Chapter 36 Social Practice (1)

  The car stopped in front of the municipal party committee when Xu Shaojie had already figured out what to do. Along the way, Zhang Shaocai told him about the basic situation inside the municipal party committee compound. After entering the compound, the first building on the right-hand side with four floors was the location of the municipal party committee office. Upon entering, the first office room on the right-hand side was in charge of receiving visitors. Inside the municipal party committee compound, there were many units operating in different buildings, including the Discipline Inspection Commission, Organization Department, Propaganda Department, Political and Legal Committee, United Front Work Department, etc., as well as some smaller departments such as the Agency Affairs Committee, Women's Federation, Youth League, etc. Xu Shaojie went this time to pick up a proof document from the municipal party committee office. Zhang Shaocai would not accompany Xu Shaojie; everything needed to be handled by Xu Shaojie himself. Therefore, the car stopped not far in front of the municipal party committee compound.

  "Hurry up and come back, I'll be waiting for you here. After lunch, let's take a look at where the receipt is opened to. In the afternoon, I'll take you there."

  The gate of the municipal party committee's compound was very large, made of reinforced concrete, with signs hanging on both sides. Xu Shaojie took a look and saw that the left side read "Communist Party of China Huaiyang Municipal Committee" and the right side read "Communist Party of China Huaiyang Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee". Above the gate, the party emblem was suspended. Xu Shaojie had grown up in the county party committee's compound since he was a child, but the county party committee's compound was still very different from the municipal party committee's compound.

  There were sentry posts at the gate of the municipal party committee's compound, with armed police standing guard. On both sides, there were rooms where staff members worked to receive petitioners. Xu Shaojie knew that the security of the municipal party committee's compound was not very tight, which was quite different from the provincial party committee. He remembered that the provincial party committee's compound was inaccessible, and the armed police standing guard would carefully examine every person who wanted to enter the compound. There were also staff members on duty who would ask about the basic situation of the people preparing to enter, and if there was no one inside to receive them, the armed police would not allow them to enter.

  When Xu Shaojie walked in from the side, no one asked him, and no one even looked at him.

  "Shao Jie, when you enter the municipal party committee compound, don't panic at all, just be natural. You must remember that only those who are dressed shabbily, look disheveled, and have a bad personal aura will be questioned. Others won't be asked anything."

  Xu Shaojie remembered Zhang Shaocai's words, but he didn't quite understand the meaning behind them. He felt a bit looked down upon, like the poor and farmers usually weren't allowed in.

  In front of it is a cement-made inclined rectangular surface, about three meters long and one meter wide, with the five big characters "Serve the People" on it. The background color is red and the character color is white. Next to it is a marble statue of Chairman Mao, about 5 meters high. Behind the statue, there is a circular flower bed. Now it's late winter and early spring, no flowers can be seen, but the grass grows very well, green and lush.

  Xu Shaojie walked directly towards the direction of the municipal party committee office.

  Xu Shaojie felt a bit strange, seeing these things, he didn't have the slightest sense of mystery, as if everything should be like this. Xu Shaojie even thought that the guards at the gate were not very strict. Xu Shaojie didn't know why he had such thoughts, and he didn't know that many people who entered the municipal party committee compound for the first time would have a sense of mystery and worship.

  The location of the municipal party committee office is a four-story cement building, with a grayish-white exterior that exudes an air of power and majesty. The secretary and deputy secretary of the municipal party committee work in this building, which is considered the core area of the municipal party committee compound. The secretary and deputy secretary work on the upper floors, but not just anyone can go upstairs. Once inside the building, the requirements are different. Currently, Xu Shaojie does not have the qualifications to go upstairs.

  In the first office on the right, the door was open and a female comrade was inside answering the phone. When she saw Xu Shaojie enter, she waved her hand to signal him to sit down for a moment. There were many meetings during this period of time, almost every day there would be notifications. Xu Shaojie sat properly on the sofa.

  "Comrade, is there something wrong?"

  After seeing the female cadre finish her phone call and start asking questions, Xu Shaojie hastily took out the proof he had prepared earlier and handed it over.

  "I'm a student of Xilin University, during internship I need to conduct social investigation, and came here to get certification."

  The female cadre took over the certificate and looked a bit strange. She quickly glanced at Xu Shaojie's certificate.

