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

Jiang Yiming guessed that the other party must have been relieving themselves in the inner room.

"It seems that Zhang Yufeng and Secretary Niu are very close, otherwise Secretary Niu wouldn't be in the restroom while Zhang Yufeng is still waiting in the office."

Jiang Yiming thought to himself.

"County Magistrate Yiming, you've arrived so early."

Niu Baogen smiled and said, "Sit down and let's talk."

"I have just taken office, so naturally I must report to you, Secretary."

Jiang Yiming smiled and said, "I hope you will pay more attention to and guide the work of the county government in the future."

Niu Baogen was quite satisfied with Jiang Yiming's attitude.

"It seems he's not as troublesome as the rumors say."

Niu Baogen thought to himself.

He had heard people say that Jiang Yiming was a troublemaker who didn't know how to respect his superiors and always disagreed with them.

This gave him a bit of a headache. He was even planning to find an opportunity to put him in a bad position, but unexpectedly, the other party took the initiative to come and report for duty.

From this perspective, Jiang Yiming's attitude was quite satisfactory to him.

"Rest assured, County Chief Yiming, I will definitely give full support to the work of the county government."

Niu Baogen smiled and said, "After all, the county government works under the leadership of the county party committee. This is my duty and my obligation."

Although Jiang Yiming's attitude was good, he still emphasized that the work in Xichuan County was led by the county party committee.

Niu Baogen was the Party Secretary, and everything had to be approved by him.

“County Chief Yiming, you’ve only just arrived in Xichuan County and aren’t very familiar with the situation here. Xichuan County’s GDP ranks last, not because our cadres aren’t working hard, but because of our poor geographical location. Plus, we’re in a mountainous area, so compared to other counties, we have no advantages at all. How could any companies possibly come to Xichuan County to develop?”

Niu Baogen said, "Once you've worked for a while, you'll understand what I mean."

"However, Secretary Wei speaks highly of you. He believes you can boost the economy of Xichuan County, and I also believe in you."

"If you encounter obstacles at work, communicate with me promptly. I will fully support you, help you overcome all difficulties, and advance all tasks."

"Thank you very much for your strong support, Secretary."

Jiang Yiming laughed and said, "With your words, I can roll up my sleeves and get to work boldly."

He knew that Niu Baogen might say one thing, but if his decisions harmed his interests, he would probably say something else entirely.

The two chatted for more than half an hour before Jiang Yiming returned to his office.

By this time, quite a few people were already lining up, waiting to report to him.

"County Head, County Head Xue Tongguang, who is in charge of urban construction, is reporting to you."

Since Wang Lifeng was not familiar with the staff, Tang Zhichao personally took on the role of secretary.

"Please invite County Magistrate Xue in."

A moment later, Xue Tongguang entered, led by Tang Zhichao.

After chatting for more than ten minutes, Xue Tongguang left.

Following him, the deputy county head in charge of culture, education, and health, as well as other heads of county departments, successively reported to Jiang Yiming.

Most county-level departments only gave their reports for three to five minutes, but Tang Chen, the director of the Agriculture Bureau, was kept behind by Jiang Yiming for more than half an hour.

From morning until afternoon, Jiang Yiming was communicating with the heads of various departments and listening to their reports.

Jiang Yiming then called Wang Lifeng to listen to the reports from these department heads.

He listened while taking notes.

If he has any doubts or is interested in something, he will ask them to stop and ask.

Around 4 p.m., a noisy commotion came from downstairs.

Jiang Yiming stood up and looked down. There were many people who looked like farmers blocking the gate.

One after another, the leading cadres of the county party committee building went down to the streets, but those people did not leave.

Wang Lifeng quickly figured out the situation and rushed to the office to report to Jiang Yiming.

“County magistrate, they are villagers from Daling Village, Zhaowan Township. They came to the county government to demand an explanation.”

Wang Lifeng reported: "They said that the village cadres favored their relatives in the poverty alleviation work, distributing poverty alleviation funds to relatives with better family conditions, while those farmers who were truly poor did not receive the relevant policies."

“Many cadres went down to do the work, but it was no use. They just wouldn’t leave no matter what they said.”

"I'll go down first. You tell the director of the Civil Affairs Bureau to come over immediately."

Jiang Yiming stood up and quickly walked downstairs.

As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Yu Huafeng, the director of the Civil Affairs Bureau, quickly came up to him: "County Magistrate, I'm downstairs, just about to report to you. I'll go deal with this right away. Please return to your office, lest these troublemakers do something detrimental to you."

Jiang Yiming frowned: "Director Yu, as a Party member and cadre, you cannot put yourself on the opposite side of the people."

“Even if a few villagers do something outrageous, you can’t call them troublemakers. That’s not a word a party member or cadre should use.”

Yu Huafeng's face flushed red, and he quickly apologized, "Yes, I'm sorry, County Chief, I misspoke."

"You don't need to apologize to me; you've wronged the people."

Jiang Yiming said, "You should be more careful in the future."

"Don't worry, County Chief, I will definitely pay attention in the future."

Yu Huafeng nodded quickly.

"Let's go over and find out what's going on."

“Hey, County Chief, I suggest you don’t go there. There are dozens of people here this time. If they get emotional and do something rash that could hurt you, then it would be a loss.”

Yu Huafeng quickly tried to dissuade him.

"So many officials have failed to persuade people. If I don't go over there soon, it will become a big news story."

Jiang Yiming asked, "Director Yu, are you aware of the reasons behind their petition?"

“I come from a rural area, and I know that unless they are forced into a corner, or the village officials have gone too far, most villagers are kind and honest and would never petition.”

"This……"

Yu Huafeng hesitated for a few seconds, and seeing Jiang Yiming's displeasure, hurriedly reported: "County Chief, I know some things. The villagers of Daling Village initially came to our bureau to report the situation. They mainly said that the village party secretary of Daling Village did not follow the regulations and gave the poverty alleviation policy to farmers with relatively better family conditions, while some truly poor households did not receive it."

"Have you verified whether what they said is true?"

Jiang Yiming inquired.

“I sent people to verify, and what the villagers said is all true.”

Yu Huafei said, "I immediately had the office issue a rectification reminder letter, instructing Zhaowan Township to correct the situation immediately. But nothing has been done about it."

"If there's no action, won't you take any further measures? Does that mean you have no other options if the village doesn't change its ways?"

Jiang Yiming said with a stern face, "Or is there a bigger story behind this? Could it be that it involves your relatives?"

"No, no, my home is not in Zhaowan Township, so it has no connection with me."

Yu Huafeng quickly shook his head and said truthfully, "Yao Dayou, the village party secretary of Daling Village in Zhaowan Township, is the cousin of Zhang Yufeng, the director of the county party committee office. It is not appropriate for our civil affairs bureau and Zhaowan Township to take any measures."

"So you just turn a blind eye and let the people criticize our party cadres and our government for inaction?"

Jiang Yiming said with a dark face, "This is a failure of your duty!"