After earning his master’s degree, Chen Zhiyuan chose the hardest path: going to the poorest county in the province. Starting as an assistant to a town mayor, he put down roots at the grassroots level and visited villages and households. He used a research report to revive a stalled project, then spent three years helping a poverty-stricken county shed its poverty status.
With no golden finger and no powerful backer, he relied on hard work, taking one step at a time.
This is the story of a man who rose from the soil to the clouds above, yet never forgot the mud beneath his feet. (The story has three parts; this is the first.)