  "Go to the third office on the side and get a certificate there. It's strange that getting a certificate would bring you directly here."

  Xu Shaojie walked into the third office, and the door was closed. Xu Shaojie knocked gently on the door.

  "Please come in." A crisp female voice came out, Xu Shaojie was a bit surprised, how many women were there in the municipal party committee office? There aren't many female comrades in administrative units.

  Xu Shaojie pushed open the door and found a typewriter, a photocopier, and other office equipment inside. A young woman sat at the typewriter, typing away. Xu Shaojie realized he had knocked on the wrong door; it should have been the one opposite. He recalled the female cadre in the office saying that the third office was where he needed to go, but she hadn't specified whether it was the inner or outer room. Xu Shaojie naturally assumed it was the outer one.

  "Sorry, I think I got the wrong place, maybe it's the office across from here."

  "Oh, you're here for the certification, right? It's in the office across from us."

  Xu Shaojie took a look at the girl, not simple ah, how did she know he was here to open a proof? The girl didn't continue to pay attention to Xu Shaojie, lowered her head and started typing. Xu Shaojie walked out, carefully closed the door, and knocked on the opposite office door. A dignified male voice came out, Xu Shaojie pushed the door in, saw a middle-aged man wearing glasses, sitting in a chair, reading a newspaper, the office only had one desk, with an electric stove in the middle, burning brightly, the office was very warm. The man looked at Xu Shaojie and continued to read the newspaper.

  "I am Xujiaojie, a student of Xiling University. This is the internship certificate issued by my school. I have come to Huaiyang City for social practice investigation. Please issue me a certificate. I will go to Huaian City for social survey."

  Xu Shaojie handed the proof to the middle-aged man, and the man gestured for Xu Shaojie to put the proof on the table.

  Xu Shaojie didn't know the inside story of getting a certificate. Generally, when people come to the municipal party committee to get a certificate, they are usually brought by acquaintances. Those with backgrounds would never come here personally to get a certificate; having an acquaintance bring it back is enough. There are also cases like Xu Shaojie's, who came cluelessly to get a certificate, but such instances are rare and often involve complicated relationships and introductions, which others are reluctant to make.

  The middle-aged man read the newspaper for a while without asking Xu Shaojie to sit down, so Xu Shaojie had to stand by the door. About a minute later, the man put down the newspaper and returned to his desk, taking a look at Xu Shaojie's certificate.

  "Go wait in the outer office for a while, I'll go ask about the situation."

  Xu Shaojie didn't know which office the outside office referred to, but he couldn't stay here and could only go out and wait. Xu Shaojie was clear that men had to verify the situation and prove that it wasn't just casually issued. He was just a student and couldn't possibly get a certificate with just one word, that would be too casual.

  After Xu Shaojie left the office, he didn't know which office to go to. Many offices had their doors closed, and Xu Shaojie didn't recognize anyone, so it was impossible for him to just walk in and sit down. But he couldn't wander off either - who knew when the meeting would start? He could only head back to the office where he had just come from.

  At this moment, there were already several people sitting inside that office, with a female cadre pouring tea and smiling all over her face. It was completely different from when Xu Shaojie had first entered. Only now did it occur to him that no one had poured tea for him, nor had anyone asked if he wanted any.

  Xu Shaojie had no choice but to stand in the hall and wait, the weather was still a bit cold, but Xu Shaojie didn't feel it, now he needed to get the certificate as soon as possible and go to where he should be.

  A middle-aged man came out, saw Xu Shaojie standing in the hall, didn't say a word, took Xu Shaojie's certificate and went upstairs. Xu Shaojie guessed that the middle-aged man must have gone to ask for instructions from his leader. Xu Shaojie felt a bit nervous, not knowing if Ding Yuan had mentioned this matter or not. According to what he knew, when coming to the municipal party committee, he should first meet with Secretary Ding Yuan. However, Secretary Ding Yuan had said that he wouldn't take care of himself, meaning he wouldn't allow him to be treated specially. So Xu Shaojie gave up on the idea of directly finding Secretary Ding Yuan. Xu Shaojie comforted himself, as long as Secretary Ding arranged it, there would be no problem. It was just a matter of issuing a certificate, what's the big deal? A few minutes later, he could leave this place.

  The middle-aged man quickly went downstairs with an angry look on his face and saw Xu Shaojie.

