The Road to Office: My Notebook on People’s Livelihoods

I’m the youngest county magistrate in the entire county, yet I like to ride an electric scooter out to the countryside.

An elderly vegetable vendor chats with me about bride prices, and a tea farmer comes to me to settle a dispute.

My newly arrived PhD subordinate looks at me with disdain. “How did a country bumpkin like him get ahead?”

Then the environmental crackdown comes, and I shut down his family’s polluting factory with a single order.

His furious father comes to confront me. When he pushes open my office door, he sees hanging on the wall the “Diligently Serve the People” banner he gave me years ago.

Seated at the head of the table, I smile faintly. “Mr. Li, long time no see. I told you I’d shut down your factory.”