Recaps

Zhou Yi heard Ji Weizhen’s account of her family’s deaths and the unpaid demolition compensation, then ordered Zhiyuan County to resolve the dispute and advance the murder investigation. Sun Youzhi faced a two-week deadline and worried that Tianqian Development Co., Ltd. would be exposed.

• Liang Xingjian stopped the police from taking Ji Weizhen and brought her to Zhou Yi, who offered to hear her out.
• Ji Weizhen told Zhou Yi that Tianqian Development Co., Ltd. had withheld compensation for demolished homes and that her son, Feng Jinghua, and granddaughter, Feng Ying, had been murdered after organizing residents.
• Ji Weizhen said she suspected Tianqian and its connections to Sun Youzhi’s nephew, Sun Qian, had caused the murders, and Zhou Yi promised to investigate and seek justice.
• After returning from his month-long tour, Zhou Yi ordered Sun Youzhi to address the compensation dispute and accelerate the murder investigation within two weeks.
• Sun Youzhi feared Tianqian would become the prime suspect and considered visiting Lulu to settle his nerves.

Liang Xingjian was detained after catching Ye Yuxin staying overnight at Pan Chengyun’s home, apparently ruining his chance to become Mayor Zhou’s secretary. After serving five days, he returned to the Government Office, where Zhang Le Cheng told him that Zhou Yi wanted to see him.

• Liang Xingjian left work to look for Ye Yuxin after learning she was out late with Pan Chengyun.
• Zhou Yi asked where Liang was, and Lü Wenying explained that he had taken sick leave; she soon learned he had been detained for hitting Pan Chengyun.
• Song Yunzhi blamed Ye Yuxin for jeopardizing Liang’s prospects, while Ye Zhao defended their daughter and encouraged her to break up with Liang.
• Liang Xingjian returned to the secretarial section after several days, determined to face whatever came next.
• Zhang Le Cheng congratulated Liang and told him Zhou Yi wanted to see him.

Liang Xingjian became Mayor Zhou’s secretary and received sudden respect from his colleagues, while Ye Yuxin regretted their breakup and tried to call him. Pan Chengyun claimed that even the mayor was nothing special, but three men confronted him and one punched him in the nose.

• Fang Daye congratulated Liang Xingjian and urged him to settle into his new role as Mayor Zhou’s secretary.
• Colleagues greeted Liang Xingjian warmly, and he reminded himself to stay humble and honor the mayor’s trust.
• Ye Yuxin’s father told her to apologize to Liang Xingjian and celebrate his new position, so she left her friends and tried calling him, but he rejected her calls.
• Wu Jia Ni told Dai Yingtao and the others that Liang Xingjian had become Mayor Zhou’s secretary, prompting them to agree to celebrate him.
• Pan Chengyun caught up with Ye Yuxin and declared that even the mayor was nothing special to his family.
• Three middle-aged men confronted Pan Chengyun about his remark, and one punched him in the nose.

Pan Chengyun was beaten after insulting Mayor Zhou Yi, but the officers who arrived recognized the men who had assaulted him and left without making arrests. Pan Longqun then ordered his son to apologize to Zhou Yi and the officials he had offended, slapping him when he protested.

• Pan Chengyun called Executive Deputy Director Guo Jinxing after three men beat him at the Prosperity Restaurant, then watched them return to their meal.
• Fu Yanping and his officers found the men, recognized Deputy Director Cai, Captain Shao Mingbao, Commissar Zhu Jianping, and Captain Li, and withdrew after learning they had come from Linhai with Mayor Zhou Yi.
• Pan Chengyun went home and, with his mother and grandmother, demanded that Pan Longqun seek justice for the beating.
• Pan Longqun said Pan Chengyun would apologize to Zhou Yi, while his mother and grandmother supported the plan and Pan Chengyun demanded a slap in return.
• Pan Longqun slapped Pan Chengyun and ordered him to apologize the next day to Zhou Yi, Cai Xiaobo, Shao Mingbao, Zhu Jianping, and Liang Xingjian.

