The Municipal Landscaping Bureau's Report

Inside the Jingzhou City government building, a new atmosphere was quietly taking shape. Every department had become more efficient, and even some longstanding problems were showing signs of progress.

At nine sharp that morning, Yang Xiaoyan, director of the Municipal Landscaping Bureau, stood punctually outside Lin Yanzhou's office.

She had originally been the head of Wuhua District and had achieved results working alongside Sun Liancheng. After Governor Liu's inspection back then, she had thought she would succeed as district Party secretary. Instead, Li Dakang had transferred him straight to the Municipal Landscaping Bureau as its director and brought over his secretary from his time as mayor of Lüzhou to serve as district head.

Like Sun Liancheng, she had originally thought that was all her future held: sitting around waiting for retirement. She had never expected a mayor who took things seriously to arrive and had initially intended to go through the motions. His department was an impoverished backwater office to begin with, with no budget at all to maintain public facilities.

But as the new mayor kept adding to his record of accomplishments, especially after the new Finance Bureau director, Liu Yongning, took office, the Finance Bureau proactively allocated special funds to them for repairing and refurbishing public facilities throughout the city, with no ceiling on the budget. Matters that departments had previously passed back and forth could now be settled that very day with a single word from him.

Now, without him even having to intervene, every district was proactively funding its landscaping system to conduct inspections and make corrections. Municipally owned enterprises were constantly contacting him, planning to donate money to build basketball courts, football pitches, public toilets, and more. They were all scrambling to hand over money, afraid that when the wind rose, it would blow them away.

Led by Chen Mo, Yang Xiaoyan entered Lin Yanzhou's office.

"Mayor Lin, following your earlier instructions, our bureau applied the lessons more broadly and conducted a comprehensive inspection and rectification of the city's parks, particularly infrastructure in older residential communities and public toilet renovations." He opened the tablet in his hands and brought up the illustrated reports and briefing materials.

"All damaged lighting at West Mountain Park was replaced within three days. In the children's slide area, we not only repaired the damaged equipment but also laid new environmentally friendly safety mats. Work has also begun on the public toilets scheduled for renovation, with completion expected within two weeks. Meanwhile, we have surveyed related issues citywide, established a register, and set deadlines for resolving and closing out each item."

Yang Xiaoyan was an official who had worked her way up from the grassroots, a small-town test-taker. To her, a work report meant presenting current progress, roughly how long completion would take, and comparison photos from before and after rectification. Any difficulties encountered along the way were hers to resolve and coordinate; that was her job to begin with.

This way of reporting was a breath of fresh air to Lin Yanzhou. This was someone who genuinely got things done. There were no grandiose PowerPoint presentations or blueprints-nothing was more direct than the concrete things one had actually done for the public.

Lin Yanzhou studied the pictures carefully and nodded. "Good efficiency. Parks, fitness equipment, children's facilities, and public toilets aren't vanity projects, but they are things ordinary people use every day, things through which they can directly feel a city's warmth. Handling these small, concrete matters well is more useful than shouting a hundred slogans. This money was well spent."

Thus, he did not pursue responsibility for the past. He knew himself how difficult it truly was for a cash-starved office to find the money to accomplish anything.

Instead, he directly affirmed their current actions. A weight lifted from Yang Xiaoyan's heart, and he hastened to pledge, "Rest assured, Mayor. We will establish a long-term management mechanism and never again let residents be troubled by little things like these!"

"Good. That's exactly the attitude we need. Off you go. Take the long view in your work. The organization won't overlook comrades who do real work." Lin Yanzhou waved a hand.

When Yang Xiaoyan left, his steps were much lighter.

He realized that this new mayor truly valued practical work and results, rather than putting on a show and gilding one's résumé. This showed her a new way forward. She had to follow this leader-that was the original aspiration she had held after more than a decade studying by a cold window, when her name finally appeared on the golden list.

