Chapter 31

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"Haha... Brother, you're too polite." Gu Zhongyi's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He didn't take Yang Jie's polite words to heart and led him to the door of Chen Yuan's office. He knocked on the door and, hearing a "Come in" from inside, opened the door. "Director, Yang Jie has reported for duty."

Chen Yuan was bent over her desk, writing something. Without looking up, she said, "Let him come in!"

After hearing Chen Yuan's words, Yang Jie gave Gu Zhongyi a grateful smile and walked into the office. Gu Zhongyi waited for Yang Jie to enter and then gently closed the door.

Chen Yuan didn't ask Yang Jie to sit down, so Yang Jie didn't dare to be presumptuous. He stood in the office, carefully observing Chen Yuan's office.

Compared to Zhou Dalong's spacious office, Chen Yuan's office was much smaller and had more furnishings. It was fully equipped with office devices and had many file cabinets in the corners. The desk was piled high with documents, making the office seem very crowded.

Yang Jie stood in the office for a full twenty minutes. During this time, Chen Yuan didn't say a word to him, just leaving him standing there. After finishing her work, she put down her pen, looked up, and said, "Sit down!"

Although Chen Yuan had been busy, she occasionally glanced at Yang Jie to see his reaction to being left standing. Seeing that Yang Jie remained calm and composed, without any signs of nervousness or annoyance, she was secretly impressed. She pointed to a chair in front of the desk.

Hearing this, Yang Jie walked forward and sat down, sitting upright with his hands resting naturally on his knees. He looked at Chen Yuan with bright eyes, ready to listen attentively.

"Comrade Yang Jie, although you have been working for over a week, this is your first official report to the County Party Committee Office. I am now representing the organization to have a talk with you. I hope you can maintain a proper attitude, avoid arrogance and impatience, work diligently, and steadily complete all tasks assigned by the organization..." Zhou Dalong had asked Chen Yuan to remind Yang Jie not to become arrogant and complacent due to his success in attracting investment, which could be detrimental to his future development.

"Please rest assured, Director. In the future, I will maintain a proper attitude, avoid arrogance and impatience, work diligently, and steadily complete all tasks assigned by you and the organization. I will not let you or the organization down!" After Chen Yuan finished her long speech, Yang Jie solemnly promised.

"Very good! Your attitude is very positive and proper." Chen Yuan was very satisfied with Yang Jie's attitude. It was rare for someone to remain so clear-headed and composed after making such a significant contribution to the county.

"Comrade Yang Jie, in light of your outstanding performance in attracting investment for the Wuhexian stone project and the municipal party committee and government's directive to promote highly educated talents and strengthen the cultivation of young cadres, I now, on behalf of the Wuhexian County Party Committee Office, appoint you as the Director of the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office.

The Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office is responsible for foreign affairs reception, statistics and liaison with overseas Chinese, and follow-up services for overseas Chinese returning to their hometowns. I hope that under your leadership, the office will continue to excel and achieve new successes in our county's foreign affairs and overseas Chinese affairs work." Chen Yuan's words were like a strong stimulant, invigorating Yang Jie, who was sitting at the desk.

Although Yang Jie had expected to be rewarded after the signing of Jimmy's project, he never imagined that he would be promoted so quickly, especially to the position of director of a separate department in the County Party Committee Office, which was a real step up from a clerk or staff member.

Seeing Yang Jie's stunned reaction, Chen Yuan realized that the appointment had indeed taken him by surprise. Seeing the young man finally show a normal reaction, she couldn't help but smile.

"Director, I will not let you down. I will work hard and lead the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office to achieve new successes in our county's foreign affairs and overseas Chinese affairs work." Yang Jie's reaction was not slow. After the shock wore off, he spoke with a slightly excited tone, expressing his determination.

"We are all aware of your abilities, but personal ability does not necessarily equate to leadership skills. In your new position, you must unite your colleagues, improve yourself, and lead the entire department to progress together. You must have a sense of the bigger picture, responsibility, and leadership."

