Chapter 65: The Problem of Agricultural Tax (2)

  The villagers around were still surrounding them, but their expressions had eased up afterwards. Xu Shaojie felt that he must say something, otherwise, his heart would not feel at ease.

  "Fellow villagers, brothers and sisters, listen to me for a few words."

  After Xu Shaojie spoke up, the surroundings quickly fell silent, and everyone looked at Xu Shaojie together.

  "I am Xu Shaojie, the deputy secretary of the district committee. I am the leader stationed in Yulin Township. Such a thing happened, and I have to apologize to everyone here, sorry."

  Xu Shaojie bowed repeatedly to the people around him, which was a very high courtesy in rural areas. Many people around him began to speak up and said that this matter had nothing to do with Secretary Xu.

  "I've been in Yudu District for half a year, and I rarely come to Huolong Village. This is my fault. I request that the cadres of Yulin Township not be allowed to beat or scold people during tax collection. There are some things like herding pigs and sheep that I know about, but I can't stop them. Our cadres also need to eat, and their annual salary is limited. If all their salaries were deducted, they would have no way to live. I hope everyone can understand that such incidents occur because we are too poor. Tax collection affects the salaries of many people, such as the district's private teachers who rely on education surtax to receive their salaries, and our village cadres' salaries also need to be resolved through taxation. If taxes cannot be collected, salaries cannot be paid. Therefore, during tax collection, some problems may arise. I truly hope everyone can understand. However, I absolutely will not tolerate incidents that insult people's dignity. Regardless of the circumstances, I must take care of such situations. My intention in saying this is only to seek understanding and has no other meaning. Once again, I apologize for today's incident."

  Someone spoke up in the crowd.

  "Secretary Xu, with your attitude, even if we borrow money, we'll find a way to pay taxes by farming. We know that's what we should do, but the truth is, we're really poor and sometimes can't get loans. It's not that we intentionally don't want to pay."

  Xu Shaojie didn't continue to explain, he quietly walked out of the crowd. The three thugs who were lying on the ground got up, their faces changed due to pain. At this moment, they didn't dare to be tough anymore. They knew what it was like to go against the government. What they feared even more was Yang Chen, Yang Chen's skills, which they had never seen before.

  Xu Shaojie arrived at the village secretary's home, all the village cadres had gathered at the village secretary's home, everyone hung their heads, not daring to look directly at Xu Shaojie, today's events, they were responsible.

  "You are all village officials, and such a thing has happened. You stand by with folded arms, which makes me feel very uncomfortable. If it were your family members kneeling on the ground, I believe your attitude would be different. I know how difficult it is to collect taxes, and I also know your hardships. You all have tasks to complete, and when the higher-ups come, you need to assist them. Life is not easy for you either. Today, I don't want to say anything more about you. Think about what you should do in the future. As officials, it's also your responsibility to lead the masses to prosperity. Although my expectations may be a bit too high, I still have to say this. Let's work together to think of ways to make everyone prosperous, which is the right way."

  Xu Shaojie did not blame the village cadres, as many tasks need to be done by them. In wealthy villages, cadres can benefit from their positions, but in poor villages, almost no one is willing to take on the role due to low income and having to do extra work, with the most dreaded task being tax collection every year.

  Xu Shaojie didn't eat in the village, about two hours later, the police from the police station came and took away three thugs. The three thugs were all crouching in the yard of the village secretary's house. Xu Shaojie heard the miserable cries and estimated that the police had used some kind of tactics. Xu Shaojie pretended not to have heard it, but several village cadres heard it and changed their expressions.

  When Xu Shaojie left Huolong Village, he met with the cadres from Yulin Township who came to collect taxes. Xu Shaojie repeatedly emphasized that no one was allowed to use violence and that nothing should happen. The cadre already knew some things and hastily nodded in agreement. On this day, the cadre's luck was good, and tax collection went very smoothly. Even those who were really struggling managed to borrow some money and pay a portion of it. When the cadre left, he had few IOUs left in his hand, and the remaining funds were within his tolerance. The cadre said that they would not come again before the new year, and for the owed portions, they would come back after the Spring Festival to take a look. If it was really impossible, they would collect grain instead.

