Chapter 69 The Brother-Supporting Demon
"Thank you for your recognition, Section Chief. It's all what I should do. I'm also grateful for Officer Sun's help."
Nan Zhiyi gave a polite smile and said a few polite words.
Li Mei didn't say anything more, and gestured to Sun Xiaobing: "Pack up the things, and send the paints and tools back to the warehouse."
"Yes!" Sun Xiaobing immediately and quickly began to pack.
Li Mei glanced at the bulletin board one last time before turning and leaving.
Nan Zhiyi helped Sun Xiaobing finish packing and watched him ride away on his bicycle.
She remained standing there, waiting quietly.
A short while later, Gu Xiao and several older officers came out of the building, talking as they walked.
When Nan Zhiyi saw them, she wanted to hide near the bulletin board so as not to disturb their serious conversation.
Unexpectedly, Gu Xiao did not stop and walked straight towards her.
Political Commissar Yang, standing behind him, laughed, "Commander Gu ran really fast when he saw his wife!"
"Oh? You've seen him before?" Political Commissar Lin asked curiously.
Political Commissar Yang: "I saw him once before when I went to the family compound."
Gu Xiao introduced his wife, Nan Zhiyi, to his colleagues: "She helps out in the publicity department; she drew this bulletin board."
Nan Zhiyi smiled at the opportune moment.
"Oh?" Several officers looked at the bulletin board, then at Nan Zhiyi, who seemed a little uneasy.
"Well drawn! The theme is clear and powerful!"
"Comrade Xiao Nan, you've worked hard!"
Regardless of their true thoughts, the leaders wore warm smiles and praised them repeatedly.
Nan Zhiyi blushed slightly and nodded modestly: "You flatter me, it's all part of my job."
Gu Xiao didn't say anything more: "Then we'll go back first."
"Okay, okay, go back now!" Political Commissar Yang waved his hand with a smile.
Gu Xiao pushed over the bicycle parked next to him, gesturing for Nan Zhiyi to get on.
Nan Zhiyi sat down, only holding onto his clothes.
Once the bicycle had left the regimental headquarters building, she put her arm around his waist. "Let's stop at the service store when we pass by; I need to buy something."
Gu Xiao didn't ask any questions and parked his car in front of the military service center.
The two went inside, and Nan Zhiyi picked out a sturdy brass lock, and also bought some soap, needles and thread, and a small bag of peach shortbread.
Gu Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Buying locks, are they for office use?"
Nan Zhiyi didn't want to let worries bother him. "I lost the key to the office drawer lock. I'll get a new one for convenience."
The next morning, the first thing she did upon arriving at the office was to replace the old lock and carefully put the key away.
My colleagues arrived one after another.
As soon as Zhang Aihong entered, her gaze seemingly casually swept over Nan Zhiyi's desk. She sat in her seat, holding a document, her eyes occasionally glancing at Nan Zhiyi.
At 8 o'clock sharp, Section Chief Li Mei walked in, her tone exceptionally gentle: "Comrade Nan Zhiyi, the bulletin board at the entrance of the regiment's department yesterday was very effective. The leaders saw it as they passed by, and the feedback was positive."
Nan Zhiyi stood up: "Thank you, Section Chief. I will continue to work hard."
"Hmm, which point do we plan to draw today?"
"The one at the east end of the training ground is close to the regimental headquarters, and I'm familiar with its dimensions."
"The training ground?" Zhang Aihong couldn't help but exclaim, "That one at the entrance of the regimental headquarters... you finished drawing it yesterday?!"
Nan Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat. Yesterday, Section Chief Li suddenly came to the scene. Could it be that Zhang Aihong went to "remind" her? Was her purpose to see her make a fool of herself?
She remained expressionless, simply replying, "Yes, it's finished."
Li Mei glanced at Zhang Aihong, ignoring her lapse in composure, and simply nodded to Nan Zhiyi: "Okay, hurry up." She then gave Wu Jianguo a few more instructions before returning to her small office.
