Chapter 7: Opponent

  After the mobilization meeting, several main leaders of the Organization Department left their seats and left Director Wu to introduce the pilot town situation. After Director Wu made a brief explanation, the staff played a more than one-hour special documentary on the big screen!

  When the head of the Organization Department was speaking, these section-level cadres sat upright and didn't dare to glance sideways. The municipal party committee's standing committee member and organization department head attended the meeting, which was a bit out of their league, and no one dared to be presumptuous! When watching the documentary, they were already a bit uneasy, as they were all grassroots cadres who had been rolling around in the towns for many years and naturally understood the situation very well, so there was no need to watch these videos at all.

  Besides, these kinds of reports are all processed by the propaganda department. What is the actual situation in the countryside? How much water is in it? These township cadres know more clearly than anyone else!

  After introducing the situation of the trial town, the staff gave everyone a form. Director Wu introduced that according to the public recruitment requirements, each person can only apply for one position. If the registration situation is seriously unbalanced, the organization department will conduct anonymous lottery adjustments!

  After getting the form, Han Qin carefully read it through and found nothing special about it except for the different job positions. It was similar to the forms she had filled out before, with just some basic information such as name, gender, birthdate, etc. As for which position to apply for, although she had watched a special program about it, Han Qin felt that she hadn't gained anything from it. These towns were all the same except for their names, and there was no essential difference between them!

  Han Qin looked around and saw that these cadres from the towns had already made up their minds and started filling out the forms. Unlike Han Qin, they didn't even need to think about it - they directly reported the pilot town in this county. First, they were familiar with the situation; second, their personal connections and resources were all local, so going to an unfamiliar environment to compete, what chance of winning did they have?

  After a moment's thought, Han Qin wrote down the position of Secretary of the Party Committee of Fenghuang Township, Xiping County. Han Qin had also done some research and found that among the seven pilot townships, Fenghuang Township in Xiping County was the one with the worst conditions. On the day he spoke with Mayor Yan, Han Qin had also sought the old man's opinion, and the old man suggested that Han Qin go to a place with poor conditions, as the worse the foundation, the more noticeable any achievements would be.

  Xiping County was still under the jurisdiction of Bincheng City two years ago, and it is a county that has just been allocated. According to informed sources, this is a preparation made by the central government in advance to make Dongfang City a municipality directly under the Central Government, with the purpose of increasing the depth of Dongfang City!

  Dongfang City originally had four districts and six cities, with four of the county-level cities ranking among the top 100 in terms of economic strength nationwide, and the remaining two also within the top 150. This newly transferred Xiping County was at the bottom even when it was part of Bincheng, so it's only natural that it would be at the bottom after joining Dongfang City!

  As for Fenghuang Township, Han Qin is not unfamiliar either. In his old age, Han Yuchun lived in a township on the westernmost side of Qin Prefecture, adjacent to Fenghuang Township. This township is also one of the backward townships in Xiping County!

  Sitting next to Han Qin was also a cadre from the municipal government, named Sun Jian, who came from the Local Chronicles Office. He was thirty-four or five years old and saw that Han Qin had finished filling out the form, so he asked in a low voice: "Brother, which township are you applying for?"

  Han Qin smiled and said: "Fenghuang Township in Xiping County! These towns have never been visited, just choose one casually! What about you, brother?"

  Sun Jian said mysteriously: "I'm reporting to Hongqi Town, Qin State. Brother, I still have some connections in Qin State, but if I report to other counties or cities, it'll be useless!"

  Listening to this old brother, Han Qin's heart was startled. It seems that being a public servant is also about showing off one's strength! Wherever he goes, it's all just a mess, and if things don't go well, he might really end up as the prince's study buddy!

  In the afternoon, there will be a theoretical exam. In order to facilitate management, the Organization Department requires everyone to have lunch together in the municipal party committee's canteen. More than 100 people, making a loud noise, sat at over a dozen tables. Cadres from the same county and city, who are used to attending meetings together, naturally sat together!

