I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

After the meal, Zhou Zhonghai took Zhao Jintao to the research institute.

Upon seeing that the person had indeed returned, Xia Lei warmly brewed tea for him.

"Zhao Jintao, Minister Zhou told me about your situation. I think you have some talent in agriculture, so I've decided to make an exception and admit you as a research institute assistant. I'd like to take you on as my student. I wonder if you'd be willing?"

Xia Lei spoke boastfully, making Zhao Jintao feel ashamed.

Is there such a thing as a talent for agriculture? Isn't that something you can't do? I've been dealing with the land since birth, and later became a team leader, leading the villagers to work day and night, which is how I gained some experience.

Moreover, even with the Minister of Agriculture sitting next to him, he spoke so eloquently about getting in through connections.

Zhou Zhonghai laughed heartily: "Of course I'm willing. The students that Director Xia has chosen must be one in a million. Quickly agree."

Zhao Jintao had always wanted to be an assistant, but firstly, Feng Lin was pregnant and he didn't want her to send him money anymore.

You can even take some home; a man should support his family.

Secondly, he really wanted to learn some skills.

"Thank you, Teacher Xia, I'm willing." Zhao Jintao stood up and bowed deeply.

Xia Lei said without batting an eye, "Okay, from now on you'll be my last disciple. You'll come with me to the testing grounds on Saturday afternoon."

"it is good."

Zhao Jintao agreed, but Zhou Zhonghai said, "I'm afraid this Saturday won't work. I need to help Jintao get half a month's leave. I'll take him to inspect the work in various towns and villages on Saturday."

Xia Lei looked at Zhou Zhonghai with a puzzled expression: "Taking a student on an inspection tour?"

"Is that not possible? Zhao Jintao is such an outstanding student. He not only needs to learn knowledge, but also needs to understand the production situation in different regions. If he studies agriculture well, he could become the Minister of Agriculture, like Director Xia, right?"

"Yes! Going to the countryside allows you to learn from experience more directly."

That's utter nonsense. A freshman in college being taken on a field inspection tour by the provincial Minister of Agriculture is clearly just an attempt to elevate his status.

He wasn't training an apprentice; he was training Minister Zhou's personal secretary, who was destined for a career in government.

Xia Lei finally understood: this Minister Zhou was very protective of his own, and Zhao Jintao and he must have some unspeakable history.

Come on, they're not students, they're practically ancestors.

"Then it's settled. Jin Tao, go to class. I'll send a car to pick you up on Saturday."

Zhao Jintao stood up, bowed to Minister Zhou and Director Xia, and went to class.

"Who is Zhao Jintao to you?" Director Xia couldn't help but ask.

"A friend of mine, someone I have no family or kinship with."

You're kidding me, you're practically treating him like your son.

"Minister Zhou truly cherishes talent," Director Xia said, his praise not entirely sincere.

"Minister Zhou, now let's talk about the issue of 500,000 new wheat seeds..."

"I owe you 100,000, I'll pay you back first. The remaining 400,000 will be used to cover our entire province with new winter wheat seeds."

"Isn't that ridiculous? You think you can plant the new wheat variety across the entire province with just 400,000? You'd need at least another 200,000..."

Xia Lei stopped talking, his brows furrowing like knives: "Minister Zhou, do you mean you want to owe me two hundred thousand?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. You prepare the wheat seeds and send them to the various counties as needed."

"I... what's the point of you paying me back 100,000? You'll just end up owing more and more."

"Hey... Director Xia, of course it's meaningful. If you borrow and return, it's easy to borrow again. You're busy, and I'm busy too, so I'll be going now."

"Where's the money?"

"The Ministry of Finance hasn't approved it yet. Once it does, the money will be sent to the research institute."

"I……"

Director Xia's lips trembled. What kind of minister was this?

Zhou Zhonghai finally returned to his office. The county party secretaries who had been blocking the door were moved to tears: "Minister Zhou, you've finally shown up! We're your men too! Tonggang County is eating the meat, you should at least let us have some soup, right?"

Zhou Zhonghai asked sternly, "Is the Party Secretary of Liuxian County here?"

A kind-looking middle-aged man immediately responded, "Minister Zhou, I am He Youcai from Liuxian County."

"He Youcai, I will be going to Liuxian County for an inspection on Saturday. Go back and make preparations."

He Youcai was startled and excitedly said, "Yes, welcome Minister Zhou to inspect our work. I'll go back right away."

He Youcai scurried away, while the other county party secretaries stared expectantly at Zhou Zhonghai, who then spoke with dramatic intonation:

"I will be visiting various counties soon to inspect the work. Go back and prepare. Besides wheat and corn, report to me what crops your county is suitable to grow. I need to make targeted plans for each county. Go back now."

A few words were enough to make the county party secretaries beam with joy, and they rushed home to prepare their reports.

Liuxian County was the poorest county in the province. In its six communes, no one earned more than two cents a day out of ten work points.

The wheat fields in Liuxian County are similar to those in other counties, so it shouldn't be this poor.

Among the complaint letters compiled by Qiu Zhongyou, three came from Liuxian County. They were accusing each other of other communes of illegally allocating land to households for raising pigs and chickens.

This is consistent with Zhou Zhonghai's theory. However, the sideline businesses of the farmers in the three communes did not actually end up in the farmers' pockets; most of them went into the commune secretaries' slush funds.

More importantly, Zhou Zhonghai discovered a familiar name in the whistleblower letter: Li Bo, from Yuetang Commune.

As the communications platoon leader, he was transferred to a local commune as secretary, bearing the responsibility of ensuring the basic needs of the entire commune's people. He distributed land to households and supported poultry farming. Whether this was for the public good or for personal gain, Zhou Zhonghai had to see for himself.

On Saturday, Gu Quan drove, accompanied by Zhao Jintao, and the three of them drove to Liuxian County.

"Uncle Zhou, do you have to inspect every single county?"

"Where would I find the time to visit each county one by one? I selected them based on the whistleblower letters. This Liu County is quite interesting. Some of the communes under their jurisdiction learned your methods a year ago. There are always countermeasures to policies from above. They secretly distributed land to households and raised pigs, chickens, and ducks. Strangely, their communes are extremely poor, and they have a hard time even meeting their grain tax quotas."

Zhou Zhonghai was unusually serious.

Zhao Jintao chuckled and said, "I was forced into this situation. Besides, our village has already fulfilled its grain tax obligations, and every household still has surplus grain."

"Yes, logically speaking, distributing land to individual households should be a good thing, so why are they getting poorer and poorer?"

"Corruption, of course. Do you remember Zhang Wei? The secretary of Liushan Commune. While others couldn't afford meat, his family had more than enough. Tea, flour, pork, wild game—Guo Baohua basically covered it all."

"Yes, so we have to go and see for ourselves to know what's going on. Jin Tao, when we get to Liu County, we'll split into two groups. I'll go to the county committee, and you go and inquire in the surrounding rural areas of Yuetang Commune."

"Okay, I'll go to Yuetang Commune. We'll meet you in the county town tomorrow."

"Jin Tao, thank you for your hard work. Please be careful."

"I'm just a farmer, nobody pays attention to me, so don't worry."

Zhou Zhonghai went to the countryside in person, so no one was likely to tell the truth. Jin Tao was different; he was a farmer himself, so it was easy for him to get close to the local villagers, and the information he got was more reliable.