Chapter 50 The Campaign Conditions of the US Presidential Election

  At 8:30 in the morning, dozens of people came to the village committee one after another.

  Not only did the leaders of the streets come, but also people from the district committee organization department, the municipal government's new district office, and the People's Congress and CPPCC came.

  Zhao Zhiqiang didn't deliberately try to get to know who those leaders were, but he had met Xu Shulin before and also that young girl Jiang Han, and still smiled and greeted them.

  Jiang Han obviously didn't expect Zhao Zhiqiang to take the initiative to greet him, his face slightly red, nodding. A bit flustered, he involuntarily thought of the scar on that person's chest.

  Just a little while ago, Zhao Zhiqiang received a text message from Li Shangbo. After learning about the situation, last night, for the sake of Chang'an Village, Chengnan District brought together the Secretary and Director of Tienan Street, as well as the Secretary of Chang'an Village Zhang Weifa, to hold an overnight meeting to study and determine the municipal party committee leaders' new construction ideas for Chang'an Village.

  Gu Mei Yun and Pang Wen Xian personally attended the meeting and made arrangements. He Da Cheng, deputy head of the district, made key revision opinions and speeches. The revised proposal did not overthrow any key concerns of the villagers in the original proposal, including demolition, land acquisition, and compensation matters, which were not changed. However, after several hours of research, the district and street formed a relatively stable new plan that can complete the city leadership's arrangements without violating the will of Chang'an village residents and promote the construction of the new district.

  Although Li Shangbo didn't say it directly, Zhao Zhiqiang already knew that today's campaign announcement meeting was not as expected, and it was also different from what Wu Bing had heard before, because he knew that Secretary Gu had actually moved the city, and his words at yesterday's meeting had taken effect.

  What will be the village construction plan?

  Zhao Zhiqiang is also very interested.

  The big leader hasn't arrived yet, and the village branch secretary appeared at the entrance of the village committee with a panda eye.

  Apparently, he was also scared by so many people in front of him.

  After searching in the crowd for half a day, he looked at Zhao Zhiqiang twice and asked, "Where is Zhao Tiejun? Why didn't he come?"

  Someone from the head of the street immediately stood up and said, "Director Zhang, Zhao Tiejun had an accident last night and fell into a ditch. He scratched his face and is now in the hospital. If there's anything that needs to be conveyed, I'll listen and tell him." The speaker was Zhao Guangyi, Zhao Tiejun's paternal uncle and the fifth younger brother of former director Zhao Guangming.

  "It's really a lazy donkey on the mill, with many things to do." Zhang Weifa threw out a sentence and hurriedly arrived at the main venue of the current two sessions.

  "Come on, members of the election committee and village committee, come in and have a meeting. I'll convey the spirit of last night's district and street meeting before the superior leaders arrive, so you all have an idea. Oh, by the way, who is Zhao Zhiqiang?"

  "I am, Branch Secretary." Zhao Zhiqiang smiled, looking at this sixty-year-old old man, rubbed his own head, thinking to himself, I'm not as charismatic as that Zhao Tiejun, but the guy's lies seem a bit too clumsy.

  He still couldn't remember Zhao Zhiqiang, and didn't dare to believe that the young man in the old military uniform he had glanced at twice was actually the little monkey from back then. It really was his suggestion, damn it, and the city's top leader directly gave instructions to carry out a pilot project.

  Although he didn't know how much good or bad this trial had, being able to reach the heavens with his voice was like farting with a loudspeaker, making a big commotion.

  With a radiant face, having had a half-night meeting with the district secretary and district head, how can there be no radiance? These two young men, one able to calm things down, the other having ideas, are not bad at all!

  "If you're here to campaign, don't come in." Seeing Zhang Jike and Fu Jinghua, the two current village committee members and representatives about to enter the house, Zhang Weifa threw out a sentence and closed the door.

  Zhao Zhiqiang squeezed back into the crowd, and young people who had seen his powerful side yesterday swarmed around him, asking questions nonstop. Some even wanted to test Zhao Zhiqiang's arm strength and leg power, and soon they were all in a heated commotion.

  Zhang Jike was a bit nervous, wearing a suit that was very neat and tidy, but his leather shoes were covered in dust and dirt, which was quite eye-catching.

  Feng Jinghua wore an ordinary jacket and cotton-padded shoes, standing by the wall smoking and chatting with other representatives.

  But the district and township officials who came ahead of schedule were completely puzzled as to why they had come to supervise such a village-level by-election, what was there to supervise in this village chief election.

  "What are they doing here?" Some villagers who were sent by their groups or came voluntarily to listen, witness or participate were very curious.

  "I heard that because of Zhao Guangming, this village-level corrupt official, the new district construction has been severely impacted. Therefore, the city designated our village as a key village, not only sending Vice Director Jiang's working group but also having the district organization department, civil affairs bureau, new district office and people's congress jointly supervise the election. And you may not know this, but this village director election is not like in the past or other villages where it can be easily settled with a loud noise."

  "What's the point of this, isn't it just to let them few people canvass for votes?"

  "Cut, I'd say the news is still my news...” A group of villagers were chatting idly when they heard the sound of a car outside the courtyard. The village committee members hastily went out to greet them.

