Chapter Summaries

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.

After the Shaohua fire, reporters found that victims’ families defended Mayor Zhou Yi and Secretary Sima Yanan, derailing attempts to smear them online. The provincial investigation confirmed the fire’s cause and issued penalties, including Party warnings for Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan.

• Reporter Tian interviewed victims’ families, who blamed Zeng Xiaoguang for the fire and rejected reporters’ attempts to draw criticism of the city’s leaders.
• Ji Weizhen and other relatives confronted Jimu News reporter Fang Ling and defended Mayor Zhou and Secretary Sima.
• Reporter Tian sent her material to Lin Fang, whose online post helped shift Weibo comments toward people jokingly competing to have Zhou Yi transferred to their cities.
• The provincial investigation team concluded that a faulty cable in the Auto Parts City building’s electrical distribution room ignited nearby combustible materials and submitted its report on September 15.
• On October 15, the Jingchu Provincial Government approved criminal action against thirteen people and disciplinary penalties for Xu Pei, Luo Hao, Zhou Yi, and Sima Yanan.

After the August 18 fire killed eleven people, Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan confronted the tragedy’s consequences and reaffirmed their commitment to Shaohua City. Zhou Yi received a call from his sworn elder sister Jiang Xinting, whose anxiety eased when he answered.

• Sima Yanan and Zhou Yi demanded sweeping workplace safety inspections after the fire exposed serious failures and caused eleven deaths.
• Zhang Hui and the other standing committee members worried that Zhou Yi and Sima Yanan might leave, since their leadership had driven Shaohua’s growth and helped their careers.
• Zhou Yi told Sima Yanan he had no plans to leave unless higher-ups transferred him, and she said she wanted to finish at least three years in Shaohua.
• Sima Yanan explained that Zhou Yi’s poverty alleviation approach had drawn praise from senior leaders, and Zhou Yi asked after her recovering throat.
• Jiang Xinting called Zhou Yi, and hearing his familiar voice eased her anxiety.

Jiang Xinting asked Zhou Yi to protect her from Wan Hongshan, who had used a trap involving her husband to pressure her into becoming his mistress. Zhou Yi promised to intervene, while Jiang Xinting’s marriage appeared to end after Kang Shaofang proposed they part ways and she collapsed after their farewell drink.

• Jiang Xinting told Zhou Yi how Wan Hongshan had blocked her promotion and arranged for Kang Shaofang to be trapped in a compromising situation so he could pressure her.
• Jiang Xinting’s husband and in-laws urged her to appease Wan Hongshan, but her retired uncle could not help her.
• Zheng Yifan suggested that Jiang Xinting ask Zhou Yi for help, and Zhou Yi assured her he would handle the matter.
• Zhou Yi asked Sima Yanan about contacts in Anping, and she named Chai Xiongwei and Lu Jiefeng as people who could rein in Wan Hongshan.
• Kang Shaofang told Jiang Xinting they should part on good terms, and she drank a farewell toast before collapsing at their restaurant table.

Kang Shaofang took his unconscious wife, Jiang Xinting, to a hotel suite for Wan Hongshan, but Zhou Yi’s warning that Jiang was Lu Jiefeng’s niece frightened Wan into leaving. Jiang woke unharmed, realized Kang had betrayed her, and confronted him by phone.

• Kang Shaofang carried the drunk Jiang Xinting to suite 606 at the Spring Day Hotel and left her there for Wan Hongshan.
• Wan Hongshan arrived intending to take advantage of Jiang, but Chai Xiongwei called to warn him that she was Lu Jiefeng’s niece, so Wan hurried out.
• Jiang woke in the hotel, read Zhou Yi’s messages, and recognized his claim about Lu Jiefeng as a protective charm.
• Jiang called Kang Shaofang and learned from his anxious questions about Wan that Kang had knowingly delivered her to him.

Jiang Xinting’s career recovered after Zhou Yi helped resolve her predicament, while her marriage to Kang Shaofang collapsed and he eventually went to prison. At home, Zhou Yi teased his pregnant wife Jian Shuyue about reading Xia Mingyue’s novel, and she reflected on how meaningless her life would be without him.

• Jiang Xinting thanked Zhou Yi, who advised her to seek help from Chai Xiongwei if she faced further problems.
• Yan Jinqiao told Jiang Xinting she had passed the Organization Department’s vetting, and Wan Hongshan apologized and asked about transferring Kang Shaofang back to the city.
• Jiang Xinting said Kang Shaofang’s affairs no longer concerned her, while Kang waited for Wan Hongshan’s promised transfer and promotion; he eventually went to prison after Wan was placed under Shuanggui.
• Zhou Yi found Jian Shuyue reading Xia Mingyue’s novel, teased her about it, and washed and massaged her feet.
• Jian Shuyue told Zhou Yi that a dream of life without him had made her realize how meaningless that life would be.