Chapter 4: A Twist of Fate and a Promotion to Deputy Section Chief!
****
The interview ended.
As Tang Ye stepped out of the elevator, he happened to run right into Shao Jinbo.
"Aren't you on leave? Why did you come to work?"
Judging by Shao Jinbo's reaction, he didn't know about his injury from the rescue.
"I received a notice and just finished an interview."
"An interview? What interview?" Shao Jinbo's heart sank.
"For the Municipal Party Secretary's secretary. You work in the Secretariat, there's no way you didn't know about this, right? I was pretty surprised myself. Why did they ask me to interview? Could it be that Director Yang put in a good word for me?"
Shao Jinbo's face turned pale with agitation.
He clenched his fists, his teeth grinding together.
"How did the interview go?" Shao Jinbo asked subconsciously.
"I gave it up!" Tang Ye said with a faint smile.
"Why?" Shao Jinbo was in disbelief!
Gave it up?
How could he turn away a duck that had already flown to his mouth!
If that was really the case, this guy was truly a country bumpkin who didn't know what was good for him.
"I'm leaving! Don't forget to let me know when you organize the class reunion," Tang Ye said, not bothering to waste any more words on Shao Jinbo.
He already had plans for Pinghu Town; going there suited him better!
Shao Jinbo's mind was buzzing, his face burning hot!
His résumé had been rejected in the first round.
Tang Ye had gotten the chance to interview for the Secretary's position but had actively given it up!
What an incredible actor!
Impossible, that was absolutely impossible!
He was certain that Tang Ye was definitely trying to fool him!
***
Several days later, the truth came to light.
The Hanzhou Municipal Party Committee issued the "Notice on the Appointment and Removal of Comrade Tang Ye, a Cadre on Temporary Assignment."
—"After deliberation, it has been decided to appoint: Comrade Tang Ye as the Vice Town Chief of Pinghu Town, with a temporary assignment period of one year. August, 2005."
Cheng Lin called him the moment the news broke.
"Congratulations, Town Chief Tang."
Tang Ye was polishing his leather shoes and didn't have his hands free.
He could only tilt his neck to hold the phone against his shoulder, saying modestly, "Sister Lin, you're teasing me."
Cheng Lin cupped her chin in her hand and smiled happily.
"In just one year, you've been promoted to Deputy Section Chief. Although the process was full of twists and turns, it's a case of light at the end of the tunnel."
Tang Ye thought back on the various trials of the past year and was also filled with emotion.
He said with a sense of relief, "Thank you for your encouragement, Sister Lin. To be honest, I don't have many ambitions. Getting promoted or not doesn't matter. I just want to be an ordinary man: greedy for wealth and women, yet filled with a spirit of integrity."
Cheng Lin couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"You're already greedy for wealth and women, and you still want to have a spirit of integrity? I think you're... indulging in wishful thinking!"
After hanging up Cheng Lin's call, Tang Ye felt that his relationship with her had undergone a subtle change.
Before, they were superior and subordinate, but now that he had left the Bureau for Retired Cadres, it seemed their distance had grown closer.
After tidying up the house, Tang Ye had just laid down on the bed when he received a call from his mom.
His mother, Qin Lan, was a regional manager for a pharmaceutical company.
His father, Tang Yu, was the director of neurosurgery at Hanzhou First People's Hospital.
"You're going to Pinghu Town for a temporary assignment?"
Qin Lan had been on a business trip at the headquarters in Yunhai and had heard about her son's work transfer from Tang Yu.
"Better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big sea. I'm quite happy to go be a local big shot in a township," Tang Ye said, feigning a relaxed tone.
Qin Lan knew that Pinghu Town was a poor town.
Since her son had entered officialdom, she and her husband had been unable to provide him with many resources; otherwise, he wouldn't have faced so many cold shoulders.
"You're all grown up now, your wings have hardened, and you don't tell me anything. You didn't even tell me when you were injured before!"
