Chapter 351

At nine in the morning, Liu Yixuan, a standing committee member of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee and director of the Supervision Bureau, brought people to Ganshui and went straight to the office of County Party Secretary Lu Fan.

"County Secretary Lu, this time I was transferred to the Supervision Bureau and even promoted to a standing committee member of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee—I really don't know how to thank you!" Liu Yixuan was immensely grateful to Lu Fan; he had finally escaped the bitter sea and reaped the rewards of his hard work!

Lu Fan smiled slightly and said: "We've known each other for 11 years, right? Back when you were at the Municipal Human Resources Bureau, you often looked out for me! From now on, work hard and keep Secretary Xiaohua regularly informed of your work, so you can walk a broader and longer path."

After exchanging pleasantries, Liu Yixuan said: "Secretary, according to the Municipal Party Committee's instructions and Secretary Wu's arrangements, today in Ganshui we are to take double designation measures against Executive Deputy County Chief Yang Chengyu."

Lu Fan nodded and said: "Last night the County Discipline Inspection Committee already took measures against Yang Chengyu; everything is normal. He's in his office now—let Wenlong take you to the county government."

After saying that, Lu Fan had the secretary summon County Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Du Wenlong, then called the county chief and said bluntly: "Yuan Weiwei, the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee people have arrived; they are going to take action against Yang Chengyu—please keep an eye on things later."

Although Yuan Weiwei was a little startled, he immediately expressed his stance: "Please rest assured, Secretary, I will cooperate with the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee's actions and do a good job maintaining stability at the county government."

Soon after, Du Wenlong arrived and took Liu Yixuan to the county government.

At that moment, Yang Chengyu was reviewing documents in his office when he suddenly saw the newly arrived Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Du Wenlong push the door open, accompanied by several unfamiliar faces; his heart jumped and he went limp!

Du Wenlong said: "County Chief Yang, the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee comrades ask you to verify some matters; please go with them for a while."

Liu Yixuan immediately displayed the documents and procedures, gave a glance to the nearby staff, and took him into custody!

Soon after, amid a crowd of onlookers, Yang Chengyu was taken away from the county government office, drawing countless onlookers and heated discussion.

Suddenly, County Chief Yuan Weiwei came out of the office and shouted loudly: "Are you all not working?"

The officials among the onlookers immediately scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing back to their offices.

Lu Fan stood by the window, watching Yang Chengyu being 'stuffed' into a car and driving away from the county compound, unable to help but feel moved: in just one year, Ganshui has already taken down one county chief, three deputy county chiefs, and five...?

Greed burns like fire; if not checked, it will spread like a prairie fire. The sheer number of corrupt individuals shows that the checks-and-balances mechanism is still imperfect, the transparency and constraints of power operation are still insufficient, anti-corruption work remains arduous, and strengthening integrity‑system construction is urgent.

Lu Fan understood that democracy is the nemesis of corruption, sunshine is the best anti‑corrosive, the exercise of power needs norms, publicity, transparency, and oversight; power without oversight and power that rejects oversight will both meet a destructive end.

At 1:00 p. m., Lu Fan led County Chief Yuan Weiwei, Deputy Party Secretary Zhang Qianyuan, Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Du Wenlong, and Organization Department Head Guo Tongyu to the county middle school auditorium to attend the principal appointment lecture and defense.

At this moment, countless Ganshui residents curiously gathered in front of their televisions, having heard that this year's principal appointment would be live‑streamed—how interesting!

In the lecture‑and‑defense session, the entire county set up centralized defense venues; 18 candidates, grouped by position, gave their lectures and defenses in order, with 10 minutes for each lecture and 5 minutes for each defense.

Four county‑level leaders, the municipal teaching‑research office director, the Education Bureau director, the Education Bureau's business deputy director, the county teaching‑research office director, the county supervision office director, and two members of the public—11 judges in total—scored the candidates based on their lecture and defense performance, and the scores were announced on the spot.

At the same time, the democratic evaluation was conducted by teachers and parents of the competing schools, carried out concurrently with the lecture and defense.

After a full five hours, Lu Fan and the judges, through the candidates' lectures and defenses, gained a preliminary understanding of their educational philosophies and management approaches, and gave fair and just scores.

At 6:00 p. m., the lecture‑and‑defense and democratic evaluation scores were posted at the entrances of the county government and the county middle school, listed from highest to lowest, drawing crowds of onlookers; the results were approved by the vast majority of people, including the candidates themselves.

At 8:00 p. m., Lu Fan personally attended the comprehensive deliberation meeting of the principal appointment leadership team, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate with everyone, and finally, based on the candidates' total scores and overall assessment opinions, determined the tentative principal selections for the seven merged fully‑fledged schools.

The next morning at 8:30, the County Party Committee convened a standing committee meeting to specially study the tentative principal nominees; it unanimously approved the list submitted by the principal appointment leadership team. The County Party Secretary himself participated in the appointment process—who would dare to question it?