  Xu Shaojie returned to the district and fell into deep thought. He didn't want to go down and take a look, guessing that such situations were common everywhere, only the situation in Huolong Village was more prominent. Those remote villages, who knows what would happen there? Of course, there were also people who really refused to pay taxes, some stubborn households with money but refusing to pay, relying on their connections and power, causing a very bad influence among the masses. The district had specially rectified this once, Xu Shaojie didn't participate, heard that when they went to one household, Sun Jianbo was so angry he almost used force.

  Xu Shaojie was perplexed. On the one hand, such taxation harmed the relationship between the party and the masses, on the other hand, it also involved the vital interests of cadres and workers. Neither side could be biased, because poverty had made this problem seem like a cancer.

  The knock on the door sounded, Xu Shaojie's office, few people came, still like this today, no one would believe that Xu Shaojie and Liu Zhihua were close, let alone, Xu Shaojie was a down-to-earth cadre, when he left, Liu Zhihua couldn't help but settle accounts after autumn. As for Song Tao, Zhao Deli, Dong Guihua, and Liu Mu, it's estimated that they had no choice, could only wait for their future misfortune, so everyone was very cautious, absolutely not easily getting close to Xu Shaojie.

  "Please come in, the door is not closed."

  In came the director of the education station, with a sorrowful face, followed by the deputy director.

  "Secretary Xu, we know we were wrong. This time when we went down to collect taxes, we also had no choice. In the first half of the year, our station spent a lot of money and it's still on the account now. We came up with this method after collective discussion."

  "So you're saying what you've done makes sense, then why are you here doing this?"

  "Secretary Xu, after all, we have made a mistake, and we hope Secretary Xu will give us an opportunity to correct our mistakes."

  The stationmaster's tone was not very sincere, and Xu Shaojie sneered inwardly. He had long been thinking of dealing with the education stationmaster. As he was in charge of the education station, the stationmaster basically didn't see him. With Liu Zhihua backing him up, he didn't care at all. Xu Shaojie had thought about giving up and not making enemies everywhere, but after going to the education station twice, he hadn't even seen the stationmaster's hair. The cadre explained that the stationmaster had gone to inspect schools in the village, and Xu Shaojie's anger rose. Liu Zhihua didn't care, so why would he care about a stationmaster? So, Xu Shaojie stopped going to the education station from then on. Now that the students were on vacation, an opportunity had come.

  "I've already given my opinion, what to do next is up to you guys."

  "Secretary Xu, we are here to collect taxes. Although we did something wrong, our starting point was not wrong, it was to complete the task indicators assigned by the district committee and government. You are a leader of the district committee, we hope you can understand the difficulties of our education station."

  The stationmaster's tone has become somewhat tough, and there are things he hasn't said yet. This isn't just about Education Station; many stations have similar taxation behaviors. Moreover, the relationship between the stationmaster and Liu Zhihua is very close, so even if they wanted to remove the stationmaster from his position, it wouldn't be a simple matter of just one sentence.

  "So you think your starting point is good, it's to complete the work arranged by the district committee and district government, there's nothing more to say between us, just do as you see fit."

  "Secretary Xu, my position as station chief was appointed by the district committee. If there were mistakes, I should be removed from office. I have nothing to say about it. My purpose is to collect taxes, not for personal matters. Moreover, our decisions are also made collectively after research and discussion, and there are meeting records."

  Xu Shaojie already knew the stationmaster's intention. The law does not blame the crowd, besides, he was only a deputy, and what he said may not count. The stationmaster was appointed by the district committee, and the hidden meaning behind it was that Liu Zhihua said such words, which could be considered as the decision of the district committee. After the education stationmaster left, Xu Shaojie did not hesitate to go find Liu Zhihua directly.

  Liu Zhihua was extremely annoyed, his patience had a limit. Now he was holding Xu Shaojie, and the meaning was also clear: through Xu Shaojie's outstanding performance, let Xu Shaojie get attention from above. Outstanding cadres are always to be promoted, so Xu Shaojie may soon leave Yudu District. Xu Shaojie in Yudu District made Liu Zhihua very unhappy, like a fishbone stuck in his throat. Now, Xu Shaojie actually wanted to exempt the head of the Education Station for tax collection matters. Some small problems appearing during tax collection were nothing, as long as no one died, they weren't anything serious. The current tax collection work was getting harder and harder, if some necessary measures weren't taken, how could it be collected? What about the district's finances?