Vice Governor Huang called Zhou Yi to smooth over Pan Chengyun’s insult, and Zhou agreed to let the matter go while asking Huang for help with something. The next morning, Zhou spoke with Cai Xiaobo, while Ye Zhao regretted urging his daughter to break up with Liang Xingjian and Cai declined Pan Chengyun’s dinner invitation.

• Vice Governor Huang told Zhou Yi that Pan Chengyun had insulted him while drunk and that Pan Longqun wanted to bring his son to apologize.
• Zhou Yi said Pan Chengyun did not need to apologize in person, then asked Huang for help with another matter.
• Huang told Pan Longqun that Zhou had let the matter go but recommended that Pan Chengyun apologize to Liang Xingjian for having him detained.
• Ye Zhao regretted encouraging his daughter to leave Liang Xingjian and decided to try to have her win him back, while Song Yunzhi resolved to warn her against pursuing him.
• Zhou Yi called Cai Xiaobo, told him not to act rashly, and invited him and his colleagues to dinner that weekend.
• Cai Xiaobo declined Pan Chengyun’s dinner and apology, then listened as Guo Jinxing invited him and others to dinner instead.

At a citywide officials' conference, Mayor Zhou Yi exposed the misuse of poverty alleviation funds and called for officials who harmed ordinary people to be removed. Sun Youzhi was taken away for a Shuanggui investigation, while Zhou vowed to hold corrupt officials accountable.

• Sima Yanan outlined Shaohua City's plan to fight poverty by prioritizing impoverished villages, developing industries, and helping workers find jobs elsewhere.
• Zhou Yi described the hardship he had seen in impoverished villages and challenged Poverty Alleviation Office Director Hong Dawei's explanation that their circumstances could not be changed.
• Zhou Yi revealed that Zhiyuan County had spent much of its poverty alleviation funding on squares, roads, government buildings, and a cultural park.
• Zhou Yi condemned officials who diverted poverty alleviation funds to vanity projects and declared that they would be removed.
• Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection staff placed Sun Youzhi under Shuanggui investigation and escorted him from the hall.
• Zhou Yi declared that he would destroy officials who exploited Shaohua's people.

Mayor Zhou exposed corruption and abuse of power by several county party secretaries at a cadre conference, then praised Lu Chengfeng for serving the people and resisting corruption. The chapter ended with the hall applauding as Lu Chengfeng felt hopeful about Shaohua City's future.

• Mayor Zhou denounced Sun Youzhi and warned that other corrupt officials would also be removed.
• Mayor Zhou accused Zhang Baiyan of abusing public power to imprison Yang Linhai, and Discipline Inspection Commission staff escorted Zhang Baiyan away.
• Mayor Zhou revealed Xu Baocai had used public funds to equip his home with an expensive KTV system, and staff escorted him out.
• Mayor Zhou praised Lu Chengfeng for developing Jigao County, serving its people, and resisting corrupt officials.
• Mayor Zhou urged officials to learn from Lu Chengfeng and unite under Secretary Sima to fight poverty, prompting thunderous applause.

After Mayor Zhou Yi publicly praised Lu Chengfeng and exposed corrupt county officials, senior Shaohua City officials grew wary and uncertain about how to align themselves. Their awkward attempt to visit Zhou and Sima Yanan together ended with Sima calling a meeting to reinforce the new leadership’s control.

• Zhou Yi invited Lu Chengfeng to share Jigao County’s poverty-alleviation experience, and Lu delivered a confident speech praising Zhou and Sima Yanan.
• Hong Dawei vowed to reform after fearing the consequences of corruption, while Zhang Hui, Ma Hongfei, and Jiang Yongcheng discussed how to protect themselves from the new leadership.
• Zhang Hui, Ma Hongfei, and Jiang Yongcheng each claimed they had other plans, but all three arrived at Zhou Yi’s reception room to seek an audience.
• Liang Xingjian kept the three waiting without revealing who else was meeting Zhou, and Sima Yanan then passed by with Zhou and caught them together.
• Ma Hongfei claimed the three had important business to report, and Sima Yanan announced an afternoon meeting with other officials while exchanging a knowing glance with Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan halted wasteful construction projects and launched plans to recruit College Student Village Officials, but Zhou soon faced the challenge of financing Shaohua’s development and poverty alleviation. After reviewing local resources, he gave Taiping Township’s Wang Jili another chance to work with Laifeng Township.

