In November, the leaders of the four set-up groups in Chu County were divided into nine working teams and sent to 45 towns and villages to conduct an annual economic work assessment. This move was a new tactic adopted by Liu Chengyin after he became the Chu county party secretary.

    Chu County was located in the lower reaches of the Suhe River in northern Jiangsu, famous for its “pot bottom basin.” A few years later, a major flood turned the county town into a floating town on the water, and the entire area became a swamp, which alarmed the leaders of the State Council for which Liu Chengyin’s political career in Chu County was like a floating duckweed, drifting in the wind and rain. This was a story for later, so there is no mention of it for now.

    Chu County, with its spider-web-like rivers, naturally relied mainly on water transportation, while land transportation was very backward. Within the county, only seven towns around Lincheng had access to cars, all under the jurisdiction of Lincheng District. Yangshan Township, where Qiu Zhiwei served as secretary, was also under the jurisdiction of Lincheng District. There were five towns in Chu County that had no access to cars and could only be reached by waterways. They were located in the northwest of the county town and belonged to Shuidangzi or the marshes in Chu County. It was truly a case of stepping out the door into the sight of water, where boats were a necessity. These five towns were all under the jurisdiction of Shagou District. Yuduo Town, where Lu Xiaoying served as deputy secretary, was one of these five towns. There were 24 other towns in Chu County, divided into seven districts, some with tracks in operation, some not, and more, some partially in operation and still on water transportation——not possible to list them all here.

    Such transportation was troublesome for the county leaders to visit the towns and perform their inspections, being quite a frittering. Therefore, it was normal for the county party secretary and the magistrate to miss some remote water network towns in a year. Some serving in Chu County even never visited all 45 towns and districts until they left. Such county party secretaries and magistrates did exist in the history of Chu County.

    Liu Chengyin did not hope to become such a county party secretary. As a young man, he returned to his hometown of the passion as an enterpriser, sincerely wanting to do something practical for his fellow villagers. Of course, he also hoped to be recognized and appreciated by his superiors. It was normal as the sole good for young leaders to pursue political progress.

    Liu Chengyin thought that facing such a large number of districts, townships, and villages, not only he as the county party secretary had to go to the countryside, but other leaders in the county also had to follow suit. Additionally, the department heads who had close relationships with township development also needed to. He thought of the working method of “classified guidance.”

    Not having worked in Chu County very long, he instructed the County Party Committee Policy Research Office to re-investigate and analyze the economic development of all nine districts and 36 townships in the county. The investigation covered everything from the scale and quantity of industry and agriculture, to the market influence and market share of industries and products. It also included the situation of key township enterprises, the development potential of enterprises, and the advantages of the local area. Based on this analysis, the economic development of the nine districts and 36 townships was divided into three categories: good, average, and poor. Twice a year, he would hold a large-scale review of the economic work of townships, with one session in June, which was undoubtedly a critical point. After summarizing and analyzing the work in the first half of the year, he would continue to promote successful aspects and make up for and improve weak areas and shortcomings in the second half of the year. Before the end of the year, he would hold another review based on the mid-year review, with the timing being even more critical as it related to the completion of the annual work tasks and how to start and make progress in the next year.

    More importantly, Secretary Liu Chengyin’s “classified guidance” work approach broke the previous mode of only providing work guidance based on administrative regions. During the review, all the good townships in the county were gathered together, creating an atmosphere of competing to be at the forefront. Especially for those townships with similar economic output and development potential, no one was willing to admit defeat or back down. These party secretaries and township leaders were all determined to be second but none, as being in that position brought not only political prestige but also economic benefits. After implementing the principle of differentiated guidance, the county government rewarded the leading towns in economic development with hundreds of thousands of yuan. The envied people were thus all trying to figure out how to work harder in certain areas so they could pocket this money for themselves.

