Chapter 41 Blinded by Greed

The last time Li Xiuyuan and his father, Li Jianguo, came to the sub-district office, they were extremely cautious, flashing apologetic smiles at everyone as they inquired about the location of the office and how to register for a business license.

However, this time, they arrived accompanied by the sub-district office's deputy director, the director of the Party and Government Office, and a large entourage. They walked through the sub-district office with their heads held high, looking as though they were inspecting their own territory.

Upon entering the conference room, staff members had already prepared tea with utmost courtesy. Luo Yi, accompanied by Li Xiuyuan and Qian Hui, took their seats in the conference room with an air of absolute authority.

Deng Jie from the sub-district office immediately arranged for the inspection preparation materials to be brought over.

"We are inspecting four main areas: the implementation of higher-level documents, the consistency of data reports, the completeness of meeting minutes, and the supporting evidence for policy publicity. The two of you can decide how to divide the tasks. Xiao Qian, you are familiar with the work, so take on a bit more. Xiao Li, choose one area to be responsible for." Luo Yi looked at Qian Hui and Li Xiuyuan as they began dividing the work.

"Well, how about this: Xiao Li, you take charge of the data reports, and I will handle the rest," Qian Hui said. Data reports might seem headache-inducing, but they have strict standards. Whether they are right or wrong, discrepancies are very easily spotted as long as the numbers don't match.

The other three tasks, however, were different. They lacked such rigid standards, and Qian Hui was worried that Li Xiuyuan might not be able to handle them.

Li Xiuyuan nodded with a smile. "Alright, Section Chief Qian. I'll look over the data reports first, and if I run into any issues, I'll consult with you promptly."

Just as they were talking, someone from the Party and Government Office pushed open the door to deliver the materials.

Among them was Aunt Wang, Wang Chunhua, who was carrying a stack of data files. She had been feeling extremely nervous, but the moment she entered the conference room and saw Li Xiuyuan sitting upright at the inspection table, she froze in place.

Why on earth was it Li Xiuyuan from their residential compound? How could he possibly be sitting there?

If she hadn't been holding a stack of files, Wang Chunhua would have rubbed her eyes to check if her old age was playing tricks on her and she had mistaken the person. How could this be possible? Wasn't it said that Li Xiuyuan failed the exam? That he didn't even make it past the preliminary interview? How did he end up in the County Government Office and come here to inspect their work?

"Old Wang, what are you standing there daydreaming for? Put the data over here, and place the other materials on that side, arranged in order so it's convenient for the leaders to inspect," Deng Jie reprimanded, noticing Wang Chunhua's daze.

Only then did Wang Chunhua snap back to reality. She hurriedly stepped forward and placed the documents right in front of Li Xiuyuan. By this time, Li Xiuyuan had also noticed Wang Chunhua, a subtle, meaningful smile playing on his lips.

Previously, after his written exam results came out, Wang Chunhua had mocked him relentlessly in his family's restaurant. She had gone on about how he had unrealistic ambitions, how impractical he was, and even claimed she knew a good girl from a decent family whom she could introduce as a girlfriend—on the condition that he passed the exam for their neighborhood committee; if he couldn't pass, forget it, even bringing up some nonsense about reproductive isolation... In the end, after being quietly rebuked a couple of times by his mother, she finally shut up.

Never had she expected that their next meeting would take place in such a setting. Wasn't Aunt Wang an employee at the neighborhood committee? How did she end up working at the sub-district's Party and Government Office? This was getting interesting...

Villages, towns, and counties form a three-tier administrative system, and the same principle applies in the city. A community neighborhood committee is equivalent to a village, except that unlike the self-governing committees of villages, it is under unified management.

Meanwhile, a sub-district is actually on par with a township, both being units of substantive section-chief rank.

In other words, a sub-district director and a township mayor hold the exact same official rank.

Once all the materials were set down, Li Xiuyuan and Qian Hui immersed themselves in their work. Deng Jie looked over at Luo Yi and extended an invitation.

"Director Luo, checking these materials will take a while. Why don't you come to my office to sit for a bit? Just a couple of days ago, a friend of mine sent over two boxes of fine tea."

Luo Yi hesitated for a moment, nodded in agreement, and then instructed Qian Hui and Li Xiuyuan to report to him promptly should any issues arise.

