Chapter 52. Heading East

Lin Xiao drove the car back to his hometown.

The next morning, he took a taxi to the high-speed rail station and took the high-speed rail to Yizhou.

Although Anyang County belongs to Yizhou, it is actually closer to the provincial capital Ninghai, and is only about 20 minutes away by high-speed rail.

It takes more than 40 minutes to get from Anyang to Yizhou.

At 8:10, Lin Xiao arrived in Yizhou.

After leaving the station, I took a taxi and quickly arrived at the city government building. I sat in the organization department’s meeting room on time before nine o’clock.

The other three young seedlings assigned to Yizhou also arrived one after another.

The four had met during the training, but they were not familiar with each other, and they did not dare to talk too much at the moment – the atmosphere inside a large organization naturally made people feel intimidated.

Nine o’clock sharp.

Organization Minister Zhang Deqing led the team in. He was not at all arrogant. He shook hands with the four people one by one in a very cordial manner and called out their names accurately.

Everyone was flattered.

“Lin Xiao, right?” When shaking hands with Lin Xiao, Zhang Deqing’s smile was obviously more enthusiastic.

“Hello, Minister Zhang!”

Lin Xiao smiled steadily, without a trace of panic.

Zhang Deqing was a little surprised, let go of his hand, and sat down in the center seat opposite.

“Today, the mayor was supposed to meet with everyone in person, but there was a temporary dispatch meeting in the province and he couldn’t leave, so he repeatedly asked me to convey his greetings and the organization’s care and warmth to everyone…”

Zhang Deqing’s friendly smile calmed the tension of the few people.

What follows is some procedural formalities.

It’s nothing more than saying how much the province and the city attach great importance to it, and hoping that they will take the lead and do a good job in their grassroots positions.

Although these are just polite words.

But Zhang Deqing’s tone was cordial and his smile was warm, so even Lin Xiao couldn’t help but be infected by him. The other three were already full of passion and high morale, as if they could plow ten acres of land on the spot if given a plow!
After a brief discussion.

The four of them will rush to their work posts, escorted by Zhang Deqing, Minister of Propaganda Deng Biao and two other deputy ministers of the Organization Department.

When Lin Xiao heard that he would be personally escorted to Anyang County by Zhang Deqing, a hint of unnaturalness flashed across his face.

First, I was assigned to Chaobai Town, which was close to my home.

Now the Minister of Organization is personally providing escort.

He no longer dared to believe that this was a coincidence.

Let’s not talk about anything else, just look at these four young seedlings, three of them are deputy section chiefs and one is a full section chief.

According to common sense, Zhang Deqing, who has the highest status, should be sent to the section chief.

But he chose to send Lin Xiao to Anyang County, which is the farthest away from Yizhou city.

It’s irrational when you think about it.

At this point, Lin Xiao could conclude that this must be the work of his cheap father-in-law, Han Haijun.

Although it’s a bit helpless, I can only accept it reluctantly.

Along the way, Zhang Deqing didn’t say much. He just asked about his family, education, his thoughts on signing up for Qingmiao, and other topics, and also focused on his marital relationship.

Lin Xiao had no way of hiding this.

Because when filling out the registration form for the Young Talents Program, you need to indicate your marital status.

It is a basic obligation for cadres to report personal information to the organization.

However, in government agencies, personal information is reported once a year, and it must be re-reported only if there are any updates.

Lin Xiao’s unit carries out this work at the beginning of every year.

So even though he and Han Xixi got their marriage certificate in October, the organization did not get this information in time.

Of course, generally speaking, when someone in the workplace gets married or has a baby, it will be announced to the public immediately, and filling out the information change form is just a procedural thing.

People like Lin Xiao who are secretly married are considered outliers within the system.

However, if you look closely, it does not violate the regulations. Just write down your latest marital status when you update your personal information next year.

Signing up for the Young Talents Program was a variable. Lin Xiao was married when he signed up, and if he dared to fill in single, he would be deliberately deceiving the organization.

The nature is completely different.

Therefore, Han Xixi’s information was on the registration form, but it only stated her real name, Han Xixi, and her occupation was unemployed.

Lin Xiao: A singer…it’s reasonable to say that he is unemployed, right?
Now, when Zhang Deqing asked about his marital status, he answered honestly and said that he was introduced by his unit leader.

Zhang Deqing said “Oh” meaningfully, and smiled, “That’s right, to start a family and establish a career, you have to start a family first and then establish a career… Xiaolin has a bright future!”

The sudden praise made Lin Xiao feel a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Minister Zhang didn’t ask any more questions.

The bus soon arrived in Anyang County.

A group of county leaders had been waiting at the entrance of the main building of the compound. When they saw the Organization Department Minister personally leading the team out of the car, no one dared to look down on the young seedling behind him. They all shook hands with Lin Xiao very enthusiastically.

After another round of discussion.

Zhang Deqing declined the invitation to the working meal and left in a car.

Before leaving, he gave Lin Xiao some good instructions and then handed him over to the county leaders. Then, with the introduction of the county leaders, he met his real boss.

“Xiao Lin, this is Qin Zhenggang, the mayor of Chaobai Town. From now on, you will be a team. You must support each other and build Chaobai Town well, and live up to the expectations of the organization and leaders…”

While the county magistrate was giving his earnest instructions, Lin Xiao kept an eye on the man next to him.

He is about forty years old, with greasy hair and a plump body.

The trousers and shirt on his body were wrinkled and visibly tight, and it was obvious that he seldom dressed so formally. This set of clothes had been gathering dust in the closet for who knows how many years.

In front of a group of county leaders.

Qin Zhenggang’s face remained gloomy the entire time. He had no intention of agreeing to anything, nor did he show the slightest joy in welcoming the new member.

Lin Xiao frowned as he watched: This mayor doesn’t look easy to serve!

But he didn’t have time to think about it and comforted himself that he should make the best of it.

It was already noon, and the two were kept in the county canteen for lunch.

Qin Zhenggang had no appetite and ran after the county magistrate, while Lin Xiao followed the county magistrate’s secretary to the cafeteria – the county magistrate’s secretary was his high school deskmate Jia Kai.

Last time my mother injured her waist and the factory had to deduct her salary, she asked him to help.

When Jia Kai saw Lin Xiao at the venue today, he was completely shocked and couldn’t believe his eyes.

Now, until all the big shots had left, he finally found a chance to come up to him and hit him in anger.

“You kid, you didn’t even tell me when you came to the countryside to work as a young farmer, and you just did surprise attacks!”

“I didn’t know in advance that I would be assigned to Anyang County. What can I say?” Lin Xiao spread his hands.

“Let’s not talk about this for now!”

Jia Kai said seriously, “You said you were doing well in the provincial capital, but you were promoted to deputy section chief at such a young age. What’s wrong with you running to a township… just because deputy mayor sounds nice?”

Lin Xiao expected him to ask this question.

I didn’t want to explain more, so I just said “it’s close to home” to get by.

The two of them ate in the cafeteria.

Lin Xiao asked: “By the way, what kind of person is the mayor of Chaobai Town?”

Jia Kai said: “You mean Qin Zhenggang? He’s a good guy!”

Lin Xiao frowned.

“Not bad? But I saw that he had a gloomy face the whole time. He looked like someone who is not easy to mess with!”

“Hey, that’s what he is!”

Jia Kai shook his head and said, “Chaobai Town is a mess right now. As the mayor, he has to bear all the pressure and burden. How can he not be worried? No one would be able to laugh at this!”

Lin Xiao paused while eating.

“A bad debt?!”

(End of this chapter)