Before dinner, Shen Hua rushed to the steel plant to hold a year-end summary meeting for the management team and personally handed out the year-end bonuses to each member of the management team, also saying some words of encouragement.

  After simply eating two mouthfuls of rice in the steel plant canteen, Shen Hua dragged his weak and exhausted body to the town government to preside over an emergency meeting convened by the party and government.

  Firstly, discuss and divide the work of disaster relief deployment; secondly, arrange for town leaders to be on duty during the Spring Festival; thirdly, re-discuss the issue of issuing year-end bonuses.

  This year, by the end of the year, a big snow disaster occurred, and Hetang Town and some towns have already spread the news that they will stop paying administrative personnel's year-end bonuses. He Qing She and Li Feng are hesitant about whether to issue year-end awards this year. The key is that these two things are closely linked, making them seem a bit sensitive.

  In previous years, the year-end bonus would be arranged to be released three or four days before the Lunar New Year, but this year it has been delayed again and tomorrow is already New Year's Eve.

  "It's not easy for everyone to work hard from the beginning of the year to the end, and if we don't give out some benefits, everyone's morale will be low," Shen Hua said in a very low voice while drinking scalding hot water to soothe his throat. "I think it would be better this way: since I and He Zhenchang are at the department level, let's donate our year-end bonuses as special party fees for disaster relief; those at the deputy department level will receive half and donate half; those at the section level will receive 3,000 and donate 1,000; other personnel will still receive their year-end bonuses according to the original plan..."

  In rural towns, there are few officials who can benefit from their positions. Most employees rely on their meager salaries to make a living and look forward to festivals and holidays when they might receive some extra welfare benefits.

  Although Shen Hua sincerely hopes that all party members and cadres can be as clean as water and suffer first, he also knows that the vast majority of party members and cadres are ordinary people. The workers in the steel plant earn only 300-400 yuan per month and feel that their lives are very poor, they have complaints and are negative about their work. Can Shen Hua expect government employees who earn only 300-400 yuan per month to have no grievances?

  Shen Hua knew that He Qing's wife had opened a tobacco and liquor store on the street outside the vegetable market, and their usual income wouldn't be bad. They could get by with taking less than 8,000 yuan.

  "He Qing Society said: 'I agree with Secretary Shen's opinion.'"

  He Qing Society knew that they couldn't cancel the year-end bonus entirely, otherwise, next year's work personnel wouldn't be able to work hard. However, with such a severe snow disaster, the town leaders had to take a stance, which would also be an explanation for both superiors and subordinates.

  Moreover, He Qing She also knew that Shen Huai donated all the year-end bonuses he deserved from the steel plant as party fees, and he really couldn't be stingy with these eight thousand yuan.

  Although several deputy town heads, deputy secretaries and persons in charge of various stations had their year-end bonuses cut to the same level as ordinary working personnel, there was no dissatisfaction.

  After the meeting, Shen Hua returned to his dormitory.

  Although Chen Dan helped him boil several pots of hot water and put them by the wall before he left, Shen Hui still felt a chill in the house that was as cold as an ice cellar. He couldn't help but laugh silently to himself: yesterday he had joked with Chen Dan that being alone wouldn't kill him, but today, after not seeing Chen Dan for a whole day, he found himself missing her.

  Chen Dan thinks it's too luxurious to use a mobile phone, and hasn't bought one yet; Chen Dan's home in He Tang Town also doesn't have a telephone installed - even if Shen Hua wants to talk to Chen Dan, there's no way for them to communicate.

  Shen Huai wanted to read a book before sleeping, but his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls, throbbing and heavy, so he struggled to swallow two cold pills and lay down in bed.

  My body was so cold that I kept shivering, and I didn't know what time it was when I finally fell asleep. In the morning, I woke up feeling like my body was filled with lead and couldn't move. I remembered that in the afternoon, I still had to go to the nursing home to pay New Year's respects to the elderly who lived alone. Shen Huai could only sigh at how hard it was for a leader to take care of everything, while struggling to get out of bed. He drove to the town government and first met with He Qing She and Li Feng.

  He Qing saw that Shen Huai's face was very poor and asked with concern, but also didn't take it too seriously.

  Starting from the day of heavy snow, everyone has hardly had a good rest. The snow disaster coincided with the year-end closing, dragging on until everyone was exhausted and pale.

  After visiting the nursing home to give blessings to the elderly, Shen Hui thought that he had finally gotten through the holiday. He wanted to ask Chu Qiang to take him to the health clinic to get an IV and rest properly. Unexpectedly, the town received a call from the Tangzhai District Government, saying that the Tangzhai District had organized a batch of disaster relief materials, which would be delivered by Deputy Director Zhou Yu to offer condolences.

  "Weasel wishes you a happy new year, but misses the chicken." Shen Huai was feeling unwell and lacked energy, but sitting in the conference room chair, he still had the mind to joke around.

  He Qing and Li Feng also exchanged a knowing smile.

  Although Shen Huai will make efforts to let Meixi Town be assigned to Tangzhai District next step, Tangzhai District organizes relief supplies to come over at this time, mainly also doing some groundwork for Meixi Town being assigned to Tangzhai District later on, but the district is so eager that it makes people suspect they have ulterior motives.

  Shen Hua let Li Feng and other cadres return home to prepare for the Spring Festival, while he stayed in the government compound with He Qing She and Huang Xinliang waiting for Zhou Yu and others to arrive.

