Chapter 100: The Awarding of the Plaque (Part One)

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The hospital room was bustling. Secretary Huang had just left when Xie Dapao arrived. His booming voice could be heard throughout the hospital, and his loud laughter made the window frames tremble.

“Damn it, Leer, you bring back such a beautiful woman and don’t even invite me out for a drink? Damn it, I’ll treat you both when the time comes. I’ll make sure you get so drunk they’ll have to carry you home.”

Li Ying’s face flushed as red as an apple.

“Chief Xie, could you please be a little more civilized?” Feng Shuya shot him a glance. “You’re the chief of the local police station. Anyone hearing you would think you were a bandit.”

“Heh heh… Sister Shuya, I’m very civilized when I’m enforcing the law. But we’re among friends. If I acted too civilized with my own people, wouldn’t that seem a little distant?”

“Brother Xie, once I’ve recovered, I’ll properly treat you to a drink,” Leer said with a foolish grin. “Staying in this hospital is suffocating. There are piles of things waiting for me at home. I need to get discharged.”

As he spoke, he tried to get out of bed.

“No! What if your wound becomes infected?” Li Ying hurriedly stopped him.

“Leer, stay here and rest. I’ll handle anything that needs handling,” Feng Shuya urged him as well. He had already said several times that he wanted to leave. “No matter how urgent it is, a few days won’t make a difference.”

“Damn—” The vulgarity had barely escaped his lips when Leer realized his mistake. He glanced at Li Ying. “Sis… I promise I won’t swear anymore.”

“Haha…” Watching Leer’s frustrated expression, Xie Dapao burst out laughing again. “You’re pretty obedient when someone keeps you in line, aren’t you?”

They had only been carrying on for a short while when Director Xie arrived. In front of his elder brother, Xie Dapao finally behaved himself. He tried to slip away quietly, but Director Xie gave him a stern look, and he did not dare move again.

“Big Brother…”

Director Xie ignored him. He turned to Sha Le with a broad smile and sat down on a chair. This could truly be called a great victory. The Long brothers had both been sent to the detention center, where they awaited legal punishment, and nearly all the gangs of thugs in the county town had been wiped out.

This was a major achievement, a substantial political accomplishment. He had to thank Sha Leer properly. Without this incident, the campaign against organized crime could never have been so thorough, and the Long brothers would never have suffered such a crushing downfall. They had long been thorns in his side. With their elder brother, Long Chaogui, backing them, he had never been able to uproot them. Now that they had finally been dealt with, he felt thoroughly satisfied.

His driver followed behind him carrying a large basket of fruit. While everyone was talking, he placed it on the table.

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“Director Xie, you really shouldn’t have gone to such trouble…”

“You little rascal, are you saying you don’t want it?” Director Xie patted Leer on the shoulder. “If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back… Haha… Don’t be so polite with me in the future. Whenever you come to the county town, give me a call. If anyone in Longshan dares lay a finger on you, damn it, I’ll skin him alive.”

Whenever he laughed, his true nature showed itself. His manner and temper were much like those of Xie Dapao. Leer merely grinned sheepishly, while Feng Shuya and Li Ying could only smile wryly.

Before Director Xie had even left, Feng Shuya’s mother arrived as well, carrying fruit.

“Sister-in-law…”

The moment he saw Teacher Wu, Director Xie became docile. He soon took his leave, dragging Xie Dapao away with him.

“Leer, you’ve suffered,” Teacher Wu said with an affectionate smile. “Secretary Feng is busy, so he asked me to come and see you in his place.”

“Thank you, Teacher Wu. And please thank Secretary Feng as well.”

Teacher Wu stayed and spoke with them for quite some time, chatting especially warmly with Li Ying. She was not only Secretary Feng’s wife but also the vice principal of the county’s No. 1 High School. She was highly perceptive about matters in official circles, though she kept an extremely low profile. Apart from school affairs, she never appeared in public over anything else.

Her visit today was not entirely because Secretary Feng had asked her to come. It was also because the matter affected her daughter’s future.

People came and went, leaving Leer without a moment’s peace. His spirits were good, but he kept smiling so much that even his facial muscles began to ache. Most surprising of all was the arrival of Secretary Luo. He brought no fruit; instead, he carried a plaque.

