Chapter 53: Focus, Focus on the Career!
The moment Director Yang heard it was Huang Guixiang, she warmly exchanged a few pleasantries with her, then went off to help call Lin Wan to the phone.
Taking the call, Lin Wan covered the mouthpiece, lowering her voice to murmur a few sentences in a flurry of whispers.
After hanging up, she immediately asked Director Yang for time off. “Director Yang, my mom said that the auntie who helped her get into the supply and marketing cooperative has a network. She can secure flawed table electric fans—the kind with just a tiny scratch on the casing.”
“It’s just that these kinds of flawed items can’t go through the official procurement system; they are circulating internally, so it’s cash only… you understand!”
Hearing this, Director Yang’s eyes lit up instantly, and she tightly grasped Lin Wan’s hand. “I understand!”
“Comrade Little Lin, I understand all too well!”
“To tell you the truth, I happen to need a table fan for my own household!”
Her son was constantly throwing fits at home about the heat. Her mother-in-law was also always nagging her behind her back, saying that since she couldn’t give birth herself, she didn’t even put a child she adopted close to her heart, refusing to even figure out a way to buy a fan when the child was sweltering!
Did she not love the child? How much more was she supposed to dote on this child? It was a tale of pure tears. Who told her to be infertile? If only she could give birth, she would have kicked that entire family out long ago!
Lin Wan lowered her voice. “You absolutely must not tell anyone I helped secure it for you. Even the leaders within their own system can’t necessarily get their hands on one.”
Director Yang nodded vigorously. “Little Lin, rest assured!” She naturally understood this point! A table fan that required no coupon wasn’t something just anyone could snap up! It seemed Comrade Lin Wan’s underlying capabilities were even grander than she had imagined! Thank goodness she hadn’t had the time to give Lin Wan a rough time earlier!
Lin Wan: “Then I must head out right now to look for my mom’s friend, otherwise I’m afraid it won’t be held for us! But if I request leave… I did just report for work today…”
Director Yang immediately pulled out a document and handed it to her. “What request for leave?!”
“Take a trip to the bureau’s Personnel Section to deliver a document for me. Once you deliver it, you can clock off and just return to work tomorrow morning.”
Lin Wan accepted it with a radiant smile!
She rode away on her bicycle. First, she found a shaded spot to park, buying an egg cream ice pop to devour. Not to mention, the ice pops in this era tasted genuinely excellent! Then, she drifted over to the post office to hand over the document—serious business had to be taken care of first!
She had bought several orange ice pops, holding them in a mesh shopping bag. Stepping through the entrance, she first shoved one into Old Uncle Ge’s hands. “Old Uncle Ge, cool down a bit!”
Old Uncle Ge, the gatekeeper, hadn’t expected this girl to remain so exceptionally generous toward him even after joining the staff. This girl was quite decent, far from the type of person who harbored heavy opportunistic motives.
“Hahaha, this old bones of mine wouldn’t dare eat cold things, you’ve spent far too much!” Even though he said this, Old Uncle Ge still accepted it, unwrapping the ice pop and dropping it straight into his enamel tea mug. It would melt into a sweet drink later, which he could bring back to sweeten the mouths of his grandsons and granddaughters.
Lin Wan said with a smile, “I’m stationed at the Tuanjie Office now, so it’s rare for me to make a trip down here. It’s not like I’m buying it for you every single day, so it doesn’t count as spending too much! Just keep in mind, if I happen to show up empty-handed in the future, don’t you dare look down on me!”
Old Uncle Ge laughed and waved his hand. “Oh, no way, no way! How could I possibly look down on you! What are you here for anyway?” he questioned.
Lin Wan brandished the document in her hand. “Here to deliver a document to the Personnel Section! Old Uncle Ge, get back to your business, I’m heading up!”
Old Uncle Ge said, “Alright, go attend to your business first!”
Lin Wan went to park her bicycle properly. Old Uncle Ge fetched his towel and a bucket of water, going over to wipe down Lin Wan’s bicycle for her.
Arriving at the Personnel Section.
The moment Big Sister Gao and the others spotted Lin Wan, they looked quite delighted. “Oh, Comrade Lin Wan, you’ve arrived!”
“Little Lin, hurry inside!”
“It must be scorching hot outside, right?”
Lin Wan distributed the ice pops to everyone. “Freshly bought orange ice pops, explicitly to help everyone cool down.”
