Official title: Refused to stay at the university, started his career in a rural town.

The next morning, when the phone rang, Geng Yan was in the warehouse busy packing up villagers.

"Secretary Geng! Phone call!"

Geng Yan threw down the hemp rope in his hand and jogged into the gatehouse. A microphone was placed on the table, and a voice called out, "Feed? Feed? Qingping Township?"

"Yes, yes." Geng Yan grabbed the microphone.

"I'm Old Huang from the county fruit company! Reserve two thousand jin of each of your Qingping Mountain delicacies—mushrooms, wood ear fungus, walnuts, and chestnuts! You hear me? Two thousand jin of each! Eight thousand jin in total!"

The cigarette in Geng Yan's hand fell onto the table.

"Eight...eight thousand catties?"

"Yes! Eight thousand catties! I saw the advertisement in your newspaper, people in Ningzhou City are going crazy for it! Several of my clients have called to ask about it, you'd better reserve some for me!"

Before Geng Yan could reply, the person on the other end of the phone shouted again, "I'll place the order with you first! I'll send a car over tomorrow! The price is negotiable!"

Click, the call ended.

Geng Yan held the microphone, remaining motionless for a long time.

He only realized what was happening when the cigarette burned a hole in the table, and hurriedly pushed the cigarette butt to the ground and stomped it out.

I had just hung up when the phone rang again.

"Qingping Township? Hey Lao Niu from the city's supply and marketing cooperative! How much of that mountain delicacy do you still have?"

"have……"

"Leave me three thousand catties as well! Do you hear me?"

"Twelve thousand catties in total?"

Geng Yan opened his mouth, and asked tremblingly.

"Director Niu, the goods may be—"

"Don't tell me it's not enough! I read that article your township head wrote; it's everywhere in your mountains! I don't care what method you come up with, you have to make up that number for me!"

Click, it's dead again.

Geng Yan stood in the gatehouse, the microphone still raised in mid-air. Old Huang, the gatekeeper, held an enamel mug to his lips, but forgot to drink from it.

The phone rang again.

This time it wasn't from the county or the city, it was from the provincial capital.

"Excuse me, is this the Qingping Township government? We are from Ruifuxiang Food Company in the provincial capital. We saw your mountain delicacies in the newspaper and would like to order a batch..."

Geng Yan slowly hung up the phone, then said to Lao Huang in the gatehouse, "You take this call. If there are any more orders, write them down and say you'll ask the leader before transferring them. I need to go find Mayor Yang."

He turned and ran.

In the yard, Yang Fan was squatting next to the truck, instructing everyone to keep a close eye on the quality.

Geng Yan rushed over and grabbed his arm.

"Mayor Yang, he's gone mad! They've all gone mad!"

Yang Fan raised his head.

"The county needs 8,000 jin of fruit, the city supply and marketing cooperative needs 12,000 jin, and some company in the provincial capital also wants to place an order!" Old Geng's voice trembled. "And I've written down the phone numbers of several small vendors!"

Yang Fan stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

"Take your time."

Geng Yan took a deep breath and recounted the calls he had just received, one by one. Yang Fan listened without saying a word.

Wang Dashan, who was squatting next to him, almost dropped his tobacco pouch.

"That adds up to over 30,000 jin (15,000 kg)? Where did we get so much stock?"

Geng Yan also realized what was happening, and the excitement on his face faded by half.

"That's right, Township Chief Yang. We only have less than 4,000 jin of mushrooms left in our warehouse, a little over 3,000 jin of wood ear fungus, more 6,000 jin of walnuts, and less than 4,000 jin of chestnuts. All together, it's less than 20,000 jin!"

Yang Fan took out his notebook and flipped through it.

"Don't worry, Secretary Ma will convene a Standing Committee meeting immediately to discuss this matter."

Yang Fan carefully calculated the amount on the paper Geng Yan handed him. From 7:00 to 8:30 in the morning alone, there were already more than 30,000 jin of pre-orders.

Geng Yan swallowed hard and nodded vigorously.

This Township Head Yang is really something! He managed to promote the mountain products that couldn't be sold before in just a short period of time.

Yang Fan added, "But the prices can't be messed up. Let's set the suggested retail prices first: mushrooms are 22, wood ear fungus is 15, walnuts are 18, and chestnuts are 30."

"We sell it for six yuan in Ningzhou, right?"

"Those were workers who didn't know anything and just sold things randomly, do you understand?"

Yang Fan looked at him.

Geng Yan opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Yang Fan stood up. "Go to the reception room first and write down every single form!"

On the way to the meeting room, Yang Fan ran into Wang Dashan, who was squatting and smoking in front of the township government. When Wang Dashan saw Yang Fan, he put out his cigarette and grabbed Yang Fan's shoulder.

"Mayor Yang, that loudspeaker announcement you made, saying 'Qingping Mountain Delicacies Factory has gone bankrupt,' was absolutely brilliant! I've lived for over fifty years, and this is the first time I've ever seen a business like this."

His Adam's apple bobbed. "Guess what everyone's saying? Everyone's saying that it's a shame that Mayor Yang isn't in business."

Yang Fan's lips twitched.

Wang Dashan added, "I say, what's the pity? If Township Chief Yang goes into business, who will take care of Qingping?"

Yang Fan patted Wang Dashan on the shoulder and continued walking forward.

At the entrance of the gatehouse, Old Huang was drinking water from an enamel mug, his loquat seeds swollen from soaking.

He saw Yang Fan and put the jar on the windowsill.

"Mayor Yang, the phone keeps ringing, you...you're amazing."

Old Huang seemed to want to say something, but his primary school education limited him to only these few words.

"Uncle Huang, don't rush, take your time, and remember it clearly."

"Okay, okay." Old Huang pointed to his throat.

"I've worked in this gatehouse for half my life, and this is the first time my throat has hurt from answering the phone so much, haha!"

Yang Fan reached out and patted Lao Huang's shoulder. Without saying a word, he turned and left.

As Chen Ming approached the office building entrance, he emerged carrying a stack of documents. Upon seeing Yang Fan, he grinned, revealing his gap-toothed grin.

"Mayor Yang! You're practically a god of wealth descended to earth! Even the provincial propaganda department probably wouldn't listen to your tricks!"

The Party Committee meeting was held in the morning.

The meeting room was packed with people, and a row of enamel mugs were lined up with tea leaves floating on the surface—all of them were this year's new tea from Nangezhuang.

Smoke filled the air; some people were smoking, some were holding jars, and some were leaning against the wall.

Ma Liangchen sat at one end of the table, Li Chang'an sat in the first seat on the left, and Yang Fan sat slightly behind.

Among the attendees was Zhou Guodong, the organizing committee member, who was in his early fifties with gray hair and spoke slowly and deliberately.

Sun Xiaohong, the propaganda committee member, is in her thirties and is one of the few female cadres in the township. She wears glasses and carries a notebook in her hand.

The head of the armed forces, Zhao Dayong, was a former soldier; he had a dark complexion and a loud voice.

Han Zheng, the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, is tall and thin. He doesn't like to talk, but when he does, he gets straight to the point.

There's also Liu Ming from the Party and Government Office, who's in charge of taking notes. He keeps a thick notebook on his lap, ready to record anything at any time.

Ma Liangchen spoke first.

"Today's meeting will focus on just one issue, nothing else!"

"How can our Qingping Township seize this opportunity, ensure a good supply of goods, and make money so that all villagers in Qingping Township will have money in their pockets? Let's all speak freely!"