"Thank you, Director, for your guidance. I understand!" Yang Jie was very grateful for Chen Yuan's advice.

"Take a look at this document first." Chen Yuan handed Yang Jie a document titled "Wuhexian County Party Committee and Government's Regulations on Rewards and Punishments for Investment Attraction."

Yang Jie took the document and quickly read through the two pages of A4 paper in front of Chen Yuan. After finishing, he placed the document back on the desk.

"The Wuhexian County Party Committee and Government issued these regulations on investment attraction at the end of 1994, last year. According to the regulations, for successfully attracting foreign investment to Wuhexian, the county will reward the relevant personnel with a cash bonus of one ten-thousandth of the total investment amount as an incentive.

In this case, the Italian Red Maple Stone Group signed an investment agreement with our county, which includes the stone project, as well as the Wuyang Brewery and Xingwang Pharmaceutical projects, attracting foreign investments of 50 million and 30 million US dollars, respectively. You alone attracted 80 million US dollars, which is approximately 670 million RMB.

Although the agreement has been signed, the funds have not yet been transferred. However, according to the county's regulations on investment attraction, once the Red Maple Group's investment is in place, your personal cash reward will be 67,000 RMB. Therefore, the cash reward for the stone project will not be considered for you." Chen Yuan looked at Yang Jie, her words tinged with envy.

67,000 RMB was equivalent to Chen Yuan's salary for over seven years. Even if she didn't eat, drink, or spend, it would take her at least seven years to save that much money. Yang Jie had earned it in just over a week, which couldn't help but make her envious.

Fortunately, Chen Yuan was a member of the Wuhexian County Party Committee, one of the twelve major leaders, and a deputy department-level cadre. She had excellent mental fortitude and quickly adjusted her attitude.

"Director, the success of the two projects I negotiated was achieved under the close care and correct leadership of Secretary Zhou and you. How can it be attributed to me alone? I feel unworthy of this reward." Yang Jie's humility and his constant respect for his superiors pleased Chen Yuan greatly.

"This matter has been discussed and approved by the Standing Committee. There's no need to decline. Your achievements bring glory to Secretary Zhou and me, which is more important than anything else." Chen Yuan smiled and stopped Yang Jie from continuing.

"You don't have a residence in the county, and the dormitories for the County Party Committee Office and county-level units are very tight. It will take some time to arrange a separate dormitory for you. Therefore, we have temporarily arranged a shared dormitory for you at the county post office.

The dormitory is a three-bedroom, one-living room apartment. Two colleagues from out of town are already living there. You will have to share one of the bedrooms for now. It's close to the County Party Committee compound and has a good environment. Many single colleagues from various county units want to live there." Chen Yuan handed Yang Jie an envelope with the address of the dormitory and two keys inside.

"Let's go! I'll take you to the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office."

Seeing Yang Jie put the envelope away, Chen Yuan stood up and led him out of her office, heading toward the office on the far right of the second floor.

Although the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office was a separate department of the County Party Committee Office, it was different from the larger departments like the General Office and the Secretariat. Including Yang Jie, there were only three people in the entire office, making it one of the less busy and more relaxed departments in the County Party Committee Office.

Because the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office was not a critical department, Yang Jie's promotion to head it did not cause dissatisfaction among the veteran staff members of the County Party Committee Office. His fluent English and success in foreign affairs reception also made the two staff members in the office realize that he was not just a person who had been promoted through connections, reducing their resistance.

The office, which was only about twenty square meters, had four desks. Yang Jie followed Chen Yuan into the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office and saw a man and a woman sitting at their desks, reading documents.

The man was around forty years old, balding, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and had a potbelly, making him look like a leader. The woman was about twenty-six or twenty-seven, with long hair, a heart-shaped face, willow-like eyebrows, and a small, cherry mouth. She was very attractive, and what caught Yang Jie's attention even more was her curvaceous figure, with a well-endowed bust and hips.

The two of them sitting in the same office was like a mismatch of cow dung and flowers, making it look very out of place and awkward.