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

On the 29th day of the first lunar month, the Organization Department of the County Party Committee notified Wu Xiang to come for a talk.

Yang Fan, who was sitting in the office, was also feeling a little uneasy, and he sighed that he was still just an ordinary person!

Wu Xiang returned quickly, coming back right after getting off work in the afternoon.

"Yang Fan, I'm leaving!" Wu Xiang handed him a cigarette, lit one for himself, and flicked the lighter twice before finally getting it lit. "I reckon I'll only stay for two more weeks at most, then I should move on. What about you?"

Yang Fan took the cigarette, lit it, and smiled.

"Let fate decide, and do our best. Secretary Wu, you have solid connections, but I don't."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xiang pointed at him with his finger and laughed out loud.

"Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore. Hey, let's add a couple more dishes tonight, and have a drink together, you two brothers."

Sure enough, within two days, the county party committee's organization department called the township government office, summoning Yang Fan for a talk.

Yang Fan arrived at the county committee compound early the next morning. He was taken to the third floor and placed in an office with a sign that read "Executive Deputy Minister of the Organization Department".

Pushing open the door, I saw a middle-aged man in his early fifties sitting behind a desk, wearing reading glasses and flipping through documents.

Her hair was neatly combed, her face was round, and the corners of her mouth naturally turned up, making her look quite amiable.

He put down the documents, took off his glasses, looked Yang Fan up and down, and pointed to the chair opposite him.

"Comrade Yang Fan, is that right? Please sit down. I am Qian Wanli, the executive deputy director of the Organization Department of the County Party Committee."

Yang Fan sat down in the chair, his back ramrod straight.

"I've gone through your file several times. You completed your bachelor's and master's degree at Handong University, were the student council president, and were an outstanding graduate!"

"You volunteered to work at the grassroots level after graduation—our Anyang County has recruited quite a few college graduate cadres in recent years, but you are the first one to have completed both your bachelor's and master's degrees. Moreover, you are not only good at studying, but also have strong practical skills. The apples, mountain delicacies, and tea of ​​Qingping Township are all top-notch in the whole province."

Yang Fan didn't respond, waiting for him to continue. Qian Wanli closed the file and leaned back in his chair.

"Alright, enough with the pleasantries, let's get down to business. In accordance with the county party committee's unified plan, we are proposing to appoint you as the Party Secretary of Qingping Township!"

"The main reason I called you here today is to hear your summary of your work over the past two years, your views on the work in the township, and to solicit your opinions on the team members. Speak your mind, no need to prepare a draft."

Yang Fan was silent for a few seconds. He needed to figure out how to say it, but he couldn't be too blunt.

"Minister Qian, when I came to Qingping, the villagers really didn't like me."

Qian Wanli raised an eyebrow.

"Back then, I came here with a postgraduate degree, but ordinary people don't care what kind of degree you have."

He paused.

"Later, when we got into apples, mountain delicacies, tea, and cooperatives, we went through the same steps. First, we did it ourselves, produced results, and then let the people choose for themselves. No matter how eloquently you talk, it's useless. You just put an apple in front of them, let them take a bite, and they'll know whether it's sweet or not. That's more effective than holding a hundred lectures."

Qian Wanli took a pen and made a note in his notebook without looking up.

"Now in Qingping, we have a mature cooperative operation system, two major investors, Hengtong Group and Ruilong Group, and well-known brands such as Xiaoguan Tea and Qingping Mountain Delicacies that are famous both inside and outside the province. Last year, the township's GDP exceeded 60 million yuan, and the per capita income was nearly 5,000 yuan. All of this was achieved by the joint efforts of all the cadres and people in the township."

Qian Wanli put down his pen and looked up at him.

"Okay, let's talk about the issues."

Yang Fan thought for a moment.

"The problem is that the team isn't complete."

Qian Wanli's lips twitched slightly.

Yang Fan continued, "I've been in Qingping for over two years, and the township leadership team has never been fully staffed. There's one propaganda committee member, one discipline inspection secretary, one organization committee member, plus Secretary Wu and myself—that's about it. Most of my colleagues in the township government are doing the work of two people, and working overtime is a regular occurrence."

