In Lianhe Village, someone is always up before the sun. Walking the village roads, Huang Zhongxiao starts his day with a visit to the nursing home to check on the elderly, then circles the village square, casually asking residents about their water purifiers and how their backyard chickens are faring. When villagers greet him with a natural, "Secretary Huang, out for another walk?" it speaks volumes. For the residents, Huang Zhongxiao has long ceased to be just a "stationed cadre" and has become a familiar face of the community itself.
In October 2023, Huang Zhongxiao, a cadre from China Unicom's Inner Mongolia branch, arrived in Lianhe Village in Huade County to serve as its first secretary. The shift from a finance role to the frontlines of rural work was far from easy. But after nearly three years on the job, the villagers have come to a consensus, calling him "Good Secretary" — a title earned not through paperwork, but through tangible actions.
Building a Strong Foundation: From Individual Effort to Collective Strength
Upon arrival, Huang did not rush to launch projects. Instead, he focused on one key priority: strengthening the village's Party branch. "Whether a village prospers depends on its branch," he often says, and he practices what he preaches. Rather than making sweeping changes, he took the time to visit veteran Party members, listening to their concerns and assessing the village's true conditions. After gaining a clear understanding, he worked to improve the organization, standardize procedures, enhance learning, and emphasize practical application.
The village supervisory committee and the mechanisms for Party representatives and committee members were refined. Systems like the "Three Meetings and One Lesson," themed Party days, and lectures by the branch secretary gradually became standardized. Theoretical study moved beyond rote reading to the fields and practical sites, such as helping farmers with the autumn harvest, visiting the border guard memorial, and organizing joint themed activities for the July 1st and National Day flag-raising ceremonies. These efforts slowly galvanized the Party members and united the leadership team.
With a more cohesive team, progress came more smoothly. By 2025, when making major village decisions, the branch was proactively proposing initiatives like cultivating economic seedlings, developing courtyard economies, and improving the nursing home. These proposals were recognized by higher-level Party committees. What was once fragmented is now a formidable force, signaling that the branch has truly begun to play its leading and combat-fortress role.
Boosting Incomes: From Traditional Aid to Empowering Minds and Skills
At its core, rural revitalization is about improving people's lives and ensuring stable incomes. After understanding the village's assets and public sentiment, Huang focused on industry, employment, and consumption. He insisted on empowering both the will and the skill of villagers, combining "blood transfusion" with "hematopoiesis," and avoided flashy gestures in favor of tangible benefits for the farmers.
For industrial support, he piloted a model combining landscaping with fruit-picking orchards. Based on local conditions, he guided farmers to develop courtyard economies through pig and chicken farming and vegetable plots. To encourage participation, he secured 217,000 yuan in incentives from county and township authorities, benefiting 51 households. This spurred 40 households into courtyard planting and 91 into breeding, yielding an average income increase of 3,760 yuan per household. While the figures may seem modest, they represent a very real improvement for ordinary families—a few more chickens, a more productive plot—a sign that life is steadily getting better.
On the employment front, he coordinated the setup of 38 village-level public welfare posts and secured 11 county-level ones. He also obtained 48,000 yuan in work incentives for 50 temporary laborers from 39 households, adding about 1,000 yuan per household. Through "work-relief" programs, about 50 households participated in village projects, earning roughly 1,200 yuan each. This meant that those who once waited for odd jobs now had opportunities and income right at their doorstep.
Consumption support has been ongoing for three consecutive years. Huang coordinated with the supporting unit to sell 29 tons of wheat, boosting household incomes by an average of 3,000 yuan and increasing village collective revenue by 304,000 yuan with a profit of 65,000 yuan. These profits were not left idle; they were reinvested in the village—500 yuan in temporary relief for each of the 19 monitored households and over 50,000 yuan to cover winter heating coal costs. The villagers see where the money goes, giving them a concrete sense of what "support" truly means.
