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

December 30, 1997, office of the Party Secretary of Qingping Township.

On Yang Fan's desk were three documents: a summary table of the township's economic statistics in 1997, an admission notice for the training program for young and middle-aged cadres at the municipal party school, and a newly printed compilation of basic information about Ninghe County.

After he answered the ringing phone, Liu Xiangdong's voice came through the receiver.

"I've made my decision. Ninghe County, I'll take office on the sixteenth of the lunar year."

Yang Fan stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "Congratulations, senior brother."

"Less flattery, more attention to detail!" Liu Xiangdong's voice was low, each word sounding as if he were speaking in hushed tones.

"Ninghe County, with a population of 530,000, ranked fourth among the seven counties in the city in terms of fiscal revenue last year, neither high nor low."

"The secondary industry is being impacted by coastal cities; some are going bankrupt, others are being sold off, and there are hardly any large factories left. Agriculture is just so-so too. I've been going through materials for a week, and the more I look at them, the less I can sleep."

"Senior brother, you haven't even taken office yet, and you're already working so hard?"

"Nonsense, how many years have you been in Qingping? I was completely lost when I first arrived, no wonder I was exhausted." Liu Xiangdong paused for a moment.

"Have you received the notification for the training program for young and middle-aged cadres?"

"Arrived this morning, reporting for duty on January 5th, three months."

"For three months, you'll stay at the Party School obediently, study hard, and recharge your skills!"

"But we need to polish the draft on the service-oriented government model a bit more—I've already contacted Professor Fang, and the research team is all set up. After your training, let's put this paper into practice in Ninghe!"

Yang Fan held the microphone without speaking.

Liu Xiangdong added, "Your position is also set."

"Member of the Standing Committee of the Ninghe County Party Committee, Director of the County Party Committee Office."

Yang Fan put the cigarette he had just taken back into the cigarette pack.

Member of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee.

He skipped the hurdle of becoming a deputy county head!

Take this step, and you'll find yourself in a whole new world.

But the director of the county party committee office? He leaned back in his chair, staring at the forty-watt light bulb on the ceiling.

"Senior brother, this spot..."

"What, you think your rank is too low?" Liu Xiangdong's tone carried a hint of teasing.

"It's not that I'm a low-ranking official." Yang Fan carefully considered his words.

"The director of the county party committee office, in essence, is in charge of documents, meetings, and receptions."

"I focus more on theory than practice. In the past few years in Qingping, I've been involved in apple cultivation, mountain delicacies, tea production, fruit picking areas, and a service-oriented government—all of which have grown from the ground up. Now that I'm in Ninghe, sitting in an office managing document circulation, I'm really afraid I won't do a good job."

"You should take good care of the documents first," Liu Xiangdong interrupted him. "Do you know what the situation is like at the Ninghe County Party Committee Office right now?"

"What's going on?"

"Last year, the document drafted by the county party committee office was returned three times by the municipal party committee office."

"Three times! Once the data was wrong, once the format was not up to standard, and once the name of the deputy county head in charge was misspelled."

Yang Fan remained silent.

"Get this sorted out first. If the government can't even function properly, how can we talk about the economy?" Liu Xiangdong's voice turned serious.

"Furthermore—don't think you can simply replicate what you did in Qingping in Ninghe. I discussed this with Professor Fang for a long time the other day… A core element of this concept's practical application is the transformation of officials' mindset, which cannot be achieved overnight!"

Yang Fan tapped his finger on the table.

"So your county party committee office is the first stop," Liu Xiangdong said.

"Once you've thoroughly grasped the spirit of the document, standardized the procedures, and cultivated good habits among your staff, we can discuss other things."

"Senior brother, what you're doing..."

Yang Fan didn't know what to say. For him, a transmigrator, this position really offered no opportunity for innovation!

"Alright, even Principal Huaishan agrees. He said you're a bit reckless, so this position is good for you to temper your character."

Yang Fan gave a wry smile.

Liu Xiangdong was also very busy, so he hung up after saying a few words.

Yang Fan slowly put down the phone and stared blankly at the white-painted roof.

Deputy Director.

Taking this step would open up a whole new world. But Yang Fan, the director of the county party committee office, leaned back in his chair, staring at the forty-watt light bulb on the ceiling.

This position is indeed very important.

You are the chief steward of the county party committee; all documents pass through you, all meetings are scheduled through you, and all leaders are invited through you.

