Nominal: Starting with an entrance exam for a PhD in Economics at Peking University

Yi Xuexi waved his hand: "Go back."

After Zhang Weidong left, Yi Xuexi threw the report into the trash can.

He knew this wasn't legal advice; it was a "provisional document" for not doing his job. Every reason was valid, every sentence was correct, but put together, it boiled down to one word—delay.

This is a case of paying lip service while acting insincerely. They say "according to the law and regulations," but in reality, they use the law as a shield, making it impossible for you to do anything.

---

The third big gift came from the Luzhou Development Zone, the former seat of his administration.

If the Environmental Protection Bureau is a "soft nail" and the Legislative Affairs Office is "hypocritical," then the Development Zone's operation is a typical example of "over-implementation."

The incident occurred on the fourth day.

That morning, Yi Xuexi was reviewing documents in his office when he suddenly received a phone call. On the other end was Ma Mingyuan, the director of the development zone management committee, whose voice betrayed obvious panic:

"Mayor Yi, something terrible has happened! There's been an incident at the food court!"

Yi Xuexi's heart tightened: "What is it?"

"The urban management officers went to the food court, saying they were going to investigate illegal constructions, and a conflict broke out with the food court staff! Now the two sides are at a stalemate, and a lot of people have gathered around. The situation is getting out of control!"

Yi Xuexi suddenly stood up: "Who sent the urban management officers?"

Ma Mingyuan stammered, "This... it was the Urban Management Bureau of the Development Zone that went there themselves. They said they received a report from the public and were investigating and dealing with illegal construction according to law. I don't know what happened..."

Yi Xuexi hung up the phone, grabbed his coat, and headed outside.

When he arrived at the food court, several hundred people had already gathered there.

At the entrance of the food court, more than a dozen urban management enforcement vehicles were lined up, each equipped with a loudspeaker repeatedly broadcasting: "According to Article 64 of the Urban and Rural Planning Law, any construction carried out without obtaining a construction project planning permit shall be ordered to cease by the urban and rural planning authorities and demolished within a specified period..."

Over at the food court, hundreds of people dressed in chef's uniforms and waiter's uniforms stood at the entrance, holding spatulas, mops, and stools, confronting the urban management officers.

The crowd surrounding them was three or four layers deep; some were taking pictures with their phones, some were whispering to each other, and some were jeering.

Yi Xuexi squeezed through the crowd, found Ma Mingyuan, and asked in a low voice, "Who gave the order?"

Ma Mingyuan looked completely innocent: "Mayor Yi, it really wasn't me. The Urban Management Bureau said they received a report and were enforcing the law. I couldn't stop them!"

Yi Xuexi looked at him, his eyes as cold as ice.

He turned and walked to the front of the urban management team, asking the team leader, "Who sent you?"

The company commander didn't recognize him and looked him up and down: "Who are you?"

Someone nearby quickly leaned over and whispered a few words in his ear. The squad leader's expression changed instantly, and he immediately adopted a different demeanor: "Mayor Yi! I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you..."

"I'm asking you, who sent you here?"

The squad leader stammered, "Well... we received a report that there were illegal constructions in the food court, so... we came to verify it."

Who is the whistleblower?

"Anonymous report, no results found."

"Have you verified this? Are you sure it's an illegal structure?"

The squadron leader was taken aback: "This... hasn't been verified yet. We're just about to go to the site to verify it."

Yi Xuexi took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down: "Now, immediately, withdraw your people."

The squad leader hesitated for a moment: "Mayor Yi, we are enforcing the law..."

"Withdraw." Yi Xuexi interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for argument.

The squad leader looked at him, then at the food court employees fighting on the other side, and finally nodded: "Okay, retreat."

The urban management officers began to pack up, get into their vehicles, and leave. The crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed.

Yi Xuexi returned to the car and sat there for a long time.

This is over-enforcement—using the guise of "law enforcement" to escalate matters and intensify conflicts. If you ask them to investigate illegal construction, they send dozens of vehicles and hundreds of people to "enforce the law" in a grand manner, creating conflict, attracting onlookers, and making the situation uncontrollable.

In this way, the responsibility lies with you—you're the one who asked them to investigate, and if something goes wrong, you're responsible.

You can't hold them accountable yet, they're just following your instructions; but if you don't, they'll do it again next time, until they put you in a very difficult situation.

He leaned back in his seat, watching the sky outside the window gradually darken. In his mind, Ma Mingyuan's innocent face, Chen Guodong's five "clean" data files, and Zhang Weidong's twenty-page "instruction manual for not doing his job" floated into his mind.

Three days.

Three departments.

Three methods.

Insincere resistance, outward compliance but inward defiance, and excessive implementation.

No department is actually doing anything, but each department has a perfectly valid reason—procedure, law, maintaining stability. You can't find fault with it, you can't say anything harsh, you can only watch the days go by, and watch the water of Crescent Lake turn blacker day by day.

This is the result of the Zhao family's twenty years of operation in Handong.

This is the opponent he will face.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Then he opened his eyes and said to the driver, "Back to the city hall."

The car started and drove into the night.

He leaned back in the back seat, his thoughts wandering, recalling things from long ago and the first half of his life.

