PCJ – Chapter 665 Deputy County Chief

“Let everyone share their opinions about the future development of Daihua County,” said Fu Jianping, looking around at the county committee members in the meeting room.

Deng Chaokun glanced at everyone and said, “Let me say a few words first. As we all know, our county is located in a rather remote area. We lack rich mineral resources and don’t have a strong industrial base, so developing industry puts us at a disadvantage. As for agriculture, the average cultivated land per capita is just over one mu—not even two mu. Purely relying on agriculture can barely feed us. We’ve also tried growing cash crops and developing animal husbandry, but none of those experiments yielded great results.”

The committee members all nodded in agreement. What Deng Chaokun said made perfect sense. Everyone was listening closely, wondering if he had some good ideas to share.

“What I really want to say is probably something others have already realized: our county does have some opportunities. I’d like to talk about Tianbaqiao Town’s Yingpan Village. That village welcomed a very capable village official. He not only came up with a solution to a problem that had plagued the village for years, but also brought in investments, offering a new development path for our county. Agriculture can do more than just solve subsistence—it can lead to prosperity! But for that, we need to let go of old burdens, open our minds, and dare to innovate. This official proposed making full use of our county’s excellent natural environment by developing eco-farms and an ‘eco-agriculture + eco-tourism’ model. Of course, this requires a lot of investment. We can’t rely only on government or local funds. We need to attract serious outside investment,” Deng said.

Xu Guojin, head of the Organization Department, added, “Comrade Zhang Jiaohua was brought in as part of the county’s village official recruitment program. He hasn’t been here long, but he’s already done a lot of practical work. Secretary Fu and County Head Deng both support his promotion to lead Tianbaqiao Town. I fully agree. Our county is too poor to attract much talent. Over the past three years, the number of university graduates assigned to our various government offices can be counted on one hand. Even fewer have made a real impact. Talents like Comrade Zhang are rare. I suggest we promote him—and if possible, let’s go big. Put him in a more important position where he can make the most difference.”

In a rare moment of unity, the entire standing committee agreed on promoting Zhang Jiaohua. The only question was whether to let him first gain experience in Tianbaqiao Town, or to promote him directly to a county-level position. One idea proposed was to create a new Bureau of Eco-Agriculture and Eco-Tourism and appoint Zhang as the director, putting him in charge of the county’s agricultural and tourism development.

It was a harmonious and triumphant meeting. Everyone agreed: turning “eco-agriculture + eco-tourism” into Daihua County’s pillar industry was essential—and keeping Zhang Jiaohua in the county was the key.

Fu Jianping, now 45 and having served as the county party secretary for several years, knew his political career would hit a ceiling without a promotion soon. So, he was especially bold. He believed that Daihua County had fallen too far behind and couldn’t afford incremental progress—it needed to sprint, to leap forward. A bureau director role wasn’t enough. If they were going to use Zhang, they had to show proper respect and grant him real authority. Fu suggested that the city be asked to directly appoint Zhang Jiaohua as Deputy County Chief. After all, Zhang held a Ph.D. from Qingda (Tsinghua University), one of the top universities in China.

Though Zhang Jiaohua had arrived quietly in Daihua County, his personnel file clearly listed him as a Qingda Ph.D. People here simply hadn’t connected this low-key village official with the world-famous Dr. Zhang Jiaohua.

On this point, Deng Chaokun and Fu Jianping were fully aligned. Although Deng was surprised by Fu’s bold move, he supported it.

By the time Zhang Jiaohua and Zhu Qingdong arrived at the county government, the meeting was already over. Fu Jianping enthusiastically welcomed Zhang into his office.

“Comrade Zhang Jiaohua, we just had a county committee meeting and discussed some things—things that concern you,” Fu said warmly, personally pouring tea for both Zhang and Zhu Qingdong.

Zhu quickly reached for the teapot. “Secretary Fu, let me do that.”

“Comrade Zhu Qingdong, it seems you’ve brought me good news. Xiao Song, please go invite County Head Deng over. Tell him Comrade Zhang Jiaohua from Yingpan Village is here. Ask him to come to my office.”

“Yes, sir,” Secretary Song responded and left quickly.

“Secretary Fu, this morning, Xiao Zhang told me some great news—he’s decided to stay and lead our Tianbaqiao Town in developing a modern agricultural park. So I came with him to report it right away,” Zhu Qingdong said.

“Qingdong, Comrade Zhang isn’t just going to lead Tianbaqiao Town to prosperity. That would be underutilizing his talents. The county committee has decided he will lead the entire county on the road to wealth. Since you’re close with him, you may be asked to support his work in the future. Not just you—both County Head Deng and I will fully support Zhang’s efforts,” Fu said calmly.

Zhu’s eyes widened. Support Zhang’s work? Did that mean Zhang would be promoted above him?

Even Zhang himself was caught off guard. He had thought he’d be appointed town chief first, and slowly move up. But now it seemed things were escalating much faster than expected.

“The county committee has decided to recommend to the city’s organization department that you, Comrade Zhang Jiaohua, be appointed Deputy County Chief, responsible for the county’s eco-agriculture and eco-tourism initiatives. While the city hasn’t issued the official appointment yet, I’ve already reported to Secretary Wang Zongxian. He’s very supportive and will raise the matter at the city level soon. Barring any surprises, your appointment should come through quickly,” Fu said plainly.

Zhu stood frozen with the teacup in hand, stunned. He had worked his way up for decades before making it from town to county level. Now someone who had been here for just six months was about to become a deputy division-level official.

Zhang Jiaohua himself was surprised too. This leap went beyond anything he or Wei Chenguang had planned. He had expected minimal investment in Daihua County—now, it seemed even a large investment might not be enough.

“Secretary Fu, bringing in investment isn’t hard. What worries me is the county’s poor transportation infrastructure. If investments come but construction lags behind, it’ll hinder our economic development. Road construction requires huge funding. Even with investors, without supporting infrastructure, it’s hard to make progress,” Zhang said honestly.

“That’s a valid concern. But actually, our county’s backward roads give us a unique advantage: we can plan them from scratch. And blank slates are ideal for writing great plans. The state is offering strong support for poor counties right now. I can confidently say, wherever your investment goes, our roads will follow!” Fu Jianping declared boldly.

“That’s right. The county government will immediately submit reports to higher authorities, requesting substantial support for our road infrastructure to match the incoming investments” County Head Deng Chaokun said, entering the room.