    The top performing towns were competing for the lead, while the towns with moderate development levels were placed together for comparison. Everyone was striving to move up the ranks. The situation was clear——it’s unlikely that the areas with moderate development levels could compete with the towns that had a strong industrial economy and solid foundations. However, now Secretary Liu’s requirement was that the towns with moderate development levels couldn’t settle for being in the middle, never thinking of racing ahead to capture. Over the next six months or year, they needed to see if there were any changes in the ranking of the economic output: up the ranks or fallen behind?

    As a result, the township leaders who initially thought they had no hope of ranking at the forefront, with a large number of followers behind them, could leisurely move up the ranks, and couldn’t no longer sit idly by. While it might not be possible to immediately become the leader in the top-performing towns, it was still a source of joy to secure a leading position within the moderately developed towns. Therefore, the competition to move up the ranks between towns with moderate development levels had become even more intense. Falling behind when they were already at a moderate level would be difficult to explain to Secretary Liu.

    The township leaders not performing well used to feel inferior and inadequate when they attended the county meetings and sat together with the leaders of the better-performing townships. Less in the strength, no use talking! However, some secretaries and township leaders who worked in underperforming townships felt resentful towards those who acted arrogantly. Everyone knew that YOU only managed to jump from the “chaff basket” of the underperforming township to the “rice basket” of the better-performing township, through pull of certain leaders. The term “chaff basket” also referred to the underperforming organizations in general, while the “rice basket” naturally to the better-performing ones.

    These words simply shared the true picture——someone in charge of an underperformed township meant not to be shackled by poor leadership; and someone in charge of a better-performing township didn’t mean to be cracked. The reason why some townships had not developed economically was multifaceted, including such factors as the original foundation, various resources, and so on, all of which were important reasons that affected economic development. It was not entirely the responsibility of the township party secretaries and township leaders.

    Secretary Liu identified the key issue and demanded that we find the “bright spots” in the underdeveloped towns. This time, everyone agreed. In these towns, the basic conditions were similar, so now the key was who could cultivate new economic growth points on the not-so-good foundation. Whoever had new bright spots indicated the progress in their work. And whoever had more bright spots showed greater effectiveness in their work.

    Everything was starting from scratch, everything was starting from zero, everything was starting from the assessment of their role as the party secretary and township chief. As people often said, it was only when you tested a donkey or a horse that you could see its true quality. Suddenly, the assessment sparked the emotions of the incompetent township leaders, and no one was willing to be seen as a laggard. Everyone wanted to stand tall and speak confidently in front of the excellent township leaders. They were eager to showcase their abilities. Through “classified guidance,” the incompetent township leaders were brought together and started from the same starting line to compete together.

    By the end of the year’s try, Liu Chengyin took the initiative to arrange himself to the “Great Northwest” Shagou District of Chu County——the worst of the three poor areas in the county. As people often say, by managing the extremes, one could effectively handle the middle——universally applicable. For Liu Chengyin, focusing on the better of the two extremes was undoubtedly important, but the worse side was also essential because it had the most significant potential for growth; and to some extent, it determined whether the economic development of an area could be fundamentally changed. Unfortunately, many leaders often overlooked this point, but Liu Chengyin did not want to ignore this crucial factor.

    Of course, he chose the Shagou area over the other two poor areas, also because of one person.

    Endless water was the first impression that Shagou District and Yuduo Town gave to Liu Chengyin.

    As it was his first time there, he left the county town on a small boat provided by the County Committee’s transportation team and almost always stood on the deck, closely observing the natural landscape and water utilization along the way.

    A small boat was traveling along the Xia Guan River in a northwestern direction. The boat driver, Xiao Huang, was stewardly slowing down, giving hoops to strike the attention to be smashed against by other farmer’s boats from the surfin a splurge of foam that was cast up by the boat’s speed. This action by Xiao Huang was appreciated by Liu Chengyin, who gave him a nod of approval.

