Chapter Twenty-One: The Impact of an Article

PS: The story has made it to the recommendations list—everyone, please add it to your collections...

Li Ping was only twenty-five, yet he had already held the position of deputy director at the county party committee office for two years. Even the director himself treated him with the utmost respect, never daring to be dismissive. Were it not for his youth and lack of seniority, his position might have risen even higher by now.

For all of this, he owed the greatest gratitude to his superior. If not for the newly-appointed county party secretary, Guo Haijun, who personally chose him as his secretary, Li Ping would have remained an obscure office staffer, left to draft reports and peruse newspapers in anonymity. Therefore, he never allowed himself a moment's laxity in his secretarial duties. With the first light of dawn, he would meticulously plan his tasks for the day, arranging every detail of his leader's schedule and activities, ensuring that nothing, however trivial, escaped his attention.

Two years had been enough to understand another person's habits inside and out. Knowing his superior so intimately, Li Ping would purchase two copies of every relevant newspaper at daybreak—one for the leader and one for himself to read in advance, so that he could offer summaries and reminders before the workday began.

To secure the role of secretary to the county party secretary at just twenty-five years old, he relied on nothing but his meticulousness.

"The Environmental Hazards of the Qiyuan Town Chemical Plant"—Li Ping frowned and began to read carefully. He was well aware of this factory; it was a Hong Kong-funded enterprise introduced by the current county magistrate, Bai Qiusong, who had personally accompanied investors in selecting the site, finally establishing it in Qiyuan Town. Now the plant was being criticized, and he could well imagine the displeasure of those involved.

Finishing the article with care, Li Ping had no time to marvel at the author's keen analysis and fresh perspective. He quickly jotted down the key points on a blank sheet of paper, placed the article atop the stack, and delivered it to Guo Haijun's office.

"Xiao Li, did you buy today's Lihua Morning Post?" Guo Haijun inquired the moment he entered the office, visibly energized.

"I did, sir, and it's already in your office," Li Ping replied, setting aside his own work at once.

"Good. Go notify everyone—we have a meeting today." With that, Guo Haijun strode into his office, leaving Li Ping standing there, surprised.

At thirty-seven, to have ascended to the role of county party secretary filled him with satisfaction and pride, but also immense pressure. Upon arriving in Lihua County, he quickly realized how severe the problems were: the county magistrate himself led cliques and factions, making Guo Haijun's work exceedingly difficult.

At first, every step was a struggle. It was for this reason he had chosen someone as young as Li Ping to be his secretary. Fortunately, the young man proved sharp and diligent, never making a misstep, which allowed Guo Haijun to trust him completely.

Two years’ effort had yielded gratifying results. The county’s propaganda chief had already sided with him. Articles such as this one about the chemical plant—which implicated the county magistrate—always reached him first, sometimes even in pre-publication form.

Zhang Ye, the author, was particularly adept at writing: his arguments were clear, his structure precise. Ostensibly about the chemical plant, the piece actually targeted the dangers of polluted farmland. As someone who lived and loved this land, Zhang Ye’s article may have exaggerated the harm to local watermelons, but it was grounded in reality and included a thoughtful discussion of future agricultural risks.

To Guo Haijun, this article was the sharp sword he needed to make his move. He had been waiting for such an opportunity, so excited that he barely slept the night before, eager to see Bai Qiusong’s reaction today.

Sure enough, the article ran unedited in the paper. Guo Haijun was relieved and his eyes gleamed with determination.

...

What was said in the Party Standing Committee meeting remained a mystery to outsiders. Yet as the meeting concluded, it became clear that the once-loquacious county magistrate had grown silent, while Guo Haijun, the county party secretary, brimmed with confidence and satisfaction.

The more astute among the staff had already guessed: change was coming to Lihua County.

No sooner had the meeting ended than a prohibition order from the county party committee was swiftly relayed to Qiyuan Town. The Hong Kong-funded enterprise was not heavily impacted at first, but the area soon became a hub of activity. Waves of Qiyuan Town residents flooded in, pressuring the chemical plant to make concessions: they installed wastewater treatment facilities and compensated each household.

...

“Zhang Ye, you’re a genius! Just look at how well our business is doing now.” When Zhang Ye arrived at the shop, Liu Wentao and Zhao Haidong were already busy, flustered but overjoyed.

“That’s right! You have no idea—the moment we opened this morning, a swarm of aunties rushed in. For a second, we thought we were being robbed,” Liu Wentao called out, freeing a hand amid the chaos.

Zhang Ye was just as excited. He grinned, rolled up his sleeves, and joined in the work.

With outsiders present, they refrained from mentioning that the news from Qiyuan Town had spread from their very shop—otherwise, the consequences could be disastrous. But seeing the morning’s results, all of them could not help but rejoice.

After half an hour of frantic sales, they finally saw the last customer out. Rubbing his hands together in excitement, Zhao Haidong laughed heartily at Zhang Ye. “Guess how much we sold this morning?”

Liu Wentao simply chuckled, saying nothing.

“How much?” Zhang Ye glanced at the watermelon stock, now more than half gone, and asked offhandedly.

“Over a hundred yuan!” Zhao Haidong exclaimed. He’d never handled so much money before; even ten-yuan bills were a rarity, only passing through his hands when he bought soy sauce for the family.

“That’s all?” Zhang Ye frowned, slightly dissatisfied.

Liu Wentao’s eyes widened. “You call that little? Ask our neighbors—they barely make that much in a whole day. We did it in just one morning. Isn’t that plenty?”

“Exactly! You saw how busy it was—our neighbors are green with envy,” Zhao Haidong chimed in, thinking Zhang Ye set his sights too high.

“Alright, then let me ask: at this rate, how long before we sell out all our watermelons?” Zhang Ye responded, unfazed.

“Maybe half a month. This is just the beginning. By this afternoon and in the next couple of days, the news from Qiyuan Town will have spread across all of Lihua County. Our business will only get better.” They had bought quite a lot of watermelons, after all; otherwise, with such a turnout, the stock would have been gone in a single day.

PS: Please don’t forget to add to your collections, recommend, and click—don’t leave any of them out. If you have time, leaving a review would be even better; it feels a bit empty otherwise.