Minning Town

At the Diaozhuang Immigration Office in Haiji County, Director Zhang Shucheng reported to Deputy County Chief Yang that a group of immigrants had fled back to Yongquan Village from Yuquanying. The hot-tempered County Chief Yang taught him that as a demobilized soldier, he should face challenges head-on. Ma Defu, a graduate of the agricultural school seconded to the Diaozhuang Office, reported to Zhang Shucheng. Ma Defu from Yongquan Village took Zhang Shucheng to find the acting village director of Yongquan Village, his father Ma Hanshui, to assist in the work. Ma Hanshui led the two to understand the situation. The reasons why the villagers were unwilling to immigrate were varied. Li Dayou, who took the lead in running away, was even more slippery and lazy. He was unmoved by Defu's persuasion.

Shuihua, who couldn't let go of Li Laoshuan, gave up escaping marriage and returned home, resigned to marrying An Yongfu from the neighboring village. The closed and backward Yongquan Village hurt Zhang Shucheng. He insisted on holding a village meeting, and explained the immigration policy in detail and patiently at the meeting. Several "deserters" villagers spoke up and constantly provoked conflicts. At the chaotic moment, Grandpa Shuiwang came forward, asked about the most concerned issue of the villagers, and at the same time, he took a few children and the courage to go out and venture to boost morale, and took the lead with Ma Hanshui's family to sign up to go to the village.

Grandpa Shuiwang returned to Yongquan Village to recuperate after contracting a disease while planting trees. Seeing that the young trees he had pruned were lacking water, Defu and Ma Hanshui were anxious and heartbroken. Defu went to the county to solve the problem of electricity supply, but was temporarily blocked due to the handover of positions in the county bureau. When she was at a loss, Shuihua dragged her disabled husband and young daughter on a cart across the Gobi Desert to immigrate to Jintan Village.

When Debao and his gang went to steal supplies from a train, they were chased by the police. Debao fled with Shuiwang, while Ga Wa stayed on the train to find his father who went out to work and disappeared many years ago. Ga Wa's mother's old illness relapsed because of the loss of her child, and Debao was taught a lesson by Ma Hanshui and Principal Bai in turn. Chen Jinshan, a cadre from Fujian, encountered a pickpocket on the train. Because of his accent, it was difficult to communicate with the local police, so Defu, who could speak Mandarin, was called in to communicate with him.

Ga Wa's mother's condition is getting worse and worse. She keeps talking about going back to her hometown. Ma Hanshui decides to take his sister back to Yongquan Village and take care of her with his wife. Debao buys a map to find Ga Wa, and Mai Miao wants to go with him. Chen Jinshan, the county magistrate on secondment, contacts the Fujian businessmen he knows to help them find a way to export labor. Wu Yuejuan, the director of the Fujian-Ningxia Office from Fujian, and Chen Jinshan take turns introducing Fujian's assistance policies to grassroots cadres. Defu helps the cadres in both places convey and understand the policies.

Defu and Teacher Bai helped organize a labor export conference. At the conference, Chen Jinshan described the bright prospects of labor export to the villagers. The first batch of female workers recruited will work in the electronic component factory. Mai Miao was very excited, but she was hesitant because she was thinking about Debao. Principal Bai actively supported Mai Miao to sign up. Mai Miao misunderstood that he was going to send her away, and vented all the resentment she had towards her father for many years because of her mother's death. Principal Bai understood his daughter's strange temper and asked Defu to help find Shuihua to enlighten Mai Miao.

The language barrier hindered the female workers in Haiji from learning technology. The diligent and studious Mai Miao led her partners to study the language seriously after work, and became a trusted person in life and work. During the critical season of spring irrigation, the villagers of Jintan Village had a conflict with the people of Qingtongxia Pumping Station over irrigation issues. Defu rushed to mediate and decided to postpone the payment of the winter irrigation arrears and only pay the spring irrigation money first, and then pay the arrears after the grain harvest. However, after Defu mobilized the villagers to pay the spring irrigation money as agreed, the pumping station released a trickle that could not wet the ground.

