125: Chapter 125 Hu Ming Takes the Initiative

In March, the weather in Hukuang Township was still chilly.

The Hukuang Township Party Committee meeting was scheduled for nine o'clock in the morning, and Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming arrived at the conference room ten minutes early.

He wiped the table in front of Xu Weidong, refilled his teacup with hot water, and wiped the leaves of the potted plant on the windowsill with a damp cloth until they shone green.

After finishing these tasks, he sat down in his seat and opened his notebook.

Committee Member Chen Ruo's seat was directly opposite him.

Committee Member Chen Ruo's expression was not good when he entered. He had received a notification from Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming last night stating that today's leadership meeting would focus on Party building work and that he should bring the recent organizational work ledgers to report on.

He had stayed up half the night organizing the materials—two thick volumes that felt like a hot potato in his arms.

Committee Member Chen Ruo did not know what Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming intended to do at the meeting, but his intuition told him it wouldn't be anything good.

At 8:55, Township Head Jiang Tiansheng and Luan Ping entered one after the other.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng glanced around the conference room, sat down next to Committee Member Chen Ruo, and asked in a low voice:

"What is the agenda for today?"

Committee Member Chen Ruo shook his head, meaning he didn't know.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng frowned but said nothing more.

The Party and Government Office was becoming increasingly out of line!

Xu Weidong walked into the conference room on time, with Wang Jianguo following behind, holding a folder.

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming stood up and moved his chair half an inch to the side, making more room for Xu Weidong.

Xu Weidong sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping across those present, pausing on Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming's face, and he nodded slightly.

"Comrades, this meeting today will mainly focus on Party building work."

Xu Weidong opened the folder in front of him and said: "Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, please report on the recent organizational work first."

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming responded, opened his notebook, and began his report.

He first spoke about the progress of Party member development, then about the investigation into village-level leadership team construction, and finally about the standardized construction of grassroots Party organizations.

His voice was moderate, his speaking pace steady, his points were clear, and the data was detailed.

Committee Member Chen Ruo listened, and his heart relaxed slightly; it seemed like a routine work report. Then, Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming turned a page.

"Additionally, there is another issue that needs to be brought before the leadership meeting for consideration."

His voice suddenly deepened, like a blade being drawn from its sheath.

"Last week, we received an application for Party membership from Yan Mo of Hukuang Village."

"During the review process, serious problems were discovered with this application."

Committee Member Chen Ruo's fingers tightened abruptly—it was coming!

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming pulled a piece of paper from the folder and held it up for everyone present to see.

"In this Party membership application, there is a section regarding the Southern Tour speeches."

"This application writes the date of the Southern Tour speeches as 1991."

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming put the paper down, his gaze landing on Committee Member Chen Ruo's face.

"Committee Member Chen Ruo, this Party membership application was submitted to you last week."

"You are the Organization Committee Member; it is your duty to review and vet these materials."

"How did a Party membership application that gets even basic historical knowledge wrong pass the initial review?"

"Is this the applicant's problem, or is it a problem with your work?"

Committee Member Chen Ruo's face went from pale to red, then from red to green.

He knew about this application; Organization Clerk Xiao Li had shown it to him last week. He had flipped through it, and the content was much the same as other applications, so he had just signed the words "Agree."

He hadn't noticed at all that the date of the Southern Tour speeches was wrong!

Who would pay attention to such things?

Party membership applications are all cookie-cutter clichés; applicants find templates online and copy them—who cares about a date?

"Secretary Hu, this..."

"This might be a clerical error by the applicant; I will go back and verify..."

"A clerical error?"

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming's voice was not loud, but it was very serious.

"A Party membership application is a serious political document."

"If the applicant doesn't even know the date of the Southern Tour speeches, it shows that his political awareness needs improvement."

"How did such an applicant pass the organizational review?"

"Committee Member Chen Ruo, you only recently transferred from Publicity Committee Member to Organization Committee Member; you might not be familiar enough with organizational work yet."

"But that is no excuse."

"Every procedure in organizational work relates to the purity of the Party member ranks."

