The next day, it was busy as usual at the General AffairsOffice.
Dong Xuebing was printing something at the copier machineand observing the rest secretly.
"Xiao Tan, is the speech for Director Li ready? Give it tome. I will send it to Director Li." Guo Panwei said.
"Xiao Sun, is that document printed? Chief Xu is waiting forit. Give it to me." Guo Shunjie said.
After both of them finished speaking, they stared at eachother. It was tense. After the news of Chief Zhou's retirement was made known,Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie were competing for the position. Guo Shunjie usedhis bootlicking skills to "report his work status" with almost all the leadersin the District Branch Bureau. Especially the Chief of the Political Sectionand the District Bureau Chief. Guo Shunjie used a different tactic. He targetedother higher-ups. He tried his best to perform in front of the other leaders ofthe General Affairs Department and start to contact the District PoliticalCommissar more often. They were working all their means to get the position ofDeputy Chief of the General Affairs Office.
On the other side.
Old Yan was still acting normally. He was still drinking histea and reading his newspapers. He does not seem to be interested in the DeputyChief's position. Changjuan was also about the same as before. But compared tolast time, she chatted more often with Guo Shunjie. She should be placing hermoney on Guo Shunjie.
"Zhuang Zhi." When the two Guos left, Tan Limei cheerfullyasked: "Who do you think will become the Deputy Chief?"
Zhuang Zhi was a bit slow when replying. "I don't knoweither. But isn't everyone in the office had the chance of being promoted?"
Tan Limei rolled her eyes at him: "Are you stupid? Nevermind. Bing Zhi, who do you think?"
Dong Xuebing replied listlessly. "The 3 of us does not standa chance."
"You are speaking the obvious." Tan Limei laughed. "If oneof us were picked to be the Deputy Chief, the sun will rise from the westtomorrow. Bing Zhi, you seem like you also want to be promoted. Hehe... Don't overthink.We are still young. In another 3 to 5 years, it might be our turn to move up."
Zhuang Zhi scratched the back of his head: "Actually I thinkBing Zhi is the one most suitable to be promoted."
Dong Xuebing laughed: "Stop talking nonsense. I know mylimits."
Tan Limei also laughed: "To be honest, Bing Zhi is suitable.But the Government sector is different from private companies. Those withcapabilities might not be promoted. The length of services and connections isthe main criteria."
Dong Xuebing also knew about this.
After a while, Guo Panwei returned. He was walking with hishead held high and smiling. Some leaders must have told him he stood a goodchance and boosted his confidence. "Old Yan, stop reading the papers. Xiao Sun,the water dispenser is empty. Call someone to bring a bottle of water up. Latersomeone will be dropping by the office. All of you better work hard and don'tdisgrace our office." A bootlicker who was always hanging around the leaderssaying such things made the rest of them uncomfortable.
Dong Xuebing cursed him in his heart.
A few minutes later, Guo Shunjie returned to the office andlooked at Guo Panwei briefly before clapping his hand together to get theattention of everyone. "There is a meeting at 1.30 pm. Finish your lunch and beback earlier to prepare for the meeting. Xiao Dong, Xiao Sun, the both of yougo and clean up the meeting room on the third floor. Xiao Tan, you are incharge of the materials and documents for the meeting. Ok. That's it. Carry onwith your work."
Dong Xuebing was pissed. Both of them were not promoted, andthey were already giving out orders. What would happen if they were reallypromoted?
Seeing Dong Xuebing still sitting at his desk, Guo Shunjie'sface turns dark. "Did you not hear what I just said?" Guo Shunjie was 90% surehe would be promoted. Without Zhou Changchun around, he was no afraid of DongXuebing. After staying low for the past few days, he became arrogant again.
Dong Xuebing frowned and replied coldly. "No."
Guo Shunjie was furious: "Fine... fine..." He walked over toDong Xuebing and said softly: "Wait until I become the Chief and you will getit. Just wait...."
Dong Xuebing replied: "Ya.... I'm waiting."
Guo Shunjie: "Hmph!"
Noon.
During lunch, Tan Limei pouted and looked at Guo Shunjie andGuo Panwei who were sitting at their tables not far away. "Did you see it? Theyare not even promoted, and they are already acting as leaders. Even when ChiefZhou was not as commanding as them. Hmph! I want to see what they will do ifthey are not promoted."
Dong Xuebing took a big bite off his bun: "That's right. Butthere is no one else competing with them for the position. The next DeputyChief of our office will surely be the surname Guo."
Zhuang Zhi quickly shushed them: "Lower your voices. Don'tlet others hear you."
Tan Limei angrily said: "This is so unfair. Bing Zhi will bein trouble this time. No matter which one of them became our chief, they willbe looking for trouble with Bing Zhi."
Dong Xuebing waved his hand and sighed. "What else can Ido?"
Dong Xuebing had analyzed the situation last night. Theposition of Deputy Chief of the General Affairs Office will definitely be outof reach for the 3 of them. He and Zhuang Zhi had only joined the office forless than 2 months. They were considered newbies. The Government sector focusesmore on seniority than ability. Even if Dong Xuebing did one or two moreoutstanding performances, it was also useless. It was the same for Tan Limei.She had joined the State Security one year earlier than them. She was stillconsidered too junior.
Old Yan had offended a leader from the City's Bureau. Hisrank had been stagnant for so many years. Now, he was near his retirement age,and it was almost impossible for him to be promoted. At most, the agency willgive him a promotion to Deputy Division Chief months before his retirement. Asfor Changjuan, she was senior enough to be promoted. But her character was hermajor flaw. The impression she gave others was too frivolous. The agency willsurely not consider promoting her.
After looking at everyone in the office, the two Guos hadthe highest chance of getting promoted.
Guo Panwei was close to many leaders in the Bureau. If heput in some effect in getting their support, he stands a high chance to bepromoted.
Guo Shunjie knew the District Political Commissar. If the DistrictPolitical Commissar really wants to groom him, Guo Shunjie does not even needto do anything, and he will be promoted. Furthermore, Guo Shunjie looks morematured, and his chances are slightly higher than Guo Panwei.
No matter what, one of them will be the Deputy Chief.
After analyzing all the possibilities, Dong Xuebing becamedepressed. If he had 6 months or 1 year, he would qualify for the promotiontoo. But now, there was no point to try and vie for the promotion. Dong Xuebingonly hope now was for the Bureau to transfer someone from another district overto be their Deputy Chief. It will be hell for him if any of the Guos gets promoted.
Damn!