Chapter 1619 The Leader Comes Knocking (2/2)

”Yup, you guys are those who are struggling, right? The General Secretary said he missed those who were struggling the most,” Xiao Song interrupted her with disdain.

The people in the car caught on and burst into laughter.

The lady was angry. She said, part embarrassed and part vexed, ”That's right, and what about it? Are you questioning the General Secretary? You listen here, Xiao Song, you're so dense. I heard you were once the magistrate's secretary, weren't you? Look at you, from a secretary to a chauffeur—”

Her words had very obviously hit a sore spot. The driver bit back angrily, ”Shut your f*cking mouth. We're here. Get out of the car, all of you. Someone will bring you up.”

He braked abruptly. Other than Li Du, the rest did not have the habit of wearing their safety belts, so the sudden brake sent them pitching forward. The lady had it the worst — her head knocked into the back of the front seat.

The driver got off the car to open the doors for the passengers and a man with a square face and large ears walked over, accompanied by men and women who looked like leaders themselves. The lady who had been about to blow her gasket immediately fell silent at the sight before her.

Li Du recognized them; the men leading the group was the secretary of the County Party. He remembered the secretary's last name was Cui, and this was the man whose help he utilized to deal with Soft Company.

The stoic secretary smiled when he saw them. He shook their hands and wished them a happy new year one by one before bringing them into his office.

On the way in, a photographer was snapping photos incessantly. A bespectacled teen protested feebly, ”Stop taking pictures, it's not like this is anything extraordinary.”

Li Du was puzzled. What was going on? This was not what he had expected.

In the office, there was a red calligraphy scroll, which read: The Fourth Meeting of the Cheng County Cui Ji Street Slums Remodeling.

Cui Ji was Li Du's hometown. It used to belong to the outskirts of the county town, but their village was torn down when the county town expanded and arrangements were made for the families of Cui Ji to move into apartments. The main street of the town was then renamed Cui Ji Street.

Li Du knew what was going on the moment he read the scroll — the county town was probably looking to expand further, which would require them to tear down more houses. Someone had opposed this and was becoming an obstacle, so this meeting was probably the government trying to resolve the conflict.

Li Du did not know whether to laugh or cry — to think his parents had become obstacles.

He excused himself before calling his parents to inform them of what was happening.

His mother's words confirmed his conjecture. ”Your dad and I oppose their decision to touch our land, as do our neighbors. We've all gotten used to living here. How can they just up and tear down the neighborhood?”

Li Du asked, ”Are you unwilling to move because the conditions they offered were unsatisfactory or is it really because you want to stay here? Also, aren't we the only ones in the area who oppose this? Why would they call the rest here to the office?”

He finally understood why his parents had been so defensive when the car rolled up to their doorstep earlier.

His mother said, ”It's not just us, the rest don't want to move either, but your father was pushed into becoming the representative of the Anti-Demolition Committee, so that's why the government came knocking on our door.”

Li Du was exasperated. ”And you didn't think of telling me about something so serious?”

His mother protested weakly, ”Because we were scared you'd be angry.”

He was furious indeed. He said, ”This is a load of rubbish. You guys might be unwilling to move but you really think the rest of them are resisting because they're attached to this place? What they really want is better conditions; they're just using you guys.”