Chapter 208

Heaven's movement is vigorous; the gentleman constantly strives for self-improvement; Earth's condition is receptive; the gentleman carries things with great virtue.

Lu Fan didn't have any special outstanding talent; he only knew that to do what he wanted, he needed the perseverance and determination to cling to the green mountains without letting go, persisting steadfastly.

It was precisely by relying on this persistence and dedication that Lu Fan formed his own way of governing. Whether handling official duties or resolving people's livelihood issues, he needed a lasting, unchanging resolve and perseverance.

The day after the Spring Festival holiday ended, Lu Fan's 'surprise' arrived!

119 originally off-plan private teachers and substitute teachers came in an organized manner to the county government, directly blocking the gate, and even named names demanding to see Deputy County Chief Lu Fan!

Because they had come to petition more than once, but each time were brushed off and the problem remained unresolved. Now, Lu Fan's reputation at the Ningyang Education Bureau is very prominent, so they came with a purpose!

In recent years, the issues of these two groups have become prominent, and they are historical legacy problems; they have repeatedly besieged the gates of the provincial, municipal, and county governments, yet no one has a good solution, because there is no policy basis.

Private teachers are a product of the 1950s-60s, when educational resources were severely insufficient. To be frank, they have made huge contributions to rural education. But with the development of the times and education, these people suffer from overall advanced age, low cultural level, incomplete knowledge structure, outdated educational concepts, etc., and can no longer adequately meet the new requirements for teachers in teaching and education.

In the early 1990s, Ningyang, through examinations and position conversions, granted regular status to those who obtained municipal certificates and had appointment certificates, while off-plan private teachers were dismissed and their service years were bought out in a lump sum.

Starting in 2007, off-plan private teachers and substitute teachers began causing trouble, demanding regular status and the same treatment as public-school teachers.

The situation is very complex: there are privately hired teachers who were dismissed from the plan, who have long been absent due to low wages; there are in-plan teachers who made agreements with others to impersonate and obtain regular status; and there are those hired by townships and schools themselves.

These people are fully aware of state policies, knowing they do not meet the requirements for regular status, yet they strongly demand regular status, the same treatment as public-school teachers, living subsidies, and old-age and medical insurance, etc.

The reason is simply that they believe no trouble means no resolution, small trouble means small resolution, big trouble means big resolution!

All levels of government lack policy basis and support, so even if leaders want to resolve it, they cannot; thus the matter has been dragged on indefinitely, and this group has become persistent petitioners.

To be frank, Lu Fan doesn't want to get involved in these troubles, but he has no choice; since he is in charge of education and also serves as director of the Education Bureau, he must step in to resolve it.

When going downstairs, County Chief Bian Jide specifically told Lu Fan not to make promises lightly.

With mixed feelings, Lu Fan took Xia Li and secretary Li Junwu to the gate to resolve the petition issue.

The Public Security Bureau and Petition Bureau personnel had already controlled the situation; Education Bureau Deputy Secretary Shen Jiqin and Deputy Director Wang Fei, along with several cadres, also arrived, and the scene was very chaotic.

After Lu Fan appeared, the petitioning crowd immediately surrounded him, chattering about their 'grievances'.

Lu Fan took the loudspeaker and said, 'It's all chaotic; I can't hear your demands clearly, and I can't solve the problem. How about this: you pick five representatives, and I'll talk with everyone in the Petition Bureau reception room.' Having said that, he turned and went into the first-floor Petition Bureau.

Soon, the five representatives came in, along with the private teacher from Baishu Bay, who was an 'old acquaintance' of Lu Fan.

First, the staff poured several cups of hot water, and Lu Fan said, 'It's the New Year; first, have some water!'

A man in his fifties said, 'County Chief Lu, everyone trusts you; this time we came especially to see you, and only you can resolve our matter.'

Lu Fan laughed, 'Don't give me undue praise; there are some things I, as a deputy, cannot resolve. All I can say is that within my ability, I will do my utmost to strive for the benefits you deserve.'

County Chief Lu, your words are spot on! We also have no choice; we have elderly parents and young children, we ourselves are getting older, and life is really hard to sustain. Otherwise, who would come here to lose face?

Lu Fan said, 'Several uncles, the policy is laid out there; you may have studied it more thoroughly than I have. You say, is the County Government ignoring you? In fact, your demands have no basis and no precedent. So you must put forward demands within the policy's allowable scope, and then I can think of a way to solve things for everyone. Otherwise, even if you cause a ruckus all the way to Jingcheng, the province, or the city, it will be of no avail.'

'County Chief Lu, the County Government spends so much money each year; to put it bluntly, throwing it into the water yields no sound at all—amounting to tens of millions. What harm could there be in giving us, who have made contributions, a little compensation?'

