Colorful years

1989 is a year that shines brightly in the long river of history, an unforgettable chapter in the history of every Chinese person.

This year, the People's Republic of China celebrated its 40th anniversary, and the entire nation was immersed in a sea of ​​joy. From Tiananmen Square in Beijing to remote border towns; from brightly lit city centers to quiet, secluded rural fields, every inch of land echoed with heartfelt praises to the motherland.

People expressed their love and blessings for this land in their own ways. Grand celebrations were held in major cities, with dazzling fireworks illuminating the night sky and igniting the passion in everyone's hearts.

The cultural performances were spectacular, ranging from traditional opera to modern song and dance, with each art form adding color and splendor to this grand festival.

In that year, Zhang Cong's life trajectory also quietly took a turn. For him, 1989 was both a year full of challenges and opportunities.

Fate seemed to extend olive branches to him multiple times, attempting to guide him onto a new path. Although the road ahead was winding, Zhang Cong always maintained a firm belief and a positive attitude, bravely facing every challenge.

Zhang Cong originally had the opportunity to work in Kyoto, but fate seemed to play a joke on him, and in the end, this beautiful dream did not come true.

Despite setbacks, Zhang Cong did not lose heart; he remained true to his original aspirations and strived toward his life goals.

It is worth mentioning that Zhang Cong and Teacher Bao collaborated to write a long feature article reflecting the glorious achievements of the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture over the past 30 years – “Building Glory with One Heart and One Mind”.

To prepare this report, they delved deep into the heart of western Hunan, conducting comprehensive and meticulous research. They traversed every corner of western Hunan, engaging in heartfelt conversations with local people, listening to their voices and dreams. On this ancient yet vibrant land, they witnessed firsthand the magnificent chapters written by the people of western Hunan with their wisdom and sweat.

In their correspondence, Zhang Cong and Professor Bao vividly described, using detailed information, the remarkable achievements of western Hunan in various fields such as economy, culture, and society; they recounted how the people of western Hunan, under arduous conditions, forged a unique path of development with their indomitable spirit and courage to innovate.

The report, once published, generated a strong response in society. Major media outlets reprinted it, and readers gave it high praise. It not only allowed more people to understand the development achievements of western Hunan, but also earned Zhang Cong widespread acclaim and recognition.

Meanwhile, the establishment of Dayong prefecture-level city brought new opportunities to Zhang Cong. Faced with the reality of blocked upward mobility, Zhang Cong realized that being transferred to a newly established prefecture-level city, especially returning to his hometown, might be a fresh start. The familiar environment and connections in his hometown might provide new impetus for his career development.

So he resolutely seized the opportunity, returned to his beloved hometown, and resolved to contribute his own strength to the development of his hometown.

In the early days of Dayong's establishment as a city, Zhang Cong quickly gained the appreciation and trust of his superiors thanks to his talent and diligence. He made full use of his professional expertise and contributed his efforts to the local development.

He performed admirably in all the tasks he undertook, achieving remarkable results.

After seeing Wei Wei off, Zhang Cong received the important task of preparing the Dayong Daily. This was a challenging yet glorious task, of great significance and value to Dayong, which had just been established as a city.

Without sufficient funding and personnel, preparing for the establishment of the municipal party committee's official newspaper was undoubtedly a huge challenge. However, Zhang Cong was not deterred by the difficulties. He was well aware of the importance and urgency of this task and was determined to do his utmost to complete it.

When Minister Zhang assigned this task to Zhang Cong, he said earnestly, "Comrade Zhang Cong, I am now entrusting you with a glorious but arduous task. I will give you 10,000 yuan in funding and allow you to select one person to complete the preparation and publication of the inaugural issue of the Dayong Daily."

Upon hearing this task, Zhang Cong felt a pang of trepidation. With only 10,000 yuan in funding and one person, the difficulty of preparing for the municipal party committee's official newspaper was unimaginable. But this was the Party's work, a trust and responsibility placed upon him by the leadership; no matter how hard or difficult, he had to rise to the challenge.

In the 1980s, the editing, typesetting, and printing of newspapers were still relatively backward.

The beautification, layout design, and arrangement of newspapers all require the participation of art editors; typesetting and printing require manual operation, and errors can occur if one is not careful.

Zhang Cong was capable of handling all the writing and layout design for the inaugural issue, but the graphic design proved to be a challenge. To ensure the smooth progress of the preparations, Zhang Cong decided to first submit a request report to the municipal party committee regarding the establishment of the Dayong Daily.

In this report, Zhang Cong elaborated on the core issues of the newspaper, including its mission, organizational structure, staffing, funding sources, and office space.

After in-depth consideration and research, he put forward a series of feasible suggestions and solutions. He believes that the Dayong Daily should aim to serve the local economic and social development, focus on people's livelihood issues, and convey positive energy and the mainstream ideology.

In terms of organizational structure, departments such as editorial, interviewing, and distribution should be established; in terms of staffing, a group of journalists with professional competence and dedication should be recruited.

Regarding funding sources, we should actively seek government financial support and broaden funding channels through advertising revenue and other means; regarding office space, we should choose a location with convenient transportation and an elegant environment as our office location.

Zhang Cong's report received high attention and careful consideration from the Municipal Party Committee. After discussion and deliberation, the Municipal Party Committee approved his request and appointed him as the deputy head and director of the office of the preparatory leading group for the establishment of the Dayong Daily, in charge of the daily preparatory work.

Subsequently, Zhang Cong submitted an application to the Provincial Press and Publication Bureau to establish the Dayong Daily, and successfully obtained the administrative license for running the newspaper and a publication number for public distribution.

During the preparation process, Zhang Cong faced numerous difficulties and challenges. A tight budget was a major issue, forcing him to meticulously plan the use of every penny; insufficient personnel was another challenge, requiring him to fully utilize his own skills and those of seconded staff, while also actively seeking support and cooperation from other departments.

In addition, the inadequate equipment and outdated technology also brought great difficulties to the preparatory work.

However, Zhang Cong maintained his firm belief and tenacious perseverance, overcoming one difficulty after another to ensure the smooth progress of the preparatory work.

After several months of intensive preparation and hard work, the inaugural issue of the Dayong Daily was finally published successfully.

When the first newspaper was printed, Zhang Cong felt incredibly excited and proud. He knew that this was the result of his and his colleagues' joint efforts, and also his contribution to the development of his hometown.

The founding of the Dayong Daily injected new vitality and momentum into the local development. It not only provided local people with an important channel to understand local news and information, but also created a favorable public opinion atmosphere and external environment for the local economic and social development.