While working, Debao was looking for Ga Wa. When he asked a truck driver about Ga Wa's whereabouts, Debao, who was unaware of the situation, was sold to a black coal mine by the truck driver. In order to implement the poverty alleviation policy, Min Ning Village carried out scientific and technological poverty alleviation to develop the local economy. Chen Jinshan found Ling Yinong, a teacher who was doing a research project on mushroom grass in Ningxia, and persuaded Ling Yinong to go to Min Ning Village to develop the Agaricus bisporus planting industry, and told him the urgency of helping the villagers to generate income and get rich. Ling Yinong was determined to study technology to protect the ecology, and was not enthusiastic about promoting planting technology to develop the economy. But Chen Jinshan had already made a promise for him in front of the villagers.

Debao went home and hid his tragic experience from his parents and brother. He also had to pay for his aunt's medical treatment. His mother was worried about him and Mai Miao. Debao learned about Mai Miao's current situation and contact address from Principal Bai. Defu also found him a job at a shoe factory in Fujian. Mai Miao and her companions worked overtime to practice their skills, and the female workers worked together. The Municipal Youth League Committee organized a social dance party. The driver Wang Guohui had a good impression of Mai Miao and invited her to dance but was rejected. Looking at the lively crowd, Mai Miao missed Debao.

Ma Qiuhong, a fellow villager of Mai Miao, had experienced poverty caused by water shortage. She helped the female laundry worker turn on the faucet, but was mistaken for a thief who stole clothes. The stimulated female workers were determined to fight for their reputation at work and not be looked down upon again. There will be gains from struggle. The hard-working female workers of Haiji finally passed the assessment and produced efficient and high-quality products. Everyone happily celebrated by eating seafood food stalls. Mai Miao felt that he had found the meaning of struggle. Under the guidance of Ling Yinong, Debao's mushroom shed was built in an orderly manner, attracting the attention of the villagers. Shuihua's family had no money to build a shed, so they went to Debao's shed to learn and help.

The mushrooms grown in Debao's shed were sold at a good price in the farmers' market. As the mushrooms were harvested one after another, Debao's pockets gradually bulged. Defu asked him to help call on the whole village to grow mushrooms together. Debao paid Shuihua a salary, and An Yongfu recognized that his wife had become rich through labor. Wu Yuejuan came to visit Ling Yinong and Chen Jinshan, and the three of them sat around eating mushroom soup hot pot. Wu Yuejuan brought the favorable policy of the autonomous region to provide interest-free loans for villagers to grow mushrooms. At the steaming hot table, the three people's work enthusiasm also rose.

The village has started a mushroom planting boom. As a person with successful planting experience, Debao helps his master Ling Yinong to promote planting techniques in surrounding villages. Shuiwang couldn't resist his father Li Dayou, so he asked Debao about mushroom planting, and Debao gave him advice. A factory warehouse in Fujian caught fire. Maimiao rushed through the fire to rescue supplies until she fainted from exhaustion and was rescued. The letter Debao wrote to her was burned in the fire. The media wanted to interview the advanced deeds of Haiji female worker Bai Maimiao who bravely rescued production materials. The Municipal Youth League Committee specially sent propaganda officer Ding Shijun to teach her how to deal with the media. The mushrooms of the villagers in Jintan Village are selling well. Reporters from the county newspaper reported the advanced example of mushroom planting in Jintan Village. Everyone is immersed in the joy of getting rich through hard work.

The village has started a mushroom planting boom. As a person with successful planting experience, Debao helps his master Ling Yinong to promote planting techniques in surrounding villages. Shuiwang couldn't resist his father Li Dayou, so he asked Debao about mushroom planting, and Debao gave him advice. A factory warehouse in Fujian caught fire. Maimiao rushed through the fire to rescue supplies until she fainted from exhaustion and was rescued. The letter Debao wrote to her was burned in the fire. The media wanted to interview the advanced deeds of Haiji female worker Bai Maimiao who bravely rescued production materials. The Municipal Youth League Committee specially sent propaganda officer Ding Shijun to teach her how to deal with the media. The mushrooms of the villagers in Jintan Village are selling well. Reporters from the county newspaper reported the advanced example of mushroom planting in Jintan Village. Everyone is immersed in the joy of getting rich through hard work.

