Chapter 7
As the object of pursuit, Ye Manzhi herself was completely unaware of it.
Two days later, she received the notice from Director Mu as she wished, and she could report to the street office to work!
The air at eight o'clock in the morning has never been so fresh.
Ye Manzhi held a notebook in one hand and carried ink, a teacup, and a large lunch box in the other, and walked into the gate of the new unit in high spirits.
He looks more energetic than the row of big sunflowers growing in the sun in front of the house!
After completing the respective formalities, Director Mu held a small welcome party for the four new comrades who came for the trial period.
On behalf of the Zhengyang District People's Committee and Guangming Sub-district Office, we welcome the new comrades.
Afterwards, she introduced the situation of Guangming Subdistrict Office to everyone.
The jurisdiction area is 2.5 square kilometers, which is the same as the jurisdiction area of the neighboring police station. Wherever they are in charge, the street office can also be in charge!
The population of the jurisdiction is 18,000, which, again, is exactly the same as the population under the jurisdiction of the police station!
Ye Manzhi thought that these two emphasises were very effective, and the image of the new unit in her mind instantly became taller!
Director Mu smiled and said, "Many people confuse the street office with the neighborhood committee, but in fact, the two are completely different. The neighborhood committee is a mass self-governing organization, and most of its comrades are enthusiastic residents elected by the neighborhood."
"Our subdistrict office is a branch of the government. We are responsible for promoting the Party's policies and administrative regulations, guiding the work of the neighborhood committees, and raising the socialist consciousness of the residents! To put it bluntly, we are the lowest level of state cadres!"
“…”
“…”
"Okay, I won't say any more. Leading the charge and resting later is the tradition of our team! Since we are all quasi-state cadres, we must abide by the 'Three Disciplines and Eight Points for Attention' for Party and government cadres. Adapt to street work as quickly as possible, serve 18,000 residents well, and contribute to our great communist cause!"
Director Mu’s speech was very morale-boosting, and coupled with the inscription “Serve the People” behind her, Ye Manzhi’s mood was also excited.
Yesterday she was an unemployed young woman, and today she has become a quasi-state official!
Deputy Director Zhang Qinjian cleared his throat at this time to attract everyone's attention.
"Director Mu's speech is already very comprehensive. I'd like to add just one point. As neighborhood cadres, everyone should pay more attention to their attire and appearance! We advocate for simplicity, modesty, and elegance. Some comrades still need to improve in this regard..."
Ye Manzhi lowered her eyes and glanced at the blue and white plaid blouse she was wearing. The cuffs had a layer of lace sewn on them, which looked both beautiful and simple.
"Certain comrades" probably don't refer to her.
The other three comrades obviously thought the same thing, and they all looked at Deputy Director Zhang with confused and innocent eyes.
Zhang Qinjian overestimated his new colleague's awareness and had to make his words more clear.
"Our subdistrict office is supposed to serve the people. If you draw your eyebrows today and perm your hair tomorrow, how will the public view our cadres?"
At this point, Ye Manzhi finally realized that the deputy director was calling on her.
Although she didn't draw her eyebrows, she permed her hair!
She felt a little guilty and was about to explain something, but Liu Jinbao next to her spoke first.
"Deputy Director Zhang, my hair is naturally curly. I don't have a perm!"
Ye Manzhi looked at the baby-faced boy in surprise, and admired his courage to lie without fear of being exposed.
Liu Jinbao was an acquaintance of hers. When she worked as a tailor to earn extra money, Liu Jinbao was her only male customer and also the most fashionable and dress-loving gay man she had ever met.
His hair was very straight back then!
Zhang Qinjian had never seen many people with permed hair in his life. He stared at Liu Jinbao's curly hair for a while, but couldn't tell whether it was real or fake. So he shifted his attention to Zhuang Ting who was drawing eyebrows and Ye Manzhi who was perming her hair.
"Xiao Ye, what's going on with you?"
Ye Manzhi didn't dare to lie and said frankly: "I went on a blind date a few days ago. In order to look prettier, my sister took me to get my hair permed. If I had known that I could come to work in our street, I wouldn't have gotten a perm!"
Upon hearing this, the two directors who had just been talking about "state cadres" and "communism" asked in unison: "Did you pick one?"
"..." Ye Manzhi said, "No."
The image of the street office in her mind suddenly fell from the majestic police station to the same level as the neighborhood committee.
Director Mu comforted her, "No blind date ever works out in one try. You're still young, don't rush!"
Then, she deliberately ignored Deputy Director Zhang's request for everyone's dress and divided the work among several people.
According to the principle of the old leading the new, each of the four existing old comrades must lead a new comrade.
Since civil affairs work is directly facing the masses, such as marriage registration and grain purchase, a lot of writing is required every day, so Director Mu found the resumes of the four people and handed them to Feng Chaoyang, who was reading the newspaper as if no one was around.
"Lao Feng, this is to find a helper for you, pick one yourself."
