Against the Wind (4)

  Why?

  "That's enough to turn my whole family upside down!"

  "After making a fuss all day, are you thinking for yourself?"; Cold Ice Mountain teased, "You always teach us to think about work in everything, how come when it comes to yourself, it doesn't apply?"...

  Gu Tianye naturally wouldn't admit to being selfish, and said seriously: "Iceberg, don't look at how well Meishan is doing as the director, but if she were to be the factory head, it would be a disaster. The factory is on the front lines, much harder than being a director, so hurry up and find a suitable candidate for the fertilizer factory."

  The car sped along the highway at 140 miles per hour and arrived in the provincial capital in less than two hours. Gu Tianye and Leng Bingyue saw that the people who came to visit were still densely packed around the gates of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, some standing, some squatting, and some lying on the ground with their own plastic sheets, a sea of blackness, so they quickly got out of the car and walked over.

  Zhou Ziyi saw the municipal leaders arrive and hurriedly went to greet them, saying respectfully: "Secretary Gu, Director Leng, how did you two come?"

  Gu Tianye saw that Zhou Ziyi was leading again and bluntly criticized: "Are you taking the lead again this time?"

  Zhou Zi Yi spread his hands and said, "Secretary Gu, this can't be blamed on me! We haven't paid wages for over half a year, can the workers not make trouble with empty stomachs? Must we give them something to eat? We went to the municipal party committee and government, but you didn't take it seriously and still haven't solved the problem. Who else should we go to if not the provincial government?" He had an air of being in the right.

  At this point, Gu Tianye could no longer respond perfunctorily. He steeled himself and agreed, saying: "You bring the workers back to me immediately, I guarantee that I will pay you all the wages within a week."

  Zhou Zi Yi saw Gū Tiān Yě speaking so lightly and thought he was deceiving them again. Those triangular eyes turned around, asking: "Really?"

  "I'm a deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, what am I cheating you for?"

  Although Gu Tianye spoke with conviction, Zhou Ziyi sneered: "Come on, Secretary Gu, how many times have you deceived us? If you had solved our problem, who would have come all the way to the provincial capital to petition?"

  "This time it's for real." Gu Tianye patted his chest and said, "If you can't make good on your promise within a week, you'll have to bring people to my house to smash my rice cooker!"

  Zhou Zi Yi shook his head and stuck out his tongue: "That's a crime, I don't dare."

  "This shows my determination, must you see me dig out my heart?"

  The people saw that Gu Tianye was so resolute and sincere, they believed it to be true and stood up one after another, showing the intention of leaving. Zhou Ziying feared that Gu Tianye's words would not count, so he said: "Secretary Gu, you must give us a written guarantee, we can't feel at ease without holding something in our hands."

  Is there a leader in the world who gives IOUs to the common people? Gao Tianye felt that doing so would be unbefitting and damaging to his image as a leader, so he said: "With so many people testifying, what's the need for an IOU?"

  We've been fooled by those in power for far too long.

  Leng Bing Shan saw that Zhou Zi Yi wasn't leaving and walked over to say, "I'll give you a written guarantee." As he spoke, he took out paper and pen from his briefcase.

  Zhou Zi Yi covered his mouth: "Leng Jing Chang, you don't have the right to say that."

  "How can I not have this qualification? I am the deputy director of the municipal bureau!"

  "I know the Industrial Bureau doesn't have money, can they give workers back pay? Over 20 million!"; Zhou Ziying said with a flourish. "Since the bureau doesn't have that power, making a written guarantee is useless." He turned to face Gu Tianye and said, "Secretary Gu, since this conversation counts, why not make a written guarantee?"

  Zhou Ziyi, this general, stirred up the crowd, and people followed him shouting: "We want a written guarantee, we want a written guarantee, if not, we won't leave!"

  Gu Tianye really couldn't take it anymore. In order to mobilize people to return as soon as possible, he had no choice but to take over the manuscript handed over by Leng Bingyue and hastily wrote: "Guarantee to pay wages to fertilizer plant workers within a week"; a line of words, and hastily signed his own name.

  Zhou Zi Yi carefully looked at it twice and confirmed that there was no mistake before mobilizing everyone to go back.

  A difficult contest finally had a result. Although Gū Tiān Yě lost face, he managed to persuade the people who came to petition to return. Only then did he feel that he had the face to see Provincial Committee Vice Secretary Yǐn Jī.

  Deputy Secretary Yin has been paying attention to the situation at the gate and has been in constant contact with the Letters and Visits Office by phone. Now that the petitioners have left, he lets Gao Tianye come in and sit down. As soon as he sees Gao Tianye's face, he says: "Old Gao, I see this situation, and it won't do if we don't invite you, the parent official, to come! You must quickly resolve the problem of this factory, and absolutely not allow such phenomena to happen again."

  I have promised them to reissue their wages within a week.

  "To fundamentally solve the problem." Yin said in an unquestionable tone, "You have one week to thoroughly resolve the leadership of the fertilizer plant."