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

When Wu Xiang pushed the door open, he was holding a stack of letters in his hand.

"Mayor Yang, take a look at this."

Yang Fan took it, flipped through two pages, and found it was a letter of complaint. It was signed "an old party member from Qingping Township," and the content was just one thing over and over again—the cooperative was "profiteering from the farmers," and Yang Fan was "disregarding the lives of ordinary people for the sake of political achievements."

"It's quite well-written," Yang Fan chuckled and placed the letter on the table.

"Literary talent my ass." Wu Xiang rarely swore. "This is the fourth one already! It was forwarded by the county discipline inspection commission, forwarded by the municipal agricultural commission, and one was even sent directly to the province."

He sat down in the chair, his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses fixed on Yang Fan: "What do you think?"

Yang Fan didn't speak immediately. He picked up the letter and read it again.

"Secretary Wu, who do you think wrote this letter?"

Wu Xiang tapped his fingers twice on the table.

"The fertilizer dealer from Laowangzhuang, the one surnamed Qin."

Yang Fan nodded.

Qin Dafu of Laowangzhuang was the biggest fertilizer dealer in the whole township. Before, each household bought their own fertilizer, but he had a monopoly; he set the prices and the quality. He frequently adulterated fertilizers, and the farmers who suffered losses had no choice but to accept it—who else could they buy from if not him?

With the establishment of the cooperative, the township can purchase fertilizer in a unified manner, which reduces the price by 30% while ensuring the quality.

Qin Dafu's business collapsed overnight.

"He asked someone to come to me," Wu Xiang said, picking up his enamel mug. "He said he had elderly parents and young children to support, and begged the township to leave him a way to make a living. I said, 'Your way to make a living is one thing, but what about the way to make a living for the more than 10,000 farmers in the whole township?' His face darkened, and he turned and left."

Yang Fan said, "This letter was probably written by someone else on his behalf. Qin Dafu himself couldn't have written a phrase like 'squeezing money out of farmers.'"

Wu Xiang laughed. "You're still worried about his writing skills?"

Yang Fan smiled too.

"Secretary Wu, what did the county and city say?"

Wu Xiang stopped laughing and said somewhat angrily, "Director Liu of the County Agricultural Commission called me, saying that someone has filed a formal complaint against the cooperative for 'monopolistic practices,' and that the county needs to send people down to investigate. He also suggested that we improve relations between the cadres and the masses!"

He paused. "I told him that he was welcome to investigate! The account books, articles of association, and profit-sharing plan are all in the township government archives and can be checked at any time."

"In the city?"

"The Municipal Agricultural Commission also called, but not to investigate; they were asking about the situation, and I reported it truthfully."

Yang Fan noticed that Wu Xiang seemed a bit agitated, so he quickly got up and offered him a cigarette.

"Secretary Wu, what's your opinion on this matter?"

Wu Xiang stood up and walked to the window. The old locust tree outside was bare, its branches poking at the gray sky.

"Mayor Yang, let me tell you the truth." He didn't turn around. "I've worked at the Municipal Planning Commission for four years, and I've seen plenty of these kinds of whistleblower letters. Whoever you touch, they'll fight you to the death. Qin Dafu was relatively polite—he asked someone to pull strings and wrote a letter of complaint."

"I've seen people who are more rude than you can imagine. They've thrown paint on your car, dumped feces in front of your house, and even taken you to court."

He turned around.

"But there's one thing—as long as you keep yourself clean, these methods won't harm you in the slightest."

Yang Fan looked at him.

Wu Xiang adjusted his glasses. "I had Old Sun from the finance office go over the cooperative's accounts line by line. Every purchase, every dividend, every retention is documented and traceable. I'm not afraid of anyone checking!"

Yang Fan's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Secretary Wu, thank you for your hard work this year."

Wu Xiang paused for a moment, then laughed.

"Work hard my ass. What kind of job do I do? Answer phones, deflect bullets, and sign documents."

"What kind of work did you do? You ran around to nine villages until your legs were worn out, revised the cooperative's articles of association seventeen times, and oversaw the profit-sharing plan for each village one by one. If we're talking about hard work, you worked a hundred times harder than me."

He sat back down in his chair, picked up his enamel mug, and took a swig.

"Mayor Yang, do you know what I admire most about you?"

Yang Fan remained silent.

"You've only been in Qingping for a little over a year, but you've accomplished more than I have in the past four years. Apple bagging, the mountain delicacies brand, Hengtong's 60 million yuan investment, the cooperative—each one of these is a solid achievement. Under these circumstances, you can still sit in the office day after day; I have to give you a thumbs up!"

Wu Xiang stubbed out his cigarette.

"Mayor Yang, I, Wu Xiang, am not an ignorant person. This year, you were the one who took the bullets and charged forward with real weapons. The achievements are yours; I just benefited from them."

Yang Fan smiled and said, "Secretary Wu, you've got that backwards."

Wu Xiang was taken aback.

"Without you taking the bullets for me, no matter how fast I rushed, it would have been useless. Qin Dafu alone could have ruined half of this cooperative. Only because you withstood the pressure from the county and city was I able to negotiate the rules with the villagers."

He looked at Wu Xiang.

"The achievements belong to Qingping, to you and me, to the entire township. But as for cooperation—we've cooperated quite well this year."

Wu Xiang stared at him for a few seconds, then laughed. He laughed so loudly that it could be heard throughout the corridor.

"Alright! Mayor Yang, I like what you said." He stood up. "I'll treat you to drinks at the guesthouse tonight. You can't refuse."

Yang Fan also stood up. "No pushing."

Wu Xiang walked to the door, then turned back.

"By the way, Mayor Yang."

"Um."

"I heard you're writing something? About cooperatives?"

Yang Fan nodded. "A summary. It includes everything from the charter design to the profit-sharing plan, from mobilizing villagers to coordinating interests."

"Show me when you're done writing."

"OK."

Wu Xiang pushed open the door and went out.

Yang Fan sat back down in his chair, stroking his chin as he stared at Wu Xiang as he walked away.

This guy is really interesting!

He's the nephew of Wu Chunlin, a future provincial party secretary, and he's here to get some experience.

Before he arrived, he was still wondering—would this person be a scapegoat? Would he boss people around? Would he try to steal the credit and attention?

As a result, Wu Xiangqian spent most of that year taking bullets.

He received phone calls from people in the county and city putting pressure on him, and he answered them.

He took the blame when someone wrote a letter of complaint.

When someone tried to take advantage of the cooperative, he blocked them.

"I'm just a bullet shield."

These words, if spoken by someone else, would be polite; but when spoken by Wu Xiang, they are the truth.

Although not many specific tasks were accomplished, a solid firewall was erected for Qingping Township.

If all the cadres who come down to the grassroots were like Wu Xiang—gaining experience and prestige, but not taking credit, not causing trouble, able to withstand pressure, and able to distinguish between what is important and what is not—then no one would be happy to have more of them.

Wu Xiang's voice came from outside the courtyard: "Old Zhou! Add two dishes tonight! Sauerkraut fish and peanuts!"

The cafeteria chef, Old Zhou, called from afar: "Is the Party Secretary treating us?"

"Please invite our hardworking and meritorious Township Head Yang!"

"Okay!"

Yang Fan's lips twitched. This man's way of being an official is truly profound!

Even if Yang Fan himself were to evaluate it, Wu Xiang would be credited with the greatest contribution to Qingping Township this year.

He created an environment where the government was efficient, people were harmonious, and everything was thriving.

I've learned a lot from the wisdom of the top leader!