Chapter 3217

Zhao Desan was no longer the Zhao Desan of his childhood; he was now a Zhao Desan with a certain amount of experience, especially when it came to women. Although he had not been with thousands of women, he had, after all, been dealing with women older than himself. It must be said that these older women had provided Zhao Desan with sufficient experience in this regard, giving him a special sensitivity toward the emotions of older women.

Since Deputy Secretary-General Zhou had already pulled back the curtains, Zhao Desan had nothing to worry about. He smiled honestly and said, "Deputy Secretary-General Zhou, do you think I am capable of handling this job?" In reality, Zhao Desan was speaking from the heart; he truly had not expected to have such an opportunity, and he was even more worried about his own abilities.

"Hehe," a smile seemed to always accompany Deputy Secretary-General Zhou's cheeks. She looked at Zhao Desan and said meaningfully, "Why, are you lacking confidence? If I think you can do it, how could you not be able to?" After finishing, she pursed her lips and smiled, then continued, "However, you must always remember that working in the provincial government organs is different from working at the grassroots level. You could say that every step here is full of hidden traps. Therefore, you must obey my arrangements and commands; otherwise, you might not last a few days before you are packing your bags and leaving like a deserter."

"Oh..." Zhao Desan let out a deep "oh," pondering in his heart: It seems it's not easy to get by anywhere. If it weren't for the fact that he was now a bit afraid of losing his backing after Su Qing left Hexi Province, he would really have to consider whether to go or not. But now that things had reached this point, there was only one path to take, just like the ancient road up Mount Hua—he had no choice but to push forward!

Zhao Desan secretly made up his mind and immediately said with a smile, "Deputy Secretary-General Zhou, please rest assured, I will definitely be extra careful in everything. Without your will or your instructions, I will not have any ideas of my own. As long as you need me, I, Zhao Desan, am willing to go through fire and water. I will always keep your cultivation in my heart, you..."

"Alright, alright, stop talking. If you keep going, you'll talk me to death!" Deputy Secretary-General Zhou waved her hand, still smiling radiantly.

Zhao Desan immediately shook his hands and pouted, saying, "No, no, no, I didn't mean that at all!"

"Alright, I know you didn't mean that, but look at what you just said—it was almost like a eulogy." After Deputy Secretary-General Zhou finished, she started giggling, and Zhao Desan followed along with a silly "hehe" laugh.

After Zhao Desan finished laughing, Deputy Secretary-General Zhou's expression tightened slightly, and she said to Zhao Desan, "I think it should be like this: you come to the provincial government to find me tomorrow afternoon. I have a meeting to brief in the morning."

Zhao Desan nodded while asking doubtfully, "Deputy Secretary-General Zhou, when I arrive at the provincial government, which office should I go to to find you?"

"Are you stupid or are you sharp? You keep calling me Deputy Secretary-General Zhou, Deputy Secretary-General Zhou—where else would you find me if not in Deputy Secretary-General Zhou's office?" Deputy Secretary-General Zhou gently patted Zhao Desan's forehead with her hand, still wearing a smile on her face.

Zhao Desan couldn't help but secretly rejoice in his heart: Damn it, it seems I really have had a stroke of "dog-shit luck" this time. She... she is actually a Deputy Secretary-General of the provincial government; this is something I couldn't even imagine in my dreams.

Deputy Secretary-General Zhou glanced at Zhao Desan and continued, "However, you still must persist in finishing the training work here. Otherwise, changing people halfway through will affect the quality and progress of the training. I will make this clear to Zheng. You are now a cadre specifically sent by Zheng for training, so you must make this training work even better, even more so—don't smear my face, do you hear me?"

"Yes!" Zhao Desan immediately stood at attention. That mischievous look amused Deputy Secretary-General Zhou. She smiled, pointed at Zhao Desan, and said, "Really, you're still just a big boy. But from now on, when you get to the provincial government organs, this kind of behavior won't do. You must learn to be steady and sophisticated in everything, understand?"

"Yes!" Zhao Desan instinctively stood at attention again, but immediately corrected himself, saying, "Oh, right, right, I must break this habit."

Deputy Secretary-General Zhou looked at Zhao Desan with affection and then said, "Actually, actually you don't have to change. When there's no one around, you can be as relaxed as you want; I won't mind. It's just that in front of others, you must be extra careful."