'Yes, County Chief Lu, we are all private teachers; others are now living comfortably, while we are miserable—this isn't fair!'

Baishu Bay

Hearing these babbling excuses, Lu Fan said, 'I have the detailed circumstances of all 119 of you; why weren't you given regular status? You probably know better than I do! Just taking you five as an example, haven't you all had the phenomenon of drawing wages without showing up for work? If we really pursued it, what would the consequences be? Uncles, we are all Ningyang people; many things we just turn a blind eye to and let pass, so we have never formally confronted you, but you cannot keep making things difficult for the County Government! I state my position here: no matter where you cause a disturbance, becoming regular is impossible! If you have other demands, as long as they are within a reasonable range, I can approach the County Party Committee and County Government to seek them for you.'

'Ah, County Chief Lu, let me speak from the heart: becoming regular is indeed difficult, but no matter what, I have stood on the three-foot lectern and contributed to Ningyang's education cause; we simply cannot ignore these 119 of us.'

Lu Fan nodded and said, 'That cannot be denied; tell me your demands, and as I said, I will strive for everyone.'

Several people summed it up and said, "County Chief Lu, we won't make things difficult for you; as long as you follow the previous method and buy out our service years, that'll do!"

Lu Fan thought a moment and said: "I can report this upward, but how do we verify service years? You know some of you only worked two or three years, then after seven or eight years, hearing the news, came back to work another one or two years, and insist on counting it as ten years—do you think that's possible? This kind of situation is everywhere, right? So to solve this problem, we must be pragmatic."

"County Chief Lu, it's all fiscal money; giving us old, weak, sick, and disabled a bit more—what's the harm?"

Lu Fan said: "This isn't about more or less money; it's about falsifying. If problems arise, someone must step up and take responsibility! Put yourselves in our shoes—think about who would bear this responsibility."

Several people fell silent; finally a representative said: "County Chief Lu, we trust you, but too many people are involved in this matter—we can't decide for everyone, so we need to discuss it further."

Lu Fan stood up and said: "Alright, go back and discuss, come up with a unified opinion, then come to my office to talk. Definitely no more mass petitions—just give me this face, okay?"

Several people laughed and said: "We came here just for you; as long as you handle it, we guarantee we won't petition again."

After seeing everyone off, Lu Fan went directly to County Chief Bian Jide's office and reported the reception situation in full.

Bian Jide said: "If they agree to buy out based on actual service years, it's not impossible to negotiate—probably a few million would settle it, saving future trouble. You handle it first; once it's mature, submit it to the Standing Committee for study."

"Alright, I'll first tally the facts honestly, then work out a solution."

Bian Jide laughed and said: "I heard the Ministry of Education's funds have come down—five hundred million yuan! This money will go to the infrastructure construction of the Double High Double Popularization initiative; this task falls to you. You need to strive for more allocation for Ningyang, as our shortfall is huge!"

"County Chief, I mentioned this to Secretary Li before, but at the time I didn't express a clear stance. I will liaise with the Municipal Education Bureau, but the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government need you to step forward—I'm not qualified enough."

"In short, don't even think about slacking off!"

"I guarantee I'll follow the County Chief's lead—you point, I'll strike!"

Next, Lu Fan also reported the overstaffing issue at the county hospital.

Bian Jide said: "This problem hasn't been around just a day or two; the staffing numbers are capped there, can't be reallocated! Moreover, look at this tiny county hospital—how many idle people are in logistics and administration? Their own issues are not small; no matter how many staff slots we give, it's never enough."

"County Chief, I will look into the problem you mentioned. But in recent years, more and more patients from townships have been coming to the county seat for treatment; the hospital's staffing is indeed a bit low. I think we should appropriately increase some staff slots, at least first securing the slots for the core personnel in each department—some of them have worked at the county hospital for over ten years, becoming the pillars of their departments. To be frank, the hospital can't do without them, not the other way around."

After long consideration, Bian Jide said: "I'll support your work—give you twenty staff slots; let the remaining administrative staff go to business posts. Don't think I don't know—those people used to be the hospital's backbone, just wanting to enjoy an easy life. Also, quickly return those seconded personnel; this is not allowed by policy."

"Okay, thank you for your support, County Chief; I'll handle the county hospital's issues as soon as possible."

"Hmm, there's also the maternity and child health hospital and the traditional Chinese medicine hospital; they also have many seconded personnel that need to be properly handled."

"Alright, I'll resolve them one by one; if any problems or difficulties arise, I'll report them to you again."

Leaving the County Chief's office, Lu Fan handled some meeting affairs in his office, then decided to make an unannounced visit to the county hospital.

So, without greeting anyone, he put on sunglasses and went alone to the county hospital.

Readers of this book, please give five-star ratings, cast three votes to boost the rankings—thanks everyone!