Chapter 6

2nd update is here!

Director Wang Yuancheng warmly greeted Ye Fan, even calling out his official title.

"Can't let that happen! In the future, we will all be working together, and since I am new, I still need to rely on Director Wang and the two of you to take care of me."

Ye Fan offered a cigarette.

"Uh! Leader Ye, you must hold up."

Liu Chi took the cigarette with a blank expression, lit it without a care, and casually blew a perfect smoke ring, his skills clearly well-practiced. It seemed he had nothing better to do than to practice blowing smoke rings all day.

Last night, Liu Chi had tried to get several people to plead with Secretary Qin, but in the end, the decision to send him to Tianshui Dam was set in stone. However, Liu Chi refused to be the leader, which was strange. Liu Chi was so eager for a promotion that when he was offered a section-level position, he pushed it away with all his might. It was as if the section-level leader position was a red-hot piece of iron, and in the end, Secretary Qin, annoyed by Liu Chi's persistence, had to change the appointment to Ye Fan at a morning meeting.

"Oh! Hold up!" Ye Fan muttered, feeling particularly strange. "It's not like we're going to war, how strange!"

"Hehe! He didn't mean anything by it, I guess he's worried you'll be too tired."

Wang Yuancheng quickly interjected, "Leader Ye, here are the materials related to Tianshui Dam Village. Take them back and read them carefully. Secretary Qin has given you two days off to prepare. The day after tomorrow, you can set off, and the town has already arranged a car for you. The town is very concerned about your Tianshui Dam Village work team. Secretary Qin specifically instructed me to arrange an office for you, which should be ready by the day after tomorrow."

Indeed, they were very concerned.

On the morning of the third day, as soon as Ye Fan, Liu Chi, and Li Chunshui arrived at the town government, they were informed that the office had been prepared. Led by Su Jiazheng from the Party and Government Office, they went to their new office, which was somewhat exciting.

The office for the Tianshui Dam Village work team was specially arranged on the fourth floor in a room of about 40 square meters, decorated quite luxuriously. The walls were lined with wooden panels over a meter high, the floor was made of black-patterned local wood, and the ceiling had a suspended design, comparable to a hotel. Ye Fan was quite surprised because the other offices were not as luxurious, just ordinary decoration.

Inside the office, there were three desks and chairs. The two smaller desks were probably for Liu Chi and Li Chunshui, while Ye Fan's desk was particularly large, nearly 2.5 meters long and L-shaped. What surprised Ye Fan even more was that there was a 7-inch desktop computer on the desk. In 1995, computers were high-end items, not commonly seen, though there was no internet.

It was said that the internet would only be available in Linquan Town next year.

Ye Fan was about to sit down and hold a team meeting, introduce everyone, and discuss the work at Tianshui Dam. At this moment, Liu Chi's beeper started beeping. He took it out, glanced at it, and said, "Leader Ye, I have something to attend to, so I'll leave first. I'll meet you at the town government gate at 8 AM tomorrow morning."

Without waiting for Ye Fan's nod, he turned and left.

"Looks like this guy is a troublemaker, not easy to get along with," Ye Fan thought, sitting down in the large, comfortable boss chair and swinging his legs around for a moment before remembering there was a pure girl in the room.

He then said, "Miss Li Chunshui, come over here. Liu Chi has something to attend to, so let's discuss the work team's matters and look at the materials."

He pointed to the slightly smaller swivel chair opposite his desk, indicating he wanted to talk to Li Chunshui face-to-face. This setup was a bit intimate; if it were evening and a few candles were lit, it would almost look like a romantic scene.

Opposite Ye Fan's luxurious boss chair, there were two smaller boss chairs, probably for convenience in talking to subordinates. Ye Fan had seen similar arrangements in Secretary Qin's office, but even Director Wang of the Party and Government Office didn't have them, and he used an old-style desk. These strange thoughts flashed through Ye Fan's mind, and he thought Secretary Qin was giving him special treatment.

"Ye... Leader Ye, I... I'll just sit here and listen to you," Li Chunshui said, her body seemingly allergic to the boss chair Ye Fan pointed to. She quickly added, "I'll sit at my desk, I don't want to come over."

"Hehe! We will be colleagues and will be working together for a long time! Getting to know each other will make us more familiar," Ye Fan encouraged Li Chunshui. He thought she was just shy and didn't want to sit opposite him, thinking how conservative people in the countryside could be.

"No... No, Leader Ye, that desk and chair, I... I..." Li Chunshui glanced at Ye Fan's desk and chair, her expression even more peculiar.

"Strange, these desks and chairs are polished to a shine, they look new and aren't dirty at all!" Ye Fan was puzzled, carefully inspecting the set of furniture.

"It's not that! These desks and chairs are from over there," Li Chunshui finally bravely raised her head, pointed to the next room, and then lowered it again.

"Over there isn't the town mayor's office?"

Ye Fan's eyes widened, and his body instinctively jumped up, feeling his hair stand on end. He cursed in his heart, "Damn! I thought Director Wang was taking special care of me, a young guy, and gave me a set of top-notch furniture while he used an old, broken desk. Turns out these are the leftovers from Mayor Wu. I guess this set of furniture, though valuable, is something no one in the town government dares to use, which is why it fell to me, a rookie."

His good mood about the promotion was completely ruined by this set of furniture. He stared at Li Chunshui, trying to maintain his composure, and forced a bitter smile, "Hehe! I see. No problem, I'm an atheist. Once a person is gone, they're gone. This set of furniture is quite good! Miss Li Chunshui, think about it, which hospital bed hasn't been used by a dead person? You weren't afraid then, so there's no need to be afraid now. I've even held a funeral urn before, so this is nothing, hehe..."

Ye Fan's smile was more bitter than sweet.

"Really! You've held a funeral urn? I didn't expect that."

Li Chunshui's beautiful eyes widened, her long lashes fluttering, and she forgot about Mayor Wu's death. She walked over, encouraged by Ye Fan, made a cup of tea, and bravely sat opposite him.

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