Shen Huai yelled at Chu Qiang, and didn't even pull him into the office to talk privately. Instead, he questioned Chu Qiang in front of everyone in the large office, including Guo Quan and Hu Xuebin:

  "A few days ago, Director Guo gave me your application for transferring to the Asset Management Department. Since I have some time today, I'd like to hear from you in person: Why do you want to come to the Asset Management Department?"

  Chu Qiang graduated from vocational school only three years ago. For the first two years, he worked as an assistant to his father in a carpet factory. At first, Chu Qiang was also young and inexperienced, prone to making mistakes, and had a rebellious attitude, often clashing with his father. In a fit of anger, his father kicked him out of the carpet factory and arranged for him to work at the town government office, saying it would be a two-year apprenticeship to gain experience.

  The application for transfer from land to asset management was also the idea of his father, Chu Yiliang. Chu Qiang himself did not have a strong desire, and since Secretary Shen asked him face-to-face, he could not help but answer.

  "Mainly thinking of training under Secretary Shen for two years," Chu Qiang pulled over a chair and sat down in front of Shen Hua with great respect, "Secretary Shen came to Mei Xi, rectified the steel plant's production, achievements are obvious, my dad also said that only under Secretary Shen can one learn real skills?"

  Shen Huai smiled slightly, who doesn't love to hear good words, and he was no exception. However, Zhu Yiliang's thoughts were obviously not so simple: perhaps it was because he saw him overpowering Du Jian in Meixi Town, wanting to strengthen his connection with him through his son, ensuring that the blanket factory's contract would not change hands.

  Or perhaps Zhu Yiliang had some deeper purpose that is hard to say.

  The blanket factory was contracted to Chuyi Liang in the past, and the operation was quite good. The contracting fee and business tax paid to the town were also relatively timely. Chuyi Liang had been doing sales outside for many years, running markets, seeing a lot and being knowledgeable, usually generous with his hands, getting along well with the town officials, not holding grudges, and being a clever and clean businessman.

  Shen Huai thought to himself that he wasn't a mad dog who would bite anyone, and since there was no reason, he naturally wouldn't go looking for trouble with Chu Yi Liang.

  Chu Qiang was nervous in his heart. The gift money his dad sent to the Zhuxi Hotel yesterday was returned this morning, and he only received 200 yuan.

  Chu Qiang returned home for lunch and also heard his father mention this matter. To be honest, the father and son were also unclear about Shen Hua's meaning.

  Received 200 yuan, and the rest of the gift money was returned. It can only be said that Chen Dan acknowledged this favor, and whether there is business or not, he still needs to invite Chu Yiliang to Zhu Xi Hotel for a banquet, taking care of business. However, Chu Yiliang will not naively think that just because of the 200 yuan left by Chen Dan, he can climb up to Shen Huai's social circle.

  Later on, after inquiring around, Yu Xi Hotel almost returned the gift money to everyone, so Yu Yi Liang understood that Shen Huai treated him and others equally.

  Chu Qiang thought that the matter he had manipulated was temporarily fine, and he thought of getting familiar with Guo Quan and Hu Xuebin by walking around more. He didn't expect to run into Shen in the office and be directly asked about the transfer.

  Chu Qiang said something, and then felt that he had spoken too crudely, not very elegantly. Seeing Shen Huan frowning, he wanted to add a couple of sentences, but was afraid of making things even worse. He felt somewhat constrained and uneasy, and didn't even dare raise his head to look directly at this young man who was only two or three years older than him. At the same time, he thought to himself, how many people in the government dared to look him straight in the eye?

  Just as Quan thought he would be rejected, both Guo and Hu Xuebin felt that Shen Hua wouldn't be so easy to talk to. However, Shen Hua relaxed his expression and said: "Since you're willing to learn and can endure hardship, the Assets Department needs young talent like yours..."

  Kuo Chuan and his wife were workers in a blanket factory, so they naturally welcomed the idea of moving to the Assets Bureau. However, he hadn't expected Shen Hua to agree so readily. Chu Qiang himself also hadn't expected the transfer to go through so smoothly.