Digital Empowerment: From a Digital Village to a Safe Village
Hailing from the Unicom system, Huang brought his professional expertise into the village's governance practices. For the Safe Village initiative, he facilitated the installation of 165 cameras on village roads, in farmyards, and inside the homes of the elderly. He also set up one-click call alarms for 65 elderly households, all over 70 with children working away from home. A new outdoor LED screen for the "Digital Village Platform" was erected, allowing residents to check real-time footage and review stored recordings.
"These devices may seem like just technical tools, but for the village, they translate into real security," Huang says with pride. For the elderly living alone and their migrant-worker children, the one-click alarm is simple yet crucial. Emergencies can be detected faster, easing the worries of family members far away. The "Unicom Digital Village Service Platform" has expanded beyond surveillance to serve as an information and cultural hub. County and township policies are now disseminated promptly, important notices always reach residents, and during summer and autumn, the LED screen plays entertainment programs that villagers enjoy. Governance efficiency has improved, and cultural life has become more vibrant.
Environmental Cleanup: From Trash and Waste to a Livable Village
Rural revitalization is not just about higher incomes; it also requires a cleaner and more pleasant environment. Focusing on living conditions, Huang led the village work team, guided by the "Thousand Village Demonstration" experience and leveraging "work-relief" projects, to organize residents in implementing visible improvements. They enclosed and cleaned up 9 garbage and livestock waste sites spanning about 1,700 meters, installed 161 streetlights, built 2 pavilions and 2 canopies, and constructed a 1,125-square-meter leisure square. These are not just figures on paper but realities villagers see and use daily. No longer do they have to navigate the dark; there are now places to gather and chat, and previously cluttered spaces have been tidied up. The village is gradually becoming brighter, cleaner, and more animated.
Warm-Hearted Services: From Old Customs to a Civilized Rural Culture
In fostering a civilized rural culture, Huang focused on specific, practical details. To improve drinking water quality, he secured funds to install 122 household water purifiers in the nursing home and three natural villages. Targeting the elderly, he carried out a series of thoughtful projects: equipping the nursing home's activity room with 3 sets of seating, plastering the interior walls of 43 senior households, replacing entry doors for 65 households, and building a new shower and barber room. "These things aren't earth-shattering, but they are close to everyday life," Huang notes pragmatically. For the village's seniors, a brighter room, sturdier doors and windows, and accessible facilities for haircuts and baths are genuinely comforting improvements.
For three consecutive years, Huang has organized Spring Festival visits, bringing greetings and care to about 170 permanent households. During the holidays, what matters most to villagers is not the value of the gifts but the feeling of being remembered. Additionally, he led the work team and village committee in legal education, promoting the abandonment of outdated customs like exorbitant bride prices, lavish ceremonies, and neglect of the elderly. They worked with the township government and village committee to mediate conflicts, striving to resolve issues at the village level without escalation. Over time, a civilized, family-oriented, and honest rural culture has taken root.
Visiting Every Household: Treating Villagers' Concerns as Family Matters
Throughout his three-year tenure, Huang has adhered to the principle of "monthly visits to monitored households, quarterly visits to lifted-out households, and annual visits to all others," treating these visits as visits to relatives and their problems as his own. This sounds simple but is difficult to execute. Most "village matters" are not grand issues but a stream of small, nagging concerns: whose coal is running low, whose gate needs replacing, which senior requires an alarm, who needs help in the fields, or who needs mediation. None of these are dramatic, but all require someone to handle, remember, and act upon them.
Lianhe Village has not been completely transformed overnight, but the changes are clear: the branch is stronger, industries have found their path, collective income has risen, the elderly live more comfortably, digital governance is taking shape, the environment is improving, and rural customs are getting better. These achievements are not solely the work of Huang Zhongxiao; they owe much to the robust support of his employer, China Unicom (Inner Mongolia). But as first secretary, he has shouldered his responsibilities. Transitioning from a finance "business backbone" to the rural frontlines, Huang has not seen himself as a passerby. He has blended into the village's daily fabric, turning a "financial ledger" into a "book of public trust." It is why the villagers are willing to confide in him and seek his help. With mud on his boots, a clear mind, and capable hands, he embodies the most honest and reliable standard for a stationed cadre—and the villagers have already given him their verdict with the simple, powerful title: "Good Secretary."