Chapter 30: Regular Meeting
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Monday’s regular meeting was nothing unfamiliar to Li Xiuyuan. Whether inside or outside the government system, many work units had this habit.
The Monday meeting served two purposes: first, to summarize the previous week’s work, and second, to assign tasks for the new week. Normally, of course, such a meeting should have been held in a conference room.
The county government office was somewhat different. Although there were plenty of meeting rooms, there were also plenty of leaders, so the regular meeting of the General Affairs Section was held right there in the office.
Everyone sat beside their own desks, taking notes in small notebooks.
Qu Hui chaired the meeting. Instead of discussing work at once, he looked at Li Xiuyuan and said, “Last Wednesday, a new member joined our General Affairs Section—Comrade Li Xiuyuan. I believe everyone has already met him, so I will not say much more by way of introduction. The fact that Comrade Li Xiuyuan has been assigned to our section also reflects the importance our leaders attach to the work we do here…”
Qu Hui’s introduction left Li Xiuyuan feeling thoroughly annoyed. This was hardly an introduction; it was merely an opportunity to flatter the leaders.
If he had genuinely wanted to introduce Li Xiuyuan, he should have brought him over when he first reported for duty and presented him to everyone, instead of having Wang Zhitao lead him into the office.
By now, however, Li Xiuyuan had a fairly clear understanding of Qu Hui’s opinion of him, and he no longer held any expectations of Qu Hui.
Qu Hui then got to the main topic: summarizing the previous week’s work.
“Regarding last week’s work, the first person we should commend is Comrade Huang Wei. He completed the drafting of the minutes for the county government’s twelfth executive meeting, with particular emphasis on implementing the pilot program for rural tax and fee reform and initiating the county seat’s sewage treatment plant project. Let me say this: that is how work should be done.
“It is not about how much work you accomplish, but whether you can grasp the key points. I hope everyone will learn from Comrade Huang Wei in the future. When doing your work, you must learn to focus on what matters most…”
Li Xiuyuan first glanced at Huang Wei, who wore a modest expression and claimed that the credit belonged to the leaders. Li Xiuyuan then looked toward Wang Zhitao and Li Boyang.
Wang Zhitao’s expression was somewhat disdainful and irritated. Although he believed he had concealed it well, anyone with eyes could see it at a glance.
The young man had not been working long enough to conceal his emotions properly. As for Li Boyang, sitting beside him, he looked as though he had long since grown accustomed to such things.
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Old Zhu, on the other hand, sat there with an air of calm indifference, as though nothing concerned him. Sister Zhang and Young Mrs. Yang both wore smiles, making it impossible to tell what they were thinking.
Li Xiuyuan sighed inwardly. For most people, it seemed that how deeply they could cultivate their composure was indeed related to time. The older a person became and the more seniority they accumulated, the deeper their reserves became.
“There is one more person we should commend: Comrade Wu Yiyi. Although Comrade Wu Yiyi is not here today, last week she assisted County Magistrate Gu in completing the first draft of this year’s research report on county economic development. County Magistrate Gu personally praised her work, and that is also an achievement for our General Affairs Section…”
Qu Hui continued speaking point by point. After that, however, he merely went through the routine work summary and did not praise anyone else. Once the summary was quickly finished, he began assigning tasks for the new week.
The first matter concerned several documents that needed to be drafted. As Qu Hui distributed the assignments, Li Xiuyuan could clearly see that all the important documents—especially those that would bring their writers into contact with the leaders—were handed to Huang Wei. It seemed that Huang Wei was Qu Hui’s trusted man in the office.
The relatively important assignments went to Sister Zhang and Old Zhu, the two employees with the greatest seniority. Young Mrs. Yang also received a somewhat better task.
The expansion of the teaching building at the county’s No. 1 High School was behind schedule, and the county leaders had begun paying attention to the matter again. Young Mrs. Yang was ordered to follow up on it, ensure that the project was completed by the end of July, and coordinate with the leader in charge of education.
When it came to Li Boyang, however, he was assigned to follow up on letters from residents received by the county government. The main issue involved disputes over contracts for collectively owned village land, and Li Boyang was told to coordinate with the township governments and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
What kind of job was that? Disputes over contracts for collectively owned village land were always tangled affairs, with both sides insisting that they were in the right. And they wanted Li Boyang to coordinate it?
He would have to run to the township government every day and hound people for answers. It would be a miracle if he could find anyone there after making only a few trips.
Wang Zhitao received two assignments. The first was to review the documents submitted by the various departments the previous week. Several contained vague policy language and would have to be returned for revision and resubmission.
That, too, was a job guaranteed to offend people.
The second concerned a rural road lighting project proposed by a county representative at this year’s People’s Congress. Wang Zhitao was to urge the Transportation Bureau and the Finance Bureau to produce a plan.
Listening to Qu Hui distribute the assignments, Li Xiuyuan finally understood everything. Li Boyang, Wang Zhitao, and himself formed a trio of people the section chief did not like.
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Was a rural road lighting project something that could be accomplished merely by issuing an order? What a joke. It involved money. Once the funds were available, no one needed to be urged—the plan would be produced faster than anyone else’s.
But if the money was not available, what use was a plan?
Clearly, this assignment was nothing more than a way to go through the motions. Still, now that Qu Hui had assigned it, could Wang Zhitao simply refuse to do it?
The only person left without a real assignment was Li Xiuyuan. Qu Hui glanced at him and said, “Little Li, here’s what you can do. The printer in our office is malfunctioning, so you’ll handle getting it repaired. Also, follow Big Li and Zhitao and learn from them. If there is anything you can help with, then help them. For now, your main task is to become familiar with the work.”
“Of course, Section Chief Qu. I will definitely learn from the two senior comrades,” Li Xiuyuan replied with a broad smile and a nod.
Inside, however, he was cursing. They wanted him to fix the printer? This was so absurd that even absurdity itself would have to open the door and welcome it home.
Learn from Li Boyang and Wang Zhitao? Learn how to offend people? Neither of them had been given a decent assignment!
“All right, that concludes this week’s regular meeting. The meeting is adjourned. Everyone, get back to work,” Qu Hui announced before rising and leaving.
The General Affairs Section immediately grew busy. Wang Zhitao was already occupied reviewing documents, while Li Boyang sat leisurely brewing tea.
As expected of an old employee who had worked for several years, he had long since mastered the rhythm of the job. He was nothing like Wang Zhitao, who sprang into action the moment an assignment was handed down, as though being one minute late would set his backside on fire.
That was the flaw of newcomers. In reality, whether such work was finished a day early or a day late hardly mattered. This was especially true of assignments that involved offending people; there was no need to hurry.
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