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

June 17, 1998, office of Liu Xiangdong, secretary of the Ninghe County Party Committee.

Liu Xiangdong held a list of approved documents from the Municipal Party Committee's Organization Department in his hand, looking at it over and over three times.

Of the three people reported by Ninghe County, Yang Fan and Liu Haibo, whom he thought might have problems, both passed smoothly.

After all, Yang Fan, who had only been a deputy director for a few months, went directly to the position of executive deputy county head, and Liu Haibo went from deputy county head to organization minister. The leaps were quite large. In the past, one of them would probably have been rejected, but this time they were all appointed without any problems.

With the addition of Ma Bin as deputy secretary, the support from the municipal party committee for Ninghe County this time can be described as substantial.

Similarly, the municipal party committee immediately completed the list of the remaining cadres.

Su Shunda, 49, former full-time deputy secretary of Nanjin County, is nominated to serve as deputy secretary of the county party committee, deputy county head, and acting county head.

I heard a colleague from the Organization Department mention this before, saying it was the style of a nice guy. It seems that this is Secretary Zhao's support for Ninghe County's next move, and also a reward for him for successfully opening up the situation in Ninghe County in just three months.

Yu Chaoyang, 37 years old, formerly the head of the Second Comprehensive Section of the Ningzhou Municipal Party Committee Office, is proposed to be appointed as a member of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee and Director of the County Party Committee Office.

He had met Yu Chaoyang before when he was in the Organization Department of the Municipal Party Committee. He had worked in the General Office of the Municipal Party Committee for a long time and was familiar with the operation of the agency. He was a writer by trade and had never been to the grassroots level.

Han Ming, 41, former deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Ningzhou Public Security Bureau, is nominated to serve as secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Ninghe County.

After Ma Bin was promoted to full-time deputy secretary, the position of secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission became vacant. This person came from the Municipal Bureau and was said to have made meritorious contributions in several major cases, but he had a stubborn temper and did not get along well with several leaders in the Municipal Bureau. This transfer was a lateral move and also a way of getting rid of him.

But for Ninghe County, this person perfectly fits Liu Xiangdong's needs. He has a tough work style and it doesn't matter if he doesn't like dealing with leaders. After all, what the Ninghe County Political and Legal Committee needs next is to rectify its work style, not to solve cases and make meritorious contributions!

Liu Xiangdong placed the list on the table.

It seems that Secretary Zhao is also looking forward to Ninghe County!

Just as he was pondering this, his secretary, Zhao He, pushed open the door and came in.

"Secretary, I see that Director Yang has already greeted Professor Fang, and they will be going upstairs soon."

Liu Xiangdong locked the list in the drawer, got up and walked towards the office door.

Footsteps and laughter echoed down the corridor. A moment later, Fang Yizhou's face, clad in black-rimmed glasses, appeared from the stairwell, accompanied by Yang Fan. The two walked and talked. Behind them followed two young people, a man and a woman, both carrying bulging backpacks.

"Professor Fang, welcome, welcome!" Liu Xiangdong quickly stepped forward and shook Fang Yizhou's hands with both of them.

"Secretary Liu, you've only been in office for a few months, and Ninghe County has already changed dramatically." Fang Yizhou said with a smile, patting Liu Xiangdong's hand.

"I've heard about it all in Jingzhou. It's a steel slag concrete case that, when you pull out the radish, you bring out the mud, and more than a dozen officials have been brought down. Your commotion is quite significant."

"It's all led by the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, with the county cooperating." Liu Xiangdong stepped aside to let the person in, "Professor, please have a seat."

Upon entering the office, Zhao He busied himself pouring tea. Fang Yizhou sat down on the sofa and gestured to the two young men behind him.

"Let me introduce you. This is Zhou Mingyuan, my doctoral student, whose research area is public administration. This is Lin Xiao, my master's student, who is working with me on a grassroots governance project."

Zhou Mingyuan stood up and bowed slightly: "Greetings, Senior Brother."

The person who is about to graduate with a doctorate has already started to have thinning hair and speaks slowly and deliberately.

Lin Xiao, with her hair in a ponytail, also stood up and said, "Hello, senior brother." Her voice wasn't loud, but her eyes were bright.

Fang Yizhou chimed in, "These two students are good-for-nothings, not as successful as you two."

Liu Xiangdong had just picked up the jar when he heard this and almost choked. "Professor, what are you saying—which of your students is a failure? Give your students an example."

Fang Yizhou was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Now that you've become the county party secretary, you've certainly developed a silver tongue."

Yang Fan chimed in, "Professor Fang, people strive for higher positions, water flows downhill, and my senior brother will only get better and better!"

