Chapter 46: The Governor Creates Trouble

  How many people who can sit in the deputy director of the provincial government office are fools? Director Wang is certainly not a fool, so after thinking about it, he didn't think about it anymore and smiled at Liu Fei: "It's okay if you can't write manuscripts, who will be able to write manuscripts when they first start, it'll be fine after one or two years of grinding!"

  Liu Fei's face was flushed with shame, would it take one or two years of tempering? Or should he be a secretary to a vice governor, is that possible? Such a secretary wouldn't be wanted by anyone else. He felt both indignant and resentful, angry about not knowing who had put him in this secretarial position without even giving him a heads up beforehand. What he couldn't accept was that now, facing such a good opportunity, if he failed because of his own inability, his self-esteem wouldn't allow it. In Liu Fei's dictionary, there were no words for failure! He could see that the director in front of him wasn't mocking him, but his heart still felt extremely uncomfortable. A self-deprecating smile appeared on his face as he said: "Director Wang is right, I do need to be tempered!"

  The provincial government office building is located in a red 4-story small building inside the provincial government compound. The fourth floor is the governor's office area, where one governor, five deputy governors and their secretaries, plus the secretary-general of the provincial government work. The office order has always been standardized, and it is rare for governors to visit each other's offices or discuss private matters with their secretaries. The leaders' and secretaries' offices are suites, with doors connecting between rooms, and each room also has its own door facing the corridor. Leaders can enter their own offices directly from the corridor or through the secretary's office.

  Liu Fei followed Director Wang to a office door, on which was written "Vice Governor's Office". Liu Fei observed that this office was located on the east side of the office building, third from the left. This matched perfectly with what he had read in the materials about Governor Jiang being ranked third in the provincial government.

  He knocked on the door and a man in his 40s, dressed neatly and with a lot of style, opened it. Seeing that it was Director Wang, he smiled and invited him into his office.

  Director Wang smiled and pulled Liu Fei over to introduce him, saying: "Secretary Chu, this is the new secretary who has come to replace you, Secretary Liu. Is Governor Jiang available at the moment?"

  Chu Mishu stood up with a smile and said: "You wait for a moment, I'll go in and ask the leader."

  After a while, Secretary Chu came out of the inner room and said in a low voice: "Governor Jiang asks you to go in."

  Director Wang brought Liu Fei to the door of the inner room, knocked on the door, and heard a majestic voice coming from inside: "Come in!"

  Liu Fei followed Director Wang into the inner room, his eyes scanning it briefly. This was a very spacious office, decorated very neatly, with a large desk by the window and a man sitting in the office chair behind it, who had a slightly chubby build, but whose face couldn't be seen clearly because he was bent over, staring at a thick stack of files on his desk. He knew Liu Fei and the others had arrived, but didn't even lift his head, still bent over, scribbling away with his pen on the files.

  Liu Fei was stunned at the time, and for a moment he felt like he was in a dilemma. He had never encountered such a situation before. Seeing Governor Jiang still busy, he thought to himself that maybe he couldn't spare the time, so he might as well sit there and wait for a while, and then see what Governor Jiang would say after he finished his work. So, he beckoned to Director Wang and walked straight over to the guest sofa and sat down, then lowered his head and waited for Governor Jiang to finish his work.

  Director Wang couldn't help but secretly disapprove of Liu Fei's behavior. Normally, even a department-level official wouldn't dare sit down in this office unless the vice governor offered them a seat. Yet this young man had taken it upon himself to find a seat and sit down without being invited, despite the vice governor's silence. Indeed, he was formidable. At this point, Director Wang couldn't just stand there, or else he would give people the impression that he wasn't taking responsibility. He could only force a smile and follow Liu Fei in sitting down, quietly waiting for Vice Governor Jiang to finish his work.

  In fact, neither of the two people noticed that Deputy Governor Jiang's eyebrows, which had been lowered all along, suddenly furrowed at the moment they sat down.

