Chapter 172: A Thunderclap on Flat Ground

Emerging from Han Guishan's office, Han Xinpu suddenly asked Lu Fan, "Help me analyze something. If Department Head Guo Mingxiong goes to the city to take up a post, should I follow him, or should I continue to stay in the Organization Department?"

Lu Fan didn't even think before saying, "You're just at the Deputy Section Level, and you're already being picky? If Department Head Guo is willing to take you, shouldn't you be following him eagerly? Does this need consideration? Once you go down there, you'll be settled at the Section Level, and reaching the Deputy Division and Division Levels when the time comes will all be a matter of course. If you stay in the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department, you'll just be suffering through it; even if there's a vacancy, it might not be your turn. Does Department Head Han know about this?"

Han Xinpu shook his head and said, "I just discovered some clues. I haven't told my uncle yet because I'm not sure either."

"Then listen to me. If Department Head Guo asks for your opinion, whether intentionally or unintentionally, don't hesitate at all. Just agree immediately."

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

After wandering around the provincial capital for two days, on Sunday afternoon, Lu Fan picked up Zhao Sijie and returned to Ningyang. Along the way, the two chatted and laughed. Zhao Sijie inadvertently revealed a piece of news: Municipal Party Secretary Zhou Xi might be transferred away.

Lu Fan was shocked again. Secretary Zhou at least had an impression of him. If someone else came to be the Municipal Party Secretary, he would have to start from zero again. It was too difficult to have any connection with the Municipal Party Secretary!

In Jingcheng, Qinchuan Provincial Party Secretary Chen Deming was preparing to return to the province. When his wife, Wang Fang, helped him pack his briefcase, she sighed and complained, "Are you not going to care about your son? Just let him drift? A man should be independent at thirty, but he doesn't even have a girlfriend yet. Don't you want to hold a grandson?"

Chen Deming said disapprovingly, "Haven't you always been arranging things for him? Is there no girl who can catch his eye?"

"Don't you know your own son? I really don't know what kind of sin I committed in my past life to have given birth to such a thing! Only in him can I truly feel what a 'Buddhist' life is! He has an indifferent attitude toward everything—not fighting, not grabbing, not anxious, not impatient. If he had even one-tenth of your ambition, I would be burning incense!"

"It's good that he doesn't want to struggle in the system. A plain and simple life is the truth. I think what my son has is called being open-minded! Doesn't he want to do technology? Let's not restrict him too much. Let him do whatever he wants; it doesn't matter if he quits."

"Sigh, if he at least had a project or an idea, I wouldn't stop him. Besides, he has to solve his marriage problem first, right?"

Chen Deming suddenly said, "Doesn't he like that girl named Lu Yao? I think she's quite good, with upright character. I've met her brother; he's a very capable young cadre. The siblings rely on each other, which is not easy."

Wang Fang laughed, "I thought you really didn't care about your own son. It seems you're quite attentive too!"

"I just happened to! Besides, I am the Provincial Party Secretary; what's the problem with paying attention to the cadres of Qinchuan Province? I'm telling you, we are a decent family; everything depends on willingness. If Little Xu likes her, let him pursue her. If he can't catch her, that's his ability. Don't you interfere blindly and ruin my reputation!"

"Well, you, Chen Deming. We've been married for over thirty years; where have I ever embarrassed you? You explain it to me clearly! Don't think that just because you're the Provincial Party Secretary, you can lecture me in such a condescending manner..."

Chen Deming fled in a panic. No matter how high the official rank, one cannot fight a tigress!

Returning to Qinchuan, Chen Deming began to plan personnel adjustments. The transfer of Yingjiang Municipal Party Secretary Zhou Xi had become a foregone conclusion. The Central Organization Department had already communicated with him. The new Municipal Party Secretary would also be brought in from another province. There was no way around this; after all, Yingjiang City was too special, and the title of Central Committee member alone could make countless people fight to the death for it.

The lingering warmth of the college entrance exam had not yet dissipated when the footsteps of the high school entrance exam followed closely behind. The 2014 high school entrance exam in Ningyang County was held from June 17th to 19th, with over five thousand candidates from the county participating.

Another batch of high-spirited teenagers embarked on their journey, carving their dreams into the exam papers, writing for nine years, and moving forward in pursuit of their dreams.

The Education Bureau made meticulous preparations before the exam, conducting hidden danger investigations and mobile patrols around each exam hall, making full preparations for the candidates to arrive at the exam halls smoothly. As always, the silent guardianship interpreted the solemn promise: "You just focus on riding the wind and breaking the waves; we will escort you."

After years of hard study, rushing into the sea of questions accompanied by the sunset, those seemingly calm day-after-days will eventually bloom with flowers and be as bright as the scorching sun. Keep going, teenagers!

Inside the exam halls, the tension and focus of the candidates writing furiously; outside the exam halls, the anxiety, concern, and encouragement of teachers and parents, as well as expectations, surprises, and touches... these various moods were like pigments of different colors, mixing a colorful and beautiful picture on the palette of the high school entrance exam.

Anxiety—parents are more nervous than the candidates!

Concern—I'll just take a look from the side!

Encouragement—Let the children feel the love!

