Chapter 926: The Female Bureau Chief's First Fire

On Wan Xiaoqing's first day in office, as she just entered the Tax Bureau building, people in the hallway were whispering.

"Some people have a good father; we can't compare."

"Who is her father?"

"She used to be the head of the Civil Affairs Bureau; before retirement she was transferred to the Political Consultative Conference, enjoying deputy bureau-level treatment."

"Heh, I said it: a vase with no experience and no ability—how could she suddenly jump two ranks? Turns out it's all about pulling strings through her father."

"Back then her father was old friends with Chu Jinsong, and Chu Jinsong is the father-in-law of Mayor Lin."

"Tsk, to actually be able to cling to Mayor Lin's thigh—damn, that's impressive."

……

The gossip in the unit wasn't loud, but it still inadvertently drifted into Wan Xiaoqing's ears.

Wan Xiaoqing stopped in her steps, instinctively gripping her briefcase—her nails almost piercing the leather—but her face showed no expression; she stepped forward, her high heels clicking firmly.

On the surface she paid no heed.

But those remarks had already been stabbing her spine like needles.

Wan Yan's daughter!

Climbing the ladder through connections!

She had heard these remarks for over a decade, had long grown tired of them, and often grew angry because of them.

She thought:

"What has he done for me?"

"He spent his whole life holed up in the Civil Affairs Bureau, only at retirement being thrown a deputy bureau-level handout!"

"As a father, asking him for help is harder than climbing to heaven! If he were truly a good dad, would I, Wan Xiaoqing, have to struggle until today to get ahead?"

"In the Tax Bureau's business competition, I've won first place in the city!"

"For three straight years I've scored excellent in evaluations—no one in the bureau can match me! You slackers, what right do you have to gossip behind my back?"

"I, Wan Xiaoqing, have gotten to where I am today solely through my own ability!"

……

Wan Xiaoqing stormed into the office, brimming with anger, slammed her briefcase down on the desk, and thought she needed to find a way to establish authority.

"Bureau Chief Wan, today is your first day on the job—is there anything you need me to prepare?" Office Director Lao Song followed her in, smiling broadly.

Wan Xiaoqing glanced at him, her anger not yet faded: "No, just bring me the attendance records from the past three months."

Attendance records?

Lao Song blinked, puzzled as to why Wan Xiaoqing wanted the attendance records, but complied, shortly placing them before her.

Wan Xiaoqing flipped through page by page, circling the names of the latecomers in red pen.

Not many—seven or eight.

She handed the circled list to Lao Song: "Post this list on the bulletin board."

"Bureau Chief, this…" Lao Song hesitated a bit: "Should we first give a verbal reminder? After all, some comrades…"

"Post!"

Wan Xiaoqing forcefully cut off Lao Song's words.

Lao Song dared not say anything else.

As soon as the list was posted, the entire Tax Bureau exploded.

Among those named was a man called Lao Qian, who had worked in the Tax Bureau for nearly twenty years, a senior veteran. Seeing his name on the bulletin board, his face turned green with rage.

"What the hell is Wan Xiaoqing? She just took office and already started cutting me down!"

Lao Qian exploded on the spot.

Someone nearby whispered, "Lao Qian, don't say more—she's the bureau chief."

"Bureau chief? If it weren't for her father back then making connections with Chu Jinsong, could she even be bureau chief? When I was working at the Tax Bureau, she was still wearing open-crotch pants!"

Lao Qian bellowed at the top of his lungs toward the bureau chief's office.

No surprise there.

Those words quickly reached Wan Xiaoqing's ears; she immediately summoned Office Director Song: "Director Song, how old is Lao Qian this year?"

Lao Song's heart skipped a beat; he instinctively adjusted his glasses: "Um… I recall he should be forty-two today…"

"How many years has he worked in our bureau?" Wan Xiaoqing asked.

Lao Song replied truthfully: "Almost twenty years."

"With twenty years of seniority, how many times has he won the outstanding employee awards?" Wan Xiaoqing pressed.

Lao Song broke into a cold sweat under the questioning: "Um… he seems to have won it twice…"

"After twenty years of work, only two awards—what does that show? It shows his ability is mediocre and his work attitude poor! People like him are classic cases of sitting on the toilet and not defecating!"

This sharp evaluation frightened Lao Song into silence.

Wan Xiaoqing picked up the red pen on the desk, found Lao Qian's name on the attendance list, and drew a red circle around it again.

Then she tossed the list to Lao Song.

She said sternly: "Notify everyone—Lao Qian's eligibility for this year's outstanding employee awards is revoked! And his evaluation eligibility is also canceled."

"!!!"

After working in the office for so many years, Lao Song had never encountered anything like this. Everyone works in the same unit, usually avoiding each other—is it really necessary to fall out?

Lao Song steadied himself.

He steeled himself and urged: "Bureau Chief, about this… shouldn't we discuss it further? Lao Qian was only late a few minutes; if we outright cancel his evaluation eligibility, I fear he might retaliate against you…"

"Director Song!"

Wan Xiaoqing lifted her head and stared directly at Lao Song.

His face darkened with anger: "You're flying the flag of doing good for me, giving Lao Qian an out! Do you think just because I'm a few years younger than you, I'm easy to fool?!"

"'Chief Wan, I didn't mean it that way.' Old Song broke out in a cold sweat."

"Wan Xiaoqing gave an angry laugh: 'What do you mean then? Is it that as the newly appointed bureau chief, my words don't carry weight? Do I have to go by your faces to get things done?'"

"'I'll do it right away.'"

"Saying that, Old Song turned and fled, not daring to stay another second."

"If they kept talking, he really worried that one slip would make him the next poor sod to lose his evaluation and rating, and then he'd have nowhere to cry."

"Less than half an hour later."

"The news that Lao Qian had his evaluation and rating revoked spread through the office."

"When he received the notice, Lao Qian was drinking tea in his office, so shocked that he spat out a mouthful of tea three zhang away, and his eyes bulged wider than a bronze bell."

"'What the hell, cancelling my evaluation and rating? What the hell is Wan Xiaoqing supposed to be?!'"

"Lao Qian, like a raging beast, slammed his hands on the table and jumped up, wanting to go argue with Wan Xiaoqing, but several colleagues nearby grabbed him tightly."

"'Lao Qian, don't be rash.'"

"'She's the bureau chief; if you cause trouble with her, you'll be the one who loses out.'"

"'Did you curse her this morning?'"

"'Lao Qian, I'm not saying this to blame you, but you're already an old man—you can keep your fly zipped, yet you can't control your mouth? There's no one you shouldn't swear at, yet you went and swore at a leader.'"

……

"Everyone chatted back and forth, but Lao Qian didn't hear a word of it."

"Lao Qian, fuming with rage, roared: 'I've worked twenty years at the Tax Bureau, and she's a worthless vase who got in through connections, a bastard's whore! What gives her the right to screw me over as soon as she shows up?'"

"'What for? Just because she's the bureau chief. If you can put up with it, you do; if you can't, you still have to.' An elderly comrade wearing glasses walked over, a man of considerable influence."

"The moment that old comrade spoke, Lao Qian instantly deflated like a punctured balloon."

"Some quiet, perceptive people had already figured it out: Wan Xiaoqing's first move was to use Lao Qian as an example, essentially wanting to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys and establish her authority."