Chapter 4: Reporting to the New Place

After Lu Hao left, Li Zhen scowled and sneered, “That kid still dares to talk back to me, utterly clueless. Without Liu Yuanda, he’s nothing. With just one word from me, he won’t even be able to survive in Fangshui Township. Sooner or later, he’ll be kicked out of the system.”

“Heh, Secretary Li, there’s no need to waste time on such a small player. But you do need to help us figure out the payment for the Fangshui Township project. They’ve already run out of money,” Liu Ruyan said with a bright and charming smile.

Hearing “Secretary Li,” Li Zhen, who was acting as the county party secretary, grinned from ear to ear, feeling immensely pleased.

“All right, I’ll arrange for the county finance bureau to allocate a special poverty alleviation fund to Fangshui Township as soon as possible. Then the township can temporarily use it to settle your project payments,” Li Zhen quickly came up with a plan.

“Thank you so much, County Chief Li.”

“Oh, Ms. Liu, you’re too kind. I’ll need you to speak well of me to the city and provincial leaders. Once I become the official county party secretary, you’ll surely benefit.”

While the two were happily negotiating, Lu Hao had already finished handing over his duties, packed up, and left the county party committee building.

Outside the county committee building, a young man smoking a cigarette hurried over, calling from behind, “Lu Hao, I heard your cousin got into trouble, and you’ve been transferred by County Chief Li to Fangshui Township. What a pity—life is so unpredictable. Otherwise, you’d definitely have been promoted to deputy section chief this year.”

The man first expressed shock at Liu Yuanda’s misfortune, then put on a sympathetic act for Lu Hao.

His name was Wang Shaojie, a colleague of Lu Hao’s at the county committee, several years older. Though they rarely interacted, Lu Hao found Wang insufferable.

Whenever Fang Jing came to the county committee to see him, Wang Shaojie would tag along, shamelessly complimenting Fang Jing on her looks—as if he fancied her. Even though Lu Hao and Fang Jing were engaged, Wang still tried to make his presence felt in front of her.

Luckily, Lu Hao and Fang Jing had been together for six years; otherwise, Wang might have succeeded in stealing her away.

“You came all the way down here just to tell me this? Don’t tell me you’re trying to mock me,” Lu Hao said coldly, knowing Wang would never genuinely comfort him.

“How could you think that? I was thinking, if you’re willing to chip in some money, maybe I could help talk to County Chief Li on your behalf. Who knows—you might still be able to stay at the county committee,” Wang pretended to be displeased.

But the corner of his eye betrayed his glee; he could hardly hide it.

“No thanks. You should just mind your own business,” Lu Hao snapped, turning to leave.

“Don’t be in such a hurry. The day before yesterday, Fang Jing said she wanted to transfer from the township middle school to the county. But now with your cousin’s trouble, that’s probably impossible. Want me to help pull some strings?” Wang Shaojie blocked his way, grinning.

Lu Hao frowned deeply, his expression darkening. He knew Wang wasn’t really offering help but was deliberately taunting him for his downfall.

Still, Wang’s words contained truth: without Liu Yuanda and with Li Zhen sidelining him, no one in the officialdom would dare help him, lest they offend Li Zhen. No one would do him any favors now.

“No need. I’ll figure out Fang Jing’s transfer myself.” Lu Hao didn’t give Wang another chance to speak, opened his car door, and got into his Jetta.

Watching Lu Hao drive away, Wang Shaojie revealed his true colors, sneering with disdain, “No backing and still so arrogant—truly clueless.”

Muttering curses, Wang suddenly had an idea, grabbed his phone, and called Fang Jing.

…

Meanwhile, Lu Hao returned to his residence, packed his belongings, handed the keys to the logistics department, officially vacated his room, and drove to Fangshui Township to report for duty.

His mind replayed the events of the past few hours like a movie. Everything happened so suddenly, like a roller coaster, plunging him straight to the bottom rung.

Liu Yuanda’s trouble obviously stemmed from a report to the discipline inspection commission, which launched the investigation. When they questioned Lu Hao, they must have already known about Liu Yuanda, Liu’s connection to Liu Ruyan, and the ten gold bars.

But why was Liu Ruyan untouched?

It seemed the commission hadn’t even interrogated her. Did she have such powerful backing?

And who reported Liu Yuanda?

Fang Jing knew about the gold bars too, but Lu Hao was certain she wasn’t the one. After all, Liu Yuanda’s downfall would implicate him, which wouldn’t benefit Fang Jing in any way. Even if she were naive, she wouldn’t do something like that.

Then who could it be?

Besides Fang Jing and himself, only Liu Ruyan knew the truth!

Could it be that Liu Ruyan and Liu Yuanda had a falling out over money or something else, causing her to conspire with Li Zhen to have Liu Yuanda sent to the discipline commission?

Recalling that Liu Ruyan had been sitting in Li Zhen’s office today, Lu Hao increasingly believed this was likely.

At that moment, Fang Jing called.

When he answered, Fang Jing’s voice was emotional: “Lu Hao, I heard from Wang Shaojie that your cousin got into trouble and that you were taken away by the discipline commission. Now you’ve even been demoted to Fangshui Township by County Chief Li. Is this true?”

“It’s true,” Lu Hao replied honestly. He knew Wang purposely called Fang Jing to sow discord between them.

“So does that mean my transfer to the county middle school is off?”

“For now, it’s unlikely, but I’ll try to find a way.”

