For the next ten minutes or so, the president asked about some routine matters. Yang Mingzhao answered every question smoothly and handled himself with ease. He not only had the president's work schedule arranged impeccably, but also provided reliable data and case studies on several policies still under discussion. With Nishita's encouragement, he even offered a few insights.
Of course, even when making suggestions or offering advice, Yang Mingzhao did so with great tact, giving President Nishita plenty of respect.
As the saying went, any decent leader who wasn't beyond hope would especially value an assistant like that. President Nishita believed he was born to be a great man, so he naturally appreciated Yang Mingzhao even more.
After they had finished going over the work schedule, the president said, half joking and half serious, "Mingzhao, if you'd come to work as my secretary ten years earlier, I might have become president five years ago."
"...Mr. President, I was still in high school back then!"
"Hahaha! Well, fortunately, it's not too late now. Mingzhao, you're twenty-seven this year, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. I'll need you to help me out here at the Presidential Palace for a few more years. When you turn thirty, you can take your pick: director of the National Bureau of Investigation and Statistics or head of the Tax Bureau's Inspection Department."
Yang Mingzhao paused, then said with alarm, "Sir, those positions can't exactly be appointed at will."
"Hahahaha! That's why I'm telling you to give some thought to your career plans now. Young talent has a bright future, and old fellows like us have a duty to offer advice. I said the same thing to your martial uncle." The president's smile was frank and hearty. Though there was a faintly paternalistic, preachy edge to his words, they