Chapter 343: Assigning a Secretary

In the morning, a ray of sunlight pierced through the glass, directly stinging my eyes. Opening my eyes, I realized that last night I had actually slept in my clothes, and the curtains hadn't even been drawn.

I got up and walked to the window, looking out. What met my eyes were buildings of varying heights, their gray, dusty appearance revealing age and desolation. The snow had completely melted, and everywhere there was filthy water, gathering together and flowing toward the low-lying areas.

A pigeon whistle sounded, and in the distance, a few gray-white pigeons were soaring in the sky. A red sun hung high in the sky, its light soft and warm.

This was the first sunny day since the start of winter!

It was as if I had been deprived of sunlight for too long; my mood suddenly brightened in the sun's rays.

I stretched, exhaling a breath of stale air with relief. Walking to the bathroom door, I peeked inside and saw that the toiletries were neatly arranged on the vanity, a snow-white towel hung on the rack, and a neatly folded bath towel was placed on top of it.

I turned on the faucet, and hot water flowed out. Looking up, I realized there was a water heater hanging on the wall. Below it was a large bathtub.

I knew such thoughtful arrangements must have been the idea of Li Fulian. Li Fulian was a warm-hearted woman, not to mention we had had that brief moment of ambiguity.

I smiled knowingly, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went downstairs.

Yu Wei had long been waiting downstairs. Seeing me, he came up with a face full of smiles, took the briefcase from my hand, and opened the car door for me to get in.

Once inside the car, I asked, "Where to?"

Yu Wei paused and said, "Isn't the County Magistrate going to the office?"

Reminded by him, my heart skipped a beat as I remembered that after waking up today, my status was different. In the Chunshan County government building, there was now a place for me.

So I waved my hand and said, "Right! To the office."

Yu Wei smiled slightly and said, "County Magistrate, I arrived at seven this morning. I went upstairs to check three times. You were working too hard, County Magistrate, so I didn't dare wake you and just kept waiting. The Office Director called me a few times, asking about you."

"Asking what?" I asked nonchalantly.

"The Director said that since today is your first day in office at the county government, he wants to hold a welcome meeting," Yu Wei told me everything.

"What welcome meeting? Tell him not to do that stuff, cancel it." I didn't want to be high-profile, and even less did I want to give a speech in front of a group of strangers. My status was not what it used to be; every word would be recorded, and if I said something wrong, wouldn't I be asking for trouble?

"This..." Yu Wei looked very troubled, stammering and not daring to continue.

"Forget it," I said magnanimously. Everything was new: my driver was new, my office was new, and my home was new.

When the car arrived at the county government compound and came to a stop, I saw the Office Director looking out anxiously. Seeing me, he trotted over.

I followed the County Government Office Director toward my office. Along the way, I saw people from the offices on both sides coming out, standing outside their doors, greeting me warmly and respectfully.

I nodded to each of them in thanks, looking straight ahead.

After entering the office, the County Government Office Director brought in a cup of freshly brewed hot tea and handed over a stack of newspapers.

Just as I had settled in, the Director leaned over and whispered, "Deputy County Magistrate Chen, the government has assigned you a secretary. Would you like to meet them now?"

I looked up, a bit stunned. Honestly, suddenly enjoying such treatment left me at a loss. Yesterday I was assigned a driver, today a secretary, what would I be assigned tomorrow?

A deputy county-level cadre could enjoy such good treatment; if I reached the level of Provincial Governor, would someone even wipe my butt after I took a dump?

I gave a noncommittal grunt, not expressing my stance directly.

The Director seemed to understand my meaning and hurried out. Before long, he brought someone in.

I looked up at her, my mouth falling open and unable to close.

The person the Director brought in was Zhu Hua Yu.

She was to be my secretary? I couldn't process it for a moment.

Zhu Hua Yu was not a state cadre, nor was she on the administrative staff; how could she be my secretary?

The Director seemed to see my confusion and leaned in to whisper, "Xiao Zhu's personnel file has been sorted out. She is now an official, registered cadre of Chunshan County. Her being your secretary was designated by Section Chief Guan."

My heart skipped a beat, and I blurted out, "Designated by Section Chief Guan? What does that mean?"

The Director smiled apologetically and said, "Section Chief Guan discussed it with Secretary Liu and decided."

With the decision suddenly popping up from two heavyweights, I felt as if I had been hit by a freezing spell, and I became fearful.

Was Section Chief Guan designating Zhu Hua Yu as my secretary for surveillance? Or was there another purpose? How could a young girl with little education and no political experience be trusted as the secretary to a Deputy County Magistrate?

"Is Section Chief Guan in?" I asked, glancing at Zhu Hua Yu. She had definitely dressed up carefully today, in a well-fitting black professional suit with a white shirt underneath, the collar turned out, making her look sharp and youthful.

Zhu Hua Yu had a good figure, petite!

"Yes! On the fifth floor," the Director said, his expression a bit unnatural.

