Chapter 36: Harmful Plots
“Section Chief Tang, there are only two positions in the main office. I know Wu Xue is Deputy Bureau Chief Su’s niece, so she’s definitely taking one.”
“If I don’t take the remaining slot, wouldn’t it fall to Xu Hui, the niece of Main Office Director Xu?”
If Section Chief Tang offered to give her a slot in the main office, it meant he would discard Xu Hui. This proved his relationship with Director Xu of the main office wasn’t ironclad at all. In a unit like this, infighting and office politics were completely normal. Lin Wan saw right through this, which was why she dared to propose this wicked idea.
“Correct!” Section Chief Tang nodded. This matter couldn’t be hidden anyway, so there was no need to deny it.
Lin Wan smiled slyly. “Then, do you think we could do it this way? Have Big Sister Gao come up to me and say a few ambiguous words right in front of Xu Hui, letting her mistakenly believe that the main office position has been locked in for me.”
“The moment she panics, she’ll run straight to Director Xu. Director Xu will then come to you, and you can step up to persuade me to voluntarily give up the main office position and choose the mail carrier post instead.”
“As for me, I just want to trip them up a bit. Who told Xu Hui to snap at me like a mad dog during the exam?”
She intentionally didn’t spell everything out. Tripping up Xu Hui to make her suffer a loss was one thing, but if Section Chief Tang coordinated with her to pull this off, Director Xu would end up owing Section Chief Tang a massive personal favor.
Hearing her proposal, Section Chief Tang’s eyes lit up instantly. What a brilliant idea!
Lin Wan continued, “…When the time comes, find a way to drop a hint to Bureau Chief Zhao as well. It would be even better if he shows up!”
“Under your inspiring guidance, I, the first-place candidate, will feel my blood boiling with revolutionary fervor, eagerly volunteering to dedicate my youth to the grassroots level. As long as the other newcomers are even slightly smart and know what’s good for them, they will follow my lead…”
“Originally, everyone would have fought tooth and nail to scramble for the plum positions. But under your mentorship, the new employees will all be stirred into a spirit of selfless dedication. Your political and ideological work will be scored an absolute ten out of ten!” Lin Wan gave him a big thumbs-up. “Bureau Chief Zhao will definitely look at you in a whole new light!”
Section Chief Tang slapped his thigh. “Let’s do exactly that!”
The new recruits were all waiting in the meeting room.
They were casually chatting when they saw Big Sister Gao walking over, warmly and intimately linking her arm through Lin Wan’s.
Everyone was quite surprised, and their gazes darted toward Xu Hui one after another. Hadn’t the rumors said Lin Wan had no connections—that her father was dead, her mother was a remarried widow, and she didn’t even have a job? Why was Big Sister Gao acting so close to her?
Then they heard Big Sister Gao pat Lin Wan’s shoulder and wink at her. “Don’t you worry. What Section Chief Tang promised will definitely be settled!”
“It’s just switching positions, after all. I’ll be waiting to work alongside you!”
The people sitting close to the door heard it clearly. Xu Hui heard it too.
It infuriated Xu Hui to the absolute extreme. There were only two positions in the main office, and Wu Xue taking one was already set in stone. If Lin Wan took the other, then the one getting displaced would be her!
She slipped out through the back door and jogged straight to the main office to find her third uncle, Director Xu.
“Huihui, what’s wrong with you?” Director Xu stood up to shut the office door.
Xu Hui said anxiously, “Uncle, this is bad! Section Chief Tang is going to give the main office slot to Lin Wan!”
Director Xu knit his brows. “Lin Wan?”
“Lin Wan doesn’t have any background at all. Is there something wrong with his head, giving the slot to her?”
Xu Hui grew frantic. “Uncle, hurry up and think of something!”
The other four positions in the bureau all required hard physical labor, which she couldn’t handle. Besides, her goal was precisely to sit in an office. Sitting in an office made people think she was a cadre. If she wanted to date Huo Xiao, she absolutely had to possess a respectable job. Her brother had already promised her that once her job was finalized, he would help pull strings and introduce her to Huo Xiao.
Director Xu told her not to panic and to head back to the meeting room to wait, while he hurried off to find Section Chief Tang himself.
