Chapter 1: Forced into Officialdom

  The summer in Zhongnan Province is notorious throughout the country for its sweltering heat. It's now at its peak, and Yu Fan has also ended his four-year university career, returning to his hometown of Lücaotan Town from Donghu City, the provincial capital. A third-rate unknown university couldn't change Yu Fan's fate, and his four years of university life were spent amidst the barking of dogs and crowing of chickens all night, with no other use except for getting to know some friends from various parts of the country.

  Luzhutang Town is not far from Donghu City, the provincial capital of Zhongnan Province. It is adjacent to the outskirts of Donghu City and only separated by a river from Nanhan District in the outskirts. According to the older generation, when the city boundary was first defined, Luzhutang Town almost became part of Donghu City but somehow it was excluded and included in Xinyang City, an old revolutionary area instead.

  In this era, the old revolutionary areas simply mean poverty and backwardness. Although the state allocates funds to these areas year after year, it often becomes the more funds allocated, the poorer they become, with no change from year to year. It has to be said that this is a common problem in China's official circles.

  Yu Fan has always had a bellyful of resentment towards the passenger transport company in Lücaotan Town. Originally, it was only a half-hour journey, but they insisted on charging thirty yuan. Moreover, their service attitude was not just ordinary bad, making Yu Fan reluctant to return home every year. However, this was not entirely due to these reasons, but because the original fifty-seat bus could somehow accommodate eighty people, forcing one to admire the audacity of these guys.

  All the way back, like a hamburger, he bounced back. The bus slowly left Nanhan District, a distant suburb of Donghu City. As soon as the car ferry crossed the river, Yu Fan hurriedly squeezed down from the car. The smell in the carriage was really too hard to bear, the smell of diesel oil, sweat and even the smell of feet made Yu Fan feel unbearable long ago. Anyway, after crossing the river, he arrived at Lücaotan Town, where his home was located, and Yu Fan didn't want to suffer this bird's sin anymore.

  Smelling the river wind with a hint of earthy smell on the river surface, Yu Fan lit a cigarette for himself, and the pungent breath made his chest feel refreshed. Yu Fan was also an old smoker, starting his smoking career in high school, and the four years in college were also spent in a life of coming and going in the smoke. The five people in the same dormitory were all veteran smokers, making Yu Fan quickly become familiar with them as soon as he entered college.

  The river is not very wide, but there are six large trucks on the ferry, and only one passenger car returns with Yu Fan. These trucks are all going to the villages below Lücaotan Town to pull fish, and Lücaotan Town is a famous fishing town in this area. The price of grain is really too cheap, some farmers who have worked outside and gained experience also started to abandon their good fields and start the road to getting rich by raising fish.

  The ferry slowly made its way across the river, taking over half an hour to reach the other side. As soon as it docked, Yu Fan jumped off without waiting for the cargo truck to start moving. The ferry terminal was already packed with all sorts of passenger tricycles, and people these days were very business-savvy, swarming in whenever they sensed a commercial opportunity.

  As soon as the boat docked, the sound of a tricycle engine roared to life. Yu Fan had only taken two steps when a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties drove up and asked, "Young fellow, where are you headed?" Yu Fan took a look at him and felt that he looked fairly honest, so he asked, "How much to go to the town?"

  The middle-aged man said, "Ten bucks." This is also too expensive, it's almost as much as the price of a taxi ride in Donghu City, and it's not that far. Yu Fan turned his head to look at other tricycle owners without thinking. The middle-aged man behind him hurriedly said, "Come on, come on, young man, how about you name a price?"

  He didn't even turn his head, Yu Fan said: "Five bucks." Yu Fan was also not lenient in haggling. The middle-aged man complained as soon as he heard it: "Young man, you're too ruthless in bargaining. Just eight bucks, how about that? If not, go sit on someone else's." Yu Fan also turned his head to look at the ferry, where many people were getting off now. Some people who were squeezed in the bus ran down from the car. Seeing so many pedicabs at the ferry terminal, some people couldn't bear the crowded bus anymore.

  Yu Fan turned around and said to the middle-aged man, "Alright, alright, eight yuan is eight yuan. Hurry up and start the car." After that, he got into the tricycle from behind. The middle-aged man was still shouting loudly, "Going to the town center, going to the town center! Ten yuan per person, departing immediately!"

  After listening to the middle-aged man shouting for a while, Yu Fan was getting a bit impatient: "Are you going to open it or not?" The middle-aged man turned back and smiled: "Young man, don't be in a hurry, we'll leave soon." He then turned around and shouted again: "Going to town, those who want to go, come quickly!"

  A loud shout brought over a few people, seemingly a family. A middle-aged couple also got on the tricycle with two children, and the small space on the tricycle suddenly became a bit crowded. Seeing the middle-aged man still wanting to shout, Yu Fan hurriedly shouted loudly: "Hey, if you call more people to come up, I'll get off! Are you going or not?" The middle-aged man looked at the people in the carriage and said: "Two adults are twenty, two children count as ten. Alright, let's go." He started the tricycle and zigzagged through the crowded dock, squeezing past a pile of tricycles.

  After leaving the tricycle crowd, the speed picked up. The road was also not easy to walk on, and the tricycle had no shock absorption, so it bounced along as they headed towards the town. Yu Fan basically spent the whole journey suspended in mid-air inside the carriage, his butt unable to sit on the seat, and the box placed in front of him was also bouncing around inside the carriage, fortunately there were no fragile items inside. The middle-aged couple seemed to have been prepared early on, as soon as they got on the tricycle, they tightly hugged their two children in front of them.

