The Official Ladder: I ascend to the pinnacle of power, wielding the power of life and death.

"Yiming, I'm sorry, I put your song on my MP3 player, but my colleague accidentally shared it, and now the song is everywhere on the internet."

Li Muyao sincerely apologized: "I'm so sorry, I didn't keep the secret well."

"Senior sister, you don't need to blame yourself too much. I also saw this song online. It's credited to an anonymous person, and nobody knows it was me who sang it. Even if they did, it wouldn't matter. I only mentioned it to you because I didn't want to cause trouble. You don't need to worry about it."

"The Brightest Star in the Night Sky" is a relatively positive and uplifting song, so it doesn't matter if people know that he sang it.

"As long as you're not angry."

Li Muyao visibly breathed a sigh of relief: "When are you leaving Jiangcheng?"

"tomorrow."

Jiang Yiming said, "I need to go back to Xinping County."

"Okay, then I'll come to Xinping County to see you again when I have the chance."

"You're welcome to visit often, senior sister."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yiming returned to his dormitory.

Li Xinhou, deputy director of the Yiyang Municipal Party Committee Office, Song Zichen, executive deputy county head of Dahong County, and Shen Haiping, deputy secretary of the Jingshan County Party Committee of Linjiang City, came to his dormitory.

They carried peanuts and beer.

“Secretary Yiming, Mayor Pingchuan, we’ll be parting ways tomorrow. Let’s have one last chat.”

Li Xinhou laughed and said, "I originally planned to go out for dinner tonight, but the school organized a group meal, so I had to cancel. After leaving the cafeteria, I bought some peanuts and beer with County Chief Zichen, thinking we could get together again."

Jiang Yiming glanced at it; it was just three cases of beer, enough for five people to finish without affecting tomorrow's graduation ceremony, so he didn't say anything.

The five of them drank until after 11 p.m., then agreed to get together again sometime before parting ways.

The graduation ceremony was held the following day. Minister Lei Liang was unable to attend due to other commitments, but representatives from the Organization Department attended the ceremony.

As expected, Jiang Yiming was awarded the title of outstanding student.

After the ceremony, everyone began to return to their respective places.

After saying goodbye to Yi Pingchuan and the others, Jiang Yiming returned to Xinping County.

Upon returning to Xinping County, Jiang Yiming made a high-profile visit to Standing Committee members Jiang Xuangui, Zhang Yuntao, and Wang Xianming, and briefly reported on the training situation.

"Secretary Yiming is truly a shining star, a dazzling presence wherever he goes. I never expected that he could receive the title of outstanding student during training at the Provincial Party School. He is truly exceptionally capable and has brought honor to our Xinping County."

Jiang Xuangui praised.

"Secretary Xuan Gui is too kind."

Jiang Yiming said, "Secretary Xuan Gui, I would like to ask you for two days off. I enrolled in a part-time postgraduate program at Peking University, and the certificates will be issued in the next couple of days. I would like to go to the capital to collect the certificate in person. I wonder if the Secretary will approve it."

"That's good. You go ahead with your work. It won't make a difference whether you come back a couple of days earlier or later. We'll talk about it when you get back."

Jiang Xuangui wished Jiang Yiming would stay away from home forever.

"Thank you for your understanding, Secretary."

After his visit, Jiang Yiming stayed in his office until 6 p.m. before leaving. He didn't even use a public car, but instead had Jiang Yongchen take him to the capital.

7 PM, at Zhang Yuntao's home.

Ding Yi, director of the county government office, was plotting something with Zhang Yuntao.

“Ding Yi, as far as I know, Jiang Xuangui went to the city tonight and is not expected to return until Sunday night. Now that Jiang Yiming has also returned to Xinping County, I think we can begin our operation.”

"I also think that the next two days are the best time to take action. Tomorrow is Saturday, which is a day off for faculty and staff, and some medical staff will also be off. This time is very conducive to them going to cause trouble."

Ding Yi said, "Director Chen called and said that Old Man Lu is being held by him and can be released at any time."

"Moreover, he has already reported to Director Du Zhengqiang, and he has agreed to release the person."

