Material Empire

Xu Xinqun, section chief of the mass literature and art department of the Cultural Bureau of Hanping County, is a little depressed these days. The director Wang Zhuo has talked to him several times and warned him that if he cannot complete the investment promotion task assigned to him by the bureau as scheduled, he will not be able to act like If he was promoted to deputy director as expected, he would lose his current position as section chief. At that time, he might be assigned to the group art hall below as an administrator, which is the position with the worst pay and the most troublesome work.

Ge Laozi, this is clearly Wang Zhuo taking the opportunity to retaliate against himself. How can the cadres of the Cultural Bureau be responsible for attracting investment? Xu Xinqun sat at his desk, thinking angrily.

Xu Xinqun is an honest person. He has worked in the Cultural Bureau for more than 20 years, and got a section chief position by virtue of his qualifications. Some time ago, a deputy director of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs retired, and the bureau planned to promote one of the existing section chiefs to take over the position of the deputy director. At this time, a small article written by Xu Xinqun about Hanping County's mass literary and artistic work and the revival of traditional cultural forms was published in the city's newspapers, and it is said that it was verbally praised by a certain leader in the city, so The county instructed the Cultural Bureau to include him in the inspection list to replace the deputy director.

Director Wang Zhuo and Xu Xinqun had always had some minor conflicts. Regarding the county's selection of Xu Xinqun as a candidate for the deputy director of the Cultural Bureau, Wang Zhuo didn't say anything, but he was very dissatisfied in his heart. In order to block Xu Xinqun's promotion path, Wang Zhuo came up with a way, that is, to assign the investment promotion task assigned to the Cultural Bureau by the county to Xu Xinqun. In name, it was to give Xu Xinqun a test before promotion. Things to hit Xu Xinqun.

In the 1990s, governments at all levels in China regarded attracting investment as a top priority, and Hanping County was no exception. In order to fully mobilize the strength of the whole county, in addition to assigning investment promotion tasks to the Investment Promotion Bureau, the Economic and Trade Committee and other economic departments, the county government also assigned tasks of varying numbers to other committees, offices and bureaus, calling on all units to cross the sea and show their talents , to attract more foreign investment for Hanping County.

As a cultural unit, the Bureau of Cultural Affairs does not have the ability to attract investment at all, but the county still allocated a quota of 100,000 yuan for investment attraction. Of course, this indicator has some flexibility. If you complete it, you will be rewarded. If you don’t complete it, there will be no direct punishment, but it may affect the county’s evaluation of the leadership of the bureau.

When Wang Zhuo handed over this task to Xu Xinqun, he emphasized the importance of the task tenfold, claiming that if the task could not be completed, the bureau would suffer great humiliation, and it might even affect the welfare of the overall cadres and employees. Xu Xinqun heard that this matter was so important, and wanted to refuse, but Wang Zhuo said that it was the trust of the county and bureau leaders in him, and he had to accept it or not. If it proves that he is incapable, then the deputy director will naturally not be able to become the deputy director, and even the current section chief may be dismissed.

Xu Xinqun knew that this was Wang Zhuo's retaliation against him, but there was nothing he could do about it. After all, what he was doing was a "scheming scheme" and he could speak it out aboveboard. Wang Zhuo also publicly said that as long as Xu Xinqun completes this task, the position of deputy director will belong to him, and no one can take it away. After all, this is a test. If Xu Xinqun fails the test, who can blame him?

Xu Xinqun is almost 50 years old and has never done any work in attracting investment. He doesn't know any business owners, let alone overseas connections. But when Wang Zhuo handed over the task to him, he gloated and reminded him that his daughter Xu Xiaoqi was studying in the United States. Isn't this a convenient channel for attracting capital?

Xu Xinqun knew that her daughter was just an overseas student, and it would be difficult for her to work part-time to maintain food and clothing. How could she possibly be able to help her father introduce foreign capital? The reason why Wang Zhuo said this was nothing more than because Wang Zhuo's own son couldn't even pass the college entrance examination, and he had deep resentment for Xu Xinqun's daughter who was able to study abroad.

Alas, it seems that I can't escape Wang Zhuo's conspiracy. If I can't do it, I might as well give up my position as section chief and go to the group arts hall to teach the old men and women of the neighborhood committee to sing folk songs. There is no unparalleled road, when my daughter graduates from studying abroad, my hard life will come to an end, Xu Xinqun comforted himself like this.

"Section Chief Xu, there is someone looking for you outside."

Just when Xu Xinqun was complaining, Xiao Deng, a clerk in Corey, walked in from the door and said to him.

"Oh, who is it?" Xu Xinqun asked casually.

Xiao Deng said: "He said his surname is Ning, and he has an accent. He is a foreigner and a fat man."

"A fat man surnamed Ning?" Xu Xinqun was taken aback, he really couldn't think of when he knew a person surnamed Ning, and he was also a fat man from other places.

With this in mind, Xu Xinqun left the office building, came to the door, and saw Ning Mo standing outside the door of the reception room.