  It's been three or four months since Shen Hua last saw Zhou Yu, and he can't help but miss her; the last time he had dinner with Zhao Dong in Nan Garden was also a pity that they missed each other.

  Shen Huai was still thinking about the time they met at the swimming pool, Zhou Yu wearing a swimsuit that fell and got hurt in such a sexy way, her body had an enchanting charm that was hard to forget, as a man who had seen and hugged her, it was unlikely he would ever forget this lifetime; but he didn't know if she had thought of him.

  Everyone is preparing for the New Year, Shen Huai sat in a meeting with He Qing She, Huang Xinliang and Chu Qiang chatting idly, his body was also experiencing waves of dizziness.

  Hearing the car horn downstairs, Shen Huan sat there, his body having no strength to get him up.

  He Qing thought that Shen Huai was not getting up because he had an old grudge with Zhou Yu, the deputy head of Tang Zha District, and deliberately wanted to show off in front of Zhou Yu.

  He Qing reminded Shen Huai: "It should be Vice District Chief Zhou from Tangzhai District, let's go down and welcome him."

  Shen Huai struggled to stand up, walked to the stairs, and just as his foot was about to step out, everything in front of him went black. His hand failed to grab the railing, and his entire body fell down...

  To show respect for Shen Hui's status, everyone let him go first when going down the stairs. However, Shen Hui's legs were weak and he tumbled down from the stairs with no one in front to block his fall. He rolled all the way to the corner of the stairs before stopping, hitting his head against the wall with a loud "thud".

  Zhou Yu drove into the government compound of Meixi Town, but didn't see anyone coming out to greet her. It was almost eleven o'clock now; on New Year's Eve, it was normal not to see a single person in the government compound.

  Zhou Yu stopped the car for a while, didn't see anyone coming out to greet them, and guessed that Shen Huai might not give her any face. To avoid more embarrassment, Zhou Yu did not sit in the car waiting anxiously, nor did she let the driver continue honking to urge, but instead got out of the car and went upstairs directly.

  Zhou Yugang had just reached the corner of the stairs when he saw Shen Hua rolling down from above. He was startled and jumped to the side, only to see Shen Hua crash into the wall with a thud, his whole body curled up in the corner.

  Zhou Yu was still embarrassed about wearing a swimsuit in front of Shen Huai last time and falling so badly, this time seeing him roll down the stairs in front of her, she wanted to take advantage of his misfortune and tease him a few sentences.

  Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yu saw Shen Hui's body sprawl over, his face unusually red, and only then did he realize that something was wrong. His heart inexplicably felt a little flustered, and he hastily bent down to help Shen Hui sit up, stretching out his hand to touch his cheek, which was scorching hot.

  After Shen Huai rolled down the stairs, he became a little more conscious, but his body was still weak and had no strength. He could only see Zhou Yu's delicate face like a flower, with a bright red scarf around her neck, which made her skin look even whiter and more radiant. He thought to himself that Zhou Yu was indeed very beautiful. He could only see Zhou Yu's face clearly up close, while other objects were blurry. He heard Zhou Yu ask He Qing She and others who came down the stairs three steps at a time: "What happened? Why is Secretary Shen's body so hot?"

  Shen Huai's ears were also buzzing, and she struggled to get up, but felt that her limbs had no strength at all. She had to lean against Zhou Yu's chest. Unfortunately, Zhou Yu was wearing a thick snowboarding vest, the fabric was icy cold, making it impossible for him to feel her full and soft breasts more intimately.

  Shen Huai wanted to tell them not to be alarmed, but his throat was swollen and rough, making it difficult for him to speak, only able to make a hoarse, cracking sound.

  "Was it probably frozen by water last night?" Huang Xinliang knelt down on one foot, wanting to help Shen Huai up.

  He Qing came over and touched Shen Huai's forehead, also startling at his surprisingly high body temperature. He asked Huang Xinliang: "What happened? Weren't you going to find Zhu Baozi to discuss the engineering payment two nights ago? How did you end up getting splashed with water?"

  As for the incident of splashing water on Shen Hua's feet, Li Feng, Huang Xinliang and Chu Qiang returned to town and naturally kept their mouths shut. After all, it wasn't a good thing to spread around that someone had splashed water on Shen Hua's feet.

  He Qing She was unaware of the fact that Shen Huai had splashed water on Zhu Li's feet, all he knew was that Shen Huai had promised to pay back the owed engineering fees to Zhu Li after the new year. He Qing She also knew that Zhu Li had been delayed for many years and even if they paid back 1.8 million yuan after the new year, it would make the town's finances very tight, but since Shen Huai had made the decision, he didn't raise any objections.

  "What's going on, why did Secretary Shen ask someone to pour water?" Zhou Yu asked curiously, although she had guessed in her heart that Shen Hui must have done something in Meixi Town that made people angry, and she also had to pretend to care and ask.

  Huang Xinliang briefly explained the cause and effect, suspecting that Shen Hua had a fever two nights ago and had been working with illness for the past two days, but everyone was too careless to notice. Chu Qiang did know that Shen Hua had caught a cold and even helped buy medicine for him, but he didn't expect it to be so severe, and for a moment, he was also flustered.

  He Qing's voice was choked with emotion as he said, "I'm also to blame. I've seen Secretary Shen's face hasn't been right for the past two days, but I didn't even ask if everything was okay. Instead, I piled all these things on you and exhausted your body." He couldn't help but scold Huang Xinliang, "What kind of Party and Government Office Director are you?"