Feng Chaoyang held the newspaper in both hands, tilted his head to glance at the four resumes, and quickly looked away.
"You're the director, you decide."
She didn't comment on the four people's handwriting, but her dismissive attitude said it all.
Director Mu smoothed things over: "Lao Feng is the champion of our district's calligraphy competition, which has very high standards. In my opinion, except for Liu Jinbao, everyone else's handwriting is quite neat."
Liu Jinbao was not ashamed of his poor handwriting and cleverly flattered: "No wonder people always line up to ask Aunt Feng for letters of introduction. It turns out that Aunt Feng is a master of calligraphy. We should all learn a lot from Aunt Feng in the future!"
Feng Chaoyang chuckled behind the newspaper. "I'm the only one left in charge of civil affairs. Who else can they turn to if not me?"
The flattery hit the horse's leg, and Liu Jinbao scratched the "natural curls" on his head and stopped making himself look bad.
Anyone with eyes could see that Aunt Feng was difficult to get along with, so when Director Mu asked who could draw, no one said a word.
The office fell into an awkward silence. During this time, someone pushed the door open to stamp something, but seeing the scene, he quietly retreated.
Director Mu's eyes swept over several people one by one. When she looked over for the second time, Ye Manyi raised her hand.
"Director, I can only draw some patterns for making clothes. Is this level enough?"
"Just draw a few strokes first and show them to everyone."
Ye Manyi drew a plum blossom on the edge of the newspaper with a pencil, but felt it was a bit perfunctory, so he quickly sketched a peony next to it.
"What do you think?"
"I think it's pretty good," Director Mu turned around and greeted, "Lao Feng, come and take a look?"
Feng Chaoyang glanced over lightly and uttered a "hmm" sound through his nose. "Besides her, is there any other choice? Let's make do with this for now."
"Okay, Xiaoye, you'll work with your Aunt Feng from now on. Aunt Feng's calligraphy and painting skills are among the best in the city, so you should learn more from her!" Mulan quickly made the decision, as if throwing off a burden. "The civil affairs and publicity work will be left to you!"
Ye Manzhi nodded repeatedly. She was quite satisfied with her division of labor.
Aunt Feng's work is a combination of office and field work. In addition to issuing letters of introduction and registering marriages for the public, she occasionally has to bring chalk and paint to write and draw on bulletin boards and walls.
You won't have to sit in the office all the time, and you won't have to be out on the job all day, so the work is very flexible.
As for Aunt Feng, who makes others shy away, hehe...
Ye Manzhi has grown up to this age, and she has never met a middle-aged or elderly woman that she can't handle!
She doesn't think it's a big deal!
At this time, she had not yet realized that Comrade Feng Chaoyang was not an ordinary middle-aged or elderly woman, nor could she be simply described as "difficult to deal with."
Of course, this is all in the past.
*
After the welcome party, Ye Manzhi was assigned to an office desk by the door, next to Aunt Feng, to make it easier for people to do things.
Today is an auspicious day for marriage, and there is a constant stream of newlyweds coming to register.
The marriage certificate must have the names, ages and registration date of the newlyweds written by hand. For good luck, everyone wanted to find someone with good handwriting, so they all specifically asked the aunt with a mole between her eyebrows to get the certificate.
Ye Manzhi did not have Aunt Feng's mass base, so she took the initiative to help check everyone's registration materials and occasionally stamped the books.
In half a day, she ate a piece of orange candy, a piece of plum candy, and saved a handful of wedding candy for her parents.
This joyful and cheerful day lasted for two days. On the third day, near lunch break, a young couple walked into the subdistrict office with their three children.
Feng Chaoyang was not only indifferent to his colleagues, but also treated visitors equally. "It's lunch break, why didn't you come earlier?"
The man said in a gruff voice, "I just got back from out of town. Isn't lunch break at 12 o'clock? I still have five minutes. Can you be flexible?"
Feng Chaoyang locked the official seal in the drawer and said, "Five minutes is not enough. Come back tomorrow."
"How long would it take you to write a few words on a marriage certificate?"
The man had a hideous scar on his face, winding from the corner of his eye to his chin, and it was obvious that he was not someone to be trifled with.
Ye Manzhi was really afraid that Aunt Feng would anger someone and get beaten. After all, there had been precedents for this. According to Liu Jinbao, Aunt Feng was beaten last year.
She quickly smiled and congratulated the two newlyweds, called them over, and took over their registration materials.
The bride, Guo Erni, is a rural member. Her household registration certificate and letter of introduction were issued by the agricultural production cooperative.
The groom, Zhao Zhenhua, is unemployed and a resident of Guangming Street. He only brought his resident ID card but not his household registration book, so he needed to go to the police station to get a household registration certificate before registering.
Ye Manzhi explained the situation clearly and asked the male comrade to go to the empty table in the back to fill out the form first. He also asked Liu Jinbao, who had nothing to do, to go to the police station next door to help verify the household registration information, and then continued to review other materials.
She had just started working in civil affairs, so she was slow in reviewing documents and read every word very carefully.
