The second secretary, no, it should be Comrade Song Dongzheng, who had already become the acting county magistrate of Jinhe County, finally set off.

He went to take up his post in a special car provided by the city government, accompanied by comrades from the Organization Department.

Many counties are under the jurisdiction of prefecture-level governments. However, Jinhe County is different; it falls under the jurisdiction of the provincial capital. Therefore, appointments are made by the city government.

Jinhe County is not far from the city, so it's quite quick to get there by special car.

When Song Dongzheng arrived, the county government officials were downstairs to greet him.

Even County Party Secretary Lin was waiting for him downstairs.

After the introductions by the comrades from the city's organization department, Song Dongzheng warmly shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with everyone. Then, they all entered the county's conference room to have their appointment letters read aloud.

Although he is acting county head, everyone knows that the "acting" title will eventually be removed. As long as no major problems arise within this year, the appointment will be finalized.

Everyone was sizing up the new, seemingly unremarkable young County Magistrate Song. All they knew was that although he was young, he was very experienced. His family came from a revolutionary background, and he himself had served as a "red devil" in the revolutionary base area. Later, he went to university, and after graduating, he served as a secretary to the current Secretary Qiu, the former Deputy Mayor Qiu. His political background, experience, and education were all impressive.

What's most gratifying is his age. Being young is good; young people are humble, listen to older comrades, and aren't as stubborn as many older comrades.

Among those who thought this way was Secretary Lin of the county party committee.

Secretary Lin has been here for over five years and has settled down here. He just hopes to live a smooth life until his retirement and doesn't want troublemakers to disturb the peaceful life of Jinhe County.

After the comrades from the city's organization department left, Secretary Lin gave Song Dongzheng a lecture with a big smile on his face.

"Comrade Dongzheng, welcome! You helped us a lot when you came here to get our mountain products last time. I never thought we'd become family. It's rare to see such a young county head in our county. We thought County Head Yan from Baotian County was too young. But as for county heads, you, County Head Song, are probably the youngest. It's good to be young; young people have more opportunities to learn. If you don't understand something in the future, you can come and ask us older comrades."

Song Dongzheng said with a smile, "I am young because I started early, there is nothing I can do about it. I was involved in the revolution when I was just a few years old. I was born to work hard for the people."

Secretary Lin smiled and thought that this young man really wouldn't suffer the slightest loss.

He seems to be a hot-blooded young man.

That's normal. Which young person isn't hot-blooded? If he were truly flawless, he'd have to put in extra effort to guard against him later.

"Comrade Dongzheng, you go ahead and do your work. If anything comes up, we can talk later. The county is busy right now, so I need to get busy too."

Song Dongzheng smiled and said, "Okay, Secretary Lin, you go ahead and get busy. I'll just wander around by myself."

Soon, Director Wu, the director of the county government office, came to see Song Dongzheng. Director Wu was a man nearing forty, with a middle parting, wearing glasses, and looking very serious about his work. However, judging from Song Dongzheng's discerning eye, this man seemed rather shrewd and calculating.

Director Wu smiled and said, "County Chief Song, your accommodation has been arranged. Although you haven't brought your family with you yet, it's still been assigned according to the rules. It's a two-bedroom apartment. It's on the second floor of the second building behind, on the left side. The sunlight is great."

Song Dongzheng nodded, thinking it was a good idea; two rooms would be convenient for Comrade Su to stay in when he came to visit him in the future.

Seeing that Song Dongzheng nodded, Director Wu continued, "And about your secretary, I wonder if you have any requests?"

Song Dongzheng had worked as a secretary for others for several years, and now, unexpectedly, he had to choose his own secretary, which he found somewhat unusual.

He thought it would be wonderful to have a secretary like Comrade Su. Unfortunately, that was impossible; even if he did meet Comrade Su, he would still be destined to be someone else's secretary.

Thinking of this, he felt a pang of sadness; he had already started to miss it so quickly.

"Secretary, don't rush. I'm only just arriving now. Let's sort things out first."

Director Wu was a veteran cadre, and knowing that he was to conduct the evaluation himself, he didn't try to persuade him further. "Alright, if you take a liking to someone, then you can be with us."

Upon arriving in Jinhe County, Song Dongzheng did nothing but sit in his office all afternoon, pondering his plans.

Others in the county who wanted to observe the new county head no longer had much of a chance.

I went back to my accommodation for the night.

Looking at the empty house, he felt quite happy. He was living in a two-bedroom house now, but in a few years, when he was promoted, he would be allocated a larger house. Comrade Su wouldn't mind then.

We must strive to serve the people and work hard to get a big house and a wife as soon as possible.

For several days in a row, Song Dongzheng did nothing but ride his bicycle around the county town and the commune, without interacting with anyone.

Secretary Lin had been worried that he might cause trouble. But seeing his current state, he didn't take it to heart.

A few days later, Song Dongzheng called a meeting with the leaders of various departments of the county government, and of course, he also informed Secretary Lin.

"Comrades, I've been looking around Jinhe County these past few days, and the situation isn't optimistic."

"..." The entire meeting room fell silent. What did this mean? Was the new county head looking for trouble?

As Secretary Lin sipped his tea, he asked, "What are Comrade Dongzheng's thoughts?"

"I have no ideas, but I'll just point out one thing: there isn't a single militia member coming in and out of our county. What's going on? Do ordinary people have letters of introduction when they enter the county town? I know some people do have letters of introduction when they take a bus, but some comrades don't need them because no one checks. Everyone knows what time it is now. Those people who are secretly making moves haven't stopped. With so many people in the county, if no one checks, things could get out of hand and we'd be finished."

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