Chapter 16: Getting into the Environmental Protection Bureau?

  At eight o'clock in the evening, Zhang Qingyun finally dragged his tired body back home. After the Standing Committee meeting, as a secretary, he also needed to coordinate with various departments and make proper arrangements for Lei Gang's upcoming inspection tour, which kept him busy and worried.

  "Mom, I'm hungry, cook something for me!" Zhang Qingyun exclaimed as soon as she got home and collapsed onto the sofa.

  "You still know how to go home, you said you don't even know what you're busy with all day, how come it's already like this and you haven't eaten yet?" Yun Su-e said in a bad mood.

  Zhang Qingyun remained silent, and he didn't tell his family about being transferred to the county party committee office. He didn't have the heart to talk to his parents about these things now either. What he was doing was a political gamble, and all his energy had to be focused on it, without any distraction.

  "Mom, I've been really busy lately. Isn't the party school training over? Now the county committee has arranged for us to work with each department in the county to ensure stability and security before and after Chinese New Year, so it'll be busy both before and after the holiday!" Zhang Qingyun said lazily from the sofa.

  "What? You're all busy? Then what about the blind date? Your aunt has already agreed with the girl's family, you can't just stand her up!" Yín Sù'é said.

  Zhang Qingyun glanced at Zhang Deyan and didn't dare to speak out, hesitating for a while before saying:

  "I'm also trying to make a good impression in front of my leader, aren't I? I'm also eager to be transferred to the city as soon as possible, otherwise I'll just be stuck in that mountainous area, and blind dates will be pointless."

  When Zhang Qingyun said this, Yin Su'e suddenly became interested and pulled him to say: "I'm saying Qingyun, is what you said true? Mom doesn't expect you to enter the city, just hope you can get out of Liziwan that mountain nest, even if it's in Yanshan Township. You tell mom, do you have a chance this time?"

  Zhang Qingyun secretly smiled in his heart, thinking that if his parents knew he was now entering the county committee compound, he wondered what kind of expression they would have. As soon as this thought occurred to him, he hurriedly said:

  "Mom, don't worry! Your son is a high-achieving student and always has been. You should have confidence in your son!"

  "High scorer, high scorer, what's the use of being a high scorer in today's society? Xin Gang and He Jun were taking the civil service exam with you, weren't they? Their scores couldn't compare to yours, but now they're both deputy directors. I told you back then, your mom and I don't have any connections, I told you not to pursue politics, but you wouldn't listen. Now you know what it's like, huh?" Zhang Deyan said with a hum.

  Zhang Qingyun felt a chill in his heart, his old man's thinking was indeed somewhat negative, no wonder he had never accepted the organization's call all his life, how could this kind of thinking be possible? However, he knew his father's temper well, and he dared not say such words out loud, he could only think so in his heart.

  "Old man, don't complain anymore. Qingyun is already like this, and your complaints can't help him. Isn't that Zhou Jin in your class the son of Director Zhou from the Environmental Protection Bureau? Can you think of a way to communicate with Director Zhou and transfer Qingyun to the Environmental Protection Bureau?"

  "Never mind, never mind, don't worry about my affairs, Mom. Just get me something to fill my stomach first, I'm starving!" Seeing Yin Su'e getting more and more agitated, Zhang Qingyun hastily interrupted her words.

  "Eat, eat, all day long you only know how to eat! As soon as we talk about serious matters, you get annoyed. You're almost 30 years old, why are you still so irresponsible? No girlfriend, no career success, what can I say to you?!" Yīn Sù'é was really angry this time, but after venting her anger, she still couldn't help going to the kitchen to cook a bowl of rice for Zhāng Qīngyún.

  Zhang Qingyun suddenly felt a sense of happiness, he knew his parents cared about him, the occasional quarrels between the three of them made their home feel more like a family, he secretly vowed that when his situation improved, he would definitely make his parents live a more comfortable life.

  After dinner, Zhang Qingyun didn't dare to stay in the living room anymore and went back to his bedroom. As soon as he sat down at his desk, the phone rang.

  "Hey, Zhang Qingyun! You little scoundrel is really not right, such a big thing and you didn't even tell an old friend, what do you mean?" As soon as Zhang Qingyun picked up the phone, he heard Chen Mai's characteristic loud voice.

  "Oh, Brother Chen! I didn't want to bother you since I saw how busy you are. You're the traffic police captain, and it's peak travel season now, with a million things to take care of. My matter is minor, so I didn't disturb you. Besides, it was quite sudden, and I didn't know about it beforehand either..." Zhang Qingyun said weakly.

  "Cut it out, you're showing off! Ah, be honest with me, what's going on this time? County magistrate's secretary, tsk tsk, I say you're not making a sound until you make a big noise!" Chen Mai laughed.

  "Don't laugh at me, I'm just hitting it big, whether it's good luck or bad luck is still unknown! You'd better wish me well!"

  "Hey, you young man seems to still be humble, the county committee's waters are deep, you need to be careful. But this time you've made quite a stir, the name Zhang Qingyun is now known by everyone in Yongping officialdom, no one doesn't know, no one isn't talking about it! You're a model for young cadres, being a role model isn't easy!" Chen Mai said with a smile.

  Zhang Qingyun secretly smiled bitterly, the current officialdom is indeed a bit special, when his mother's Wu Zhiqiang and others were promoted, they were all quiet, but when it was their turn to be promoted, the noise was loud, it seems that relationships have already taken root in the hearts of officials, people without background who rise to power can actually attract more envy and jealousy, and become a "model" unintentionally.

  "Alright, alright, thanks for the reminder. We're both quite busy now, let's catch up again after this period and talk more then, okay?" Zhang Qingyun said, his mind was a bit messy at the moment, he needed to sort out his thoughts and didn't have the heart to chat with Chen Mai casually.

  Chen Mai is also quite busy now, so the two of them chatted for a few sentences before ending the call. After hanging up the phone, Zhang Qingyun felt exhausted to the extreme, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fall asleep on the bed, her mind was filled with thoughts about today's Standing Committee meeting.

  Until today, Zhang Qingyun truly felt that he had entered the officialdom. Before, when he was in Lizi Ping, a small place, going down to the countryside, delivering documents, doing odd jobs in the office, and so on, his work had nothing to do with being an "official".

  Today's Standing Committee meeting, what left the deepest impression on him was Wu De, a man of great reputation and ability, who can summon the wind and rain in Yongping, indeed has his own unique place, very official, making people feel pressured at first glance.

  Apart from Wu De, the deputy secretary of the county party committee and vice mayor Wang Ping also left a deep impression on him. After work, Zhang Qingyun checked the materials and found that Wang Ping indeed had a strong background, his uncle was the secretary of the municipal party committee in Wuling City, a neighboring city. Zhang Qingyun judged that Wang Ping's arrival in Yongping was also to go through the motions, and promotion should be inevitable.