So, when she saw the woman's letter of introduction saying her marital status was "married", she thought she was dizzy.
"Comrade Guo, are you already married? So are you two here today to get a replacement marriage certificate?"
Some couples who got married before the founding of the People's Republic of China would apply for a new marriage certificate. Ye Manyi asked this question when she saw they had children with them.
"No." Guo Erni answered confidently without dodging or evading her gaze.
"Nonsense!" Feng Chaoyang slammed the teacup onto the table and scolded, "You're already married, why are you still registering your marriage? Isn't this just nonsense?"
"Who said married people can't register?"
Feng Chaoyang frowned and replied: "This is a national regulation!"
This is exactly what Guo Erni was waiting for!
She took out a brand new marriage certificate from her bosom and threw it in front of Aunt Feng.
The pen holder and ink on the table fell to the ground.
Guo Erni is like an active volcano that has been dormant for many years, finally waiting for the moment of eruption.
She pointed at the marriage certificate and asked, "Is this the one issued by your neighborhood office?"
Aunt Feng was unaffected by the other party's emotions. After unfolding the marriage certificate and looking at the official seal, she calmly said, "We issued the marriage certificate. What's the problem?"
"What's the problem?" Guo Erni laughed in anger. "This man is already married, he has a wife and children! What's the point of issuing him a marriage certificate?"
Aunt Feng retorted as she searched a drawer for the registration documents from a few days ago: "Impossible! Marriage registration requires household registration, resident ID card, and letter of introduction. If he's already married, we can't possibly issue a marriage certificate!"
Guo Erni pushed her three children in front of her and asked, "If he hadn't gotten married, where did these three children come from?"
Seeing that her finger was about to poke Aunt Feng's face, Ye Manzhi quickly walked out from behind the table and advised: "Comrade Guo, let's sit down and talk slowly. The child is still here, don't scare him!"
Guo Erni shook off her daughter's hand, her emotions completely erupting at this moment: "I'm almost dead, how can I take care of my child!"
The three children were so frightened that they started to cry loudly. Like three shivering little chicks, they huddled together, tugging at her clothes and calling for their mother.
Others gathered around in a hurry, some to help comfort the child, some to ask what had happened. Everyone was a little confused by the situation. They originally thought that the couple was here to register for marriage, but they didn't expect that they were actually here to settle a score!
The office was bustling with activity, and Aunt Feng also found the registration materials that had been archived a few days ago.
The bride, Sun Xiaoyue, is 24 years old, widowed and unemployed.
The groom, Zhao Guodong, is 32 years old, unmarried, and an employee of Factory 656.
Aunt Feng spread out all the documents in front of her. "Zhao Guodong is the only one registered in the household registration, and the column for 'marital status' is blank. But the letter of introduction from the workshop office of Factory 656 proves that Zhao Guodong is unmarried. According to regulations, the street office can register his marriage."
"I have a rural household registration, so my child's household registration must follow me. Of course, he is not on his household registration, but we have always lived together."
Aunt Feng was tidying up the furnishings on her desk, her expression and voice cold. "The household registration was filled out by the police station, and the letter of introduction was issued by Factory 656. If you think there's a problem, go and settle the score with them first!"
Guo Erni swept everything on the table to the ground like crazy, even Ye Manzhi's desk was not spared.
"The marriage certificate was issued by your street office, so you should be responsible! Since you can issue him a marriage certificate, why can't you handle the registration procedures for me?"
Ye Manzhi then remembered the other party who was registering for marriage. When she turned back to look for him, she found that Zhao Zhenhua was still filling out the form in the back as if nothing had happened!
She was about to call for help when the office door was kicked open.
Zhao Guodong followed with his newlywed wife.
"I didn't see anyone when I got home from get off work, so I guessed you must have been here!" Zhao Guodong picked up the marriage certificate on the ground and whispered, "Er Ni, didn't we agree that if there is anything, we will discuss it together behind closed doors? Why are you disobeying me again! Come on, come home with me first!"
"What were you discussing?" Guo Erni slapped the man in the face. "In the end, you ended up discussing your brother's wife's bed!"
Everyone: “…”
Oh no!
Director Mu, who originally wanted to step forward to mediate, shut up.
Zhang Qinjian, who was about to intervene, also stopped moving.
Ye Manyi, who had just been a small cadre for three days, was deeply attracted by the endless reversals. He completely forgot his identity as a quasi-cadre and wished he could grow another pair of eyes.
"Xiao Ye! Xiao Ye!"
While stretching his neck to watch the fun, Ye Manzhi was grabbed by the sleeve by Liu Jinbao who had just slipped in.
"What's the matter? Let's talk later!"
"We can't wait any longer!" Liu Jinbao pinched the resident ID card with his fingertips, his voice trembling as he spoke. "Old Sun from the police station has checked. Zhao Zhenhua, the man who just wanted to register for marriage, is listed as deceased! His ID was cancelled at the beginning of the year!"
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