Right path to power

The following morning.

Dong Zhibiao, the deputy director temporarily in charge of the Education Bureau, convened an emergency mobilization meeting to deploy relevant rectification work and required all primary and secondary schools in the county to implement the work arrangements of the county party committee and the county government without any discount.

In the afternoon, Dong Zhibiao came to the county government. He first reported to Gong Lei on the Education Bureau's upcoming work and said that he would strictly implement the work requirements of the county party committee and county government. Then he went to the secretariat to communicate with Lin Xiao.

"Director Lin, there are indeed many problems with the work of our Education Bureau. We may need to ask the comrades in the Supervision Office to keep a closer eye on things."

Despite his polite demeanor, Fu Xiaocong had been in the position of bureau chief for nine years, making him deeply entrenched in the post. Dong Zhibiao had never held out much hope for him, but then the county suddenly suspended Fu Xiaocong from his post and put him in charge of the work temporarily.

The unexpected opportunity caught him off guard, but he quickly got into character and secretly resolved to seize the opportunity and make the most of it.

The reason he was chosen was because he had served as the vice principal of Fengshan No. 2 Middle School, in charge of teaching. At that time, the school's academic performance consistently ranked among the top in the city, and its rate of students admitted to key universities was higher than it is now. None of the other bureau chiefs had similar experience. Therefore, after obtaining Huang Zaichuan's consent, Gong Lei finally allowed him to temporarily preside over the meeting.

After chatting for a while, Lin Xiao also felt that his idea was quite good.

"Director Dong, I think that while doing a good job in rectification, we should also give full play to our leading role and quickly formulate a plan to improve the overall quality of education in the county. We can learn from the practices and experiences of other counties and districts, and combine them with our own actual situation to find a path that suits our own development. I've looked at the neighboring counties and districts, and they don't actually have any special advantages, but they attach much more importance to education than we do, and they invest more in related areas, mainly by vigorously introducing advanced educational institutions..."

Lin Xiao always believed that "rectification" was just a means of correction. His ultimate goal was to get the Education Bureau back on track as soon as possible. Therefore, he explained his views to Dong Zhibiao in detail, based on his understanding of the situation.

Although Lin Xiao was not the supervisor in charge, Dong Zhibiao was aware of Director Lin's "power." He listened attentively and was deeply moved: "Thank you, Director Lin. What you said has given me a clearer direction for the next steps in the bureau's work. Don't worry, I will expedite the implementation."

"Director Dong, you're too kind. I was just sharing some views within my understanding. Whether they're appropriate or not is for professionals like you to judge. Also, if you have any progress or ideas, you should report them to the leadership as needed."

"Okay, Director Lin, I understand, thank you."

"Don't mention it, Director Dong."

Seeing that Dong Zhibiao seemed to have something else to attend to, Lin Xiao asked again, "Director Dong, if you have something else to say, please speak freely."

"Director Lin, I just wanted to ask if you're free tonight? I'd like to invite you to dinner, and I'd also like to ask you for some more guidance."

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Director Dong, I told you not to be so polite. My personal opinion is just for your reference. I'm just a novice when it comes to education and teaching. You are the expert."

Dong Zhibiao understood what he meant, and after some polite exchanges, he didn't press the matter further. After all, he and Lin Xiao didn't have much of a personal relationship, and some polite formalities weren't enough to make any arrangements. He could only look for opportunities later.

After Dong Zhibiao left the office, Lin Xiao sent Liu Yun a text message, asking him to come to the county government to pick him up after get off work.

At 6:30 p.m., in the large private room on the third floor of Changxing Restaurant, the others had already arrived.

Yan Yifan sat on the sofa, with teacher Bai Zaisen sitting to his left, and several other male and female students surrounding him, chatting and laughing.

"There are over fifty people in our class, but less than fifteen of them eventually got into university. That's a very low percentage compared to big cities."

"This can't compare to big cities, but it's already quite good compared to the current county-level areas."

"Yifan is probably the most successful among us, right?"

"Lin Xiao is also good. He is now the deputy director of the county government office. I heard that County Chief Gong values ​​him highly. He will probably be promoted to section chief in two or three years."

"And then there's Liu Yun, who's now the head of the police station in Beifeng Township. These two have always had a good relationship, and it's unexpected that their careers have gone so smoothly..."

As Yan Yifan listened to his classmates talking about Lin Xiao and Liu Yun, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, and he frowned slightly, his face also becoming gloomy.

For someone as high-ranking as a provincial official to go back to Fengshan, a county, to deal with such a trivial matter, and not only did he fail to achieve his goal, but he also had to resort to the so-called "class reunion" to try to salvage the situation. How embarrassing is that?

And the one who started all of this was Lin Xiao!

It's outrageous that a deputy county-level deputy director, who's only at the level of a section chief, can't even get through the door of the provincial department and is treated with the utmost disrespect.

At this moment, Xie Tiancai finally spoke up: "You're wrong. How can those two be compared to Yifan? If people from the provincial department are sent down to the local level, they'll easily become section chiefs or department heads, so they're not even in the same league."

There's also Yifan, who is the personal secretary of a provincial department leader. Even Mayor Li has to give him face. Moreover, he will definitely be promoted when his term is up. At most, he will be a deputy director-level official in two or three years.

When Yifan is sent down to a lower level for further training, he can be promoted to the next level, which is the same as the county party secretary and county head.

Besides, do you really believe that Yifan can only reach the division level? As for the other two, their ceiling is already set; the section chief level is the highest they can go.

In short, there's absolutely no comparison! So, some people should just accept their fate and stop making a fuss. For example, I'm just not cut out to be an official, haha…”

Xie Tiancai spoke eloquently, his spittle flying everywhere.

The people around them had different expressions; some nodded in agreement, some looked surprised, and some were filled with envy.

As for Yan Yifan, he was overjoyed to hear this and was very satisfied with Xie Tiancai's performance. He thought to himself that this guy was a decent person, knowing when to act and when to do things. It was worth it for him to accept and help him.

Bai Jiansen, standing to the side, seemed somewhat at a loss. After taking a sip of tea, he finally said, "Not bad, our classmates are all doing quite well."

However, this neutral stance naturally did not satisfy Yan Yifan. He turned his head slightly and glanced at Bai Jiansen, thinking: This bookworm is so stubborn, he has no future.

At that moment, the door was pushed open.