141: Chapter 141 Group Dividing Events

More than twenty villagers were blocking the entrance.

Banners had already been unfurled.

They read, "Return our Heishui Village blood and sweat money" and "Demolition compensation."

The shouting reached all the way up to the second-floor office area.

Zhu Wenhao stood by the window.

The glass muffled some of the noise.

This group had chosen to cause trouble when Secretary Qiu was away; what they wanted was money, but even more so, they wanted Zhu Wenhao's future.

Rapid footsteps approached from outside the door.

Director Zhou Mei, head of the Party and Government Office, pushed the door open without even bothering to knock.

"Secretary Zhu, the people from Heishui Village have blocked the main gate."

"The security guards went to persuade them but were shoved, and now everyone has rushed into the courtyard."

"Where is Town Mayor Luo?" Zhu Wenhao turned around.

"Town Mayor Luo received a call from an investor half an hour ago, claiming there was a project to coordinate, and he left for the city."

Zhu Wenhao picked up the thermos on his desk, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip of warm water.

Secretary Qiu Dehai had gone to the County Committee, and Town Mayor Luo Xingbang had slipped away under a pretext.

The top two leaders of Heishi Town had tacitly left this mess to him, the newly arrived deputy secretary.

If he used force and called the Police Station to clear the scene, as soon as one elderly person, woman, or child fell, the label of "cadres violently suppressing the masses" would be firmly stuck on him.

If he conceded and promised a solution in public, the Town Government treasury was an empty shell; failing to produce the money would mean breaking faith with the people.

"Have you called the police?" Zhu Wenhao set down his cup.

"Not yet." Director Zhou Mei looked at him. "Usually, in such situations, Secretary Qiu would be here to keep things under control. He would have the auxiliary police from the Police Station stand in a human wall at the gate, and by afternoon, they would disperse on their own. But today..."

"Today, we cannot afford to wait it out."

Zhu Wenhao adjusted the collar of his jacket.

"Director Zhou, let's go down and take a look."

"Secretary Zhu, there are many people down there, and it's chaotic." Director Zhou Mei felt a bit nervous. "If you go out there, they will be incited to anger. What if you get hurt..."

"If the common people have grievances, I am not afraid of them speaking out."

Zhu Wenhao walked toward the main entrance.

"What I fear is someone using the voices of the common people to speak their own private agendas."

Outside the first-floor lobby.

The villagers had already swarmed to the foot of the steps.

Leading them was a dark-skinned, sturdy man in his thirties, wearing a leather jacket.

He held a makeshift megaphone rolled from cardboard, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Zhu Wenhao walked out of the lobby and stopped at the top of the steps.

A cold wind swept through the courtyard, making the banner snap loudly.

The sturdy man spotted the young man walking out of the building at a glance.

Director Zhou Mei from the Party and Government Office followed behind him, so his identity was self-evident.

"Everyone, quiet down!"

Zhu Wenhao raised the paper megaphone, pointing it toward the people below the steps.

"I am the newly appointed deputy secretary of the town committee, Zhu Wenhao!"

"You can tell me whatever thoughts you have!"

The crowd erupted.

Dozens of eyes were fixed squarely on Zhu Wenhao.

Some people began to push up the steps.

Several security guards held them back firmly, sweating profusely.

Zhu Wenhao stood there without retreating a single step.

He merely watched the sturdy man leading them with a cold gaze.

The man in front was shouting the loudest, the veins on his neck bulging, but his eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, observing the reactions of the onlookers.

Gradually, the noise died down.

Everyone realized that the young official on the steps was neither scared into retreating nor flying into a rage.

He just stood there.

The few villagers who had been making the most noise subconsciously shut their mouths.

"Not shouting anymore?" Zhu Wenhao continued.

"The wind is strong in the courtyard; you won't be able to settle accounts even if you scream until your throats tear."

Zhu Wenhao turned his head to look at Director Zhou Mei behind him.

"Director Zhou, open the door to the large conference room on the first floor. Turn on the air conditioning and pour hot water."

Director Zhou Mei was stunned.

When faced with a blockade, the standard procedure for the Town Government was to lock the doors tight and clear the area.

Actively inviting the troublemakers inside the office building—if any smashing or looting occurred, who would be held responsible?

"Open the door." Zhu Wenhao emphasized his tone.

Director Zhou Mei did not dare to delay and hurried around the lobby.

She took the keys and opened the large conference room, which could accommodate a hundred people.

The two solid wood double doors swung open.

Zhu Wenhao turned back and scanned the crowd below the steps.

"Those who have grievances, those who have demands, come inside and sit down to talk."

He had one hand in his jacket pocket.

"I will wait for you in the conference room."

After saying this, he turned and stepped into the lobby, walking toward the conference room.

The villagers below the steps looked at each other.

In the past, when they came to cause trouble, town officials would either spout bureaucratic jargon at the door or refuse to see them.

Opening the doors and inviting them in to sit and talk was a first.

The sturdy man's eyes darted around.

