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

On the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year, before dawn, Yang Fan ate dumplings with his parents.

Yang Degui squatted at the door smoking a pipe. His mother stuffed three boiled eggs, a bag of fried dough twists, and two bottles of homemade persimmon vinegar into his bag.

The bag was so bulging that the zipper couldn't be closed.

"Mom, stop blocking the way! We can buy it on the street!"

-

Yang Fan started from Yangjiayu, took a tractor to the town, then a minibus to the county, and then a long-distance bus to Jingzhou. He changed buses four times along the way and arrived in Jingzhou in the afternoon.

He bought some tangerines and milk from the fruit stand at the school gate.

The stall owner tied it up with a rope for him, then shoved it into his hand: "Young man, visiting relatives?"

Yang Fan smiled, didn't reply, and carried his things into Handong University.

The campus was deserted, and Yang Fan headed straight for the family dormitory.

First, I went to Principal Wang Jianmin's house and chatted for half an hour.

Wang Jianmin asked about Qingping's tea planting expansion plan for this year, and also inquired about the cooperative's situation. Yang Fan answered all his questions, and Wang Jianmin nodded without saying much more.

When we arrived at Song Huaiyuan's house, Song Huaiyuan was hunched over his desk flipping through documents, his reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and a book titled "Chinese Tea Tree Varieties" was spread out on the table.

Seeing Yang Fan enter carrying things, she took off her glasses and pointed at him.

"Reserve two jin of that little jar of tea for me this year. I sent last year's batch to an old classmate from Hanjiang Agricultural University, and he called to ask if we still had any."

"Yes, I'll save three jin for you from the first batch of shoots this year."

Song Huaiyuan was satisfied, but Yang Fan spoke up again: "Professor Song, there's another thing I'd like to ask you."

"explain."

"My hometown is in Yantai City. There's an old walnut forest on the mountain, about 70 or 80 acres. The variety is alright, but nobody takes good care of it. I'd like to ask you to send a few experienced graduate students there after the semester starts to see how to properly manage this batch of walnuts."

Song Huaiyuan stared at him for two seconds.

"You little rascal, you're not a high-ranking official, but you've got a lot of demands!"

Hehe~

"Okay, I'll send two people over when school starts."

Yang Fan took his leave and went to see Li Shusheng and Zhou Shiping.

Li Shusheng was writing a paper, with a pile of documents half his height on his desk. He chatted with Yang Fan for a few minutes about the promotion data for apple bagging, and then kicked him out.

Zhou Shiping spent half an hour talking to him about the theoretical model of cooperatives, and finally handed him a newly published book, "Agricultural Economics Research," saying that there was a case study of Xiao Rizi Agricultural Cooperative in it, and told him to take it back and read it.

It was already getting dark when Yang Fan left Zhou Shiping's house. He checked his watch, picked up the last box of milk, and headed towards Su Huaishan's house.

Su Huaishan lived on the third floor of the family building. Yang Fan knocked on the door, and when the door opened, Su Huaishan, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, greeted him.

"You really arrived right at mealtime!"

Yang Fan chuckled and placed the milk by the door: "Teacher, didn't I say last time that I'd come over for dinner during the Spring Festival?"

Su Huaishan poked him with a spatula and stepped aside: "Only you, taking advantage of your young age and thick skin. Which of your senior brothers has ever come to my place for a free meal during the New Year?"

Yang Fan changed his shoes and entered the house. Su Huaishan's house was not big, and there was a round table in the living room.

There were already three or four dishes on the table—sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried garlic sprouts with cured pork, cucumber salad, and peanuts. A soup was simmering in the kitchen, making a bubbling sound.

"Don't just stand there, get your chopsticks and bowl."

Yang Fan quickly went to get the bowls and chopsticks and set them out.

Su Huaishan brought out a large bowl of pickled fish, placed it in the center of the table, and sat down after taking off his apron.

"Have a taste. Your teacher's wife went back to her parents' home. It's just the two of us today."

Yang Fan picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and chewed it twice.

"How is it?"

"It's much better than the cafeteria at our Han University."

Su Huaishan laughed heartily, raised his glass, and said, "The food in the canteen is all communal. Come on, let's have a drink."

The two clinked glasses. Su Huaishan put down his glass and picked up a peanut.

"There's a 'One Township, One Product' competition in the province in May! In previous years, there were only two or three spots available each year, and they were all taken by well-developed areas like Jingzhou and Lüzhou. Qingping, you can apply this year too."

Yang Fan paused for a moment.

"The official documents for this year haven't been released yet, but you can start preparing the materials now. Your small-can tea, the cooperative model, and Hengtong's investment—these three things combined are unique in the entire province."

"Teacher, this evaluation—"

"This was a joint effort by the Provincial Agricultural Commission and the Provincial Economic and Trade Commission. If you pass the evaluation, there will be matching support funds and preferential policies." Su Huaishan looked at him. "The key is to prepare solid materials. I'll have Shiping help you with the review."

