031 Misfortunes happen every year, but this year they are especially abundant

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Xia He listened and laughed softly. Looking at Fang Qingye, she said unhurriedly, “Little Fang, what you’re saying is somewhat idealistic. From a manager’s point of view, an employee’s kindness—or lack of it—has no necessary connection with whether he or she is capable of handling a particular job.”

“That’s true, but you’ve also seen that Chen Meimei’s work ability isn’t bad. She graduated from Jinling Audit College with a degree in auditing, which makes her quite suitable for a position in the Credit Department. Besides…” Fang Qingye paused, then continued, “Zhang Rong is indeed very capable, but I think he has one major flaw.”

“What flaw?”

“He’s far too utilitarian.”

“That isn’t necessarily a major flaw.” Xia He took a sip of milk tea and continued in her leisurely manner. “People who are strongly utilitarian tend to have very clear goals, and they usually care about results and efficiency.”

“But people like that regard money and status as the only measures of the value of life. If they can’t achieve them through legitimate means, they’ll resort to other methods. For both the individual and the institution, that can become a disaster.”

After hearing this, Xia He fell into thought for a moment before saying, “All right, then. Let Chen Meimei go to the Credit Department. But what we’ve said today must not be repeated to anyone. And don’t go to Chen Meimei afterward to claim credit.”

“Am I really that shallow? I’m not some inexperienced young man!”

After saying this, Fang Qingye picked up his milk tea.

You’re barely in your twenties. How are you not an inexperienced young man?!

Still, he did seem far more mature than ordinary boys.

Talking with him was easy.

And he was excellent at badminton.

On Monday morning, Fang Qingye received a notice from the Personnel Department instructing him to report to the General Affairs Office.

Without hesitation, he gathered his belongings, went next door to say goodbye to Zhang Qunying, and then headed downstairs. On the way, he received a call from Chen Meimei.

“Fang Qingye, I’ve been assigned to the Credit Department! I thought I’d be sent downstairs to the lobby to work as a teller.” Her voice was full of excitement. “What about you? Where were you assigned?”

“The General Affairs Office.”

“You’re more capable than I am. You should have gone to the Credit Department,” Chen Meimei said.

“Who told you that? The fact that you were assigned to the Credit Department means the leaders believe you’re capable of handling it. Keep it up and work hard!”

“Mm, I will!”

They exchanged a few more words before hanging up.

Fang Qingye smiled and slipped his phone into his pocket.

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The General Affairs Office was on the second floor. There were quite a few people working there, but only four—including the director—were officially appointed staff. The rest held temporary positions, including jobs in the typing and printing room and the archives.

The drivers were classified as support staff and also came under the office’s management, though they did not have permanent desks.

The director of the General Affairs Office had a private room. The other three employees shared a large office, and Fang Qingye had come to know all of them during his year at the branch.

As he entered, he quickly glanced around.

Four ordinary desks faced one another in pairs. Sitting at the innermost desk was a thin man in his forties wearing glasses with lenses thicker than the bottom of a wine bottle. His name was Mu Youzhi, and he was known throughout the branch as its “number-one writer.”

Every sizable government or institutional office had someone like that: a person who spent an entire lifetime writing reports. They were much like the scholars in ancient times who composed official texts for the emperor. Though they wrote endless variations of the same dry, formulaic prose year after year, they never seemed to tire of it. Hearing their own painstakingly written words read aloud by a leader gave them an immense sense of satisfaction.

Fang Qingye had heard that Mu Youzhi was exactly that kind of person. After joining the branch, he had worked in the General Affairs Office for nearly twenty years, continuing to deal with written materials and handling almost every summary and report produced by the branch.

Most of the people who had entered the banking system at the same time as him had gone on to become branch leaders; the least successful had risen to middle management. Mu Youzhi, however, had remained an ordinary staff member until recently, when he was finally promoted to deputy director of the General Affairs Office. At least, his career had now taken a step forward.

Fang Qingye thought that with Mu Youzhi now serving as deputy director and himself newly assigned to the General Affairs Office, there was a good chance he would be handed the job of drafting written materials.

Wouldn’t that make me the branch’s “number-one writer”?

Fang Qingye smiled inwardly.

When Mu Youzhi saw him enter, he smiled briefly and then returned to the document in his hands.