    Unlike other drivers who drove for the government officials, Xiao Huang not only drove for Liu Chengyin, but piloted a boat for him. The car was an old- fashioned Red Flag left behind by the previous county party secretary. When Liu Chengyin took office, the county office was preparing to purchase a new Toyota Crown for him, but he himself snubbed it. Usually, Liu Chengyin rode a bicycle most of the time, only using the old car when the way was long. If land transportation was inconvenient, then it resorted to a boat. For example, when they went to Shagou District for a hearing, Xiao Huang became the helmsman of the small boat. One thing to note was that the Red Flag was exclusively for Liu Chengyin’s use, while the small boat was not fixed.

    The county committee transportation department had more than a dozen small boats usually used by the leaders of the county committee and the county government, dispatched by the head of the transportation department. However, compared to other officials, Liu Chengyin used the boat less frequently. One boat was fixed for him, and most of the time it remained pigeonholed, while other county leaders who went to work in the countryside sometimes couldn’t get a boat. Therefore, the main leaders of the county committee and county government had a fixed car, but the boats were used as needed and not constantly. However, the person who piloted the boat was fixed, and it was naturally Xiao Huang who served Liu Chengyin.

    Liu Chengyin had been standing on the front deck of the boat. Other members of the working group from the Fisheries Bureau, Agriculture Bureau, and Water Resources Bureau, as well as leaders from the Finance and Trade Office, People’s Bank, and Agricultural Bank, also crowded along the side of the ship, unwilling to sit in the cabin. Upon this, Liu Chengyin smiled and said to everyone, “This is my first trip, I’m not familiar with it. I assume all of you are also on your first trip, right?”

    “No, no, of course not.” Upon hearing Secretary Liu’s question, these bureau chiefs, directors, and bank presidents almost unanimously replied. They did not want to leave a bad impression on the county party secretary by admitting that they had not been to the grassroots.

    However, among these department heads, there were indeed some who had never been to the Great Northwest. The long journey and inconvenient transportation were external factors. The underdeveloped economy and numerous development challenges were internal factors. People usually preferred to add to the good instead of sending help to those in need, but often, no one paid attention to the situations like sending charcoal in snowy weather. Furthermore, whether it was a department or a bank, the available resources were limited. They could invest a little in the areas with good economic development and saw the results, which would be recognized. However, in underdeveloped areas like Shagou, it was often a bottomless pit, for more problems couldn’t get solved. Therefore, avoiding it became an effective solution.

    By secretary Liu’s a question, the department heads of the workgroup all went into the cabin of the small boat. On the bow of the boat, Jin Aiguo carried a brown “mobile phone” bag, stood beside Secretary Liu, and prepared to answer the secretary’s questions and receive assignments.

    When everyone had entered the cabin, Secretary Liu turned to Li Deshui, the director of the Fisheries Bureau, and said, “Director Li, come up and talk about the aquaculture situation in this area.”

    After a period of sailing, the ship entered a reed marsh. Secretary Liu looked down and saw that it was no smaller than the Wujin marsh in the suburbs, with reeds as far as the eye could see. Secretary Liu turned to Li Deshui and asked, “Director Li, is this the Hegao marsh? How many acres is it?” “Yes, Secretary. This is the Heigao Marsh. The water surface is about three or four thousand acres.” Li Deshui leaned towards Secretary Liu, grooving merrily when he smiled.

    It was early winter that just started harvesting the reeds in the marsh. On its vast stretches, the white fluff looked like frost, covering a thick layer upon layer. Liu Chengyin said to Jin Aiguo and Li Deshui beside him, “This is a gift from heaven to Shagou. Isn’t it a waste now?” Secretary Liu pointed to several villagers in the distance who were cutting the reeds.

    “Secretary Liu is right. For thousands of acres of water surface, only collect a few bundles of reed firewood each year. The benefits are too low.” Xiao Jin, the secretary, followed Liu Chengyin’s meaning and added a sentence.

    “It’s a pity to leave such good resources unused. I heard that in the past, villagers in Yuduo Town even fought over breeding on the water surface.” As soon as Liu Chengyin spoke, he immediately corrected himself, “No, I didn’t just hear it. I personally dealt with this matter. Farmers are short-sighted and only see the developed water surface. We need to guide and mobilize them to develop the lake and marsh. I think our ideas need to be liberated!”