Hearing the commotion, Section Chief Tang walked out of his office, and Lin Wan shoved one into his hands as well. “Section Chief Tang, it’s just the cheapest orange ice pop, please don’t look down on it!”
“Why would I look down on it! Comrade Lin Wan is far too polite! Comrade Lin Wan, how are things going at the Tuanjie Office? Any difficulties in your work? If there are any difficulties, you must voice them. We will definitely help if we can!”
Lin Wan nodded. “Rest assured, Section Chief Tang. If I genuinely run into difficulties, I’ll definitely come to find you! The Tuanjie Office is quite excellent; everyone from top to bottom looks after me very well!” She handed the document over to Section Chief Tang. “Director Yang instructed me to hand this over to you!”
Section Chief Tang quickly said, “Bring it inside.”
The moment she stepped into the private office, Lin Wan shut the door. Getting straight to the point, she said, “Section Chief Tang, my mom has officially become a salesclerk at the supply and marketing cooperative! She called me earlier—it’s through that auntie’s connection. She can secure a flawed table electric fan that requires no coupon. It’s just got a bit of a scratch, but it’s not very noticeable… The instant I received the news, I rushed straight over to look for you. This matter absolutely cannot be voiced aloud; even the internal leaders within their own system find it highly difficult to secure one…”
Section Chief Tang: “!!!!”
What the hell? A table fan? And it requires no coupon at that?
“Little Lin! Hold onto it for your uncle!”
“You must absolutely help your uncle hold onto it!” Section Chief Tang declared in pure excitement. The auntie backing Little Lin was far from simple! Incredibly far from simple! Thank goodness he hadn’t believed Xu Hui’s instigations; otherwise, if he had offended Little Lin, his losses would have been far too massive!
“How much money?”
Lin Wan said, “One hundred and eighty.”
“But I can’t guarantee I can buy it for you; after all, there are far too many people locking their eyes onto it. I must head out to look for my mom right this instant!”
Section Chief Tang didn’t possess enough cash on him. Seeing him fumble around for ages only to pull out a few yuan, Lin Wan quickly spoke up, “Section Chief Tang, I’ll have my mom advance the money first. It’s enough to know you want it. I’m heading out to find my mom right now!”
Section Chief Tang hurriedly escorted her out the door. “Little Lin, ride carefully! Watch out for oncoming traffic!” His obsequious display made the other comrades in the Personnel Section look sideways in surprise.
Big Sister Gao wanted to pull Lin Wan over for a brief chat, but Section Chief Tang immediately called out to halt her, “Old Gao, step into my office for a moment.” He absolutely didn’t dare delay Comrade Lin Wan’s time! Otherwise, if the electric fan failed to be snapped up, what was he supposed to do?
An electric fan for one hundred and eighty yuan! It was only dozens of yuan more expensive than the department store! The absolute critical point was that it required no coupon! Keep in mind that an electric fan on the black market that required no coupon would easily fetch three to four hundred yuan! Furthermore, those two places were constantly out of stock! Securing one relied entirely on pure luck! This item, whether kept for personal use or presented as a gift, was an absolute top-tier, formidable thing!
The moment Lin Wan reached the stairwell landing, she was blocked by someone.
“Comrade Lin Wan!”
It was Xu Hui! She stood on the stairs holding a stack of documents, inspecting Lin Wan with eyes filled with intense resentment and ungrateful indignation! It was all to blame on this bitch Lin Wan, causing her reputation to be thoroughly wiped to the ground! Her third uncle had delivered a ferocious tongue-lashing to her. The few newcomers who had originally been quite supportive of her were now constantly laughing at her behind her back too!
Lin Wan rolled her eyes. She moved to bypass Xu Hui to leave.
Yet Xu Hui snagged her sleeve forcefully. She checked her surroundings. Making absolutely certain there was no anyone else around, her lips curled into a trace of a venomous, malicious smile.
Alarm bells rang furiously in Lin Wan’s mind. Not good! Danger! Danger! Danger! This absolute idiot is plotting to pull a stunt!
Relying on her experience of grinding through thousands of modern webnovel short dramas, Lin Wan accurately predicted Xu Hui’s next move. She immediately threw her own body flat onto the ground. “Ah!”
Feeling that it wasn’t dramatic enough, she raised a hand to deliver a ferocious slap to her own face.
“Xu Hui, why did you strike me?”
Heh~ This big sister will extort you to absolute death!
Xu Hui, who had been completely prepared to throw herself down the stairs: “???”
