Chapter 59: 058 President Assistant

"What is it, President Zhang?"

"I told President Zhang that the idea for employee fidelity insurance was yours, and also about the key role you played in solving the missing deposit case at Tenglong Industries. President Zhang is very interested in you, so he wants to meet you."

"Senior, why say the idea for employee fidelity insurance was mine? Wouldn't it be better to say it was your own idea?" Fang Qingye retorted.

"That won't do. Whose merit it is belongs to whom. I am not the type of person who likes to claim a subordinate's achievements as my own."

"You have a good heart, but which leader nowadays doesn't take all the credit for good deeds and leave the blame to subordinates?" Fang Qingye complained.

"We can't generalize like that. I am not that kind of person; at least, I am not that way with you," Xia He said leisurely.

"Is that all for meeting the city branch leadership?" Fang Qingye thought of what Cao Ting had told him yesterday morning and asked again.

"Hmm... of course there is something else, but I can't say it for now. Let's wait until we see President Zhang and pass this hurdle before talking about it!" Xia He replied.

Hearing this, Fang Qingye stopped asking further questions.

The drive from Nanxin to the Jinghai city center is only an hour. After getting off the Shenhai Expressway and entering the city, they drove along New Century Avenue, turned left onto Galaxy Road, and finally arrived at the East Travel Building.

Fang Qingye drove the small car directly to the underground parking lot, and then the two took the elevator upstairs.

Xia He looked at the watch on her wrist and said, "It is nine twenty now, which is about the scheduled time; going up now is perfect."

Fang Qingye followed Xia He to the sixth floor, knocked on the door marked President's Office, and saw a large boss's desk in the middle of the spacious office. A middle-aged man in his early fifties with some balding was reading documents.

It was President Zhang of the city branch.

He looked up, saw Xia He, and a smile appeared on his face.

"President Xia, you are here? Sit, sit, let me pour tea for you." After speaking, he put down the documents and stood up.

"President Zhang, I'll do it myself," Xia He hurried forward two steps, reaching for the thermos on the side table.

"President Xia, let me pour it," Fang Qingye said immediately. Xia He stepped aside. Fang Qingye first put tea leaves into the empty teacups, then picked up the thermos and poured a cup of tea for each of them.

He then saw that the water in the thermos cup on President Zhang's boss's desk was half full, so he went over to fill it up.

"So you are Xiao Fang?" President Zhang noticed him.

"Yes, President Zhang, I am Fang Qingye," Fang Qingye replied.

"Sit, sit and talk," President Zhang said, sitting on the sofa nearby. "Xiao Fang, I heard from President Xia that you have high quality and strong ability; you are a rare talent."

"It is mainly because President Xia cultivated me well."

"Hehe... relying solely on leadership cultivation won't work; one's own effort is also very important."

"President Zhang is right," Fang Qingye immediately agreed.

"Xiao Fang, I heard from President Xia that you and she are alumni?" President Zhang asked again.

"Yes, I also graduated from Shencai."

"Where is your hometown?"

"Right here in Nanxin; I am a native of Nanxin."

Immediately after, President Zhang asked about the work he was responsible for, and Fang Qingye answered truthfully.

Actually, he understood in his heart.

Xia He had probably already reported these circumstances to President Zhang. Given Xia He's nature, she might have even embellished things and said many good words about him.

President Zhang asked again, but only wanted to see how he would answer.

Be honest; say what it is, and even be more humble; mention the leadership's cultivation more...

Fang Qingye had long been familiar with these tricks for talking to superior leaders.

It was no challenge for him at all.

Sure enough, after a conversation, he heard President Zhang say, "You are very humble, unlike some young people nowadays who, after achieving a small success, stick their tails up in the sky, afraid others won't know... President Xia, this young man Xiao Fang is good!"

"If he weren't an outstanding young person, how would I recommend him to you?" Xia He said with a smile.

The matter was basically concluded here. Xia He said to Fang Qingye, "Xiao Fang, you go out and wait for me. I will talk with President Zhang about some other work matters."

This was obviously to send him away; the conversation below could not be heard by him.

Fang Qingye naturally said nothing, greeted President Zhang, and left the office.

