Chapter 2417: Xiao Li

Of course, while burying himself in work, Zhao Desan was still thinking about the dinner he was hosting for everyone that evening. He picked up his phone from time to time, waiting for District Mayor Wu to arrange the dinner and call him. But he waited and waited, and District Mayor Wu just wouldn't call. By the time there was only an hour left before the end of the workday, Zhao Desan really couldn't hold back anymore. Just as he picked up his phone to call District Mayor Wu, it was truly a coincidence—District Mayor Wu's call came in. Zhao Desan hurriedly pressed the answer button, a look of pleasant surprise on his face, and said respectfully, "Hello! Sister Wu, how are you? How are you?"

"Xiao Zhao, I've already arranged the dinner for tonight at 'Chuan Cheng Ji' in the city. You don't need to worry about it. Just make sure to arrive with the people from your unit before seven o'clock." As soon as the call connected, District Mayor Wu got straight to the point.

Zhao Desan nodded, chuckled, and said, "Alright, alright. Should I pick you up, Sister Wu, when I leave in a while?" Thinking of his new official car, Zhao Desan took the initiative to curry favor with Wu Min.

"No need. I'm going down to the Municipal Committee and won't be returning to the district. I'll just go directly there when the time comes. Don't worry about me." District Mayor Wu's reply left Zhao Desan a bit disappointed.

"That... that's fine. I'll just go with the people from the unit then. I really must thank you, Sister Wu." Zhao Desan didn't forget to thank District Mayor Wu for arranging this meal for him.

"You're welcome. Alright, let's leave it at that. See you tonight." District Mayor Wu hung up the phone concisely.

After finishing the call and putting down his phone, Zhao Desan finally took a break from his work. He lit a cigarette, puffed on it leisurely, and blew a smoke ring. He picked up his water cup, saw it was empty again, and without any hesitation, ordered the person secretly glancing at him from the side: "Xiao Li, pour me a glass of water!"

Ever since Zhao Desan had flared up in the conference room that day, Tong Xiaoli no longer dared to underestimate this young leader. Regarding his orders, she seemed like a different person, appearing completely obedient. She nodded while saying, "Alright," and stood up to walk over and pick up Zhao Desan's cup. The moment she turned around, she seemed to change back into someone else; she curled her lips and wrinkled her nose, clearly having a lot of opinions about Zhao Desan. However, she only dared to show this emotion secretly now and didn't dare to show a sour face to Zhao Desan, the young top leader, to his face.

"Director Liu, here!" Soon, Tong Xiaoli filled Zhao Desan's cup and presented it respectfully.

"Thank you!" Zhao Desan was actually quite polite to her. He took the cup, took a cautious sip of tea, put the cup down, and smacked his lips. Suddenly, his eyebrows arched as if he had remembered something important. He immediately turned his head and said to Tong Xiaoli, who had just sat down: "By the way, Xiao Li, I just arrived today. I've set up a table for dinner tonight at 'Chuan Cheng Ji' in the city, and I want to invite the leaders at the department level and above to have a meal. Go tell the leaders to be at 'Chuan Cheng Ji' before seven o'clock!"

Tong Xiaoli was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly nodded and said, "Alright, Director Liu, I'll go notify them right away." Saying this, she stood up and walked quickly out of the office. Once out of the office, Tong Xiaoli pouted and muttered with great dissatisfaction: "He's just a director, what's so great about that? As soon as he arrived, he started using me like a servant! Hmph!"

After Tong Xiaoli left the office, Zhao Desan suddenly felt a bit worried, fearing that some of those old foxes wouldn't give him face—how embarrassing would that be for him! However, this worry proved unnecessary just a few minutes later. Because after Tong Xiaoli went out for a few minutes and returned, she told Zhao Desan that the other leaders said they knew and would arrive before seven o'clock.

No one refused to give him face, which made Zhao Desan feel much more at ease. He thought to himself that it seemed the meeting held today was quite correct. Just as Su Qing had taught him, one must not be soft on anyone at the beginning; one must establish prestige so that those below have a sense of fear toward him and are willing to obey his various arrangements and orders. Otherwise, work would be very passive in the future.

Soon, it was time to get off work. Zhao Desan hurriedly packed his things and stood up to walk out. When he reached the office door, he suddenly realized he had overlooked one person: his assistant, Tong Xiaoli. Although she wasn't a leader, she stayed in the same office as him after all and could be considered his right-hand person. If he couldn't even win over the person by his side, how could he talk about managing the whole unit? Thus, he stopped, turned around, poked his head into the office, and asked Tong Xiaoli, who was sulking alone, with a feigned look of confusion: "Xiao Li, we're leaving. Why are you still sitting there?"

Tong Xiaoli looked at Zhao Desan, bewildered, and said, "Director Liu, you... you didn't ask me to go?"

Zhao Desan glanced at her impatiently and said, "Do I need to ask you?"

Seeing that Zhao Desan was slightly impatient, Tong Xiaoli hurriedly packed her things, lowered her head, pursed her lips, and secretly smiled. Then, she looked at Zhao Desan embarrassedly, stood up, and said, "I'll go with you, Director Liu, is that okay?"

