Su Mingde returned to his office absentmindedly, and had only been sitting down for five minutes when the office door was suddenly pushed open.
"Section Chief Su, Director Li asked me to deliver this."
Secretary Liu struggled to carry a stack of ledgers that were half her height, and slammed them onto Su Mingde's desk, kicking up dust.
Su Mingde choked and started coughing.
"What...what is this?"
"Director Li said you need to re-check the safety production accounts of each factory last year, find all the problems, and hand them in to him before the end of the day."
After saying this in a businesslike manner, Xiao Liu turned and left.
Su Mingde stared wide-eyed at the mountain of account books in front of him. He randomly flipped open one, and the dense numbers and blurry seals inside made him dizzy.
He had no understanding of finance at all; these accounts were like a foreign language to him.
"etc!"
Su Mingde called out to Xiao Liu, who was about to leave.
"Who checked these accounts before? Or what are the previous check records?"
Xiao Liu turned around, a hint of pity on his face.
"No, Section Chief Su. These are all original vouchers submitted by the various factories; no one has organized them before."
She paused.
"Director Li specifically instructed that you must handle this personally and not delegate it to anyone else."
Su Mingde's face turned deathly pale.
"Oh, right."
Xiao Liu added from the doorway.
"Director Li also said that the noon bureau meeting has been moved to 10 a.m. so that you can prepare your third-quarter safety production report."
Su Mingde suddenly stood up.
"What? The third-quarter report isn't until next week..."
"Director Li has changed the time."
Xiao Liu interrupted him.
"The meeting room is in room 502. Don't be late."
After saying that, she gently closed the door.
Su Mingde slumped into his chair, his mind blank.
He has only been in office for a few days and hasn't even figured out the basic situation of each factory. How could he possibly prepare a quarterly report in two hours?
Not to mention the pile of account books in front of them that looked like gibberish.
He strode to the landline and picked up the phone.
I dialed my father-in-law's number, but no one answered.
Two hours later.
In the conference room, all the heads of the departments had arrived.
Su Mingde, carrying a stack of hastily prepared documents, pushed open the door, panting.
"Reporting to Director Li, I..."
"I'm two minutes late."
Li Changhai didn't even look up, and said coldly.
"Sit in the very back."
The meeting room fell silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on Su Mingde.
He walked to the empty seat in the last row, his face flushed, and sat down, feeling as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
"Next, please let Section Chief Su of the Safety Production Section report on the work situation in the third quarter."
Li Changhai's voice was devoid of any emotion.
Su Mingde stood up cautiously and opened his notebook.
"In the third quarter, the overall safety situation in all factories under our bureau remained stable..."
"What are the specific figures?"
Li Changhai suddenly interrupted.
"What is the number of casualties? Has the accident rate increased or decreased year-on-year? How many corrective measures have been implemented?"
Su Mingde's forehead was covered in cold sweat.
"This... according to preliminary statistics..."
"Preliminary statistics?"
Li Changhai slammed his hand on the table.
"What kind of deputy section chief are you? You dare to report without even basic data?"
The meeting room was completely silent; everyone kept their heads down, not daring to meet Li Changhai's gaze.
"I...I just started this job, and some data hasn't been processed yet..."
Su Mingde stammered as he explained.
"Excuse!"
Li Changhai shouted sternly.
"Who in the entire organization isn't working overtime? Are you the only exception?"
He turned to other people.
"Look at this, these are our newly promoted cadres, they can't even do the most basic work properly!"
Su Mingde stood there, feeling his legs go weak.
He looked to his colleagues for help, only to find that everyone avoided his gaze.
Meeting adjourned!
Li Changhai stood up and gave Su Mingde a cold look.
"Section Chief Su, please stay."
The others, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly left the meeting room.
When the last person left, they thoughtfully closed the door behind them.
Only Li Changhai and Su Mingde remained in the conference room, and the air seemed to freeze.
"Director Li, I..."
Su Mingde spoke cautiously.
Li Changhai walked to the window, his back to Su Mingde, and his voice suddenly became gentle.
"Xiao Su, do you know why I'm so strict with you?"
Su Mingde was stunned and didn't know how to answer.
"Because I value you."
Li Changhai turned around with a strange smile on his face.
"You're Director Liu's son-in-law, I have high expectations for you."
Su Mingde was flattered.
"Thank you for your guidance, Director Li. I will definitely..."
"but."
Li Changhai's smile suddenly vanished.
"If you can't even handle this much pressure, how can you shoulder heavier responsibilities?"
He walked up to Su Mingde and patted him on the shoulder.
"Today's accounts must be finalized before the end of the workday, understand?"
Su Mingde nodded mechanically.
"Go."
Li Changhai waved his hand, as if shooing away flies.
Su Mingde felt as if he had been granted a pardon and fled the conference room as if he were escaping.
He didn't see the sinister smile on Li Changhai's face behind him.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon in Su Mingde's office.
The ledger on the table had been turned less than a tenth of the way through; Su Mingde's eyes were bloodshot, and his tie hung loosely around his neck.
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