"I'll go see Section Chief Guan," I said, getting up and walking a few steps before turning back to Zhu Hua Yu, who was still standing in the middle of the room. "Xiao Zhu, take care of the Director; I'll be right back."

Zhu Hua Yu had been a bit fearful of my presence, but hearing me ask her to attend to the Director, she seemed to snap out of it, a bright smile immediately blooming on her face.

The County Government Office Director wanted to follow me upstairs, but I waved my hand and said, "I'll go alone. You brief Xiao Zhu on the work."

Everyone understood the meaning of my words: I had accepted the fact that Zhu Hua Yu would be my secretary. In fact, I was thinking that I couldn't leave a girl standing there all alone, nor could I let her feel the slightest bit of embarrassment. Even if I was a thousand times unwilling to have her as my secretary, before the dust settled, I still had to consider others' feelings.

Section Chief Guan was not at all surprised by my arrival. He poured me a cup of tea himself, pulled me to sit on the sofa, and looked me over, asking with concern, "Is work going well?"

I had just started work and hadn't done anything yet. How would I know if it was going well or not?

But a look of utmost reverence still appeared on my face, and I said obediently, "Thank you, old Secretary, it's going well."

"Do you have something to see me about?" Section Chief Guan got straight to the point, leaving me speechless.

I couldn't just blurt out the matter of the secretary. Since he hadn't mentioned it, I couldn't find the words.

Last night, I had returned alone from Lao Diao's villa, as if that incident had never happened. Section Chief Guan was as calm as the mountain in front of the Suxi Township government; one couldn't tell at all what he was thinking.

I hesitated for a moment and explained, "Old Secretary, I had an urgent matter last night. I'm sorry."

Section Chief Guan didn't even blink, as if he had forgotten everything from last night.

I was speechless again. People like him, whose depths couldn't be fathomed, often made others feel they had lowered themselves without realizing it. This was majesty!

"I'm heading back!" I got up, preparing to walk out.

I really couldn't find any reason to refuse his arrangement. Section Chief Guan being able to sort out Zhu Hua Yu's organizational relationship and getting Liu Qimeng to agree to her being my secretary must mean there were things I didn't know.

"Don't be in such a rush!" he said in a measured tone, signaling me to sit down.

"You came to see me because of Xiao Zhu being your secretary, right?" He saw through my thoughts at a glance.

I didn't dare answer, waiting submissively for him to continue.

"Xiao Zhu is a good person. Let her get some practical work experience first, and after a while, send her to the Party School to study; she will become a good helper in your work," Section Chief Guan said, still unhurried.

I nodded gently. In front of him, I felt as if all the bones in my body had been removed; even sitting up straight felt extremely difficult.

"You are a cadre cultivated by the Party, and you in turn cultivating young cadres is our fine tradition. In work, everything must be prioritized for the revolutionary cause; any other thoughts must be discarded! Do you understand?"

I nodded again.

"I hope you can cultivate Xiao Zhu; I see she has good potential," Section Chief Guan said. After finishing this sentence, he got up and walked to his desk, lowering his head to look at documents, ignoring me completely.

I had no choice but to get up and quietly retreat from his office. Just as I closed the door, someone patted me on the shoulder. Turning around, I saw Deng Hanyu looking at me with a grin.

"What is it?" I said irritably.

"Yo, now that you're a County Magistrate, your temper has grown. You're a big cadre now, looking down on us little brothers?" Deng Hanyu said with a fake smile, revealing a mouthful of teeth yellowed by smoking.

"Are you trying to scare someone to death?" I said, mocking him. "In broad daylight, sneaking up behind someone and patting their shoulder—only two types of people do this."

"Which two types?" Deng Hanyu asked in surprise.

"One is a woman, the other is a ghost that won't go away," I said, laughing out loud.

Deng Hanyu's face turned red and white. He wanted to argue but couldn't make a sound. After a pause, he shook his head and said, "Chen Feng, you kid are something!"

I suppressed my laughter and said, "Section Chief Deng, be careful in the future."

"Careful my ass! You kid, now you're riding high, with a beautiful woman by your side, don't you want me to be jealous?" Deng Hanyu laughed sinisterly and said, "Look at how much the leaders care about you, assigning you such a beautiful secretary. Let me tell you, you two are like dry wood and fire; don't go burning up."

"Don't worry!" I said, turning around and walking away with a flourish.

As I walked, I muttered to myself that Deng Hanyu's words were not without basis. What cadres feared most were issues of conduct; as long as they were touched by such issues, they would lose their skin even if they didn't die.

Could it be that Section Chief Guan had pinpointed my weakness and deliberately installed such a deep-water bomb by my side, just waiting for me to be shattered to pieces?

But for all his calculations, he hadn't calculated that Zhu Hua Yu was now Huang Qishan's person!

What was my relationship with Huang Qishan? Even if I were a philanderer, I wouldn't touch my brother's woman!

Thinking of this, I pushed open the office door with a smile, only to be startled again. ===== CHAPTER 344 =====