Chapter 26: The Little Secretary

After the New Year, Zhu Da Dong officially started working in the township government office, becoming a secretary for the township government. After working for a few days, Zhu Da Dong found that the secretary's job was much easier than when he was a teacher. Regardless of whether being a secretary had a better future than being a teacher, at least for him, reducing the workload was a very happy thing. His work mainly consisted of three aspects: writing materials, signing and distributing documents, and receiving guests.

Writing materials was his old profession. He used to help the township government write materials when he was in school, and now that he was doing it full-time, he was even more proficient. Signing and distributing documents were also simple, but receiving guests was a bit troublesome. There were many guests in the township, and the reception tasks were heavy. Fortunately, Zhu Da Dong was only playing the role of a guide, which meant arranging tea and meals. If it was the former, Zhu Da Dong would do it himself. Since he had decided to be a secretary, he not only had to do a good job but also achieve something. There was no need to have the airs of a college graduate; if he couldn't let go of them, it would only add to his troubles. If he needed to keep guests for a meal, he would notify the cafeteria manager, Wan Jian Hua, and the rest would be handled by Old Wan, who would arrange everything properly.

However, after working for some time, Zhu Da Dong found that his troubles began again. According to the rules, Zhu Da Dong, as a secretary, should be under the leadership of the township head, Yuan Ping. However, the party secretary, Chen Shu Li, who was the top leader, often directly assigned tasks to Zhu Da Dong.

Additionally, the tasks assigned by the deputy township heads could not be taken lightly by Zhu Da Dong. Although the work was easier than before, he soon realized that he had merely transitioned from a physical laborer to a mental laborer. He had to be more cautious about many things, and even more cautious, otherwise, he might easily make mistakes. Being scolded was a small matter, but if he was sent back to school, his face would be lost. A college graduate who couldn't even be a good secretary in a township government would not know how to face future work. Therefore, on the day he entered the township government office, he set a goal for himself: to be officially hired. This was the most urgent problem he needed to solve.

After reporting to the township government, Zhu Da Dong learned that he was only on a one-year assignment. That is, if he couldn't be officially hired after a year, he would have to return to teaching. Although Zhu Da Dong could accept going back to teaching, being sent back would mean he was incapable and had not done a good job as a secretary, making it difficult for him to hold his head high in school. Moreover, even if he returned, the deputy principal and the youth league secretary would have been replaced by others, and he would have to start again as a regular teacher. How could he be content with that?

Therefore, after understanding his situation, Zhu Da Dong made up his mind that this time, he could only move forward and not backward. No matter who was blocking his way, he had to break through and officially receive his salary from the township finance office after a year.

To achieve this, Zhu Da Dong faced considerable pressure. In his work, he had to satisfy Chen Shu Li, Yuan Ping, and the other deputy township heads. This was the foundation, and without it, he had no right to stay. However, even if he could do this, it did not mean he could definitely stay.

In addition to doing his job well, he could not let the leaders find any faults in other aspects. This was even more important than doing his job well. In the past, Zhu Da Dong would never have thought this way, but now it had become his guiding principle.

To avoid being criticized, he had to be well-versed in the personalities and preferences of all the leaders. Only then could he minimize his mistakes, or even avoid them altogether. However, as a newcomer, without a guide, how could anyone tell him these things? Therefore, everything had to rely on himself.

Fortunately, Zhu Da Dong was not without his strengths. His previously troubling hearing had quietly become his weapon. His office was not far from Chen Shu Li's and Yuan Ping's offices. As long as he was in his office, he could slightly adjust his hearing with the "Turtle Breath" technique, and it would be as if he were in the offices of the secretary and the township head. Especially when someone was in their offices, he would carefully listen to their conversations, carefully analyze, summarize, and gather the information and data he needed.

Chen Shu Li was a rough person, which Zhu Da Dong had known before. He was big and burly and often swore, making him very suitable for township work. However, Zhu Da Dong did not think he was careless. Hou Yong also looked big and burly, but in reality, Zhu Da Dong's initial assessment of him was inaccurate; he was actually a wise and simple person.

