Fifth update—please vote with Recommendation Tickets.
Thursday.
General Affairs Office.
With Director Zhou in charge, everyone was clearly much more motivated. Guo Panwei, who had hardly done any work the first two days, was especially diligent today. Not only did he do all of Tan Limei's work, he also cleaned Director Zhou's office and went in every ten minutes or so to serve tea and water to the leader. He was extremely attentive. Chang Juan no longer dared put on makeup in the office either. Like Guo Shunjie, she buried herself in her work for show. Only Lao Yan was no different from usual, still going his own way as he read the newspaper through his reading glasses.
"Binzi." The tall, sturdy Zhuangzi across from him asked embarrassedly, "What was the read-only password for this Word file again?"
Dong Xuebin walked over, looked at his computer screen, and tapped out a string of numbers on the keypad. "I think it was 5776."
But nothing happened after he entered it—the password was wrong.
Tan Limei, seated at a nearby desk, turned her head and smiled. "Excel is 5776, and Word is 3328. You two need to memorize those passwords. You'll need them not only to open files in the future, but also to encrypt documents after you finish them. Hehe, even though we don't get to see any confidential files, that's the office rule." Lowering her voice, she added, "You two haven't seen the Confidential Office. They're much stricter than us. Their computers can't even connect to the internet."
After a few days together, Dong Xuebin, Zhuangzi, and Tan Limei had gradually become more familiar with one another.
For one thing, all three had only recently graduated from college and were around the same age, so they had more in common than Chang Juan, Guo Shunjie, and Guo Panwei, who were all around thirty. For another, the three of them were straightforward people without any schemes in their hearts, able to work steadily and earnestly.
Suddenly, with a creak, the door to Director Zhou's small office opened.
Guo Panwei immediately perked up and hurriedly grabbed the ballpoint pen he had just tossed aside, scribbling nonsense across his notebook as though he were hard at work. Chang Juan, whose desk was closer to the small office, promptly closed the Taobao fashion boutique page she had been browsing. Tan Limei swiftly hid QQ. From Dong Xuebin's angle, he could also see Guo Shunjie minimizing a Freshwater Fish Forum page. Even Lao Yan symbolically lifted his newspaper and carried his cup over to the water dispenser to mix himself some water.
Scratch, scratch. Creak, creak.
The sounds of writing and printing filled the office, making it seem bustling with activity.
Zhou Changchun nodded in satisfaction and leisurely strolled down the aisle as if inspecting everyone's work. He looked at what this person was writing and what that person was typing, then slowly returned to his own small office and gently shut the door. The very next moment, the atmosphere in the office relaxed. Those reading newspapers went back to reading newspapers, those browsing Taobao went back to Taobao, and everyone resumed doing whatever they had been doing.
Before long, two unfamiliar faces entered from outside. A young man waited at the door while a man in his thirties entered the office. Carrying a stack of files wrapped in Kraft Paper Bags, he exchanged a glance with Chang Juan, who was closest to him, then glanced at Director Zhou's office. Chang Juan gave a faint nod, and only then did the man knock on Director Zhou's door and enter with the files. When he came back out empty-handed, he left together with the young man waiting outside.
About five or six minutes later.
Ring, ring, ring. The phone beside the office printer rang.
Tan Limei casually picked it up. "Hello, General Office... Oh, Director Zhou... Okay, okay." After hanging up, she turned to Dong Xuebin. "Binzi, Director Zhou wants you to come over. There are documents that need to be delivered to the Confidential Office. He said that after you take them, Guo Shunjie should show you the way and familiarize you with the procedure. Guo Shunjie, you're not busy over there, are you?" By regulation, any classified documents bearing sealed labels had to be delivered by at least two people. One person alone was not allowed.
Guo Shunjie said, "Sure, I'll take him."
"Then I'll go get the documents." Dong Xuebin quickly headed toward Director Zhou's office. This was the first task the leader had assigned him, and he had to complete it perfectly.
He knocked on the door. "...Come in."
Director Zhou's tone carried all the authority of a leader. Ah, being a leader really was great. Look at Director Zhou—he could have simply called Dong Xuebin in to get the documents when he opened the door just now, but that would have lacked a leader's bearing and lowered his status. So even though Director Zhou's office was only a few meters away from Dong Xuebin's desk and he could have been heard with a shout, he still had to make a phone call. Only that could show the difference between a leader and an ordinary staffer.
Inside the small office, Zhou Changchun sat in front of his computer, writing something by hand. "Sit down and wait a moment."
Dong Xuebin respectfully acknowledged him and sat on the small reception sofa opposite the door. Though the leather sofa was somewhat old and peeling in many places, it was truly soft—far more comfortable than Dong Xuebin's office chair outside. He had been busy all day and was feeling a little tired, so he leaned back against the plush sofa. The taut muscles in his waist and back immediately relaxed.
This felt good.
Zhou Changchun glanced at him but kept writing without saying anything.
Dong Xuebin's eyesight was fairly good. With a glance at Deputy Director Zhou's computer screen, he spotted a minimized Golden Sunshine stock market trading program at the bottom of the desktop. Huh? Director Zhou trades stocks too?
More than ten seconds passed. Zhou Changchun had stopped writing, yet he still showed no sign of giving Dong Xuebin the documents.
Dong Xuebin was a little puzzled. If you weren't done, why call me in so early?
He had also heard that when a leader buried himself in writing and left you hanging off to the side, it could mean the leader had an issue with you. But no matter how Dong Xuebin thought it over, he could not figure out what he had done wrong. He had already used Back to make up for calling someone by the wrong name yesterday, and nothing had gone wrong with his work that morning. What was going on?
Just as he was thinking about it, Guo Shunjie knocked and entered the small office. "Director Zhou, I'm here for the documents?"
Zhou Changchun said, "Sit down and wait."
Guo Shunjie gave an "Mm," then took a step toward the sofa. But when he saw Dong Xuebin sitting there so comfortably, he froze. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. This newcomer really doesn't understand the rules. He then bent down and perched only half his backside on the sofa, looking somewhat nervous and uneasy.
Dong Xuebin was instantly dumbfounded. Fuck, hadn't Tan Limei said Guo Shunjie had the political commissar backing him in the bureau? Why was he sitting so cautiously? He was not stupid. The next moment, he understood it completely. Rules were rules. You might not truly fear the leader, but you had to show that attitude. Otherwise, the leader would think he had failed to establish his authority and that you did not take him seriously.
Damn it, I screwed up again.
Back
Scratch, scratch—the sound of a fountain pen against paper. Deputy Director Zhou was writing something.
Time returned to the moment before Guo Shunjie entered the room.
Dong Xuebin quickly looked around and realized that he was leaning back against the sofa. Without a word, he hurried to fix it before Deputy Director Zhou noticed. He abruptly straightened up, shifted himself, and perched nervously on only half the sofa, both hands flat on his knees. He sat upright, staring straight ahead.
Two seconds later, Zhou Changchun looked over. Seeing Dong Xuebin's terrified expression—the look of an elementary school student whose parents had been summoned—Director Zhou nodded faintly and handed him the documents. With a chuckle, he said, "All right, take these to the Confidential Office. Hehe, you... you don't need to be so stiff in the future."
Dong Xuebin gave an awkward laugh. Not so stiff? What bullshit. Would you really be happy if I wasn't stiff?
Walking out with the documents, Dong Xuebin broke out in a cold sweat. That had been close.
The official world... really was dangerous at every step.
Even sitting in the wrong posture was unacceptable.
PS: It's almost midnight. Here's the fifth update. Once again, please vote with Recommendation Tickets.
...!!!
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