    “You do not know, when it comes to the development of Heigao Marsh, Shagou District Party Committee, the sub-county office, and Yuduo and other villages and towns associated with Heigao Marsh have all used their brains. However, to develop the thousands of acres of reeds into fish ponds, the capital investment is not small.”Although Li Deshui had only been the director of the Fishery Bureau for a few months and was one of the young members promoted by Secretary Liu after he arrived, he had been the deputy director of the bureau for several years and was familiar with the aquaculture situation in the entire county.

    “Comrade Deshui, to be staggered is objectionable. As for Shagou area, I think we need to focus on one thing.” The young Secretary Liu changed his address to Li Deshui, the director of the Fishery Bureau.

    “A ‘water’ focus.” Secretary Jin blurted out.

    “Yes! It’s a ‘water’ focus. As the older generation says, one relies on mountains for food, and relies on water for sustenance. It’s true.” Secretary Liu passionately pointed out the Shagou area, earning admiration from the nearby listeners, Secretary Jin and Director Li Deshui.

    “But how do we rely on water for sustenance with wisdom? My purpose for coming to the Shagou area this time is to encourage the five towns to brainstorm around the theme of ‘water’. This is an opportunity to make significant progress. Some may wonder, since there is water everywhere in Shagou, how can we make any headway with this ‘water’ focus?” Liu Chengyin waved his hand and said three words:

    “Heigao marsh!”

    The economic work conference of the Shagou district was held at the town government of Yuduo.

    Because Shagou District Office was located in Yuduo Town, where the town government and sub-county office were also located. As far as the administrative division of Chu County was concerned, the sub-county office was the agency of the county government, exercising the functions of guidance and coordination, and was not a first-level government. As a result, it was not strong in human and financial resources, so its daily work depended mostly on the township where it was located. Shagou District naturally depended on Yuduo Town. Like this regional economic work conference, Yuduo Town had to organize specific meetings: from the layout of the meeting site to the working meal after the meeting. The leaders of the sub-county office only needed to send the secretary of the sub-county committee to check before the meeting to see if the preparations were in place, without troubling their heads about it.

    Yuduo Town was different for it was not allowed to be slipshod in organizing such an important meeting in the county. In addition to the secretaries and heads of the five townships and towns in the whole district, as well as the secretaries and heads of the district party committee, there were also the heads of important departments in the county and the presidents of several banks, which were not easily invited at ordinary times. So they should be strong for it. What’s more, at this review meeting, Secretary Liu of the County Party Committee led the team in person, and he was the first to return to Yuduo Town. Although Secretary Liu had asked Yuduo Town about all aspects of the situation several times, after all, seeing was believing. The first impression that Yuduo Town left to the head of the county party committee was too important, so they must take further heed of it.

    Fang Guojian, the secretary of the party committee of Yuduo Town, personally organized the meeting, and made it clear that a deputy secretary in charge of large agriculture was specifically responsible for the affairs of the whole meeting. This person was Lu Xiaoying.

    Lu Xiaoyingg was in such haste, and one of the important tasks was to prepare for Liu Chengyin’s arrival. This made her feel somewhat uneasy, uncomfortable, or even a little restless. In her idle hours, she would say to herself, “Why bother putting so much effort into considering every detail, from the labels, and cards to the tea and the accompanying four dishes and a soup for the work meal. There were so many minor details to worry about. Was it really worth it to welcome a spotted, inconstant man?” To others,she was busy and jolly like one o’clock.

    Liu Chengyin was once her lover, but is now the county party secretary. Lu Xiaoying was not busy with the person who once broke her heart, but meeting the work assigned by the township party committee to primp for the county party secretary Liu. Having worked as the deputy secretary for several years, Lu Xiaoying naturally understood the reason why public and private should be separated.

    As Liu Chengyin, the county party secretary, said to Li Deshui and Jin Aiguo on their way here, the key theme of the economic work in Shagou District was how to make improvements in the ‘water’ sector.

