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  Know yourself and know your enemy, then you can win a hundred battles.

  Xiang Tianliang knew that if he wanted to understand the new principal Wang Zigui, it would be impossible to dig up anything from Xu Heng's place. He had to go find Liu Qingyang teacher, who had worked at Qinghe Normal School (formerly Qinghe Agricultural School) for a full 40 years and was known as the living archives of the school.

  Accompanied by Liu Qingqing and Li Yajuan, they had dinner on the street and then went to Liu Qingyang's home with Xiang Tianliang and three others.

  Liu Qingyang sat alone in the living room, reading today's Qinghe Daily. On the coffee table, tea sets were still laid out, with a cup of unfinished tea, its lid half-covered, placed opposite Liu Qingyang.

  "Xiao Xiang, Ya Juan, you two are here for that person who claims to be a close friend, right?"

  Li Ya smiled and said: "Teacher Liu, you are really amazing, we came here for him."

  Liu Qingqing said: "Dad, you have to think of a way for Tian Liang. As the deputy director of this office, he's almost lost his reputation."

  "Hehe, I know, I know." Liu Qingyang put down the newspaper and took off his reading glasses, rubbing his eyes as he looked at Xiang Tianliang.

  "Teacher, wasn't it Mr. Xu who came by just now?"

  "Oh, how did you figure it out?" Liu Qingyang asked with interest.

  "When Mr. Xu Hengtao drank tea, he had a very unique habit. The last cup of tea was always only half drunk, the lid of the teacup was half covered, and the open mouth of the cup was facing the host."

  Liu Qingyang nodded with a smile, "Hehe, as expected of a police university high-achieving student, you're good at grasping details."

  Xiang Tian Liang said: "In Director Wang's powerful aura, even if I grasp the most details, it is useless."

  "Hmm, I just discussed a similar issue with Mr. Xu." Liu Qingyang stroked his long beard and smiled.

  Xiang Tianliang asked: "Teacher, letting someone who is about to retire take the post of director-general, what do you think is the consideration behind this?"

  Liu Qingyang said slowly: "As far as I know, the reason is very simple, there's nothing complicated about it. If you must say there is, then it's just a political courtesy to Wang Zigui, acknowledging her sacrifices and contributions after working in the western frontier for decades. Let her transition at the Construction Bureau for a year or two before being transferred to the Municipal People's Congress or CPPCC as a deputy position. The reason she was assigned to your Construction Bureau is that the new bureau chief had a difficult birth, the Construction Bureau chief is a big fat job, and various forces are evenly matched. Wang Zigui happened to be at the right time, and she didn't have any private relationships with any of the municipal party leaders, making her the most suitable candidate."

  Tian Liang couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "Great, this old hag has managed to drag me down with her."

  "Haha, you're having eyes but failing to recognize Mount Tai, you've run into the muzzle yourself, who can you blame?" Liu Qingyang laughed.

  Liu Qingqing also said, "Dad, isn't Old Lady Wang a bit paranoid or even perverted? According to Ya Juan, she has deep resentment towards men, especially handsome ones like Tian Liang. She hates him to the bone."

  Slowly nodding his head, Liu Qingyang picked up his teacup and took a few sips before speaking slowly:

  It can be said that the current state of Wang Zigui is the result of three major factors: one is her personality, two is her family, three is the marriage change with Mr. Xu in those years, and four is the decades of hard life in the western region.

  "Wang Zigui was originally named Wang Xianggui, and Wang Zigui was the name of her only older brother. When Wang Xianggui was eight years old, her six-year-older brother Wang Zigui died of illness, so her father changed her name to Wang Zigui and raised her as a son. As it turned out, Wang Zigui had been a tomboy since childhood, fearless and daring. At the age of twelve, she even dared to follow her uncle, who was a liaison officer in the guerrilla army, on missions to deliver messages and medicine. In the year Qinghe City was liberated, she was not yet fourteen years old, but she managed to do something that made her famous throughout Qinghe."

  "When the vanguard of the Liberation Army arrived at Qinghe City, there were still several warships and transport ships docked at the Qinghe Port wharf. The commander of the leading troops wanted to occupy and control the wharf first, preventing the enemy from escaping by sea. However, the vanguard was only a reinforced battalion, while the enemy had at least tens of thousands of soldiers. A direct attack would not work, so they could only use clever tactics. The commander decided to send two companies to secretly attack the wharf and burn the floating bridges connecting the wharf to the warships. However, they couldn't find a shortcut that could quickly and safely approach the wharf."

  At that time, Wang Zigui was young and brave, came up with an idea to the leader, and entered from the underground drainage ditch in Qinghe City. Because the outlet of the underground drainage ditch is less than 300 meters away from the No. 1 berth at the dock, Wang Zigui often played in that area when she was a child and had been into the underground drainage ditch many times. After the leader approved this combat plan, she also volunteered to lead the way and made great contributions to the victory of the battle. It can be said that Wang Zigui became famous overnight, because the red flag inserted on the highest lookout tower at the dock was the one she put up. At that time, the military journalist even took a few photos, which were published in many newspapers.

