"Brother-in-law, how was I supposed to know she would lie to me?" Chu Hong was also getting angry. She usually helped her brother-in-law write articles, and now that something had gone wrong, he was blaming her.
Secretary Shi put down his chopsticks and frowned, saying, "You're such a grown man, and you believe everything people say. And you're a college graduate! Besides writing articles, what else can you do?"
Hearing this, Chu Hong's face flushed red with anger. What could she do? She could do anything. If she had the opportunity, she could easily take on the role of a mayor's secretary.
However, she dared not say that.
She bit her lip, suppressing her grievances, and said, "Brother-in-law, what should we do now?"
"What's the rush? It's just one article. We're giving her a chance; she won't have another one later." Secretary Shi continued to eat heartily with his head down.
Chu Hong said, "But, but our Deputy Director Liu in the Secretariat is gone. From now on, we can only take on tasks through him and Director Zhou."
"That was directed at other people. Mayor Chen named them, so they can't do anything about it." Secretary Shi was well aware of his limited power.
Hearing Secretary Shi's words, Chu Hong finally suppressed her anger. As long as it could be done, that was fine. Her only worry was that she, a perfectly good college graduate, would be wasted in an office job.
She didn't want to end up like Li Mei, at her age, still just a secretary in the secretariat.
Secondly, after the meeting, Mayor Chen said in a cheerful mood, "This meeting was well arranged."
Secretary Shi nodded. "You're going to inspect the steel mill this afternoon. Do you need a car arranged?"
"Yes, that needs to be arranged. By the way, please have the secretariat prepare for the post-Party member study meeting."
"Okay." Secretary Shi nodded.
After leaving Mayor Chen's office, I went to arrange for the secretariat to prepare for the meeting. The task of writing the draft was naturally assigned directly to Chu Hong.
Liu Lei said, "Secretary Shi, this needs to be discussed with Deputy Director Liu and Director Zhou."
"It's alright, I'll go later. This was arranged by Mayor Chen," Secretary Shi said with a straight face. If he really listened to the secretariat's arrangement, wouldn't he have lost face instead of trying to steal a chicken yesterday? He wasn't willing to lose face like that.
Liu Lei didn't say anything more. He just felt a little uncomfortable.
Secretary Shi's rank is lower than Director Zhou's, but relying on being the leader's chief secretary, her attitude is appalling. Director Zhou and his team had previously given Secretary Shi face and never interfered. Now that this arrangement has been made, if Secretary Shi were sensible, she should follow Director Zhou's instructions.
They still have this attitude now.
Not only Liu Lei, but everyone else was also somewhat uncomfortable. This was a slap in the face to the secretariat and a violation of their rules.
How can everyone compete fairly if things are like this? Although everyone has other things to do, they're mostly miscellaneous tasks like arranging meetings, contacting various departments, and issuing notices. There's little chance of getting ahead in those areas. The only opportunity, however, has been monopolized by someone else.
After leaving the secretariat, Secretary Shi went to the director's office next door to discuss the matter with Deputy Director Liu and the others.
Director Zhou kept a straight face throughout.
Deputy Director Liu, however, smoothly remarked, "We certainly have no objection to Mayor Chen's naming of us. But since we only announced it yesterday, we still need to go through the proper procedures. Secretary Shi should also consider our work more in the future."
Secretary Shi smiled and said, "I'm doing this to simplify the process and avoid delays. After all, it's always Chu Hong who writes. How about this, let's discuss it today, and from now on I'll just contact Chu Hong directly for these matters. For other things, I'll still go through you."
Director Zhou sneered, "Simplifying procedures? I think it would be more appropriate to simplify both me and Lao Liu. Our positions are just for doing nothing. The secretariat doesn't need us to manage anything."
Secretary Shi's expression changed, but he forced a smile and said, "Old Zhou, you can't say that. We're all doing this for the leaders. If there's anything I haven't considered, just point it out and we can discuss it."
Director Zhou was unwilling to talk to him anymore.
Deputy Director Liu said anxiously, "Secretary Shi, don't misunderstand. Director Zhou is a strict person. How about this, let's just follow our procedures. From now on, we'll do things the way they always have, okay?"
"...Alright then." Secretary Shi noticed that Director Zhou's expression had also worsened. He felt a bit aggrieved. Things were fine before, but now they had to make things difficult for him.
Is this a sign of disrespect?
After Secretary Shi left, Deputy Director Liu said, "Old Zhou, you were too impulsive just now."
"Impulsive? Not at all. I'd thought about this a long time ago. I'd just finalized the procedures, and he immediately stepped on my face. Who's in charge of this secretariat anyway?"
Deputy Director Liu isn't doing anything good either.
Director Zhou picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, then picked up the cigarettes on the table and walked out.
"Old Zhou, where are you going?"
"Let's go and have a chat with Secretary Hao."
Director Zhou sat in Secretary Hao's office for more than half an hour before coming out. Secretary Yan saw him out of the office.
Secretary Hao, with his gray hair, picked up his teacup. "Yan, what can I do about this situation? I'm about to retire; I can't manage it anymore."
Secretary Yan remained silent. The leader's words didn't necessarily mean he wanted her to express her opinion; if she actually spoke up, that would be truly disliked.
Secretary Hao muttered to himself for a moment, then said, "Old Chen is just too conservative. He's not careful when it comes to personnel. The higher he goes, the less he can handle it. His abilities..."
Secretary Yan continued to observe his surroundings.
Regardless of whether Director Zhou was happy or not, secondly, Chu Hong still submitted the manuscript.
Secretary Shi immediately handed it over to Mayor Chen.
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