    After listening to Secretary Liu’s passionate speech, the village and town chiefs from the five towns in Shagou District became immediately afterward stimulated. They had long been blind to the water always in front of their eyes. Secretary Liu’s guidance opened their eyes to the great potential in this area.

    In Fang Guojian’s opinion, the aquaculture in Yuduo Town had been done quite well in the district. The larger fish ponds had even established professional aquaculture villages, and the town had established professional aquaculture farms to guide the work of the aquaculture villages. When he reported these findings as Yuduo Town’s work experience at the meeting with Secretary Liu, Liu recognized theirregular work, but emphasized the need for them to further liberate their minds, expand their ideas, and be willing to take risks. Secretary Liu clearly stated that the ‘water’ issue in Shagou District must start with Heigao Marsh. The three to four thousand acres of water could no longer be satisfied with the simple gathering of firewood, catching wild fish, or capturing wild chickens and ducks. Multiple modes of specialized aquaculture must be developed and utilized comprehensively.

    Following Secretary Liu’s train of thought, the Director of the Aquatic Bureau, Li Deshui, continued to calculate the profits with the district’s secretaries and town chiefs. Because of the guidance from the county party secretary, the heads of the finance and trade department, as well as the presidents of the Industrial and Commercial Bank and Agricultural Bank, who attended the meeting, all expressed their willingness to provide financial support for the development of this key project in Heigao Marsh.

    Because Heigao Marsh had a larger area within the jurisdiction of Yuduo Town compared to other towns, the development of the area had led to the addition of thousands of acres of aquaculture. Moreover,  Secretary Liu’s requirement to specialize in aquaculture had resulted in profits several times higher than those of ordinary aquaculture. Unexpectedly, Heigao Marsh, only lively for a few days before the Dragon Boat Festival each year when the reed leaves were harvested, and during the winter when the firewood was collected, became a treasure trove under the guidance of Secretary Liu from the county party committee.

    Fang Guojian seemed to see a bustling scene of the Heigao Marsh specialty aquatic farm after its completion: neat fish ponds, specialty aquatic products in large quantities, and oxygen-enhancing vehicles. One after another, oxygen-enhancing vehicles filled with specialty aquatic products set off from Heigao Marsh and transporting these products to big cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing. At the same time, a large amount of Chinese yuan would go into his pocket. Fang Guojian found himself much overjoyed.

    “Of course, the development of Heigao Marsh is just the beginning of our water-related efforts in Shagou District. Everyone in the district must unite their thinking, raise their awareness, and establish a unified mindset for the entire district. Comrades should be mentally prepared to face various difficulties in developing a reed marsh of several thousand acres into a specialty aquatic farm——such as how to organize construction projects, how to plan the aquaculture base, and how to solve funding problems. However, no matter what difficulties we encounter, we must not be afraid of them! Comrades, we must rise to the challenge, face difficulties and make progress, and overcome this difficult task.” After fully listening to the exchanges and speeches of the comrades from various townships and departments, Secretary Liu further emphasized the development of Heigao Marsh. Secretary Liu’s powerful speech brought some of the distracted attendees back to attention, including Fang Guojian, into the conference hall of theYu Duo Township government.

    “Comrade Guojian, it’s up to you guys to see how you do it.” After the meeting ended, Secretary Liu did not immediately leave. Instead, he stayed behind and said he wanted to make up for lost time. After all, he had been working in Chu county for more than a year and this was his first time in Yuduo town. He couldn’t just come and go without making any meaningful connections.

    “Please rest assured, Secretary Liu. We, the entire town, will pull together and strive to be the pioneers in the development of Heigao Marsh.” Fang Guojian, who accompanied Secretary Liu on a walk down the famous old street in the town, spoke with confidence and determination. This made Lu Xiaoying, who was accompanying them, feel a little uncomfortable. She muttered to herself, “He’s just a flatterer, and only knowshow to talk big.”

