A young man from another world returned to his hometown.

Chapter 55 Grassroots Cadres

Section Chief Ma smiled.

"It seems some people are no longer considering steamed buns as a staple food; it's time to show them the power of procedural justice."

The next day, in the county town, Boss Qian was smoking a cigarette and squinting at a convoy of trucks passing by on the edge of the town.

At first, Boss Zhao, who was standing next to him, was quite smug.

"Old Qian, look, whose convoy is making such a big fuss?"

Boss Zhao came over to fawn over him, but when he saw the size of the convoy and the escorts beside it, his face turned pale instantly.

The elderly people lying on the road were lifted up on stretchers and pulled to the side of the road.

"Old...Old Qian, this convoy...is heading to Asada Village."

The cigarette fell from Boss Qian's lips. His eyes widened as he stared at the convoy stretching for over a thousand meters, a magnificent sight.

"This...this is..."

Mr. Qian's legs went weak.

"Whose work is this...?"

Boss Zhao's voice trembled, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

Just then, his phone rang; it was a secretary from the county calling.

"Old Qian, have you offended someone lately?"

The secretary's voice sounded urgent.

"I just received several calls specifically asking about your establishments; someone has already led a team to your venue!"

puff.

Mr. Qian dropped his phone on the ground and muttered to himself.

"Oh no, who am I even competing with...?"

……

After Fatty Qian's farce ended, the school's construction finally got back on track.

"The junior high students in the town will graduate in June, so we can start our recruitment efforts two months in advance."

Section Chief Ma came to see Lin Jiayao and Professor Wei early in the morning.

Wei Changfeng clapped his hands in satisfaction.

"Alright! Let's do it!"

Section Chief Ma volunteered to give the presentation.

"Leave the student recruitment to me. A significant portion of the students in the town's middle schools don't plan to continue their high school education. I'll take Mr. Wei to the schools to give a presentation so the children know that they have another path to take."

On the day of the presentation, two or three hundred students sat densely packed on the playground.

Section Chief Ma stood on the flag-raising platform, dressed in formal attire.

"Students, I know that many of you will not continue your studies after receiving your diplomas and will go out to work. Perhaps many of you yearn for the outside world, but you only earn a few thousand yuan a month and can only go home a few times a year, while your parents grow old day by day."

The room fell silent.

"But today, I'm telling you, you have another option. A new vocational school will open in our town. Tuition is free. After graduation, you can go directly to the factory in Tiancun. I believe that the families of students from Tiancun should know that the salary is the same as in big cities, and it's right on your doorstep."

The playground exploded.

"No way, they can earn a big city salary in our town?"

"Is it really possible to get a job at Tamura's factory? My cousin works at the construction site near the middle school, and I heard the salary is quite high."

Section Chief Ma continued his explanation to everyone.

"It's true. I'm a staff member in the town. You should all know me. You've probably heard from your elders about Tiancun starting a business. This school is legitimate. It has a school operating permit approved by the county. It's not a lie. Go back and discuss it with your families."

The group was then disbanded, and the students led their teams back to their classrooms. The two then went from class to class to check on the students' situation.

The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire town overnight, and every household began to take action, not just high school graduates who came to submit their registration forms.

Some people rode motorcycles to drag their sons back from internet cafes where they were fooling around, while others, including construction workers in their thirties, went to learn about relevant policies after get off work.

"Go back to your studies!"

"Dad, I don't want to study..."

"What does it matter if you don't want to? You'll get a job after you finish your studies! If you don't go, don't consider me your father!"

Application forms poured in like snowflakes; in just a few days, Lin Jiayao received over four hundred applications.

This far exceeded the initial enrollment plan of around one hundred people.

Logically speaking, this should be something to be happy about.

But that night...

Lin Jiayao sat at his desk, staring at the statistics on the computer screen, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Something's not right.

There are 414 male students.

There are thirteen girls.

Lin Jiayao stared at the data. He turned to the last page of the table, where Section Chief Ma had helped him obtain the list of students graduating from the town's junior high school this June.

There are 231 graduating students in the third year of junior high school, of whom 87 are girls.

Eligible rural girls collectively disappeared from the registration forms.

Lin Jiayao picked up his phone and dialed Section Chief Ma's number.

"Old Ma, are you free now?"

"What's wrong?"

"The enrollment data is out, come and take a look."

Section Chief Ma pushed open the office door, glanced around, and his expression changed.

Lin Jiayao leaned back in his chair.

"Old Ma, where have all the girls who graduated from junior high in town gone?"

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Section Chief Ma put down the form and let out a long sigh.

"Mr. Lin, what do you think a boy is in a rural family?"

Lin Jiayao remained silent, and Section Chief Ma answered himself.

"Boys are the future of the family, and girls will get married sooner or later. Even if they can get a good job opportunity, how much time is wasted after finishing vocational school? For the elderly in rural areas, they feel that girls have been wasted if they study too much."

"You want her to go to a vocational school? That would delay her for two more years. Who would compensate for the bride price during those two years? What if she gets carried away in school and doesn't want to get married anymore, or what if she becomes more worldly and marries someone from far away? Wouldn't that mean losing both her and her money?"

Lin Jiayao gripped the pen tightly in his hand.

He himself was a boy from the village. His family was lucky enough that, although they were poor before, they never lacked him education. But thinking about his older cousins, their education level was indeed lower than that of the boys in the family...

But he had never seen anyone record their daughter as an asset to be sold.

"So those parents never intended for their daughters to enroll."

"It's not that we haven't planned on it."

Section Chief Ma shook his head and took a lighter out of his pocket.

"They simply don't have that concept at all. In their minds, education is only for sons. Daughters? Daughters have their own paths to follow. As for whether daughters want to study or not..."

Section Chief Ma took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly.

"Nobody asked them."

Early the next morning.

Section Chief Ma changed into casual clothes and, together with Xiao Zheng, a clerk from the town, Lin Jiayao was already waiting there.

Because Xiao Deng had only been in the countryside for a short time and hadn't yet learned how to ride the local motorcycle, the section chief drove while Xiao Zheng sat in the back.