Chapter 14: Impossible to Escape the Targeting

After leaving the East Mausoleum Pavilion, Wang Dongge’s face looked as bruised as a frostbitten eggplant. Everyone chose silence, avoiding his bad mood.

At that moment, Qiao Yina’s call came through. Waving goodbye to the others, he answered, “Hello! Yina.”

Qiao Yina’s voice was gentle. “Shinian, are you done with your work? Have you eaten?”

He knew why she was calling and didn’t want to tell the truth, merely replying with a hum.

“Is it convenient? My father wants to speak with you,” she continued.

He didn’t want to listen to Qiao Hailin’s nagging but couldn’t refuse Yina’s request outright, so he said, “It can’t take too long.”

“Don’t worry, Dad will only say a few words.”

Qiao Yina handed the phone to Qiao Hailin, who said, “Shinian, there’s nothing much, just wanted to congratulate you.”

He instinctively replied, “Thank you.”

Then, seemingly emboldened by a bit of wine, Qiao Hailin said, “Shinian, I heard you’ve made something of yourself. Yina and I are both happy for you.”

“Today, I wanted to celebrate, but now that your status has changed and you’re busy with work, everyone understands… You must work hard and seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

He naturally understood the implication behind Qiao Hailin’s words. A feeling of annoyance welled up inside, and he simply hummed and replied, “I will.”

Next, adopting the tone of an elder offering guidance, Qiao Hailin lectured at length before concluding, “Well, you’re busy, so I won’t say more. We’re family, and we’ll talk more later.”

Family?

Wasn’t he told to leave Yina just a few days ago?

After hanging up, Shinian took a deep breath, suppressed his irritation, mounted his bicycle, and left the East Mausoleum Pavilion.

Back home, after a cold shower, he continued to cram knowledge related to being a secretary.

The next day, Shinian arrived at the office half an hour early again.

Tian Mi had already cleaned Wu Yunqiu’s office.

After sitting quietly for a while, he glanced at the clock — it was 7:40. Holding his notebook, he went downstairs.

Although Ouhua Sheng had already briefed him on Wu Yunqiu’s schedule for the next few days, Shinian felt it necessary to meet with Ouhua Sheng every morning, both to show his attitude toward work and to handle secretary duties meticulously.

What he didn’t expect was that when he arrived at Ouhua Sheng’s office, the man was already there.

Upon seeing Shinian, Ouhua Sheng looked surprised, then his expression turned cold.

“Why are you here? Has Secretary Wu arrived?”

Shinian was puzzled. “Secretary Wu hasn’t come yet.”

Hearing this, Ouhua Sheng suddenly grew angry, stood up, and scolded him, “Comrade, you need to recognize your current position — you are the secretary to the county party secretary.”

“You should know what to do each day and how to do it. Otherwise, fumbling in the dark won’t get you anywhere as a secretary.”

Shinian was speechless.

“As a secretary, you must know exactly when Secretary Wu leaves and arrives at the county committee — down to the minute.”

“You should also go with the driver to pick her up at the county committee courtyard. This is the most basic requirement and professionalism of a secretary.”

“You don’t even know this? I really don’t know how you’re going to do this job well.”

Shinian felt bewildered. It was only his second day, and he had never offended Ouhua Sheng. He didn’t understand why he was being scolded over such a trivial matter.

Could it be related to Wang Dongge?

Last night’s incident embarrassed Wang Dongge, who couldn’t trouble Shinian now, so he sent Ouhua Sheng to target him?

Though displeased, Shinian acknowledged that Ouhua Sheng had a point and apologized politely, “Thank you for your criticism, Director Ouhua. I didn’t do my job well and will correct it going forward.”

Seeing Shinian’s sincere yet composed attitude, Ouhua Sheng didn’t press further and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Shinian replied, “I wanted to ask if there are any changes to Secretary Wu’s schedule?”

Ouhua Sheng lit a cigarette, opened his memo, and said, “There are changes, but nothing confirmed yet. When work starts, I’ll meet with Secretary Wu and let you know.”

After leaving Ouhua Sheng’s office, Shinian felt a bit uneasy.

Ouhua Sheng was a member of the county party standing committee and the director of the county party office. It was reasonable to reprimand him for not doing his job well.

But the matter of picking up the county party secretary was trivial and didn’t warrant such harsh criticism.

Shinian thought the reprimand would end there, but unexpectedly, when Ouhua Sheng reported to Wu Yunqiu, he was scolded again.

Here’s what happened.

When Shinian was in Wu Yunqiu’s office reporting the day’s schedule, Ouhua Sheng arrived at the door.

Shinian returned to his own office and poured a glass of water to bring to Ouhua Sheng.

It was because of this glass of water that Shinian was scolded once more.

“Comrade Shinian, I come by Secretary Wu’s office every day to check in — that’s my job — but I don’t stay long.”

“You making tea for me is a waste.”

“If you don’t manage a household, you don’t know the cost of rice and firewood. Tea costs money, paper cups cost money. These may seem trivial, but when the budget is settled at the end of the year, it amounts to a large sum.”

“Where does this money come from? It all comes from the office funds. Where do office funds come from? They are state property — the hard-earned money of taxpayers.”

Shinian’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Even if Ouhua Sheng wanted to say this, he could have done so privately — there was no need to say it in front of Wu Yunqiu.

To criticize him openly in front of the big boss was clearly a show of authority, a warning.

This was only Shinian’s second official day at the county party committee.

It was natural not to understand everything or to be unfamiliar with procedures.

No matter who it is, shouldn’t newcomers be given a chance to make mistakes and be forgiven?

Moreover, Shinian had never offended Ouhua Sheng before — was such treatment really necessary?

Back in his office, after inputting the schedule into the computer, Shinian still felt unsettled.

Many people saw the secretary’s job as glamorous.

They thought it was a position of prestige, even power by proxy.

In reality, the secretary’s work involved handling complex relationships. One misstep could trigger a chain reaction.

No wonder some have summarized the secretary’s sixteen-character maxim:

“Eyes watch six directions, ears listen eight sides; speak cautiously, act prudently.”

Only those immersed in the role can appreciate the depth of these words.

Shinian had thought the matter was over, but Ouhua Sheng clearly had no intention of stopping.