    Comrades from the districts, townships and other departments heard Liu’s stay overnight,voiced to his companion. Liu smiled his greet, directly calling over Fang Guojian, “After the hearing, the districts, townships and related departments should act speedily, more tasks are waiting now, instead of to my companion. I have secretary Fang, and Jin and Huang, that’s enough.”

    Li Deshui thought that Secretary Liu would definitely keep him behind, not only because he had been promoted under Secretary Liu’s guidance, but because during this visit to Shagou District, Li had a comprehensive understanding of the economic work and turned “water” into a major topic of discussion. If Secretary Liu wanted to take the lead in taking action in Yuduo Town, as the director of the Fisheries Bureau, Li could provide advice and contribute his efforts to the leadership.

    However, the young county party secretary did not follow the usual practice. He did not even let the district secretary and district head stay behind to accompany him during his inspection in Shagou District. Normally, it would be necessary for the top leader to be accompanied by the district secretary and district head to show their respect. Secretary Liu did not mention the names of the district party secretary and district head. Xiao Jin noticed that the facial expressions of the two district leaders were somewhat unnatural when they shook hands and said goodbye to Secretary Liu. In retrospect, Secretary Liu’s actions made the two district leaders lose face in front of other township party secretaries and township heads in their jurisdiction.

    Liu Chengyin didn’t think too much about it. Since he started working in Chu County, whether he went to the countryside, factories, or departments, he was accompanied by his secretary Jin Aiguo. For the situations where transportation couldn’t be solved by bicycles, he also had his driver Xiao Huang. He didn’t want to be like some county leaders who would inspect work and have a long train of followers——before reaching there, phone calls came, informing the inspection beforehand, like a big show but without actually understanding the real situation. What was the point of inspecting work like this? Liu Chengyin didn’t want to do it this way.

    When Liu Chengyin specifically requested for Fang Guojian to accompany him, Fang was very excited. Especially since the district party secretary and district head were not asked to stay behind, Fang felt a sense of pride which led him to take the initiative to call over the deputy party secretary of the town, Lu Xiaoying, who was originally preparing dinner for Secretary Liu, to join them in visiting and inspecting the old street in the town.

    Fang Guojian reported to Liu Chengyin with a smiling face, “Secretary Liu, I called your old classmate over to accompany you for a good drink tonight.” Some people might say that Lu Xiaoying and Liu Chengyin were not in the same year, let alone the same class when they studied at Guangling University. Strictly speaking, they couldn’t be considered classmates. But as a leader, you would always be arranged by some well-intentioned men to have some classmates, fellow soldiers and the like. Therefore, even those who you had never met during your time at school, as long as they entered and exited the same school gate as you, would be called “classmates.” Those who had served in the military, even if they had the same military number, would definitely be called “fellow-soldiers.” In society, those who carried the banner of “classmate” or “fellow-soldiers” of a leader were resourceful.

    Lu Xiaoying naturally couldn’t be classified into this kind of “classmate” category. To be honest, she didn’t even have time to avoid him in front of her, and  she didn’t want to establish this kind of “classmate” relationship. But when the town  leader asked her to accompany the county party leader, she had to come. In the eyes  of others, this was a rare opportunity. Not everyone had the chance to meet with  the county party secretary. There were several deputy town-level officials in Yuduo  Town, but only she, this “classmate”, had this honor. Moreover, Lu Xiaoying’s past  with Liu Chengyin on campus a few years ago might not be clear to Fang Guojian.  From Fang’s perspective, he was doing a favor for Lu Xiaoying, giving her the  opportunity to have contact with the county party secretary and helping her personal  political progress.

    With this in mind, Lu Xiaoying felt much more at ease. After exchanging formal handshakes and greetings with Liu Chengyin, she silently accompanied him on the side.

    “Secretary Lu, as the deputy secretary in charge of agriculture, you have a heavy responsibility in the development of Heigao Marsh.” Liu Chengyin said with concern as he shook hands with Lu Xiaoying.