Zhang Aihong's face flushed red and then turned pale. She sat back down in her seat, feeling a mix of emotions.
She had initially thought this woman was frail and weak, a good-for-nothing who had gotten the job through connections, and that she would surely make a fool of herself after losing her artwork yesterday. But to her surprise, not only did she not make any mistakes, she even gained the favor of Section Chief Li?
As soon as Sun Xiaobing arrived, Nan Zhiyi immediately set off with him, carrying their tools.
With yesterday's practice and Nan Zhiyi's further refinement of the composition on her laptop last night, the two worked together more smoothly and efficiently, making rapid progress.
During her lunch break, Nan Zhiyi rode her bicycle back to the canteen, where Zhao Yaqin was already waiting for her.
After getting the food, Zhao Yaqin mysteriously pulled her to sit at the table in the far corner.
"Zhiyi, do you know why Zhang Aihong doesn't like you?" Zhao Yaqin lowered her voice, full of excitement to share gossip.
Nan Zhiyi shook her head and picked up a piece of stir-fried potato shreds with her chopsticks.
“I told you before that she was the wife of our Deputy Director Liu in the Political Department, but actually, she was his second wife!” Zhao Yaqin revealed the bombshell. “Deputy Director Liu is more than 20 years older than Zhang Aihong! And he has two teenagers! I heard that her parents forced her to marry Deputy Director Liu in order to climb the social ladder.”
Nan Zhiyi understood; this background explained Zhang Aihong's superior sense of superiority.
“What’s even more outrageous is,” Zhao Yaqin said, pursing her lips, “she’s a complete ‘brother-supporting demon’! She has two younger brothers and a younger sister, and they all depend on her! Her meager salary goes entirely to fill the hole in her family’s coffers! I heard she’s always trying to squeeze things out of Deputy Director Liu’s house, but Deputy Director Liu is shrewd; he only ensures she has decent food and clothing and won’t give her a penny more! So all she wants is to get her younger brother and sister-in-law jobs in the military.”
Nan Zhiyi's mind raced. She put down her chopsticks and lowered her voice, "Sister Yaqin, the drawings in my locked drawer... they disappeared yesterday morning."
Zhao Yaqin's eyes widened instantly: "What?!"
"I bet it was Zhang Aihong who took it. She wanted me to be unable to finish the drawing, which would delay my work and hopefully get me fired by Section Chief Li. That way, the temporary worker position would be vacant."
"Yes! It must be her!" Zhao Yaqin slapped her thigh. "The day before she came back from her family visit leave, she specifically asked Section Chief Li if the temporary worker position was still open! I found that strange at the time! So what if her husband is a deputy director? It's so hard to arrange jobs these days! Everyone has their own spot! Deputy Director Liu... humph, he wouldn't bother with this kind of thing, and he certainly wouldn't let her send someone from her family!"
With her doubts finally resolved, she felt more at ease. Knowing her opponent's hand made things much easier.
After finishing her meal and washing her lunchbox, she rode her bike back to the training ground to continue working.
With the groundwork laid in the morning and Nan Zhiyi's confidence, the afternoon's progress was even faster.
I finished drawing the training ground bulletin board just before I was about to leave work. The picture was impressive and fit the atmosphere of the training ground perfectly.
Sun Xiaobing was packing up his last tools when Section Chief Li Mei and Zhang Aihong walked over together.
Zhang Aihong used the excuse of delivering documents to Li Mei to specifically follow along, wanting to "inspect" Nan Zhiyi's work results.
Li Mei carefully examined the screen, then looked at Nan Zhiyi. "Hmm, high efficiency and good quality. Keep it up."
"Thank you, Section Chief." Nan Zhiyi smiled.
Standing behind Li Mei, Zhang Aihong glanced at the high-quality bulletin board and her face turned ashen, as if she had swallowed a fly.
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