Volume Four: Glorious Years Chapter 152: Assuming Office Immediately

Stone Village was nestled about eighty li outside the western outskirts of Binhai City, surrounded entirely by barren mountains. The slopes supported only a few patches of coarse cogon grass, devoid of even a decent poplar tree.

The village consisted of four settlements, all looking much the same, filled with low-slung earthen houses. This left Yang Tian, who had ridden his bicycle into the village along the bumpy, rock-strewn path, somewhat startled and filled with a quiet sense of melancholy. Good heavens, it was already the twenty-first century; how could Binhai City still harbor such a barren place? It seemed that Binhai’s rural reforms had only reached the very periphery and needed to be accelerated immediately.

Looking around, even the relatively wealthier households in the several hamlets possessed merely green-tiled roofs and grey walls. How did this resemble a new socialist village of the twenty-first century?

The village committee building looked somewhat more substantial—a two-story brick-and-tile structure clad in white ceramic tiles on the exterior, though the tiles had long since begun to fall off, leaving rain-streaked stains across the walls.

"Ah, Mayor Yang! Welcome, welcome! I am Old Ruan, the village party secretary!" Shortly after Yang Tian cut the engine of his motorcycle at the entrance of the village committee office, an elderly farmer walked out with a broad smile. He wore a snow-white shirt on his upper body, suit trousers on his lower half, and gleaming black leather shoes. A cigarette was clamped between his lips, and plumes of white smoke drifted across the old man's weathered face, making him squint slightly.

His hair was snow-white, clearly marking him as a man of great prestige in these parts.

Old Ruan was extremely courteous, quickly pulling a pack of Hongmei cigarettes from his pocket and drawing one out to offer Yang Tian. "The countryside can't compare to the city, Mayor Yang. Will you make do with one?"

"Please don't bother, I don't smoke!" Yang Tian waved his hand.

"Ah, things done from above are truly efficient! I thought you cadres dispatched from higher-ups wouldn't arrive until ten days later. I never expected you to be here already! Mayor Yang, if it weren't for the fact that the head of the Women's Federation arrived even earlier than you and conveniently cleaned up your room, you'd probably have to squeeze in with me tonight!" Old Ruan chuckled heartily, his voice carrying a heavy local accent closely resembling the dialects of Shanxi.

"Secretary, just call me Little Yang! By the way, the head of the Women's Federation is already here?" Yang Tian first offered a polite smile, then asked in astonishment. Lang Ping had told him that this woman had quite a formidable background, and he was eager to see what kind of remarkable person she really was.

"She's been here for several days! Ah, this girl is so diligent. Right now, she's teaching the pregnant women in the village how to practice prenatal health care!" Mentioning the Women's Federation head, a look of gratified satisfaction spread across Old Ruan's face.

"Really? She got down to work so quickly? It seems she's very capable!" Yang Tian laughed cheerfully, though inwardly he felt puzzled. If this woman had such a remarkable background, she should logically be a legendary high-ranking official's offspring—supposedly a pampered young miss. Why on earth would she be so fond of rural life?

"Indeed. Especially capable! That night, representing the village committee, I invited her to dinner to welcome her arrival. After finishing her meal, the girl actually helped the women of the village wash the dishes. She's so virtuous. It seems she must come from a humble background herself!" Old Ruan said with a squinting smile.

"A humble background?!" Yang Tian was somewhat taken aback, then shook his head internally. It seemed this woman was even better at disguising herself than he was. The people here didn't even know his own background, so they certainly wouldn't know hers.

As Old Ruan briefed Yang Tian on the village's conditions, he led him toward his living quarters. Although Old Ruan appeared very enthusiastic, Yang Tian could tell that the old man simply regarded him as a young master sent from above, intending to treat him well enough to ensure he didn't cause trouble for the village, rather than taking this newly arrived village mayor seriously.

Nevertheless, from Old Ruan's remarks, Yang Tian gathered that Stone Village's extreme poverty boiled down to two primary reasons. The first and most critical was a severe lack of water. True to form, none of the four settlements had any rivers nearby; the drinking and irrigation water used by the villagers relied entirely on groundwater. A short dry spell without rain was treated by Stone Village as a natural disaster akin to a severe drought, because not only would there be no water to farm the land, but even drinking water would vanish entirely.

The second reason was that the villagers' mindset remained relatively traditional—so traditional that even today, young unmarried women would not walk barefoot in public before marriage.

The only detail that piqued Yang Tian's interest was that a coal mine was located on the mountain at the eastern end of the village. Although it had not yet been mined, he heard the deposit was quite substantial.

Upon arriving at the quarters arranged by the village, Yang Tian looked around. It was a brick-and-tile single-story house, very crude and covered in dust from the outside. However, pushing open the green wooden door and stepping inside, the interior was tolerable. Most importantly, the walls were plastered with brand-new posters, and the originally dilapidated desk and chairs were also covered with posters, making the space feel much more comfortable.

"Look, these were all put up by the head of the Women's Federation. Such a meticulous girl! Whoever marries her in the future will surely feel like they've embraced a massive lump of gold!" Old Ruan took a puff of his cigarette and said with a squinting chuckle.

"Is the room next door hers?" Yang Tian asked with a smile. These two flat-roofed rooms were the only ones that looked presentable here; he presumed they were allocated one room each for himself and the Women's Federation head.

"That's right! Little Yang, compared to your city life, things are a bit crude here. But don't worry, tomorrow, once the village has some funds, I'll help you renovate the house properly!" Old Ruan's subtext was clear: if the two young people could truly endure hardship and were willing to stay here, he would build them a proper house; otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of money?