    As Lu Xiaoying’s gaze met with Liu Chengyin’s, she couldn’t help but feel a tremble in her heart. It was because Liu Chengyin didn’t address her as “comrade”, nor did he adopt an authoritative manner by calling her by her title or strictly addressing her as “Deputy Secretary Xiaoying”. Of course, he couldn’t call her “dear Xiaoying” as he used to. Instead, he addressed her as “Secretary Xiaoying”,but not strictly as “Deputy Secretary Xiaoying”. As a woman, Lu Xiaoying felt the presence of something, quavering inwardly.

    The old street in Yuduo Town could be said to be well-known and attracted by its reputation. Almost without exception, leaders who came to inspect Yuduo Town’s work would take a walk and had a look along the old street. The reason why the old street was famous and attracted visitors was because of the Ming Dynasty bathroom in front of Liu Chengyin.

    This ancient bathroom was made of green bricks and glazed tiles, with its main entrance facing south, whose doorway was rectangular shaped at the bottom and triangular shaped at the top, with the decorative moldings around it——its two “foreign-styled doors” opened in the opposite directions; and on each side of the door, there was a rectangular wooden window with curved multi-layered brickwork at the top——the lower part of its wall was paved by small hexagonal tiles, with a mirror frame-style of semicircular bricks around it. There are several wall buttresses on the south and west facades, with concave-convex moldings and vase-neck waist- like shapes in between. There were also four foreign-style windows on the west facade’s gable wall.

    Inside the ancient toilet, there was a small courtyard on one side. On the east side of the courtyard, there was a squatting pit only accommodating one person, while on the west side, there was a urinal. Going further inside led to the “pit hall”, having a long bench with a long handrail behind it to prevent the users from accidentally falling into the pit while slopping. The bench could accommodate six persons using the toilet at the same time. In the middle of the bench and on both sides, there were short cypress shelves with auspicious patterns carved on the tooth plates underneath. People using the toilet can smoke a water pipe while doing their business,and utensils such as water pipe pots could be placed on the shelves for convenience. On the east side of the bench, there was also a copper basin and incense burner for the convenience of hand-washing and fragrance.

    It was truly amazing for a young county party secretary to see such a Western- style toilet in Yuduo town, a remote and water-rich town with limited transportation.

    What surprised Liu Chengyin even more was that this ancient toilet was still “for-profit” at the time. In ancient times, Yuduo Town was surrounded by vegetable and grain farmers, and human feces were scarce fertilizers. The business in Yuduo Town was quite prosperous at that time, and the shrewd owner of the ancient toilet saw the business opportunity here. Therefore, a “l(fā)uxurious” bathroom was built here.As this toilet provided a comfortable environment for using the toilet and additional services such as smoking water pipes, it became very popular. As a result, the owner of the toilet was able to do a thriving business in selling farm fertilizers.

    “Comrade Guojian, I think you should learn from the shrewd ancestors of Yuduo town and be inspired by their cleverness in building toilets to do well in

    today’s water management,” said Secretary Liu. The fact that Secretary Liu could relate the toilet to the current work left Fang Guojian to honor him and nod in agreement.

    Unlike the working lunch of four dishes and a soup, the dinner hosted by the Yuduo Town Party Committee and government officials for Secretary Liu was quite distinctive in terms of the dishes served.

    In Chu County, there was a “four dishes and one soup, unified standard” jingle.  This “four dishes and one soup” was also Liu Chengyin’s dining requirement for all  official reception activities in the county after working in Chu County. Not only that,  but also the meal attendants who participated in the reception should pay the meal  fee. This move made the heads of Chu County confused and unprepared. But it took  not very long before counter-measures came out: if the standard was set as “four  dishes and a soup”, how was it possible to serve such delicious dishes within that  limit? Actually, it was quite simple. By cooking catfish, long fish, and eggs together  in a red braised style, the dish “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl” was created. The  fish was cut into slices that maintained the shape of a “dragon”, while allowing the  seasoning into the flesh. The eggs were marinated and boiled to create a few “pearls” in each bowl, the number of which depended on the host’s preference. Soft-shelled  turtles naturally became the “soup” in the “four dishes and a soup” menu. When the  soup was served, the soft-shelled turtle looked completely intact, as if it were still  alive. But once eating with chopsticks and lifting the turtle shell, the chicken hidden  underneath was revealed. This dish was also given a nice name: “Farewell My  Concubine.” By the way, every serving dish was an extra-large size since the number  of dishes was limited. Therefore, it was reasonable to enlarge each dish to make the  meal look more appealing. This “four dishes and a soup” menu could easily compete  with a state standard.

