Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

The New Year's bells have just rung, and the city is still filled with the festive atmosphere of the holiday.

But for Liu Ming, who held a high position, holidays were always a luxury. Taking advantage of the Spring Festival to inspect the economic recovery of several southern provinces, he asked the central government for half a day off, took Xi Wanqing, and boarded an extremely low-key black Coaster, heading towards a place that was inconspicuous on the map but weighed heavily on his heart.

Qingyun County.

That was the village where he took off his military uniform and, for the first time, faced the darkness of officialdom and the suffering of the common people as a low-level clerk.

It was also where his dream began.

"It's been almost ten years, hasn't it?" Xi Wanqing sat in the passenger seat, looking at the scenery rushing past the window, her eyes filled with a sense of time travel.

She wasn't wearing those stiff business suits today, but instead wore a beige cashmere coat, her long hair casually tied back, and her face bare, yet she was still so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.

"To be precise, it's nine years and three months." Liu Ming gripped the steering wheel, not letting the driver take over; he liked the feeling of being in control himself.

After the car exited the highway, there were no police escorts or the usual red tape of local officials welcoming and seeing off passengers.

This was Liu Ming's death order: anyone who dared to reveal his incognito visit would be sent straight home to farm.

"I still remember how you looked on your first day reporting to the county committee office." Xi Wanqing turned her head, looking at Liu Ming's angular profile, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "Like a greenhorn, ordered by Diao Deliang to clean toilets, and almost smashed up the entire general affairs section. At that time, I was thinking, is this guy missing a screw?"

"Who told them to mess with a demon who just crawled out of a pile of corpses?" Liu Ming laughed, a rare kind of ease that came after all the killing and scheming had been shed. "But to be honest, if it weren't for you, the 'Ice Queen County Magistrate,' secretly protecting me back then, I probably would have been thrown into jail by Li Yuankui and his gang on some pretext long ago."

As the two were talking, the car had already entered the boundary marker of Qingyun County.

However, the scene before her made Liu Ming instinctively slam on the brakes.

"This is... Qingyun County?" Liu Ming looked out the windshield, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The impoverished county town I remember, with its muddy roads, dilapidated self-built houses on both sides, and the perpetual smell of coal dust in the air, has disappeared.

Instead, a wide, flat eight-lane asphalt road has been erected, lined with tall, straight plane trees. On the distant horizon, instead of low-rise brick houses, rows of modern office buildings and upscale residential areas stand side-by-side. Bathed in the warm winter sun, the glass curtain walls reflect a dazzling light, radiating a vibrant energy.

The car continued forward, passing by what used to be the "Southern City Shanty Town".

Back then, this place was the most chaotic den of thugs in Qingyun County. It was here that Liu Ming, driving a bulldozer, single-handedly subdued hundreds of holdout residents wielding iron bars.

Now, this place has been transformed into the sprawling "Qingyun Eco-Technology Park." Futuristic research and development buildings have sprung up, and the entrances are filled with vehicles bearing license plates from all over the country. Huge electronic screens are displaying the latest research achievements of the resident companies.

"This must be Nangong Yao's doing, right?" Xi Wanqing asked softly, looking at the eye-catching "Nangong" logo at the entrance of the science park.

"This is only part of it." Liu Ming slowed down the car and pointed to a well-planned logistics base in the distance. "That's the mine we forced Li Yuankui to give up back then, and now it's the largest cold chain logistics center in the province. And over there, that's the veterans' entrepreneurship incubation park that Lei Tie spearheaded."

This is no longer an impoverished county that needs national relief, but a truly modern eco-tech city that ranks among the top 100 counties in the country.

The car drove into the center of the county town.

The old, dilapidated county government compound has been demolished, and a new "Qingyun Cultural Square" open to all citizens has been built on the site.

Liu Ming parked the car on the side of the road and walked into the square with Xi Wanqing.

Although it was the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the square was still bustling with activity. Some elderly people were practicing Tai Chi, some young couples were taking pictures by the fountain, and a group of children were chattering around a stall selling candied hawthorns.

