Chapter 662

Li Xingyuan Secretary requested leave; Lu Fan knew this was an opportunity for himself, also a chance, and he must seize this good opportunity to achieve some results, laying a solid foundation for the next step's progress.

Anti-corruption, cadres and the masses see only the liveliness; they cannot obtain real benefits from entering politics.

To achieve immediate results, one must start from people's livelihood, doing some tangible, practical good deeds that the grassland people can see and touch, such as education, healthcare, tourism, and improving the business environment; by launching a few major projects, the whole province can be made to bustle with vigor and excitement, thus winning people's hearts.

Therefore, Zhang Rongqiu's division of work is especially crucial and important; work must be entrusted only to 'our own people' to ensure that Lu Fan's implemented policies are not discounted, not deviated, and are fully implemented.

Lu Fan dialed the Governor's landline; after just a few seconds of ringing, Luo Shiyu's clear voice came through: 'Lu Fan Secretary, what instructions?'

Lu Fan hurriedly said, 'I dare not take such words; how dare I speak of instructions? Regarding Zhang Rongqiu's division of work, I want to discuss it with Governor Luo Shiyu—do you have time now?'

Luo Shiyu replied, 'There's a meeting at 10:30, but I can free up an hour; I'll come over now.'

Lu Fan politely said, 'I have nothing going on this meeting; I'll go to your place instead.'

'No need to argue; you're the Provincial Party Committee, so I should come to you!' After saying that, Luo Shiyu hung up, picked up her notebook, and, accompanied by her secretary, headed to the Provincial Party Committee.

Even though Lu Fan is a 'temporary worker' in that position, he still represents the Provincial Party Committee, and the proper decorum must not be broken.

Twenty minutes later, Luo Shiyu arrived at the Deputy Secretary's office of the Provincial Party Committee; Lu Fan had already brewed 'Anxi white tea', sitting on the sofa waiting, giving her full courtesy.

Upon entering, Luo Shiyu smiled and said, 'Lu Fan Secretary, what instructions? Please give your orders.'

Lu Fan quickly waved his hand and replied, 'Such jokes are not appropriate; as the temporary presiding officer of today's work, I dare not give instructions to the Governor. However, there is indeed a matter that needs to be discussed with you. Next, I have some ideas regarding work in culture, education, and health; I want to promote some basic knowledge. Since I am relatively familiar with Comrade Rongqiu, I would like him to cooperate with my work. Could the Provincial Government consider, in its division of work, assigning him to oversee culture, education, and health?'

Luo Shiyu replied, 'The Provincial Government carries out work under the leadership of the Provincial Party Committee; as for the division of work among Deputy Provincial Governors, the Provincial Party Committee inherently has guiding authority, and the division also needs to be filed with the Provincial Party Committee. These past two days, I have been studying the division of work among several Deputy Provincial Governors; I originally intended to assign Comrade Rongqiu to oversee culture, education, and health. At the same time, the land and resources system has caused such a huge problem; I plan to assign land and resources to Comrade Ziren.'

Lu Fan asked, 'Wasn't land and resources originally under Yun Junjie's division? Would he have any objections?'

'Individuals must obey the organization, subordinates must obey superiors; it's merely an adjustment of division of work. We can transfer the commerce portfolio that Comrade Ziren oversees to Yun Junjie—could he still 'cherry-pick'? The importance of commerce work is in no way inferior to that of land and resources work.'

Lu Fan smiled slightly and said, 'Perhaps we also need strong financial support from the Governor.'

Unexpectedly, Luo Shiyu directly refused, laughing as she replied, 'Even a landlord's family has no surplus grain! The integrity account holds huge amounts of corrupt funds—over thirty billion, right? I've been eyeing it for a long time; do you really have the nerve to ask me for money?'

Lu Fan laughed and said, 'I plan to comprehensively reform the grassland's medical and education systems; the required funds are enormous! The money in the integrity account can serve as startup capital, and I will also strive to secure higher-level funding and projects. I will do my best to raise enough funds, but if the money falls short, the Provincial Government must bear the responsibility to make up the shortfall.'

Luo Shiyu curiously asked, 'First tell me your plan; let me see just how deep this 'bottomless pit' really is!'

Lu Fan opened his notebook and said, 'Regarding education, I have tried before, but only in one city, which counts as some experience; I will mainly develop from the following aspects: first, clean up off-campus tutoring classes and supplementary teaching behavior; legislation is needed, violations must be investigated, enforcement must be strict, to crush the 'involution'!'

Second, reduce the proportion of streaming in the senior high school entrance examination; this work we can only do, not just talk about—we can simply block those junior high students who are 'completely clueless' from entering high school, for example, those with total scores of 300 or below 200; frankly, these students have no need to attend high school.

Third, nine-year compulsory education should become 'free' education, with the required funds borne by the finances of the province, city, and county levels; schools are not allowed to indirectly charge parents any fees, including after-school extended hours fees, test paper printing fees, etc.; even collecting a single cent can be considered a violation of law and discipline, and any report must be investigated.

Fourth, increase fiscal investment and raise the level of vocational education development. Set the cultivation of master craftsmen and skilled artisans as the training goal; vocational colleges should proactively cooperate with enterprises in talent cultivation, technological innovation, employment and entrepreneurship, etc., and vocational education must prioritize solving employment.