Xia He did not make Fang Qingye wait long; in less than ten minutes she came out, looking relaxed.

"Let's go, I will take you to meet other presidents."

Fang Qingye followed and visited several vice presidents, and Xia He naturally praised Fang Qingye again.

But in front of Liu Baosheng, who was in charge of discipline inspection, Xia He spoke much more cautiously.

Liu Baosheng had a serious face and brought up the recent incident where Sun Jiaming of the Nanxin sub-branch illegally misappropriated depositor funds to trade stocks and eventually committed suicide by jumping from a building. He criticized Xia He a few times, emphasizing that in the future they must take this as a warning and resolutely prevent such incidents from happening again.

Leaders in charge of discipline inspection are just like this; they don't care about the branch's own affairs in three sentences, but as soon as they find an opportunity, they want to knock some sense into you. Xia He was used to it; simply accepting the criticism humbly was enough.

After criticizing Xia He, Liu Baosheng looked at Fang Qingye, and his expression softened considerably.

When dealing with subordinate leaders, Liu Baosheng's attitude was serious, but for ordinary cadres he was quite amiable. He asked Fang Qingye about some circumstances, and he naturally answered truthfully.

They did not stay long in Liu Baosheng's office. After leaving the office, the two of them left. Xia He let out a long sigh and said to Fang Qingye in a low voice:

"Sigh... meeting President Liu every time is more nervous than meeting President Zhang."

"But you can't avoid meeting him," Fang Qingye joked.

Xia He rolled her eyes at him: "This time it was for you!"

Alright, for me.

After visiting the leaders of the city branch, Xia He did not stay at the branch long. The two of them left the office building together.

"Senior, back to Nanxin?" Fang Qingye asked.

Xia He looked at her watch: "It is almost mealtime; let's eat first before going back."

Fang Qingye naturally had no objection. He drove along the way and found a restaurant that looked relatively clean. After the two of them finished eating, they drove back to Nanxin. This time, Xia He sat in the passenger seat.

The Passat left the city and got on the expressway. Only then did Xia He say to Fang Qingye, "Xiao Fang, on your way here you asked me if there was something else besides taking you to see President Zhang. I will tell you now: the provincial branch is preparing to establish the position of President Assistant at the sub-branch and is conducting a pilot program in Jinghai.

Seeing that Fang Qingye did not feel surprised upon hearing this, Xia He asked again, "You also know this news?"

"Mm."

"Who told you? Oh... it must be Cao Ting, right? Her uncle is the deputy branch manager of our city branch."

Fang Qingye nodded.

"Since you already know, I won't repeat it," Xia He continued.

"After I heard this news, I found Xia Hangzhang Zhang and recommended you. Xia Hangzhang Zhang wanted to meet you, so I brought you here today. Just now, after you went out, I asked Xia Hangzhang Zhang about this matter again. He is quite satisfied with you; this matter is basically settled."

"Senior sister, this feels a bit like cutting first and reporting later," Fang Qingye said.

"Look at what you're saying..." Xia He said reproachfully: "You don't know, several people at the city branch gave me a heads-up, recommending this person and that person. I rejected them all because I have my eyes on you!"

Seeing Fang Qingye say nothing, Xia He added: "Xiao Fang, to be honest, I won't be staying in Nanxin for much longer. I will definitely leave within three to five years. I hope that after I leave, you will take over my position."

"Senior sister, thank you for your kindness, but you also know I'm not very interested in being a leader. I'm lazy and like things to be easy," Fang Qingye smiled.

"You, you... well, let's not talk about such long-term things. Let's just talk about the current position of Assistant to the Xia Hangzhang. It doesn't belong to the leadership team, involves no specific business, and doesn't oversee any particular department. It's just being the Xia Hangzhang's assistant, offering advice and planning... Anyway, you're already doing this work now."

"Oh my... Senior sister, if you put it that way, does that mean my previous role as an unofficial strategist is now officially on the job?" Fang Qingye joked.

"Mm, mm, that's exactly it! And it means less office triviality!"

"The conditions are so good; it looks like I have no choice but to go?"

"Mm, mm, exactly, you have no choice!"