Chapter Fifty-Five: Gathering You In

  Tobacco leaf procurement has finally started, the first weighing was at Yulin Township's tobacco leaf procurement point, this is a convention. Following that, other procurement points have also started weighing. From a period of time before the start of tobacco leaf procurement, a large number of people have begun to be busy, this is their best opportunity to make money for the year, absolutely cannot be missed.

  Xu Shaojie and Song Tao went to Yulin Township to inspect the work of tobacco purchasing points. The quality of tobacco in Yulin Township is good, and the price is high, which has always been a key area of concern for the district committee and government. The tobacco purchasing point is just next to the township government office building, not far away. When Xu Shaojie was about to go and take a look at the purchasing situation, Zhao Deli and Dong Guihua's expressions were somewhat unnatural, and Song Tao beside them also seemed reluctant. Xu Shaojie found it strange, as this was a rare occurrence. After some time of getting along, Zhao Deli and Dong Guihua had completely leaned towards Xu Shaojie, and they could only make such choices. Moreover, Liu Zhihua would not continue to trust them. The conflict between Xu Shaojie and Liu Zhihua at the district committee meeting was well-known to everyone, and they had gained a lot of confidence from it. Now, Yulin Township has become an outlier in the entire district, slowly starting to be isolated. These situations are all very normal, and everyone knows Liu Zhihua's tactics. If such things hadn't happened, people would have started to speculate instead.

  "Secretary Xu, there's a rule about the tobacco exhibition that you may not know. I'll tell you the truth, don't be offended when I say it in front of you."

  "Secretary Zhao, just say what you want to say."

  "It's better not to go and see the tobacco purchase. In the first half of the year, when expanding tobacco planting areas, the tobacco station is like a grandson, begging the district committee, district government, and even farmers. Our township government officials are also like grandsons, asking farmers to plant tobacco and promoting its benefits everywhere. In the second half of the year, when purchasing tobacco leaves, the tobacco station becomes a grandfather, demanding everyone, including the district committee and government, our township government officials are still like grandsons, maintaining order. What's not easy to do is what we have to do. If anything happens, we have to take all the responsibility. Secretary Xu, you'd better not go and see."

  "Growing tobacco is a good thing, farmers can increase their income, why does it cause so much trouble when it's time to harvest?"

  Zhao Deli and Dong Guihua looked at each other, a bitter smile appeared on their faces. After all, they still had to face the actual problem. Zhao Deli thought for a moment before speaking up.

  "Secretary Zhao, Mayor Dong, have you done tobacco business? Have the township government officials done it?"

  "Secretary Xu, absolutely not! Anyone who dares to do such things under my nose will be fired from the township government!"

  "Alright, then follow me to the collection point and take a look."

  Xu Shaojie's luck wasn't that good, when they arrived at the tobacco purchasing station, many tobacco farmers were standing outside, and loud arguments could be heard coming from inside. As Xu Shaojie approached, a rough voice came out from inside.

  "I won't sell my tobacco to anyone else, I saw the person in front of me had the same brand as mine, Zhong Yi. I don't dare compare with him, Zhong Yi is not good enough for you, Zhong San is not good enough for me, so it's got to be Zhong Er. Old Huang, if you agree, then weigh it for me, if you don't agree, then don't think about collecting tobacco today. Hmph, I have all the time in the world, I can come here every day and make you, turtle egg, unable to collect tobacco properly. Old Huang, I'm warning you ahead of time, if you don't collect my tobacco, then don't bother coming to the tobacco station again."

  Xu Shaojie didn't notice Dong Guihua pulling his clothes from behind, and squeezed in. Zhao Deli, Dong Guihua, Song Tao, Yang Chen and others followed and squeezed in.

  A middle-aged man with a rough appearance and a thick beard sat on the scale, muttering to himself. Next to him stood two young men wearing brightly colored clothes with tattoos of scorpions on their arms, hands on their hips. Xu Shaojie took a closer look and couldn't help but laugh, thinking that they were local thugs who didn't know any better. The tobacco purchasing officer had a bitter smile on his face as he handed out cigarettes to the three men one after another. When he saw Xu Shaojie and the others arrive, he quickly came over to greet them and offered them cigarettes.

  "Lao Huang, your mom, turtle son, are you here to lead? Unbelievable! Old man's cigarettes, will you take them or not?"

  Xu Shaojie ignored the middle-aged man, took over the cigarette handed over by the purchasing staff, and began to ask how much tobacco had been purchased at this point. Zhao Deli and Dong Guihua behind him let out a sigh of relief, but Song Tao felt that something was wrong, because Xu Shaojie's hand holding the cigarette was trembling, and when the purchasing staff introduced the situation in a low voice, Xu Shaojie seemed absent-minded.

  "Hey, Old Huang, did you hear me? What nonsense are you telling Xiao Bai Lian? Come over here and pick up the cigarette butts for me. If not, I'll clean you up right here in front of Xiao Bai Lian. You believe it or not."

  It's also these people's bad luck, they are local rascals, usually not in the district, when there is nothing to do, most of them hang out in Huaian City. How can Yudu District be compared with Huaian City? The other day, they just returned to the village and temporarily gathered these tobacco leaves, thinking that they would quickly make the first deal and then continue to collect. Now time is money.

  Xu Shaojie gave the middle-aged man a cold glance.

  "Which village are you from and how many mu of tobacco have you planted?"

  "Little white face, I don't care how much tobacco I grow, it's none of your business. Don't get in the way of my work here. I'm in a good mood now and don't want to use force. Get out of here, the farther the better. I don't want to see you."

  Zhao Deli, Dong Guihua and Song Tao's expressions all changed. If Xu Shaojie got into a conflict with the thugs here and ended up losing, he would really lose out. The police station was firmly controlled by Liu Zhihua, so even if they were beaten, it would be for nothing, and their reputation would plummet. Only Yang Chen remained nonchalant, but upon closer inspection, his eyes had already changed, becoming extremely sharp. He seemed to be watching a show, yet also waiting for an opportunity.

  No one expected that Xu Shaojie suddenly exploded. He threw away the cigarette in his hand and shouted loudly at the middle-aged man:

  "Three obstacles, four, said this matter is a big deal, caught the attention of Secretary Liu Zhihua. He alone cannot make a decision, and the district committee must hold a special meeting to study it. Xu Shaojie directly asked when the district committee will be held, Sun Jianbo said he didn't know. Xu Shaojie threw out a sentence, hoping for an early convening of the district committee, otherwise, as the deputy secretary in charge of organization, he would immediately ask Zhao Deli and Dong Guihua to return to work. Now is a critical time for work."

  Xu Shaojie went directly upstairs to see Zhao Deli and Dong Guihua, who were in a small conference room, being asked to write a self-criticism. Xu Shaojie smiled and said, "No need to write a self-criticism, if anyone should write it, it's me."

  a！！