Chapter 4

Gao Jue went to the office to complete the onboarding procedures with Shang Jin, while Yan Bing followed her leader, Gao Yanhong, back to their office.

As soon as they entered the door, the little girl suddenly heard Gao Yanhong say irritably, "Why did you come so late this morning?"

"I..." Yan Bing arrived at 7:55, which wasn't late. She wanted to say, "I'm not late," but seeing Gao Yanhong's stern face, as if someone owed her money, she closed her mouth after saying one word and obediently lowered her head.

"You, at such a young age, how can you be so lazy? You're the youngest in the department, yet you always come the latest. Can't you come earlier and mop the floor in the office?" Gao Yanhong continued to scold her.

"Yes, Director Gao. I... I will come earlier in the future..." Yan Bing said meekly, lowering her head.

"Hmm... Remember to check the mailroom later to see if there are any letters for our Women's Federation. Previously, Wen Hongyun did it, but now she's not here, so you need to run errands more often."

"I understand," Yan Bing said, slightly aggrieved. In fact, since the other colleague in the Rights Protection Department was hospitalized, she had been fetching the mail from the mailroom, without a single day's delay.

Seeing that Director Gao had nothing more to say, Yan Bing timidly walked to her seat and sat down. The other colleagues in the department all gave her sympathetic looks, especially Cao Shufen, who had a bruised face and a look of apology in her eyes.

The leader was in a bad mood and had been criticized by the director today. Yan Bing saw all of this. Now, she was being scolded for no reason, and for some reason, she felt worried for Gao Jue. "Gao Jue is going to have a tough day. When he comes, the leader will probably not give him a good face. It's his first day, and being scolded by the leader will surely make him feel even more aggrieved."

Gao Jue completed the procedures with Shang Jin. Shang Jin, following the original plan, assigned him to the Rights Protection Department and gave him a few words of encouragement.

The Rights Protection Department, Development Department, and Organization and Propaganda Department shared an office. Gao Jue went to report, knocked on the door, and entered the room. He immediately saw Yan Bing. Yan Bing winked at him and nodded towards the right. Gao Jue understood and guessed that the person sitting there must be Director Gao of the Rights Protection Department. However, he still politely said, "Hello everyone, I am the new employee, Gao Jue. I just completed the onboarding procedures, and Director Shang assigned me to the Rights Protection Department. May I ask who is Director Gao?"

After scolding Yan Bing, Gao Yanhong's face was still stern. When Gao Jue entered, she had already guessed who he was. She carefully examined Gao Jue and, for some reason, a gentle smile appeared on her face. "You are Gao Jue, come here and talk." Then, she turned to Yan Bing, who was sitting on the side, and said, "Yan Bing, bring a chair over."

Yan Bing was puzzled. The leader had just scolded her with a stern face, but now the sky had suddenly cleared. Seeing the leader's smile and gentle tone, Yan Bing was naturally happy and quickly brought a chair and placed it next to Gao Yanhong's desk.

Seeing Gao Jue approach, Gao Yanhong said, "Xiao Gao, sit down."

"Thank you, Director Gao." Gao Jue sat down directly.

The colleagues in the room were also surprised. How could the attitude of Director Gao change so much?

Sitting diagonally opposite Gao Yanhong, Gao Jue could clearly see the leader's face. She was in her fifties and looked very gentle. Perhaps this was just in Gao Jue's eyes, but it wasn't the same in Yan Bing's eyes.

Gao Yanhong first asked Gao Jue to introduce himself, then introduced the people in the department to him. This way, Gao Jue got to know most of the people in the Women's Federation, except for Lu Dawei and Yan Bing, who were all middle-aged or elderly women.

Gao Yanhong then gave Gao Jue a detailed introduction to the work of the Rights Protection Department. The Rights Protection Department, also known as the Office of the Government Women and Children's Work Committee, was responsible for handling daily letters and visits from the public, accepting various complaints from women, participating in special investigations of major and typical petition cases, providing legal aid and social services to victims, participating in the research and formulation of policies related to women and children's rights in the county, promoting and implementing these policies, participating in legal education, guiding and promoting the legal protection of women and children's rights by various levels of the Women's Federation, conducting work related to women and children, promoting their development, coordinating and providing services for family education, conducting research on family education, and coordinating and promoting the creation of a good social environment for the healthy growth of children. It also handled the daily work of the County Government Women and Children's Work Committee.