Around 11:00 AM, at the gate of the County Middle School, a mother hugged her daughter who had just come out of the exam hall, patted her back gently, and murmured, "I love you."

The best gift for a child is to let her feel your love, even if it's exaggerated!

Outside the County Elementary School exam site, a group of mothers wore red, green, and yellow clothes respectively to send their children blessings of "prosperity, smooth sailing, and moving toward brilliance."

"We agreed to wear colorful clothes so that the children would be in a good mood when they see us, and naturally, they would forget their nervousness," said a mother wearing a cheongsam.

Rich and colorful "emojis" appeared outside each exam hall. The encouragement from teachers to students, the confidence of candidates in the exam, and the expectations of parents for their children—each vivid scene was always moving.

On June 19th, at 3:00 PM, parents waiting to welcome the candidates gradually gathered outside each exam site.

With the ringing of the bell for the end of the last subject, the high school entrance exam in Ningyang County came to an end.

The candidates ran to their families with laughter and cheers, excitedly sharing their current moods.

Outside the exam sites, parents and teachers held flowers and gifts, looking forward to welcoming these children who had just completed their first important exam in life.

Under Lu Fan's hint, the physical education scores of the top 300 students from the last joint exam were all perfect scores.

For the Education Bureau, what needed to be done next was to wait with full expectation for good news from both the college entrance exam and the high school entrance exam!

If these two important exams could achieve historically brilliant results, it would add a heavy bargaining chip to his political career, and only in this way could he have the confidence to "run for office and ask for office." After all, in the fiercely competitive officialdom, without solid performance support and a strong background, it was almost impossible to obtain a higher-level position.

The Provincial Education Department website announced that the minimum admission control scores would be released on June 24th, and the college entrance exam score inquiry channel would be opened to candidates, at which time candidates could check their scores.

On the day the college entrance exam scores were announced, the weather was clear and cool. Deputy County Chief Zhao Sijie and Education Bureau Director Lu Fan arrived at the County High School early, full of expectations.

The teachers of the senior grade group were busy preparing for the score inquiry work. Some students also came to the school, sitting together nervously, waiting for that moment to arrive.

Zhao Sijie and Lu Fan came to the conference room, and everyone sat around the conference table, their eyes revealing eager anticipation for the upcoming results.

At 9:00 sharp, the score inquiry channel opened, and everyone became focused.

As time passed second by second, the scores were finally summarized.

When seeing the excellent report cards presented before them, the moods of Zhao Sijie and Lu Fan became even more excited. Hard work pays off; this year's results were astonishing, and the students' efforts and talents were fully displayed!

However, what was even more surprising was that not only did the high-scoring candidates perform well, but even the middle and lower-performing students had a qualitative leap in their scores. This meant that the overall college entrance exam scores had improved, and most of the children had made huge progress in this exam.

The whole room suddenly erupted in warm applause and cheers, and the joy was beyond words.

Teachers congratulated each other, and the students' faces were filled with proud and satisfied smiles.

Zhao Sijie and Lu Fan stood up excitedly to express their congratulations and thanks to the teachers and students.

"I've been at this school for over 20 years. How many years has it been! The college entrance exam has never had such a situation!" Seeing this year's college entrance exam results, Teacher Zhu sighed sincerely. Teacher Zhu was the head teacher of Class 3, Senior Grade Science. His class had a total of 54 students. This year, the number of students reaching the first-tier university cutoff reached 24, and the undergraduate admission rate was 100%. Such results were unprecedented.

In midsummer, good news kept coming from Ningyang County High School: the first-tier university admission rate increased by 185.5% year-on-year, reaching an astonishing 305 people! 685 people reached the second-tier university cutoff, a year-on-year increase of 59%; the highest science score was 625, and the highest liberal arts score was 604; based on previous years' admission rankings, it was expected that this year would achieve a zero-breakthrough for 985 and 211 universities! 8 people would reach the 985 cutoff, and 45 people would reach the 211 cutoff!

The Ningyang County Education Bureau expressed its gratitude to all the faculty and staff of the High School and conveyed this exciting good news to the people of the whole county!

This unprecedented result was like a bomb, causing a huge sensation among the people of the whole county! They expressed amazement and praise for this brilliant achievement one after another, and all kinds of accolades and positive reviews poured in like a tide.

And in this educational event, Education Bureau Director Lu Fan undoubtedly became the focus of everyone's attention. His ability was widely recognized by cadres and the masses, and he became an object of praise by everyone. His name was hotly discussed by the masses on the streets and alleys, praising the County Party Committee for finally using the right person, and he became a banner for Ningyang County's education cause.

County Party Committee Secretary Gao Yuanfei expressed his congratulations to the Education Bureau and Lu Fan at the first opportunity. All the achievements in Ningyang were obtained under his leadership, so he would have something to say when going to the city!

County Head Hu Chengwei also expressed his congratulations and promised to reward the education system heavily this year, especially the High School.

Municipal Education Bureau Director Di Bin also specifically called Lu Fan to congratulate Ningyang for adding luster to the city's college entrance exam, directly driving the city's first-tier university admission rate, and also indicated that there would be material rewards.

In short, Ningyang's college entrance exam this year was like a thunderclap on flat ground, shocking the whole city!

The multi-book title test has begun. The last day is quite important!

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