Yang Fan's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Thank you, teacher."

"No need to thank me, getting things done is the greatest thanks you can give."

Yang Fan picked up his wine glass, clinked it against his own, and downed it in one gulp.

After eating for a while, Yang Fan slowed down with his chopsticks, seemingly wanting to ask something but hesitating. Su Huaishan immediately noticed his hesitation.

"Is there anything else?"

Yang Fan opened his mouth, then closed it again. Su Huaishan picked up his wine glass, but didn't drink; he just looked at him.

"Just say what you want to say. When did you start to stutter like that?"

"Teacher, I want to ask about Qi Tongwei's matter."

Su Huaishan put down his wine glass.

"I heard he's doing quite well at the Yantaishan Judicial Office, but... Ms. Liang Lu, what about the school..."

Su Huaishan didn't respond, waiting for him to speak.

"He's a graduate student, and he still hasn't even been appointed as a deputy section chief; he's just a staff member—"

"Has he been threatened in any way?"

Yang Fan was taken aback.

"Threat? No."

"Was he suppressed?"

Yang Fan opened his mouth.

Suppression? Liang Qunfeng kicked Qi Tongwei to Yantaishan and blocked his official appointment. Isn't that suppression?

"Is staying at the judicial office considered suppression?" Su Huaishan picked up his wine glass. "Then when you went to Qingping, were you being suppressed by the school?"

"That's different, I applied for it myself—"

"Qi Tongwei was assigned normally; he was assigned to a township judicial office after graduating with a master's degree, which does not violate any regulations."

Yang Fan did not respond.

"You just said that the deputy section chief position hasn't been filled." Su Huaishan picked up a piece of fish. "That's a problem at the city and county levels in Yantai. According to policy, he should have been a deputy section chief in his first year after graduating with a master's degree and starting work."

Yang Fan looked at him.

"In that case, you'll have to figure out the problems yourself."

Su Huaishan meant that the deputy section chief salary was just a formality on paper. If someone had good performance and needed to be promoted later, would you still recommend them for deputy section chief? That would be a problem for the city or county.

The school graduates thousands of students every year; its role is to nurture and educate. The school isn't your parents; it's not you alone who can guide you step by step.

At most, they'll say a word or lend a helping hand when you've been bullied too much.

Yang Fan didn't speak, but his mind raced as well.

"If Fang Hang gets into trouble at that drinking party, I'm afraid the school won't care."

"Only if you prove yourself will the school lend a hand in crucial moments. Otherwise, it's not a university, it's a daycare center!"

The same is true.

"You withstood the conspiracies and schemes before you, which is why Zhou Shiping's article came about and why it made the front page of the Handong Daily. It's not that the school didn't help you; it's that you proved your own abilities first."

These words were like a knife, instantly cutting through the tangled mess in Yang Fan's mind.

It's not that the school is indifferent; it's that the school is watching—watching if you can handle it. If you can, the school will be your support. If you can't, and you can't even stand on your own two feet, who will walk with you?

Yang Fan recalled Qi Tongwei kneeling on the playground. Before he could prove he could handle it, he knelt down. How could the school manage him?

Su Huaishan picked up his wine glass and clinked it against his.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Professor Song just called me about Yangjiayu. This is no problem, but remember—helping your hometown is fine, but you can't overstep your boundaries. You are the mayor of Qingping Township, not the village head of Yangjiayu."

Yang Fan nodded. "I understand."

The two chatted for a while longer, from expanding tea cultivation to the cooperative's profit-sharing plan, from the roads in Qingping to the walnuts in Yangjiayu.

Su Huaishan would occasionally chime in, but he would only touch on key points and then fall silent.

After the meal, Yang Fan helped clear the dishes, and Su Huaishan saw him to the door.

"Send me the completed materials for the evaluation in May so I can take a look."

"it is good."

Yang Fan left the gate of Handong University and walked a long way on the streets of Jingzhou, where the streetlights cast his shadow, making it appear to grow longer and shorter.

Su Huaishan's words were still echoing in his mind.

He suddenly remembered that Qi Tongwei had been staying at Yantai Mountain for almost two years.

In the past two years, Qi Tongwei has done a good job—he wrote in his letters how many disputes he has mediated and how many minor cases he has solved.

But the issue of official staffing has been delayed indefinitely.

Why is he dragging his feet? It's not that he's not good enough, it's that he hasn't opened that door yet.

Yang Fan recalled that he had gone to Qingping on his own initiative.

He used his own money to buy the first batch of paper bags and used three pilot trees to pry open the door to success.

Only then could it be promoted throughout the entire township, only then could Hengtong reach 60 million, and only then could cooperatives be established.

But Qi Tongwei...

Yang Fan made a decision in his heart: after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, he would go to Yantai Mountain.

He wasn't representing the school, he was representing Yang Fan himself. It's only natural for a senior to look after a junior.