"Let's go then!" Zhao Desan said, turning and walking toward the parking lot. Behind him, Tong Xiaoli had a shy smile on her face, quickening her pace to trot after him.

Starting today, Zhao Desan finally had his own official car, which made him feel very excited. Arriving at the car, he climbed directly into the driver's seat. After Tong Xiaoli got in, she asked him a bit strangely: "Director Liu, aren't you going to let the driver drive?"

Zhao Desan said, "I can drive myself; no need to trouble others." In fact, how could he not want to own a car of his own? Although this Passat had been used by the previous leader, for Zhao Desan, going from a small rookie to suddenly becoming the top leader of the unit and having his own official car was an unexpected gain.

On the way to the city, Zhao Desan enjoyed showing off his driving skills while looking for topics related to the unit to chat with Tong Xiaoli, learning the specific facts about the unit bit by bit from her. On the way to the unit, Tong Xiaoli felt that this leader wasn't actually as unapproachable as she had thought after interacting with him alone outside of work for a short time; on the contrary, he was quite humorous, making Tong Xiaoli laugh almost non-stop along the way. Of course, Tong Xiaoli, whose view of Zhao Desan had changed, was no longer as arrogant as when she first met him. She answered every question Zhao Desan asked and reported the current situation and the real problems existing in the unit to him one by one. Sure enough, what Tong Xiaoli described was the exact opposite of what the leaders had reported in the conference room today. This situation was actually within Zhao Desan's expectations; he had long known that those old foxes would definitely not tell him the truth and were thinking of fooling him.

"Xiao Li, how many years have you been working at the District Construction Committee?" Zhao Desan gradually became interested in this young and beautiful female assistant.

Tong Xiaoli replied politely, "I only passed the civil service exam and came in last year, so one year."

"So that means you haven't worked with the previous leader for long." Learning that Tong Xiaoli had only followed the previous leader for less than a year, Zhao Desan felt much more relieved. If this beautiful female assistant were the confidante of the previous director, he definitely wouldn't be able to control her in a short time.

Tong Xiaoli nodded and said, "Less than a year."

Zhao Desan couldn't help but tentatively ask her a sensitive question: "Xiao Li, how do you think the previous director did in the unit?"

"This..." Sure enough, Tong Xiaoli was a bit sensitive to this question. She smiled a bit awkwardly, not knowing how to put it.

Seeing Tong Xiaoli's sensitive reaction, Zhao Desan smiled and explained, "I'm just asking casually, just to understand."

Tong Xiaoli thought for a moment, then said with a smile, "He definitely didn't do well. If he had, you wouldn't be here, Director Liu."

Zhao Desan smiled nonchalantly and said, "Actually, I didn't want to come here either, but Secretary Jin arranged it personally. It's hard to disobey orders. Since I'm here, I can't let the leaders down, so I'll strive to do a good job."

Seeing Zhao Desan's serious look, Tong Xiaoli flattered him: "Director Liu, since even Secretary Jin values you so much, it shows that you must be very capable, Director Liu. You also look very young, Director Liu, how... how old are you this year?"

"Twenty... thirty-something." Zhao Desan instinctively started to say his real age, but suddenly his mind shifted. Remembering that the pre-appointment announcement from the Organization Department had increased his age by a full five years, he hurriedly changed his words.

Tong Xiaoli nodded and said, "Director Liu is really very young. To be a director at such a young age, your future must be limitless."

Zhao Desan chuckled and said, "Let's just focus on the work at hand first!"

Tong Xiaoli said, "Needless to say, you will definitely do a good job, Director Liu."

Zhao Desan chuckled, turned his face, and said, "It will require your cooperation, Xiao Li. From now on, we are partners. Since the District Committee arranged for you to assist me, I hope you can cooperate well with my work. It's also a form of training for you."

Tong Xiaoli nodded and said, "Director Liu, as long as you have a need, just give the order. I will definitely strive to cooperate well with your work."

Zhao Desan nodded with satisfaction and gradually changed the subject, asking Tong Xiaoli about the old comrades. Out of trust in Zhao Desan, Tong Xiaoli told him that most of these old comrades had opinions about Zhao Desan being sent to the District Construction Committee as the top leader at such a young age, so there might be a sense of resistance in their work. She told Zhao Desan to pay attention to this.

Tong Xiaoli's well-intentioned reminder was something Zhao Desan had already guessed. Today, when he arrived here, as soon as District Mayor Wu left, Meng Fei, the Director of the Administrative Office who had been very enthusiastic, immediately changed into a different person and treated him with indifference. Zhao Desan knew that these old things must be very unhappy about him, a young man, being sent to manage them, a bunch of old slickers. However, in the conference room today, Zhao Desan had already established some of his prestige. In the upcoming work style rectification week, he must catch one or two typical examples and deal with them strictly to serve as a warning to others!

1325. Chapter 1308: Young and Beautiful Tong Xiaoli

【Chapter 1 Main Text】 ===== CHAPTER 2418 =====