Right path to power

Afterwards, led by Liu Jianguo, Wang Yuanze and his group took a walk around the village. They encountered many villagers along the way, and Wang Yuanze would stop to ask them questions and then explain something to Liu Jianguo and Lin Xiao. Meanwhile, the county and township leaders were left aside.

It wasn't until evening that Wang Yuanze returned to the village entrance.

Before leaving, he said to Liu Jianguo, "Comrade Jianguo, you must do your work thoroughly and completely. I hope that when I come next time, I will see a brand new Songmao Village."

"Secretary Wang, please rest assured, we will definitely not let you down."

Wang Yuanze nodded and then looked at Lin Xiao, saying, "Comrade Lin, I hope you will remain humble and continue to dedicate yourself to your work with full enthusiasm."

"Yes, Secretary Wang!"

Immediately afterwards, Wang Yuanze got into the car and instructed the driver to return directly to the city.

Thus, Wang Yuanze's first research trip after taking office ended in a mix of disappointment and delight.

As the new Party Secretary's car disappeared from sight, Huang Zaichuan could no longer contain his anger. He pointed at Yan Zhao beside him and angrily rebuked him, "Yan Zhao, look at the mess you've made! If you didn't come to the village, just say you didn't come. Why make up stories? Will telling the truth kill anyone? And Lin Xiao's matter is trivial. Why are you making such a big fuss? What good will it do you to target him? I think you're utterly hopeless!"

Yan Zhao stood there trembling. Faced with Huang Zaichuan's angry rant, he could only lower his head and listen attentively, but he also had his own unspeakable grievances:

First of all, regarding the matter of entering the village, he assumed that Wang Yuanze was just asking casually, and thought that he could easily make up a lie to get by. However, he never expected that Wang Yuanze would take it so seriously.

In addition, he had reported to Secretary Huang in advance about disciplining Lin Xiao, and only proceeded with it after receiving tacit approval. Otherwise, he would not have stood up to Deputy Secretary Gong Lei of the County Party Committee to explain for Lin Xiao.

But he was just a township party secretary, while the person who was criticizing him was the county party secretary!

Meanwhile, Kong Changgeng was also devastated. He had originally wanted to use his accumulated "question bank" to give the new secretary a satisfactory answer, but the new secretary did not follow the usual format and gave him a question he rarely encountered - Songmao Village. It is easy to imagine how his answer was not going to turn out well.

More importantly, he is already fifty years old, and after this incident, his chances of promotion are basically gone. Even if he were to settle for a transfer back to the county to serve as the director of a bureau, that hope is unlikely to come true.

"And you, Kong Changgeng, what kind of person are you to become a township head? You're so picky about which villages to go to, going to the rich ones time and time again, but you know absolutely nothing about Songmao Village. What, are you there to be a useless bum?"

Huang Zaichuan was furious, and spittle flew everywhere from his mouth.

Yan Zhao and Kong Changgeng, who were being scolded, bowed slightly and nodded repeatedly to indicate that they accepted the reprimand from their leader. They didn't even bother to wipe away the spittle that kept flying at their faces.

Although Hong Feng was watching the excitement from the side, he was in a bad mood. He attached great importance to this research and made a lot of preparations in advance. He not only summarized and sorted out the development plan and ideas of Fengshan County, but also listed several issues that might be raised.

However, Wang Yuanze did not show enough interest after listening to his explanation, and the questions he asked were irrelevant. Although he did not express dissatisfaction, he also had no intention of exploring the subject further.

On the contrary, he felt that Wang Yuanze was more interested in Gong Lei's ideas, which made him very worried.

After a brief moment of thought, he still suggested, "Secretary Huang, this investigation has exposed some shortcomings in our work. I suggest that we immediately compile the relevant information and find an opportunity to give Secretary Wang a special report. We must not let the leaders judge us based on just one investigation."

Huang Zaichuan thought it made sense, so he nodded and said, "This suggestion is good. Let's supplement the previous report on rural work, which was a bit thin. We need to get on with this as soon as we get back, so I can report to Secretary Wang as soon as possible."

Furthermore, Secretary Wang said that he hopes a new Songmao Village will be presented to him next time he comes. I think this is not just a casual remark; there is a real possibility that he will make a surprise return.

Therefore, we must start paying attention to the situation in Songmao Village now and quickly find ways to change it, otherwise we will have no way to explain ourselves.

During this investigation, Huang Zaichuan discovered that the newly appointed municipal party secretary attached great importance to rural work. Naturally, he could no longer be perfunctory as before; at least some superficial work had to be done properly.

At this point, Gong Lei also said, "The issues that Secretary Wang mentioned during his research visit are precisely the key points for our next steps in improving our work."

First, we need to repair the road leading into Songmao Village. We can't let the leaders have to walk for half an hour every time they come to visit!

Secondly, regarding the promotion of specialty Chinese medicinal herb cultivation and specialty poultry and livestock breeding in Songmao Village, both the county and township governments should help the village come up with a specific implementation plan.

Finally, since Comrade Yan Zhao said that the matter concerning Lin Xiao was a misunderstanding, shouldn't the punishment imposed on Comrade Lin Xiao by the township be revoked in a timely manner?

As it turns out, Lin Xiao's work not only won the villagers' approval but also earned praise from Secretary Wang. We should be more tolerant, caring, and guiding of such a capable young man, rather than resorting to punishment at the drop of a hat.

"Secretary Gong, I don't think this matter is that simple! How did Liu Jianguo happen to reveal this? He even put us in a difficult position in front of the leaders. Is someone being politically naive? The young man you're trying to protect is no ordinary person."

These sarcastic remarks truly displeased Gong Lei. He said coldly, "Comrade Yan Zhao, you don't need to make such veiled accusations. I just want to ask you, do you think Lin Xiao has the ability to predict the future? Otherwise, how could they have made preparations in advance? Besides, do you think that all those people in the village have been bought off by Lin Xiao?"

Gong Lei's input left Yan Zhao speechless. Although he pretended not to know Lin Xiao's "background", he still felt that after Wang Yuanze's public praise, no one would dare to do anything to Lin Xiao again.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. This is a village, do you even have the demeanor of leaders? And you, Yan Zhao, are you just bored and deliberately making trouble for people? It's such a trivial matter, and you want to punish someone? Haven't you ever been young? Tomorrow, rescind the punishment against Lin Xiao. Secretary Wang won't even bother to look at you when he goes back. Don't you and Kong Changgeng know what's going on? If you don't understand, go back and reflect on your actions. If this kind of thing happens again, I think you can quit."

After saying that, Huang Zaichuan walked towards his car.

Behind him came Yan Zhao's voice: "Yes, Secretary Huang, rest assured, we will definitely reflect on this and make comprehensive rectifications, striving to let you see the changes in Songmao Village as quickly as possible."

After getting in the car, Huang Zaichuan instructed the driver to start the vehicle, and they returned to the county town. Gong Lei and Hong Feng also returned with them.

Hong Feng returned alone. Gong Lei had originally stopped the car to let Yan Zhao and Kong Changgeng follow, but Yan Zhao, fearing embarrassment, said that he should talk to the village officials about it and told Gong Lei to go first.

So, it took more than ten minutes for the village's vehicle to arrive.