Against the wind (2)

  "You just got back and already have a date?"; Mei Shan thought he was lying.

  "It really will be what I have planned on the road."

  "No, put that aside for now, finish your meal and come over right away, there's something urgent waiting for you." Mei Shan's tone was almost commanding.

  "She can't wait any longer, let's go find her first."

  "What's going on? Can't you tell me what's happening first?"

  "It's hard to discuss over the phone, why don't you just come over?"

  "Alright, it's really true that a high-ranking official can crush people to death with just one level of authority. Gao Fei is truly helpless now."

  He didn't have time to chat with Zhao Dongya, so he hastily ate a few mouthfuls of rice and then rode his bicycle to the office. On the way, he was still thinking about what kind of thing would make them be so mysterious?

  Just three days before Gao Fei's return, a collective petitioning incident occurred at the municipal fertilizer plant.

  That morning, a group of people holding banners that read "Shanwan City Fertilizer Plant Petition Group" and "We Want Work, We Want Food" surrounded the gates of the provincial committee and government. The staff from the Provincial Letters and Visits Office tried to persuade them to send representatives to the office for talks, but the crowd refused to budge. The leader was a tall, thin man with a pointed chin, shouting loudly: "We've petitioned three times already, why haven't you solved our problem? If you don't give us a satisfactory answer this time, we won't leave!"

  At this time, it was rush hour and the gate was blocked. People going to work couldn't get in, and those who came out for errands couldn't leave. You say who's anxious and who's not? The staff of the Letters and Visits Office were persuading people with kind words, but then Secretary Geng Rate Zhen's sleek black Audi slowly drove out. The petitioners saw the car's grandeur and knew it was a high-ranking official, so they immediately surrounded the small car, making it impossible to move. The security personnel standing at the gate quickly came over to maintain order, urging people to leave, but the crowd said they wouldn't budge without a result. The car had no choice but to back away from the compound. Secretary Geng immediately called Vice-Secretary Yin Mou, who was in charge of industry, and asked him to resolve this issue as soon as possible. As soon as Yin Mou heard this, he quickly dialed the phone number of Vice-Secretary Gu Tianye of Shanwan City, who was in charge of economic work, and scolded: "Comrade Tianye, what's going on with you! The people from your city's fertilizer plant have already seriously affected the work of the provincial party committee and government. This morning, Secretary Geng had a task to receive foreign guests, but he couldn't get out no matter what. You say who's anxious and who's not!"

  As soon as Gu Tianye heard this, he suddenly felt that disaster was coming from the sky and had stirred up a big trouble. He was so scared that his face turned pale yellow and sweat beads rolled down from his forehead. The municipal party secretary, Ying Shaohua, would be retiring soon. He had long coveted this position and had been actively working towards it with a clear plan in mind. Now, he had run into such a terrible situation, which would leave a bad impression on the provincial party leaders! At least it showed that he was derelict in his duty, and might even bring bigger trouble. How could he not be worried? He hastily replied: "Secretary Yin, I'll go there right away. Yes, I'll set off immediately."

  He put down the phone and immediately went to report the situation to Municipal Party Secretary Ying Shaohua, then dialed the mobile phone of Jiang Yinru, the deputy general manager of the fertilizer plant. Unexpectedly, her phone was not turned on, so he asked his secretary Xiao Ji to call the factory office to ask about Jiang Yinru's whereabouts. A while later, Secretary Xiao Ji came over and said: "Secretary Gu, Director Jiang has not been to work at the factory for three days."

  Gu Tianye hastily asked loudly: "Where did she go?"

  "They said they didn't know." Xiaojie said, "The one who answered the phone seemed to be in a bad mood and said sarcastically, 'How would we know what the factory director is doing?'"

  Gu Tianye was so angry that he almost burst his lungs. Jiang Yiru, the fertilizer plant manager, had been secretly instigating a few workers to make things difficult for Manager Chu Kejian everywhere, which made Old Chu so angry that he resigned. But she didn't behave herself and instead ran around everywhere, probably going to curry favor with some official again. He angrily cursed: "Hmph, still thinking of being the manager? This deputy isn't even qualified!"

  He was in a bad mood with Jiang Yiru, but now he had to rush to the provincial capital to call back the people who went to petition at the fertilizer plant. Jiang Yiru was not there, so he had to let the Industry Bureau send someone. However, the head of the Municipal Industry Bureau was his wife Mei Shan. Firstly, she didn't listen to his orders, and secondly, it wasn't convenient, so he had to call in Deputy Director Leng Bingshan to accompany him.

  Leng Bing Mountain heard that it was this matter, and he immediately became angry. He found Director Mei Shan and pushed the responsibility onto him, saying: "Yesterday afternoon, the Municipal Labor Bureau called him over to say that more than half of the enterprises in the industrial system had not paid their employees' labor insurance premiums on time, with some even owing two years' worth. He has already notified the relevant factory directors to come and hold a meeting to study and arrange this matter."

  Mei Shan was about to respond when the phone on the table rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Gu Tianye, so he said: "What's up?" "The fertilizer plant is causing trouble again. This morning, a group of petitioners blocked the gates of the provincial committee and government, seriously disrupting normal work order. Secretary Yin just called me and scolded me severely."