Chapter 90: Going Crazy (Part )
Seeing Zheng Wenkai hesitant to speak, Qi Tongwei really wanted to kick him twice.
However, he also knew that it was not appropriate to discuss sensitive issues at this place and time, so he skipped this question and asked Han Tiantian other questions.
After leaving Han Tiantian's home, Qi Tongwei went to other villagers' homes to conduct research.
The main questions asked were about taxes, income, whether people could have enough to eat, etc. The problem was more serious than imagined. There was a clear mismatch between the villagers' income and the taxes they paid.
It seems that there is something fishy going on, which is inseparable from the misbehavior of Wang Maocai's grandson. I will investigate it when I return.
After noting down this question, Qi Tongwei also investigated the agricultural situation in Xiaoqiaogou.
The per capita arable land in Xiaoqiaogou ranks in the middle among the 21 villages in Shuanghe, but due to the impact of waterlogging disasters, the people have to rely on the weather for their livelihood, and the harvest is very unstable.
Most farmers are extremely poor and live below the poverty line.
Some cash crops cannot be transported out at all due to transportation problems, so there is no difference between having them and not having them.
After visiting the village, he was deeply shocked. It was even poorer than Qijia Village. The situation described by Secretary Zhou Guichun did exist, and it was not just one family.
After investigating the villagers’ living and production conditions, Qi Tongwei finally went to the village primary school for investigation.
Xiaoqiaogou Primary School is located at the end of the village and is surrounded by 8 bungalows. However, these classrooms were built during the Republic of China period and have long been dilapidated and are at risk of collapse at any time.
Qi Tongwei just wanted to curse after seeing this.
"Do you know the situation in the Xiaoqiaogou classroom?" Qi Tongwei asked Zheng Wenkai beside him.
"How could you not know? I don't know how many times I've told Xie Wanhai about it. I've also reported it to the cadres who went to the countryside, but no one cares." A middle-aged man with a disability in his left foot interrupted.
"Secretary Qi, I remember that the town government discussed this issue at a meeting at the end of last year.
It is said that the mayor applied for 10 yuan from the county education bureau, but I don’t know whether it was allocated.” Zheng Wenkai reported in a low voice.
Qi Tongwei nodded expressionlessly, then turned his gaze to the teacher, "Teacher, it is too dangerous to teach in such an environment.
How about this, let the children take classes outside for a while, I will go back today to study and solve the classroom problem." He didn't dare to let the children continue to take classes in the dangerous building.
"Who are you?" The teacher only then remembered to ask Qi Tongwei's identity.
"This is the new Secretary Qi," Zheng Wenkai introduced.
"I'm Qi Tongwei." Qi Tongwei stretched out his hand and said very politely.
Qi Tongwei has great respect for these private teachers, who earn the lowest wages but work in the most difficult places.
"Secretary Qi, I want to thank you on behalf of the children." The teacher held Qi Tongwei's hand and said excitedly.
"I should thank you. We didn't do enough."
Afterwards, Qi Tongwei, under the guidance of the teacher, interacted with the children and told them his own story, hoping that they would study hard and change their own destiny.
"Teacher Liu, Teacher Zhang, please stay. I will solve the problems you mentioned when I go back today." Qi Tongwei said goodbye to the two teachers.
"Teacher Liu, I don't know if it will work this time." Teacher Zhang asked worriedly.
"It should be possible. I think Secretary Qi is a leader who gets things done." As they watched Qi Tongwei and his group walk away, the two began to discuss.
At this time, Qi Tongwei felt anxious and the problem was more serious than he had imagined.
If it weren't for his decades of political experience, he would have almost lost his temper on the spot.
After returning to the village office, Xie Wanhai ran out again.
"Secretary Qi, my wife killed a rooster and has already stewed it..."
Qi Tongwei interrupted Xie Wanhai's invitation and said, "No, I have something else to do today. Let's talk about it another day."
"Secretary Qi..." Before Xie Wanhai could say something, Qi Tongwei had already turned and left. He was now determined to kill Xie Wanhai, so how could he accept his invitation?
"Old Xie, Secretary Qi has something to do today. Let's talk about it another day." Ma Tao said to him from the side.
On the way back, Qi Tongwei kept thinking about how to reverse the current situation and where to start the work. So far, he only has a rough outline but no specific method.
Everything he saw today opened his eyes.
It was already past 4 p.m. when he returned to the township government. Without time to eat, Qi Tongwei directly notified the convening of an enlarged meeting of the Party Committee.
The director of the Party and Government Office, the accountant, the director of the Finance Office, and the deputy mayor in charge of health and education attended the meeting.
"Who can tell me where the 10 yuan classroom maintenance fund applied for by Xiaoqiaogou Primary School went?" Qi Tongwei asked straight to the point, making everyone feel cold in their hearts.
The people below didn't know why Qi Tongwei asked this, and they all looked at Ma Tao and Zheng Wenkai, who were following the secretary today.
However, the two men sat upright, looking straight ahead, and did not give any signals.
Seeing that no one spoke, Qi Tongwei directly called on the accountant, "Comrade Bai Yuhang, can you tell me where the 10 yuan went?"
Bai Yuhang answered with a stiff upper lip: "Secretary Qi, at the end of last year we applied for 10 yuan from the County Education Bureau, and we were finally allocated 6 yuan, of which 5 yuan was misappropriated by Mayor Wang Maocai, and the remaining 1 yuan is in the account of the Finance Office."
"Comrade Hou Guangcai, can you tell me what's going on?" Qi Tongwei looked at Hou Guangcai, the director of the Finance Institute.
"Secretary Qi, the 2 yuan was taken away by Xie Wanhai, the head of Xiaoqiaogou Village, as early as February." Hou Guangcai said that he felt very wronged. The Finance Office was only an accounting agency and could not reject the town government's application to spend money.
"Comrades Bai Yuhang and Hou Guangcai, after the meeting, please prepare the reimbursement documents for the 6 yuan and give them to me. I want to know where this money was misappropriated." Qi Tongwei said expressionlessly.
"Yes, Secretary Qi." The two of them quickly agreed.
"Now that we have discussed this matter, let's talk about the three unifications and five proposals. Why are so many collected? Are they strictly implemented in accordance with the policies?" When Qi Tongwei thought of the situation of today's investigation, he wanted to curse.
"Secretary Qi, I know about this situation. It started in 1992. Because Shuanghe's performance had been declining year after year, Mayor Wang Maocai came up with the idea of changing the data.
If the data is changed, the corresponding taxes and fees will naturally be higher, and we can only find a way to solve the problem from the farmers. " said Xu Bin, chairman of the National People's Congress.
"Taxes and fees have more than doubled. Don't the villagers have any objections?" Qi Tongwei asked.
"Yes, there were many villagers who resisted the tax at the beginning. Mayor Wang Maocai instructed the police station chief Ma Dong to detain the most noisy people, and the villagers gradually accepted it." Xu Bin explained.
Qi Tongwei could imagine the helplessness of the farmers. Wang Maocai was so cruel that killing him would not be enough.
"Comrade Xu Bin, you are responsible for organizing the information on the three proposals and five unifications. Give it to me when you are done."
What Qi Tongwei saw and heard in Xiaoqiaogou today told him that if things continue like this, the image of government officials among the people of Shuanghe will be not much different from that of the evil gentry and clerks of the past.
In order to gain their support, we must do something big and spectacular, that is, to carry out a big and spectacular rectification among the cadres at the village and town levels and crack down on some people.
Only in this way can we change the image of cadres in the minds of the masses and gain their support.