If even Hou Yong, the deputy chief of the police station, was like this, how much more so for Chen Shu Li, the top leader? Could his thoughts be as simple as his appearance? Zhu Da Dong would never believe it. Moreover, the content he heard from Chen Shu Li's office several times confirmed his guess: Chen Shu Li was outwardly rough but inwardly meticulous, seeing through things clearly and grasping the essence of problems, which Zhu Da Dong secretly admired.

Township head Yuan Ping was a completely different type of person compared to Chen Shu Li. Compared to Chen Shu Li, Yuan Ping could be called a refined person. He spoke gently and rarely swore, but his expression was "unchanging," making Zhu Da Dong feel that he was very deep. From the conversations he heard in his office, it was clear that Yuan Ping was very calculating and cautious, often unwilling to make decisions without being absolutely sure.

Different personalities naturally led to different approaches to work. In fact, the reason Zhu Da Dong was assigned was because Chen Shu Li personally named him. The reason he chose Zhu Da Dong was mainly because he could write materials, which Zhu Da Dong "heard" once. Initially, he had a bit of gratitude for Chen Shu Li for assigning him to the township government, but after hearing him clearly state that he only valued his ability, Zhu Da Dong no longer felt that way.

Of course, this made Zhu Da Dong even more focused on his work. Since he was not Chen Shu Li's person, the difficulty of being officially hired was even greater.

Chen Shu Li's requirements for materials were not strict; speed was the key. He would ask for the materials the night before, and they had to be delivered to him the next morning. After a quick glance, he would ask Zhu Da Dong how many times he had revised it. At first, Zhu Da Dong did not dare to lie and said he had only revised it once. Chen Shu Li would immediately shake his head and say that once was not enough and that he needed to revise it more. Later, Zhu Da Dong learned to be smarter and would say he had revised it twice, and sometimes even three times. At that point, Chen Shu Li would nod and put the materials on the table, and Zhu Da Dong's task would be complete.

However, Yuan Ping was more troublesome. When Zhu Da Dong delivered the materials to him, he would keep revising them, even directly on the original draft. Even if Zhu Da Dong followed his requirements, he would still revise it, sometimes even reverting to Zhu Da Dong's original version. This made Zhu Da Dong very frustrated. When he helped Yuan Ping write materials in school, it was usually done in one go. Now that he was a full-time secretary, was his level actually worse? Of course not; this only showed that Yuan Ping was suspicious and indecisive, with a mind for strategy but a hard time achieving great things.

When faced with issues, Chen Shu Li liked to make decisions on the spot, seemingly without considering right or wrong. Yuan Ping, on the other hand, would not easily express his opinion, making it hard to guess what he was thinking. Chen Shu Li was straightforward, while Yuan Ping was subtle, and their personalities were almost completely opposite, making Zhu Da Dong very frustrated being between them. It wasn't until he mastered a "special skill" that he became more at ease.

This special skill was "changing faces." Given the significant differences in their personalities, when reporting to them, Zhu Da Dong had to frequently change his approach and demeanor. For example, when reporting to Chen Shu Li, he had to be concise and to the point. If he was verbose, Chen Shu Li would directly yell at him to leave. For tasks he assigned, he had to do exactly as he said, without hesitation or questioning.

When reporting to Yuan Ping, he had to be as detailed as possible, not missing any details. Sometimes, even if Yuan Ping seemed not to be paying attention, if Zhu Da Dong was not careful, he would point it out and make him lose face. After reporting to him, he could not ask for instructions on the spot. As soon as Yuan Ping said, "I know," Zhu Da Dong knew he should leave and wait for Yuan Ping to consider and then notify him.

Facing these two leaders, Zhu Da Dong felt that he had truly become a mental laborer, not only thinking about how to write materials but also how to mediate between them. Sometimes, Zhu Da Dong even felt that he should learn another profession: acting.

In fact, Zhu Da Dong was secretly learning acting. He constantly changed his demeanor between Chen Shu Li and Yuan Ping, sometimes to the point where even he became numb, wondering if he was living his life or performing a play.

Isn't life a big stage? Perhaps, this is maturity...

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