  The most important reason is not these, but the person in charge of several main stations and Liu Zhihua are iron brothers, and they must be protected at all times. If it's said that superiors can't protect subordinates, who will still listen to you? This is Liu Zhihua's bottom line, an untouchable bottom line. Now that Xu Shaojie has brought it up, how could Liu Zhihua tolerate it? However, the education station head's mistake was also obvious, hiring people from society to collect taxes. If this matter were to get out, the education station head would also be unable to keep his position, and might even suffer an even greater loss. After considering for a long time, Liu Zhihua finally made up his mind.

  "What have you done, why did you cause such a big trouble in Huolong Village? Now that things have gotten out of hand, aren't I being put on the fire to be roasted? You're so clever, how could you come up with such a foolish idea?"

  "Secretary Liu, I know I was wrong and I admitted my mistake to Secretary Xu, but he won't let me go. Why should I resign as station head just because of his one sentence?"

  "What should we do then?"

  "Secretary Liu, I don't know either, that's why I'm looking for you. Besides, doing something like this isn't just me alone. But I'll listen to you, whatever you say, I'll do."

  "Are you out of your mind, wanting to bring more people in? No matter what, this is wrong. If the higher-ups don't investigate, then nothing will happen, but if they do, you'll be lucky to escape with your skin intact, not to mention keeping your position as station head. From now on, let's just forget about it. I think you should step down temporarily from your position as station head."

  "Secretary Liu, I don't accept this."

  "Hold on, I haven't finished speaking. Although the position of stationmaster is not suitable for you, you are still in charge of work. The Education Station will not appoint a new stationmaster for the time being. During this period, keep a low profile, understand?"

  The stationmaster left Liu Zhihua's office with a heavy heart, for now, this seems to be the best solution, as long as he can preside over work, there will still be opportunities in the future.

  The next day, Liu Zhihua presided over the secretary's office meeting. Liu Zhihua agreed with Xu Shaojie's suggestion to remove him from his post as head of the education station. At the same time, he pointed out that the situation at the education station was special and required continuity of work. The head of the station had made mistakes and should be removed, but his ability was still good. In recent years, the education work in Yudou District has been frequently commended by the city. Other colleagues in the station have not yet had the ability to take charge of the overall work as the head of the station. Therefore, before the new head of the station takes office, the original head of the station will continue to be responsible for the work of the education station.

  Liu Zhihua did not give Xu Shaojie a chance and immediately convened a district committee meeting to report the opinions studied at the secretary's office meeting, and decided to personally go to the education station to announce this matter. At the same time, he would severely criticize the cadres and staff of the education station for making such a big mistake in the process of collecting taxes, and they should conduct a thorough self-examination.

  Xu Shaojie's heart sank, after Liu Zhihua proposed to commend Yulin Township and agreed to Liu Mu's appointment opinion. Xu Shaojie had considered taking some gentle measures to let Liu Zhihua leave Yudu District with dignity. After all, in the official arena, being too bloody would not lead to a good outcome for oneself. Xu Shaojie had read many biographies of famous people and knew that extreme measures were only taken in extreme times. But now was not such a time.

  However, Xu Shaojie discovered that he was too naive. Liu Zhihua would not leave Yudu District unless he got promoted. The events that had occurred so far had not touched Liu Zhihua's bottom line, so he could endure them. But as soon as his interests were involved, the situation became completely different.

  The district committee's decision, on the surface, respected Xu Shaojie's proposal, but in reality, it was a slap in the face for him. Yudu District was still under Liu Zhihua's control, and he had been removed from his position as station chief, but was actually still responsible for the work. In Xu Shaojie's eyes, he had been made a fool of.

  Xu Shaojie also saw something more important: Zhao Deli, Dong Guihua, Liu Mu, Song Tao, and Yang Chen would definitely be in big trouble when they left Yudu District. Xu Shaojie absolutely would not allow this to happen. This was the biggest taboo for politicians - being unable to protect subordinates. In the future, when taking on other leadership roles, this would be a huge stain on one's reputation. Others would not trust you, and there were examples of people being used and then discarded.

  Xu Shaojie gradually realized that the struggle in the official arena was not about warmth or affection. Once the facade was torn off, it was a bloody fight to the death.