Chapter 4: The Initial Outbreak

  "Yèr, daddy is back, come out and eat quickly!" A gentle knock on the door accompanied by a warm and soft call echoed at the entrance.

  "Mom, I'll be right there!" Luo Ye wiped her face and took a few deep breaths, feeling her emotions calm down before turning around to head out.

  Luo Zheng was sitting on the sofa reading the evening paper, his entire face hidden behind the newspaper. Luo Ye suppressed the excitement in her heart and greeted him: "Dad, you're back!"

  "Ah!" Luo Zheng had just put down the newspaper: "Dinner is ready!" Luo Ye's lips curled slightly, and indeed as brief as she had imagined. She even wondered if her father knew what she looked like? If she changed her hairstyle and image, would her father recognize her?

  A plate of green pepper stir-fried meat, a plate of garlic sprout stir-fried meat, a plate of braised pork ribs, and a bowl of pickled mustard greens noodle soup. The dishes have been served, all are Luo Zheng's favorites.

  "Drink the soup first!" Wen Xin poured the soup and handed it to Luo Zhengang, then took Luo Feng's bowl. Luo Zhengang frowned: "You're all grown up, do it yourself!"

  "Mom, I'll do it myself!" Luo Feng hastily took the bowl from Wen Xi's hands.

  "You... I'm serving our child just like you, aren't I?" Wen Xin smiled warmly and playfully scolded her husband, with a clear sense of happiness on her face.

  Lu Ye's expressionless face turned towards Lu Feng: "Brother, what are you panicking about? Will Dad eat people?"

  "Clang! …… " Luo Feng's hand relaxed, and the spoon fell into the soup bowl. He then looked at Luo Zheng with a flustered expression: "Dad, don't blame Ye Er, if you want to scold someone, scold me!"

  Lu Ye was good-tempered and had a good sense of humor, even though he was scared to that extent, he still didn't forget to plead for her. Lu Feng was indeed a good brother, but, how could someone who couldn't even protect himself be able to protect others?

  Luo Zhenggang ignored his son and turned his attention to Luo Ye. In his impression, his daughter didn't dare speak loudly, but today she dared to scold her brother in front of him. To put it bluntly, she was expressing her dissatisfaction with him by scolding her brother. This girl, had she eaten the heart of a bear and the gallbladder of a leopard?

  Wenxin was afraid that her husband would get angry again, so she quickly mediated: "Okay, okay, let's eat first. Ye'er, hurry up and apologize to Dad!"

  Originally, Luo Ye's heart had softened, but suddenly she flared up: "Why should I apologize? What did I do wrong? Mom, I want to ask you, is there room in your heart for us siblings besides Dad?"

  "From young to old, our dinner table always had dishes that Dad loved to eat. Mom, I'm not trying to compare with Dad, but I just want to know what my brother and I mean to you?"

  Looking at Luo Zheng, "Dad, I want to ask you something. After giving birth to me and my brother, do you feel ashamed? From the time we were sensible, you taught us to be low-key, not to let anyone know our identity in school, not to fight with our classmates, and even if we were bullied, we had to endure as much as possible. Is it that Dad likes his children to become cowards?"

  "Alright, I'm a girl, and if my personality is weak then so be it. But what about brother? Dad, you tell me, does brother's personality have the responsibility of being a man?"

  Thinking of the broken home and the desperate end with the enemy, thinking of the root cause of all this, that thread of hatred was infinitely magnified, Luo Ye couldn't help but burst out!

  Moreover, she was well aware that changing the fate of her family would not be possible with just her own efforts. Changing the way her family thought and their personalities, breaking the original pattern of interaction, was necessary. So, everything starts from today, starting from her change!

  She cast a warm and careful glance at her husband, and signaled to Luo Ye with her eyes: "Ye'er, you... what happened to you today? Why are you talking to Dad and Mom like this?"

  "Mom, do you know how my brother and I have been living in school? Do you know where all the scars on our bodies came from? Are you clear why I've been dressing slovenly since sophomore year?"

  Today, I fainted at school. The reason is that several girls in the class forced me to keep picking up volleyballs under the scorching sun. Mom should know how weak my body is, right?

