Time flies quickly, and in the busy work, it is New Year's Day 2005 in a blink of an eye. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Hou Weidong had just finished holding a symposium on the return of successful people from Maoyun to his hometown when he received a call from Chu Xiuhong.

"Mayor Hou, I'm Xiu Hong." Chu Xiuhong's voice was unusually heavy, and he said, "Governor Zhou is gone. ”

Pancreatic cancer is a very malignant degree of malignancy, diagnosis and treatment are very difficult to diagnose and treat the malignant tumor of the digestive tract, Zhou Changquan vice governor has been fighting with the pain, helpless people want to win the day is always unsatisfactory, after the appearance of pain, ascites, jaundice and other symptoms, Zhou Changquan completed the last journey of his life, passed away at two o'clock in the morning on New Year's Day in 2005.

Hou Weidong had expected this day a long time ago, tried his best to control his emotions, and said, "When did Governor Zhou leave?" ”

Chu Xiuhong, as the secretary of Governor Zhou, followed him for a long time during his illness, and he had deep feelings for Zhou Changquan, and said with a choked voice: "Two o'clock in the morning." ”

Hou Weidong said: "I'll come over later." ”

Chu Xiuhong said: "When Governor Zhou arrives at the funeral home, the mourning hall is located in the funeral home, which is also Governor Zhou's wish. ”

Hou Weidong said: "Then I'll come over right away and go directly to the house." ”

The car soon got on the highway, the speed was not fast, Hou Weidong recalled the bits and pieces with Zhou Changquan through the car window. After hearing the news, he was very depressed, but he did not shed a single tear, and his behavior and demeanor did not change much.

After driving for about ten minutes, Hou Weidong thought that Zhou Changquan was once an old leader in Shazhou, so he made a private call to Ning Yue: "Governor Zhou is gone." Ning Yue said calmly: "I received the notice and am walking over there." Hou Weidong said: "I already knew that this day would come sooner or later, and if it really came, I still feel that it is heavy." Ning Yue comforted: "Pancreatic cancer is very painful in the advanced stage, and it is a relief for the old secretary to leave early." ”

After hanging up the phone, Hou Weidong was silent, and it was not until the ever-changing Lingxi Province came into view that he perked up a little.

Yan Chunping came to the province in advance by car, prepared all the wreaths and gift money, and after receiving Hou Weidong, he accompanied Hou Weidong to Zhou's house.

Zheng Haocun, secretary general of the provincial government, has come to Zhou's house and talked with the two brothers Da Zhou and Xiao Zhou about the provincial government's establishment of a funeral committee. The members of the funeral committee are concerned with the evaluation of the deceased, and they must not be sloppy at all, and the General Office attaches great importance to it. Da Zhou and Xiao Zhou were educated abroad and were not familiar with the political habits of Lingxi, so they did not have any objections to the plan proposed by Zheng Haocun. ”

Most of the guests were in the outhouse, and Hou Weidong had a different status and a different relationship with Zhou Changquan, so he was taken to the inner room. He greeted Zheng Haocun and Da Zhou Xiaozhou, and went to visit Zhou Changquan's lover. Zhou Changquan's lover has lost his backbone, although he can still sit on the chair, but his body is obviously old.

According to Zhou Changquan's last wishes, the memorial procedure was simplified. Therefore, the memorial service was held at the Lingxi Funeral Home the next day. The memorial hall is filled with wreaths and couplets. From the secretary of the provincial party committee to the comrades of the general office of the provincial government, people expressed their grief and condolences for the death of Comrade Zhou Changquan in various ways.

The new governor Zheng Qiangguo personally attended the memorial service. He was entrusted by Wu Yuqing, secretary of the Lingxi Provincial CPC Committee, and other leaders, and he made a special trip back to Lingxi from a venue in other places late last night, and after attending the memorial ceremony, he would fly back to the venue by plane.

Ning Yue, Secretary of the Shazhou Municipal Party Committee, on behalf of millions of Shazhou people, sent a wreath with the words "Secretary Zhou, Shazhou people will always miss you", expressing their gratitude and thoughts to Zhou Changquan in their own unique way.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the open space and steps of the funeral home were full of old colleagues and friends who came from all over the province. At this time, Hou Weidong could only be one of his former old colleagues, wearing white flowers, waiting for the memorial ceremony to open.

At half past ten, in the sound of mourning music, Comrade Zhou Changquan's memorial ceremony began. Comrade Zheng Haocun, Secretary-General of the Provincial Government, introduced Zhou Changquan's life and deeds, and told a lot of sincere past stories. Then, all the comrades who participated in the memorial service said their final goodbyes to Zhou Changquan in order.

Comrade Zhou Changquan lay quietly, his cheeks thin, his eyes closed, and his hair combed as neatly as before. It's just that in the past, when they were thin and powerful, they would always make their comrades feel full of energy, but at this time, all the vitality was drained by the vicious disease of pancreatic cancer, and only a soulless body remained.

Hou Weidong bowed respectfully three times in front of Zhou Changquan's body, walked around the body, and shook hands with Zhou Changquan's family one by one.

After the ceremony, Zhou Changquan's body was cremated.

For Hou Weidong, a history related to himself is over. Everyone's years need to be attested by relevant people, and when the relevant people have passed away, and no one can prove his own years, it is time to end. Therefore, there are many people who have lived a long time and when they are faced with the withering of their contemporaries, they will sigh: "Why should I live so long?" ”

During the whole memorial service, Hou Weidong was in a very heavy mood, but he locked all his emotions firmly in his heart and did not shed a single tear.