This niece of his truly knew how to cause trouble for him! Previously, saying he would have her give up the job to Deputy Bureau Chief Su’s nephew was just spoken in anger. In reality, to appease Deputy Bureau Chief Su’s fury, he had gone around talking to other shortlisted candidates, intending to use other conditions to trade for a slot. But Deputy Bureau Chief Su’s nephew had ended up enlisting in the military instead. So he had simply delivered a heavy gift to apologize, and the matter was finally put to rest.
Director Xu had personally ordered someone to investigate Lin Wan’s background, precisely because he wanted to know what kind of network she had used to get in. Only by figuring it out could he accurately gauge her position, knowing what kind of attitude to adopt and what gifts to bring when apologizing.
In the end, the results of the investigation had nearly driven Director Xu mad with rage. That’s it? Damn it! He had been completely fooled by a young girl playing the pig to eat the tiger!
Director Xu rushed into the Personnel Section and dragged Section Chief Tang, who had half a foot out the door, back into his office. He shut the door tightly.
With a thoroughly strained expression, he said, “Old Tang! You’re not being honorable!”
“Didn’t we agree that Xu Hui would go to the main office? How can you go back on your word?”
Taking his gifts but failing to deliver—what kind of behavior was that!
“Furthermore, what kind of nobody is Lin Wan? Your Personnel Section can’t possibly be unaware, right? Even if the office job is given to the children of other employees in the bureau to give them a cheap advantage, it shouldn’t be given to her!”
Section Chief Tang put on a profoundly difficult expression. “Old Xu, look, I’ll have my son deliver all the cigarettes, wine, and tea you brought back to your place tonight. I really have no choice in the matter!” He pointed toward the ceiling.
“The higher-ups dropped a hint to me!”
“Who told Lin Wan to score first place in both the written exam and the interview? The leadership attaches great importance to this! Unless she actively and voluntarily declares that she wants to go down to a grassroots branch office, what we agreed on won’t change. Otherwise, I won’t be able to account for it to my superiors!”
Watching Director Xu’s anxious display, Section Chief Tang actually felt a trace of secret satisfaction. This bastard had only given him ordinary, common brands of cigarettes and wine, completely relying on the fact that he was the Main Office Director to assume Section Chief Tang had to give him face! Little Lin was still the smart one, coming up with such a brilliant move to trip him up.
The moment Director Xu heard him phrase it this way, he recalled Bureau Chief Zhao’s attitude on the day of the exam. He became absolutely certain in his heart that Bureau Chief Zhao must have spoken up personally.
“How about this, you go talk to Lin Wan first. If you can persuade her, there will definitely be no problem on my end!”
Hearing this, Section Chief Tang immediately sent for Lin Wan to have a talk.
Lin Wan rejected the idea with absolute righteousness. “Director Xu, do you think I’m an idiot? Why would I choose another post when I could sit comfortably in an office?”
Director Xu said, “Name your terms. As long as it’s within my power, I will definitely satisfy you!”
Lin Wan rolled her eyes. “Director Xu, how about you name your terms? What will it take for you to hand your Director position over to me? Do not attempt to corrupt a revolutionary youth! And don’t throw sugar-coated bullets at me! I have only one sentence: I submit to the organization’s arrangements!”
With that, she turned and strode away, not sparing Director Xu a single extra glance.
Peeking from the side, Section Chief Tang was thoroughly satisfied.
╭(╯^╰)╮ Old Xu owes him a massive favor this time. If he doesn’t tear a thick piece of meat off Old Xu’s bones, his last name isn’t Tang! Section Chief Tang returned to his office in a blissful mood to wait for Director Xu to come groveling back to him.
Lin Wan headed to the meeting room to wait. The moment Xu Hui spotted her, a wave of pure rage surged within her, and she stared at Lin Wan with absolute loathing. The others also inspected her with intense curiosity.
Several of the young comrades who had scraped through the recruitment process felt quite grateful to Lin Wan. Luo Jiahui was the first to walk up to Lin Wan, extending her hand. “Hello, Comrade Lin Wan. My name is Luo Jiahui. It’s a great pleasure to meet you and become comrades with you!”
