A Civil Servant’s Path: From Gangster to Provincial Government Official

This is a book about growth and transformation, written for ordinary people: going from thinking the sky is the limit to recognizing reality and accepting that you're nothing special. After graduating from college, Wang Yang worked for companies, made sales, sold insurance, and drove an unlicensed cab. He even tried starting a business and ended up deep in debt. Later, following his parents' advice, he took the civil service exam. Because his major did not match the requirements, there were very few positions he could apply for, so Wang Yang had to go back to graduate school, change majors, and take the exam again as a new graduate. Fortunately, after earning his master's degree, he passed the exam to become a government-selected trainee and was assigned to the county Party committee office. But as a newcomer to the workplace, he fell into countless traps, made many mistakes, and suffered repeated setbacks at work. Wang Yang never gave up, however, and with the help of a benefactor, he made his way through adversity to a provincial-level government office. After the initial excitement, he went through a series of twists and turns before finally seeing the truth about the system and choosing to approach life within it with detachment... On the surface, he became the good-for-nothing everyone at the office mocked. Behind the scenes, he was powerful, wealthy, and living comfortably... (This is a book for people working within the system.)