Deputy County Magistrate Ma did not conduct a field investigation and irresponsibly issued an order to hold a field meeting. After learning that Agaricus bisporus was unsalable, he still whitewashed the situation and concealed the actual situation from his superiors. In order to prevent the tragedy of the Li family from happening again, under the pressure of unsalable mushrooms, Ling Yinong led his men to divide into several groups and went to various parts of the country to find sales channels, refusing to attend the field meeting. Deputy County Magistrate Ma used the prospect of official career to coerce and tempt Defu to replace Ling Yinong to introduce his experience at the field meeting. Defu was faced with the choice of sticking to his beliefs and walking on the "single-plank bridge" or obeying the arrangement of Deputy County Magistrate Ma and taking the "highway" of official career. Principal Bai pointed out the way for him.

At the meeting, Defu, with the help of the villagers, ignored the threats of Deputy County Chief Ma, and spoke the truth. He pointed out the actual situation and urgent problems faced by mushroom cultivation. The vigorous Secretary Yang said on the spot that he would solve the problem. Principal Bai saw the interview of Mai Miao's firefighting on TV, and the interview was a great success. As an advanced representative of migrant workers in Fujian, Mai Miao had to return to Ningxia to make a speech and drafted a speech with Secretary Ding. After the on-site meeting, Secretary Yang immediately held a meeting to study the problem and set up a mushroom promotion team to focus on storage and sales to solve the worries of mushroom farmers. After the county mushroom promotion team did its work, a group of mushroom buyers came, but they only offered 80 cents, which was lower than the previous unified purchase price in the city and county.

The real money brought by Professor Ling's orders greatly boosted the confidence of mushroom farmers, but in fact he secretly paid the difference. The mushroom collector who had lost his business threatened Ling Yinong and his party, and the two sides clashed. Debao was also caught in the melee and almost missed the opportunity to meet Mai Miao. Debao finally met Mai Miao at the station before leaving, but Debao hesitated and couldn't say anything. Ling Yinong, who was injured in the conflict, confessed to Defu that he paid the money. Defu reported the matter to Secretary Yang, who found Wu Yuejuan to discuss it, and finally reduced the cost of air transportation and increased the profit of Agaricus bisporus. Jintan Village became a demonstration village for the Fujian-Ningxia cooperation mushroom industry. Defu opened a small kitchen with his own money to see Ling Yinong off, but he didn't expect that everyone in the village came to see him off.

Debao went to Fujian to see wheat seedlings and met Shuiwang who was also working in Fujian. The three of them missed Ga Wa. Principal Bai stopped Hai Chunling, a student who was going to Fujian to work. Her parents insisted that she was already sixteen years old and could go out to work. Principal Bai, who had taught her since childhood, did not believe it. Guo Minhang, a volunteer teacher from Fujian, volunteered to be transferred to the immigrant primary school in Yuquanying with enthusiasm. Principal Bai's attitude towards him was lukewarm. After all, his school did not need volunteer teachers who came and left. Guo Minhang told Principal Bai about the news of the autonomous region's chorus competition. Principal Bai was very angry. The money for repairing the playground was delayed, and they were doing these useless things. Ga Wa, who left home many years ago, came back and joined the engineering team with Debao.

Several students wrote to Principal Bai, expressing their determination to work outside to help their families. The frustrated Principal Bai went to drink with Defu, and Defu's words that working outside also had benefits angered Principal Bai, who drove Defu out of the house. Principal Bai went to the Education Bureau to solve the problem but to no avail. He was also persuaded to actively cooperate with the choir competition. Disheartened, he decided to take the children to participate in the choir competition. Facing a pair of eager eyes, Principal Bai decided to participate in the choir competition regardless of the number limit. In order to purchase school uniforms for the competition, Principal Bai sold the four computers donated by the Maimiao factory and used the proceeds to repair the playground. Maimiao brought the factory leaders to the school to accompany him to investigate further assistance matters.