When he left, he felt a little sick to his stomach and took time to go to the funeral home bathroom.

Lingxi funeral parlor has been renovated in recent years, the bathroom is the focus of decoration, and all the squatting pits are made with closed wooden doors like the airport, which is quite neat and clean.

Hou Weidong squatted in the bathroom, took out a cigarette and put it on the tip of his nose to sniff, and his thoughts drifted back to the Shazhou years.

Zhou Changquan still dragged on for a long time, and suffered some pain in vain. In the later stages, his belly was swollen like a bulge, his face was frighteningly yellow, and his body was as thin as dry wood, all relying on painkillers. ”

There was a sound of talking in the urinal outside, and Hou Weidong heard this voice, it was a director surnamed Wu of the provincial government office.

Another person said: "The most unlucky thing is Chu Xiuhong, if Zhou Changquan doesn't die, he will always be able to get the deputy secretary of the county party committee or the county magistrate to be the party, Zhou Changquan is dead, and his chances will be much less." It was Hou Weidong's luck to follow the right leader at the most appropriate time. This person is also from the provincial government office, and is supposed to be a deputy director, but the name is not clear. When Hou Weidong was the deputy secretary general of the provincial government, he was not in charge of these two, but he was in the same office, and occasionally had some contact, and remembered the voice of the voice.

Director Wu said: "Hou Weidong's good luck has also come to an end, he can get up all thanks to Zhou Changquan, Zhou Changquan is gone, there is no backstage boss, he is similar to us." ”

Another person: "Hou Weidong is a real officer, he is in power, what are we, if you say it well, you are the director, and if you don't say it well, you are miscellaneous." ”

Both of them served the leaders of the provincial government, but they did not have any sadness about Zhou Changquan's departure. Attending the memorial service today is similar to an ordinary meeting, it will not be sad, and it is said that life is impermanent.

Hou Weidong deeply understood the profound pain of "relatives or residual sorrows, others have also sang, what is the way to die, and the body is the same mountain". But he did not blame the two comrades in the general office, these two comrades and Zhou Changquan were just colleagues, and they did not have a deep emotional foundation, and attending the memorial service was more of a procedural business. It is against human nature to want them to grieve from the bottom of their hearts.

In order to avoid the embarrassment of meeting, Hou Weidong squatted inside and did not come out. Seeing that there was no one in the toilet, the two simply smoked in the toilet. He crouched and his legs were weak, and he could only make some noises.

I heard a sound in the wooden door of the bathroom, a sound of footsteps coming quickly outside, and then there was no sound again.

After shaking hands with Da Zhou, Hou Weidong met Chu Xiuhong as he left.

Chu Xiuhong is obviously thinner than the previous stage. Following the emaciated leader, he also seemed to be contagious, became thin, and had bloodshot eyes, looking very tired.

"Let's go, let's go outside and say a few words." Hou Weidong greeted, and then walked out, Chu Xiuhong followed behind him unhurriedly.

Hou Weidong said: "You have also worked hard during this period of time. We all know this ending, so we can also accept the reality. What are your plans for the future? ”

Chu Xiuhong shook his head and said, "My thoughts are very chaotic, and I haven't thought about it well. ”

"We're men, so we don't want to be children." Hou Weidong pointed to his heart and said, "We keep the old leader in our hearts, not on our lips." A heart that really makes a sad appearance is not necessarily sad. ”

As he spoke, he saw the director of the general office surnamed Wu. Director Wu was wearing a black down jacket with a green gauze hidden on his arm, and his expression was serious and he did not smile.

Chu Xiuhong said: "If there are no other changes, you have to stay in the office and stay slowly." ”

Hou Weidong said: "There is no point in staying in the office, you can simply go back to Shazhou, Governor Zhou once told Secretary Ning that you should stay." ”

Chu Xiuhong knew about this, but now that Governor Zhou had left, it was still unknown whether his previous words would count, and he said, "It doesn't matter if I speak in front of Secretary Ning." ”

Hou Weidong said: "Secretary Ning is a person who values affection and righteousness, and Shazhou really needs capable cadres to work in the county." She came forward, and it wasn't difficult. ”

Chu Xiuhong said: "Thank you!" ”

While the two were talking, Ji Daolin, deputy secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, came over and said, "Weidong, you are here, I am still looking for you." Chu Xiuhong is a person who knows how to meet, and he understands from Ji Daolin's sentence that he has something to talk about, so he said hello and left under the pretext.

Ji Daolin's temples were completely white, the dense hair on the top of his head had become thin, and the bags under his eyes were obvious. Compared with Ji Daolin, the vice president of Shazhou College who was in high spirits in 93 years, Ji Daolin is now helplessly more old.

"Weidong, you have to mourn."

"It's all expected, and I've been mentally prepared for a long time."

"The preliminary investigation is over, and Shen Dongfeng has been officially filed."

"When? What's the matter? ”

"Yesterday."

"Don't stretch out your hand, you must catch it when you reach out, this is a sentence I gave him during the conversation before taking office, I didn't expect something to happen."

Ji Daolin looked at Hou Weidong with sharp eyes, and saw that there was surprise and a flash of anger and regret in his eyes, but he was not flustered and nervous, so he was much more relieved.

(Chapter 907) (To be continued.) )