  Fortunately, the dock is not far from the main street of the town, and it takes about 10 minutes to get there. The main street in Lushatan Town is also narrow enough that two trucks passing each other is quite difficult. As soon as the tricycle entered the main street in the town center, it suddenly stopped, causing Yu Fan's body to slam into the front carriage, almost hitting his head. The couple behind him was also squeezed towards Yu Fan due to the sudden stop of the tricycle, and the child in their arms was frightened and burst into tears, making Yu Fan feel suffocated for a moment.

  The middle-aged man in the front driver's cabin also spoke up at this time: "Alright, alright, we've arrived at the town, hurry up and get down." The couple hugged their child and jumped off the tricycle. Yu Fan also supported himself against the carriage to take down his luggage, feeling a wave of dizziness - what was this like riding in a vehicle, it was clearly running for one's life.

  Yu Fan dragged his luggage to the front of the driver's cabin, and with a bad attitude, he threw the eight dollars that had been prepared in advance to the middle-aged man. He turned around and dragged his luggage away. After walking for only a few steps, he heard the voice of the middle-aged man behind him: "Hey, he only asked for eight dollars, why did you charge us ten dollars each?" The middle-aged man seemed to have been prepared in advance and said: "That's my neighbor's acquaintance, of course, it's cheaper." Yu Fan couldn't help but feel a wave of disdain. Who would be familiar with you? A person who looked very honest turned out to be a swindler too. It's really that people can't be judged by their appearance. He also ignored the haggling of the few people behind him and dragged his luggage towards home.

  Yu Fan's home was located in the town, next to the flood control embankment inside the town. A two-story small building from the 1990s, which was considered not bad in the town. His father, Yu Xianyi, used to be the head of the business department of the chemical plant in the town, but after the chemical plant went bankrupt, he started a pork business with several uncles and occupied a stall in the only wholesale market in the town. Although they were not good at managing the business and couldn't make much money, they could barely make a living.

  Yu Fan's mother passed away when he was very young, and from a young age, he was spoiled by his grandparents. An aunt who was eleven years older than him also helped to raise him. Later, the aunt got married and left, and Yu Fan's father remarried, and his stepmother gave birth to a younger brother for Yu Fan.

  The stepmother is a typical rural woman, with a very simple and kind heart, no evil intentions, unlike the kind in children's stories. She is also very good to Yu Fan, it can be seen that things in the world are not absolute. Yu Fan originally had a younger brother, two years younger than him, who is now following their father to do business. The family already had two boys, and Father Yu Xianyi originally wanted a girl, but this was not something he could control. And the birth of the youngest brother also went against the national family planning policy, so the fine was inevitable, fortunately, Father Yu Xianyi is not a civil servant.

  The streets in the town have been in disrepair for years, with uneven roads everywhere, and some low-lying areas still retain rainwater. Yu Fan also dragged his suitcase into the house, now it's just afternoon, his father and brother are not at home, and there is only his stepmother at home, and his youngest brother has also gone to school, elementary school students' summer vacation is a bit later.

  When Yu Fan saw his stepmother, she seemed very enthusiastic: "Xiao Fan is back, have you eaten yet?" Yu Fan also felt a warmth in his heart: "Mom, I'm not hungry, just want to go to sleep." Yu Fan's mother had passed away when he was young, and since childhood, it was his stepmother and aunt who had raised him and his brother. His stepmother was not bad to them, people have feelings after all, and the two brothers also called her "Mom".

  His stepmother didn't force Yu Fan either, and instead arranged for him to rest. Yu Fan's own bedroom was upstairs, a room left behind by his aunt after she got married. After going upstairs, Yu Fan also felt that there wasn't much change at home. Although the time spent on the bus wasn't long, the crowding of the coach and the bumping of the tricycle had given him a dizzy feeling, and before long he fell asleep on the bed.

  He didn't wake up until the sky was dark, and it was his little brother who woke him up. Looking at this little guy in front of him, Yu Fan couldn't help but feel a bit amused. His little brother was ten years younger than him, and when he was young, he would often pinch and squeeze him, but somehow this little guy seemed to have become more and more attached to him. He didn't think that now this little guy had grown up too, and it seemed like he was about to enter junior high school.

  Following his younger brother downstairs, the whole family has returned. Yu Fan's younger brother is called Yu Ren, but Yu Fan doesn't think he has any benevolent qualities. Since childhood, the two brothers have not fought less, and for this, Yu Fan has been beaten by his father Yu Xianyi many times. The little brother is called Yu Bo, and Yu Fan always thinks that this name is very rustic, and does not know who gave it to him.

  Dinner had already been prepared by his stepmother, and the family ate together in a dull and unenthusiastic manner. His father, Yu Xianyi, didn't show any surprise at Yu Fan's return home, but instead, his two younger brothers and stepmother kept asking him questions, which he answered one by one.

  After dinner, Yu Xianyi called Yu Fan to the bedroom. When Yu Fan entered, his father was sitting on the sofa with a cup of strong tea in his hand, which was a habit he had developed over the years. Although Yu Fan didn't think there was anything good about drinking strong tea, he himself preferred bottled green tea, and the urban life of the past few years had already made him accustomed to the sweet taste of green tea.

  "What? You want me to go work at the rural government office?" Yu Fan couldn't help but feel a little incredulous upon hearing his father's words.