206: Chapter 206 The First Secretary of the County Party Committee

A young woman walked over and sat down, asking, "You must be Xia Hai, right?"

"Yes, I am Xia Hai. You are Hu Lijing."

Hu Lijing said, "I know a little about your situation. To avoid wasting each other's time, I'll get straight to the questions."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Do you have a house?"

"Not yet, but I should be getting a welfare apartment soon, within two years at most."

Hu Lijing frowned. "Doesn't that mean if I become your girlfriend, I'll have to live in a rented apartment for at least two years?"

"Let me ask you another thing. Do you have a car? How much is your monthly salary?"

"I haven't bought a car yet, but I've already gotten my driver's license. As for my salary, I take home about three thousand seven or eight hundred."

Hu Lijing looked impatient and stood up to leave. "The matchmaker is ridiculous, talking you up like you're something special, but you're just a pauper. What a waste of my time."

After saying this, she didn't care about Xia Hai's reaction and walked away, swaying her hips.

Xia Hai's face darkened. This was too disrespectful. He had come here in good faith for a blind date, and this was the result.

Monday.

The first thing Qin Chuan did after arriving at work was to call Director Hu Bing in.

"Secretary, you called for me?"

"Yes," Qin Chuan said. "I've reviewed the candidates for secretary you recommended. This young man, Xia Hai, is good. Have him come over and try it out first."

Although it was just a trial, there usually wouldn't be any issues. Unless you sabotaged yourself, this was the position of the County Party Committee's confidential secretary.

Director Hu Bing was slightly surprised inwardly. As expected of Qin Chuan; his working style was truly different. He even skipped the interview and decided on the secretary directly.

"Alright, I'll go notify Xia Hai immediately."

Director Hu Bing went to the large office of the County Party Committee Office and waved at Xia Hai. "Xia Hai, come here for a second."

Thinking there was a problem with the materials he had written, Xia Hai quickly followed him into the office of the Director of the County Committee Office.

"Xia Hai, would you like something to drink?"

Xia Hai felt a bit uncomfortable. Why was Director Hu so enthusiastic? He usually had a stern face. He quickly said, "Director Hu, no need to be polite. I'll just pour myself a glass of water."

Director Hu Bing said, "Xia Hai, congratulations."

Hearing this, Xia Hai's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

"Xia Hai, just now Qin Chuan gave orders for you to temporarily serve as his confidential secretary. This is the Secretary's work phone, and this is the contact book. I am handing them over to you now."

What? I'm to serve as the County Party Committee's confidential secretary!

Feeling like he had been struck by a huge surprise, Xia Hai was a bit dazed. It took him a full two or three seconds to react, and then his face filled with gratitude.

"Thank you, Director Hu! Thank you!"

Director Hu Bing said with a serious expression, "From today on, you are Qin Chuan's confidential secretary. Go back to the office later, hand over your work with Lao Liu, and step into your role immediately. As a leader's secretary, besides being loyal, you must also be meticulous..."

Director Hu Bing had also been a leader's secretary and had served as the Director of the County Committee Office for many years, so he had a lot of insights into being a secretary.

Thus, he began to share some of his own insights and experiences.

In the large office of the County Party Committee Office.

At first, everyone didn't think much of it, assuming Director Hu had called Xia Hai over because there were some things in the materials that needed editing.

Who knew that ten or twenty minutes had passed and he still hadn't returned? This made people start to speculate about what was going on.

"Xia Hai has been called over for more than twenty minutes. Nothing bad happened, right?"

"What could happen? Xia Hai is just an ordinary clerk. He mostly just writes various reports. It's hard for anything to go wrong."

Someone tentatively suggested, "Do you think he was chosen by Qin Chuan, and Director Hu is telling him about the things he needs to pay attention to as the County Party Committee's confidential secretary?"

"That shouldn't be possible, right?"

"I don't think so either. Although he made the recommendation list, in terms of both seniority and background, he's at the bottom. I think Xiao Chuyi is the most likely candidate."

"The interviews haven't even started yet. I suspect Qin Chuan is very cautious about choosing a secretary. At the very least, there should be an interview, and maybe it will take some time to get the results."

"..."

They chatted like this for a few minutes. Suddenly, someone saw Xia Hai return. Looking closely, his entire demeanor was different; he looked very spirited, and his steps seemed more forceful.

Everyone was curious and really wanted to ask what Director Hu had called him for.

But being in the system, especially in such an important department as the County Party Committee Office, everyone knew that one certainly couldn't ask such questions directly unless Xia Hai said it himself.

Xia Hai walked into the large office and, under everyone's gaze, went straight to Lao Liu. "Section Chief Liu, Director Hu said I need to hand over my work to you."

Lao Liu was over forty, a veteran, and a chief staff member. Everyone usually called him "Section Chief Liu."

"Xia Hai, what is this about?"

Xia Hai said, "Just now, Director Hu called me over and asked me to serve as Qin Chuan's confidential secretary. I need to hand over my current work to you."

What!

You became the County Party Committee's confidential secretary!!!

It wasn't just Lao Liu who was surprised. The people nearby who heard this all revealed expressions of astonishment. They never expected that Xia Hai, the one least favored by everyone, would become the County Party Committee's confidential secretary.

In an instant, the large office became lively.

"Xia Hai, congratulations, congratulations!"

"Brother Xia, such a big happy event, remember to treat us!"

"..."

Soon, the news spread throughout the entire Wanshun County officialdom. Leaders of some bureaus, offices, and towns below knew that Qin Chuan's secretary was Xia Hai.

The County Land and Resources Bureau

This was also the unit where Hu Lijing worked. She was a clerk in the Land and Resources Bureau office, but not a permanent employee; she was a contract worker. To put it bluntly, she was hired to do odd jobs.

This counted as entering the system, and her biggest dream was to become a permanent employee and a real insider of the system. After arriving at work today, she kept taking out a mirror to put on makeup and touch it up. Although her looks were average, she liked to dress up and was always decked out in fancy clothes.

A colleague next to her, also a contract worker, asked curiously, "Sister Hu, I heard you went on a blind date a few days ago. How was it? Was the guy handsome?"

Hu Lijing looked disdainful. "What's the use of being handsome? In today's society, you either need money or power."

"But, Sister Hu, I heard he works in the County Party Committee Office. In a department like that, his future should be good, right? What if he gets promoted after three or five years?"

"Psh, it's not that easy. He has no background and no connections. I reckon if he works his whole life and manages to become a deputy chief staff member, that'll be pretty good."

As the two were chatting, a middle-aged woman walked in and asked happily, "Little Hu, I haven't had a chance to ask you yet, and you didn't tell me either—how did your blind date with Xia Hai go?"

The middle-aged woman was the matchmaker and also a permanent employee of the Land and Resources Office. It was she who had introduced them and played matchmaker.

Hu Lijing said with some dissatisfaction, "Sister Wu, the other party is just a stinking loser. He has neither a house nor a car, and he earns a salary of three thousand something a month. Don't introduce such people to me next time; it's a waste of my time."