At 10:00 a. m., a conference on the appointment of principals for township fully‑fledged schools was held in the County Party Committee's medium‑sized meeting room; the principal appointment leadership team issued appointment documents to the seven principals, requiring them to report for duty immediately.

At the meeting, the director of the County Education and Science Bureau, Cao Chunlei, signed the《Teaching Work Target Responsibility Letter》with the seven principals.

Lu Fan, representing the County Party Committee and the Education Bureau director, signed the《Education and Teaching Target Management Responsibility Letter》.

Finally, County Party Secretary Lu Fan delivered an important speech: "Comrades, the competitive selection has just ended, and the new semester is about to begin. You are the principals carefully selected by the County Party Committee and County Government; you must examine the current situation, raise your awareness, strengthen your sense of responsibility for carrying out educational and teaching work, unite your efforts, overcome difficulties, work with a spirit of unity and struggle, with the vigor of leaving marks on stone and traces on iron, and with concrete actions and outstanding achievements, present yourselves to parents, society, the County Party Committee, and the County Government with a satisfactory answer sheet!"

We must further consolidate and improve the results of educational poverty alleviation, continually enhance students' capacity for equitable education guarantees, so that everyone enjoys the right to education and everyone has the opportunity to shine in life, striving hard to provide satisfactory education for the people of Xing County.

Below, I put forward several requirements for the Education Bureau and all principals: First, earnestly implement the responsibility system for Party conduct and clean‑government construction, solidify the ideological and moral line of resisting corruption and degeneration, and keep the alarm bell ringing. You must be able to withstand all kinds of temptations, truly serve students, parents, and education, and accept supervision from all sectors of society!

Second, devote all your energy to school development and to improving educational quality; delve deeply into meticulous management, lead by example in teaching, and concentrate efforts on quality. Put the maxim 'Learning high makes one a teacher; personal integrity sets an example' into practice in the work of teaching and nurturing, truly becoming a role model for others and transmitting knowledge while dispelling doubts.

Third, every school must create sufficient, clean, and tidy lodging environments to relieve rural parents' worries and meet all students' accommodation needs.

Fourth, Siwan Middle School and the County Middle School must properly arrange the safety and transportation issues for township students returning home on weekends. The merger of middle schools is a decision of the County Party Committee and County Government; it must not increase parents' burden. Each child's weekly transport costs of a dozen or several dozen yuan add up to a non‑trivial sum over time, which would surely provoke complaints if borne by parents; therefore, the students' transport expenses shall be covered by the county finance.

Fifth, a student is the hope of a family. Starting this semester, all township schools will provide free three meals a day, requiring three dishes and one soup, with both meat and vegetables, ensuring every student can eat well and be full. Please have the Education Bureau uniformly devise a menu, balance nutrition, carefully select food, and strictly guarantee safety. At the same time, ask each school to conscientiously create a comfortable dining environment and strictly carry out disinfection work.

This work is the responsibility of the Education Bureau; it will actively seek provincial and municipal project funding, and any remaining expenses will be uniformly arranged by the county finance.

Sixth, thoroughly alleviate the burden on parents: no township school may collect any fees from parents under any pretext. If there are genuine expenses that parents must bear, the Education Bureau shall submit a report, and the county finance will allocate the funds.

I hereby solemnly declare that if any parent pays even a single cent to the school, it constitutes illegal fee collection! Once discovered, the principal shall be immediately removed from office on the spot!

Lu Fan's speech struck like a heavy hammer in the hearts of everyone present, shocking the attendees, imposing great pressure on the principals, while also deeply moving each person's spirit and igniting their inner hopes and expectations for the future.

"Thank you for the organization's trust and affection; as a reappointed principal I feel deeply honored. Returning to school, I will closely follow Secretary Lu's speech, widely gather wisdom, pool collective ideas, and carry out school reform work." The principal of Gaopo Township Fully‑Fledged School said, expressing full confidence in himself, that his past achievements will become history, and that he will lead the school onto a new level.

"A principal is the command center of a school, a leader and friend to teachers; a successful principal must necessarily be conscientious, meticulous, and cautious. Henceforth, I will certainly treat students with love, face work with enthusiasm, handle problems rationally, and become a well‑trained principal beloved by teachers and students." The principal of Shiqiao Township said that in his future post he will work diligently to manage all school affairs, holding himself to strict discipline, acting fairly, and dealing with others sincerely.

The Education Bureau director and all principals expressed their agreement, pledging to immediately implement Secretary Lu's speech spirit, to exercise power prudently in future work, conscientiously fulfill duties, and contribute all their strength to the schools' development.

After receiving their appointment letters, the principals rushed back to their schools without delay, fully aware of the tight schedule and arduous task; upon returning to campus, they immediately plunged into work.

After several days of tense and busy preparation, the schools completed the merger work and welcomed the new semester with a completely new appearance.

March 4th, the sun shone brightly, the spring breeze brushed the face, as if foretelling new hope and vitality. All schools carried out registration in an orderly manner; students arrived with excitement and anticipation, parents accompanied their children to register, and the campus buzzed with lively activity.