  Such a promising young person, the organization naturally wants to cultivate her vigorously. After liberation, Wang Zigui first entered school to study, but unfortunately, she was not good at studying and got headaches whenever she read books. Moreover, she was almost eighteen years old and had grown tall and big, so it didn't seem suitable for her to stay in elementary school anymore. The organization arranged for her to join the party and become a cadre, entering the municipal textile factory as deputy secretary of the Youth League Committee. A year later, she was promoted to secretary of the factory's Youth League Committee and standing committee member of the municipal Youth League Committee. At the age of twenty-two, she was appointed as a member of the textile factory's party committee.

  "Princess Gui was transferred to the Municipal Agricultural School, I remember it was in 1960. After she came, she served as the full-time deputy secretary of the school's party general branch and became the youngest deputy department-level cadre in the city. However, at that time, her personality flaws brought her a lot of confusion. She had a bad temper, spoke impulsively, and at the age of 24, she still didn't have a partner, nor had she ever been in love. In that era, being 24 years old was considered an old maid."

  "At that time, I was the deputy director of the school's teaching and research office. Because I and Qingqing's mother were both locals and lived quite close to Wang Zigui's family, we quickly became friends. The school leader told me, 'Qingyang comrade, give you a task, find a boyfriend for your little fellow villager Wang Zigui, strive for one year of love, two years of marriage, three years of childbirth.' It was an organizational assignment, and I naturally accepted it without hesitation."

  "That very year, 23-year-old Xu Hengtao graduated from university and was assigned to teach at a rural school. He was also from Qinghe Nan District. My wife and I arranged for Wang Zigui and Xu Hengtao to be together, with organized care and the help of our comrades. The two properly started dating, and naturally, Wang Zigui took the initiative due to her personality. Xu Hengtao was introverted and came from a complex family background - his father was a small business owner - so he was more passive. However, they were mutually willing, and after a year and a half of dating, both sets of parents had given their approval. Everything was ready; all that was missing was the wedding."

  "It so happened that at this time, Xu Hengtai's grandfather, a man in his seventies, suddenly jumped out to oppose the marriage, on the grounds that Wang Zigui and Xu Hengtai's eight characters were not compatible. Countless people went door-to-door, wearing down their lips, but Mr. Xu refused to agree no matter what. In the end, he resorted to extreme measures: fasting, taking medicine, and hanging himself. Xu Hengtai was by nature gentle, weak-willed, and filial, so she could not disobey her grandfather's words. And so, a marriage that had just been certified was torn apart, and before they even had time for the wedding night, their marriage certificate was exchanged for a divorce certificate."

  The person who was most heartbroken, of course, was Wang Zigui. He locked himself in his new house and refused to eat or drink for four days, smashing all the things he had prepared for his wedding. His hair turned white overnight, and when he came out, he didn't speak or smile, looking like he had aged twenty years. At that time, Xu Heng's wife applied for a transfer from the agricultural school and went to your construction bureau. Not long after, the country organized cadres and workers to go to the western frontier to participate in border construction, Wang Zigui signed up, alone and without looking back, going to the west. This departure lasted for thirty years, during which he lost contact with all his relatives and friends on the Qinghe side. It is said that he returned a few times during this period, but no one saw him.

  "This person, sometimes fate really plays a trick on him. Wang Zigui didn't live a happy life in the west either. He got married three times, you all know that already. Anyway, he suffered a lot and the knot in his heart not only didn't get untied but instead became tighter and tighter. His personality also became more stubborn and eccentric."

  Actually, this time she herself did not want to come back, but the western development zone was also undergoing reform. The organization considered that Wang Zigui was old and her daughter had already moved back to Qinghe, so they mobilized her to return... Great, I heard that after she personally agreed, everyone from top to bottom attached great importance to it. Wang Zigui is a national labor model, the original Minister of Agriculture, Reclamation and Water Conservancy, personally called our Provincial Party Secretary of Dongjiang Province, instructing him to make arrangements according to Comrade Wang Zigui's wishes. The provincial party committee did not dare to slack off, preparing to arrange for Wang Zigui to take on the role of Vice Chairman of the Provincial Women's Federation, with a promotion of one level above her original rank. However, she was rejected by Wang Zigui, who only had one request: to be transferred back to Qinghe City and hold a substantive position until the age of 60.

  "For Wang Zigui's matter, the Qinghe Municipal Committee held a special meeting to study it. There were two positions for her to choose from, one was the Civil Affairs Bureau and the other was your Construction Bureau. Wang Zigui had been the Party Secretary of an architectural engineering company in the Western Development Zone, so she understood some business related to your construction system. Of course, she chose to work at your Construction Bureau."

  "Although Wang Zigui's rank is not high, don't underestimate him. I have a student working in the municipal party committee office, and according to what he told me, when Wang Zigui went to report to the municipal organization department, from the municipal party secretary and mayor on down, all the standing committee members came out to greet her, addressing her as 'older sister' with extreme respect. The scene was quite impressive, no less than receiving a provincial party secretary or governor."

  "Just the night before last, my husband and I thought that after all we used to be friends, so we took the initiative to visit her, but she was very cold, the atmosphere was extremely awkward. When we left, she didn't even get up, and threw out a chilly sentence: 'You can't imagine, the old Wang Zigui is already dead, and the current Wang Zigui has no friends in Qinghe City...'"

  Liu Qingyang said to this point, with a somewhat bitter smile, "Do you understand? The dead knot in Wang Zigui's heart is still there. As long as it's not untied, you subordinates will suffer for another day."

  Xiang Tianliang smiled and said: "Teacher, I have a plan, let's give it a try."