The expansion project in Kushanli continued.
Li Zhengguo briefed Deputy Village Head Ou on all ongoing matters, preparing to resign from his position in town.
His ten-year term had ended. He had dedicated ten years of his youth to Kushanli and now wished to devote the rest of his life to his family.
Deputy Village Head Ou clung to Li Zhengguo's back, refusing to let him leave. "I've dedicated my entire life to Kushanli, and my family has never voiced any objections."
"Team Leader Tian is a reasonable person; she won't have any objections either."
"Xiao Zhou, quickly go and notify the villagers to jointly persuade Village Head Li to continue his tenure."
"You got it!" Zhou Chengbin scurried off to the broadcast room.
Branch Secretary Yang also grabbed Li Zhengguo's handbag. "We all plan to die at our posts. You call yourself a deserter? Absolutely not!"
"Let alone resigning, even if we promoted you, we wouldn't let you go."
"The Hot Spring Valley tourism has only just begun its second season, the expansion has just started, and the household registration for the young women hasn't been finalized yet."
"There will be even more matters requiring your arrangement in the future. We're just here to assist. You want to escape? Unacceptable!"
Li Zhengguo, held and steered by the two elders, couldn't move.
As soon as the electric loudspeaker announced that Village Head Li's term was ending and he intended to resign, the villagers immediately dropped their tools and rushed towards the village committee.
Even the elderly who stayed home to watch the chickens hobbled over, leaning on their canes.
The elders were in tears. They had endured poverty in Kushanli their entire lives. In their twilight years, they saw hope for their descendants and felt they would have the face to meet their ancestors after death.
If Village Head Li resigned, no one dared to guarantee Kushanli's future.
"Village Head Li, please continue as village head."
"Exactly, Village Head Li, we always wholeheartedly supported your plans. If you leave, our hearts will scatter."
"That's right, we wouldn't be convinced by anyone else, not even Deputy Village Head Ou."
"Indeed, Village Head Li, don't resign. You are our backbone!"
Li Zhengguo refused. His ten-year guarantee was still with County Magistrate Ji. He had indeed developed everything that could be developed in Kushanli. It wouldn't make a difference who took over as village head.
The villagers also refused. They surrounded him, not letting him leave.
Deputy Village Head Ou simply called County Magistrate Ji, so he could hear the voice of the Kushanli villagers.
Amidst the chaotic noise, County Magistrate Ji understood the villagers' plea.
He said that a promotion for Li Zhengguo had already been applied for.
The villagers were even more insistent. Village Head Li was their village head.
Don't talk about selflessness. Kushanli had been poor for generations; had there been no selfless people to manage them?
Aren't there students coming to learn? Let them continue learning. They only had one village head, and they refused to share him.
Li Zhengguo was even more stubborn. He wanted to resign. He didn't want to be village head, nor did he want a promotion.
He was already forty-six years old and didn't have much energy to forge ahead in an unfamiliar place.
The argument continued without resolution. County Magistrate Ji told Kushanli and Li Zhengguo to await further notice.
The anxious villagers split into groups, guarding Village Head Li.
Li Zhengguo got angry. What were they doing? Hurry back to the construction site!
The villagers refused. Without Village Head Li, they had no confidence in anything they did.
Tian Jing emerged from the nursery base to find villagers coming to plead with her. Tian Jing waved them off. "I won't force him to step down. We'll just wait for the county's arrangement."
When she returned to the courtyard, she saw it was being guarded and couldn't help but laugh.
"Everyone, hurry back to work. Your Village Head Li isn't going anywhere. His resignation and transfer both require the county's approval. Neither you nor he can make the decision."
Tian Jing's words reassured the villagers, and they returned to their work at the construction site.
After several days of gloom in Kushanli, the county sent a notice.
Comrade Li Zhengguo would continue to serve as the village head of Kushanli, and simultaneously, he would identify and train a successor, keeping them by his side for an apprenticeship.
This term would be for five years. After five years, he would move to a secondary position, taking over as Branch Secretary from Comrade Yang Shukun.
Li Zhengguo was speechless. Was this a way to keep him tied to Kushanli if they couldn't transfer him?
And he had to find the next village head?
The villagers excitedly gathered around the announcement board posted at the village committee.
Li Zhengguo promptly posted two names, asking the villagers to sign their names below the chosen candidate, so he could conduct a real-name election.
One was Village Head Assistant Zhang Shitóu, and the other was Accountant Zhou Chéngbīn.
The villagers knew that Village Head Li was retaliating against them.
Up until now, elections had always been anonymous ballots or raised hands for approval after nomination.
If the person they favored wasn't elected, would the elected village head look favorably upon them?
The villagers secretly gathered and whispered among themselves.
One day later, the number of people under Zhou Chéngbīn's name accounted for one hundred percent.
The number of people under Zhang Shitóu's name also accounted for one hundred percent, but next to each villager's name was a sentence: "Candidate for the next village head."
Didn't they know that Zhou Chéngbīn was related to the County Magistrate?
Once appointed village head, he could be promoted and transferred. If Zhou Chéngbīn was transferred, they would choose Zhang Shitóu, who could then learn more from Village Head Li and the next village head.
Village Head Li was speechless.
In the office, the village cadres burst into laughter, saying that the villagers had become sharp thanks to Village Head Li.
In the nursery base, Tian Jing also burst into laughter after hearing the news brought back by Ouyang Meihua, who had taken an unofficial day off.
"Comrade Li Zhengguo and the villagers are in a love-hate relationship!"
Ouyang Meihua agreed. "Indeed. The villagers are reluctant to let Village Head Li go, but they grit their teeth at his constant scheming for their money."
"However, the various benefits truly make the villagers willingly hand over their money."
"You know, I'm also reluctant to see Li Zhengguo resign. Whoever takes this position will find it difficult to win everyone's approval."
"Another term, and Kushanli will be completely stable. Then, a young new village head can take over, with Li Zhengguo as Branch Secretary. The villagers would have no objections at all."
Tian Jing knew why Li Zhengguo wanted to resign; he felt he had let her down.
As she got older, she disliked leaving home more and more, and her specialty team was in the back mountain ranges. Staying in the village was enough for her.
That evening, facing a dejected Village Head Li, Team Leader Tian comforted him.
"Companionship is the best compensation. Not being promoted is a blessing. I like the current Kushanli."
"Alas!" Li Zhengguo sighed. "I'm getting old. Promotion is meaningless. At most, I could be promoted to County Magistrate."
"But I don't want to train a successor, nor do I want to be a supporter of certain people. I just want to be myself, so I believe resigning is best."
Tian Jing also disliked some of the bad practices in politics.
"Alright, just stay in this corner of Kushanli. No matter what happens, it won't implicate you. At most, you'll become an ordinary villager, which is what you wanted, isn't it?"
Li Zhengguo nodded. "I can only comfort myself like this. As you said, not being promoted is a blessing."
It was likely that County Magistrate Ji had reported his determination to resign to his superiors. They understood his desire to do practical work and his lack of ambition for a political career, hence the final decision.
His life would likely be this way. He was a small person who couldn't harbor great ambitions.
"Wife, are you disappointed?"
Tian Jing slapped him back. "My position is much higher than yours. Why would I want you to wear the title of a certain official's wife?"
Li Zhengguo smiled and clasped his wife's hand. "Right, then you can give me the title of Mr. to a certain official."
Hearing her husband's hearty laughter, Tian Jing breathed a sigh of relief. Her husband had come to terms with it.
Her husband's emotional changes over the past few days made her wonder if he was going through menopause.
But he was only in his forties; was that menopause?