She spoke in great detail, occasionally using examples and making jokes. Yan Bing, listening on the side, was completely confused. When she first started working, her leader didn't explain things to her in such detail. She remembered that her leader just said a few words and handed her over to Aunt Wen. Now, Director Gao was explaining everything to Gao Jue, including work experience, with great enthusiasm.

"Is this new Gao Jue related to Director Gao? They both have the same surname, could they be relatives?" Yan Bing couldn't help but start to speculate. She wasn't the only one thinking this.

Gao Yanhong spoke for about an hour, then picked up her teacup, took a sip of water, and continued, "These are the responsibilities of our Rights Protection Department, and they are not light. There is a task now, related to domestic violence, which falls within our department's responsibilities and needs to be handled quickly. Normally, on your first day, without any work experience, I wouldn't assign you to this task. However, this case is a bit tricky. To be honest, even we, the old Women's Federation members, couldn't handle it. The higher-ups are pressing, and I have no choice but to ask you to try. It will also be a good opportunity for you to gain some experience. What do you think, do you have the courage to try?"

"Leader, you are too polite. Since I am in the Rights Protection Department, I am part of the team. I will not shirk my responsibilities. Please rest assured, I will do my best to handle the matter well," Gao Jue said without hesitation.

"Taking responsibility and not shirking work, indeed a good seed. Director Yang didn't make a mistake in choosing you," Gao Yanhong said, looking at Yan Bing and adding, "Yan Bing, Xiao Gao is new to the job and not familiar with many details. I think it would be good if you accompany him today to provide some guidance."

"Ah... I... I have to go too..." Hearing that the leader wanted her to go, Yan Bing looked panicked, and her appearance was pitiful.

"Look at you, you've been working for more than a year. How have I taught you? When faced with a task, you should be brave and not retreat when encountering difficulties. You should have a spirit of perseverance. In this world, how many things go smoothly? Our tasks are nothing compared to the Red Army crossing the snow-capped mountains, the grasslands, the Dadu River, and capturing the Luding Bridge..." (The rest is omitted.)

Seeing that Yan Bing didn't want to go, Gao Yanhong directly gave her a lecture, repeating what Yang Shujie had said in the meeting. Yan Bing, being scolded, lowered her head and didn't dare to speak. Only after Gao Yanhong finished did she pout and say, "Director, I know I was wrong. I will go with Gao Jue."

"That's more like it, that's a good comrade of our Women's Federation. Alright, the matter is settled." Gao Yanhong glanced at the quartz clock on the wall and saw that it was almost eleven. She then said, "It's about time. You two should go home with Director Cao now and work on her husband's case. Try to handle it well, and I will wait here for your good news. Yan Bing, Xiao Gao is not familiar with the details of the case. On the way, explain it to him in detail. Knowing your enemy and yourself ensures victory."

"Yes, Director..." Yan Bing said, lowering her head. In her heart, she thought, "Good news? How is that possible? Even the old Women's Federation members couldn't resolve it. How can we, two newbies, solve it? Gao Jue doesn't know the situation yet. Once he finds out, he might not even dare to go. Lu Dawei was beaten the last time he went. Gao Jue's temper is even more unpredictable."

Not only did she think it was unlikely, but the other women in the room also thought so. Sending a college graduate with no work experience to mediate a family dispute was absurd, especially when he would face a violent person. Even someone as eloquent as Lu Dawei had been beaten. This young man would probably fare even worse. Cao Shufen was even more uncertain. She knew her husband's temper best. He could start a fight over a word. She wanted to stop it, but since it was a task from Director Yang, the gentle Cao Shufen didn't dare to disobey.

"Ah..." Cao Shufen sighed, treating it as a last resort.

Gao Jue saw the expressions of the people in the room clearly. In his previous life, he spent over twenty years in prison, where he met all kinds of people. His eyes were sharp, and he immediately realized that this was not a simple matter but a big problem. No one had any hope for him. He didn't immediately ask what the situation was but, following Gao Yanhong's instructions, left the office with Yan Bing and Cao Shufen, heading to Cao Shufen's home.

On the bus, Cao Shufen wore a mask to hide her injuries, to avoid gossip. Although her facial expression couldn't be seen, Gao Jue could see the worry in her eyes.

Gao Jue made a gesture to Yan Bing, asking her to walk a few steps ahead, creating some distance from Cao Shufen. Then, he whispered, "Yan Bing, in the office, I heard the leader say that Director Cao was beaten by her husband and that we need to mediate. But I think this is not a simple matter. Can you tell me what exactly happened?"