Next, Lu Qingyang also reported to the Material Bureau in an official manner.
On the day of reporting, Lu Qingyang wore a new military coat and had his hair done neatly.
Carrying the letter of introduction and necessary certificates, he rode his bicycle to the Municipal Materials Bureau in the west of the city in a low-key manner according to the address he had inquired about before.
The gate of the Material Bureau is not particularly grand. It is an old Beijing-style building with a sign with black characters on a white background hanging on the door.
The old man in the message room wore reading glasses and carefully checked his letter of introduction, then looked him up and down - this young man had a straight body and steady eyes, unlike those impulsive young men.
"Comrade Lu Qingyang, right? You are assigned to the Comprehensive Planning Department, on the third floor, the second room next to you." The old man pointed in a direction, his tone was quite kind, "Go in."
"Thank you." Lu Qingyang thanked politely and pushed his bicycle into the compound.
Park the car and walk into the office building.
The light in the corridor was a little dim. The terrazzo surface was swept very clean, but signs of wear and tear were also obvious.
The walls were painted with half-man-high light green wall skirts, on which were posted slogans such as "grasp the revolution, promote production" and "practice strict economy".
The air was filled with a mixture of paper, ink, dust and a hint of tobacco, a typical smell of government offices.
Go up to the third floor and find the office of the Comprehensive Planning Section.
The door was ajar, and I could hear voices and the rustling of papers from inside.
Lu Qingyang calmed himself down, raised his hand and knocked on the door gently.
"Come in." A slightly low middle-aged male voice came.
Lu Qingyang pushed the door open and went in.
This is a not-so-small office.
There were several dark green metal filing cabinets against the wall, and several dark-colored desks put together, the desks were piled with documents, reports, abacus, and enamel jars.
The three people were working at their desks, and when they heard the noise they looked up.
Sitting opposite the door was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, with his hair combed meticulously and a serious expression, looking like a person in charge.
Next to him was a lesbian in her thirties, who was using an abacus with her head down.
On the right was a young gay man who looked only a few years older than Lu Qingyang.
"Comrade, who are you looking for?" the young man asked.
Lu Qingyang took a step forward, walked to the table of the young man, and handed over the letter of introduction and related materials with both hands:
"Hello, my name is Lu Qingyang. I am here to report to the Comprehensive Planning Department today. Here is my letter of introduction and the certificate of organizational transfer."
The middle-aged man took the materials, pushed up his glasses, and read them carefully.
He read slowly, his eyes lingering for a moment on words like "educated youth returning to the city".
The office was quiet for a moment, and there was the crisp sound of female comrades using an abacus.
After a moment, the middle-aged man put down the materials and raised his head. There was no extra expression on his face. He was thinking, this is probably another one who got in through connections.
But she still had to keep smiling on the surface. "Comrade Lu Qingyang, welcome to join our Comprehensive Planning Section. My last name is Zhao, Zhao Weiguo, and I am the section chief of the Comprehensive Planning Section."
"Hello, Section Chief Zhao!" Lu Qing was respectful but neither humble nor arrogant.
Zhao Weiguo nodded and pointed to the female comrade next to him who was using an abacus: "This is Comrade Wang Xiumei, who is in charge of daily statistics and reports."
Wang Xiumei raised her head and smiled at Lu Qingyang as a greeting.
He pointed to the young man who had just asked the question and said, "This is Comrade Zhang Jianjun. He came here two years earlier than you. He is mainly responsible for the specific preparation and liaison work of some material plans."
Zhang Jianjun looked at Lu Qingyang, with a look of scrutiny and subtle rejection in his eyes, and nodded calmly: "Yeah."
Zhao Weiguo looked around the slightly crowded office and pointed to a relatively empty table near the window, which was piled with some old newspapers.
"Comrade Lu, please sit at that table first. It's a little too crowded and things are messy. Please clean it up first."
"Okay, thank you Chief Zhao." Lu Qingyang walked over.
The table was indeed piled with old newspapers and some discarded forms, and the chair was a little shaky.
Zhao Weiguo looked around the slightly crowded office and pointed to the table piled with old newspapers by the window: "Comrade Lu, you can sit at that table first. It's a bit square and things are messy. You should clean it up first."
"Okay, thank you, Section Chief Zhao." Lu Qingyang nodded and walked towards the table calmly.
Zhao Weiguo informed the other people in the department: "This is Lu Qingyang."
Zhang Jianjun came two years earlier than Lu Qingyang. He thought he was proficient in the business and worked diligently, accumulating experience and waiting for opportunities. He fully believed that even if Section Chief Zhao did not directly give him the vacant deputy section chief position in the section, it would not be someone else's turn.
Unexpectedly, a newcomer suddenly arrived today and sat in that position right away? ! Why? !
The formal smile on Zhao Weiguo's face faded a little, and he returned to his usual seriousness.
Lu Qingyang found the work here dull, even a little boring.
Lu Qingyang just came here and found that he couldn't get involved in anything.
Zhang Jianjun treated him as if he were air, Wang Xiumei was polite but distant, and Zhao Weiguo maintained the proper distance of a section chief. The occasional glances he cast at him were full of scrutiny and a subtle hint of "let's see when you'll be exposed."
The tasks assigned to him were either trivial chores or data transcription and old file organization that required a lot of time but had no technical content.
They seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding, and used this "cold treatment" approach to give the parachuted deputy section chief a clear warning: You have nothing to do here, so if you know what's good for you, just stay out of the way.
If it were someone else, they might feel aggrieved, angry, and eager to prove themselves.
But Lu Qingyang was happy to have free time.
There was no unnecessary expression on his face, and he would always calmly respond to the "tasks" assigned to him with a "yes".
Then he buried his head in work with astonishing efficiency. Reports that would take Zhang Jianjun half a day to copy clearly could be finished by him in just a dozen hours, and his handwriting was as neat as printed text.
What happens after you’re done?
He neither takes the initiative to take on work nor tries to get close to anyone.
He opened the drawer of his tidy desk by the window and took out a thick book with a great man's portrait and red letters on the cover - On Practice and On Contradiction, and placed it neatly on the table.
Then, he sat upright, his eyes focused on the pages of the book, his fingers occasionally turning a page, and he seemed to be studying the great man's thoughts very seriously.
Zhang Jianjun occasionally looked up and saw Lu Qingyang pretending to read a book, and a mocking sneer would always appear at the corner of his mouth.
Humph, you are indeed a fool, you only know how to show off!
See how long you can pretend!
He seemed to have found an outlet for the frustration he felt because of the other party's title of "deputy section chief".
No matter how many connections you have, if you have nothing in your stomach, you will be kicked out in disgrace sooner or later!
Wang Xiumei was a little curious. Was this young deputy section chief really able to keep his composure, or was he... really ignorant?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
