145: Chapter 145 Zheng Zhanzhong's Approval

Helpless, Sun Ning could only look around this simple house.

It seemed that all brick-and-wood houses were designed with two rooms.

The only benefit of this kind of house was that it was warm in winter and cool in summer.

Old Man Ma brought two folding stools and handed them to Sun Ning and Zheng Zhanzhong.

"Leaders, it's not that I'm praising Secretary Xiao Sun, but you really can't promote him. Our township has been completely different since he arrived."

"Not to mention others, just take an old man like me—sweeping the floor and picking up trash in the village gets me 150 yuan a month."

"This life is truly wonderful; who could have had such treatment before!"

"Even the four pigs I raise in the yard can be part of that… what is it called, shares, in the new factory in the village, and they say there will be a payout at the end of the year."

"Grandpa, it's called buying shares."

Sun Ning reminded him at the right moment so the leaders would understand what Old Man Ma meant.

"Right, right, right. That kid Laoshi said my pig-raising skills are good and even wanted to ask me to be some kind of… wen."

"Consultant, Grandpa."

"He said the consultant's salary is even higher, but I didn't even care to go. This 150 yuan is enough for me to drink. That Laoshi begged me, saying I was an old hand at raising pigs back at the commune…"

Then followed a period of Old Man Ma's boasting.

He talked from the commune days to the distribution of land, and then to the Reform and Opening Up.

"Ahem, you're impressive, Grandpa."

Sun Ning interrupted the old man's reminiscence of the glorious years at the right moment.

Although Zheng Zhanzhong already knew the answer, he couldn't just leave; that would be too impolite.

He also realized that this Old Man Ma was a chatterbox, so he quickly reclaimed the floor.

"Brother, since you speak so highly of Officer Xiao Sun, why don't you want him to get promoted?"

"If he gets promoted, what will happen to us? Such a good official should stay here with us for his whole life."

Old Man Ma's words were very selfish.

But, wasn't this also a form of the people's expectation of the government?

Zheng Zhanzhong looked at Sun Ning again; this gaze was no longer just simple appreciation, but a form of approval.

"Brother is right. If Officer Xiao Sun doesn't lead the 50,000 people of Mishui Township to prosperity, I won't promote him."

Zheng Zhanzhong also replied jokingly.

Now it was Old Man Ma's turn to get anxious.

"How can you be like this? I was just praising Secretary Xiao Sun. Why are you taking it seriously? If someone like him doesn't get promoted, then who should?"

Old Man Ma successfully amused Zheng Zhanzhong.

"Alright, I'll listen to you, Brother. Once Officer Xiao Sun lays a good foundation for Mishui Township, I'll promote him. It seems you are very familiar with Officer Xiao Sun!"

"A while ago, Secretary Xiao Sun came to our village for research. He sat on the ground eating with a big bowl, joking around with us old folks while eating, and even explained policies to us. Where do you see officials doing that nowadays?"

"So when he said there would be a payout at the end of the year, you all believed him."

"If we don't believe him, who do we believe? Before, people over 60 in the village could only farm those two acres of land. Since he arrived, by going to the township to wash dishes or something, they can earn two or three hundred a month. He really has our best interests at heart."

Sun Ning and Zheng Zhanzhong walked out of Old Man Ma's house.

"Officer Xiao Sun, actually, I was a bit worried about the county appointing you as the Township Party Secretary."

"I always thought you were good at developing the economy, but not necessarily a steward capable of managing the big picture."

"So when it came time to reward you, I would have preferred to make you a Deputy County Head rather than the 'parent official' for 50,000 people."

"Now it seems I was narrow-minded, equating age with ability."

"You are very good. I am very reassured to have you leading Mishui Township."

"Especially the 'Three Villages' construction you proposed; it is very forward-thinking and very feasible. Write a report and give it to me later."

"Officer Xiao Sun, don't underestimate the work in the township. Though the sparrow is small, it has all the internal organs!"

"If you can do well as this Township Party Secretary, then in the future, you can handle any position."

At this moment, Sun Ning understood the meaning behind Zheng Zhanzhong's look of approval earlier.

When a leader is willing to teach you with earnest words, it means they have already accepted you as one of their own.

"Party Secretary, you flatter me. My original intention was just to make life a little better for the people of Mishui Township."

"I hope you always keep your original intention. In the future, when you come to Zhongzhou, feel free to come and report on your work often."

"Alright, Party Secretary, I will definitely come to bother you then!"

Zheng Zhanzhong left. When he left, he patted Sun Ning's shoulder and kept urging him to work hard.

That manner was as affectionate as it could be.

Everyone knew that Sun Ning had officially entered the leaders' eyes.

Even the attitudes of Qi Zheng and the Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee improved a bit.

But Sun Ning did not stop his pace.

The next day, he went to the Mishui Township Police Station.

While the former deputy station chief was studying in the province, he was taken away by comrades from the County Commission for Discipline Inspection for investigation.

The County Bureau took this opportunity to upgrade the Mishui Township Police Station.

The two deputy station chief positions were taken over by capable subordinates of Zhu Zihao in Mishui Township.

The quota for regular police officers was also fully met.

The Mishui Township Police Station was the talk of the town for a while.

In the words of Station Chief Ding Jun, the current Mishui Township Police Station is united and combat-effective.

The only reason Sun Ning came was for one purpose.

Cracking down on organized crime and evil forces!

The incident with Du Laosan rang an alarm for him.

Mishui Township hadn't had any major incidents in the past, but that didn't mean there weren't hidden issues underneath.

Furthermore, during the half-month of research he did earlier, he discovered that a village branch secretary had tendencies toward organized crime.

It's just that his tendencies weren't as serious as Du Laosan's.

Using the term "village tyrant" would probably be more appropriate.

However, village tyrants must be cracked down on even more.

Sun Ning came precisely to assign tasks to Station Chief Ding Jun and his team.

First, the township Police Station must take the initiative to publicize policies.

Second, once a real-name report is received, it must be investigated thoroughly.

Third, they must be severely handled and punished so that those lawbreakers dare not run wild in Mishui Township.

To this end, Sun Ning even borrowed two cars for the Mishui Township Police Station.

These two cars were the first vehicles purchased since Sun Ning arrived in Mishui Township.

After Sun Ning left, Station Chief Ding Jun immediately began to deploy, and a vigorous crackdown on organized crime and evil forces began in Mishui Township.

And after Sun Ning finished giving his orders, he went to the county town!

Seeing that the main structure of the Government Service Hall was about to be completed, the staffing and various preparations had not yet been carried out.

They still needed to be gathered together for training.

Sun Ning felt like a spinning top, with work everywhere.

The goal he set for himself to conduct another round of research in the various villages of Mishui Township hadn't been completed yet, and he was already dragged over by County Head Feng Yubin.

Now it wasn't just him who was anxious; Secretary Wang Shengli was also very anxious.

As long as the Government Service Hall wasn't put into use for a day, his heart couldn't be at ease for a day.

Zheng Zhanzhong was watching over it!

So for the next week, Sun Ning would be performing his duties as Assistant to the County Head in Gongfan County.

The meeting was held in the County Party Committee's large conference room.

It was not the expanded meeting of the County Government Party Group that County Head Feng Yubin had initially mentioned.

Instead, it was an expanded meeting of the County Government Party Group organized by the County Party Committee.

This time, Sun Ning actually sat on the rostrum, and there were several Deputy County Heads sitting below.

At first, he thought there had been a mistake, but after asking the Director of the County Party Committee Office, he learned that this had been personally instructed by Secretary Wang Shengli.

After all, Sun Ning was the main character today.