Sharpening the Blade Against the Red Wall: From Hong Kong to Handong

In the summer of 1995, the atmosphere in Chen Yanshi's living room in the Jingzhou Municipal Government dormitory area was frighteningly oppressive.

Chen Yanshi, who had just returned from a symposium, slammed his briefcase onto the coffee table as soon as he entered the room, making the teacups clatter. He tugged at his collar, his face ashen, his chest heaving violently, clearly still recovering from the awkwardness of the meeting room.

"Outrageous! Utterly outrageous!" Chen Yanshi paced back and forth, his voice booming enough to penetrate the walls. "A mere brat, still wet behind the ears, dares to question me in front of so many leaders? And he even accuses me of causing the loss of state-owned assets! What does he know about restructuring? What does he know about the difficulties faced by those at the grassroots level?"

His wife handed him a cup of cold tea and advised, "Old Chen, calm down. Young people are ignorant. Why bother arguing with him?"

"Ignorant?" Chen Yanshi shoved the teacup aside, spilling tea all over the floor. "So what if he works for the General Office of the Central Committee? Does that give him the right to disrespect veteran comrades? When I was fighting alongside the organization, his grandfather was still toiling away at the grassroots level! I spearheaded the restructuring of the textile factory, working myself to the bone, running around for the workers' interests, and he comes along and starts accusing me of giving state land to private individuals, saying I'll be held accountable for life!"

He grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, recalling the stares of everyone at the symposium, Zhou Jin's sharp, piercing gaze, and his own embarrassment at being speechless. A surge of shame and indignation welled up within him: "He deliberately made me look bad! Just because he's young and has connections, he thinks he's above everyone else! There are so many things to consider in the restructuring; how could I possibly be involved in everything? So what if I didn't consider the land issue? My intentions were good; it was for the workers, for the company!"

Just then, the doorbell rang. Opening the door, he saw Hou Liangping, a student from the Department of Political Science and Law at Handong University. He had long wanted to curry favor with his former leader, Chen Yanshi, and had come specifically to visit today, hoping to hear some news and, incidentally, make his presence felt.

As soon as Hou Liangping entered, he sensed the tense atmosphere in the living room. Seeing the tea on the floor and Chen Yanshi's ashen face, he immediately asked cleverly, "Uncle Chen, what's wrong? Who made you angry?"

Upon seeing that it was Hou Liangping, Chen Yan sighed, plopped down on the sofa, and recounted the events of the meeting in detail, his tone full of grievance and anger: "Tell me, wasn't this kid going too far? I've lived this long, and I've never been humiliated in public like this before!"

Hou Liangping's eyes darted around, and he immediately chimed in with a fawning expression, "Uncle Chen, don't be angry, it's not worth it! This kid is just overestimating himself. Just because he's from the General Office of the Central Committee and has some education, he thinks he's all that! What does he know about the difficulties of grassroots work? Restructuring is such a huge project, how could there be no oversights? You are an old revolutionary, an old leader, wholeheartedly serving the people. What right does this greenhorn have to point fingers at you?"

As he spoke, he handed Chen Yanshi a tissue, his tone extremely ingratiating: "He's definitely trying to show off and deliberately picking a fight with you! Don't take it to heart. The people of Handong have all seen your achievements; how could a junior like him deny them?"

These words struck a chord with Chen Yanshi, and his expression softened slightly. He nodded, "You're such a sensible child! Unlike some people, who, despite their young age, have ulterior motives and only know how to find fault and seek credit!"

Seeing that Chen Yanshi had calmed down, Hou Liangping pressed his advantage: "Don't worry, this kind of person is just temporarily successful; he can't stand firm at the grassroots level! If he comes to Handong in the future, won't he still need the support of an old leader like you? It's really unwise of him to offend you now!"

After chatting for a while, Hou Liangping took his leave. Back in his school dormitory, he immediately told his girlfriend, Zhong Xiaoai, about the incident, his tone still carrying disdain for Zhou Jin: "Xiaoai, you didn't see it! Uncle Chen was furious today! That kid from the General Office, what's his name... Zhou Jin, so young, yet so arrogant! He publicly questioned Uncle Chen and even said he'd pursue this for life! He's really overestimating himself!"

Zhong Xiaoai, who was reading, suddenly looked up when she heard the name "Zhou Jin." Her expression instantly turned serious, and she instinctively interrupted him, "What did you say? His name is Zhou Jin?"

"Yes, that sounds like it. What's wrong?" Hou Liangping was startled by Zhong Xiaoai's reaction. "You know him?"

Zhong Xiaoai gasped, her face turning deathly pale, a flicker of barely concealed fear crossing her eyes. She quickly lowered her voice and snapped at him, "Stop talking! Don't mention that name again, and don't talk about him!"

Hou Liangping was stunned, looking completely bewildered: "Why? He's just an ordinary cadre in the General Office of the Central Committee, maybe with a slightly stronger background. Is it really necessary to be so afraid of him?"

"An ordinary cadre?" Zhong Xiaoai gave a bitter smile, her eyes filled with apprehension. "Hou Liangping, you're too naive! Do you know who he is? He's the prodigy of both the Zhou and Su families in Kyoto! What do the Zhou and Su families mean? They're the families of founding fathers, with impeccable revolutionary credentials. Their connections and influence in Kyoto are something our Zhong family isn't even worthy of carrying!"

She paused, lowering her voice even further: "The Zhou family patriarch was a former core leader of the State Council, and the Su family patriarch was a former commander of the Kyoto Military Region. The influence of these two families in both the military and political circles is unfathomable! Zhou Jin is the eldest grandson of the Zhou family and the grandson of the Su family. He was raised as an heir from a young age, entered Huaguo University at the age of fifteen, and became a PhD in economics in his early twenties. It was only natural for him to enter the General Office of the Central Committee!"

"Although our Zhong family is also within the system, compared to the Zhou and Su families, we're like ants trying to shake an elephant—we're not even in the same league!" Zhong Xiaoai's voice trembled slightly. "You just said he was overestimating himself? Do you know how easy it would be for him to mess with you or Uncle Chen if he wanted to! Luckily, you didn't say anything offensive to him, or we'd both be in deep trouble!"

Hou Liangping was stunned by Zhong Xiaoai's words. The disdain on his face instantly turned into fear, and his lips trembled as he stammered, "This...this is amazing? I...I was just talking badly about him to Uncle Chen..."

"Stop talking!" Zhong Xiaoai immediately interrupted him, her face serious. "This matter ends here. Never mention it again, and never try to curry favor with Chen Yanshi by talking about it! Zhou Jin is not someone we should discuss. Just focus on your own work and don't get yourself into trouble!"

Hou Liangping nodded heavily, his heart filled with lingering fear. He never imagined that the "young punk" he had scorned would have such a terrifying background. And Chen Yanshi probably still didn't know that he had offended someone he couldn't afford to mess with.

Meanwhile, in Chen Yanshi's living room, still seething with anger, Chen Yanshi was complaining about Zhou Jin's "rudeness," completely unaware that the "young punk" he spoke of possessed unimaginable power. This conflict, sparked by the reforms, was merely the beginning of Zhou Jin's involvement with the political scene in Handong; the future upheavals were only just beginning.