A Young Teacher's Secondment Diary

Chen Qingsheng, who was once a key teacher in Qingshan Town Middle School, unexpectedly stepped into the door of the County Education Bureau due to a temporary transfer opportunity. With the expectation of changing the course of his life, he plunged into the world of literature and art, trying to gain a foothold amidst the business dealings and testing of rules. From the initial confusion and discomfort with the operation logic of the agency, to the brief highlight of being named and praised by the top leader for the materials he worked up all night long, during the long struggle for formal establishment, he not only witnessed the clear rules and invisible thresholds for rank promotion, but also experienced the helplessness of the misalignment of power and responsibilities at the grassroots level, the pull of human relationships, and the gap between ideals and reality. On the day when he finally crossed the establishment threshold after going through many twists and turns, Chen Qingsheng stood in the corridor of the Office Building of the Education Bureau and suddenly understood: the real value coordinate system is never in the rank evaluation defined by others, but in the life choices that he can control. This story describes the real life conditions within the grassroots system, and also describes the ultimate search for the meaning of career by ordinary people at the crossroads of their careers.