he finally straightened his back in front of his men.

"Comrades, this is Director Li Jiandong from Beicheng. The leader has come from afar to guide our work. Please give us a warm welcome."

After Gao Qiu finished speaking, he took the lead in applauding, and the others also applauded enthusiastically.

Li Jiandong didn't like to put on airs, nor did he care much about such things. He simply nodded and rejected Gao Qiu's suggestion that he say a few words.

The plane flew for a whole morning and it was already time for lunch.

After a brief welcome at the door, Gao Qiu brought Li Jiandong and his team to the mining area guesthouse.

The lunch was very rich, with all kinds of things flying in the sky, swimming in the water and running on the ground. The food was much better than the banquet hosted by the steel mill.

However, this is normal. After all, the mining area and the steel rolling mill are at the same level, both are deputy-department-level units.

But the steel rolling mill is in the north city. There are many officials in the north city, and there are many factories with higher levels than the steel rolling mill.

The city leaders in Jilin and Liaoning are only at the department level, so one can imagine the status of this deputy department head of the mine.

Of course, it is also possible that the standards were raised to accommodate Li Jiandong, and perhaps the food they usually eat is not that good.

At the first meal, everyone ate very politely. Gao Qiu and others toasted Li Jiandong with a glass of wine, but they were restrained and did not go too far.

After dinner, Gao Qiu arranged a driver for Li Jiandong.

"Director Li, you've been traveling a long way. I've arranged a place for you to stay in the city. This is our driver, Xiao Zhou. If you want to go somewhere in the future, just ask him to take you there. Any expenses will be charged to our mine."

Li Jiandong gave him a meaningful look and said, "Director Gao, you treat me as a guest."

Being arranged to stay in the city instead of in the guesthouse in the mining area may seem polite, but in fact it means you should stay away and not interfere in the affairs of the mine.

As long as you don't interfere with work, the mine will pay for you to go wherever you want to play.

Gao Qiu laughed:
"Director Li, you misunderstood. To be honest, we hit it off right away. I've already considered you my brother from the bottom of my heart.

But, having said that, the more relatives come to visit, the more we should treat them with all our heart. We can't even distinguish between those who are far away and those who are near."

Li Jiandong nodded and said nothing more.

Anyway, he came here just for the sake of formality. Once Jia Dongxu gets used to it, it will be time for him to go back.

The work here is different from that in the north city, so when you come here you have to adapt to the local customs.

Otherwise, even if they don't dare to touch me, I can't do anything if they occasionally give me a cold look and pretend to obey me but actually disobey me.

A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. You have to follow the local customs wherever you go.

"Since Director Gao is so enthusiastic, I will obey your orders. I am really tired from the journey, so Director Jia and I will go back and rest first."

"Okay, Director Li, take care. Xiao Zhou will open the car door for Director Li."

Gao Qiu walked Li Jiandong to the car and watched him and Jia Dongxu get in and leave.

After everyone left, Gao Qiu's expression suddenly returned to aloofness, and he said to his men around him: "The leader has left, so you should all go back to your work."

the other side.

Li Jiandong and Jia Dongxu took a car to the residence arranged by Gao Qiu for them.

His residence is a two-story Western-style house with luxurious decoration. The living room alone is nearly 100 square meters.

Jia Dongxu's residence is next to his, in an ordinary house with a slightly larger area. The difference between their residences is a bit big, but this is the reality.

However, although Jia Dongxu's residence is not as good as Li Jiandong's, it is still much better than where he lives in North City.

Gao Qiu also assigned servants to the two of them, so they only needed to live here and enjoy themselves without having to worry about cleaning or other life issues.

"Master, life here is pretty good. People say Jilin and Liao are relatively poor, but I think they live more comfortably than we do in Beicheng."

Jia Dongxu went back to his residence and stayed for a while, then ran excitedly to find Li Jiandong.

"It's normal for you to have this illusion, because you are a leader. Whether a place is backward or developed depends on the ordinary people. If you really want to see the poor, go to where the poor live and take a look."

"Are you tired now?"

Li Jiandong suddenly asked.

Jia Dongxu was originally very tired, but after having a meal he felt less tired.

After all, he was still young and energetic, so he nodded and said, "It's okay, not that tiring."

"Well, come with me to a poor place to meet your fellow apprentice Guangqi and his father-in-law and mother-in-law."

Li Jiandong said this and stood up and walked out.

Liu Guangqi's daughter-in-law Zhou Rong's hometown is in Jilin, in Guangzipian Street in the main urban area of ​​Benxi.

If Li Jiandong had not been transferred here, he would definitely not have gone to Zhou Rong's house on purpose, but since he happened to be here, it would not look good if he deliberately did not go and was known to others.

After the two men left the western-style building, the driver, Xiao Zhou, hurried forward and opened the car door.

