Chapter 19: Family Troubles

o Zheng received a phone call. It was from the county Public Security Bureau. The voice on the other end was rather cold, but it was good news: “Is this Xiao Zheng Your application for national compen...Since being promoted to the rank of Party committee member, today was the happiest moment for Xiao Zheng when he could tell his parents, "I am now a Party committee member of the town." 。

The village Party secretary, Ma Fulai, dared to provoke his father directly because he is an ordinary cadre. 。Among the average cadres in town, none of the village secretaries have any weight. 。Everything can be totally different from now on. 。Xiao Rongrong and Fei Qingmei's eyes widened after hearing this: "Really" Xiao Zheng smiled faintly and said, "Mom and Dad, I wouldn't lie to you to make you happy. " 。Promoted, it is promoted. 。Indeed, this son had never deceived them. 。Xiao Rongrong stood up and took out two small bowls from the cupboard, saying, "We must have a drink today." 。Fei Qingmei glanced at him and said, "Why did you only bring two wine cups Get me one too. I want to have a drink today as well." 。"Xiao Rongrong smiled and said, "These two cups, one for you and one for Xiao Zheng. I'll go get another one myself." 。A vintage Eight Immortals table, with three dishes and one soup, and wine already poured. Three wine goblets were filled with 38-degree Taijiu, each held in their hands. 。Xiao Rongrong said, "Qingmei, our son has been promoted! Today we come together to toast him and celebrate his success." 。"Fei Qingmei's eyes were glistening with unshed tears: "Son, it hasn't been easy..." 。Mom and Dad both respect you, and wish you all the best in your future endeavors. 。Xiao Zheng laughed immediately: “Mom, do you want me to keep climbing higher” Fei Qingmei smiled and said: “Of course, my son is a prestigious university graduate. For the past seven years, he was being held down by others, but now people can't hold him back anymore. You are definitely going to turn things around and continue to rise steadily.” 。"Xiao Rongrong said: "Qimei, don't put so much pressure on your son. It's already amazing that we have a town leader in our family. I'm very satisfied." 。"Fei Qingmei said: "I'm not unhappy" 。But, I believe my son will definitely be promoted because he is excellent. 。Fei Qingmei's confidence in her son is sometimes nothing more than blind faith. 。

Which mother is not blind Sometimes it is precisely this blindness that gives a son confidence and courage.

After drinking two cups of wine, Fei Qingmei asked, "Son, now that you are in a leadership position, has the Chen family been nicer to you" Fei Qingmei was aware that Chen Hong and her family hadn't treated Xiao Zheng very well over the years. 。Before that, even though the village road was still small, Chen Hong had visited his house several times, but these past two years she hadn't come once. 。 Fei Qingmei also began to suspect something, so she asked her son about the situation. Xiao Zheng didn't hide anything and told her the truth. 。Only then would Fei Qingmei ask such a question. 。Xiao Zheng said: "Mom, I'm much better now. The other day you even invited me out for dinner" 。"Fei Qingmei said: 'That's good'" 。Xiao Rongrong said, "Xiao Zheng, in my opinion, the Chen family are too materialistic. We farmers are down-to-earth people, and it's too tiring to associate with them." 。Fei Qingmei said, “Who let you contact them It’s Xiao Zheng and Chen Hong’s business. As long as the young people like it, we shouldn’t interfere too much.” 。"Xiao Rongrong said: "Now it's just the two of them getting to know each other. If they get married in the future, we'll inevitably have to get to know each other too." 。Even if we don't interact, their attitude towards Xiao Zheng always depends on how well he's doing. When things are going well for him, they treat him better. But when he has problems at work, they ignore him. How can this be right People have ups and downs, and we shouldn't treat those closest to us this way. 。"Do you agree"

Fei Qingmei said, "You're right about everything." 。But in the end, it's still up to our Xiao Zheng. Let him decide for himself. 。And, I quite like Chen Hong as well. 。“Xiao Rongrong said, “Xiao Zheng, what do you think about this…cough cough…”

As she spoke, Xiao Rongrong suddenly started coughing, and it was quite severe. 。Fei Qingmei hurriedly put down her chopsticks and helped Xiao Rongrong pat her back. 。Xiao Zheng also put down his chopsticks and said hurriedly, "Dad, why are you coughing so badly" While patting her husband's back, Fei Qingmei said, "It's only been a month or so..." 。Xiao Rongrong coughed for a long time, saliva dribbling onto the ground, before she finally recovered slightly. 。Xiao Zheng felt a pang of sympathy, but also some worry. He said, "Dad, tomorrow you come with me to the county hospital for a checkup. You've been coughing so badly, it's worrying." 。"Xiao Rongrong said, "I have to go to work tomorrow, so I can't go." 。"Xiao Zheng said: "Sharpening the knife does not delay chopping wood, you have to take care of your cough first." 。Xiao Rongrong waved it off: “In our village, which man doesn’t have a little cough It’s normal, no need to make a fuss.” 。Since Murakami started mining, more and more people have been coughing. 。People don't really take it seriously. 。Many people only care about making money and don't pay much attention to their health. 。Xiao Zheng said, "Dad, you earn this money for what Isn't it to improve your life a little bit To live a better life If you want to live a better life, how can you do without good health Health is 1, and everything else is 0. If this 1 isn't good, what use are those 0s"