The plaque was made of red sandalwood with a bronze panel set into it. Several large handwritten characters had been engraved on the bronze:

The Great Serpent King Company

The calligraphy was of a very high standard. Li Ying knew quite a bit about the art and could see that the writing was full and graceful yet possessed of strength. It was clearly modeled on the style of Su Dongpo.

Seeing Li Ying studying the inscription carefully, Secretary Luo said with some pride, “Secretary Feng wrote it himself.”

“Secretary Feng is also such a fine calligrapher?”

“My father has always insisted on practicing by copying the masters. No matter how busy he is, copying twenty characters every day is a compulsory part of his routine.” Feng Shuya sounded rather proud. “His regular script follows the Zhao style, while his running script follows Su Dongpo’s.”

“To write in Su Dongpo’s style at this level must have taken far more than a year or two of practice.” Li Ying admired it sincerely. “Secretary Feng certainly has refined tastes. We truly must thank him for personally writing the company plaque for us.”

“Secretary Feng said that you are contributing to poverty alleviation in Longshan. He can express his goodwill only through these few words. At the same time, this plaque also represents the goodwill of the county Party committee.”

Li Ying was an intelligent woman. She naturally understood that when Leer was injured, she had once said they would leave Longshan together and go to Guangzhou. Secretary Feng could not advise them openly, so he had chosen this method to persuade them to stay.

Leer gazed at the plaque. He did not think too deeply about it, nor did he connect it with anything else. He only felt that it was beautiful—and that Secretary Feng had written it himself—which touched him.

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“Thank Secretary Feng for us.” Leer ran his hand over the plaque. “We’ll certainly make the project a success, and this will be our way of repaying his kindness.”

Secretary Luo’s eyes brightened. Even so, he continued looking toward Li Ying. Of course, Li Ying knew that he was waiting for her to state her position. She glanced at Leer, her expression turning cheerful as well.

“Secretary Luo, when you return, tell Secretary Feng that our company is centered around Leer. Whatever Leer says represents the position of the Great Serpent King Company.”

“Very well.” Secretary Luo had completed his task, and his usually composed face now showed delight. “I’ll return at once and report to Secretary Feng.”

Leer looked somewhat bewildered, but Feng Shuya understood the significance. She did not show her happiness openly. She merely looked at Li Ying. The two women exchanged a knowing glance and smiled.

“Shuya, now that Leer has made his decision, we need to take action,” Li Ying said. She had known all along that Leer could not possibly leave this place and had already made plans. “Leer and I still can’t get away for the next few days, but the breeding farm cannot be delayed. Our most urgent task now is to build a road to Snake-Plate Mountain. That involves too many matters, and I’m afraid it’s beyond what we can resolve ourselves.”

Building a road required occupying land, but all the land had already been contracted out to individual households. The same applied even to the mountain forests. These were not matters the company could settle on its own. The government would have to coordinate the process and persuade the villagers.

Previously, everyone had thought only about land for the breeding operation and had overlooked the matter of building a road.

“Yes, that is a major undertaking.” Feng Shuya was visibly moved. “I’ll contact Secretary Huang at once and work out a proposal.”

“Don’t rush too much.” Li Ying looked at Feng Shuya, whose decisiveness made her act with the force of a whirlwind. “There’s one more thing I’d like you to help with. I want Leer to take the self-study examinations and earn a diploma within three years. I’m not familiar with things here, so I’d like you to help him complete the formalities and buy some study materials.”

“Sis… couldn’t we put that off for a while?” Leer pulled a long, miserable face. “There’s already so much to deal with. How am I supposed to find the time or the mood to study?”

“No matter how busy you are, you still have to study. I can let you have your way in other matters, but not this one.”

Li Ying sternly set her face. Feng Shuya looked at her with great admiration. Seeing how determined Li Ying was, Leer could only stare gloomily out the window at the yellow leaves still drifting through the air.

“That will be easy.” Feng Shuya smiled. “I’ll have my mother take care of it. She knows all about these things.”

The two women exchanged a glance and smiled.