The Long Road to High Office: An Old Bureaucrat Lives in My Left Ear

A graduate student from a prestigious university heads to a remote township, full of expectations, only to be questioned for being "overqualified for the job." After an accident, a mysterious "old bureaucrat" takes up residence in his world. He offers no shortcuts to promotion, teaching him only how to master the practical work: digest policies thoroughly and explain them to the people, and connect the numbers in reports to the fields and farms. The truth is found in the details.

The "old bureaucrat's" ancient wisdom holds the simplest of truths: there is nothing small about working at the grassroots level. Getting things done for the people is already a great achievement. He sheds his bookish naivete and puts down roots amid the doubts, using his knowledge to ease people's worries and earning their trust through hard work. In the end, he understands that being "overqualified" is not about having an impressive degree as a mere decoration. It means having real ability: the ability to bend down and grow a harvest in the soil.