Chapter 9: With a Selfless Heart, the World is Wide and Open; Without Fear, Speak with Sincerity (Part 1)
The Quyang Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection did not share the same office building with the Quyang Municipal Committee and Government. In recent years, the Municipal Committee and Government had moved to a new office building, but the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection remained at its original location. Although the building was old, the decades-old French plane trees in the courtyard, combined with several old-fashioned green-brick buildings, made the entire compound look classical and elegant.
Shen Yangmei walked to the door of the transmission room outside the Discipline Inspection Commission's courtyard, looked inside through the glass, and saw an old man in his fifties lying on a bamboo chair, shaking his head and tapping his fingers on the armrest to the rhythm of Peking Opera from the radio, humming along with his mouth. The old man was so absorbed that he probably wouldn't wake up for a while. Shen Yangmei had no choice but to knock gently on the glass of the transmission room. The old man was still quite alert and immediately stood up from the bamboo chair when he heard the sound, turning off the radio with his hand.
"What do you do?" The gatekeeper asked in a majestic tone, as if he was dealing with a class enemy. Shen Yang understood that the old comrade who had gone through the revolutionary era still had some of the leftover aura of the working class leading everything, and perhaps in the eyes of the gatekeeper, his own position was not lower than that of the department heads in the unit. Didn't Premier Zhou say that revolutionary work only has different divisions, but no distinction between high and low, noble and humble?
He raised his eyebrows and smiled all over his face, casually pulled out a pack of Red Tower Mountain from his pocket and handed it to the old man. Unexpectedly, the old man waved his hand and said, "Don't play this trick, if you have something to say, just say it, I don't smoke."
Shen Yangmei didn't get angry, smiling as she took the cigarette in her hand, and then pulled out her work ID from her pocket. "Teacher Fu, I'm the deputy director of the Jieliang County Committee Office. Look, this is my work ID."
"County Committee Office Director? You're just a kid and you're already the County Committee Office Director, this work permit can't be fake, right?" The old doorman took Shen Yang's work permit and flipped it back and forth, carefully examining it, then looked at Shen Yang again, seemingly trying to find some discrepancy. He didn't know what rank the County Committee Office Director held, but he knew that the Discipline Inspection Office Director was his superior, so he thought that this kid, also an office director, shouldn't be much different. However, the kid in front of him was much younger than his superior, which made him suspicious.
"Old man, you smoke." Shen Yangmei smiled and handed the old man a cigarette from his hand, although the old man had just waved his hand saying he didn't smoke. However, his yellow-stained index and middle fingers had already revealed that he was an old smoker. As if his mind was preoccupied with verifying whether Shen Yangmei's work ID was real or fake, the old man subconsciously accepted the cigarette handed to him by Shen Yangmei, lit it with the lighter pressed by Shen Yangmei, and only then realized he had been tricked by Shen Yangmei. However, his expression softened a lot, handing back Shen Yangmei's work ID, saying: "You're not bad, kid! You're already a deputy department-level cadre at such a young age. You must do well and not disappoint the people's trust in you." Presumably he had seen the rank on Shen Yangmei's work ID earlier.
He raised an eyebrow and secretly sighed in his heart, it's indeed the discipline inspection committee's style, even the old gatekeeper teaches people with a set of rules.
"You young people are really something, I never thought there would be a young cadre like you back then, now it's your young people's world..." The old man seemed to have come alive and chatted non-stop with Shen Yangmei. Shen Yangmei didn't show any impatience, occasionally smiling and nodding in agreement.
When the old man finished smoking, Shen Yang handed him another one to continue. The old man suddenly came to his senses, patted his forehead and said, "The old problem has recurred again. As people get older, they talk more nonsense." The old man teased himself for a moment, then asked: "Right, young comrade, what brings you here?"
"Excuse me, sir, I'm looking for Deputy Director Zhuang Lin of the First Inspection Office."
"Zhuang Lin, you mean Little Zhuang, right? You little brat must have made a mistake. He's a black-faced bun vendor, not someone to be trifled with."
"What's wrong with that old man? He just has some issues and Director Zhuang wants me to make a report to him, it was agreed upon for this morning." As he spoke, Shen Yang glanced at his wristwatch.
"Go ahead, don't delay your normal work. Third floor, turn left, there's a sign on the door, you can find it yourself." The old man waved his hand to signal Shen Yang to hurry up and leave.
"Thank you, sir. I'll come back another time to listen to your teachings." With that, Shen Yang walked out of the transmission room.
……
The building of the Discipline Inspection Commission has been around for some years, and its green brick walls are already mottled. However, when Shen Yang stepped into the building with a serious expression, looking at the national emblem embedded in the entrance hall and the four golden characters "Integrity and Dedication", the solemn atmosphere immediately hit him, making people involuntarily show respect. Even officials like himself who have a clear conscience would feel a sense of guilt when entering the Discipline Inspection Commission's building, which is why it's no wonder that so many officials in history who made mistakes would be frightened to the point of collapse just by hearing the name "Discipline Inspection Commission".
Shen Yangmei calmed herself down, adjusted her clothes in front of the mirror on the left wall, and made sure everything was in order before heading up the stairs. After turning left on the third floor, she saw the sign for the Second Supervision Department on the first office door to her left, and the next office had a sign that read "Director of the Second Supervision Department". This must be Zhuang Lin's office, Shen Yangmei thought as she walked up to the door and gently knocked.
"Please come in!" A voice came from the room, and Shen Yang pushed open the door and walked in. The office was not large, and the decor was ordinary, with a handwritten calligraphy "Integrity is mighty" hanging on the wall opposite the door. There was a common sofa and coffee table, which looked like it had been there for years. Behind the desk sat a middle-aged man wearing glasses, who was slightly dark and thin, holding a pen to review the documents on his desk. The files and books on his desk were neatly arranged, which was different from many leaders who liked to clutter their desks to show how busy they were. It seemed that Director Zhuang was someone who liked to be neat and tidy in his work.
Shen Yangmei walked up to the desk and stood still, saying softly: "Director Zhuang, I am Shen Yangmei from Jiaoliang County Party Committee Office."
The middle-aged man's pen seemed to have paused for a moment, without looking at Shen Yang's eyebrows, but only slightly nodded and said "Sit down first." Then he continued to review the documents in his hand.
Shen Yangmei sat down lightly in the chair opposite Zhuang Lin, with a smile on his face and his back straight, his attitude was exceptionally humble. However, he was secretly laughing to himself, this is what the leaders called learning time. In his previous life, Shen Yangmei had been implicated in the Beijing case and had become a nobody in the county committee. Every time he mustered up the courage to report to a certain leader, he would encounter the so-called leadership learning time. He was already used to it and had even developed a solid sitting skill, not to mention holding this posture for three to five minutes, he thought he could hold on for three to five hours.
