126: Chapter 126 Who told me I wasn't the top leader?

Committee Member Chen Ruo came out of the meeting room, did not return to his own office, and walked straight toward the end of the east corridor.

The door to Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's office was half-open, and the sound of someone talking on the phone came from inside.

Committee Member Chen Ruo stood at the door for a while, waiting until the voice inside stopped before reaching out to knock twice.

"Come in."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng was sitting in his chair, the ashtray in front of him full again. He glanced at Committee Member Chen Ruo, pointed to the chair opposite him, but did not speak.

Committee Member Chen Ruo sat down, placing his hands on his knees.

"Township Head Jiang, I would like to have a word with you."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng stubbed out his cigarette and leaned back in his chair, looking at him.

Committee Member Chen Ruo's lips moved a few times, as if he didn't know where to start.

"Township Head Jiang, I know my performance in the meeting today was terrible. Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming had all these arguments, and I just couldn't handle them."

"He said my organizational work was a complete mess, that I couldn't even review Party membership applications, and I couldn't refute a single word."

"Those ledgers and those materials do have problems, but those problems weren't caused by me."

"At this time last year, he was still the Organization Committee Member, and this work was all done by him."

"Now that he's turned his back on me and dumped all the blame on my head, don't you think I've been wronged?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng didn't respond, just lit another cigarette.

Committee Member Chen Ruo's voice grew lower and lower, until it sounded like he was talking to himself.

"I've been wronged, but I have nowhere to seek justice."

"He is the Deputy Party Secretary in charge of organization, and I am his subordinate. If he tells me to rectify, I have to rectify."

"If he tells me to write a report, I have to write a report."

"If he keeps staring at me every day, I won't be able to do my job as an Organization Committee Member."

He looked up at Township Head Jiang Tiansheng.

"Township Head Jiang, I'm not here to lodge a complaint."

"I just want to ask you if we can come up with a way to stop Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming from targeting me so unscrupulously."

"You saw how I looked at the meeting today; I've lost all face."

"If he targets me a few more times, how can I stay in Hukuang Township?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled.

"Committee Member Chen Ruo, what can I do when you tell me these things?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's voice was not loud, but his tone carried a deep sense of helplessness.

"I am the Township Head, in charge of government affairs."

"I can't interfere in Party construction matters, nor should I."

"If I were to go to Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming and say, 'Stop targeting Committee Member Chen Ruo,' he would retort, 'Township Head Jiang, you are in charge of government work, why are you meddling in Party construction matters?'"

"How would I answer that?"

"I couldn't answer it."

"It's not that I'm cowardly; it's the rules."

"For a government cadre to interfere in Party construction matters is, to put it mildly, overstepping, and to put it strongly, it's an abuse of power and a violation of political principles."

"If word gets out, it wouldn't just be Xu Weidong I'd offend, but all the superiors in charge of Party construction."

"I cannot bear that responsibility."

Committee Member Chen Ruo's face went even paler. He knew Township Head Jiang Tiansheng was telling the truth, but that truth was too harsh.

"So you're just going to watch while Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming destroys me?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, looking at him with a complex expression in his eyes.

"Committee Member Chen Ruo, you haven't been in Hukuang Township for just a day or two."

"You know the situation in this township."

"In the past, when Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming was under my command, he did whatever I said and didn't dare to make a peep."

"Now the times have changed. With Xu Weidong backing him from above, his spine has stiffened, and he's turned around to target my people."

"Do you think he's only coming for you?"

"He's coming for me."

"You are the Organization Committee Member; once you are taken down, the organizational sector will belong entirely to him."

"And then?"

"The next step will be the political and legal sector."

"He wants to pluck out my people one by one and turn Hukuang Township into his own territory."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng paused, his voice lowering even further.

"But what can I do?"

"I cannot go head-to-head with him."

"He is backed by... Xu Weidong, and that is an obstacle we cannot get around."

Committee Member Chen Ruo fell silent. He knew Township Head Jiang Tiansheng was telling the truth, but that truth was too despairing.

Damn, being an official is truly suffocating!

He had even made it to the Party Committee!

And yet he still had to compromise!

"Township Head Jiang, you know what my family situation is like."

His voice suddenly dropped, low as if afraid of being heard.

"My wife has no job, my two children are in high school and junior high, and I have two elderly parents above me."

"There are six people in the family, and we all rely on my salary alone."

"I've worked in Hukuang Township for so many years, and it took so much effort to grind from Propaganda Committee Member to Organization Committee Member. If I'm taken down by Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, where else can I go?"

"I don't have high academic qualifications, strong connections, or a background. The next step for me is to sit on the bench."

"What will my family do?"

"Township Head Jiang, it's not that I have no backbone."

"If I were ten years younger, I would just change places and start over."

"But I'm not young anymore. I'm in my early forties, with elderly parents above and children below; I can't afford to be tossed around anymore."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng looked at him, wanting to say something but ultimately saying nothing.

He pulled out the last cigarette from the pack, lit it, took a drag, and then stubbed it out.

"Committee Member Chen Ruo, I know your predicament."

"But I really can't think of any good solution right now."

"Xu Weidong saved you some face at the meeting and didn't let Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming force you to write a written self-criticism."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he doesn't want to push things to the extreme either."

"He needs balance; he needs Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming to fight us, but he can't let Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming destroy us."

"If we are destroyed, Hukuang Township will fall into chaos."

"He just arrived, and he doesn't want to see a mess."

"You go back first, write the rectification report well, and hand it to Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming. Lower your posture a bit; admit the mistakes that should be admitted and fix what should be fixed. What else can he do to you?"

"If he still keeps harping on it, then he's being unreasonable. At that point, you go find Xu Weidong again, and Xu Weidong won't ignore it."

"He needs balance, which means our side can't be too weak either."

Committee Member Chen Ruo stood up, the chair making a slight sound.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng heard the sound of the door closing and slowly sighed.

In the final analysis, it was still because he was not the top leader!

The office was empty, leaving only him and the ashtray full of cigarette butts.

He walked to the desk, sat down, picked up the Forestry Station report that had been slammed down, looked at it for a moment, and threw it aside.

In his dozen-plus years in Hukuang Township, he had never felt this suffocated.

This young man didn't argue with you or fight with you; he just said a few words lightly at the meeting, and the whole landscape underneath changed.

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, who used to not dare to breathe loudly in front of him, now dared to talk back to him at the meeting.

Committee Member Chen Ruo, the man he had single-handedly promoted, was now being driven into a dead end.