  These township cadres are also very interesting, on the surface they are all smiles and handshakes, calling each other Director Zhang and Mayor Li, you let me be humble and harmonious! In fact, everyone is secretly competing with each other. There are only two positions in a county or city, and more than a dozen people are vying for them, so naturally they will show off their skills like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea.

  Han Qin and his table were all from the municipal government, a total of six people. The organizational department's staff led the team and invited county and city officials to sit down if there was no room elsewhere.

  A clean-looking man sat down beside Han Qin and nodded with a smile: "Brother is the team leader of the Organization Department, right?"

  Han Qin also smiled and said: "No, like everyone else, I'm here to participate in the public election." The white clean man heard Han Qin say this, and looked at him with surprise for a few eyes!

  Looks like this young man is only in his twenties, how can he be qualified to participate in the public election! The registration qualification for the township party committee secretary is a regular section-level cadre, at what age did they start working? So young and already a section-level cadre!

  The fair-skinned man smiled and said, "Brother, which county or city are you from?" Han Qin glanced at this person, who was about 30 years old, relatively young among all the cadres attending the meeting! Han Qin casually replied, "Municipal Old Cadre University!"

  The fair-haired young man shook his head, somewhat puzzled. How could an old university produce such a young cadre? This fair-haired young man was thirty-two years old this year. He had taken special note of it today and found that at the age of thirty-two he was the youngest among the township cadres. Little did he expect that there was another deputy department-level cadre here who was ten years younger than him!

  He looked at Han Qin in surprise, and the white man asked: "Brother, where are you from?" Han Qin replied while picking up dishes: "Xiping County Fenghuang Township!" The white man's chopsticks, which had just been stretched out, suddenly stopped in mid-air! What a coincidence, this guy actually signed up for the party secretary of Fenghuang Township!

  Zhang Tiancheng, a clean and honest cadre, is the current head of Fenghuang Township. Zhang Tiancheng rose from the grassroots level step by step. He was originally an agricultural technician in the township, later served as secretary of the Party and Government Office, deputy township head, and deputy party secretary. Last year, he was promoted to township head. Having worked in Fenghuang Township for over a decade, it has become his base.

  This year, the Phoenix Township Party Committee Secretary is vacant, and Zhang Tiancheng has always thought that he would naturally become the Party Committee Secretary! He has been working in Fenghuang Township for many years and is familiar with the situation. Although he doesn't have any outstanding political achievements, he also hasn't made any mistakes! An important point is that Xiping County's current deputy secretary in charge of party affairs, Wang Youmin, was Zhang Tiancheng's middle school teacher, and later entered politics, becoming a county committee deputy secretary. The relationship between the two men is very close, which is no longer a secret in Xiping County!

  It can only be said that Zhang Tiancheng was unlucky. If he had followed the normal procedure, Zhang Tiancheng might have been able to sit stably in the position of party committee secretary. However, the remote Fenghuang Township was taken out by the municipal party committee organization department as a pilot project, which increased the variables!

  Zhang Tiancheng specially found Wang Youmin, and Wang Youmin smiled: "Take a closer look at the documents, isn't this public election tailored for you? The county has me to support you, and in the final stage, it's up to the party representatives to decide. Your father-in-law has many years of experience in Fenghuang Township, who can pour cold water on that!"

  With a hint from Wang Youmin, Zhang Tiancheng suddenly became clear and confident. What's the difference between public recommendation and public election? It's just a formality! In the end, it still depends on one's abilities to speak out loud! With these powerful conditions, what else is there to worry about?! As for the theoretical exam, Zhang Tiancheng was originally a writer, so he wasn't afraid at all! He was just waiting to take his position!

  The township cadres in Xiping County are all familiar with Zhang Tiancheng's background, so some people deliberately avoid this hard nut and report to other townships. Of course, there are also those who are not convinced, and those who cannot hide. For these people, Zhang Tiancheng did not take it to heart, but only accompanied the young master in reading books.

  Suddenly, another extremely young cadre from a municipal agency appeared, which made Zhang Tiancheng feel somewhat uneasy!