No one recognized that this ordinary-looking couple were the two powerful leaders who now wield considerable influence in the news.

"Candied hawthorn berries! Sweet and sour candied hawthorn berries!"

A familiar voice came from behind.

Liu Ming turned her head and saw an old man with gray hair and one blind eye pushing a modified tricycle, shouting energetically in the cold wind.

Liu Ming's steps suddenly stopped, as if something had struck her heart hard.

He recognized the old man.

This is the sole survivor of the Qingyun Mine Disaster, the one who was hunted down by assassins sent by Li Yuankui and carried out of the deep mountains by him. He is also the keeper of the "Diary of Blood and Tears" that records the numerous crimes of the Li family.

"Grandpa, give me two skewers." Liu Ming stepped forward, took out a hundred yuan and handed it over.

"Alright! Young man, wait a minute, I'll give you your change." The old man's eyesight wasn't very good, and he used his only remaining eye to examine the banknotes closely. "Oh dear, this money is too big, I don't have enough change."

"No need to look anymore, sir. Happy New Year." Liu Ming took the candied hawthorns, handed one to Xi Wanqing, and said gently.

"How can that be! You have to have a conscience when doing business!" The old man stubbornly rummaged through his apron. "My grandson just got into university this year, majoring in computer science, and the government covered all his tuition! I'm doing just fine now, I can't take advantage of you young people."

While making change, the old man kept rambling on and on: "You must be tourists from out of town. Let me tell you, Qingyun County is a great place now! We have to thank that County Magistrate Liu from back then! If he hadn't brought down those corrupt officials and bullies and attracted a lot of investment, we ordinary people wouldn't have the good life we ​​have today."

"County Magistrate Liu?" Xi Wanqing took a bite of her candied hawthorn, suppressing a laugh, and asked feigning ignorance, "Is he very capable?"

"Of course!" The old man raised his head, his face beaming with an almost fanatical pride despite his blindness in one eye. "That was the upright and just Lord! Back then, to save me, he single-handedly killed several assassins in the mountains! He was covered in blood! He's a god in our Qingyun County!"

"Sir, have you met him before?" Liu Ming asked with a smile.

"I've seen him! Of course I've seen him!" The old man stuffed the change into Liu Ming's hand and patted his chest vigorously. "But he's a high-ranking official now, he's gone to the city, and he's probably long forgotten about our poor, remote place. But in the center of this square, the people spontaneously erected a monument for him; you can go and see it."

Liu Ming was taken aback and looked in the direction the old man was pointing.

In the very center of the square stands a not-so-tall white marble stele. It has no base or railing, standing there unremarkably among the crowd.

Liu Ming pulled Xi Wanqing over.

His name was not engraved on the stone tablet, nor were there any flowery words praising him.

The text above is engraved with two lines of characters in the most ordinary regular script.

"Fearless of power, we will vanquish all evil spirits and monsters."

"With hearts set on the well-being of all people, peace and tranquility have been achieved."

Below these two lines of text are countless names, densely packed and engraved in various handwritings. They are the names of miners who lost their lives in mining accidents, the names of people whose homes were destroyed by forced demolitions, and the names of those who struggled in the darkness.

In this oldest and simplest way, they have forever etched a person's name into the very fabric of this city.

A winter wind blew by, swirling up a few fallen leaves.

Liu Ming stood in front of the stone tablet, remaining silent for a long time.

As he looked at the citizens laughing freely in the sunlight, and at this vibrant city, an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and accomplishment flowed through his entire body like a warm current.

What good is absolute power?

So what if he's a high-ranking leader?

All the scheming and plotting pales in comparison to the genuine smiles of the people.

"Do you feel tired seeing all this?" Xi Wanqing held his hand tightly and asked softly.

Liu Ming withdrew his gaze, turned to look at his wife, and the corners of his mouth widened infinitely. It was the purest smile after all pretense and defense had been removed.

"Not tired."

He looked at the bustling street with a sense of satisfaction and took a deep breath of the air filled with the warmth of everyday life.

"Let's go, this is just the beginning. In the next decade, we'll go to many more places."