Gathering people in the courtyard could build momentum.

Once they entered the conference room and the door was closed, it would be the official's home turf.

"Don't listen to his sweet talk! Once you enter that door, who knows what tricks they'll play!" Political Commissar Zhang Qiang shouted, raising his megaphone.

Several elderly villagers were freezing, looking at the bright conference room inside.

"Political Commissar Zhang Qiang, they have opened the doors."

An old man retorted, "We came to get money, not to fight. What's wrong with going in and asking?"

Seeing that he couldn't stop them, Political Commissar Zhang Qiang gritted his teeth and led the people into the large conference room.

Inside the conference room was an oval conference table.

Zhu Wenhao had already pulled out the chair in the center of the podium and sat down upright.

The villagers swarmed in, sitting haphazardly on both sides of the long table, some leaning against the wall; the noise continued.

"Director Zhou." Zhu Wenhao ignored the noise below. "Go get the video camera and set it up directly in front of the conference table."

As soon as these words were spoken, the noise in the conference room significantly decreased.

Director Zhou Mei quickly brought over a video camera with a tripod and placed it in the center of the table.

The red recording indicator light began to flash.

Political Commissar Zhang Qiang couldn't sit still.

He slammed the table and stood up.

"Secretary Zhu! What is the meaning of this?"

"Pointing a machine at us—are you trying to record us so you can settle scores later?"

"Is this how the town treats the common people?"

A few villagers were incited and started shouting along.

Zhu Wenhao crossed his hands, resting his elbows on the desktop.

"The recording is to keep a record."

Zhu Wenhao looked at Political Commissar Zhang Qiang.

"Every issue you raise today and every response I give will be filed and traceable."

"Once you leave this door, no one can deny the accounts."

"This is to protect you, and also to protect the credibility of the Town Government."

Staff members walked into the conference room and placed a stack of blank petition registration forms on the table.

"The Town Government accepts the issue regarding the land compensation funds for Heishui Village."

"But this cannot be a muddled account."

"One form per household. What is your name, which piece of land was requisitioned, how many acres, and how much money is missing?"

"Fill out the form yourself, state your case yourself, and sign and press your thumbprint yourself."

The conference room fell completely silent.

If it really came down to individuals filling out forms and signing them, false reporting and fraudulent claims would become written evidence.

Political Commissar Zhang Qiang slapped his hand down on that stack of forms.

"We came together!"

"Everyone's business is everyone's business! Why fill out forms!"

"If you don't give us a definite answer today about when the money will be deposited into our accounts, we are not leaving!"

"You represent everyone?" Zhu Wenhao looked at him.

"Yes! I represent the fellow villagers of Heishui Village!"

Zhu Wenhao leaned back.

"What is your name?"

"Political Commissar Zhang Qiang, from the Third Group of Heishui Village!"

"How much compensation is missing for your land?"

Political Commissar Zhang Qiang stiffened his neck: "I'm asking for my third uncle! My third uncle is too old to come, so I represent him!"

Zhu Wenhao tapped the tabletop lightly.

"The state has national laws, and petitioning has its regulations."

"Whoever has a grievance, let them state it themselves. Whoever is owed money, let them collect it themselves."

"In this conference room, I only recognize the victims, not the representatives."

"You..." Political Commissar Zhang Qiang was about to explode.

"Public grievances are like water; blocking them causes the dam to burst, while guiding them forms a channel."

Zhu Wenhao looked around at the villagers on both sides of the long table.

"Those of you who have truly been shortchanged on compensation funds, take a form and register."

"After the town reviews the accounts, the money owed will be paid in full."

His gaze turned sharp, piercing straight at Political Commissar Zhang Qiang.

"But if anyone uses the hardships of the common people to fan the flames, acting as a 'representative' with the intention of muddying the waters and profiting from the middle..."

"You can go ask the Director of the Town Police Station about the consequences of disrupting administrative order."

An old man in the crowd stood up.

He picked up a registration form.

"Secretary Zhu, I will fill out the form."

"I am truly owed money."

With someone taking the lead, seven or eight villagers stepped forward to take forms.

They each found a seat and started filling them out, chewing on their pens.

The remaining dozen or so idlers, seeing that the situation was not in their favor, began to retreat toward the back door of the conference room.

Political Commissar Zhang Qiang stood by the long table. "Fine! You fill them out!"

"When you don't get a single cent in the end, don't blame me for not warning you!"

"Political Commissar Zhang Qiang."

Zhu Wenhao called out to stop him.

Political Commissar Zhang Qiang stopped and turned around.

"Since your third uncle is too old to come."

Zhu Wenhao pointed to the forms on the table.

"You take the form back."

"Let him fill it out himself, sign it, and deliver it to the Party and Government Office. The town will accept it all the same."

Political Commissar Zhang Qiang's face darkened; he didn't respond and shoved his way out of the conference room door.

Director Zhou Mei stood to the side, watching the scene below.

Zhu Wenhao sat on the podium, quietly watching the villagers bowing their heads to fill out the forms.