Chapter 320 What’s the Background of This New Secretary?

Chapter 320: What’s the Deal with This New Secretary?

After several autumn rains, the southernmost island of the country got a touch of autumn.

The temperature difference between morning and evening began to grow, making things much more pleasant.

Chenchen started learning characters from his dad and Uncle Yuanhang. Teaching such a sharp kid with a great memory was a breeze.

Point out a character once or twice, and no matter how complex it was, he could remember it. Sometimes, he could even form sentences with it, so his "teachers" hardly felt accomplished.

However, Fu Zhengtu and Fu Yuanhang took it step by step, explaining each character’s pinyin, radicals, origins, and meanings clearly.

They didn’t teach too much each day. The child’s hands were still small, and he wasn’t great at holding a pen yet—writing would have to wait until at least next year.

So, going slow worked just fine.

Chenchen’s favorite game these days was the character-guessing game.

At any time, anywhere, they’d point to a character and ask him to guess what it was.

As long as it was a character he had been taught, he could usually recall it.

In most families, the women handled most of the childcare, but not in Su Taotao’s household. Things like giving Chenchen baths and doing his laundry were Fu Zhengtu and Fu Yuanhang’s job.

Fu Yuanhang was in charge of Chenchen’s early lessons, while Su Taotao and Fu Zhengtu pitched in.

What Su Taotao taught and what Fu Zhengtu taught were entirely different, but the child soaked it all up easily, so teaching him was a cinch.

Chenchen’s current favorite toy was the building blocks his dad made for him. Little wooden blocks of all shapes could be assembled into various patterns, which he found even more interesting than origami.

In short, the little guy was thriving every day.

Fu Yuanhang was a perfectionist who stuck to high standards in everything—whether studying, art lessons, or play—he had his own set of principles and followed them closely.

Su Taotao and Fu Zhengtu were also busy in their respective fields.

Recently, the project Fu Zhengtu was leading saw a breakthrough with the addition of Li Shouwang, making him even busier than before.

Su Taotao was constantly running between the factory and the worksite, swamped with work.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival came National Day, followed by the winter solstice, and soon after, the New Year.

Fu Yuanhang and Uncle Mu were about to start their final exams.

This year, the Lunar New Year and the Gregorian New Year were only about twenty days apart.

Once Fu Yuanhang’s winter break began, they’d start planning to fetch Zhou Linglan.

This period was also Su Taotao’s busiest time, as the first phase of the new factory’s construction was wrapping up.

All tasks, including recruitment, had to be arranged in advance.

Xia Zhiqiu, now far along in her pregnancy, mostly held down the fort at headquarters, while Su Taotao rotated leading Dong Shengping, Zhou Shiyan, and a few female assistants in managing the new factory.

As soon as the new dormitory was completed, Xiao Lu moved in, making the new factory his main base.

Hiring was mostly left to Auntie Zhong and Xiao Lu.

The establishment of such a large factory in such a small place was bound to cause a stir.

Countless people pulled out all the stops to avoid being sent to the countryside, so when the factory's recruitment notice was posted, it was no exaggeration to say the whole town was buzzing.

The first phase alone offered over a hundred job openings for open hiring—this meant many could avoid rural assignments and secure livelihoods!

People practically wanted to worship Su Taotao as a saint.

News traveled fast, and the small town emptied as crowds flooded the People's Square to read the job notice.

Some cried happy tears, clasping their hands: "Thank God! My younger sister meets the requirements—she won’t have to go to the countryside this time!"

"Ah, my little brother too—he’s only sixteen, and he isn't very strong, though it’s not contagious. I wonder if he qualifies..."

"Haven’t you heard? Director Su is setting a precedent—as long as it’s not contagious, disabled workers missing limbs at the old factory get priority for jobs, even assigned to lighter tasks!"

"Can this be real?"

"Of course! Veterans are also prioritized. Director Su has great standing in their circles—she’s a doer, no nonsense. Open hiring means just that—no backdoor deals! Not even Secretary Zhao gets special treatment!"

"That’s wonderful! She’s practically a saint!"

"Watch what you're saying—are you trying to get Director Su in trouble?"

"Right, right, my mistake… Director Su is great, Director Su is great..."

"But meeting the requirements doesn’t guarantee a spot. With so many of us, can they hire everyone?"

"You know the coconut grove land? It’s all been converted into factories now. This round is just over a hundred hires—next time, it might be a thousand, even ten thousand! Maybe they really can take everyone."

"Exactly! See here? 'First round: 150 openings'—*first round*. That land could fit a factory for thousands, even tens of thousands!"

"I heard their small base factory grew fast enough to expand here—a ten-thousand-worker plant isn’t impossible."

"Secretary Zhao and Director Su are holding an info session this Sunday—we can ask for details then."

"Info session? Who needs mobilizing these days? Isn’t every family desperate for work?"

"Probably to give everyone the facts. Never mind—hurry and notify your relatives!"

"Let’s go, let’s go..."

...

Auntie Zhong and Xiao Lu returned after posting the notices, all smiles:

"Taotao, the crowd at the People’s Square was unbelievable! I never knew our little town had so many people—I was nearly trampled!"

"You should’ve sent Xiao Lu to post them. Why get in the thick of it?" Su Taotao said.

"I thought I’d answer questions on-site, but when I saw how crazy it was, I got out of there. These days, everyone’s desperate for jobs."

Had she stayed and revealed her role, she might’ve been crushed.

Su Taotao smiled, putting her pen away: "It's fine. We’ll answer questions on Sunday when recruitment officially starts."

Auntie Zhong said nervously: "In all my years, I’ve never seen such a scene. We’ll need good crowd management that day."

Su Taotao: "Secretary Zhao will handle arrangements. We just need to send a few people. Focus on distributing more application forms—there’ll be plenty of applicants."

Auntie Zhong nodded. "Got it."

The phone on Su Taotao's desk rang, and Auntie Zhong excused herself first.

Secretary Zhao was calling:

—"Director Su, the new factory secretary started today and is staying at the government guesthouse. Do you have time tomorrow to meet over a meal?"

Su Taotao thought for a moment and replied, "Let's skip the meal. Let's meet at the construction site instead."

She disliked that whole drinking-and-dining culture. If the new leader was someone like Liu Zaitian or Liu Weiguo, it'd be better if they went back where they came from as soon as possible.

To her surprise, Secretary Zhao laughed heartily:

—"You two are going to get along just fine. He actually suggested the same thing—I was just trying to mooch a free meal!" Secretary Zhao joked.

—"In that case, shall we meet at the construction site tomorrow morning?"

Su Taotao: "Sure. I have some things to take care of in the morning, so around 10 o'clock? Let's meet at the construction site. Oh, and if he doesn’t mind, he can move into the new dormitory tomorrow. Xiao Lu has already moved in."

Secretary Zhao laughed heartily again:

—"Wouldn't you know it! He just asked me if he could stay at the dormitory."

Su Taotao paused...

"See you tomorrow."

...

After hanging up, Su Taotao drummed her fingers on the desk. Just what kind of person was this newly assigned secretary, she thought?