Fifth, reform of the middle school and college entrance examinations. The middle school entrance exam total score is 600 points, unified across the province; specifically: Chinese and mathematics each 120 points, English and physics each 100 points, physical education 60 points, politics and history combined paper 100 points, geography, biology, and chemistry changed to assessment subjects, scores not counted toward the total. In the middle school and college entrance examination history, the weight of questions on the period from September 18, 1931 to September 2, 1945 should be increased……

Lu Fan spoke at length for over twenty minutes, still seeming somewhat unsatisfied.

Luo Shiyu slowly put down her pen and exclaimed, 'No wonder you are an outstanding worker in the national education system—truly inspiring! If these ten reforms can be implemented, they will absolutely be a blessing for the grassland people! As a grassland person, I will certainly give my full support to see these policies take root and flourish.'

After finishing the discussion on education, Lu Fan began to talk about healthcare, saying, 'Governor Luo Shiyu, in recent years, governments at all levels have been gradually increasing their investment in medical funds; the reason is that more and more money is needed to backstop healthcare. Not only is the government investing, but personal insurance premiums have also been doubling; where does the money go? There's a drugstore every fifty meters—why? You and I both know!'

First, medical corruption, which concerns people's livelihood; anti-corruption in healthcare is urgent—this storm is about to sweep the entire province! All levels of health commissions and medical insurance bureaus, the leadership teams of 443 public hospitals, pharmacy directors, and other key positions are all included in the anti-corruption effort! This is the next focus of work for the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee.

Second, three pharmaceutical companies basically monopolize the drug distribution market, causing drugs to go through layers of agents, so that patients receive them after undergoing 'three-ticket,' 'four-ticket,' or even 'multiple-ticket' processes, with a huge gap between factory price and final sale price.

Starting next year, all public hospitals in the province will implement a 'two-ticket system' for drug procurement—meaning directly from the drug manufacturing enterprise to the hospital, eliminating intermediate layers of agents and markup. Squeezing out the inflated moisture in drug prices will forcefully create space for price reductions, fundamentally striking down the problem of expensive medical care!

Pharmaceutical manufacturing and operating enterprises must commit to complying with the relevant provisions of the 'two-ticket system'; otherwise, they cannot participate in the province's centralized drug procurement.

The food and drug administration department, health commission, and medical insurance bureau will, for pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution enterprises that do not comply with the 'two-ticket system' requirements, cancel their network listing and distribution qualifications, and record them in the bad record of drug procurement……

After hearing all this, Luo Shiyu felt a sense of trepidation, yet for some unknown reason, a hard-to-describe excitement and impulse welled up deep inside her, making her eager to jump in, because this is a genuine measure to seek welfare for the grassland people!

Thus, she calmed her agitated emotions and sincerely said, 'Lu Fan Secretary, ideals are wonderful, but implementing these policies may face resistance beyond imagination, even encountering stubborn opposition; Gu Yunhao is overly concerned about drug distribution.'

After hearing this, Lu Fan's mouth corners slightly rose, showing a disdainful expression, and he responded forcefully: 'Deepening reform means removing the 'stumbling blocks' and 'obstacles' on the road ahead; whoever dares to openly jump out and oppose will be taken down without hesitation, no matter who they are—as long as they dare to hinder the grassland's development, they become a public enemy of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Government, and all the grassland people, with only a dead end awaiting them!'

There is such a passage; even after twenty years, the memory remains fresh: 'No matter whether ahead lies a minefield or an abyss of ten thousand feet, I will forge ahead fearlessly, selflessly, devoting myself completely until death.'

Luo Shiyu was infected by Lu Fan's heroic spirit; her eyes flickered with a complex light, and she even felt a hint of admiration.

But given the importance of the matter, she did not clearly reveal her attitude, because she deeply understood that once a choice is made, it is like stepping onto a path with no return, requiring one to stake their future and destiny, and thus she must act cautiously.

Luo Shiyu intended to first observe how things develop, so as to make the wisest decision at critical moments, but this does not prevent her from secretly supporting Lu Fan, such as in the division of work among Deputy Provincial Governors and fiscal investment, etc.

On November 5, the Provincial Government convened a standing meeting; Luo Shiyu forcibly passed the division of work among Deputy Provincial Governors and on the same day reported it to the Provincial Party Committee.

On November 6, the Provincial Government issued a document, the notice regarding the adjustment of Deputy Provincial Governors' work division:

According to the changes in the members of the Provincial Government leadership team and work needs, the following notice concerning the adjustment of work division is hereby issued:

Deputy Provincial Governor Zhang Rongqiu: responsible for culture, education, health, etc.; oversees the Provincial Department of Education, Health Commission, Medical Insurance Bureau, and Department of Culture and Tourism.

Deputy Provincial Governor Zhao Ziren: responsible for land and resources, water conservancy, agriculture and animal husbandry, pastoral areas, forestry and grassland, rural revitalization, etc.; oversees the Provincial Department of Natural Resources, Water Resources Department, Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Forestry and Grassland Bureau, and Provincial Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences.

Other divisions of work among members of the Provincial Government team remain unchanged.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Dong, head of the Provincial Health Commission, came to Lu Fan's office, bringing his work results from the past three months: the 'Implementation Plan for Comprehensive Reform of the Grassland Province's Medical and Healthcare System,' which involves medical insurance, drug supply security, fiscal investment in medical and healthcare services, price formation mechanism, and personnel and compensation system reform—contents closely related to the public's medical treatment and the benefits of medical staff.

The two discussed the plan for a full four hours; Lu Fan, based on his own ideas, put forward some revision suggestions, and Wang Dong continued to improve the plan.