After Li Jiandong sat down, he asked Xiao Zhou:
"Xiao Zhou, do you know where the light piece is?"

Xiao Zhou laughed and said:

"Director Li, I'm a local here. I've been driving here for seven or eight years and have traveled everywhere. As long as you can name a place, I can take you there. However, Guangzipian is a bit... how should I put it, it's a bit messy, right? Why do you suddenly want to go there?"

Li Jiandong said:

"The wife of one of my apprentices lives there. Since we are here, let's go take a look. If you come across a supply and marketing cooperative on the road, please stop there. I will buy some things before going over."

"okay."

Xiao Zhou agreed and started the car.

Gao Qiu allocated a jeep from the factory to Li Jiandong. Although both were deputy-department-level units, the mine had many more vehicles than the steel rolling mill, with a total of three vehicles, one of which was a sedan.

This jeep is equipped with the shock absorber invented by Li Jiandong. Although the road is a bit bumpy, it is still comfortable to sit in.

Passing by a supply and marketing cooperative, Li Jiandong got off the car and bought some sugar, oil and other things.

He went to the grain store and bought a bag of rice, and asked the driver Xiao Zhou to help carry it onto the car.

After driving for another ten minutes, the car arrived at a dirty and messy bungalow area.

On both sides were residents wearing tattered clothes, and the road suddenly became bumpy. When the children heard the sound of the car, they ran out to see what was new. They ran behind the car, screaming as they ran, as if they had never seen the world before.

The surrounding houses were also extremely simple, with walls only about one meter high. The houses in the yard could be seen at a glance, and many windows were covered with oil paper, without even quick-release glass.

Jia Dongxu looked at the scene outside without saying a word. This place and where he just lived seemed like two different worlds.

Li Jiandong said, "See? This is the Jilin you heard about. However, this cannot represent all of Jilin. The place where we lived before should be the most developed part of Jilin, and this should be the most backward area."

At this time, Xiao Zhou, who was driving, suddenly said:

"Director Li, you know Jilin and Liaoning quite well. It's true that Guangzi Pian is relatively backward. It is said that this place used to be a gathering place for fugitives, and even now there are still many illegal residents here."

Li Jiandong smiled and said:
"I also heard it from my apprentice. He's been here before. Let's stop here. I'll ask someone where their home is."

Li Jiandong did not ask specifically before coming, so he did not know Zhou Rong's house number.

But he knew that Zhou Rong's father was Zhou Zhigang, an eighth-level construction worker, who should be very famous in such a shabby place.
Xiao Zhou found a crowded place to park the car and asked Li Jiandong to wait in the car. He jumped out of the car and asked people where Zhou Zhigang's home was.

He was a local and quickly found out the location of Zhou Zhigang's home and returned to the car.

"Director Li, Zhou Zhigang's home is not far ahead. I'll just drive over there. Otherwise, it would be hard to carry the rice in the car."

Li Jiandong nodded: "Okay, let's drive over there."

The vehicle continued to start and soon arrived outside a yard.

Xiao Zhou jumped out of the car and knocked on the door. Li Jiandong and Jia Dongxu also got out of the car.

Soon a woman came out of the house: "Who are you looking for?"

The woman looked to be around fifty years old, about the same age as Zhou Rong's mother.

Li Jiandong stepped forward and said, "Hello, sister. Excuse me, is this Zhou Zhigang's home?"

"Yes, who are you?"

The woman looked somewhat wary.

She could tell from Li Jiandong's voice that he was not a local.

However, her husband is an eighth-level construction worker and knows a lot of people. Since the other party came by car, he must be an important person.

Moreover, he looks extraordinary, unlike those swindlers who only care about the words on the paper.

Thinking of this, her expression relaxed a little, but she still didn't go forward to open the door.

Li Jiandong introduced himself:

"Sister, my name is Li Jiandong, and I'm Liu Guangqi's master. I just came to Beicheng to do some work today, and I came to see you on the way."

When the woman heard the three words "Liu Guangqi", she immediately felt relieved.

That was the name of her son-in-law, a native of North City, an engineer, and a winner of an excellent medal issued by the state. He was the pride of their entire family.

The person in front of me who can call out Liu Guangqi's name must be one of us.

"Oh, it's Master Guangqi. Look at my eyes. I didn't realize it was you. Please wait a moment and I will open the door for you."

Li Suhua trotted to the gate of the courtyard. There was no lock on the door. There was only a hook made of bent wire. When he lifted it, the door opened.

"Master Li, please come in. I didn't know you were coming today, so I didn't clean up the house. I'm sorry to bother you. The house is a bit messy."

Li Suhua smiled and invited Li Jiandong into the house.

I have to say that the situation inside the house is not much better than it looks from the outside. The windows sealed with oil paper prevent any light from coming in, and the already greasy walls look even darker.

