At precisely 9:15 AM, Monday Morning of the first week of February, Yin and Mu Rong entered the premises of the district offices and went straight to the reception, following the protocols for new workers which Lu Zheng had guided Yin to follow.
From a distance opposite to the reception, Lu Zheng was able to see them walk in but couldn't welcome them openly and Yin's refined appearance made him fall for her even more.
However, he had to remind himself to treat her like a subordinate and to suppress his feelings. The receptionist, being welcoming and kind, asked for their purpose of visit, and Yin without hesitation handed in their appointment letters. After confirming Mr. Bangwan's signature, the receptionist requested the girls to wait a bit as she went outside to inform Rama, the assistant head of all staff after Mr. Sai.
As per the rules set by the regional commissioner who was the directing head of district offices, Rama had been made responsible by him to handle and direct all new staff approved by Mr. Bangwan and Mr. Sai was to be only in charge of the payroll and staff development.
The receptionist approaching Rama from his back during his supervision of the outside office areas, greeted him before handing over the files for the two girls.
"Excuse me, sir. We have two new staff approved by Mr. Bangwan waiting at the reception," the receptionist informed him, standing a distance before presenting the biodata files and appointment letters. Rama received the files calmly and dismissed the receptionist.
Opening them on the spot, he realized both files were for female recruits only, he carried a disapproving attitude from his past, holding the belief that women required comprehensive training before taking on any role in the public workforce.
"No males," he grinned, his attention captured by Yin's other name, Zaza which rang a familiar memory to his ears.
"Ahhhh" He mused after remembering Marquess' other name was Zaza and she was married to the highly esteemed Marquis.
"A rich girl now wants to work here when there are many out there who need these jobs," Rama muttered, wondering about Yin's potential.
As for Mu Rong, he knew nothing about her and cared less but he had already harbored hatred for both of them within a few minutes of going through their files.
"Let me see how long these two babies will stay," Rama said to himself silently, closed the files and walked back to his office. The documents revealed to him that the girls were to work as secretaries for both commissioners, a post Rama had hoped would at least be offered to him or to his choice of surbodinates, given his familiarity with office dynamics.
After a few minutes checking his files and upcoming schedules in his office, Rama walked out of his office to Summon all workers for a brief briefing aiming to introduce Mu Rong and Yin as the new secretaries to the commissioners. Most workers were surprised as there had been no real secretary at the offices and everything had moved smoothly the entire time.
Almost everyone who could manage administrative tasks at the offices handled some secretarial work on random basis but for the position to be instituted without informing all the staff was quite surprising for many.
Rama upon arriving at the briefing hall, called for attention of all the workers and quickly introduced the girls to them. They were asked by Rama to share a brief introduction about themselves and likewise everyone else in the room introduced themselves with their names and roles at the district offices.
Despite attempting to maintain a cheerful mood by complimenting everyone around the room, Yin could sense the discrepancy hidden behind Rama's smiles as he encouraged and tried to foster a smooth welcome for the girls.
Most workers welcomed the two girls, but some displayed unhappiness which for some was quite visible on their faces. After the dismissal from the briefing, Rama asked one of his juniors to escort the girls to their desks and then went to his office to complete some paperwork.
When the girls had been shown everywhere including the breakfast and Lunch area, they were escorted back to their desks and were asked by the junior staff to relax a bit as they waited for directions on what to do.
Mr. Sai having been informed about the arrival of the girls, went to meet them after a few minutes and gave them their first assignments, to prepare minutes and memos for the meeting that day using the project layout.
The girls, sensing an urgency, due to the look that was on Mr. Sai's face put effort into their assignment and finished the task within an hour and handed the finished work in a file to Mr. Sai who reviewed it promptly and forwarded it to Lu Zheng for approval. After thoroughly checking all the details, Lu Zheng was impressed and stamped the file approving it.
They were to have an urgent meeting that afternoon and there was little time to properly introduce the girls to the upper management so everything was skipped to put the meeting through first before anything else.
The girls were then retasked to create more memos, mark all upcoming meetings and functions on the calendar, arrange vendor and liaison files and after that was lunch time.
Lu Zheng and the whole upper team couldn't afford to have lunch, they went to the meeting while Yin and Mu Rong went out for fresh air, but tension was already building. Everyone at the district offices looked at the girls like competition, although it didn't affect Mu Rong much, Yin had began to feel nervous and shaken.
They took a seat under one of the shades and due to the phobia Yin had already got, they both skipped lunch and decided to relax a bit.
"Did you see the way that man (Rama) looked at us during the briefing?" Yin asked Mu Rong, disguising her worried face with a forced smile and the bite of a sesame pudding she had brought to work from home.
Mu Rong, understanding the politics at play, smiled at Yin, tapped on her shoulder as though removing something and replied, "We came to these jobs with a tight connection. We should instead be stronger."
"No one can work this job for life. It's a junior position with glamour, chances, and connections, but we have to find solid options fast." Mu Rong told Yin as she took a bite of the same pudding Yin had shared to her.
Yin thought through Mu Rong's words and realized that her words carried sense. "Do you have plans for another Job?" Yin asked Mu Rong, confusion looming in her mind as she couldn't figure out what other job she was capable of doing.
"Hmmm, Yes but not now. How about we work for a while and figure out things?" Mu Rong suggested cheerful concealing the truth about her upcoming duties at the district commissioner. In Mu Rong's mind, she needed to first manifest something before speaking about it to even her closest friend.
Yin grasping the point Mu Rong had made looked at her and reminded her that their lunch time was over. Together they hurriedly walked back into the office but found Rama waiting for them at the front area.
His eyes carried contempt for them, and the way he looked at them made it clear they wouldn't have it easy if they didn't obey his rules. He gave them a stern warning and ordered them to apologise.
Yin and Mu Rong, fearing to mess up things avoided arguing with Rama and thanked him for being gracious in forgiving them.
"Let this be the last time you get back on duty late from your break time or I will cut a fee from your salary," Rama warned and walked away impressed with the power he had over workers under his care.
The girls hurried to their desks and sat down to another assignment, feeling overwhelmed by how Rama was acting towards them on their first day.
By 5 PM, all work for the day had been summarized and the girls were free to leave for their homes.