Chapter 670 Future Plans
Seeing this, Wang Jianguo hurriedly stepped forward and pressed his palm hard on the back of Director Song's hand holding the pen, his fingertips turning blue from excessive force.
His throat rolled, and he glanced at the half-open wooden door with vigilance, as if there were prying eyes lurking in the gap:
"Director Song! Do you remember last winter when two strangers suddenly came to the Third Company warehouse to 'check the accounts'?"
"The snow on their leather shoes soaked through the account books, but they were particularly concerned about the maintenance records of the farm machinery that I was responsible for."
His voice suddenly dropped, like broken ice squeezed out from between his teeth.
"A few days ago, when the address book was updated on the field office bulletin board, I discovered that the man's secretary and I were from the same hometown - isn't that a coincidence?"
The pen in the old man's hand was suspended above the letter, and the ink drops spread out spider-web-like patterns on the paper.
Wang Jianguo suddenly let go of his hand and took out a square telegram from the inner pocket of his Zhongshan suit. The yellowed paper was densely annotated with dates in pencil:
"This is the message I asked the peddler from the next village to bring back last year when I was seriously ill. Look at this string of numbers. On October 10, I deliberately wrote 'corn' instead of 'wheat' because I was afraid that someone would decipher the address."
His fingertips traced the deep creases on the word "urgent".
"It was not until a few days ago when I was in the city that I dared to ask the nephew of the director of the supply and marketing department to send a bag of brown sugar back via three communes."
"You said that if a letter of recommendation suddenly appeared now, the news would crawl along the telephone line and reach the ears of that person before the ink was dry."
Director Song slowly leaned his back against the rattan chair, and the bamboo strips creaked slightly under the weight.
Wang Jianguo stood up suddenly, pulled out his worn work diary from the corner, and turned to the page with the wheat specimen:
"Look at this column. This is the signature form of the city's supply and marketing cooperative. I have to make everyone think that Wang Jianguo is a big fool who only knows how to give money and doesn't want anything else."
He tapped his knuckles on the reclamation map on the title page. The edge of the saline-alkali land circled in red was dotted with densely packed arrows.
"When the weather warms up next month, I will bring everyone with me to turn this 'ghost-seeing' field into a high-yield field in this remote area."
"Wait until the time is right, wait until I appear on TV..."
He suddenly smiled, and his smile had the rough texture unique to tanned black skin.
"By then, the leaders of the Provincial Department of Land Reclamation will shake my hand and say, 'Comrade Xiao Wang is a role model for land reclamation.'
"The secretary of the prefectural party committee would hang my picture in the conference room, and even the calendar on his desk would have to show me driving a tractor to plow the frozen soil."
He reached out and gently closed the letter folder in front of Director Song. The metal buckle made a crisp "click" sound:
"It's not that I'm timid. Do you remember what the old factory manager said before he retired? 'In this black land, if you want to knock down a tree, you have to let it grow into a pillar first.'"
Wang Jianguo took out half a piece of frozen sorghum cake from his trouser pocket, with teeth marks on the surface.
"Look at this cake. I've been chewing it for several days, counting the grains with every bite. One day I'll be able to pat my chest and say, 'Without me, Wang Jianguo, the development of the Great Northern Wilderness would have stagnated for ten years.'"
He took a big bite of the biscuit, his cheeks puffed up from chewing. "By then, even if he wants to touch me, he has to first ask these ten thousand acres of fertile land and the young and old men in the Great Northern Wilderness whether they agree!"
Director Liu sat steadily in his chair, his hands crossed over his chest, and listened attentively as Wang Jianguo explained the plan in detail.
After Wang Jianguo finished speaking, Director Liu showed a barely perceptible look of appreciation on his face and nodded slowly. His movements were steady and powerful, as if he was giving Wang Jianguo affirmation and support.
He leaned forward slightly, and said in a firm and somewhat friendly tone:
"Jianguo, I know your abilities very well these days. You always know what you are doing. Since you have a plan for this matter, just do it boldly."
"If you need me to testify for you later, just ask. I, Old Liu, value friendship and loyalty. I will always be there for you, no hesitation!"
Wang Jianguo's eyes turned red as he heard this, and he was filled with gratitude. He quickly stepped forward and nodded vigorously, his excitement evident in his words.
After a brief pause, he turned around and faced the two seniors in front of him. His expression instantly became serious and solemn. He took a deep breath and said slowly:
"Two seniors, what we are discussing today is a matter of vital importance that requires us to tread on thin ice."
"Even Brother Shuzhuo, who is like a brother to me, is still in the dark and knows nothing about the truth."
"Think about it, if more people knew about this, it would be like throwing a huge rock into a calm lake, which would definitely cause huge waves."
"It may bring unpredictable dangers to both Brother Shuzhuo and me. Therefore, I sincerely ask the two seniors to keep this secret for me."
"This is not only for my sake, but also for the sake of your own safety in the long run. The more people know, the more potential danger there is. I hope you two seniors can understand my difficulties."
Director Song listened and nodded quickly and said:
"Comrade Jianguo, please be at peace. This matter is of great importance. Lao Liu and I will keep it a secret. We won't even reveal a word to our wives and children."
Factory Director Liu rubbed his hands and asked in a rough voice:
"Since Jianguo intends to subsidize our brick factory, should we apply for semi-mechanized equipment from the higher authorities, or should we buy it ourselves? Give me some advice."
Director Song reached out and touched the enamel pot on the table, and said slowly:
"The application still needs to go through the procedures. Let's report it according to the rules first. If there are difficulties in approval from above, we can think of other ways."
"After all, the government has its own difficulties, and we can't force the higher-ups to do things."
He turned his head and looked out the window, then continued:
"I guess Shuzhuo should be back from going door to door to announce the meeting. Let's take this opportunity to organize what we are going to say at the meeting and at least have a rough draft in mind so that we don't have to be at a loss when we start speaking."
Director Liu scratched the back of his head and said with a grin:
"You're right. I was just thinking that if nothing happens with the equipment application, we can pool our money and buy a second-hand one."
"I went to the commune's agricultural machinery station a while ago and saw an old brick-making machine in the warehouse. It was just missing two gears, so it could still be used after some repairs."
Director Song nodded, took out a crumpled notebook from the drawer, and said:
"Let's list the budget for buying equipment and talk about it with everyone during the meeting so that the villagers have an idea of the budget."
"Also, Jianguo's suggestion of converting work points into shares needs to be explained clearly to everyone so that no one can misunderstand his meaning."