  Hu Xuebin curled up the corner of his mouth, somewhat disdainful, thinking that Shen Hua had escaped Chu Yiliang's money attack and wanted to take care of Chu Yiliang's son to get benefits; however, it seems that Shen Hua exchanged two packs of Chinese cigarettes for half a pack of Jin Yezi with him, and he endured without saying anything strange.

  At two o'clock in the afternoon, Huang Xinliang came over to discuss the renovation of the dormitory in the town.

  The dormitory in the town belongs to the collective assets of the town. After Chen Dan was removed from her post, she still had to live there and pay 30 yuan rent every month. The collective assets should be managed by the newly established Assets Management Office, but the maintenance of the dormitory has always been the responsibility of the town government.

  Huang Xinliang even if again offended Shen Huai, can only take the initiative to come to assets to coordinate this matter.

  Huang Xinliang thought Shen Hua would not be in the office in the afternoon, so he discussed it with Guo Quan and decided to take care of this matter. He pushed open the door and saw that the inner office door was half-closed, with Shen Hua sitting inside reading documents.

  Huang Xinliang was about to leave when Guo Quan looked up and called out to him: "Director Huang, Secretary Shen happens to be free this afternoon, let's discuss the renovation of the town's dormitories..."

  Shen Huai listened to the noise outside, looked up and saw Huang Xinliang in the outer office, put down the documents in his hand, walked out, nodded at Huang Xinliang and said: "The dormitory in the town, what was the situation with the renovation last year? Director Huang, you first say something." He also asked Hu Xuebin to put down what he was doing and come over to participate in the discussion.

  Huang Xinliang is also a volunteer soldier who transferred to the army like Shao Zheng.

  Most of the cadres in the basic level organizations were transferred from the army, and Shao Zheng did not enter the steel plant as a driver at first, but mostly entered the township or county-affiliated institutions as an office clerk.

  Huang Xinliang is a person who poisons others, and Shen Huai could tell on his first day in Meixi Town that Huang Xinliang didn't even show respect to He Qingshe.

  However, it must be said that Huang Xinliang has done a great job in the party and government affairs office, doing things very well, making it difficult for He Qingshe, who is always looking for opportunities to criticize him, to find many chances to give him trouble.

  Du Jian is still the secretary after all, but Shen Huai and He Qing She didn't rush to join hands to kick Huang Xinliang out of his position as director of the Party and Government Office.

  Huang Xinliang was nervous, and he hadn't had the guts to directly face Shen Huan for some time. When it came to repairing the dormitory in town, he also had the intention of trying to please Shen Huan.

  Shen Hua also lived in the dormitory behind Gangchang Road at that time, but the conditions of the town's dormitories were really average. Except for a bed, there was no simple furniture, no independent toilet, and usually used a chamber pot and spittoon. At the entrance of the alley, there was a public toilet that was infested with mosquitoes in the summer.

  Shen Huai has lived in the dormitory for so many days, and he hasn't complained about anything. But Huang Xinliang, as the director of the Party and Government Office, is serving the leaders. He thinks that if the leaders start complaining, his work will be considered a serious dereliction of duty.

  This time, Huang Xinliang looked at the remaining balance on the account of the party and government office and thought that even if he first renovated a bathroom in Shen Hua's dormitory, it would be better than waiting for Shen Hua to scold him before making changes.

  Huang Xinliang briefed Shen Hua on the general situation: "In the past, the town's funds were tight, and only minor repairs were made. Today, we must grit our teeth and help Secretary Shen with those few dormitories, and then add a bathroom behind each one..."

  "The toilets at the entrance of the alley are a bit cleaner, so we don't have to bother with renovations in the dormitory," Shen Hua said with a slight frown, "Let's see if it's possible next year, raise funds or squeeze out some money from elsewhere to build new houses and relocate the residents of those alleys..."

  The town had long been thinking of raising funds to build houses, and the residential conditions of many cadres and workers in the town were really too poor. However, apart from land, a start-up fund was also needed to raise funds for house building.

