Chapter 109: Job Responsibilities

  The wine in Yudu District was particularly potent, and all the members of the class participated. Xu Shaojie got really drunk, to the point where he didn't know how to get on the car or go home. When he woke up in the middle of the night, he found Zhang Xiaoyu hugging him, with tears in her eyes. Zhang Xiaoyu had already prepared warm water, and Xu Shaojie drank a whole cup in one gulp.

  "Little Jade, today I wasn't paying attention and didn't control myself well, so I drank too much."

  "Shao Jie, I know you can't help it, but be more careful in the future. Drinking like this is not good for your body. Seeing you drink to the point of being unconscious and coming back without knowing what's going on, it hurts my heart as your sister."

  "I know, Little Jade is really good."

  Xu Shaojie leaned into Zhang Xiaoyu's arms and fell fast asleep.

  Early in the morning, when Xu Shaojie got up, Zhang Xiaoyu had already prepared breakfast. Xu Shaojie found a plastic bag beside his bed, and inside it was a brand new mobile phone box. There was also a note with a few words on it. After reading it, Xu Shaojie realized that this phone was a farewell gift from Yudu District to him.

  Time is still early, Xu Shaojie thought carefully about the work situation in Yudu District. Xu Shaojie was accustomed to summarizing, and every time he worked in a new place, he would think about the gains and losses after it ended. The work in Yudu District was undoubtedly very successful. In a year and a half, he served as deputy secretary of the district committee and secretary of the district committee, developed vegetable greenhouses, built a cement plant, and made Yudu District famous in Huaiyang City. However, there were also places where Xu Shaojie was not satisfied, that is, the game with Liu Zhihua, and the final means taken were not very glorious. In terms of personnel, there were no achievements, only transferring Huang Guangming to work in Yudu District. Xu Shaojie thought that perhaps the cadres in Yudu District were used to high-pressure policies, and he took some enlightened measures, which had a good effect. Building a cement plant and vegetable greenhouses were all about developing the economy, and the cadres welcomed them. On the surface, it seemed very successful, but he himself did not receive real training and did not encounter many difficulties. It can be said that in the game of officialdom, he did not gain much experience, and was just starting out.

  At 7:55, Xu Shaojie arrived on time for work. As soon as he entered the first floor lobby, he saw Liao Hongyun's secretary-general.

  "Good morning, Secretary Liao."

  "Secretary Xu, come to my office for a moment."

  Xu Shaojie followed behind Liao Hongyun, the municipal party committee office had already started its holiday, except for leaving necessary staff on duty, the rest were all off work, so there were not many people in the building. Xu Shaojie saw Qiao Yurong waving at him, but because Liao Hongyun was in front of him, Xu Shaojie could only wave his hand to indicate that he still had things to do.

  "Xiao Xu, you will be following Secretary Ding Yuan at all times. This is the mobile phone provided by the office for necessary communication. Since you already had a mobile number before, we didn't need to get a new card, so we just used your old number. The office has registered it. I know that you returned the phone to Yu Du District previously, well done. Remember, from now on, the phone needs to be turned on 24 hours a day. If Secretary Ding Yuan has any situation, he can contact you at any time. During meetings, please set your phone to vibrate mode."

  Xu Shaojie secretly felt relieved, after considering it in the morning, he didn't bring his new phone with him.

  "Xiao Xu, working alongside Secretary Ding Yuan is different from when you were in Yudu District. In Yudu District, you were the top leader and had more freedom to control your time. However, by Secretary Ding's side, you have very little personal time. You're familiar with Master Ma, no need for introduction. Every day at 7:30 am, you go to pick up Secretary Ding from the municipal party committee dormitory area along with Master Ma. For convenience, after the new year, the municipal office allocated a house for you next to Secretary Ding's residence. To be a good secretary, remember six key words: diligent hands, tight lips, and a lively mind. Do more, say what should be said, don't say what shouldn't be said, keep strict confidentiality, think ahead, and have foresight. Many times, you're not just a secretary but also Secretary Ding's advisor, so keep this in mind."

  "Director Liao, I remember, I will get familiar with the work at the fastest speed."

  "Alright, I believe in you. You were outstanding in Yudu District and will definitely do well by Secretary Ding Yuan's side. Secretary Ding Yuan will be back at noon and will talk to you this afternoon."

