Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 252 Carving Flowers on Shit

Yu Yue studied Chinese literature and wrote articles with ease. She has published many essays and news articles in newspapers and magazines, and her writing style is undeniably good.

But a speech draft was revised eight times and still wasn't up to standard. What does that tell you?

This shows that formalism is very serious!

To put it bluntly, it's like carving flowers on shit!

Truly useful materials are those that clearly explain the situation, thoroughly discuss the problems, and list concrete measures.

However, some leaders are obsessed with the "four-six sentence" style, as if they would not be competent or profound if they did not put together a number of lines, did not rhyme or parallel, and did not embed a few famous quotes.

This kind of atmosphere makes it difficult for those who write the reports, and it also fosters superficial and unrealistic formalism.

"Xiao Yu, the core of the material is the content, the approach to solving practical problems, not a pile of fancy words."

Let's put this document aside for now. I'll talk to Mayor Zhang about it tomorrow.

You can go home now and get some rest.

After leaving Yu Yue's office, Wu Zhiyuan and Sun Dewang continued to inspect each floor.

When I passed by the town's urban construction office, I saw that the lights were still on inside.

Pushing open the door, I saw Wang Shi facing the computer screen, his brows furrowed, his fingers slowly tapping on the keyboard.

"Shi Zai, still working overtime?" Wu Zhiyuan walked over.

Upon seeing Wu Zhiyuan, Wang Shi immediately stood up: "Secretary Wu, Director Sun. It's a PPT presentation that Deputy Mayor Liu Shuang requested, a report on the planning for new rural construction."

Mayor Liu had high standards, saying it needed to be visually impactful, with smooth animation effects, a sophisticated and high-end template, and color schemes that matched the theme.

This is already the sixth version; just finding a suitable template and adjusting the animation order took up most of the day.

He pointed to the colorful and complexly animated slides on the screen, looking tired and helpless. "Actually, the core content, the planning drawings and text descriptions, were finalized a long time ago."

Wu Zhiyuan felt frustrated as he looked at the dazzling PPT.

Isn't it putting the cart before the horse to waste so much time and energy on these superficial things instead of delving into the rationality and feasibility of the plan itself?

"The focus of the plan is on being scientific and feasible, and on truly benefiting the people and promoting development, not on how good the PowerPoint presentation looks."

Let's put this aside for now. I'll talk to Mayor Liu tomorrow.

"You should first organize the field survey data you have on the renovation of the old pipeline network in the town; that's more urgent."

"Okay, Secretary Wu!" Wang Shi visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

After visiting several more offices, the situation became even more absurd.

Some office doors are open, and people are facing their computers, but the screens are not displaying work documents; instead, they show hidden game interfaces or shopping websites.

Some groups of people would gather together and chat, with a few documents spread out on the table as a formality.

Some people stare blankly at their computer screens, purely to kill time, waiting for their superiors to "notice" them.

After going around in circles, not a single person was actually working overtime due to an urgent task; it was either ineffective overtime or performance-style overtime.

Wu Zhiyuan said angrily, "Director Sun, you saw what happened tonight."

We are cadres of Xindian Town, serving the tens of thousands of people in Xindian, not actors on a stage.

What the people want to see are the roads we build, the canals we clear, the disputes we resolve, and the policies we implement, not what time the lights in our offices stay on.

This kind of overtime work wastes water and electricity, damages health, and fosters a superficial and unproductive attitude; it serves no positive purpose whatsoever! This situation must change!

Tomorrow, after communicating with Mayor Zhang Ping, I will immediately convene a special meeting on improving the work style of all cadres in the town.

The meeting had only one theme—to crack down on formalism and say no to ineffective overtime!

……

Xindian Town is a major agricultural town, and one of the reasons why Dingyue Group is interested in Xindian Town is its abundant agricultural resources.

Once Dingyue Group officially invests, the requirements for agricultural products will be even higher.

Wu Zhiyuan decided to conduct research at the town's rural economic service center, accompanied by Xiang Jing, the deputy mayor, and Sun Dewang, the director of the town's party and government office.

Xindian Town is only so big. Before Xindian Avenue was opened, it was just a cross street.

The town's rural economic service center is less than one kilometer away from the town government.

Wu Zhiyuan walked there without saying hello.

He prefers to conduct research without prior notice, as this allows him to gain firsthand insights.

The three of them chatted as they walked.

Sun Dewang was previously the deputy director of the town's agriculture, forestry and water resources office, and he was very familiar with the situation of the town's rural economic service center.

"Secretary Wu, last year during the township institutional reform, the county integrated seven stations and eight offices, and the public institutions in the fields of agriculture, forestry and water were integrated together."

The town's rural economic service center integrates seven former units: the agricultural technology station, animal husbandry station, agricultural machinery station, forestry station, aquaculture station, water conservancy station, and agricultural economics station.

Wu Zhiyuan asked, "Isn't this just a hodgepodge?"

Sun Dewang nodded and said with a wry smile, "Secretary Wu, you're right. The comrades below are saying the same thing."

The seven stations each manage their own area, with different businesses and different superior authorities. Forcing them together makes it difficult to integrate their operations, and they end up working in different directions.

Take the agricultural machinery station as an example. It used to be a public institution in the town. Later, the "three rights" of personnel, finance, and materials were transferred to the county agricultural machinery bureau. It was no longer under the town's jurisdiction, which means that the county agricultural machinery bureau was under its vertical management.

This time, the agricultural machinery station was transferred to the town and merged into the town's rural economic service center.

Actually, in previous years, these agricultural public institutions were all together and called rural agricultural stations, but soon after, they were set up separately.

Some people complained that institutional reform was just a waste of time, merging, splitting, and then merging again.

It is estimated that these agricultural stations will be separated again in a few years.

There are reasons for merging, and the benefits are numerous.

There are reasons for separation, and a whole host of benefits to be gained.

Wu Zhiyuan nodded: "This phenomenon is common. You could call it innovation, or you could call it pointless experimentation."

Take, for example, the rural branches of the tax authorities located in townships.

A few years ago, the provincial tax bureau's top leaders wanted to abolish rural branches, ostensibly to integrate resources and improve efficiency. As a result, more than half of the rural tax branches across the province were abolished.

After a new director was appointed, it was discovered that abolishing the rural branch offices had many problems and made it inconvenient for taxpayers to handle their affairs. Therefore, the rural branch offices were reinstated, ostensibly to strengthen grassroots construction.

Every new leader brings a new approach. This happens far too often.

Xiang Jing chimed in, "Yes, you know, the agricultural machinery station, with its constant comings and goings, its mergers and separations, it's just a farce."

But after each instance of such a fuss, the leaders can claim credit and rewards, and it can be used as a publicity stunt for their political achievements.

Sun Dewang strongly agreed: "It's like harvesting leeks; you just change the description after each harvest."

Two years ago, the county implemented a grid-based management system, requiring each village to build a grid station, which cost a lot of money in terms of equipment and personnel.

Less than six months later, they said they would implement a flattened governance model, and all the grid stations were removed, leaving the equipment to gather dust in the warehouse.

This year they've started the digital village initiative again, another wave of investment. Everyone knows that after this phase, who knows what new schemes will emerge in a couple of years.

Wu Zhiyuan sneered, "These so-called innovations are nothing but empty changes in name only."

Making simple things complicated and blurring clear responsibilities are all for the purpose of adding another entry to one's resume: courage to reform.

True innovation lies in addressing the difficulties faced by ordinary people and the pain points at the grassroots level, rather than using institutional frameworks and work processes as building blocks to construct structures arbitrarily.