  Twenty minutes later, Deputy Governor Jiang seemed to have finished his work and put down his pen to rub his temples. He then looked up to find that the two people who should be waiting at the door were actually sitting on the guest sofa. His eyebrows couldn't help but rise as he glanced at Liu Fei, only to see the young man still with his head down, staring at his toes as if there was a beauty dancing on them.

  Director Wang had been paying close attention to Vice Governor Jiang's every move, and when he saw Vice Governor Jiang looking over, he gave him a smile and nudged Liu Fei with his hand. Only then did Liu Fei lift up his head.

  "Director Wang, you've worked hard, why don't you go back first? I'll have a talk with Liu Fei." Deputy Governor Jiang said with a smile.

  Director Wang stood up and said: "It's not hard work, it's not hard work. This is my duty. Governor Jiang, you are busy with a million things every day, that's the real hard work."

  Vice Governor Jiang did not speak, he just nodded, Director Wang pulled open the door and left, then gently closed the door behind him.

  Liu Fei saw Deputy Governor Jiang and didn't say a word, just smiled and looked at himself, his heart full of questions. He knew too little about officialdom, but he knew that the governor was waiting for him to speak first. He stood up and said calmly: "Governor Jiang, hello, I'm Liu Fei, reporting to you today."

  Vice Governor Jiang nodded and smiled: "Liu Fei, I've heard of your exploits long ago. You're indeed a formidable young man!"

  Liu Fei dryly laughed and scratched the back of his head, for a moment he really didn't know how to continue this topic. He was very clear in his own mind that what he had done recently seemed too showy, now thinking about it, it was indeed impulsive. The shadow always emphasized one sentence in his ear: "In the official circle, one should be low-key as a person and high-key when doing things." Now it seems that he was both too high-key as a person and when doing things, unexpectedly even the vice governor knew about it.

  He had no idea that what he did was not only known to the vice governor, but also to the provincial party secretary, and it was all because of a meal!

  Vice Governor Jiang couldn't help but smile when he saw Liu Fei's silly expression. If his previous smiles had a hint of formality, this one was genuinely warm and friendly. He discovered that the young man, who was often portrayed as arrogant in public opinion, wasn't as arrogant as people imagined. He also had a more genuine side. This kind of action is rarely seen in front of others, as it would make them appear lacking in political savvy. However, this young man did it naturally, which shows that he isn't good at hiding his true feelings. Although he's still quite immature as a secretary, being honest and sincere in front of leaders is crucial for a secretary. From this perspective, Liu Fei seems quite suitable, but Jiang wonders about his professional abilities.

  "Liu Fei, what kind of relationship do you think exists between a leader and their secretary?" Governor Jiang suddenly asked Liu Fei this question, not inquiring about his work performance as he had intended.

  Liu Fei was stunned at the time, and he was still thinking that if Vice Governor Jiang asked about his business level, he would tell the truth. However, he did not expect the other party to ask such an out-of-the-blue question. He had never been a secretary before, and for a moment, he really couldn't come up with suitable words to respond.

  But he knew in his heart that he had to answer this question, and in an instant, a layer of fine sweat beads appeared on his forehead. Vice Governor Jiang, on the other hand, was observing Liu Fei's expression with great interest. He found that at this moment, Liu Fei seemed somewhat at a loss for words, and he knew that his question would make many secretaries feel embarrassed. Even his predecessor, Secretary Chu Tianyuan, had looked very flustered when he asked this question on his first day in office. This was because the question was extremely sensitive, and how well it was answered directly affected the secretary's position in the leader's mind. Jiang Zhengyuan clearly remembered that at the time, Chu Tianyuan's answer was "Everything centers around the leader, resolutely implement the leader's instructions, and do a good job serving the leader." This was just a standard answer, and if it were to be graded, it would only score 70 points. Now he wanted to see how this young man, recommended by Provincial Party Secretary Xu Guangchun, would answer, and he also wanted to indirectly understand why this young man had gained the secretary's recognition!