22: Chapter 22: Finally, he met his "fiancée".

At 3:30 PM on Friday, the weather was clear and sunny. Zhang Huaijing led a team of five or six people in two small cars to Baikan Village in Xiaolong Town, Wanghai County.

Inside the village committee courtyard, county and township officials, including County Party Secretary Ji Xuewen, Deputy Secretary Lang Dongyang, Minister of the County Organization Department Di Changhai, Deputy Minister Xia Nanfeng, as well as the Town Party Secretary, Village Committee Director, and Party Branch Secretary, were waiting early to welcome the leaders.

When the Municipal Party Committee's No. 3 special vehicle came to a steady stop, Secretary Ji Xuewen stepped forward and opened the car door. Zhang Huaijing stepped out with a beaming smile and shook Ji Xuewen's hand firmly. "Secretary Ji, thank you for your hard work. You've been waiting a long time."

"Secretary Zhang, welcome, welcome. We are very honored and happy that your first stop for research after arriving in Haizhou is our Wanghai County!" Ji Xuewen appeared to be in his forties or fifties, of medium height, slightly plump, with thick hair and a square face, looking gentle and kind.

Ji Xuewen then shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with Meng Zhaodi and Wang Ximeng before stepping back. "Secretary, Minister, let me introduce everyone to you."

He enthusiastically introduced all the county leaders and village officials.

Before leaving today at noon, Zhang Huaijing had purposely dressed up with care. Wearing a newly bought long-sleeved white shirt and black business cropped trousers, he looked young, handsome, mature, and elegant.

While exchanging pleasantries with Ji Xuewen, his gaze drifted to the back of the crowd. Standing there gracefully was a young girl about 1.68 meters tall, wearing a snow-white Audrey Hepburn-style dress. The high-waisted design outlined her slender waist. Her skin was as fair as snow, and she looked as gentle as a painting. However, her beautiful and soulful peach-blossom eyes were filled with an indelible light sorrow, cold and melancholy, which made Zhang Huaijing's heart ache.

She was Lu Waner.

She had clearly lost some weight. Twenty days had passed, yet she still hadn't completely moved on from Cui Liming's death.

At this point, Ji Xuewen finally introduced her: "This is Lu Waner from the Organization Section of the Organization Department. From the initial concept to the completion and operation of Baikan Village's Party Member Service Center and Party Building Demonstration, she has been a witness to it all. She was stationed in this village for a year and a half before returning to work in the county at the end of last year."

During the introduction, Lu Waner wore a gentle smile and took two steps forward. Zhang Huaijing also stepped forward and extended his hand. Lu Waner said, "Hello, Secretary," and gave his hand a brief, light shake.

Zhang Huaijing wore the usual smile of a leader meeting a subordinate, but his heart throbbed. Her small hand was still so slender and bony yet smooth as jade; however, it lacked warmth and felt quite cold.

She still carried that familiar, faint scent of osmanthus.

"Hello, thank you for your hard work. You've done well!"

"Thank you for your encouragement, Secretary!" Lu Waner gave a polite smile. When her peach-blossom eyes met his deep gaze, a strange light suddenly flickered in them—it was surprise, doubt, and also a tremor of emotion.

This was because she noticed a strangely familiar feeling in the way he looked at her, and he seemed exceptionally gentle and approachable.

Why does the feeling he gives me feel so warm? That feeling is so familiar.

Her pale little face suddenly flushed with a faint red.

At this moment, Minister Meng Zhaodi said, "Wanghai County's Party building work has been handled well, with many highlights. Secretary Ji, which comrade would you like to introduce it?"

Ji Xuewen replied politely, "This is all thanks to Minister Meng's wise guidance; we are merely implementing it."

As he spoke, he looked behind him for Lu Waner, who was hiding to the side. Just as he was about to call her out, Xia Nanfeng, the Deputy Minister of the County Organization Department, suddenly stepped forward and volunteered, "Secretary Zhang, Minister Meng, I have been personally overseeing the specifics of this work. Let me introduce it. Leaders, this way please."

She was the wife of County Magistrate Du Huaishui. Forty-six years old, her appearance did her beautiful-sounding name a disservice; she had an exceptionally long face and a barrel waist, lacking both looks and figure. Her personality and character, however, matched the notorious 'Jia Nanfeng' from the Western Jin Dynasty.

She wanted to show off and make an appearance in front of the leaders.

Zhang Huaijing felt displeased—truly, ugly people make the most trouble—but it wasn't easy to refuse on the surface. He maintained his smile, feigned a moment of hesitation, and stole a quick glance at Lu Waner out of the corner of his eye.

