Watching William Bolton’s departing figure, Alice Bennett’s mind raced. Judging from the condition of this residential complex, it was just an extremely ordinary neighborhood, so William Bolton should also be just an ordinary kid from an ordinary family. Yet, from the way William Bolton interacted with others and his bearing, he always displayed great confidence. What an interesting person!

“What did that kid just call me? Auntie?” Alice Bennett thought to herself, but the corners of her mouth held a slight smile, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

In the following days, William Bolton went to the Party School less often, devoting all his energy to researching the affairs of Yongping County. Although he would only be a secretary in the future, he imagined himself as the county magistrate.

If he were the county magistrate, under the current circumstances, how should he break the ice and govern? With this mindset, he searched everywhere for information, gathered data, and analyzed the situation.

The art of being an official mainly lies in having a good leadership team, but right now Henry Clark had very few cards in his hand. Brian Walker had been operating in Yongping for many years, and the Public Security Bureau, Organization Department, Finance Bureau, and Agriculture Bureau were all under his control.

The county party secretary, Paul Green, was also a veteran cadre of Yongping. Paul Green was a typical grassroots figure, with no background above, having climbed to this position entirely on his own, and he was nearing retirement age.

However, Paul Green was still very power-hungry. The heads of the Tobacco Bureau, Environmental Protection Bureau, Forestry Bureau, and Tax Bureau were all firmly in his grasp. Among them, the Forestry Bureau was the most important.

Yongping’s situation was very unique. The Wugai Mountain area in the northwest of Yongping was now a national nature reserve. In other counties, the Forestry Bureau might be a clean and idle office, but in Yongping, it had truly become a department rolling in wealth.

Wugai Mountain stretched for hundreds of square kilometers, home to countless rare plants and animals. Although the state prohibited the trade of rare species, Yongping was remote and hard to supervise, so such things couldn’t really be banned. In the end, the city had no choice but to allow Yongping limited development of forest resources.

The word “limited” left a lot of room for manipulation, so every year a large number of herbal medicine traders gathered here, all seeking their breakthrough through the Forestry Bureau. The medicinal herb industry had quietly become one of Yongping’s pillar industries. With Paul Green controlling such a department, his position as county party secretary was rock solid.

Chapter 0013: County Magistrate’s Secretary

As the end of the year approached, the matter of William Bolton’s transfer to the county party committee office finally began to take shape. At the end of January, Charles Harris met with him on behalf of the organization, and during the conversation, William Bolton finally sensed the subtlety of the county party committee office.

Throughout the conversation, Charles Harris was neither warm nor cold, strictly businesslike, full of officialdom. But William Bolton was no pushover either; he responded deftly, giving nothing away, and didn’t let Charles Harris catch him out on anything.

After talking with Charles Harris, the real challenge was next, because he was about to meet Henry Clark. He knew very well the importance of this meeting, so on the day Henry Clark called him in, he arrived at the county committee compound very early.

“Good morning, County Magistrate Li! William Bolton reporting in.” William Bolton knocked on Henry Clark’s office door and said respectfully.

“Xiao Zhang, you’re here? Good, good, have a seat! I’m still a commander without troops right now, so make yourself at home!” Henry Clark looked energetic today, his face full of smiles.

William Bolton sat respectfully on the side seat of the office sofa, waiting attentively for Henry Clark’s instructions.

“I’ve read the report you wrote for Liziping Township—very good! Secretary Wan and Minister David Thompson both think highly of you. Minister David Thompson was the first to recommend you. I just happen to need a secretary, so you’ve come at the perfect time.” Henry Clark said kindly.

“It’s all thanks to the leaders’ support. Honestly, being able to serve as your secretary is very exciting for me. I promise I won’t let the leaders down.” William Bolton replied cautiously.

Henry Clark laughed heartily and said, “Personally, I think very highly of you, and I hope you’ll live up to your word. By the way, you won’t have much time to get familiar with things. This afternoon, we have a standing committee meeting, and you’ll be attending!”

William Bolton was taken aback. The official appointment letter hadn’t even come down yet, and he was already starting?

Henry Clark seemed to see through William Bolton’s thoughts and mused, “This young man is really cautious, with a strong sense of organization!”

“Xiao Zhang, take a look at this! And these materials—get familiar with the situation first!” Henry Clark said, handing William Bolton a folder as he spoke.

William Bolton took the folder and opened it. The very first document was his appointment letter: “According to the decision of the county standing committee: Comrade William Bolton is hereby appointed as deputy director of the county party committee office, responsible for petition and confidentiality work…”

Flipping further, William Bolton saw his job responsibilities and some information about the county party committee office.

“I’m in charge of petitions and confidentiality?” William Bolton thought to himself. “Looks like this deputy director position might be the one with the least real power.”

Reading on, William Bolton finally understood the structure of the county party committee office. The office director, Charles Harris, also served as secretary to the county party secretary, while the other deputy director, Frank Lane, was in charge of supervision and secretarial work, and also served as secretary to Brian Walker.