His affirmation of the Landscaping Bureau was the first signal Lin Yanzhou sent: as long as people sincerely got things done, he would let bygones be bygones.

Chen Mo stepped softly into the office, topped up Lin Yanzhou's teacup with hot water, then reported crisply, "Sir, everything is ready for the on-site working meeting at Qingshui River at three this afternoon. Also, there's an important investment promotion banquet tonight. Secretary Dakang specifically expressed his hope that you could attend."

Lin Yanzhou did not look up, his gaze still on the documents. "I won't attend the investment promotion banquet. Have Comrade Yizhen represent the city government."

He set down his pen and looked up at Chen Mo. "Chen Mo, you've been with me for five years now, haven't you?"

"Sir, four years and seven months." Chen Mo felt a little nervous.

A trace of wistfulness entered Lin Yanzhou's gaze. "I remember it was your sister who recommended you to me. How has she been lately? Since we parted in the county back then, who knows how many years have passed."

"Sir, my sister called just last night and specifically asked me to pass along her regards." There was a degree of warmth in Chen Mo's tone. "She said the days she spent working alongside you in Linmu County were when she felt most energized and fulfilled. She was lucky to have met such a good team leader, such a fine judge of talent."

His sister, Chen Jie, had worked alongside Lin Yanzhou in Linfeng County, Bianxi Province. Lin Yanzhou had served as county Party secretary, while she had served as county head. Those years had been a crucial stop in both their official careers.

At this, a genuine smile appeared on Lin Yanzhou's face, and a flicker of reminiscence crossed his eyes. That was where he had first shown his edge, and also where he had first drawn on his family's influence-but certainly not for personal gain.

He had stood firm against widespread opposition and worked tirelessly on multiple fronts, ultimately having two expressway spurs originally planned to bypass Linfeng rerouted to run through the entire county.

Breaking through the transport bottleneck had been like opening the conception and governing meridians. Then, working seamlessly with Chen Jie and seizing this rare opportunity, he had led the county's officials and residents to deliver solid results: they secured a railway station in Linfeng, completely breaking its isolation; they made full use of the area's natural advantage of abundant sunshine to vigorously develop apple and other fruit cultivation, making the Linfeng Apples brand renowned worldwide.

Building on this foundation, they established an integrated industry chain encompassing juice processing, ecotourism, and green organic agricultural products.

Ultimately, Linfeng County not only shed its designation as an impoverished county but also leaped ahead to become a benchmark for county-level economic development in Bianxi Province and one of the first exemplary counties to achieve comprehensive poverty alleviation.

It was precisely this outstanding record that enabled Lin Yanzhou to advance first, becoming a member of the municipal Party standing committee and executive vice mayor of Nanmu City, Bianxi Province, before being transferred to serve as deputy Party secretary of Menxia City, Minnan Province. Chen Jie succeeded him as Linfeng County Party secretary, maintaining the overall course of development, and was later promoted as well, transferring to serve as executive vice mayor of Linhe City in Hanjiang Province, a major province in the Central Plains.

Since then, the two had mostly met during holidays and festivals.

Chen Jie had always remained grateful for those years of fighting side by side and for Lin Yanzhou's support in advancing her career. Every year, she would bring her younger brother Chen Mo to pay him a New Year's visit without fail, ensuring that their bond never faded with distance or time.

Lin Yanzhou's smile did not diminish. "I originally planned to make suitable arrangements for you in Menxia, but I was unexpectedly transferred to Jingzhou. I was newly arrived and unfamiliar with the place and its people. I couldn't do without someone capable at my side, so I brought you along."

"Things are different for you now. You're the executive deputy head of Guangming District. Shift your focus to that work as soon as possible, familiarize yourself with the district, and adjust properly to your new role. Work out which day you'll formally take office, and I'll personally take you there."

"You also need to give careful attention to choosing my new secretary and screen the candidates strictly for me. Their background, ability, and temperament must all be thoroughly understood. They must be absolutely reliable."