"Wasn't it because I was afraid of worrying you? It's not like it was a terminal illness that left me unable to care for myself. I'm alive and kicking now, do I look like a patient?" Tang Ye quickly explained.
Qin Lan let out a soft sigh.
"You make it sound so easy! Specialists from the provincial hospital had to come to pull you back from death's door. Your dad is also ridiculous, helping you hide such a big thing from me."
Tang Ye sensed Qin Lan's low spirits and quickly tried to placate her.
"Who made you our most beloved woman? Neither of us wanted to make you worry."
"Don't work so hard. If you're unhappy with your job, then just quit. I can support you," Qin Lan said seriously.
Tang Ye rolled over, chuckling.
"If I ever really hit rock bottom, I'll definitely come back to live off you two."
Qin Lan knew her son's personality: rational and driven, but sometimes he would get stuck on a single idea and stubbornly refuse to let go.
"By the way, have you met any girls recently?"
Tang Ye said with a smile, "Someone introduced one, but she looked down on me."
Qin Lan was unconcerned.
"We're not in a hurry! Choosing the wrong husband can ruin a life, but marrying an unworthy wife can ruin three generations. The scenery you see is different when you stand at different heights."
Tang Ye didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Other people's mothers are all rushing their children to get married, hoping to hold a grandchild soon. Your viewpoint is quite fresh!"
Qin Lan pursed her lips confidently.
"You're so outstanding, do you think I'm afraid you'll end up a bachelor? My only worry is that you're so outstanding, you might end up hurting too many girls."
Tang Ye's face was covered in dark lines.
"You overestimate me."
Qin Lan instructed with unusual seriousness, "Protect yourself. You're not allowed to risk your life like that again."
Tang Ye chuckled.
"Mom, don't you worry, it won't happen a second time. If there's a next time, I'll twist my head off and give it to you to use as a stool!"
Qin Lan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"There you go, being a smart-aleck again!"
***
A week after the temporary assignment notice was issued, Tang Ye, accompanied by staff from the Human Resources Department of the Municipal Party Committee Office and the County Party Committee's Organization Department, arrived in Pinghu Town to attend the inauguration ceremony.
Before taking up his post, Tang Ye had visited Pinghu Town in advance to conduct an investigation and had sorted out the complex web of local power dynamics.
The Town Party Secretary, Xu Yiping, had a nickname: "Old Turtle of Pinghu."
He was shrewd, calculating, and extremely deep.
Because of Xu Yiping's protection and indulgence, the Xu family acted with considerable arrogance in Pinghu Town.
The inauguration ceremony concluded.
Facing the entire Town Party Committee leadership team, Party Secretary Xu Yiping said with a smile, "Comrade Tang Ye has come from the Municipal Party Committee Office for a temporary assignment. He is a top student from Qiongjin University. I propose that he be put in charge of the industrial economy, industrial investment promotion, the service industry, and market supervision and management. I believe that Comrade Tang Ye will use his resources to bring vitality to Pinghu Town."
"I will obey the organization's arrangements!"
Tang Ye's face remained impassive, but he had his own plans in mind.
From Xu Yiping's perspective, he was creating difficulties for him.
But, from another angle, Pinghu Town's economy ranked last in the entire city.
Putting him in charge of the industrial economy, while seemingly putting him on the spot, was also providing him with an opportunity to achieve results.
The next day, the town government held a business symposium.
As a new official taking up his post, it was only right for Tang Ye to meet the heads of the town's key enterprises.
Xu Yiping also hoped to use the meeting to test Tang Ye's depth.
Would this cadre on temporary assignment from the Municipal Party Committee Office just be an empty suit?
Before the meeting began, Tang Ye passed by a young woman at the entrance to the restroom.
Tang Ye glanced at the washstand and called out softly to her, "Wait, you left something behind!"
The woman turned around and looked at Tang Ye's palm.
While touching up her makeup, she had carelessly left her compact mirror behind.
****
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