Chapter 81

Chapter 37: Little Pervert

On the day of his reporting, Li Yi arrived early at the provincial government office building and completed the reporting procedures at the personnel department.

Li Yi walked towards the Water Supervision Office. As he was going down the stairs, someone suddenly ran towards him, and the two collided head-on.

Li Yi instinctively reached out to push, but he touched two soft objects. Realizing the situation was not good, he glanced up and saw a beautiful woman standing in front of him, frowning and with her hands on her hips, angrily shouting, "Can't you watch where you're going? Do you want me to report you for harassment?"

Li Yi frowned and said, "You bumped into me!"

"Hey, you still have a reason? Little pervert!"

Li Yi did not want to argue and smiled, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to."

"If you didn't mean to, why did you touch my chest? If you did it on purpose, you would have..." The woman couldn't continue.

A few passersby gathered around, but seeing that no exciting or intense conflict was likely to happen, they left indifferently.

Li Yi felt extremely embarrassed and turned to slip away.

The Water Supervision Office had only two rooms. The director had a separate office, while the deputy director and three other staff members shared a large office.

Li Yi went to the director's office first.

The director of the office, Shao Guoping, was a seasoned government official in his early thirties. He had been working in the government since graduating from college and had over ten years of experience.

Shao Guoping had a buzz cut, was slightly overweight, and always wore a smile. Seeing Li Yi, he extended his hand with a smile, "Comrade Li Yi, welcome! I'm Shao Guoping."

The two chatted for a while, and then Shao Guoping said with a smile, "Let's go, I'll introduce you to the other colleagues."

They walked to the large office, and Shao Guoping clapped his hands, saying, "Comrades, come over here!"

There were only two young people in the office, a man and a woman. Hearing the director call, they put down their work and walked over.

Shao Guoping looked around and asked, "Where's Ouyang?"

A lively and cute voice replied, "I'm here! I'm here!"

Li Yi felt this voice was familiar and looked up in surprise. He saw a pure and beautiful woman with a ponytail, swinging her hair as she walked in, still chewing on a cookie.

Shao Guoping smiled, "Always eating, you'll get fat!"

The girl stuck out her red tongue, "I just can't get fat, it drives you crazy!" Suddenly, she saw Li Yi, tilted her head, and said, "Little pervert? Are you stalking me?"

Shao Guoping laughed, "Nonsense, this is our new deputy director, Comrade Li Yi."

Li Yi felt extremely awkward, scratched his head, and extended his hand, "This morning was a misunderstanding. Let's formally meet, I'm Li Yi."

"Ouyang Jinxuan!" Ouyang Jinxuan shook her head and did not shake Li Yi's hand.

Li Yi shrugged indifferently.

"Alright, we're all colleagues now. Let's not hold any grudges." Shao Guoping smiled, "This is Ma Haitao, and this is Fan Siyu."

Li Yi shook hands with each of them.

Li Yi spent a few days familiarizing himself with the work. One day, he went to Director Shao's office and said, "Director Shao, the Water Supervision Office was established to inspect water safety in various regions, survey the maintenance status of major water conservancy projects, and eliminate safety hazards. But we sit in the office every day. How can we fulfill our supervisory role?"

Shao Guoping laughed, "Comrade Li, government work doesn't require such seriousness. Just come in every day, and collect your salary on time. When there's work to be done, we'll go out. If there's no work, we can't just go looking for trouble, right? That would be very annoying."

Li Yi frowned, "If that's the case, what's the point of having the Water Supervision Office?"

Shao Guoping opened his eyes wide, "Comrade Li, you're new, so you're enthusiastic and passionate. But what can we do if the higher-ups haven't assigned us any tasks?"

"Director Shao, this won't do. Shouldn't we talk to the director and ask him to assign tasks to everyone in the office?" Li Yi suggested.

"Comrade Li, that's not a good idea. We're here to find faults, but if we actively seek them out, it won't look good to the leaders of the counties and cities," Shao Guoping said.

"If Director Shao finds it difficult, I'll go talk to him," Li Yi said and stood up.

Shao Guoping looked at Li Yi, shook his head, and sighed, "Young people!"

Li Yi went to the director's office, knocked on the door, and heard a voice, "Come in!"

Li Yi pushed the door open and saw a chubby middle-aged man sitting and reading a newspaper. The director of the Water Supervision Office was Wang Shizhao, transferred from the provincial government's supervision department. He looked up and saw Li Yi, asking, "You're the new deputy director, Li Yi, right?"

"Yes, Director, hello." Li Yi smiled and nodded.

"Oh, I've heard a lot about you. Sit down!" Wang Shizhao put down the newspaper and asked, "What's the matter?"

Li Yi explained his purpose, and Wang Shizhao's small eyes sparkled. He laughed, "Young people are full of energy! I was just thinking the same thing. There's a case that needs to be handled by your office!" He took a file from the file cabinet and handed it to Li Yi, "Take a look at this."

Li Yi opened the file, read through it, and then closed it, asking, "Is this a case that the supervision department has already handled?"

Wang Shizhao smiled, "Yes. I used to work in the supervision department. After the Water Supervision Office was established, all cases related to water conservancy were transferred here. This is the file for the Xishan Reservoir in Lianshui County, Xizhou City."

Li Yi pondered, "Our main responsibility is to inspect the safety hazards of water conservancy projects. This reservoir under construction doesn't fall under our jurisdiction. Is it appropriate for us to investigate it?"

Wang Shizhao said, "A reservoir under construction needs even more supervision. Only by strictly controlling the quality during construction and preventing any shortcuts can we ensure that the reservoir is solid and meets the standards for a once-in-a-century event, right?"

Li Yi asked, "But this case has already been handled by the supervision department. Why hasn't it been resolved?"

Wang Shizhao said, "How many people in the government are serious about their work? Not to mention being meticulous. Besides, government officials often have the opportunity to be transferred to counties and cities. Once transferred, they become subordinates to the leaders there. If they offend them now, they won't have an easy time later. That's why this case has been dragging on. I've heard that you, Comrade Li, are a passionate young man who dares to act and isn't afraid of authority. This case is perfect for you!"

Li Yi opened the file again.

The Xishan Reservoir in Lianshui County was approved three years ago, and funds were allocated for its construction. Half of the project funds were transferred to the Lianshui County treasury, but after three years, the reservoir project had only just begun, and the funds were already used up!

Governor Tang Chunqiang was very concerned about this matter and issued a document, instructing the supervision department to fully handle it. However, there was no progress after half a year.

"Alright! Our office will handle this case!" Li Yi closed the file firmly.

A cunning smile appeared on Wang Shizhao's face, barely noticeable.

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