The first person the county party secretary sees every day isn't the county head, but the director of the county party committee office. To put it bluntly, you're the county party committee's "chief secretary."

To put it bluntly—you're just a busybody.

Other positions, whether deputy county head or deputy secretary, can all be filled by scrambling to make a name for themselves.

Even if the fire is small, at least it's your own.

However, the sole function of the director of the county party committee office is to serve the county party secretary.

Liu Xiangdong did a good job, and you benefited from it.

If Liu Xiangdong messes things up, you're out of the running.

Are the titles of "one term secretary" and "one term secretary-general" just for show?

Yang Fan lit another one.

He opened the basic information document for Ninghe County. The first page was a brief introduction—Ninghe County, a medium-sized county under the jurisdiction of Ningzhou City, with a population of 530,000 and eleven townships. Last year, its GDP was over 13 billion yuan, and its fiscal revenue was 30 million yuan, ranking fourth among the city's seven counties.

The industrial base is weak, and agriculture mainly consists of rice and rapeseed. A provincial highway runs through the county seat.

That's all. No mines, no large corporations, no special resources.

He closed the document.

An ordinary county, without any special features, truly embodies the characteristic of being universal.

"Isn't Senior Brother Liu afraid of losing this bet and ruining his future?"

Yang Fan, who had been thinking to himself, now made the most of his time to look at the financial report, hoping to analyze the problem of the relatively low fiscal revenue.

There was no other way; his senior brother was taking a gamble, so his junior brother had to give him his full support!

'Knock knock knock~'

"Please come in." Yang Fan said after casually putting the Ninghe County materials into the drawer.

The door was pushed open.

Ding Guoxing came in carrying a stack of reports.

"Secretary, here are the December shipment statistics for mountain delicacies. Mushrooms are almost half less than last month; it's cold, and they're basically impossible to pick on the mountain. However, the shipments of wood ear mushrooms and walnuts have increased, and the drying workshop is doing well—"

"Old Ding." Yang Fan turned around.

Ding Guoxing shut his mouth and looked at Yang Fan's expression.

Yang Fan pointed to the chair. "Sit."

Ding Guoxing sat down, placing the report on his lap, not daring to put it on the table.

"You're the township head, you don't need to come to my office every day!"

Just as Ding Guoxing was about to say something, Yang Fan waved his hand and continued.

"I turned back the clock to January 15th of the year and went to the municipal party school to register for a three-month training course for young and middle-aged cadres."

Ding Guoxing shuddered.

"Youth Training Program, three months." Yang Fan pushed the admission notice in front of him. "For these three months, you will be fully responsible for things in Qingping. You will make decisions on everything, big or small. If you are really unsure, call us and we will discuss it."

Yang Fan patted Ding Guoxing on the shoulder and said seriously.

This is a kind of inheritance. Wu Xiang recommended him back then, which was an affirmation of him; he recommended Ding Guoxing, which was also an affirmation of Ding Guoxing.

Unfortunately, the current situation is that everything in Qingping Township is thriving, things are progressing rapidly, and they are striving to move forward.

But the biggest problem now is that we are afraid that a new secretary with strong backing will come and insist on adding his own mark. If he does, there is no problem. We have a lot of things to do, but only so many people. If something goes wrong in some parts, it will collapse!

The reputation of Qingping Township government has been built up with great effort, but it cannot withstand a heavy blow!

Especially for Yang Fan, who aspires to even greater heights, the better Qingping is, the better he is!

Therefore, Ding Guoxing, the township head who followed the old ways, was his only choice, and only he could follow the old rules.

Going forward, once this process is running smoothly, any new leader who tries to cause trouble will find themselves excluded from the system.

Of course, if it's a palm strike coming from the sky, then let's pretend Yang Fan didn't say any of the above.

Looking at the excited Ding Guoxing, Yang Fan gave him one last instruction.

"I won't be coming back on Saturdays and Sundays for the next three months. I'll visit my alma mater in Jingzhou when I have time, and take a stroll around the village. You need to keep an eye on the current development trends in the area, understand?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Guoxing immediately stood up and made a promise.

Ding Guoxing understood that Yang Fan had relinquished his three months of secretaryship to him in order to increase his chances of taking the position.

Otherwise, he could be notified by phone about some important issues, or he could still do the work that belongs to the secretary when he returns on the 6th.

"Keep it up, Lao Ding!"