Zhang Hongmei stammered, her face pale, wanting to refute but not daring to.
She longed to pledge her loyalty, but hesitated...
Firstly, because she kept thinking about Li Sidi.
Li Sidi was released, but she was fired and the incident was recorded in her personnel file. She had to take all the blame herself.
College students are a rare commodity these days. There are hardly any college students in a county. They are all golden phoenixes, and the state guarantees them jobs after graduation, let alone those from good schools.
The students were either like Lu Jingui and Chu Hongyu, who were admitted to universities and whose salaries were paid by their employers, and who returned to work at their employers during winter and summer vacations.
Either she and Li Sidi were assigned jobs in their junior and senior years of college, attending classes and doing internships at the same time, and if they were lucky, they would be accepted by companies in Shanghai.
Even the worst job was still a good job in the provincial capital of my hometown, where I could get a government-subsidized job and completely turn my life around into that of a city dweller, defying fate.
Now Li Sidi's future is ruined, and she can only return to the dilapidated village where she studied. The Chairman only sent Li Sidi twenty yuan and national grain coupons.
This always made her feel uneasy; if she were discovered, it would affect her own future.
Secondly, this matter crossed her bottom line.
She likes and admires Lu Jingui because what he writes is indeed very noble and righteous, especially his speeches criticizing social dilemmas and the inferiority of men, which are inspiring, passionate and positive!
But today... for the first time, she felt a strong disconnect between what Lu Jingui asked her to do and his positive and uplifting ideas.
Lu Jingui immediately knew what Zhang Hongmei was thinking.
She sneered, "What, you've come to doubt me? I may have the heart of a bodhisattva, but I also need ruthless methods. Otherwise, how can I deal with those despicable villains and rid the people of harm?"
Zhang Hongmei shook her head frantically: "No, I really didn't!"
Miao Sanlu's "proactivity" made her feel like a coward, an unfaithful follower.
Lu Jingui's questioning made her feel even worse.
Miao Sanlu immediately pledged his loyalty: "Chairman Lu, I will definitely complete the mission successfully."
Lu Jingui looked at Miao Sanlu with satisfaction, as if admiring a handy tool: "I have always admired your simple sense of justice the most. Let's discuss what to do."
What she wanted was this blind sense of justice, this impulsive act without thinking, which enabled her to achieve her goal of hitting the target wherever she was told.
Many people are like the mediocre characters in Gustave Le Bon's psychology book "The Crowd," naturally suited to being manipulated by passion, slogans, and visions.
During major political movements, anyone who dared to steal her thunder or infringe upon her interests, whether a leader or a more popular contemporary newspaper author, was brought down by her one by one.
After dealing with Chu Hongyu, she'll deal with Ning Yuan...
...
Starting the next day, as soon as Miao Sanlu arrived at the office, he would carry a thermos and pretend to "do good deeds" in each office.
She specifically targeted older female colleagues with higher positions, using sweet words as if they were coated with honey.
"Sister, please have some water, let me pour it for you!" Miao Sanlu smiled and approached Sister Ma, who was organizing documents, and eagerly took the thermos from her hands.
"Oh, no need, no need, I can do it myself..." Sister Ma waved her hand with a smile.
"It's nothing, you're my elder, this is what I should do." Miao Sanlu snatched the thermos without saying a word and rushed off to fill it with hot water for her.
While getting water, she secretly observed the activity in the office, especially the bank manager's office at the end of the corridor, where Chu Hongyu's father worked.
If everyone is used to her serving tea and water as an intern, then it wouldn't be strange if she served water to President Chu, right?
Aunt Ma noticed that she had been working diligently for several days, always keeping an eye on the vicinity of the leaders' offices. Suddenly, she smiled and said, "Starting tomorrow, you will also be responsible for pouring tea and wiping the tables in the leaders' offices as soon as you arrive in the morning. It's rare to see such a diligent young person like you."
Miao Sanlu immediately asked excitedly, "Really, Sister Ma?"
Sister Ma took a sip of tea and said comfortably, "Well, our President Chu is known for his diligence. He works overtime until very late every day and is very strict with his subordinates. You'd better be quick-witted... it'll be a good opportunity to show your face in front of the leader and maybe you'll get a chance to get a letter of acceptance."
These young interns all wanted to stay in Shanghai, and they were incredibly attentive to them.
But only a handful of these acceptance letters are issued a year, and local students are always given priority. It's not up to these out-of-towners.
But young people can do more work without worry, while the older women should take a break.
Miao Sanlu said with a smile, "Don't worry, Sister Ma!"
She then took the kettle to the bank manager's office.
Although Lao Chu found it a bit strange that an unfamiliar intern had suddenly come to fetch water, he didn't think much of it.
He also told the others not to bully the young girl who was interning out of town and to stop making her do odd jobs.
but……
A week later, as soon as Lao Chu entered his office, he received a call from Secretary Liu of his unit, asking him to come to the office.
Old Chu arrived at the secretary's office completely bewildered. As soon as he entered, he was startled by the serious expression on his old colleague's face.
"Old Chu, has something happened lately? We received a report about you from above, saying that you treated Xiao Miao, an intern at our unit, badly..." Secretary Liu hesitated, then handed Old Chu a report.
Old Chu was instantly startled. He immediately took the letter of complaint, and after just one glance, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
The letter read in bold: "Reporting that Bank Manager Chu abused his position...to sexually harass and behave inappropriately towards a female intern..."
Old Chu was struck dumb, completely stunned.
"When did I harass a female intern? That's utter nonsense! This intern surnamed Miao only poured me water a few times!"
Old Chu tried to calm himself down. He carefully recalled the recent events but couldn't understand why the other party had suddenly reported him.
Could I have done something that made the girl misunderstand? But... I can't think of anything!
"I haven't even spoken to her much!"
Old Chu was completely baffled.
The baseless accusations in the letter felt like slaps to his face.
He never imagined that after working diligently for most of his life, he would be slandered like this!
Seeing that Old Chu's face was pale, the secretary sighed, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly—
"Old Chu, I know you've always been an upright person and a responsible worker, but this matter is very special, has a very bad influence, and puts the higher-ups in a difficult position."
Secretary Liu shook his head: "How about this, you suspend your duties and go home to rest for a while, and we'll talk about it again after the organization has investigated and clarified the matter."
Old Chu opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself, but didn't know what to say.
He knew that saying anything now would be useless; the innocent would remain innocent, and the guilty would remain guilty. He believed that the organization would clear his name.
Old Chu could only return home in silence.
Xiao Min had just returned home from get off work when she heard the news. Her vision blurred, and she almost fainted.
"How could this be? How could this be? Do you think I don't know what kind of person you are? That girl must have misunderstood. I'll go find her and explain! I'll beg her!"
Xiao Min gripped Lao Chu's hand tightly, her face pale.
She knew Old Chu better than anyone. Old Chu spent his days either working or reading; how could he possibly do something like this?
Old Chu suppressed his grief and indignation and comforted him, "Don't worry, I will find a way to find out the truth. The innocent will clear their names, and I believe the organization will restore my innocence."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Old Chu opened the door and saw Sister Jiang standing there with a gloating expression.
Old Chu frowned: "Sister Jiang, what are you doing here?"
Last time Jiang Yuejin brought Hongyu back, he went to her door and said a lot of unpleasant things, but he couldn't be bothered to argue with him.
Sister Jiang pursed her lips and said, "I came to see you. After all, Old Chu, you've had such a big problem. As your friend, I have to show my concern."
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