"Excuse me, are you looking for me?" Xu Xinqun stepped forward and asked, there was only this fat man around, he should not be mistaken.

"Please...Excuse me, you are Xu...Xu Xinqun...Uh, Section Chief Xu?" Seeing Xu Xinqun, Ning Mo was so nervous that he couldn't help but stutter. He originally wanted to call Xu Xinqun an uncle, but when he got to the side of the road, he was worried that it would be too abrupt, so he temporarily changed to Xu Xinqun's official title.

"I'm Xu Xinqun, who are you?" Xu Xinqun looked at this timid young man and asked strangely.

Ning Mo forced a smile on his face, and said, "Uncle Xu, my name is Ning Mo, and I'm from Jintang Chemical Materials Company in Shannan Province... Uh, Xu Xiaoqi asked me to visit you as a salesperson of the company."

"Xiaoqi?" Xu Xinqun's face brightened, he took Ning Mo's hand enthusiastically, and asked, "How did you know Xiaoqi? Are you her classmate at Beijing University?"

"No, no...my sister is studying at Peking University, and Xu Xiaoqi also knows her. However, when I was on a business trip in the United States a few months ago, I met Xu Xiaoqi. She...she told me that if I have the opportunity to come to Tongjiang , help her visit you." Ning Mo finally explained the matter clearly.

Hearing that Ning Mo had just met his daughter, Xu Xinqun immediately forgot all his troubles, and asked eagerly, "Oh, did you see Xiaoqi? How is she, fat or thin? , are you getting used to life?"

"Xiaoqi is very good, she is very adaptable. Uncle Xu, don't worry, let's talk slowly... You see, it's almost time for dinner, so let me treat you and auntie to dinner. Let me tell you about Qi in detail." After a short period of panic, Ning Mo finally returned to normal. In the past few years in business management, he has seen some ups and downs, and he still has some ability to deal with such a situation.

Xu Xinqun patted his head and said: "Oh, I'm so confused, isn't it time to eat? Well, wait a minute, I'll call Xiaoqi's mother and tell her to come over here, Let's find a place to have some dinner, and tell us how Xiaoqi is doing now."

Xu Xiaoqi's mother, Lu Jingfang, works in the Health Bureau. When she received a call from her husband, she heard that a young man who had just met her daughter in the United States had arrived in Hanping County, so she hurried over by bicycle. The scope of Hanping County is not large, and it is only a few minutes away from the Health Bureau to the Cultural Bureau.

Seeing Lu Jingfang's arrival, Ning Mo stepped forward and called Auntie affectionately, and then invited Xu Xinqun and Lu Jingfang to eat at a small restaurant nearby. The Xu family couple were thinking about their daughter, so naturally they readily agreed. As for who paid for the meal, Xu Xinqun didn't think too much about it. He felt that Ning Mo was a guest from afar, so he should pay for the entertainment.

At that time, there was no Internet in China, and Xu’s family couldn’t afford long-distance travel across the ocean, and even communication was limited to once a month, because the postage for letters between China and the United States was quite considerable. After Xu Xiaoqi went abroad, the family only received seven or eight letters from her. Although Xu Xiaoqi described her life in the United States as relaxed and happy in the letter, the family knew that this must be the whitewashing of peace by this sensible daughter since she was a child. Perhaps even half of the optimism in the letter is difficult to achieve.

Although they were full of worries, Xu Xinqun and his wife couldn't find any more ways to understand their daughter's life. Now that they heard that a person who had just met his daughter in the United States came, there was no reason why they should not be anxious to inquire.

The three of them sat down in the restaurant, and after ordering a few simple dishes, Ning Mo opened his handbag, took out a stack of photos, handed them to Xu Xinqun and Lu Jingfang, and said, "Uncle and aunt, please take a look. This is the photo I took of Xiaoqi in the United States this time."

Hearing that there were photos, the old couple couldn't care less about being reserved, and almost rushed to take the photos, and then looked at them one by one. Back then, taking photos was also a luxury consumption. When Xu Xiaoqi first came to the United States, she took a few photos and sent them home, but she hasn't taken any more photos since then. This time, she also took advantage of Ning Mo's favor, so she took four or five rolls of film, and what Ning Mo brought over was exactly the photos she took this time.

"Look, Old Xu, Xiaoqi has lost weight..."

"I don't think I'm thin. Maybe it's the angle of the photo. You don't look thin in this picture."

"Is this the room Xiaoqi lives in? I think it's much better than the house in China."

"These two girls should be the Xiao Zhang and Xiao Zhao she mentioned, right? It seems that the relationship between the three of them is quite good."

"Hey, this one..."

The husband and wife stopped looking at the photos involuntarily, and they both raised their eyes at the same time, casting two suspicious eyes on Ning Mo. The photo in their hands was taken by Ning Mo when he was playing outside with the three girls. The expressions of the four looked happy, but the most important point was: Xu Xiaoqi's hand It was actually on Ning Mo's arm!