Xiao Rongrong listened and thought it made sense. After a moment of silence, she said, "Tomorrow is Sunday, I'm afraid there won't be any doctors I have to go back to work..." 。That's it, I'll take a day off tomorrow and go to the county hospital the day after tomorrow. 。"Xiao Zheng said, "That works too." 。But you have to call me in advance, I'll go with you. 。。Next, Xiao Zheng accompanied Xiao Rongrong to finish the last sip of wine and stopped drinking. 。That night, Fei Qingmei originally wanted Xiao Zheng to go back to the dormitory in town to sleep, as they always had before. 。But today Xiao Zheng refused to leave. He wanted to observe Xiao Rongrong's situation in the evening. 。It's unknown whether Xiao Zheng was sleeping soundly because he had drunk some alcohol, or because Xiao Rongrong truly didn't cough. Whatever the reason, that night, Xiao Zheng barely heard any coughing sounds. 。The next morning, Xiao Rongrong and Fei Qingmei left a bowl of porridge, a fried egg, and a bowl of stir-fried greens for Xiao Zheng on the table. They had already gone to work early. 。After having breakfast, Xiao Zheng went back to town. 。By Monday, Xiao Zheng hadn't received calls from his parents, which worried him. He called home, but no one answered. 。What's going on with these two Xiao Zheng felt a little irritated. These two old fellas must have gone back to work again. 。By a little past six in the evening, Xiao Zheng called home again. It was Lao Ma and Fei Qingmei who answered the call. 。Xiao Zheng asked, "What's going on Why didn't Dad go to the county town to see a doctor"

Fei Qingmei said, "Your father's cough has gotten better these past two days. He hasn't coughed during the day or night, so he said he doesn't need to go to the hospital." 。“But you were coughing terribly the other day, weren’t you Even if you don't have symptoms now, it’s best to go to the hospital for a check-up to be safe, right”

At this moment, Xiao Rongrong took the phone: “Xiao Zheng, you don’t need to worry about me” 。I've been doing great these past few days, not a single problem. You can rest assured. 。If you have any symptoms, I'll call you. 。As the new leader, you'll definitely have a lot on your plate in town. Just focus on your work. 。"Xiao Zheng really couldn't get his father to listen. He didn't take care of his own body at all. " 。But this isn't just about Xiao Rongrong, in fact, most people in Murakami are like this. 。Xiao Zheng also couldn't tie him up and take him to the county hospital, so he said: "Dad, let me tell you, if you cough again..." 。Call me immediately, this is serious. 。Xiao Rongrong said, “Okay, I promise you. If I cough again, I’ll call you.” 。Before noon the next day, Deputy Mayor Jin Hui called Xiao Zheng: "Xiao Commissioner, now that I'm a leader, I haven't seen you anywhere!" 。Xiao Zheng heard a hint of displeasure in Jin Hui's voice. 。After all, he had followed Jin Hui for quite some time. Usually, Jin Hui was also the most concerned leader in town towards him. Xiao Zheng couldn't bear to lose face, so he said: "Mayor Jin, if you're willing to give me face, I'll treat you to lunch today." 。"Jin Hui said, 'Okay, after you were promoted, we haven't had a meal together yet.'" 。Jin Hui really likes to eat. Hearing that Xiao Zheng wanted to treat him to a meal, Jin Hui was delighted, and all the resentment in his words disappeared without a trace. 。At noon, when other town officials rushed to the canteen, Jin Hui and Xiao Zheng came to Anxian Tǔcài Restaurant. The hardest dish here was Anxian earth chicken. 。This is a stewed chicken cooked with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, dried chili peppers, and garlic. It's simmering with a rich aroma and ready to be served on the table. 。"This chicken is so fragrant!" Xiao Zheng said, "Then you eat more." 。"Let's have four more beers, shall we" Jin Hui said matter-of-factly. "How can you eat roast chicken without beer Of course, we need beer!" 。During that time, there was no prohibition. You could drink as long as you didn't get too drunk to the point where it affected your work. 。After drinking for a while, Jin Hui filled a glass with beer and raised it, saying to Xiao Zheng: "Congratulations! You finally got out of the Anjian station. Now, I'm the only one left fighting alone." 。"As for this matter, Xiao Zheng actually had something to say. He said, “Mayor Jin, the mine problem in Fengqi Village is a ticking time bomb" 。I think we really should make a firm decision to give it a thorough resolution. 。You are the deputy town chief, you should be more clear about this than I am!

Jin Hui looked at Xiao Zheng: "That's right, I know better than you." 。But what use is being clearer about it

Xiao Zheng said in surprise: "How is it useless! Since we know this is a time bomb, then solve it!" 。If you, the deputy town head, can't resolve it, then seek the assistance of the town head. 。If the mayor can't solve it, he will seek help from the secretary of the town Party committee. 。"Mayor Jin, I've been working with you for so long, we have feelings for each other. If you really want to do it, I'll definitely support you!"

Jin Hui looked at Xiao Zheng, his expression inevitably filled with a touch of emotion. But after a while, he seemed to shake his head at himself and said: "Xiao Zheng, our arms can't win against thighs..." 。“You said that an arm can't overpower a thigh, then who is the 'arm' And who is the 'thigh' ”Xiao Zheng frowned slightly. Jin Hui stared at Xiao Zheng and said, “Who do you think is the arm and who is the thigh Xiao Zheng, Song Shuji’s position in our town is deeply rooted. All we can do is obey, cooperate, and support him.” 。If you had understood this sooner, you might have been promoted already. 。” When Xiao Zheng's cup was empty, Chen Hong even proactively refilled it for him. 。Xiao Zheng expressed politeness on the surface, but his heart was filled with mixed emotions. When a person is valuab...