• Shaohua’s Standing Committee unanimously approved halting planned construction projects, recommending new county secretaries, and recruiting College Student Village Officials for impoverished villages and townships.
• Old Xiao and Sima Yanan considered Zhou Yi’s successful early efforts to tackle corruption and strengthen rural leadership.
• Zhou Yi reviewed an economic development report and worried that Shaohua lacked the money to fund poverty alleviation, investment, education, and healthcare.
• Zhou Yi read reports identifying local specialties in nineteen villages and townships, then criticized Wang Jili for claiming Taiping Township had nothing.
• Wang Jili proposed that Taiping Township work with Laifeng Township, and Zhou Yi agreed to give him a chance.

Mayor Zhou Yi secured pledges of billions in investment and poverty alleviation funding for Shaohua City, while Hexin City’s leaders complained that they had been overlooked. Pan Longqun invested in tea-industry poverty alleviation bases, and Pan Yingying brought her boyfriend home, leaving Pan Chengyun stunned when he recognized him.

• Mayor Zhou Yi asked Li Ruoyun for investment, and she offered five hundred million yuan while Zhao Qiushui signaled she could contribute another five hundred million.
• Zhou Yi asked Shan Wenxu to help attract investment, and Shan assigned Li Daming to match Shaohua’s projects with companies.
• Wen Wan sent agricultural company owners to Zhou Yi, and Secretary Sima returned with an additional one billion yuan in provincial poverty alleviation funds.
• Hexin City’s leaders demanded funding from the Province, but the Provincial Leaders said the money had been allocated to Shaohua.
• Pan Longqun chose to invest fifty million yuan in tea-industry poverty alleviation bases, then told Pan Chengyun to come home for Pan Yingying’s birthday.
• Pan Yingying introduced her boyfriend to Pan Chengyun, who recognized the man and reacted in shock.

Liang Xingjian met Pan Yingying’s family and discovered that her brother, Pan Chengyun, was his old rival, but the family welcomed him as their future son-in-law. During the National Day holiday, officials and associates traveled to Capital City, where Zhou Yi’s lavish wedding took place on October 6.

• Pan Chengyun recognized Liang Xingjian as his sister Pan Yingying’s boyfriend and accused him of pursuing her to get revenge, but Pan Longqun welcomed Liang into the family.
• Pan Yingying and Liang Xingjian explained how they had met and fallen in love, and the family warmly accepted their relationship while Pan Chengyun left early.
• Liang Xingjian considered the upcoming wedding and the gift he would give, while officials and former colleagues prepared red envelopes for Mayor Zhou.
• Shan Wenxu and numerous officials traveled to Capital City for Mayor Zhou’s wedding, carrying gifts and red envelopes from their associates.
• Zhou Yi and his bride held a grand wedding at Tianshui Manor on October 6, with distinguished guests filling the venue.
• Bai Haoxuan watched the newlyweds with pride, while Xu Heng wondered whether he could have become Zhou Yi’s brother-in-law if he had acted differently.

Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue celebrated their wedding with family, officials, and friends, then returned to Dongji County for a second banquet. As Zhou Yi toasted former colleagues and classmates, they reflected on his extraordinary rise and felt proud to know him.

• Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue exchanged rings and vows, while Shen Mo applauded and hoped to repay Zhou Yi for saving him.
• Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue served tea to their parents, and Mu Yalan proudly celebrated becoming Zhou Yi’s official mother-in-law.
• Zhao Qiushui accepted that Zhou Yi was married and decided she would remain his friend.
• Three days later, Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue held a wedding banquet at the Double Happiness Hotel in Dongji County for the Zhou family’s relatives, former colleagues, and old classmates.
• Zhang Liping recalled Zhou Yi’s rapid rise, while Zhou Yi toasted the guests and his old classmates felt both nervous and proud to know him.

At a wedding in Mixiang Village, Cheng Shasha slapped village director Yao Kun after he groped her, and her husband and in-laws blamed her instead of defending her. That night, Yao Kun returned with thugs, tied up the Zhu family, and forced his way toward the bridal chamber.

• Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue toasted their relatives and congratulated Feng Liangliang on his university admission.
• At Zhu Huagao and Cheng Shasha's wedding banquet, Yao Kun grabbed Cheng Shasha and groped her while demanding a toast.
• Cheng Shasha broke free, slapped Yao Kun, and refused to apologize despite pressure from Zhu Changgui, Liu Yanlian, and Zhu Huagao.
• Yao Kun left the banquet angrily, and the guests departed as Zhu Huagao blamed Cheng Shasha for offending him.
• That night, Yao Kun returned and claimed Liu Yanlian was his mother-in-law before heading toward the bridal chamber.
• Yao Kun's thugs tied up Zhu Huagao and his parents as Accountant Wu said Yao Kun would spend the night in the bridal chamber.

Zhou Yi ordered an investigation after Hong Dawei reported that Yao Kun had stolen and abused Cheng Shasha and extorted villagers. As police searched Mixiang Village, Yao Kun ordered Cheng Shasha killed, but Pan Chengyun came upon men dragging her into the woods and demanded they let her go.

• Zhou Yi heard Hong Dawei's report that Yao Kun had skimmed poverty relief funds, extorted villagers, and abducted Cheng Shasha, then ordered Jiang Yongcheng to investigate Mixiang Village.
• Jiang Yongcheng relayed Zhou Yi's order to Cai Xiaobo, and municipal criminal investigators went to question the Zhu family and search for Cheng Shasha.
• After learning police had arrived, Yao Kun ordered Accountant Wu to have Cao Hu and Shi Kun take Cheng Shasha to a mountain cabin and kill her.
• Pan Chengyun heard Cheng Shasha cry for help and saw two men seize her, so he shouted for them to let her go.

Pan Chengyun rescued Cheng Shasha and brought her to the investigators, where she identified Yao Kun and his men. A violent village crowd forced the police to release Yao Kun, who returned to the village committee confident that his forces and connections would protect him.

• Pan Chengyun's bodyguards rescued Cheng Shasha, beat Cao Hu and Shi Kun, and tied them up.
• Pan Chengyun took Cheng Shasha to the village committee office, where she accused Yao Kun and identified Cao Hu and Shi Kun.
• Jiang Yao arrested Yao Kun, but villagers armed with clubs surrounded the police cars and attacked the officers.
• Jiang Yao shot a thug in the thigh to stop him from striking an officer, and the crowd erupted and overturned a police car.
• Deputy Director Cai Xiaobo ordered Jiang Yao to release Yao Kun, who returned to the village committee and boasted that his forces and connections would shield him.

After Yao Kun’s crimes drew Mayor Zhou’s attention, the Shaohua City Public Security Bureau sent a large force to arrest him in Mixiang Village. Yao Kun chose to rally armed villagers against the police, and the SWAT officers moved in to break up the resistance.

• Wang Jili confronted Yao Yu and insisted that Yao Kun be held criminally responsible, while Yao Yu threatened to have Wang removed from Taiping Township.
• County Magistrate You Bigong warned Yao Yu that Mayor Zhou had ordered several police detachments to mobilize and urged him to persuade Yao Kun to surrender.
• On October 22, Deputy Director Cai Xiaobo led police officers into Mixiang Village to search Yao Kun’s home and the village committee offices.
• After Yao Yu warned him, Yao Kun rejected surrender and ordered Accountant Wu to assemble the Yao Family Forces outside his home.
• When the villagers refused Cai Xiaobo’s warnings to put down their weapons, he ordered the SWAT officers to charge and disperse them.

Jiang Yao and the SWAT officers arrested Yao Kun and dozens of his followers, prompting panic among corrupt village officials. Yao Yu’s attempt to secure help reached provincial leaders, who hesitated when they learned Mayor Zhou had ordered Yao Kun’s case pursued; Xu Nengdong decided to consult Sima Yanan.