  "What's going on with you, this student? The leader doesn't even know that you came to Huaiyang City for an internship, and yet you ran to the municipal party committee to get a certificate. Tell me, who told you to come and get a certificate?"

  The man's voice was a bit loud and the people in the next office heard it. The female cadre came out first, walked to the man's side, took the certificate and looked at it carefully, then smiled.

  "The proof is true, I don't understand either. This classmate, who asked you to come here and open the proof? Why didn't they bring you along to open the proof?"

  Several people came out of the office, holding disposable tea cups in their hands, smiling and coming to see Xu Shaojie's certificate. Xu Shaojie wanted to say that it was arranged by Secretary Ding Yuan, but he didn't open his mouth.

  It just so happened that at this moment, Secretary Ding Yuan came down from upstairs, followed by two men, one older and the other slightly younger. The crowd looking at the certificate saw Ding Yuan coming down and hurriedly made way for him, with extremely affectionate smiles on their faces.

  "Secretary Ding is good..."

  Ding Yuan nodded slightly towards everyone and walked directly to Xu Shaojie's side.

  "Little Xu, how come you're just arriving now? Are you here to get a certificate yourself? You rascal, why didn't you call me when you were on your way?"

  "Secretary Ding, you're busy with work, so I didn't disturb you, and was just about to start writing the certificate."

  "Oh, no difficulties were encountered."

  "There is no 'no', just about to start proving it."

  "Uh-huh, once we arrive in Huai'an City, you'll conduct a thorough social survey. Later on, I'll test your findings."

  After a few words, Ding Yuan walked out towards the outside, and the carriage was already waiting in the outer hall.

  After Ding Yuan left, the hall was very quiet and no sound could be heard. Xu Shaojie found that everyone's gaze had changed, and the meaning in their eyes seemed to say: So you're pretending to be a pig eating a tiger? The person introduced by Secretary Ding Yuan himself ran to the municipal party committee office to open a certificate. Looking at what Secretary Ding Yuan said earlier, I don't know how familiar it is, maybe they are relatives.

  "Xu Shaojie, I didn't ask clearly just now, don't mind, come to the office and sit down quickly, I'll issue a certificate for you right away. Later, I will call Huai'an City to make sure everything is well arranged."

  A middle-aged man hastily came over, gently patting Xu Shaojie's shoulder. At this moment, there was still cold sweat on his head. Who knew that Xu Shaojie was personally introduced by Secretary Ding? Of course, Secretary Ding wouldn't have brought him to open a proof. If Xu Shaojie had spoken out about his difficulties earlier, it's unknown what the situation would be like now. Fortunately, Xu Shaojie was very understanding and didn't say anything. Just then, the woman came out with a cup of freshly brewed tea.

  "Xu Shaojie, have some tea and don't stand outside anymore. It's cold out there, come into the office to warm up."

  "Alright, go warm up in the office, I'll get you a certificate right away."

  Xu Shaojie entered the office, and the middle-aged man immediately handed Xu Shaojie a cigarette, instructing him to wait for a moment. The middle-aged man quickly pulled out a thick stack of certificates from his desk drawer, swiftly issued a certificate to Xu Shaojie, then asked him to wait for a bit longer while he went to the adjacent office to get it stamped.

  "Xu Shaojie, do you want me to take you to the Huai'an Municipal Committee?"

  "Thank you, no need, I'll go myself, there are still people waiting for me outside."

  "Alright then, I won't see you off."

  The middle-aged man had escorted Xu Shaojie to the outer hall, and at this moment, the female cadre in the office was also smiling and nodding to greet Xu Shaojie. Xu Shaojie felt strange, this is what power is like, even with just a few words, there are completely different treatments. If he hadn't "accidentally" met Secretary Ding Yuan, today not only would the proof not be opened, but he didn't know what kind of situation he would encounter. In the end, he had to say that it was introduced by Secretary Ding Yuan, and these people might not believe him either.

  "Shaojie, let's go eat, it's almost time to get off work. After eating, take a rest for a while, and this afternoon we'll head to Huai'an City."

  Zhang Shaocai was driving, while Xu Shaojie was deep in thought. The timing of Ding Yuan's appearance was too coincidental, it just happened to be suitable, he felt confused, could the leader really be that powerful? Not long after, Xu Shaojie finally understood, this wasn't a coincidence, this was the first lesson of social practice.

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