He paused for a moment, then spoke earnestly. "Now that the roads in Qingping are open and the industries are thriving, it's the perfect time to need manpower. I earnestly request that the organization quickly equip Qingping Township with a leadership team and strengthen its capabilities so that we can fully unleash the potential of Qingping Township."

Qian Wanli smiled, picked up the jar, and took a sip.

"Comrade Yang Fan, your concern is no longer a problem."

Yang Fan was stunned for a moment.

"What is Qingping Township like now? The road is open, industries have developed, and its reputation has spread."

"In the past, when transportation was inconvenient, some comrades were indeed unwilling to go, and the organization could not bear to force them to go."

"But things are different now—Qingping Township is already a hot commodity in the eyes of municipal-level cadres. Your concerns are completely unnecessary. The organization will definitely assign the strongest leadership team to Qingping Township."

Yang Fan thought about it and realized that it made sense. Before the roads were built, those deputy section-level cadres would rather stay in the county bureau and collect a fixed salary than go to the remote mountain village.

Now that the roads are open and the economy is booming, there are several study tour groups from other places coming to visit every day. If you think about it, people will probably be scrambling to squeeze in.

After the conversation ended, Yang Fan left Qian Wanli's office and walked down the corridor. Just as he was about to go downstairs, someone came out from the stairwell.

"Mayor Yang, Secretary Wu requests your presence upstairs."

The person who came in had a smile on his face. It was Xiao Zhang, Wu Aiguo's secretary. Yang Fan nodded.

As he followed Xiao Zhang up to the third floor, the events of the past few months involuntarily flashed through his mind—two truckloads of mountain delicacies, a cooperative proposal, and the room full of smoke in Wu Aiguo's office.

Xiao Zhang pushed open the door and stepped aside to let Yang Fan in.

Wu Aiguo's office was a size larger than Qian Wanli's, with a mountain of documents piled on his desk.

Wu Aiguo was sitting behind his desk, marking something on a notebook with a pen. When he saw Yang Fan come in, he put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and looked Yang Fan up and down.

"Comrade Yang Fan, have you gotten what you wanted?"

Yang Fan smiled sheepishly, his face slightly flushed.

"Secretary Wu's criticism is correct; I did indeed visit too many places before the Lunar New Year."

Wu Aiguo waved his hand, picked up a pack of cigarettes from the table, took one out and lit it.

"None of that matters. If you can't stand up for yourself, no matter how many times you run around, it won't help. I, Wu Aiguo, will not give you this position."

He exhaled a puff of smoke, flicking the ash into the already overflowing ashtray.

"You should know that you've only been the township head for a year."

"One year! The shortest interval in the history of Anyang County from township head to party secretary."

Wu Aiguo stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, leaned forward, and stared directly at Yang Fan.

"I'm letting you take over this position, not so you can rest on your laurels and live off past achievements!"

"Qingping Township is now a model for Anyang County, and even for Ningzhou City. In less than three years, its GDP has risen to third in the county, with the growth rate doubling year after year. This is not luck, but hard work."

"The people are watching, and so are those in power. You must maintain this momentum, understand?"

Yang Fan nodded firmly. "I understand!"

He truly understood that Qingping Township was not only a flagship county and city, but also the foundation upon which Yang Fan stood.

Within the system, whether a person can rise in rank depends on hard work and having a solid foundation.

Qingping is his foundation; the more solid the foundation, the more stable and higher he can stand.

Wu Aiguo stared at him for a few seconds, and seeing that he had taken it to heart, he leaned back in his chair.

"Now that you understand, go for it. Just ask for the support the county can provide. Although I'm almost at my destination, before I leave, Anyang County is still under my control, Wu Aiguo's."

Yang Fan stood up, looking at Wu Aiguo's somewhat dark face, at the messy pile of documents on his desk, and at the mountain of cigarette butts in his ashtray. A complex feeling welled up in his heart.

The middle-aged man in front of me had spent most of his life in Anyang County and was about to retire. He had no other ambition than to make the area under his jurisdiction a better place.

If Yang Fan's project fails, it will just be another unsuccessful pilot project for Wu Aiguo, and it won't affect him much.

But this old man wanted to leave behind a golden goose for Anyang County, thus offending countless interest groups.

Yang Fan bowed silently without saying anything more.