Seeing that everything was ready, Zhang Yuntao took a deep breath and said, "Okay, go and make the arrangements. Remember, the fewer people who know, the better. Don't let anything slip by."

"Don't worry, County Chief, I will be extra careful."

Ding Yi said earnestly, "Even if I am exposed, I will take full responsibility and will absolutely not implicate you, County Chief."

"Okay, I trust you to handle things."

Zhang Yuntao patted Ding Yi on the shoulder and said, "Contact me anytime if anything happens."

"Yes, County Magistrate."

After Ding Yi went out, he made a few phone calls.

Around 9 p.m. that evening, Lu Huagang, a teacher from the county's No. 1 Middle School, who had been detained at the Duliu Subdistrict Police Station, was released.

Lu Huagang is around fifty years old and has taught at the county's No. 1 Middle School for nearly thirty years. He has taught countless students, and dozens of his students have returned to various schools in Xinping County to become teachers.

He admires the chivalrous heroes in Jin Yong's novels and is himself a generous and righteous person who always tries to help those in need.

He also holds a certain position among teachers.

When he didn't receive his salary in March and April, he led a group of teachers to petition at the county government compound. After receiving no effective response, he then led people to the city.

He was stopped by the stability maintenance office, detained for two days, and then released. He was kept under constant surveillance.

In April, the county promised him that they would pay him half a month's salary first, and the rest would definitely be paid the following month.

By the end of May, he still hadn't received his salary, so he organized another group to petition. Unsurprisingly, he was arrested again.

He originally thought he would be in jail for half a month before he could be released, but to his surprise, he was released on the third day.

Several friends came to visit him when they learned that he had returned.

"Old Lu, if it doesn't work out, let's stop petitioning. We can't fight against the officials. There's an old saying that goes, 'The common people can't fight against the officials,' otherwise we'll be the ones who suffer."

An old friend said, “We were just petitioning normally, but you were arrested for no reason. It’s outrageous. After you were arrested, we tried to contact people everywhere, but it was no use. They said it was Jiang Xuangui’s order. Think about it, when the top leader speaks, who dares to interfere?”

Another old friend said, "Yes, so many people haven't been paid, and they haven't caused any trouble, but we've petitioned time and time again. In the end, we took all the blame, while they got away scot-free. Even if we do get our wages, they won't give us a single extra penny, and those people won't thank us."

"So let's just let this go, otherwise they'll arrest us again, and we'll be the ones who suffer in the end."

“I know what you mean, but if we all cower in fear, those corrupt officials like Jiang Xuangui will become even more unscrupulous. This time they delayed paying our salaries for three months, next time it could be a year or even longer.”

Lu Huagang said, "We cannot sit idly by and wait for our demise. We must continue to petition. As long as the matter is not resolved, I will not rest for a single day."

"You're such a stubborn mule, I just can't persuade you."

The two friends sighed.

"Thank you for your kindness, my two old brothers. I will not give up easily."

As they were talking, the landline rang.

Lu Hua had just answered the phone when he asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Are you Teacher Lu Huagang?

"Hello, this is me. What can I do for you?"

“I am one of the seven thousand faculty and staff members. Please forgive my cowardice and incompetence. I dare not confront those officials head-on like you have.”

A man spoke into the microphone, lowering his voice and deliberately concealing his true voice.

"But I can offer some ideas that you can use as a reference."

"Jiang Xuangui is going to the city tomorrow, and the other leaders are also busy with their own affairs. The next two days will be a good opportunity."

"At that time, you can have most of the faculty and staff petition in the county, send a group to petition the municipal party committee, and find a dozen or so shrewd people to report directly to the province. In this way, Xinping County's main attention will be focused on the county. As for the other two groups, they may overlook them. Even if they discover the petition in the city, you still have a group of people who can rush to the province."

"Don't buy bus or train tickets to the provincial capital, they can find out. I suggest you split up and take different buses to other counties around Yiyang, and then each take a bus to the provincial party committee compound."

"Presumably, this way we can break through all the obstacles, meet the provincial leaders, and report our true situation to them."