    At the beginning, Liu Chengyin could be said to have checked every meal, checking the standard execution of “four dishes and one soup” and whether the accompanying meal fee had been paid. His secretary Jin Aiguo would first go to the refectory to learn the ropes of the meal whenever they arrived at a new place, and after the meal, he would ensure that the meal fee was paid for Secretary Liu. As a result, Jin Aiguo suddenly became busier than other county leaders’ secretaries, with sometimes not even achieving better results. Long-standing traditional habits that had been passed down for many years couldn’t be changed simply by a single regulation.

    When the “four dishes and one soup” had developed into a table spectacle, Liu Chengyin would no longer take it seriously. You should have known that he was the last in terms of age and seniority in the four groups in Chu County. It was undoubtedly very challenging to be the leader of such a leading group. However, it was not necessary to always be stiff-upper-lip about the dinner table, and sometimes even let other county leaders lose face.

    Later on, as long as it was official business and did not involve other leaders, Liu Chengyin still adhered to the standard of “four dishes and one soup” and did not allow exceeding the specifications or standards. On occasions such as today’s lunch, facing delicacies like “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl” and “Farewell My Concubine,” Secretary Liu could only smile and use his chopsticks.

    Now, dinner was for him alone. Of course, he wouldn’t agree to waste anymore. This was not only clear to Fang Guojian, the secretary of the party committee of Yuduo Town, but also clear to Lu Xiaoying, who was specifically responsible for the reception arrangement of the whole hall meeting. Therefore, Liu Chengyin did not see the noon feast on the table, but saw the local specialties such as “big fish ball”, “l(fā)otus root pod”, “eggplant cake” and so on. The Yu Duo Big Fish Ball had long been very famous. In this flooded area, there were many fresh fish, and the processed fish balls were also fresh. In addition, the process of fish balls by the Yu Duo people was different from that of other places. The fish balls made by the Yu Duo people were boiled in an oil pot——big and yellow, arousing appetite at it. There were also two bottles of Langjiu liquor on the table.

    Just as Liu Chengyin was about to speak, Fang Guojian seemed to know what Secretary Liu wanted to say. He stood up and picked up a bottle of Langjiu, saying to Liu Chengyin, “Secretary Liu, this is the liquor I brought from home. To be honest, when you came to our Yuduo town for the first time and volunteered to stay, I was very moved. Not just me, but all the comrades in our team were also touched. I couldn’t offer you Maotai, but if you don’t mind the quality of this liquor, please have a drink or two. It’s also a way to cheer us on and encourage us in our efforts to develop Heigao Marsh.”

    “Secretary Guojian has not only a set of skills for work but also skills for proposal of toasts. It seemed that I couldn’t do without drinking this liquor. However, I also had a condition.” Liu Chengyin said while taking the liquor bottle from Fang Guojian’s hand, “Tonight, I will be the one to pour the first glass of liquor for everyone, and I will also be the first to toast everyone.”

    As soon as Liu Chengyin spoke, the table became lively. The county party secretary offering to pour and toast everyone was such a great honor and a face- saving gesture. Fang Guojian didn’t know what kind of difficult condition Secretary Liu would propose, but upon hearing his words, he was so happy that he started to applaud. Sitting diagonally across from Liu Chengyin, Lu Xiaoying thought to herself that she probably couldn’t avoid it tonight.