  I wonder, if I were to die on the playground today, would Dad and Mom reflect on why it ended up like this?

  "Nonsense!" Luo Zheng frowned: "How can you blame everything on your parents? From childhood, I taught you that those who achieve great things must first endure hardship and cultivate their will..."

  "Father, we've all suffered enough and endured enough. But what's the result? Forget it, I won't eat anymore. You all think about what I said!"

  "Halt!" Luo Ye had only taken two steps when Luo Zheng's voice rang out, with a hint of sternness: "What are you sulking about? Who taught you to behave like this?"

  Lu Ye turned around and stared directly at Lu Zhengang: "I'm not being willful, I just want to ask Dad one thing, is Brother's personality like this today, does Dad have any responsibility?"

  Luofeng gazed at his sister with a somewhat melancholy expression: "Yeer, in your eyes, is my personality really that bad? I've always been very fond of you!"

  "Brother, I know you're good to me, but I also know how much humiliation you've endured. A man should be tough when he needs to be. I heard about you polishing Liu Song's shoes, does it feel good in your heart?" Luo Ye said, staring straight at Luo Zhengang: "Dad, your son polished the shoes of a spoiled rich kid just because that person's girlfriend glanced at my brother once, how do you feel?"

  "Useless!" Luo Zheng had just stood up: "Forget it, I'm going back to the study!"

  Wen Xin hastily grabbed Luo Zhengang's arm: "Husband, let's finish dinner first before going to the study. The child must have been wronged today, what did you say to the child?"

  Fifteen minutes later, dinner ended in a dull atmosphere. Luo Ye glanced at Luo Zheng who had been frowning all along, sighed and returned to her room. Change wasn't something that could be accomplished overnight; she needed to be patient!

  ……

  Standing in front of the window in his study, staring at the searchlight on the patrol path outside, Luo Zhenggang's mood was extremely complicated. The things his daughter accused him of, how could he not know? Only he, this high-ranking official envied by many people, knew the bitterness within.

  In May 1980, the Organization Department held a symposium to select young and middle-aged cadres, discussed and formulated "Several Opinions on Further Doing a Good Job in Selecting Excellent Young and Middle-aged Cadres", requiring all levels of party committees to boldly promote a batch of professional cadres with high school education or above to join the leadership team.

  Luo Zhenggang, a graduate of the Normal University, was 24 years old in 1982 when the provincial government issued a document calling for the promotion of young cadres. He was the only one in Shangzhuang Town who met the conditions and after serving as an office clerk for five months, he was promoted to be the town secretary.

  In that era when young cadres with a high school education or above were in short supply, the county's candidate for promotion also fell on him. He had just served as town secretary for seven months and was promoted to be the head of the County Water Conservancy Bureau in May 1983.

  In August 1984, he was promoted to the head of Nanshan District in Sanya City, and served for two years and three months. He completed a big leap from an officer to a prefecture-level city district head, which is an example of special cases in those years when talents were scarce.

  The most obvious disadvantage of such a promoted cadre is the lack of grassroots political experience, and he is no exception. Since 1987, he has been continuously transferred to lower-level units for grassroots training.

  At that time, there were calls for these promoted cadres to be demoted back to their original positions and re-educated. In 1993, he was transferred back to the island city to resume his original position, mainly because his former superior spoke up for him. In 1998, he was promoted to vice mayor of the island city in charge of urban construction.

  All the way here, he first followed and then went against, waiting for people to catch him off guard countless times. In terms of ability, he is no worse than anyone else. Unfortunately, his foundation is unstable and he has been labeled with a policy that can never be removed. To gain respect and stand firm, he must make more efforts than others. These two years have finally increased his prestige!

  His son's character makes him worry, but also reassures him. How many officials have fallen because of their children's misbehavior? His wife is even more reassuring, she will absolutely not secretly take bribes or go astray behind his back.

  He didn't expect that his usually timid and obedient daughter would explode like this today. With her personality, if she hadn't been pushed to the limit, she wouldn't have done that!

  Warmly updated today, new article seeking clicks collection recommendation, love you all!