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

"Think about it, why is it difficult to attract investment in some places? Because businesses don't trust you!"

Why do so many people petition the government? Because they don't trust that grassroots organizations can solve problems.

The collapse of trust is insidious but deadly—it doesn't directly appear in GDP statistics, but it can compromise the effectiveness of all policies during implementation.

Can a good policy be implemented if the people don't believe in it? Can a good measure be put into practice if businesses don't believe in it?

A service-oriented government is about rebuilding trust. When people realize that their complaints are genuinely addressed and their problems are effectively solved, they are more willing to speak up. Their feedback becomes the government's most valuable basis for decision-making. Because only they know where policies go wrong or deviate from their intended path during implementation.

Once this model is proven successful, economic development will no longer depend on resource endowments and preferential policies.

Businesses invest in Qingping not because of its mountains and rivers, but because of the government's high efficiency and excellent service.

This kind of competitiveness cannot be learned or moved by others. Because it's not written in documents, but engraved in the actions of every cadre.

Meeting the approving gazes of the three, Yang Fan spoke at length.

"Have you considered how this 'service-oriented government' you're talking about differs from Aquino's 'service-oriented government'?"

"Aquino's 'service-oriented government' is essentially about controlling the size of the government—making the government smaller."

"That's Western logic. What I mean by a service-oriented government isn't about shrinking the government, but about changing how the government operates. It's not about not doing anything, but about doing it in a different way."

Su Huaishan held his teacup, glancing past the rim at Fang Yizhou.

Fang Yizhou closed the draft.

"Yang Fan, what you just mentioned—the first-contact responsibility system, time-limited completion, and the solidification of the duty leader system—are not new things when viewed individually. But you've strung them together and used the concept of 'service-oriented government' to guide them, forming a complete closed loop. This is not just experience—it's a methodology."

The living room was quiet for a few seconds.

"Yang Fan, I'll keep your draft! I'm currently working on a research project about grassroots governance models. Your concept of 'service-oriented government—from theory to practice' can serve as a core case study for the project."

He paused for a moment, then said, "If you'd like, we can co-write a paper."

Yang Fan took the business card, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"Professor Fang, you can just write it. If you need any materials, just ask me. I'm only a novice..."

"Academic deficiencies can be made up for," Fang Yizhou said, picking up his teacup. "But what's truly remarkable is getting the job done and then being able to explain the rationale behind it."

Su Huaishan leaned back on the sofa, looking at Yang Fan, his lips pressed together, but he couldn't suppress the smile.

"Yang Fan."

"Um."

"Have you ever thought about turning what you did in Qingping into a theory that can be disseminated?"

Yang Fan opened his mouth.

Su Huaishan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and leaned back on the sofa.

"Yang Fan, Professor Fang and I have actually discussed your concept of a service-oriented government several times in the past few days."

"After the discussion, there's a problem," Su Huaishan put down his teacup. "Qingping Township is too small. No matter how well it develops, it can't compensate for the fact that Qingping is just an atypical town with little land, a small population, and many mountains."

The living room fell silent as everyone stared intently at Su Huaishan.

"One township, nine administrative villages, and about 12,000 people. It has no industrial base and no transportation advantages. Hengtong and Ruilong's investments are for tea and mountain delicacies, not for your service-oriented government." Su Huaishan's voice was unhurried.

"The system you promoted in Qingping—first-contact responsibility, time-limited completion, and duty officer system—might work in an agricultural township. But what about in a county seat? What about a county with an industrial park, pressure to attract investment, and a population of hundreds of thousands?"

Fang Yizhou continued, "The core case study in a paper must have universality. The experience of Qingping Township can serve as a footnote, but it cannot be the main body of the argument. If your set of ideas can only be implemented in a small township of 10,000 people, then its value is diminished. People will say—that's a special case, and it doesn't meet the conditions for widespread application."

Su Huaishan nodded: "That's right! But if this concept can be fully implemented and effectively achieved in a county—especially a county with characteristics that are applicable to Handong or even the whole country—then the value of this paper will be different."

He picked up his teacup but didn't drink. His gaze swept over the rim of the cup, first glancing at Yang Fan, then at Liu Xiangdong.

A smile slowly crept onto his lips.

Yang Fan's heart stirred.

He followed Su Huaishan's gaze and glanced at Liu Xiangdong.

Liu Xiangdong sat on the armrest of the sofa, his face calm, but Yang Fan noticed that he tapped his fingers lightly twice on his knee, a small gesture people make when they are thinking about something.

Although he was not a standing official in the Organization Department of the Municipal Party Committee, he was still clearly at the level of a full-fledged division chief.

If they were to be transferred to lower levels, would it be as county party secretary or county head?

Given Liu Xiangdong's years of experience and shrewdness in the municipal party committee's organization department, coupled with his adeptness at maneuvering within the department, it seems unlikely he'll escape becoming the county party secretary.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, all the fragments were instantly pieced together.

Liu Xiangdong had worked in the Organization Department of the Municipal Party Committee for several years. He was familiar with the procedures, had a wide network of contacts, and knew the regulations on the appointment of cadres by heart.

He is a deputy minister at the level of a division chief. What he lacks is not rank, but a solid track record of governance achievements.

If he could be assigned to a county and spend two or three years implementing the concept of a service-oriented government, coupled with Fang Yizhou's highly valuable thesis...

Even if he wasn't the one who first proposed this concept, as the first leader to implement it, his name will be inscribed in both policy and academic history.

By then, being a department-level official would be just the beginning, and the one-in-a-million provincial or ministerial level would no longer be an insurmountable barrier for him.

Yang Fan turned his gaze back.

Only then did he realize how easily his policy, which he had only promoted for two or three months, had caught the attention of Principal Su Huaishan and Professor Fang Yizhou.

It's likely that Liu Xiangdong found the materials submitted by Qingping at the Municipal Party Committee's Organization Department, saw their significance, and then proactively showed them to Su Huaishan.

He became interested in this concept. Today, he was nominally an observer, but in reality, he listened to the whole thing from beginning to end. It was Liu Xiangdong who took the initiative to contact people at all levels and push this matter forward!

This deputy minister's senior colleague has a damn sharp eye.

Yang Fan looked up at Su Huaishan: "Teacher, please tell me, what do you need me to do?"