Fang Jing was silent for several seconds before complaining, “Lu Hao, what can I say? You had such a good hand and played it terribly.”

“I told you from the start, if your cousin did something illegal or against rules, you should watch him closely in case he got into trouble someday. And don’t just revolve around him—make connections with County Chief Li too. Multiple channels are always better. After all, Li is still the second-in-command.”

“And why didn’t you cooperate with the discipline commission? Don’t you know the consequences of resisting the organization? If you had cooperated, maybe you could have sent some gifts through people to County Chief Li and stayed at the county committee.”

“Now look, County Chief Li demoted you straight to the township!”

Fang Jing sighed helplessly, still unable to accept the sudden upheaval.

She had told Lu Hao many times that officialdom required tact and diplomacy, and not to pin all hopes on Liu Yuanda alone. If Lu Hao had listened before, he wouldn’t have been sidelined. Naturally, Fang Jing was frustrated.

Lu Hao sensed her disappointment and teased, “Honey, don’t be so down. You’re not thinking of calling off the engagement just because I lost my backing, are you?”

“Get lost! Don’t say nonsense!” Fang Jing snapped.

She had been dating Lu Hao since college, initially attracted by his looks and kindness.

At first, her parents disapproved, but after Liu Yuanda became county party secretary in Anxing County, her parents began encouraging their relationship and even arranged their engagement.

Now, with Liu Yuanda’s fall and Lu Hao’s demotion, his political future was likely over, and his quality of life would decline.

Although Fang Jing hadn’t thought about breaking off the engagement, she began to doubt if marrying Lu Hao would bring happiness.

“Don’t worry. Even without my cousin, I’ll still work hard to make something of myself. This thoroughbred will find its discerning master,” Lu Hao assured her.

Officialdom had changed from years past. While backing was important, ability was indispensable. Even if sidelined to the township, Lu Hao had not lost his fighting spirit.

“Let’s hope so,” Fang Jing said with a bitter smile. “Forget about my transfer for now. I’ll talk to my dad and have him send some gifts and find a way. I don’t want to stay at the township middle school. I’ll hang up now. You focus on your work.”

Liu Yuanda’s downfall was an irreversible fact, and Fang Jing no longer blamed Lu Hao.

After hanging up, Lu Hao felt much better.

Fang Jing’s family was also part of the system, placing great importance on social interactions and maintaining all-around relationships. They enjoyed mingling with high-ranking officials and often gave gifts during holidays.

Families like Fang Jing’s were common in today’s society.

Lu Hao understood that part of the reason Fang Jing was with him was because of his cousin’s position as county party secretary.

Now that he had lost his backing, Lu Hao thought Fang Jing would scold him or even break the engagement, but she only complained a little, which showed her consideration. He felt grateful that after six years, their love could endure hardship together.

Soon, he arrived at the Fangshui Township government.

Though less than forty minutes from the county seat, the road was riddled with potholes, shaking Lu Hao’s bones.

The township government was housed in a shabby three-story building.

After parking, Lu Hao first found the director of the poverty alleviation office, a man named Song Bo, and reported in.

Song Bo had already been notified of Lu Hao’s arrival and was perfunctory rather than welcoming. He said the party secretary and township head were absent and would introduce Lu Hao later, advising him to go straight to the office.

When Lu Hao entered the poverty alleviation office, he found four people lounging about—some cracking sunflower seeds, others playing games or scrolling through TikTok—no one was working.

If he hadn’t known it was a government office, he might have thought he’d walked into a mall’s leisure area.

“Hello everyone, I’m Lu Hao, just assigned from the county to join our poverty alleviation office. I’ve already met Director Song,” Lu Hao said politely, trying to be courteous in his new environment.

“Oh, you must be Lu Hao,” a scruffy middle-aged man lifted his head and sneered, “I heard your cousin is the county party secretary. How did you end up sent to the township? This little place can’t hold a big shot like you.”

The news of Liu Yuanda’s investigation had quietly spread through the system, so everyone at the Fangshui Township government knew. Lu Hao’s sudden transfer was the subject of gossip, and the man’s words were clearly meant to mock Lu Hao’s lost backing.

“That’s all in the past. I’m now part of the poverty alleviation office. Please look after me,” Lu Hao smiled and offered a cigarette.

The man put on a fake smile, pretended to fumble, and dropped the cigarette on the floor, then sneered, “I’m Niu Dashan, deputy director of the poverty alleviation office. I call the shots here.”

Within the system, some people relied on seniority to assert dominance over newcomers. Niu Dashan was one of them.

“What do you need, Deputy Director Niu?” Lu Hao’s expression darkened.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Niu Dashan was hostile toward him, but in the bureaucracy, it was best not to confront openly unless absolutely necessary.

“Well, actually, there’s something urgent for you to do,” Niu Dashan said mockingly. He called out to someone in the office, “Xiao Zhang, bring over all the poverty household data and detailed expenditure records from these past few years.”

“Lu Hao is from the county, a top talent. Handling data should be a breeze for him. Let him do it,” Niu added.

Xiao Zhang was surprised, “Uh, Deputy Director Niu, he’s never worked on poverty alleviation before. Will he know what to do?”

“Enough with the nonsense. Just bring it here. If he can’t handle it, it’s his own fault, not yours. We don’t keep slackers in the poverty office.” Though Niu scolded Xiao Zhang, his words were clearly meant for Lu Hao to hear.