The ground was also made of dirt, and the walls looked cleaner with newspapers pasted on them.

The only electrical appliance in the house was a 25-watt light bulb, but the quilt was neatly folded and the floor was swept very clean.

Li Jiandong did not despise her, but smiled and said, "Sister, you are too modest, this house is much tidier than mine.

Oh, by the way, where is Brother Zhou? Oh, by the way, today is a weekday, so he is at work, right? "

Li Suhua said, "That's right. We recently built a new iron mine here. Her father's construction team is working on the construction there. He usually lives in the mine and only comes back on weekends. He just left this morning."

Jia Dongxu suddenly laughed:

"What a coincidence, we came from that side."

Li Suhua was stunned and asked:

"Master Li, you guys are not here to do construction at the mine, are you?"

Li Jiandong smiled and said, "That's about right. We are all here for the mine. Oh, there are some things in the car. Dongxu, you and Xiao Zhou go and move them down first."

"Okay, Master."

Jia Dongxu agreed and went to move things with Xiao Zhou.

Li Suhua said embarrassedly:

"Master Li, you have come all the way here, but I haven't even treated you properly. Instead, I asked you to bring something. How about you have dinner at my house tonight? I'll ask my son to call his father back."

"No need, big sister, we just came here to take a look, we have to go back later."

Li Jiandong didn't dislike the Zhou family, but it was obvious that their living conditions were very ordinary.

Staying for a meal would obviously cause trouble to the other party.

After sitting in Zhou's house for a while, Li Jiandong prepared to leave.

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard:

"Whose car is this? Why is it parked outside our house? It's so beautiful. I wish I could drive one someday."

As they were talking, the courtyard door was pushed open and the young man walked into the house.

Li Suhua saw that it was her son who came back, and she quickly stood up and introduced him.
"Master Li, this is my youngest son Zhou Bingkun. Zhou Rong is his sister. We also have an older son, Zhou Bingyi, who went to the south after graduating from university."

"Bingkun, come and meet your brother-in-law's master, Uncle Li."

Zhou Bingkun is only fifteen years old this year and looks very immature. He said to Li Jiandong in a somewhat silly manner, "Hello, Uncle Li."

"you're good too."

Li Jiandong stood up and said, "It's getting late, we should go back. We'll bother you again when we have time."

Li Sulan advised: "Master Li, it's already this late, why don't you eat first?"

"No, you guys go ahead and do your work. I have something else to do when I get back."

Li Jiandong politely declined.

Zhou Zhigang had said before that although he was an eighth-level worker, because Li Suhua was in poor health, a lot of his earnings were used to buy medicine for her.

The Zhou family was not well off to begin with, and with the eldest son away on a business trip and the younger son unemployed, their life became even more difficult.

Li Suhua and Zhou Bingkun saw them off and watched Li Jiandong get into the car, turn around on the spot and drive away toward the street.

On the way out, Jia Dongxu muttered, "Master, isn't Zhou Rong's father an eighth-level worker? Why is the family's condition so poor?"

"It is said that her mother is in poor health and she spent a lot of money on medicine."

Li Jiandong explained casually, but he himself didn't quite believe it.

An eighth-level worker earns more than 100 yuan a month. What kind of disease can cost so much money in a month?
If the illness was really that serious, even if Li Suhua wasn't bedridden now, she wouldn't be as energetic as she is today.

At this time Xiao Zhou suddenly said:
"Leader, please don't blame me for being nosy. Most of the residents in Guangzi District have some identity issues.

The eighth-level worker you mentioned is definitely fine, so the ones with problems should be the two just mentioned. Either they have committed crimes or they are illegal residents. In any case, it is inseparable from these two reasons. "

Li Jiandong also felt that what Xiao Zhou said was right, birds of a feather flock together.

If it weren't for these reasons, it would have been easy for Zhou Zhigang to move away as an eighth-level worker.

After all, Jilin and Liaoning are not like the northern city. The area is vast and sparsely populated, so there is no shortage of places to live, and the consumption level is relatively low. It doesn't cost much whether you rent a house or build one yourself.

There must be something wrong with me as I stay here all the time.

However, this has nothing to do with Li Jiandong. He has already done his best by coming over to take a look. They are not that close to his apprentice's wife's family.

That is Li Jiandong. If another leader encountered such poor relatives, he might not be willing to pay attention to them even if they were his own family members, let alone the family of his apprentice's wife.

"I think it's unlikely. Aunt Li and her son look like honest people. How could they be illegal immigrants who have committed crimes?"

Jia Dongxu didn't quite believe it. The images of Li Suhua and Zhou Bingkun made him feel that this family should be pretty good.

Including the light-word films, they may look poor, but who says that poor people are necessarily bad?

However, just as Jia Dongxu finished speaking, an infuriating scene appeared in front of him.

(End of this chapter)