Mai Miao stayed and became the person in charge of the construction of the factory project invested by Fujian businessmen, and Guo Minhang became a formal teacher in the school. In 2002, Min Ning Village was withdrawn and a town was established, but because of problems in the handover of administrative jurisdiction, the local development fell into an unprecedented predicament. An article about Min Ning Town's face-saving projects and arrears of project funds before and after the establishment of the town was published, and the problematic cadres also quibbled and shirked their responsibilities. Defu was hit on the head by a stone thrown by migrant workers who were asking for wages, and his wife Gao Qingxia wanted him to be transferred to the city. The migrant workers who were asking for wages went to block Debao again. Defu asked Debao to advance funds to take over the project, which actually caused his brother to suffer heavy losses.

Ma Defu was reported for abusing his power for personal gain, and the Commission for Discipline Inspection came to investigate his letting his younger brother Debao contract the project. According to the procedure, Defu was temporarily suspended from his position as town mayor, and Debao finally understood Defu's difficulties. The progress of the three-level pumping project was affected by the contractor's arrears of wages. The contractor was a relative of the cadres of the Water Conservancy Bureau. After Zhang Shucheng learned about the situation, he recovered the arrears and terminated the contractor's contract. The whole village relocation project encountered a bottleneck, and Zhang Shucheng asked Defu to return to Yongquan Village to tackle the problem. Ma Hanshui went around to explore for Defu, and Li Dayou frankly said that if the elderly did not leave, their children and grandchildren would not abandon them.

Zhang Shucheng came to Minning Town and served as the town secretary, and recommended Defu as the acting mayor. Defu suggested that he solve the problem of unpaid wages first, and then rectify the team. The three-level pumping station that was suspended due to the misappropriation of project funds is also a major issue to be resolved. Zhang Shucheng opened the door to receive petitioners. His sincere attitude and previous grassroots work experience made him trust the villagers. The town issued a batch of overdue project funds, but Defu put Debao's company at the back. Debao felt wronged and angry, thinking that Defu ignored his life and death for his own political achievements. Zhang Shucheng's village committee team held a symposium to help everyone strengthen their faith and reissued the arrears of allowances. Defu talked to Debao and told him that Ma Hanshui drew lots for the brothers to go to school.

Defu lost his temper after being reprimanded by his superiors and quarreled with his father Ma Hanshui. The voice of Defu's sister Dehua came from the loud speaker of the village radio. She loudly spoke out the difficulties faced by children in the village to go to school, expressed the attitude of the younger generation to change their fate, and asked the older generation why they let the younger generation suffer poverty together. Ma Hanshui stopped Dehua's broadcast and asked him to apologize to the old people. However, Old Master Li said that Dehua was right. He agreed to relocate the entire village, but asked Defu to leave more than a dozen old people and the village behind. Ma Hanshui took Defu to the ancestral tomb to worship and told him about the past when the ancestors of the Ma family fled here and were taken in by the ancestors of the Li family more than a hundred years ago. Defu went to visit Old Master Li, but Old Master Li was unwilling to listen to him more.

Ah Zhen persuaded her father to agree that she and Shuiwang would stay in Minning Town to run a pharmacy business. Defu helped the villagers who had difficulty in raising funds for the relocation of the whole village to apply for a small loan. Shuiwang's grandfather proposed to hold a banquet for 100 families to bid farewell to the old village. Debao, Maimiao and a group of young people also came back to help prepare the banquet. The team of the whole village relocation drove to the new village. Defu received the news that Zhang Shucheng had died in a car accident. The investigation of the organization cleared Defu's name. He decided to inherit Zhang Shucheng's will and work hard. The three-level water pumping project that Zhang Shucheng cared about was completed, and water and hope permeated the land. In 2016, the production and life of Minning Town were thriving.