  Xu Shaojie walked towards the office, always feeling a bit uneasy. It shouldn't be so serious, after all, it's just a job, not that big of a deal. Xu Shaojie's office was adjacent to Secretary Ding Yuan's office, and Xu Shaojie had the key to Secretary Ding Yuan's office. He thought for a moment, then opened the door to Secretary Ding Yuan's office. Outside was the reception room, with a circle of sofas arranged around a tea table. Inside was Secretary Ding Yuan's workspace, which looked very ordinary, without anything special about it. Xu Shaojie started his first task, cleaning up.

  Ding Yuan sat silently in the sedan chair, his face expressionless. This time, he had come to the provincial capital alone, visiting relevant leaders of the provincial units. Li Ming, his former secretary, had already gone to Shalong County to take up the post of vice-county magistrate. The arrangement was unexpected by everyone, as Li Ming was originally the deputy director of the municipal party committee office and should have been appointed as vice-secretary or even county mayor. Only a few people knew the reason behind this decision, but Ding Yuan was almost filled with anger when he made this arrangement, which was only to prevent the conflict from becoming public.

  Ding Yuan had been the secretary of the Huaiyang Municipal Party Committee for four years. When he first arrived in Huaiyang, everything went smoothly, and Ding Yuan was always worried that some members of the municipal party committee and government would not obey him. Therefore, in his daily work, he was cautious and sought opinions from all sides before making decisions.

  However, it was said that "good fortune is not to be shared, misfortune is hard to avoid." Huaiyang City had a tradition of internal strife, with the provincial party committee being particularly troublesome. The members of the municipal party committee were generally divided into two factions: the outsiders and the locals. The two factions often clashed over power struggles, especially in personnel appointments.

  The current mayor, Huang Haitao, was from Shalong County and had taken office a year earlier than Ding Yuan. Initially, their cooperation was good, but as time went on, various conflicts arose, especially in personnel appointments involving key departments. Huang Haitao always insisted on his own opinions, and recently, he even began to interfere with the appointment of county and municipal leaders. This was something that Ding Yuan could not tolerate.

  As mayor, Huang's main responsibility was economic work, but over the years, Huaiyang City's economy had been stagnant, without any outstanding achievements. Ding Yuan was already anxious about this, but unexpectedly, Huang Haitao's attention turned to power struggles.

  Li Ming had always been Ding Yuan's secretary and had started as a cadre in the municipal party committee's policy research office. He had some ability and performed well initially, although he had a somewhat bookish air. After three years, he was promoted to deputy director of the municipal party committee office, and slowly, he began to show improvement, shedding his bookish image and becoming more practical.

  Ding Yuan began to consider letting Li Ming take on leadership roles in county and municipal governments to temper him and prepare him for future development. However, just as this was happening, Ding Yuan discovered that Li Ming had changed, making friends slowly and changing his attitude towards others. In the municipal party committee office, he walked with his head held high, gradually showing off his leadership style.

  Recently, an incident made Ding Yuan determined to make a decision. Li Ming's relationship with Huang Haitao's secretary, Yu Huixiang, suddenly became very close, and they often ate and drank together. This was a dangerous signal, as Ding Yuan's relationship with Huang Haitao was becoming increasingly tense. His secretary's closeness to Huang Haitao's secretary made him realize that this was not normal behavior for a leadership secretary.

  Therefore, Ding Yuan made the decision to adjust Li Ming's position, sending him to Shalong County to take up the post of vice-county magistrate. Strangely, Huang Haitao completely agreed with this decision, which gave Ding Yuan a sense of being deceived. However, he had already made the decision and could not back down.

  When adjusting Li Ming's position, Ding Yuan did not hesitate at all and directly appointed Xu Shaojie as his new secretary.

  In the officialdom, things are complicated and sometimes the decisions made may not be entirely correct. This requires prior judgment. Ding Yuan has been serving as the municipal party secretary for a long time, and most of the time, after making judgments about things, he adopts a strategy of openness. This has something to do with his secretary Li Ming, who has a bookish air and is relatively simple-minded. After a long time, Ding Yuan felt that this wouldn't work, as open strategies must be combined with covert ones. When a scholar encounters a soldier, reason can't be used to persuade him. If you're in a public setting and your opponent doesn't play by your rules, no matter how great your abilities are, you'll be at a loss. This time, Li Ming's adjustment made Ding Yuan reflect on his past actions. He realized that he didn't need a secretary who only followed his own decisions, but rather one who could provide strategic advice and plan carefully. Ding Yuan felt that an individual's ability is limited, and the best approach is to gather ideas from many people.

