Chapter 3 Temporary Workers Reporting for Duty

  The two men walked out of the gate of the township government compound, and Yu Xianyi seemed extremely happy. But Yu Fan didn't know what his father was so happy about - he was just a temporary worker, did it really matter?

  Yu Xian looked at his son and said seriously, "Xiao Fan, don't underestimate this temporary worker. This temporary worker is different from theirs. As long as you can hold on for three months, you will have a formal national civil servant quota. At that time, you will be a state employee."

  Yu Fan wasn't interested in this, but thought of something: "Dad, when did my third uncle go to the countryside to work as a temporary worker?" Yu Xianyi smiled and said: "This was after the Spring Festival. Your grandma mentioned it casually. Your Zhang BoBo arranged for him to go to the countryside to work as a temporary worker." Yu Fan responded with an "oh", but Yu Xianyi continued: "However, this temporary job probably doesn't have much hope of becoming permanent. His education level is too low, and he's not a party member. When the countryside needs to reduce its temporary workforce, if he doesn't use his connections, he'll probably be laid off." After finishing, he shook his head in regret.

  Yu Fan didn't think there was anything to regret, just cutting off the temporary worker who only earned a few hundred yuan a month. He could earn more in a month by going to work in the coastal areas than he did in half a year. Yu Xianyi also came back to his senses and smiled at Yu Fan: "When doing things in the countryside, you have to be diligent. When there's nothing to do, go to your uncle Zhang's house to help your aunt with some chores. You're already out working and graduated from university, and you're 23 years old now, so you should be more clever about things. That's all the help you can get from home." After finishing speaking, he walked away by himself.

  Yu Fan looked at his father's slightly bent back and for the first time felt that he should take this temporary worker in the township government more seriously. When they were at Zhang Shuisheng's home, Yu Fan had already sensed Zhang Shuisheng's official authority. From the moment his father entered, Zhang Shuisheng did not get up or ask them to sit down. Although Zhang Shuisheng was older than his father, this was clearly somewhat excessive for relatives. The two of them stood and spoke with him the whole time, and although they were standing, Yu Fan still felt that his father seemed a bit constrained when speaking. It wasn't until the father and son were about to leave that he finally stood up, and only then did Yu Fan feel that he was capable of standing up. A small township head had such official authority; wouldn't the town mayor be like an emperor?

  When he got home, his two younger brothers and stepmother were already asleep. The father and son didn't have much to talk about, so they each went to bed. Yu Fan lay in bed but couldn't sleep no matter what. It seemed like going to Beijing was out of the question now, and he would have to call them tomorrow to make up an excuse. But for himself, he had to report to the countryside tomorrow, a life he had never thought about before, and it really gave him a headache on how to deal with it.

  The next day, Yu Fan got up at 7 o'clock, only to find that everyone in the house had already left. The slaughter of live pigs in the wholesale market usually starts at 3 or 4 am, and his stepmother also goes to the market early in the morning to help out. His younger brother is currently facing the entrance exam for junior high school, so he has to go to school for early self-study at 6 o'clock every day. It seems that Yu Fan himself is the most leisurely one.

  After washing up, Yu Fan also left the house at 7:30 and rushed to the town government compound. Today was the first day of reporting for duty, and he couldn't be late for work. Yu Fan's home was relatively close to the town government compound, but it was some distance from the township government compound. However, Luzhutan Town was not very big anyway, and half an hour was enough time for Yu Fan to get there.

  Yu Fan rushed to the entrance of the town government compound, only to find that the gate was tightly locked. He hadn't asked about the time yesterday and didn't know when the town government started work, it seemed he had come too early, Yu Fan thought to himself. Looking at the reception room beside the gate, Yu Fan gently tapped on the window: "Old man, old man."

  An old man opened the window with blurry eyes and said impatiently, "What are you doing here so early?" Yu Fan smiled and asked, "Excuse me, sir, what time does the township government start work?" The old man glared at Yu Fan and said, "Which village did you come from? Why didn't you ask clearly?" Yu Fan explained with a smile, "Sir, I'm not here to do business, I'm here to work. Today is my first day reporting for duty." The old man was taken aback, then said, "Oh, you're early. Come back after 9 o'clock." He then slammed the window shut.

  Yu Fan turned around with a huff, thinking to himself that he had indeed arrived too early. Oh well, he thought, I'll just go to the small shop outside and have some breakfast first. He walked into the small shop and ordered a bowl of noodles, two fried dough sticks, and a cup of soy milk. After finishing his meal, he sat back down in the shop and slowly waited until 9 o'clock, at which point the gate of the township government finally began to open slowly.

  Yu Fan walked into the county government compound again, but saw that there was no one moving in and out of the office building. After walking around the upstairs and downstairs, the doors of each office were also tightly closed. Yu Fan had to go down to the reception room. As soon as he saw the old man on duty, Yu Fan smiled hastily: "Old sir, I'm Yu Fan, who just reported for duty today." The old man looked at him with a smile and said: "I know, young man, you've already said that. Come, sit here for a while, they'll all be there in at least half an hour?"

