Zhang Hongcheng lived in the cadre housing in the compound.

You can see the vast northwest sky outside the window.

He sat quietly at the desk behind the window, thinking about what he had just discussed privately with Yang Huaisheng.

The land in H County is barren and the grain production is very low, so Yang Huaisheng went against the majority opinion and insisted on promoting the development of cotton fields in the county.

In fact, the previous county chief was transferred because he strongly opposed Yang Huaisheng's policy.

H County is indeed suitable for growing cotton, but the gap in cotton field seeds is quite large. Coupled with the gap in transportation and food, one can imagine how much pressure Lao Yang Shuji faced before.

No wonder the old leader, Minister Li, said that he and Old Yang Shuji were friends for life.

Zhang Hongcheng doesn't need to worry too much about cotton seeds. The thousands of acres of experimental fields at the New Province Agricultural Science Institute are all full of cotton seedlings that "belong" to Zhang Hongcheng. There are enough cotton seeds for sowing on more than 20,000 acres next year.

Moreover, with the funding from Zhang Hongcheng, technician Lao Cheng and his team obtained the best Egyptian long-staple cotton samples for improvement, and the new Xinhai long-staple cotton had already produced results as early as last year.

The Xin Province Corps began promoting its planting this year, and the quality of the new cotton harvested this year is expected to surprise the whole country.

If Minister Li had not spent his retirement living in the fields to look after his hometown, the crops in the new province might have been taken away by him - there wouldn't be enough for anyone.

After temporarily appeasing the members of the team, Zhang Hongcheng turned his attention to the residents of Chengguan Town.

The wisdom of the ancients.

Whether a newly arrived official can make great achievements depends mainly on how much trust the local people have in him.

For example, Shang Yang’s policy of offering a bounty for trees.

Therefore, Zhang Hongcheng planned to gain the trust of the people in the county before officially taking office.

He first targeted the more than 10,000 residents of Chengguan Town in the county seat.

H County has been dry and rainy since ancient times, and the only small river on the edge of the county town completely dried up before liberation.

The city's residents rely on five wells dug before and after liberation for their daily water needs.

According to the information that Fatty found in later life, before 1989, it was a luxury for the residents here to take a bath once a month.

Often, the whole family will take turns using the bucket of water that is fetched back.

This is probably because the water used by urban residents in County H is limited every day.

"Zhang Xian, to be honest, water supply is becoming increasingly scarce."

Walking in front and leading the way was Old Hu, the captain of the county's well-drilling team.

"Since the year before last, one of the five wells in the county has stopped producing water, and one of the remaining four has no water at all in the summer."

Old Hu led Zhang Hongcheng to the entrance of an alley.

The ground is made of yellow mud, the walls are made of yellow mud, and the summer wind all carries a smell of earth.

What appeared before Zhang Hongcheng was a long queue.

Almost everyone had a dusty face and was holding a shoulder pole or two buckets in their hands.

The one wearing the patched vest is a man, and the shorter one is a woman. Her patched clothes only have a short-sleeved shirt, unlike the man's.

Zhang Hongcheng, who grew up in Jiangnan and works in Northeast China, also saw something like a water ticket for the first time in his life.

When Lao Hutong pushed aside the crowd and led Zhang Hongcheng to the front of the team, many people made dissatisfied comments.

Until Old Hu shouted impatiently.

"What are you all yelling about?"

"This is the new county official, County Magistrate Zhang, who's here to inspect the county's water use."

The crowd soon quieted down, and everyone looked at the obviously young new county magistrate with a strange and scrutinizing look.

Several women were still smiling at each other and grinning secretly - they looked so gentle and refined, as if they could easily beat one of them!

In the early 1980s, the people did not have the same attitude towards officials as they do in later generations.

Someone started grumbling on the spot.

"Inspection of what?"

"Which county magistrate hasn't inspected it? He can't let the county have an extra bucket of water."

Old Hu was about to yell at him, but Zhang Hongcheng stopped him with a smile.

The people in line found that their new county magistrate was very friendly and smiled and joked to himself.

"It seems that if I, a newcomer, can't dig a well, everyone will not approve of me as the county magistrate, right?"

"Although I'm from the south, my temper is similar to everyone else's. I also have a northern temperament."

"I can't stand the excitement."

"Old Hu, I asked for 20,000 yuan for the well-drilling fee at the meeting yesterday. Get your team and equipment out now, and let's drill one right here."

Everyone laughed.

Everyone heard that the new county magistrate was a college student, but they didn't expect that he could joke with us ordinary people.

Old Hu explained to Zhang Hongcheng with a helpless look on his face.

"Zhang Xian, please stop teasing me!"

"I know our well-drilling team hasn't dug a single well in the past few years, and I'm embarrassed about it. Please give us some more time."

Those who knew Old Hu immediately started joking and shouting.

"Old Hu, how many more years do you have left?"

"The county asks you to dig seven or eight wells in the city every year. You spend all that money and tickets, but you don't see any water flowing."

"That's right, Old Hu, every time you dig a well, the street office asks us to help fill it in. Oh, look, Old Hu is glaring!"

Of course, there were also people who spoke up for Lao Hu. An old man carrying a bucket threw the bucket down and immediately started yelling.

"What are you yelling about?"

"During the Republic of China, so many wells were dug, but only one was found. But after liberation, Old Hu used his ancestral craftsmanship to help us dig three wells. How do you guys talk like that?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!