Chapter 160 Feigned Madness Can Easily Become Reality

That was in 1985.

He was twenty-two years old that year, working as a junior staff member in Yangcheng City, Handong Province—or, back then, the Planning Commission of the Yangcheng Regional Administrative Office.

My daily work consists of collecting data, compiling reports, and writing analysis materials. Life is mundane yet busy.

He came from an ordinary family; his parents were farmers, and his family had no connections. Getting a job in the regional government and securing a stable position was already incredibly lucky for him.

But he knew that without political resources, he wouldn't go far.

In government offices, without connections or anyone to promote you, you might spend your whole life as a low-level clerk, and if you manage to retire with the benefits of a section chief, that's considered pretty good.

He was not reconciled.

He felt he was capable, had ideas, and could get things done. He didn't want to spend his whole life holed up in an office, doing routine, repetitive work that offered no growth.

But no one gave this poor boy a chance.

Until one day, Fei Lianzhang arrived.

Fei Lianzhang was then the secretary of the Yangcheng Prefectural Committee, having been in office for less than six months. This time, he accompanied a vice governor on a research trip to Yangcheng to investigate its industrial development. The Planning Commission, as the department in charge of the economy, participated in the entire reporting process.

On the day of the research visit, the conference room was packed with people. The vice governor sat in the main seat, with Fei Lianzhang beside him, and the heads of various departments gave their reports in turn. Yi Xuexi sat in a corner, responsible for taking notes and providing data support.

The process went smoothly so far. The director of the Planning Commission reported on Yangcheng's industrial development achievements during the Sixth Five-Year Plan period. The figures were impressive and the results were outstanding, prompting the vice governor to nod frequently.

Just when everyone thought the research trip was about to end smoothly, the vice governor suddenly asked a question:

"You just said that Yangcheng's coal production has doubled in five years. So, what has been the change in the overall cost per ton of coal in Yangcheng during these five years?"

The meeting room fell silent instantly.

The director of the planning commission was stunned. The data was too detailed, outside the scope of regular reporting, and he couldn't answer it immediately. He turned to look at the deputy director, who was frantically flipping through his notebook, sweating profusely, but still couldn't find the answer.

The director of the Economic Commission and the head of the Statistics Bureau exchanged bewildered glances. Someone whispered, "This...we might need to go back and check..."

The vice governor's face darkened.

Fei Lianzhang's expression was also unpleasant. The research report had been reviewed by the prefectural party committee, and now that such a mistake had occurred, he, as the prefectural party secretary, had lost face.

Just then, someone stood up from the corner.

“Governor, I can answer.”

Everyone turned their heads away.

Yi Xuexi stood in the corner, wearing a faded blue shirt, his face showing the naivety of youth, but his eyes were steady.

The vice governor glanced at him: "Which department are you from? What's your name?"

"I'm from the General Affairs Section of the Planning Commission. My name is Yi Xuexi," he said. "I'll try to answer the question you just asked."

He paused, then began to speak:

"Comprehensive cost per ton of coal. In 1980, the average cost of local coal mines in Yangcheng was 23.7 yuan per ton, while the estimated cost for the first half of this year was 28.4 yuan per ton, an increase of 19.8% over five years. The main reasons are the extension of mine shafts and the rise in material prices."

After he finished speaking, the meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

The vice governor looked at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "You remember all this data?"

"Yes, I'm usually responsible for compiling and organizing this data," Yi Xuexi said.

The vice governor nodded, asked no further questions, and moved on to the next topic.

The research was successfully completed.

After seeing the vice governor off, Fei Lianzhang glanced back at the young man in the blue shirt and memorized the name. But that was all. He assumed the junior staff member had simply remembered the data by chance; the young man was diligent, nothing to be surprised about.

To his surprise, Yi Xuexi came to him the next morning.

At that time, Fei Lianzhang was reviewing documents in his office when his secretary came in and said that Comrade Yi from the Planning Commission had arrived and had something important to report. Fei Lianzhang was somewhat surprised, but he still let him in.

Yi Xuexi stood in front of him, looking somewhat uneasy, as if he had made a great decision.

“Secretary Fei, I’ve come to apologize to you,” he said.

Fei Lianzhang was taken aback: "What do you mean by 'self-criticism'?"

Yi Xuexi took a deep breath: "The data that the vice governor asked about at yesterday's research meeting... were my calculations based on my impression at the time. They are not accurate data."

Fei Lianzhang's expression changed.

"What did you say?"

“I didn’t have those data readily available,” Yi Xuexi said. “The coal costs from previous years are too detailed. Although the State Planning Commission has statistics, they are not within the scope of this survey report. I made a rough estimate based on the information I usually have.”

Fei Lianzhang stood up abruptly, staring at him: "Do you know what kind of occasion this is? The vice governor is here for an inspection, and you, a mere staff member, dare to fabricate data on the spot?"

“I know.” Yi Xuexi lowered his head, but his voice did not tremble. “But I also know that this research trip is very important to Yangcheng. The prefectural committee has been preparing for three months, and various departments have stayed up countless nights, all to make the vice governor have a good impression of Yangcheng. If no one answers at the time and the atmosphere becomes awkward, the efforts of the previous three months may be undermined.”

Fei Lianzhang looked at him without saying a word.