All of this was observed by the observant and clever Wang Ximeng. She was already prepared and hurriedly said with a smile, "Minister Xia, how could we trouble you with the explanation work? Last time I came, wasn't there a young girl? She explained it very well. Her name was Waner, right?"

After speaking, her gaze searched for a moment and landed on Lu Waner's face.

Lu Waner smiled slightly, her small face beginning to redden again.

Zhang Huaijing also looked over, giving a subtle nod of acknowledgement.

Ji Xuewen naturally understood that male leaders preferred young and beautiful female comrades to give explanations. In this regard, Xia Nanfeng simply couldn't compare. He quickly beckoned to Lu Waner, "Lu Waner, you should be the one to speak."

Lu Waner nodded obediently, "Alright."

Xia Nanfeng was humiliated on the spot. Her face turned dark, and she squeezed out an awkward smile as she retreated to the side.

Someone handed the microphone to Lu Waner. She walked up to Zhang Huaijing and Meng Zhaodi, gesturing with her palm toward the building in front of them as she began her poised introduction: "Leaders, the building before us was completed in May 2006. It officially opened to the public on July 1st, the Party's birthday. It is the first rural Party Member Service Center in the city, the foremost front for grassroots Party building, and one of the city's demonstration bases for Party member advanced education activities."

"Since 2005, under the guidance of the Municipal Organization Department, the County Organization Department has explored and implemented the 'Six Elders, Six Roles' mechanism in Baikan Village. This consists of a 'Six Elders' team made up of veteran Party members, retired officials, retired teachers, retired workers, former captains, and elderly farmers. They voluntarily take on the 'Six Roles' as policy and regulation lecturers, security patrollers, Citrus Greening Disease prevention officers, and more. They have played an active role in promoting grassroots Party building, fostering rural civilization, and serving rural revitalization..."

Listening to Lu Waner's clear and beautiful voice, a tide of emotion surged in Zhang Huaijing's heart. If there were no others around, he might have already been in tears.

However, he could only restrain himself and act out the performance expected of a Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee meeting a stranger.

Following Lu Waner into the Party Member Service Center, they saw some people reading, some watching Party history educational films, and volunteers explaining things to villagers...

Zhang Huaijing knew that these were all arranged in advance.

The facilities inside were quite complete and the exhibits were rich. Villagers could learn about agriculture, technology, and Party history, or engage in fitness and entertainment. At the same time, several Party member volunteers worked here year-round to serve elderly Party members who were illiterate or had mobility issues. The County Agriculture Bureau's Fruit Office, the Technology-to-the-Countryside Office, and the Civil Affairs Bureau also set up service points here to provide services for farmers.

After the introduction, Zhang Huaijing asked Lu Waner, "You mentioned just now that the 'Six Elders' team assists in rural revitalization. Have there been any actual results?"

Lu Waner turned her face slightly to look at him. For some reason, she felt an indescribable closeness to him. She replied, "Yes, there are. We produce a lot of honey tangerines here, mainly Orah mandarins. However, in recent years, there has been a very severe pest problem called Citrus Greening Disease."

"I heard about this when I was in the province; it's the natural enemy of honey tangerines. How did you deal with it?"

Lu Waner secretly felt that this leader always asked practical questions; he was serious, approachable, and knew how to respect others. She felt increasingly happy and replied, "Actually, the hardest part of Citrus Greening Disease is the transmission by psyllids. If one family's tree gets sick and isn't cut down and removed in time, it will spread. But those fruit trees are the lifeblood of the farmers; no one is willing to cut them down."

"To address this, we first worked on the mindset of the Six Elders team members. Once their thinking was unified, everyone realized that diseased trees must be cut down to truly prevent Citrus Greening. Almost all the Six Elders members grew Orah mandarins themselves, so they persuaded and led the entire village in prevention and control. Citrus Greening was significantly curbed. Later, we developed a set of tactics."

Ji Xuewen took over the conversation, saying, "For this work, the County Organization Department should be commended, especially Comrade Lu Waner. She rooted herself in Baikan Village, going up the mountains and into the fields with the village Party members every day. She developed a practical prevention and control model of 'Unified Seedling Supply, Unified Netting, Unified Prevention and Control, and Direct Subsidies.'"

"Later, we set aside 50 mu of Orah mandarins in Baikan Village to establish a demonstration base for Citrus Greening prevention. The base's prevention results last year were very prominent, with not a single tree falling ill. Starting this year, the Baikan Village prevention model has been promoted throughout the county."