  Yu Fan hurriedly thanked him repeatedly. The old man looked at him and said, "Young man, where are you from?" Yu Fan smiled and said, "Uncle, I'm from this town. My father is Yu Xianyi, who sells pork in the market." However, the old man gave Yu Fan a strange look: "Oh, you're the nephew of our village secretary, aren't you?" Yu Fan was taken aback: "Uncle, how did you know that?" The old man smiled mysteriously and pointed to the courtyard outside: "Things spread quickly within these walls." Upon hearing this, Yu Fan also chuckled. The old man looked at the door again and said, "Young man, be careful. The younger brother of the deputy village head is also a temporary worker here, and he's hoping to become permanent this year too." When Yu Fan heard this, he couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh - wouldn't it be ridiculous for people to compete over such a small temporary job?

  Just then, some people riding bicycles came into the yard. Before long, a few more people came in, and Yu Fan took a look, only to see familiar faces. His third uncle was also pushing his bicycle and walking in, having just returned yesterday and not having had time to visit them yet. Yu Fan hurried out and shouted loudly: "Uncle, Uncle!"

  Third Uncle smiled and said, "It's Little Fan, how come you're here so early?" Yu Fan was a bit embarrassed and said, "I didn't know what time they started work here." Third Uncle laughed and said, "Haha, as long as you arrive before 9 am in the future, it's fine. If something comes up later, that's okay too." Yu Fan also smiled and chuckled.

  Third Uncle patted Yu Fan's shoulder and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to report to Director Wang first." Yu Fan bid farewell to the old man in the delivery room and followed Third Uncle towards the office building. The township government's office building has two floors, the upper floor is where formal government employees work, and the lower floor is where temporary workers' offices are located. The entire township government's formal staffing is six people, but now the township government's formal staffing has already reached eighteen people, and the temporary staffing has also reached twenty-four people, which is a seriously overstaffed unit.

  However, Third Uncle did not take Yu Fan to the second floor to find Director Wang's office, but instead took him directly into a large office on the first floor. As soon as they entered, he raised his hand and shouted loudly: "Everyone, this is my nephew Yu Fan, who has come to report for duty in the countryside today. I hope you will take care of him in the future." There were also more than a dozen people in the large office, who, upon hearing this, burst into laughter, with someone shouting loudly: "Brother Zhou has spoken, and we naturally have to follow suit. But what benefits can we brothers get?"

  Third Uncle Zhou Yi's name was mentioned, and Yu Fan saw that Third Uncle seemed to have some prestige among this group of people. When Third Uncle heard the words, he also laughed and scolded: "Xu Liming, you shut up, if there's any benefit, it will naturally not be less for you." Although many people were talking at once, different voices appeared, a gloomy and strange voice came from one side: "Zhou Yi, what are you, why should we take care of him?" Third Uncle looked at that person with a cold smile and said: "Dong Biao, even if I Zhou Yi am not considered a thing, what kind of thing are you Dong Biao?"

  Yu Fan looked towards Dong Biao, who was only around thirty years old, but had a pair of small eyes that made him stand out in the crowd. Yu Fan also noticed that among the dozen or so people in the office, they were clearly divided into two groups, with only five or six people standing on Dong Biao's side. At this time, Dong Biao let out a light hum and ignored Third Uncle again.

  The two of them seemed to have an understanding, and San Gu Fu also stopped paying attention to Dong Biao. Turning his head around, San Gu Fu whispered in Yu Fan's ear: "Xiao Fan, remember this is Dong Biao, the younger brother of Deputy Village Head Dong. If you hadn't come, he would be the most likely candidate for promotion. But now...hmmph, let's see how long he can keep being smug." After finishing speaking, he waved his hand at the dozen or so people standing on this side and patted Yu Fan's shoulder: "Let's go, I'll take you to find Director Wang. He should have arrived by now too."

  After finishing speaking, he took Yu Fan to the second floor of the office building. As they walked, he introduced: "Xiao Fan, the situation inside is also very complicated, you need to be clever." He pointed to the leftmost office on the second floor and said: "That's Zhang Secretary's office, he's currently serving as the town head. Next to it is the deputy town head's office, followed by the director of the general office and the propaganda officer's office. On the right side are the personnel department and the people's armed department offices." He patted Yu Fan again: "Let's go, first take you to Director Wang's place, report for duty first."

  After finishing, he brought Yu Fan to knock on Director Wang's door. The knocking sound was heard, and a calm voice came from inside: "Please come in." Director Wang seemed to have just arrived, and was brewing tea on the side, looking at San Gu Fu leading someone in, smiling and saying: "What? Little Zou, do you have something to ask me?" San Gu Fu looked at Director Wang, but appeared somewhat awkward, hurriedly laughing and saying: "Director Wang, this is Yu Fan, who has just reported for duty, I brought him over."

  Director Wang looked at Yu Fan and laughed, saying: "Look at my memory, Secretary Zhang mentioned this to me early in the morning. This is Little Yu, indeed young and promising. I've already given the personnel department a heads up about your matter, so just take him with you to handle the formalities. Let's have him follow you around for a while first, what do you think?" Third Uncle heard this and hastily smiled: "Director Wang has spoken, how can there be any problem?"