Before the end of the workday, Lu Weimin returned to the office and found Director Zhou, but Director Zhou told him that Secretary Shen had not yet returned and that he might have to wait until the next morning to introduce him to Lu Weimin.
Lu Weimin originally wanted to meet Guo Huaizhang, but after circling around the county government office, he did not see Guo Huaizhang, guessing that he had gone out with County Chief Wang.
The canteen in the county party and government compound was actually the restaurant of the county reception center. The meal time was 6:30 PM, with a cost of 50 cents per meal, enough to fill one's stomach, and the dishes were simple and varied.
After Director Zhou greeted the reception center's restaurant, Lu Weimin was officially included as one of those who could enjoy the service there.
Seeing that it was still early for the meal, Lu Weimin returned to his small room, took out a bucket, and fetched several buckets of water to rinse the narrow alley from the side of the toilet to his small room.
This narrow passage was sandwiched between the compound wall and the row of bungalows in front, originally a dead end, left unattended. Since he was now living there and estimated that he would not leave for a while, Lu Weimin decided to clean it up thoroughly.
Along the wall was a flower bed, but it seemed to have been unused for many years. Lu Weimin looked at it and found the soil quite fertile. He thought that if he could string some iron wire along this passage and plant some grapes in the flower bed, it might provide a good shaded spot next summer.
Shen Zili, who had just emerged from the Volga, entered the building somewhat tiredly. The 128-kilometer journey from Liyang was not in good condition, and the old Volga took three hours, leaving him somewhat worn out despite his good health.
It was almost 6 PM, and most people in the building had left, making it very quiet.
After using the restroom, Shen Zili came out and heard the sound of scrubbing from the side door. He was surprised because that was a dead-end alley, with only an abandoned storage room and the compound wall.
Shen Zili peeked out from the side door and saw a strong young man scrubbing the previously neglected alley under the scorching sun.
The ground had already been rinsed once, all the moss washed away, and the gradually drying ground still had some faint water stains. The drainage沟 had been cleaned thoroughly, and even the corner outside the side door, which was originally overgrown with weeds, had been completely refreshed.
Shen Zili looked at the young man, who seemed not to have noticed him, with surprise.
The security guard was a relative of Wang Zirong, extremely lazy. Shen Zili had once specifically mentioned at a government work meeting to the office of the county government to maintain good hygiene in the building, but it only lasted a week before reverting to its old state. After mentioning it a few times, Shen Zili stopped, as it was useless to speak.
The hygiene in the compound was unsatisfactory, and the back alley was even more neglected. The side door next to the toilet was usually closed, and one had to go around to reach the alley. Now it was suddenly open, and someone was cleaning it, which was puzzling.
The young man in front of him was unfamiliar, not like the staff in the compound. Shen Zili suddenly remembered that this morning, Xu Xiaochun had mentioned selecting a university graduate to work in the county party office to see if he would be suitable as his secretary. Could this be the young man?
Lu Weimin was working hard, and the sun at 5 PM was still scorching, but he did not mind. He enjoyed outdoor activities, being skilled in mountaineering, long-distance running, basketball, and swimming, and was an active sportsman in school. The climate in Lingnan was even hotter, and he adapted well.
A shadow was cast by the sun, and Lu Weimin looked up in surprise. A man in his thirties stood at the side door of the toilet, looking him up and down.
The man was Shen Zili, whom Lu Weimin vaguely remembered.
Shen Zili did not stay in Nantang for long, leaving in early 1991. Lu Weimin had only met the then vice-county chief a few times, during the kiwi fruit incident when Dongpo, as one of the main kiwi fruit pilot areas, had many farmers petitioning and blocking roads. Lu Weimin was assigned to the county's "kiwi fruit incident" working group to assist, and thus had a few encounters with the vice-county chief.
Later, the vice-county chief returned to the provincial party committee's propaganda department as deputy director of the theory division, a lateral move, and had no further connection with Nantang.
However, Lu Weimin remembered seeing articles by this deputy director in the provincial magazine "Contemporary Changjiang," discussing how to resolve the difficulties and challenges in rural work under new circumstances, with some novel ideas. At the time, Lu Weimin had felt that there were few officials who could truly focus on rural work, and Shen Zili was one of them.
Shen Zili noticed that the other party had noticed him but remained calm, nodding with a smile but saying nothing. Shen Zili appreciated the young man's composure. "Are you new here?"
"Yes, I am a new graduate, just reported today," Lu Weimin replied politely, putting down the broom and standing up straight, a faint smile on his face.
"Hmm, what's your name? Which university did you graduate from?" Shen Zili was sure that this was the secretary Xu Xiaochun wanted to arrange for him, but he was unsure if the other party knew his identity, as he seemed unclear.
"My name is Lu Weimin, and I graduated from the history department of Lingnan University," Lu Weimin answered succinctly.
"Lingnan University, history department?" Shen Zili felt a sense of familiarity, as he had also studied history, graduating from the history department of Changjiang University during a special period. "Very good, studying history is excellent. History can be a mirror to understand the rise and fall of things."
"Are you..." Lu Weimin feigned surprise.
"I am Shen Zili. You are the new graduate assigned to the county party office, right?" Shen Zili was in a good mood, finding the young man quite intelligent and polite, which pleased him greatly, especially since they shared the same academic background.
"Secretary Shen, you're back? Director Zhou told me you might return later, so I came to clean up..." Lu Weimin quickly put down the broom.
"Oh, they arranged for you to live here?" Shen Zili frowned slightly.
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