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

As soon as their car left the county government gate, Yang Fan, sitting next to Su Shunda, turned his head and said, "County Chief, I've had the office notify the administrative center."

Su Shunda nodded without saying anything. It was early afternoon, and the streets outside the car window were quiet; the leaves of several roadside trees were curled up by the sun.

Yang Fan glanced at Su Shunda in the rearview mirror, took out his phone, and dialed the office number. After giving a few instructions, he hung up. He dialed another number.

"Director Wu, this is Yang Fan. The county head will be at the administrative service center in five minutes. Keep an eye on the car; we'll be there as soon as we arrive." Yang Fan answered on the other end of the phone, hung up, and put his phone back in his pocket.

Su Shunda leaned back in his seat, his fingers tapping slowly on his knees.

Yang Fan turned his head to look at the street scene receding outside the car window, but his mind was not on the matter at hand.

Liu Xiangdong went to a meeting in the city, and before leaving, he said, "You represent the county committee to handle this." Su Shunda immediately understood that the tacit understanding between the two was to prevent others from not understanding.

At the last major meeting, the person from the Transportation Bureau who complained was dismissed on the spot; it happened during the meeting.

The cadres present saw it, and the news spread, but the effect of the news was that the county party committee was serious about it at the meeting.

But that was in a meeting room with the door closed, so the people outside didn't see it.

This time is different. Right in front of the administrative center, and in front of so many people who came to handle their business, the county head personally dismissed the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau. In less than a day, the news would spread throughout the entire county.

This further solidified the government's authority among officials and strengthened its credibility among the masses.

Yang Fan suddenly realized—Liu Xiangdong and Su Shunda had no intention of dealing with them one by one.

What they wanted was for this decisive action to make everyone in the county who believed in "following the procedures" back down. They wanted to show those who still considered their approval authority as their personal property what would happen if it were revoked.

The car stopped at the entrance of the lobby. Before he even opened the car door, Su Shunda's expression changed. His brows furrowed slightly, and his lips were pursed into a thin line.

A crowd had already gathered in the hall. Su Shunda pushed open the door and went in, with Yang Fan following behind. They looked around and saw that Yang Zhen, the leader on duty today, and Wu Zhenhua, the director of the petition office, were standing in front of window number two. Beside them stood a tall, thin middle-aged man wearing a faded blue cloth shirt, clutching a stack of documents so tightly that the edges of the documents were soaked with sweat.

Liu Dehai, the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, stood by the window with an indifferent expression. Seeing Su Shunda enter, Liu Dehai's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words back.

Su Shunda walked straight up to the individual business owner.

"Comrade, you've been wronged."

The shopkeeper was taken aback. He didn't recognize Su Shunda, but seeing the situation and the people around him making way, he opened his mouth and said, "I..."

Su Shunda extended his hand. "My name is Su Shunda, the county magistrate of Ninghe County. I will handle your matter today. I will not leave until your matter is resolved."

The merchant rubbed his hands on his trousers before grasping Su Shunda's hand. "County Chief... I, I just want to get the license processed, I'm not trying to cause trouble."

"This isn't about causing trouble." Su Shunda released his grip. "This is our problem."

Su Shunda turned around and looked at Liu Dehai.

"Comrade Liu Dehai. As the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, you shirked responsibility and passed the buck when faced with the problems left by the masses, trying to send them away with a simple 'follow the procedure'—the county party committee has decided to remove you from your post as director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau."

The indifferent expression on Liu Dehai's face shattered instantly.

"County Magistrate! You can't—" Liu Dehai took a step forward, his voice rising, "I'm just following the proper procedures—the documents really can't be found, this is just normal review, how can you call it shirking responsibility? I don't accept this!"

Su Shunda didn't move. "If you're not satisfied, you can appeal to the county discipline inspection commission or report it to the city. But the county committee's dismissal of you is effective immediately."

Liu Dehai's hand stopped in mid-air, his fingers began to tremble, first his hand, then his arm, and finally his whole body collapsed to the ground as if his spine had been pulled out.

Yang Fan stood two steps away and saw that Liu Dehai's eyes were red and his lips were trembling, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Liu Dehai tried to push himself up on the ground a couple of times, but couldn't get up. A few seconds of silence followed, then he suddenly struggled to his feet and staggered towards the merchant.

The merchant instinctively took a half step back, and Liu Dehai grabbed the merchant's leg, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Brother, brother—I was wrong, please forgive me this time? Please say something for me, please say something for me—"

The merchant stood there, unsure what to do with his hands. He moved his lips, looked down at Liu Dehai lying on the ground, then looked up at Su Shunda, but ultimately said nothing.

I dared not respond, nor dared I push him away.

Su Shunda glanced at Liu Dehai and waved his hand. "Someone, help him away first."

Two staff members stepped forward and helped Liu Dehai up from the ground. As he was being carried out, Liu Dehai kept turning his head and shouting, "County Chief—County Chief, please reconsider—"

The sound faded into the distance, eventually being shut out by the glass doors of the lobby.

Su Shunda turned around and said to the merchant, "Don't worry, no one will cause you any trouble afterward. If anyone does—" He turned his head away, and Chen He, the county magistrate's secretary, immediately stepped forward, took out a business card from his pocket, and handed it over with both hands.

"Come directly to the county government to find me," Su Shunda said. "Xiao Chen, give this comrade your phone number."

The merchant took the business card, glanced at it, then looked up again. "County Magistrate...it's me."

"Get it done today." Su Shunda pointed to the window. "Go over there now, I'll watch you get it done."

The merchant, clutching his business card, walked to the window. Inside, the staff were already seated at their computers, typing away rapidly.

Suddenly, someone in the hall started clapping. First a few people, then a whole crowd, the loud applause shattering the previous silence.

Su Shunda raised his hands and pressed them down. The applause didn't stop immediately; it continued for a few more seconds.

"Comrades," Su Shunda's voice wasn't loud, but the hall was so quiet that every word seemed to land on the floor, "this isn't something for you to praise. This is our problem, and I'm here to deal with my own!"

The applause rang out again, even louder than before.

Chen He, the government office secretary standing next to Yang Fan, suddenly leaned close to Yang Fan's ear and whispered a few words.

Yang Fan frowned, quickly walked to Su Shunda's side, and whispered, "County Chief, I got a call from the office. A company is making a fuss about withdrawing its investment."

Su Shunda's expression remained largely unchanged; he simply nodded slightly. He turned to Yang Zhen, the supervisor on duty, and said, "Minister Yang, you are in charge of the situation. Learn from today's events."

Su Shunda glanced at Yang Fan again, "Let's go."

The two quickly left the hall. As the car door closed, Yang Fan saw in the rearview mirror that the crowd at the entrance of the hall was still peering out. Some people were offering each other cigarettes, and others were talking loudly. Laughter and voices were mixed together, and it was difficult to hear clearly through the car window.