Tales of Officialdom

Zhao Xuanyang enters the county Party Committee Office as the county’s top scorer. As he handles routine tasks like writing speeches for officials, coordinating meetings, and dealing with public complaints and petitions, he comes to understand that “power operates through the details.” In one research report, he boldly exposes the performative approach to poverty alleviation at the grassroots level. This unexpectedly earns him the favor of Li Guohua, the executive deputy county magistrate who will later become his patron, but also makes him an enemy of the conservatives.