Fang Yizhou couldn't help but laugh at Yang Fan's witty remark. He leaned back on the sofa, took off his glasses, and wiped them with the corner of his clothes.

"Let's get down to business. We've been discussing the concept of a service-oriented government for quite some time now. Theoretically, it's fine; the core challenge lies in its implementation." He put his glasses back on and looked at Liu Xiangdong.

"The experience of Qingping Township is valuable for reference, but it cannot be copied verbatim. Townships and counties have different management radii, different interest structures, and different cadre qualities."

Liu Xiangdong nodded. "The professor is right. Qingping Township was able to start with the fruit-picking area because it only has a few villages, and tourists mainly go there for the local produce. The county is different—it has hundreds of thousands of people, encompassing industry, agriculture, commerce, and education, but there's no single central hub?"

"So where do you plan to start?"

Liu Xiangdong glanced at Yang Fan.

Yang Fan pulled a document from his briefcase and spread it on the coffee table. The cover was printed with the words: "Construction Plan (Draft) for Ninghe County Administrative Service Center".

"Professor, we are preparing to establish a new department called the Administrative Service Center, or the Administrative Approval Center," Yang Fan said, pointing to the first page of the proposal.

"We've moved all the business windows of various departments that need to directly interact with the public and businesses into this hall. Business registration, tax registration, land approval, urban planning—all approval matters involving ordinary people and businesses can be handled in one place."

Fang Yizhou didn't speak, waiting for him to finish.

"Upon receiving the application, the process begins on the spot. Simple procedures are completed on the same day. For complex procedures, a response is given within three days, and the process is completed within seven days." Yang Fan turned a page.

"The first step is to establish an efficient administrative center so that the people can see the efficiency of the government in handling affairs."

"And the second step?"

"The second step is to force internal reforms. In the past, when ordinary people wanted to get a certificate, they had to go to three or four, or even more, departments, and each department had to stamp three or four times. Now all the windows are in one hall, so it's clear at a glance which link is stuck and which window is dragging its feet. Whoever is shirking responsibility will be held accountable."

Yang Fan turned to the last page of the plan. "The third step is to move the petition office next to the administrative center. Reasonable requests received by the petition office will be immediately transferred to the administrative center for processing. Citizens won't need to make another trip; the processing will be handled internally between the service windows."

"Similarly, if you encounter something unreasonable at the administrative center, immediately turn around and go to the petition office to file a complaint. Then, let's see who can save face!"

Fang Yizhou put down his teacup. He tapped his fingers twice on the sofa armrest.

"Are you planning to upgrade the duty roster system in Qingping Township directly into a resident leadership system for the county-level administrative center?"

Liu Xiangdong nodded. "And it has to be a member of the Standing Committee. A deputy county head who isn't a member of the Standing Committee might have problems with coordination—some departments might not even give face to a member of the Standing Committee, let alone a deputy county head."

That couldn't be more blunt.

Fang Yizhou understood. He looked at Yang Fan and asked, "Did you write this plan?"

"I discussed it with my senior colleague." Yang Fan closed the document. "The experience in Qingping Township proves one thing—when government efficiency improves, the people are more willing to trust you. When they trust you, they are more willing to speak up. What they say is what the government should be doing."

Fang Yizhou leaned back on the sofa, took off his glasses, and wiped them clean.

"Moving the petition office next to the administrative center is a good idea. You must always prioritize solving problems. Don't always think that people petitioning are just being unreasonable."

He put on his glasses and glanced at Liu Xiangdong and Yang Fan.

"While there are certainly unreasonable people, most petitioners do have real problems. They've been running around for months or even years without getting their problems resolved, and they're feeling frustrated. If you put the petition office and the administrative center together, they can get their problems handled right next door—this kind of experience is more effective than any propaganda."

After a few seconds of silence, Fang Yizhou stood up, walked to the office window, and looked out at Ninghe County, which shimmered with golden light under the summer sun.

"Okay. I fully support this plan."

He turned around and pointed to Zhou Mingyuan and Lin Xiao. "I'll leave these two students with you for two months. Zhou Mingyuan will be responsible for tracking the establishment process of the administrative center, from the design of the plan to the official opening, and every step must be recorded. Lin Xiao will be responsible for grassroots research, focusing on visiting petitioners and small and medium-sized enterprises to collect their genuine evaluations of government services."

Lin Xiao nodded, and Zhou Mingyuan pushed up his glasses, saying nothing, but his eyes lit up.

Fang Yizhou added, "You just need to take care of their food, drink, and accommodation; don't worry about the rest."

"Don't worry, Professor." Liu Xiangdong stood up. "Ninghe may be poor, but they can afford to provide two meals a day. The problem is, who will take care of the bookshelves and getting updates?"