In 2008, Chen Ze, who had just graduated, became a clerk in Qingshan Township, the most remote village in Qinghe County. With no background and no connections, he stepped into the turbulent grassroots officialdom and faced the desperate situation of being completely marginalized at the beginning.
Just when he was at a loss, the soul of Lu Chongyuan, the chief minister of the cabinet from the Dayong Dynasty who had been in charge of the government for more than 30 years, penetrated his body and shared the same body with him.
From then on, the old chief minister of the court became his guide, both his teacher and his father. Eighteen official lessons taught him tactics and the bottom line; he taught him gaming and his original intention.
From resolving a five-year backlog of petitions to revitalizing a cultural tourism project in an ancient town that had been unfinished for three years; from risking one's life to thoroughly investigate chemical plant pollution cases, to confronting the entangled forces of corruption; from being framed by false accusations and being suspended from work, to staying true to one's innocence in the storm of public opinion.
Chen Ze stepped on the thorns, taking performance as his foundation and people's support as his backing. In seven years, he went from an unheralded marginal clerk to the position of secretary of the Qinghe County Party Committee, becoming one of the youngest county Party secretaries in the history of the province.
He has seen the intrigues in the officialdom and experienced life-and-death crises, but he always remembers the words Lu Chongyuan taught him - serving as an official will benefit one party.
This country has never been a political game above the court, it is the lights of thousands of families and the well-being of the people.