  Ten minutes later, the chaotic crowd stood in several rows in an orderly manner. Since there was no larger conference room, it was held here outdoors just like yesterday.

  Braving the freezing wind of minus 20 degrees, Zhang Weifa used a handheld loudspeaker to warmly welcome He Dacheng, Deputy Director of the District, Sun He, Deputy Director of the Organization Department and Director of the Compilation Office, Street Secretary Zeng Xiaofeng, Director Li De and others. Afterwards, he quickly asked Director Li De to announce the conditions for the election of the village director of Chang'an Village this term.

  It's too cold, so let's get straight to the point. Li De was no exception. He had originally wanted to give a lengthy speech, but after standing for three minutes, he abruptly changed his mind. In his heart, he cursed this godforsaken village for not even having a decent meeting room.

  Standing in front of the crowd, he wiped his nose first and then said, "Old masters, I won't read the file. Whatever you want to say, just say it briefly. Those words are hard for you to listen to, and they're also hard for me to pronounce. Here's the thing: Chang'an Village has been listed as part of the city's southern new district and is one of the villages being transformed under the socialist new rural construction plan. You all knew that our village was included in the relocation and transformation plan, but after Zhao Guangming's incident, your village became a key focus for the municipal, district, and township governments due to various interests and lack of leadership from the village head. So, the city issued an order, the district made arrangements, and the township deployed personnel. Now, the village reform plan has changed to first propose a draft and then determine the direction, giving you the power to decide how to build the new village."

  Hush...

  The crowd immediately buzzed with discussion, as if the dumplings were being cooked in boiling water and opening up like flowers.

  Authority?

  Ordinary people are very confused, power has always been in the hands of officials, what's the point of giving it to us?

  "Stop! Don't be so eager to gain an advantage. Here's how it works: the proposer of each plan, namely these four candidates, will ultimately win based on who gets the most support. That's one thing. Another thing is that Zhao Tiejun and his three colleagues must each complete a new village construction project within a month, while also combining their own proposed plans to raise funds for the village in their personal name. For every 1 million yuan raised, they will get 1 point, with the person getting the most points winning out. The funds will be stored in the village's public account and used as soon as possible. Of course, if someone is not ultimately selected, the money will be refunded to the intended investor."

  Boom!

  The noise grew louder and louder, and the crowd was no longer whispering, but shouting loudly.

  "Huh?"

  "What kind of choice is this?"

  "How strange!"

  "A month can get something done, and it's about to be New Year's...". Someone immediately didn't quite believe it, feeling that this matter was settled too ridiculously.

  "Quiet down!" Li De shouted, "Last sentence, listen to me finish. After the New Year's holiday, on the second day of the second lunar month, we will still be in this courtyard, carrying out plan explanations, sponsorship scoring and voting, and on that day, Village Director Zhang will take office and start working. Alright, is there anyone who didn't understand?"

  "Town head, why do we need to vote when the first two items have already been decided?" A villager asked in confusion, "What's the point of explaining the plan?"

  "You don't understand voting, it's stipulated by the Election Law!" Li De said somewhat impatiently.

  At this time, He Dacheng, the deputy director standing behind Li De, also stood up. He didn't want to stand for a while either, it was too cold. This plan was proposed by him and agreed upon by Gu Mei Yun and Pang Wen Xian, so he came to explain the most reasonably.

  Regardless of Li De's apparent unhappiness, he waved his hand directly and said, "What Director Li said earlier was very clear. This time in Chang'an Village, the election method has not changed, but the approach has changed. The candidates are no longer elected solely by votes, but also need to show the villagers what they can bring to the village after taking office. In our local dialect, it means that whether it's a mule or a horse, you have to take it out and try it out!"

  The crowd fell silent.

  "The village building plan is the election plan. The four candidates will formulate and finalize it, then solicit opinions from enough supporters, which accounts for 70% of the evaluation score. The remaining 30% will be evaluated by experts from the new district planning office. From the scores, everyone can see that expert evaluation is not the main part, but rather some specific aspects such as construction layout, resource allocation, and rationality. Whether we villagers agree or disagree will take precedence. There are over 400 households in the village, with a population of over 4,000 people, and 2,130 valid votes. Only if a plan gets more than half of the votes can it be effective, and the one with the most votes wins. The scoring system does not require voting; whoever scores higher wins. While election votes are still set up, they mainly test the candidate's prestige among villagers, credibility, and moral integrity. It's not enough to just have ability; one must also have good character, be trustworthy, and have a strong sense of morality to be a good village head."

  Wow...

  The applause was warm and enthusiastic.

  Although the crowd was very cold, He Dacheng unexpectedly heard the sound of applause, which was the sound of palms slapping.

  Zhao Zhiqiang listened attentively, without making a sound. This approach was really novel, wasn't it the beautiful female secretary who came up with it? However, although it was something entirely new, he didn't object to it; everyone had the same conditions for the competition, so it all came down to who could do better.

  Zhang Jike was somewhat excited, his legs kept moving there, don't know what he was thinking, smiled very falsely. But in his heart, he thought, isn't this a bit like the US presidential election?...

  Feng Jinghua's ancient well was undisturbed, as if what had just been said had nothing to do with him. However, in his heart, he was very surprised, this way, it's really strange.

  Thanks for the reward from Hongchen.