"You few stay behind so it's convenient for Section Chief Qian and the other leader from the Government Office to ask questions." Before leaving, Deng Jie kept several staff members from the Party and Government Office behind. Since this was the work they had produced, they naturally had to stay to provide explanations in case any inquiries arose.

At the long rectangular conference table, Li Xiuyuan and Qian Hui sat on the side near the window, inspecting the prepared materials. On the opposite side stood several staff members from the sub-district's Party and Government Office. However, unlike the arrogant and overbearing attitude they usually displayed when facing ordinary citizens, they now stood nervously on the other side of the conference table, waiting anxiously without even daring to sit down.

In truth, nobody had explicitly forbidden them from sitting, but simply none of them dared to take a seat.

Standing at the very end of the line, Wang Chunhua felt a dull ache in her legs. Her gaze remained fixed on Li Xiuyuan, filled with utter bewilderment. How on earth did that kid from the Li family end up sitting right there?

He had clearly failed the exam, and his girlfriend had broken up with him, too. During this time, she hadn't seen Li Xiuyuan eating at his family's noodle shop, and she had assumed the poor boy was demoralized, hiding at home to lick his wounds after suffering such a devastating blow.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, here he was, returning in grand style as an official from the county government to inspect the sub-district office's work. It was only because she had been temporarily assigned to help out at the sub-district office that she got to see this; if she had stayed behind at the community neighborhood committee, she probably wouldn't even have had the chance to catch a glimpse of him.

Of course, what was the use of seeing him now? The last time they met, she could still lecture him from a position of authority; this time, standing before him, she didn't even qualify to sit down.

While he sat drinking tea and conducting an official inspection, she, at her age, had to remain standing. Her legs were already in bad shape from carrying her grandson around these past few days, and after standing for just a little while...

As Wang Chunhua's mind raced with anxious thoughts, a stern voice broke the silence.

"Who is responsible for the implementation of this higher-level document?" Qian Hui asked, her brow furrowed.

Wang Chunhua felt a subconscious jolt in her heart, and then she watched as a colleague tremulously raised a hand. "Leader, I am responsible for this."

"How on earth did you handle this task?" Qian Hui rebuked unceremoniously. "There are only photocopies of the county documents left on file here. Where is the forwarded notification from your sub-district office? Was it never forwarded? Or was it forwarded without keeping a record?

"Furthermore, where is the leadership's instruction on this? There isn't a single trace of it. Did your sub-district office fail to implement it locally at all? Did you do absolutely nothing?"

Qian Hui fired off a barrage of questions. Coming down here to inspect work inherently meant finding fault. They weren't afraid of uncovering issues now; what they feared was the city's inspection team arriving next week and discovering problems themselves, which made them exceptionally strict.

"This... this..."

"Enough. Take the materials you've prepared and come with me to see your leadership." Qian Hui dropped a file onto the table and stood up, walking out of the conference room.

With a bitter expression, Wang Chunhua's colleague picked up the documents from the table and followed Qian Hui out of the room.

Watching her peer—someone of roughly the same age—being scolded like a helpless child by the young female leader from the government office, unable to utter a single word, turning pale as a sheet, and trembling in the legs as she walked out...

Wang Chunhua's heart skipped a beat with panic. She cast a pleading look toward Li Xiuyuan, praying silently that no issues would be found in her own assigned work. Otherwise, as a temporary staff member borrowed by the sub-district office, her life here would become even harder.

Regret flooded Wang Chunhua's mind. Surely Li Xiuyuan wouldn't hold a grudge and seek petty revenge, right? She really must have been out of her mind back then to make those sarcastic remarks right to his face.

She had gotten too used to being a busybody in the residential compound, always feeling that working at the community neighborhood committee made her a person of some consequence, a leader of sorts in the eyes of ordinary folk, which naturally made her a bit arrogant.

She had managed to offend quite a few people along the way, though most ordinary people couldn't do anything to her and still had to greet her with a smile, never knowing when they might need to beg a favor from her.

Never did she expect that the tables would turn so fast. In the blink of an eye, the situation had completely reversed, and that unremarkable young man had transformed into an official from the county government. If she could just manage to pass this hurdle safely today, she vowed she would definitely keep her sharp tongue in check and mind her words when speaking in the compound from now on.

Yet, dreading something only brought it closer. Just as Wang Chunhua was praying fervently in her heart, she suddenly heard Li Xiuyuan give a light cough, raise his head, and ask, "Who is responsible for the data report work?"