  Mei Creek Town had this possibility a few years ago. In recent years, the financial situation has been tight, and this matter has been dragged on. Huang Xinliang did not expect that Shen Huai also had this idea in his heart.

  If next year a new batch of residential buildings are built, it's really not necessary to make major renovations to the town dormitories at this time. Just adding bathrooms to a few rooms and digging out sewage channels is a lot of trouble.

  Huang Xinliang carefully wrote down Shen Huai's words in his notebook, taking them as important instructions. Hu Xuebin also became interested and asked: "Will we really raise funds to build a house next year?"

  "What's wrong with that?" Shen Hua smiled and said, "Not to mention other places, the north side of Steel Factory Road to Meixi Old Street is lined with residential buildings that look like poor dwellings. If conditions are worse next year, the steel factory will have to repair a few staff dormitories first and relocate the families of employees on the north side of Steel Factory Road. Vacate the land, and the town's cadres and workers can raise funds to build new buildings. Or directly allocate the land, according to a unified plan, each household builds its own house; the town is responsible for uniformly fixing the gas pipeline, water supply pipeline, sewage pipeline, telephone line, power line, etc., as well as repairing the alleys..."

  "Divide the land, each household builds a house according to a unified plan, just like city people building small villas." Hu Xuebin said this with relish. His family was an old resident of the town, and he, his wife, his mother, his eldest daughter, son-in-law, and youngest son - six people in total - were squeezed into three tile-roofed rooms.

  Although there are 600,000 to 700,000 yuan in savings, it's only enough to buy a house in the city. If land can be allocated in the town, building a two-story villa would improve the living conditions for the whole family, which is more suitable than anything else. Even if the town only raises funds to build houses without allocating land, adding another 10,000 to 20,000 yuan could still get two houses, which is better than buying a house in the city.

  Guo Quan is a native of He Tang, a neighboring city. He has a house in the countryside of He Tang and works with his wife in Mei Xi Town. They ride motorcycles back home every night and are also looking forward to Mei Xi Town's collective housing project, where they can get an apartment and move their family over completely. Huang Xinliang's situation is roughly similar to Guo Quan's.

  Looking at Guo Quan, Hu Xuebin and Huang Xinliang, whose eyes were shining, Shen Hua smiled and said: "This is just an idea of mine, I haven't even discussed it with He Zhenchang or Du Secretary. You guys keep a tight lip about this. If word gets out and the thing doesn't happen in the end, these cadres and staff will have grievances, who knows, they might all come after me..."

  "Secretary Shen wants to do something, he must be able to succeed." Huang Xinliang said with a flattering tone, but thinking about it, the steel factory is still in this state, and it was indeed saved by Shen Hua within two or three months. This fundraising housing project might even start after the new year.

  Shen Huai thought that in order to boost the morale of the town's cadres and staff, there was no better way than not to build a house with collective funds. This Meixi Town had the conditions to do it as early as the beginning of the 90s, but it was proposed to be done, and it was delayed for three or four years, and the housing conditions were so poor that the cadres and staff's eyes were worn out.

  Another thing, the urban construction conditions in Meixi Town are really too poor. From residential buildings to streets and facilities such as schools and hospitals, they are all outdated and dilapidated. Only a few individual buildings have been rebuilt on their original sites, and there aren't even streetlights at night.

  Huang Xinliang returned to the party and government office, New Year's Day was a big holiday, Guo Quan and Hu Xuebin were on duty in the office, sensitive points called for fundraising and house building, and even asked Chu Qiang to find out the preparation materials for fundraising and house building in previous years to study. Shen Hua was in his office, looking at the materials for half a day.

  By four o'clock in the afternoon, Shen Huai thought of going to the steel plant for a walk. As soon as he came out, he was blocked by Chu Qiang, who had a middle-aged man with a sturdy figure beside him. Looking at his face shape, it was almost identical to Chu Qiang's, and he knew that he was Chu Yiliang, a well-known figure in Meixi Town.