• Jiang Yao caught Yao Kun as he tried to flee over a wall, arrested him, and led him away while villagers celebrated.
• News of Yao Kun’s arrest spread, frightening village officials who feared Mayor Zhou’s anti-corruption campaign would expose them.
• Yao Yu learned that Yao Kun had been arrested and received a warning not to call the leader again.
• Xu Nengdong instructed Yin Chang to intervene, but Jiang Yongcheng said Mayor Zhou had ordered Yao Kun to be investigated and punished severely.
• Xu Nengdong chose to call Sima Yanan and discreetly seek her opinion before approaching Zhou Yi.

Sima Yanan and Zhou Yi stood firm against attempts to secure leniency for Yao Kun, and Long Baiqing backed Shaohua City's decision to punish him. Investigators uncovered Yao Kun's murders, while his brother Yao Yu was also detained; Qi Qingchun changed his tune after learning who led Shaohua.

• Sima Yanan told Xu Nengdong that Shaohua's leadership unanimously supported severe punishment for Yao Kun, and Zhou Yi explained that Yao Kun had influential family connections.
• Xu Nengdong reported Qi Qingchun's request for leniency to Long Baiqing, who ordered officials to respect Shaohua City's decision and punish Yao Kun.
• Accountant Wu confessed that Yao Kun had raped and murdered two women and ordered Cao Hu and Shi Kun to bury their bodies at Mass Grave Hill; Cao Hu and Shi Kun then confessed and identified the site.
• Yao Kun continued to hope his brother Yao Yu would save him, but Feng Haihong arrived with a team and placed Yao Yu under Shuanggui.
• Qi Qingchun learned that Sima Yanan and Zhou Yi led Shaohua City and praised their principled conduct.

Shaohua launched a sweeping campaign against organized crime alongside Zhou Yi’s poverty alleviation efforts, drawing controversy but winning Long Baiqing’s public support. As Long praised Zhou’s successful three-plus poverty alleviation model, Wei Siqi and Hou Xiangyang regretted that Jingchu had benefited from a nephew they had failed to secure.

• Yao Kun was sentenced to death, and Shaohua launched a four-month campaign against organized crime linked to rural poverty alleviation.
• Lu Chengfeng held three meetings to enforce the campaign, which led to officials being removed or prosecuted and hundreds of people being arrested.
• Zhou Yi’s harsh crackdown drew criticism from media outlets, but Long Baiqing publicly defended Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan.
• Long Baiqing described the successes of Zhou Yi’s three-plus cooperative poverty alleviation model to Jian Wanyan, Wei Siqi, and Hou Xiangyang.
• Wei Siqi and Hou Xiangyang regretted that Zhou Yi had brought his poverty alleviation model and its benefits to Jingchu instead of their provinces.

As Zhou Yi’s poverty alleviation work in Shaohua drew national attention, senior officials and reporters praised his achievements and defended his forceful crime crackdown. The chapter ended with Gan Liansheng reading Jingchu Province’s report and reflecting on Zhou Yi’s remarkable promise.

• Long Baiqing praised Zhou Yi’s governance and poverty alleviation work to Jian Wanyan, Wei Siqi, and Hou Xiangyang, and firmly defended Zhou Yi’s crackdown on organized crime.
• In August 2011, Yuan Guoqing showed reporters how Stream Guest Village had changed after Zhou Yi’s visit and described the village’s new tea-growing base.
• Lin Fang praised Zhou Yi on camera, while Tian Tian and Zhou Xiaofan recognized how thoroughly Lin Fang had joined his supporters.
• Lin Fang invited Tian Tian and Zhou Xiaofan to dinner, revealed she knew they had posed as her online fans, and warmly accepted their apologies.
• Gan Liansheng read Jingchu Province’s report on targeted poverty alleviation and regarded Jian Wanyan’s son-in-law Zhou Yi as an exceptional talent.

Finance Bureau Director Deng Xianrui waited to meet Mayor Zhou, while Zhou welcomed old friends Li Ruoyun and Zhao Qiushui and invited them to gather with Jian Shuyue on Sunday. The chapter ended with Zhou telling Deng that he and Secretary Sima supported recommending him for vice mayor.