Committee Member Chen Ruo's expression turned completely dark. He wanted to retort, but he couldn't find an angle.

The application was indeed signed by him, the procedure was indeed followed by him, and the responsibility was indeed his.

He instinctively looked towards Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, his gaze carrying a look of desperation.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng put down his pen and cleared his throat.

He had worked in Hukuang Township for over a decade and had seen all sorts of situations; a confrontation of this level couldn't stump him.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's voice was unhurried, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, the wrong date on the Party membership application is indeed a problem."

"But I think this is not a major error of principle."

"The applicant's educational level is not high, and the template he referred to when writing the material might have been wrong to begin with."

"We can have the applicant correct it later and criticize and educate the handling comrade; that should be enough."

"There is no need to bring it to the leadership meeting and blow it out of proportion."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng paused, glanced at Xu Weidong, and asked: "Secretary Xu, what do you think?"

Xu Weidong did not reply, picked up his teacup and took a sip, his gaze shifting between Township Head Jiang Tiansheng and Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming.

The air in the conference room froze; everyone was waiting for his stance.

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming did not give Xu Weidong a chance to speak; his voice was slightly higher than before, carrying an unquestionable seriousness.

"Township Head Jiang, I do not quite agree with your view."

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming held up the Party membership application again.

"This is not just a question of a wrong date; this is a question of political common sense."

"The Southern Tour speeches are a major event in our Party's history; every Communist Party member should know the time, background, and content by heart."

"If the applicant doesn't even know this, it shows that his motivation for joining the Party is questionable."

"And our Organization Committee Member didn't even catch this in the materials, which shows there are serious oversights in our organizational work."

He put down the application, looking at Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, his gaze carrying an unprecedented toughness.

"I am not targeting Committee Member Chen Ruo; I am addressing the issue, not the person. The seriousness of organizational work cannot be compromised just because the applicant's educational level is low."

"If we turn a blind eye today to a Party membership application that gets the date of the Southern Tour speeches wrong, tomorrow someone will turn a blind eye to even more serious problems."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's expression changed; he hadn't expected Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming to be so tough, clashing with him in front of the entire leadership team.

In all his years in Hukuang Township, no Party Committee member had ever dared to speak to him like this at a meeting.

Do you think you are Township Head Ge Jiefang or Secretary Hu Dakui from back in the day?

He wanted to slam the table and swear, but his gaze met Xu Weidong's impassive face, and he suppressed his anger.

The atmosphere in the conference room became increasingly tense; no one else spoke, keeping their heads down, flipping through notebooks, or pretending to study the documents on the table.

Secretary Zhou Song leaned back in his chair, expressionless, impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Committee Member Gao Jin's gaze shifted back and forth between Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming and Xu Weidong, as if trying to catch a signal.

Deputy Township Head Gong Zizhen had his hands folded on the table, his posture neutral, but his lips were slightly pursed.

Zhou Lan sat in the corner, with an expression on her face as if she were watching a show.

Xu Weidong put down his teacup and said: "Committee Member Chen Ruo, explain how this application passed the review?"

Committee Member Chen Ruo's face flushed red, and he said: "Secretary Xu, this... at the time, Organization Clerk Xiao Li brought the application to me. I flipped through it, the content... the content was much like the others, so I signed it."

"I truly did not notice that the date of the Southern Tour speeches was written incorrectly. This is my oversight, and I accept criticism."

Xu Weidong nodded, then looked at Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming and said: "Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming had been waiting for these words; his attitude remained tough, but his tone was slightly softer than before, as if leaving room for the leader to make a decision.

"Secretary Xu, my opinion is: First, return this Party membership application to the applicant, requiring him to relearn basic Party knowledge and rewrite the application."

"Second, criticize and educate the comrade in the Organization Office responsible for the initial review."

"Third, Committee Member Chen Ruo, as the Organization Committee Member, bears leadership responsibility; I suggest he make a written self-criticism at the leadership meeting."

Committee Member Chen Ruo's face went from red to white. A written self-criticism didn't sound serious, but making one at a leadership meeting meant this matter would be recorded in the meeting minutes...