Opposite him sat a short-haired woman in her forties named Liu Meili. Warmhearted and fond of taking on responsibilities, she handled nearly every matter, large or small, in the office and was one of the General Affairs Office’s key employees.

The moment she saw Fang Qingye enter, she greeted him with a smile. “Little Fang, welcome, welcome. You can sit over there.”

As she spoke, Liu Meili pointed toward the empty desk nearest the door.

Fang Qingye smiled and nodded. Carrying his belongings, he sat down at the vacant desk and began arranging them.

Across from him sat a married woman in her early thirties who was quite attractive. Like the other employees, she wore an ordinary office uniform, but the large diamond ring on the ring finger of her left hand made it clear that she came from no ordinary family.

Fang Qingye knew her name was Cao Ting. He had heard that she was the daughter-in-law of a county official. After getting married, she had been transferred from a teaching position at a school to the branch. She had little actual work to do, apart from handling the receipt and distribution of office documents. Essentially, she came to work to collect a salary.

When Cao Ting saw Fang Qingye sit across from her, she looked up and smiled in greeting before lowering her head to play with her phone. Fang Qingye soon heard the familiar beeping of QQ messages.

After putting his belongings away, Fang Qingye took out his teacup and poured himself some water. Then he began working at an unhurried pace—though in truth, he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Perhaps he should find a newspaper and read it for a while?

Just then, Wu Shengli, director of the General Affairs Office, walked in and said to Liu Meili, “Meili, go bring over the people from the typing and printing room and the archives, along with Old Zhang the driver. We’re going to have a brief meeting.”

Before long, four people carried chairs into the office. Old Zhang, the driver, did not bother with a chair and simply stood to one side.

“All right, everyone’s here. Put down whatever you’re doing. The meeting is starting.”

At Wu Shengli’s words, everyone turned to look at him, including Cao Ting, who had been playing with her phone moments earlier.

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“Fang Qingye—Comrade Little Fang. Everyone already knows him, so I won’t say much. He previously rotated through our department and demonstrated excellent abilities. This time, he has officially been assigned to our General Affairs Office. Let’s welcome him!”

Wu Shengli led the applause, and everyone else joined in. Naturally, the clapping was scattered and halfhearted.

“Next, I’ll arrange Little Fang’s specific duties.”

At this, everyone became interested, and even Fang Qingye straightened up.

“Little Fang’s main responsibility will be drafting various written materials. This work was previously handled by Old Mu, but Old Mu has been promoted to deputy director and will now assist me in managing the department’s affairs, so we’ll be reducing his workload…” Wu Shengli paused, then added, “But Old Mu, you can’t wash your hands of it entirely. You’ll need to guide Little Fang.”

“Don’t worry, Director Wu. I’ll teach him everything I know,” Mu Youzhi replied at once.

Wu Shengli was pleased with his answer, then turned to Fang Qingye.

“Little Fang, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask Director Mu. He’s famous throughout our institution as its number-one writer.”

“I’ll consult Director Mu,” Fang Qingye immediately assured him.

For newcomers entering the workplace, the most frightening task was writing all kinds of official documents. No university taught students how to write government reports, and fresh graduates always struggled to escape the stiff, overly academic tone of student writing.

For Fang Qingye, however, this was hardly difficult. In his previous life, drafting reports, analyses, and other written materials at an investment bank had been part of his daily routine.

It was merely somewhat tedious.

Economic analyses at least had some substance. What he found most tiresome were the various work summaries, packed with official clichés and empty formulas—but such documents were, in fact, the easiest to write.

In any case, he would have to find an opportunity to speak with Xia He and ask her not to assign him too many documents to draft, Fang Qingye thought.

The brief meeting ended, and Wu Shengli returned to his office. Everyone went back to their own work. Mu Youzhi, evidently a responsible man, retrieved three years’ worth of reports and other written materials from the archives and handed them to Fang Qingye so that he could study and imitate them.

Looking at the ten thick boxes of documents piled up like a small mountain, Fang Qingye felt slightly dizzy.

Wasn’t there an electronic version?

Forget it.

He opened one of the boxes at random, took out a document, and began reading slowly—if nothing else, it would help pass the time.

At that moment, Cao Ting, sitting across from him, suddenly spoke.

“Oh dear… Has our system fallen on hard times this year? It hasn’t been long since something happened at our branch, and now the Pingdong Branch has run into major trouble too!”

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