74: Chapter 74 A New Year, A New Beginning

The dumplings during the Spring Festival just taste better. This reunion meal was also filled with joy and harmony.

To avoid disturbing the two elders, everyone tacitly focused on eating. Drinking? That was for the second round. Getting drunk at the teacher's house until midnight wasn't appropriate.

At eight in the evening, everyone chose to take their leave, and the wives and children very consciously found their own places. The men all moved to the courtyard house. The drinks and food were just leftovers packed up and brought over. They had been doing this for years, and everyone had formed a tacit understanding.

As the group just stepped out of the residential complex, the hot-tempered Third Senior Brother grabbed Sun Ning, locking him in a headlock. He complained, "Why didn't you come to me when you went to the grassroots level? That fellow Gao Feng in Heyang can't protect you!"

Well, this big shot was still complaining that he didn't come to join him.

Third Senior Brother Pan Yajun, like Sun Ning, was from a genuine rural background. His behavior had a touch of unruliness; there was no sign of the steadiness expected of a high-ranking official in charge of provincial organizational work. Sun Ning's direct decision to go to the grassroots level made Pan Yajun appreciate him even more. Both of them were considered "fools" for giving up the comfortable capital to return to the countryside. Naturally, they felt a bit closer to each other.

"Third Senior Brother, why did you choose to return to Xiangnan back then? I have the same feeling now. I'm just a small fry, and having Senior Brother Gao Feng there is enough." Sun Ning's words left Pan Yajun speechless.

Everyone has their own pursuits, just as he firmly chose to go to the grassroots level after graduation. Everyone also has their own pride, just like Sun Ning returning to Gongfan County.

Upon arriving at the courtyard house, the great battle officially began. When men are together, the topic can never escape power and wealth, let alone the current situation. This battle lasted until midnight. Whoever got drunk early on found a place to sleep on their own. It only ended when there were two sober people left.

On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Sun Ning appeared in the government compound of Mishui Township. Today was his day on duty. During the Chinese New Year, the unit was pitifully empty, and Sun Ning felt a hint of loneliness. In fact, this was easy to understand; it was hard to accept the transition from a lively environment to a working state all of a sudden. The day of duty passed peacefully. The Spring Festival was over, and nothing major happened.

The pace of life in the township was relatively slow. Although, on the surface, work officially started on the eighth day of the first lunar month, the festive atmosphere lasted until the fifteenth. In fact, the township had already held a mobilization meeting on the first day of work, but it was still hard to get back into the swing of things. It wasn't until the sixteenth day of the first lunar month that Mishui Township began to come back to life bit by bit. The workers at the construction sites also returned to work one after another.

If not for the winter, more than half of the various projects in Mishui Township could have been completed. Deep Blue had already made preparations and could start work at any time. 2006 would be the year of economic take-off for Mishui Township. Sun Ning was full of confidence in this year.

At the beginning of the new year, there were many meetings in the county. Arranging the various tasks was quite troublesome. This busyness lasted until the convening of the Mishui Township Peoples Congress. As the convening of the Mishui Township Peoples Congress approached, Party Secretary Xue Hongtao frequently summoned various deputies to the Peoples Congress. He went to great lengths to ensure Sun Ning was elected with a high number of votes. In fact, even without Secretary Xue Hongtao's running around, Sun Ning would still have been elected with a high number of votes.

The tangible benefits Sun Ning brought to the common people since coming to Mishui Township were visible to the naked eye. Every construction site needed workers; there were huge gaps for masons, carpenters, and laborers. And what the countryside lacked least were men willing to put in hard labor. To support their families, they were willing to do any dirty or tiring work. In the last two months of the previous year, many women also earned their first wages outside of farming. All the common people in the township were grateful for Sun Ning's kindness.

Not to mention the teachers; improving their working environment goes without saying. As soon as the land payment for the Mishui Township cross-shaped commercial street arrived, Sun Ning paid off the overdue teachers' salaries. Moreover, at the end of the year, he gave every teacher a large year-end bonus. Therefore, the votes from the teaching community were guaranteed.

As expected, on the day the Mishui Township Peoples Congress was held, although Sun Ning did not pass with a unanimous vote, his approval rating was quite high. During his inauguration speech, he finally revealed his grand plan. That report, which could easily be used at the County Government level, was undoubtedly a nuclear bomb for Mishui Township. What great ambition Sun Ning had! According to his plan, Mishui Township would be another economic growth pole connecting Gongfan County and Zhongzhou City. If done well, the development potential of Mishui Township would not be inferior to the county seat. However, none of the deputies below doubted Sun Ning's words too much. He had already proven his ability, even if only a small part of it. And on this very day, Township Head Sun became the true, de facto Township Head of the Mishui Township Peoples Government.

After the Peoples Congress concluded, there were no other major events. The personnel arrangements in Gongfan County did not develop as Sun Ning had anticipated. Vice Mayor Wang Pingan still managed to secure the position of non-standing committee member and Vice-County Mayor. The matter of Xie Zhiyuan succeeding Vice-County Mayor Pi Yingshi had come to an end. This round was considered a loss for Vice Mayor Wang Pingan. As for what kind of sparks would fly between the two Wangs, that had nothing to do with Sun Ning.

At this time, Sun Ning was in the mountain hollow of Mingyue Village. For this period, he planned to stay in this small mountain village. Looking at the winding and rugged mountain road before him, Sun Ning sighed at the level of road development in the future. In that time, every place with a village had cement roads. However, Sun Ning knew that the major project of connecting every village with roads was about to begin. Senior Brother Liu Zhiyuan had also revealed a lot of information to him.

Accompanying Sun Ning was Village Party Secretary Tian Lei of Mingyue Village. Village Party Secretary Tian Lei was one of the younger Village Party Secretaries among the many villages in Mishui Township. He was a former soldier and an upright man. Sun Ning had dealt with him a few times before and quite appreciated his character. At this moment, the two were wandering around the hilltop of Mingyue Village.

The natural scenery of Gongfan County was not very outstanding, and it was far inferior to the neighboring Fengzhou City. The few scenic spots worth developing were not within the boundaries of Mishui Township. Therefore, Sun Ning did not intend to waste time and effort developing tourist spots that would end up with no visitors. He knew the final outcome of those tourist towns developed in clusters. He wanted political achievements, but even more so, he wanted the common people to receive real, tangible benefits, rather than spending huge sums of money to develop 'unfinished projects' that no one cared about.

"Township Head, what's there to see in these cave dwellings? Except for those old folks, no one lives here anymore." Village Party Secretary Tian Lei was very puzzled by Sun Ning's actions. This Township Head had just arrived in Mingyue Village and, without even going to the village office, had dragged him straight into the mountains. Village Party Secretary Tian Lei didn't understand; which leader doesn't hold a meeting first when they arrive? This one, however, left his motorcycle at the village office and wanted to visit the cave dwellings, without even a single accompanying staff member by his side.