For a cadre who had only been transferred to Organization Committee Member for a few months, this was a significant blow.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng couldn't sit still; he knew that if he let Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming succeed today, Committee Member Chen Ruo's prestige would be ruined, and his own prestige would suffer as well.

He could not just sit by and watch Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming stir up trouble on his turf!

"Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, isn't this proposed handling too heavy?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's voice was very low, but everyone could hear the dissatisfaction in his tone.

"Committee Member Chen Ruo just took over organizational work not long ago and is not yet familiar enough with some business; this is an objective situation."

"Because a date was written wrong, you want him to make a written self-criticism at the leadership meeting—how is he supposed to carry out work in the future?"

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming turned his head to look at Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, his gaze showing no intention of backing down.

"Township Head Jiang, it is precisely because Committee Member Chen Ruo just took over organizational work that he should be held to even stricter requirements."

"If problems arise and are not pursued, how will he learn his lesson in the future? How can the seriousness of organizational work be guaranteed?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's expression became even uglier; he opened his mouth to say something, but realized he had no ground to stand on logically.

Every point Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming made was in line with procedures and rules; he couldn't find any fault.

He could only turn his gaze to Xu Weidong, hoping this young man would give him a way out.

Xu Weidong had seen enough; he picked up his teacup and took another sip.

"Committee Member Chen Ruo, you admit it was your oversight; this attitude is good."

His voice was unhurried, as if making a final characterization of the matter.

"But Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming's point is also reasonable; organizational work cannot be compromised."

"How about this: you won't need to make the written self-criticism at the leadership meeting. After you go back, review the work procedures of the Organization Office, write a rectification report, and submit it to Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming."

"After Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming vets it, submit it to me."

He looked at Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming and said: "Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, what do you think? Is this acceptable?"

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming understood; Xu Weidong was saving face for Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, and at the same time telling him that he had gone far enough and should not push any further.

He nodded and said: "I agree with Secretary Xu's suggestion."

"Committee Member Chen Ruo, the rectification report must be based on facts and thoroughly address the issues."

Committee Member Chen Ruo was relieved and hurriedly nodded, saying: "Okay, okay, I will write it as soon as I go back."

"Thank you, Secretary Xu; thank you, Secretary Hu."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng sat to the side, the expression on his face very complex.

Xu Weidong's way of handling this seemed to be mediating on the surface, but in reality, it favored Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming.

Changing the written self-criticism to a rectification report sounded lighter, but since the rectification report had to be vetted by Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, it was equivalent to putting Committee Member Chen Ruo's neck into Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming's hands.

The meeting continued; the subsequent agenda items were all routine work, and no one had the heart to say much more.

Committee Member Chen Ruo kept his head down the entire time, drawing circles in his notebook.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's expression never recovered, and he smoked cigarette after cigarette.

Luan Ping sat to the side, wanting to say something but not daring to.

Committee Member Gao Jin was in high spirits; when he spoke, his voice was a few decibels louder than usual.

After the meeting adjourned, Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming followed Xu Weidong back to his office.

The door closed, and Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming refilled Xu Weidong's teacup, stepped back two paces, and stood there, the expression on his face shifting from the toughness of just moments ago to one of humility.

"Secretary Xu, regarding the matter at the meeting today, I did not report to you in advance; that was my fault."

His voice was very low as he said: "But I truly felt this was an opportunity. That man, Committee Member Chen Ruo, has average ability and relies entirely on Township Head Jiang Tiansheng for support."

"If we knock him down a peg, the organizational sector can be held in our hands."

Xu Weidong leaned back in his chair and looked at him.

The advantage of Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming is that he uses his brain and knows when to be tough and when to be soft.

His performance at the meeting today showed good judgment of boundaries.

He didn't shrink back when he needed to be tough, and he didn't linger in battle when it was time to stop.

That last look he gave him—the timing was just right.

"Township Head Jiang didn't look too happy today."

Xu Weidong picked up his teacup and took a sip, his tone flat.

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming smiled and said: "It's only right that he isn't happy."

"If he were always happy, it would be difficult for us to get things done."

Xu Weidong did not reply, just nodded slightly.