• Shaohua's economy and public finances had prospered, and all five of its nationally designated poverty-stricken counties had shed that status.
• Zhou Yi met Li Ruoyun and Zhao Qiushui, thanked them for their past support, and invited them to meet with Jian Shuyue on Sunday.
• Li Wei and Lü Wenying discussed Zhou's wealthy guests and Liang Xingjian's upcoming wedding.
• Liang Xingjian told Deng Xianrui that his wedding would be held at Jixing Hotel on the sixth of the next month.
• Zhou Yi told Deng that Secretary Sima supported recommending him for vice mayor, and Deng thanked them emotionally.

Deng Xianrui discussed candidates to succeed him as Finance Bureau director with Mayor Zhou, who favored Jin Huiping, while Deng made clear that Ye Zhao had no chance. At Mayor Zhou’s home, Tian Tian teased pregnant Jian Shuyue about her and her husband’s sex life.

• Mayor Zhou asked Deng Xianrui to recommend a successor, and Deng suggested Ye Zhao, Wang Zeyuan, then Jin Huiping as he read the mayor’s reactions.
• Mayor Zhou agreed with Deng’s praise of Jin Huiping, indicating that he favored her for Finance Bureau director.
• After Deng Xianrui’s promotion to vice mayor was approved, Ye Zhao offered him an envelope and asked him to consider his chances, but Deng refused the gift and discouraged him.
• Deng Xianrui privately sympathized with Ye Zhao, recalling how Ye Zhao’s daughter had lost her chance to marry Mayor Zhou’s secretary.
• At Mayor Zhou’s home, Tian Tian visited pregnant Jian Shuyue, asked about her health, and teased her about intimacy with her husband.

Jian Shuyue teased Tian Tian while they waited for Zhou Yi, who stayed at a hotel with Shan Wenxu after dinner. At the dinner, Shan described the political infighting and severe debt in Gufeng City, and Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan advised him to remove You Junwei to gain room to work.

• Jian Shuyue joked about a poem with Tian Tian, then invited her to stay the night because Zhou Yi would not be coming home.
• Zhou Yi hosted Sima Yanan, Shan Wenxu, Li Ruoyun, and Zhao Qiushui, hoping to help his friends build connections.
• Zhou Yi asked Shan Wenxu about Gufeng City, and Shan said factionalism and resistance from the leadership were making his work difficult.
• Shan Wenxu explained that You Junwei dominated the city and that Gufeng's debt ratios had reached 154 percent and 383 percent overall.
• Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan agreed that Shan Wenxu should get You Junwei transferred out so he could focus on the city's economy.

Shan Wenxu secured Li Ruoyun and Zhao Qiushui’s support for two municipal investment projects while spending the evening with Zhou Yi. After Tian Tian woke from a troubling dream about Zhou, Zhou was roused by news of a major fire in the Development Zone.

• Shan Wenxu invited Li Ruoyun and Zhao Qiushui to invest in two livelihood projects, and Li agreed to help.
• Zhou Yi and Shan Wenxu reminisced at the City Hotel and joked about their children becoming engaged.
• Tian Tian dreamed that Zhou Yi had forced himself on her, then woke beside Jian Shuyue and decided to return to Liaoyang after breakfast.
• Liang Xingjian called Zhou Yi at 3:10 a.m. to report that a fire at Auto Parts City had spread toward a nearby residential area.

A devastating fire at Shaohua’s auto parts complex killed eleven people and injured sixteen, prompting Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan to accept public responsibility and apologize. As criticism spread online, Lin Fang and Tian Tian worked to counter it with firsthand reporting on the fire and prior safety warnings.

• Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan rushed to the burning complex, where officials reported casualties and feared many workers were still trapped.
• Firefighters extinguished the blaze after eight hours, and the final toll was eleven dead and sixteen injured.
• At a press conference, Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan apologized and accepted leadership responsibility, while Zhou described the preliminary finding that an electrical fault had ignited combustible materials.
• Online commentators and a public intellectual criticized Shaohua’s leaders, prompting Lin Fang to publish a rebuttal and ask Tian Tian to gather firsthand accounts.
• Tian Tian interviewed local officials, and Luo Hao explained that the complex had received three fire-hazard rectification notices before the fire.