"Mm, Deputy Secretary-General Zhou, I will learn with my heart. I will just follow you and learn; you must teach me well!" Zhao Desan was sharp; he was like a piece of chewing gum, sticking to Deputy Secretary-General Zhou all at once.

Deputy Secretary-General Zhou smiled all over and tapped Zhao Desan's forehead with her index finger, wrinkled her nose, and said softly, "Alright, from now on, work is work, and personal is personal; they must never be mixed together. Remember, at work, you must address me as Deputy Secretary-General, but in general situations, especially when it's just the two of us, you can just call me Sister Zhou directly."

As soon as Zhao Desan heard Deputy Secretary-General Zhou say this, he immediately felt a bit more confident...

Zhao Desan was like a damaged ship sailing into the depths of the ocean, encountering reefs and about to sink, when he suddenly found a straw to cling to. His despair and his sense of loss were instantly cast to the nine heavens, and what followed was a strong desire for revenge. He wanted to use the power of this Deputy Secretary-General Zhou to take revenge on the enemies who had been stabbing him in the back. He wanted to use this power to make himself successful, and then go on to repay those who had been kind to him.

The excited Zhao Desan didn't even know how he had sent Deputy Secretary-General Zhou away. His chaotic mind didn't know what he was considering, and he even forgot what time he was supposed to go find Deputy Secretary-General Zhou the next day. The most terrible thing was that he hadn't even kept a single phone number for Deputy Secretary-General Zhou.

The agonizing day finally passed. Zhao Desan lay in bed, recalling the words he had spoken with Deputy Secretary-General Zhou today. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his promise to Deputy Secretary-General Zhou today had been too reckless. Transferring him from his current position to the provincial government to be the office director for a Deputy Secretary-General seemed like a big move. Moreover, Su Qing had not yet left Hexi Province, and she would certainly be suspicious of such a transfer. Furthermore, after careful consideration, Zhao Desan felt that such a transfer actually did more harm than good for him. Because for someone as young as him to be suddenly transferred from the district to the provincial government to be the office director for a Deputy Secretary-General, what would others in the provincial government think? As the saying goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down; being too high-profile would be bad for him. And there was another extremely important factor that Zhao Desan had to consider: Yang Liu, the beautiful big sister he had trained with at the Provincial Party School, who also worked in the provincial government. Once he arrived at the provincial government, in what capacity would the two of them meet? And what Deputy Secretary-General Zhou had revealed to him was self-evident. So, facing two women at the same time, how should he handle it? Facing this series of problems, Zhao Desan truly realized that his promise to Deputy Secretary-General Zhou during the day had been too hasty. After much deliberation, Zhao Desan felt that he shouldn't go to the provincial government yet. At the very least, before Su Qing left, he must not get too close to Deputy Secretary-General Zhou. Thus, Zhao Desan secretly made up his mind, overturned his decision from the day, and decided to go to the provincial government the next day to tell Deputy Secretary-General Zhou his thoughts.

Thinking about this dilemma, Zhao Desan barely slept all night. Early the next morning, he arrived at the gate of the provincial government. After arriving at the gate, he was directly stopped by the guards. He stated that Deputy Secretary-General Zhou had asked him to come, and he showed his work ID from the district to prove his identity. After some trouble, he was finally allowed to enter the provincial government.

Arriving at Deputy Secretary-General Zhou's office, Zhao Desan's eyes popped out. Why? Because Deputy Secretary-General Zhou's office was much more impressive than the office of Zheng, the director of the Provincial Construction Committee. Not to mention anything else, just that spacious and magnificent boss's desk was enough to show Deputy Secretary-General Zhou's status.

Before Zhao Desan could sit down, Deputy Secretary-General Zhou complained and asked, "Didn't I tell you to come back in the afternoon?"

Zhao Desan touched the back of his head and said awkwardly, "I, I didn't remember clearly, so, so I came early." After thinking for a moment, Zhao Desan hurriedly added, "Or should I go back first and come back in the afternoon?"

"Sigh, young people, you're always so unreliable, always in such a rush. Forget it, since you're here, just wait in my office for a while. I'll gather my leadership team for a short meeting first, go through the procedures, and get your matters settled first." Deputy Secretary-General Zhou said with great composure.

Hearing Deputy Secretary-General Zhou say this, Zhao Desan hurriedly expressed his purpose with an anxious face. He said, "Deputy Secretary-General Zhou, wait... I... I have an urgent matter to discuss with you..." As he spoke, Zhao Desan stuttered a bit, feeling too embarrassed to continue.