"Secretary, you're being too polite. Actually, I also came from the countryside. I used to live in Big Willow Tree Village in Luohe Town. You must have heard of it?" Yang Tian asked with an easygoing smile.

" Oh, I know, I know! The jujubes there are exceptionally sweet, right?" Old Ruan paused in thought for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Yes, exactly!" Yang Tian nodded repeatedly. He knew the jujubes Old Ruan mentioned were precisely those grown by Huang Juan's family.

"Very well, Little Yang. Rest up for now; I'll call you when it's time for dinner tonight. I'm putting together a welcome banquet for you this evening so that you, our new mayor, can meet the senior figures of the village!" After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, Old Ruan departed.

Yang Tian proceeded to tidy up the room simply. Though he would likely only stay here for a little over a week before reporting to Binhai City University, he would frequently return in the future, and having a comfortable place to rest was essential.

Coincidentally, that evening Old Ruan hosted a welcome banquet at a villager's home in Little Hong Village. Joining them for the meal were several middle-aged businessmen from the village. Upon seeing that the newly arrived mayor was just a wet-behind-the-ears youth, everyone offered superficial flattery while their eyes flashed with disdain.

As soon as Yang Tian stepped through the door, he inquired about how many families surnamed Bao lived in the village. Old Ruan replied that there was only one, and pointing toward an old man bearing a face full of the vicissitudes of life sitting over there, he said, "Look, Old Bao. Out of the entire Stone Village and all four settlements, his family is the only one with the surname Bao!"

"I see!" Yang Tian couldn't help casting a few extra glances at the old man. He figured that, barring any accidents, this old man must be Bao Yuehong's father. He looked rather wretched and impoverished. Yang Tian felt a pang of melancholy inside; this didn't seem right. Bao Yuehong was now a teacher at Binhai No. 1 High School with a very decent salary—why was her father still living like this?

"Little Yang, you just arrived, so you probably don't know. Old Bao is far too honest—so honest that his wife has to call him to come eat. His wife, on the other hand, used to be a sharp woman, but unfortunately, she did too much heavy labor in her youth and is now afflicted with severe arthritis. Every year, she has to spend vast amounts of money on medicine. If they didn't have a daughter teaching in the city, his old lady would probably have been buried long ago!" Seeing Yang Tian staring intently at Old Bao, Old Ruan shook his head and explained.

"Their daughter is very capable!" It was only then that Yang Tian understood the situation of Bao Yuehong's family; no wonder she was always so frugal.

"Capable she may be, but she's already nearing thirty and still hasn't found a suitable husband. Several matches fell through beforehand. In our village, a woman like that is called a jinx. Originally, the villagers respected Old Bao because his daughter was a teacher at Binhai No. 1 High School, but ever since they found out she couldn't get married..." As Old Ruan spoke, a distinctly feudal gleam flickered in his eyes.

"Not being able to get married isn't her fault! This is the twenty-first century; people should value the freedom to love! What's wrong with marrying a bit later if you can't find the right match? I refuse to believe a teacher from No. 1 High School can't find a partner!" Before Old Ruan could finish, Yang Tian shouted indignantly. Bao Yuehong had been his homeroom teacher for six years and had even accepted him as a younger brother. Hearing someone speak of her this way, Yang Tian naturally could not stomach it.

The newly appointed mayor had opened fire on the village party secretary on his very first day, leaving everyone at the table stunned. Earlier, they had merely regarded him as a brat; now they realized this young mayor had quite a temper. However, what flashed more prominently in their eyes was anger. So what if he was the mayor? Just a punk who hadn't even warmed his seat yet before throwing his weight around—completely ungrateful and unyielding.

"Come, come, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's eat, eating is what matters! Today is the new mayor's first day in office, everyone drink a toast to him!" A somewhat scholarly-looking middle-aged man stepped in to smooth things over. Even if they didn't take this new mayor seriously, they still had to handle him with kid gloves. After all, he was dispatched from above and shouldn't be offended.

"Apologies, I lost my composure just now. Let me penalize myself with a drink!" Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Yang Tian hastily raised his glass and laughed it off, though inwardly he vowed fiercely: What kind of atmosphere is this? I must change this place!

Though the awkwardness dissipated, looks of astonishment still lingered on everyone's faces. The new mayor had such a fiery temper; he seemed difficult to deal with. If they could kick him right back out, they certainly would have chosen to do so. But since he was a mayor selected and dispatched from higher authorities, in the eyes of the rural folk he was practically an imperial commissioner—someone best not crossed.

"No matter, no matter! The mayor is a man of passion, and we country folk speak bluntly. If anything was said improperly, we ask Mayor Yang to offer more guidance!" No one dared to dismiss this young lad lightly anymore; he clearly had a backbone.

"The Women's Federation head is here! The Women's Federation head is coming!" At that moment, the village women standing at the entrance began shouting excitedly, their faces wreathed in smiles. They preferred calling her the "Women's Director," and it was evident that this head of the Women's Federation had already won the deep affection of the villagers, especially the women.

"Our newly arrived Mayor Yang certainly puts on grand airs! People throw a banquet to welcome you, and you still throw a temper tantrum? Is that the demeanor of an outstanding public servant?" A delicate young woman flashed in from outside. With her neat hairstyle and oval face, she adapted remarkably well to local customs, having even donned the traditional small jacket of a rural girl, giving her a uniquely charming allure.

"It's you?!" Yang Tian's jaw dropped.