Chapter Fifty-Three Changes

  Today, after the snow, it was sunny. When Zhang Qingyun entered the office, he saw two more leave slips on his desk. He smiled and tore them up. Zhang Qian also had a slip, really lacking brains, what's the point of asking for leave? Isn't it just a waste of words? I casually made up an excuse to brush it off.

  At noon, Zhang Qingyun had just finished lunch and was about to take a nap when someone knocked on the door. When she opened it, it was Wang HuaHua and Zhang Qian, two people. Wang HuaHua's face was calm, while Zhang Qian pouted, looking somewhat unhappy.

  "What's wrong? Little Zhang and Little Wang are back already? You've returned empty-handed today!" Zhang Qingyun said with a smile.

  Wang Hua's face changed slightly, looking a bit embarrassed. Zhang Qian said: "The coal mine didn't open today at all. When we went there, there was only an old gatekeeper. We were made to take a useless trip, and the equipment we prepared overnight wasn't used at all."

  Zhang Qingyun burst out laughing, and after a long while, he finally composed himself and said: "In the past, I let you guys stay in the office, but you felt bored. Now that I've given you tasks to do, you feel tired instead - what's good about this?"

  Zhang Qian hurriedly stopped speaking, while Wang Hua said: "Director Zhang, I suspect that the report is a false alarm. We've inspected those small coal mines that were reported, and we didn't find anything unusual."

  Zhang Qingyun sneered and said, "Is that so? Do you think anyone would dig coal in the icy snow? Moreover, they are illegally mining national mineral resources, do they dare to do it openly? You don't even use your brain to think, and you jump to conclusions!"

  Suddenly subjected to Zhang Qingyun's scolding, Wang Hua and Zhang Qian were immediately stunned, not daring to breathe a word. Seeing this scene, Zhang Qingyun's expression immediately eased, and he said with a heavy heart:

  "Xiao Zhang, Xiao Wang, dealing with government agencies is not as simple as you think. Everything requires carefulness and attention to detail, and most importantly, you need to use your brain. I knew yesterday's outcome was going to be like this, but at the time, you were both very enthusiastic, so I didn't advise against it. After all, such experiences are very important."

  "How was it? Now you know that doing something is not easy! Every day complaining about this and that, you are born in a blessed life but don't appreciate it..."

  Zhang Qingyun saw the two men with a look of shame on their faces, and nodded secretly in his heart. The way to control people is to be strict and lenient, but the premise is that subordinates must obey you, and then stimulate their initiative. Zhang Qingyun had been a high-ranking executive in a large enterprise in his previous life, so he was quite familiar with this aspect. Only at this moment did Zhang Qingyun firmly believe that these two men could be used.

  "Alright, stop standing there like fools. Choose a good day, wait until the weather clears up in three to five days, and then take action. You'll definitely reap some benefits!"

  Wang Hua and Zhang Qian exchanged a glance, Zhang Qian smiled somewhat awkwardly and said: "Thank you Director Zhang for pointing it out, we...we will definitely learn from our mistakes next time and ensure the task is completed!"

  *

  Zhang Qingyun sat idly in his office chair, it had been a whole week since Li Gang left for Wude, but he still hadn't made any contact or called back to ask about the situation.

  These days, Zhang Qingyun has been spending his time going to the county government office every day and then staying in his office to read files. The files he reads cover all aspects of social and economic development and institutional changes in Yongping over the past five years. It's also a way for him to recharge himself amidst his busy schedule.

  Apart from this, after work at night, he basically stuck with Geng Shuang. Since Zhang Qingyun broke the window paper that day, their emotions have developed rapidly and are often in pairs.

  Facing Zhang Qingyun's "nonsense", the traditionally-minded Zhang Deyan couple didn't say anything, only repeatedly reminding Zhang Qingyun to treat their daughter-in-law well. Moreover, Geng Shuang was indeed very affable and had been making Zhang Deyan couple laugh all day long. Now, Yin Su'e's attitude towards Geng Shuang was even better than towards Zhang Qingyun, often boasting that her daughter-in-law was sensible and knew how to handle things.

  As for the coal mine side of things, it turned out to be just as Zhang Qingyun had expected. Two days ago, Zhang Qian and Wang Hua went to Qinghe again and called back to say that they had found some clues. Zhang Qingyun immediately instructed them to stay in Qinghe temporarily and continue investigating, while he himself would help them deal with the county committee.

  "Ding, ding, ding!"

  "Come in!" Zhang Qingyun said lazily.

  He looked up and his face immediately became somewhat unnatural, it was that old devil Jia Zhen from the government office again. These past few days, Zhang Qingyun could be said to have suffered greatly at this guy's hands. This old fellow was just like Tang Monk in the 21st century, every time he dragged Zhang Qingyun along it was like a train running wildly through the mountains, not stopping for even a moment. He would never let go, and sometimes he would linger in Zhang Qingyun's office for half a day.

  "Old Jia! Today is really not possible, I'm busy right now! Let's chat another day." Zhang Qingyun hastily stood up straight and said with a serious face.

  "Xiao Zhang, this isn't right of you. Anyway, Director Li hasn't returned yet, so keep my old man company and chat with him for a bit, it's also a way of showing concern for the elderly! Besides, in this courtyard, I feel like we hit it off, if it were someone else, I wouldn't even bother chatting with them!"

  Zhang Qingyun fainted. This old guy really treats the government compound as a nursing home, no wonder he's been mixed up for a lifetime and is just a deputy department head. It seems that the organization's eyes are still very sharp!

  "Director Jia, you mustn't be careless and distracted lately. County Head Wu criticized your department last time, have you forgotten? If he catches wind of any more nonsense in your office, just wait for him to blow up at the meeting!" Zhang Qingyun saw that being straightforward wasn't working, so she immediately began to beat around the bush.

  Jia Zhen smiled mysteriously and winked, saying: "You don't understand this, do you? The county magistrate didn't go to work today, I heard he's sick and is lying in the People's Hospital. It's said that he'll have to undergo surgery."

  "Ill? What?" Zhang Qingyun suddenly stood up, his face changing instantly, and hastily said: "What's wrong? Weren't you fine yesterday?"

  "Fortunately, I heard Director Lei say this morning that County Magistrate Wu felt chest pain a few days ago. At the time, he didn't pay much attention to it and just took some medicine casually. Who knew that last night he was in pain all night? Only then did he come to the hospital for an examination, and it turned out that his gallstones had acted up and surgery was necessary immediately." Jia Zhen said with a somewhat pleased tone.

  Zhang Qingyun's face changed several times, and he immediately felt that something was wrong. Wu De had never been ill in the morning or evening, but now he was ill at this time. This matter was not trivial, Zhang Qingyun would rather die than believe it.

  As for kidney stones, they can be quite unpredictable. Some people may have them their whole lives without any issues, while others may need surgery. As long as it's managed properly, it doesn't matter if it takes a few months or a year to pass. But Wu De's luck was just so bad that he had to get surgery at this time?

  "Xiao Zhang, what we talked about last time, the wild golden-edged orchid, is really true. I asked the mountain guest of Wugai Mountain yesterday..." Jia Zhen saw that Zhang Qingyun didn't speak and started talking nonsense again.

  Zhang Qingyun suddenly became angry, hastily waved his hand and said: "Jia Lao, you can stay if you want! Anyway, I need to go to the toilet, I'm leaving!" Zhang Qingyun finished speaking and rushed straight to the bathroom.