Chapter 66 Bulletin Board

Zhang Aihong hummed in agreement through her nose and then asked, "Whose connections did you use to get in?"

Nan Zhiyi was stunned for a moment; she had never encountered such blatant malice before.

Zhao Yaqin was displeased. "Zhiyi came to work in the department because of her real skills and the approval of Section Chief Li."

“Oh…” Zhang Aihong sat down with a straight face.

Nan Zhiyi smiled gratefully at Zhao Yaqin before sitting down to continue organizing the draft of the promotional poster.

She had just finished perfecting the pencil draft and hadn't even started coloring it when Section Chief Li Mei walked in.

"Section Chief Li." Nan Zhiyi handed over the drawings. "The main illustrations for 'Learning from the Iron Man Spirit' are finished. Do you think they're alright?"

Li Mei took the sketch and examined it carefully. Several different figures of iron men were depicted, the composition was full, and the theme was prominent.

She nodded: "Okay. This afternoon, you and Sun Xiaobing go to the bulletin board, measure the dimensions, enlarge these main pictures and draw them. Add the explanatory text written by Yaqin next to them."

"Yes, Section Chief."

Nan Zhiyi agreed, feeling reassured.

It turns out that the final task was to paint it on the outdoor bulletin board, which was quite a physically demanding job.

Zhang Aihong listened from the side, her movements of tidying the table slowing down. She glanced at the sketch in Nan Zhiyi's hand, then quickly looked away, her lips turning down.

After giving her instructions, Li Mei turned to Zhang Aihong and said, "Aihong, there are a few documents on your desk that need to be copied. Hurry up and get them done."

"I understand," Zhang Aihong replied in a muffled voice, sat down, picked up her pen, and her expression darkened further.

Nan Zhiyi carefully put away the sketches; this job was more "down-to-earth" than she had imagined.

When Sun Xiaobing returned from the printing factory, it was almost 2 p.m. He was covered in sweat and drank a large vat of cold boiled water.

Section Chief Li Mei came out of her office.

"Officer Sun, take Comrade Nan Zhiyi on your bicycle to familiarize her with the location and size of the main bulletin boards in the camp. She will be in charge of the layout of the main bulletin board and several important locations for the 'Iron Man Spirit' bulletin board this time."

Section Chief Li turned to Nan Zhiyi and said, "Go and see the location and environment in person so you can have a general idea of ​​what's going on. That way, when you're painting, the composition and color scheme will be better adapted to the local conditions."

"Yes, Section Chief."

Nan Zhiyi understood that this was to let her experience it firsthand.

Sun Xiaobing put down his teacup and said decisively, "Okay! Shall we go now?"

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Sun." Nan Zhiyi picked up her notebook and pen.

After leaving the political department building, Sun Xiaobing rode his old bicycle and gestured for Nan Zhiyi to get on.

Nan Zhiyi didn't hesitate and sat down sideways.

As Sun Xiaobing pedaled his bike, he explained, "Our camp's permanent bulletin boards are mainly in five places: one is in front of the regimental headquarters office building, which is the most conspicuous location, and the leaders can see it whenever they come in or out. Another is at the east end of the training ground, where the soldiers look at it during training breaks. There's also the entrance to the canteen, where there's a lot of foot traffic. Next to the military service center, families often look at it; and there's a smaller one on the side wall of the military hospital's outpatient building. The club is mainly used for showing movies and holding activities, so the bulletin boards outside have been removed."

Nan Zhiyi carefully noted down the location.

Sun Xiaobing was clearly familiar with all the bulletin boards, and directly gave her the dimensions: "The one at the entrance of the regimental headquarters is the largest, 3.2 meters wide and 1.6 meters high; the ones at the training ground and canteen entrances are about the same, 2.8 meters wide and 1.4 meters high; the ones next to the service station and the one at the hospital are smaller, 2 meters wide and 1.2 meters high. For the main image, you can prepare the composition in three sizes: large, medium, and small. When enlarging it, just adjust the position slightly according to the border. There's no need to redraw a small draft for each one; it's too time-consuming. Sister Chen used to do it this way."

"Understood." Nan Zhiyi nodded and carefully wrote it down in her notebook.

This is much more efficient.

Remembering that Sun Xiaobing had just returned from outside, she casually asked, "Officer Sun, did you go to the printing factory this morning? Does our department need to go to the printing factory so often?"

"Absolutely!" Sun Xiaobing perked up. "Our department's work isn't just about drawing bulletin boards. Things like study documents, training manuals, and safety rules—anything that needs to be printed in bulk and distributed to each company—our department has to prepare the final drafts and send them to the printing plant. Sometimes we even have to supervise the proofreading and urge them to hurry up. Like this '100-Day Sprint' campaign, we need to send the mobilization proposal and study materials to be printed in a couple of days; the quantity is huge!"

Nan Zhiyi understood. It turned out that the scope of the publicity department's work was so broad. It had to be both "presentable" (making bulletin boards) and "substantial" (distributing materials).

The two rode their bikes and quickly visited several locations.

"Officer Sun, which bulletin board should we start with for this update? How long does it usually take to change everything?"

“As is customary, we’ll start with the ‘front door’ of the regimental headquarters!” Sun Xiaobing pointed to the largest green bulletin board in front of the regimental headquarters office building.

Nan Zhiyi looked into the office building, hoping to find out if Gu Xiao was there... Unfortunately, she looked for a long time but couldn't see Gu Xiao.

…Sun Xiaobing continued to explain dutifully, “If there are important tasks or activities, the content has to be changed every two weeks. If there are no major events, it’s changed once a month. There are only a few people in the department who can update the five new bulletin boards, and they usually have to be updated within a week. When time is tight, we have to finish drawing them at night with a flashlight.”

Nan Zhiyi quickly snapped out of her daze and thanked him sincerely, "Thank you, Officer Sun, your explanation was so detailed."

Sun Xiaobing continued pedaling his bike toward the Political Department. "Don't mention it! Starting tomorrow, I'll be painting that big guy at the entrance of the Youth League Department. It'll require some heavy lifting, like moving ladders, mixing paints, and drawing the outline grid. Just call me and I'll do it! You just focus on painting it well."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you tomorrow."

Nan Zhiyi thanked them again.

The two returned to the office.

Nan Zhiyi took out her sketches and, based on the size of the bulletin board at the entrance of the Youth League office and the surrounding environment, considered how to adjust the composition and colors…

...

It wasn't until Zhao Yaqin gently touched her arm: "Zhiyi, you're off work, why are you so lost in thought?"

Nan Zhiyi looked up at the wall clock and saw that it was indeed 5:30.

She smiled, carefully put all the sketches and notebooks into the drawer and locked them.

Zhang Aihong, who was packing her things, drifted over in a voice that wasn't too loud or too soft: "Hmph, putting on airs."

These words, though unnamed, sounded particularly jarring in the quiet office.

Zhao Yaqin frowned, about to speak, but Nan Zhiyi had already stood up: "Responding to the call, promoting the spirit of the Iron Man, and doing our best to do our job well is what we should do. We dare not slack off in serving the people."

After saying that, without waiting for Zhang Aihong's reaction, she turned to Zhao Yaqin and said, "Sister Yaqin, shall we go?"

Zhao Yaqin immediately agreed, "Yes, it's time to get off work!" She glanced at Zhang Aihong with a hint of disdain, then pulled Nan Zhiyi out the door.

Zhang Aihong's expression changed slightly after being choked by Nan Zhiyi's phrase "serving the people." Watching the two figures leave, she let out a heavy snort.