  Ding Yuan had a good impression of Xu Shaojie. In fact, when Xu Shaojie first arrived at the municipal party committee office, Ding Yuan already had this idea to let Xu Shaojie serve as his secretary. However, based on just a few conversations, Ding Yuan wouldn't make a rash decision. After Xu Shaojie fully demonstrated his abilities in Yudu District, Ding Yuan made up his mind. Compared to Li Ming, Xu Shaojie was much more outstanding, flexible, and had independent thinking ability, being good at assessing the situation. Having Xu Shaojie as his secretary was far better than having Li Ming, so overall, Ding Yuan's thoughts were quite pleasant.

  When Ding Yuan entered the office, Xu Shaojie followed behind him, looking very careful. Seeing that the office was tidy and dust-free, Ding Yuan nodded in satisfaction. In the past, Li Ming never did such things, it was always arranged for the logistics staff to do it. Li Ming thought this was not the responsibility of a secretary, but he didn't know that some things in the secretary's office needed to be kept confidential, so Ding Yuan had to lock all the documents in the drawer.

  Xu Shaojie made tea for Ding Yuan and stood aside neatly.

  "Haha, Shao Jie, I think you look like a young daughter-in-law."

  "Secretary Ding, I'm also helpless. You're the municipal party secretary, and I'm your secretary, equivalent to a little daughter-in-law. If one day you're not satisfied with me, I'll have to pack up my things and leave, and it won't be easy to find another job."

  "Haha, you really are climbing up the pole, okay, find a place to sit well, I don't have the habit of scolding subordinates, with this attitude, I thought you made a mistake."

  Xu Shaojie hastily brought over a chair and sat down across from Secretary Ding Yuan, separated by a desk.

  "Hey kid, how did you manage to make it so formal? I'm even a bit unaccustomed to it."

  "Secretary Ding, I think the conversation should be like this. As the municipal party secretary, your words are requirements. Those who come to your office to report and ask for instructions, if they sit like this, they will realize that they are reporting and asking for instructions from you. Otherwise, everyone is used to it and may feel that what you say can still be negotiated. Of course, if it's a leader of the municipal party committee or government, you can discuss in the reception hall outside."

  "Haha, I've never had such a feeling before, okay, you're officially on duty today, this is your first suggestion, right?"

  Ding Yuan used to talk with the leaders of the municipal units outside for most of the time, and Li Ming also arranged for people who came to report work to sit outside before he himself came out.

  "Shao Jie, the work environment has changed, what are your thoughts?"

  "Secretary Ding, I dare not deceive you. At present, I still don't have the feeling and idea. I will do my best to remind myself that now I am the secretary of the municipal party committee, not the secretary of the Yu Du district party committee anymore. However, I guarantee that I will get familiar with the work as soon as possible."

  "Hehe, how long did you say it would take?"

  "I guarantee that after Chinese New Year, I will basically adapt."

  "You're quite confident, huh? Being able to get familiar with the work in such a short time. So tell me, what should you do every day and how can you do a good job as a secretary?"

  "Director Ding, I think that doing a good job as a secretary mainly involves two aspects. Secretary Liao has already told me about this. The six words 'hand diligent mouth strict heart lively' can be combined into two main points: one is to do well in daily work, including handling documents, receiving guests, investigation and so on; the other aspect is to provide strategic advice. In my personal opinion, as we become more familiar with our work, providing strategic advice becomes even more important."

  "Haha, I hear that the secretary and the ancient strategist are about the same."

  "Secretary Ding, actually the ancient strategist is just a secretary, only at that time it was not clear. The Tang Dynasty's Secretariat had some of this meaning. Modern society has developed and the responsibilities of secretaries have become clearer. I think if a secretary simply does things according to the leader's requirements, cannot provide strategic advice or solve problems for the leader, is unqualified. If everything needs to be considered by the leader before the secretary can execute it, then anyone can do it. The stupider the person, the better they will execute without any mistakes. Secretaries need to be flexible."

  "Xiao Jie, I didn't expect you to have such an opinion. Well, just follow your own thoughts and do a good job as a secretary. I won't give you any specific rules or frameworks, what I need is results."

  "Secretary Ding, I understand. When doing things, what's needed is results. No matter how perfect the process is, if the result isn't good, it's just formalism. That's how I've always looked at problems when I was in Yudu District."

  "You young man, just took office and already so formal, sounds like you're the municipal party secretary."

  "Secretary Ding, I don't dare, I'm telling the truth. If you have such an opinion of me, I'll really pack up and leave."

  "Alright, do your own job well, especially in terms of integrity, you must do it well, I won't say anything else."

  Ding Yuan was very satisfied with Xu Shaojie's performance, and his mood was good for the entire afternoon. With the Spring Festival approaching, Ding Yuan needed to go visit and comfort old comrades and model workers.