NOVPUB
Chapter 636: Chapter 626: Not Taking Steamed Buns as Provisions (Extra 6 for Haixia Laoxue)
Shen Yunfang took the bus to the school to teach her classes, although she had been very busy these past few weeks, she tried her best not to ask for leave. Today was Tuesday, and she only had two morning classes before she could go find Director Bai to inquire about a reliable construction team.
The municipal government had been focusing on infrastructure projects these past few years, so they should have a few established construction teams on hand.
Upon arriving at the school, Shen Yunfang first went to the office. As a university teacher, she didn’t have fixed hours, so her opportunities to visit the office were quite rare, and she had little more than a nodding acquaintance with the teachers there.
However, today, after entering the office, Shen Yunfang felt it was different; nearly all the teachers were present, and for some reason, they were all silently burying themselves in their work at their own seats.
Oh, of course, this was Shen Yunfang’s own perception, as for what others were actually doing, she truly didn’t know.
When she entered the office, everyone glanced her way, and then most of the teachers, having recognized her, went back to their work after a brief look; a few who had spoken to her a few times just nodded and left it at that.
Shen Yunfang was curious about what was happening with these people. But seeing that they didn’t seem inclined to share gossip with her, she managed to suppress her own curiosity.
She placed her bag in her desk, then picked up the reference book from her desk and made ready to go to class.
"Teacher Shen, we are having a department meeting at ten o’clock this morning, the director asked me to inform you," a teacher spoke up just before she left.
"Alright, I’ll come back to attend the meeting after my class," Shen Yunfang responded nonchalantly to the teacher, then turned and left the office.
When she returned to the office after her classes, the room was still full. She tidied up her seat a bit and was pondering over the purpose of today’s gathering when someone came to announce the meeting.
Then she came to understand why everyone was on such high alert. It turned out that Agricultural University had a few opportunities for an exchange and study program at Capital Agricultural University, with a duration of six months. A rotation like this would surely lead to further advancement upon return. Hence, all the teachers were treating this opportunity seriously, but as there were more monks than porridge, their department was allocated only one slot. The decision would need to be based on the teachers’ workloads and achievements over the years, taking democratic voting into account. Therefore, one of the main purposes of today’s meeting was to gather all teachers to vote.
Being a newly assigned young teacher like Shen Yunfang certainly meant she had no chance, but what puzzled her was why nobody was cozying up to her for her vote. After all, she was a full-time employee with voting rights, yet nobody seemed to consider her bean bag as provisions.
In the end, after much deliberation, Shen Yunfang gave her vote to the department head. She wasn’t very familiar with her colleagues in the office anyway, so voting for anyone felt awkward. Besides, with their attitude towards her, she couldn’t very well impose herself, could she? Voting for the department head was a way to express her stance, that she was in line with the leader. 𝒏𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
After casting her vote, Shen Yunfang didn’t participate in what followed. After greeting the leaders, she went back to her office, picked up her bag, and left.
"Director Bai, here I am again, troubling you once more." Shen Yunfang made her way smoothly into the municipal government compound and successfully met the person she was looking for in Director Bai’s office, located on the first floor.
"Hehe, I was wondering who it might be—it’s Xiaoshen! Come on in, come on in." As soon as the Director Bai saw it was Shen Yunfang, he also got up warmly to greet her.
"Are you busy? I hope I’m not interrupting you?" Shen Yunfang obediently walked into the office, yet she still spoke politely.
"What interruption? Solving problems for you folks is my job. What brings you here? Are you here to ask about that batch of imported machinery? Don’t worry, there’s been progress. The higher-ups have spoken, and it should be delivered to Z Province in about a month," Director Bai thought she came to inquire about the order of harvesters and such from abroad.
"That’s really great news, but Director Bai, I actually came to see you today for another matter," Shen Yunfang said as she sat down opposite him.
"Oh, what is it? Tell me about it," Director Bai, upon hearing she had another concern, didn’t dare to immediately agree to help. From his dealings with her, he had realized that Shen Yunfang was no simple person.
"Here’s the thing, I want to get my farm started as soon as possible. After all, when you add it up, the contract fees alone amount to quite a sum each year..."
"Is it the paperwork for starting the farm that hasn’t been sorted out? That’s not a problem. I’ll make a call, and it should be fine," Director Bai immediately promised to help upon hearing it.
"No, it’s not that. With the leaders lighting the way for me, I’ve already taken care of those procedures. Right now, I’m thinking about clearing the wasteland to make it cultivable. In a couple of days, the workers I’ve hired will come to start the work. But as you know, that area is just a barren land, I can’t let the workers sleep in the wilderness at night. So, I’m hoping to quickly find someone to choose a spot to build the staff dormitories. But you also know, I haven’t been in Z Province for very long, and to find a construction crew that can build houses is really a headache for me. I thought of asking Director Bai for help to see if you could introduce me to a construction team with good qualifications and high credibility," Shen Yunfang explained succinctly.
"Hmm, you’ve actually come to the right person for this. I know the boss of the construction team that worked on the Xicheng District project last year. He’s a really good guy and does solid work. Just hold on, I have his phone number here. How about this? I’ll call him right now and invite him to come and have a detailed talk with you," Director Bai thought it was no big deal and walked over to his desk to look for the phone number.
"Thank you so much," Shen Yunfang was of course happy to be able to meet someone immediately.
So, Director Bai made the call and talked briefly about the situation here. The other party promised to come straight over.
Half an hour later, another robust man in his thirties entered Director Bai’s office. After being introduced by Director Bai, this man named Zhang Bin turned out to be a contractor, a bona fide country man who was among the first batch of ambitious and bold individuals to leave the countryside after the reform and opening-up policy.
Shen Yunfang glanced at her watch, and it was already noon, "Director Bai, it’s this late already. Let’s go out and find a place for a quick lunch. We can continue our talk while eating, what do you think?" She addressed Director Bai with her words, but her eyes were asking Zhang Bin for confirmation.
"Haha, Xiaoshen is really thoughtful. Let me, the local snake, treat you two to lunch," Director Bai was not a stickler for formalities and cheerfully proposed to be the host.
The other two certainly couldn’t let a leader pay for lunch, but now wasn’t the time to discuss that; they both obediently nodded in agreement.
