Chapter 73: Deputy Director Wang Works Effectively

  Cheng Zhuojian, the deputy director, has been feeling quite annoyed lately. The 21-inch Longhua TV set he bought three years ago for his home is no longer satisfactory to him. Why do the other deputy directors have either a 25-inch Sony or a 29-inch Panasonic, while he's stuck with a 21-inch Longhua? Does it mean that his ranking is lower than those guys?

  This is not suitable.

  The annoyance of Deputy Director Cheng can be understood. If the 25-inch and 29-inch color TVs were used by Director Deng, Deputy Director Cheng would naturally have no opinion. The dignity of a leader is reflected in many aspects, including daily necessities, home appliances, and assigned vehicles, all of which are tools to demonstrate leadership identity. The director must suppress his deputy, but if other deputies also want to suppress him, this needs to be discussed thoroughly.

  The leader's bad mood naturally affects his work. As the deputy director of the office, Wang's duty is to serve the leader and help him solve his worries, so that he can devote himself to the great cause of serving the people with a happy heart. This is a very great job, and Wang Qunsheng, the deputy director, is proud of everything he does. At this moment, Wang, who is flushed with excitement as if he had drunk half a catty of wine, shouted loudly, "Be careful, be careful! These stairs are so narrow, what if you bump into something? This is an original imported Panasonic refrigerator from Japan, can you afford to compensate for it if it's damaged?"

  In the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially in '91, wage reform had not yet begun, but people's demand was already surging. Refrigerators and color TVs were still rationed with coupons, but for Deputy Director Wang, these were not leadership issues. When leaders have demands, who dares to make them unhappy?

  A group of workers nodded in unison, becoming even more cautious, especially the four young men carrying the refrigerator, who were extremely tense. It's no wonder they're nervous - this Japanese-made three-door electric refrigerator is one of the highest-end models available on the market, worth nearly 20,000 yuan. If it gets damaged or scratched, they'll be paying for it for the rest of their lives.

  Of course, Deputy Director Wang went to buy it. Of course, he didn't spend that much money. The People's Shopping Mall almost gave it away for half price and let Deputy Director Wang take the refrigerator away. When he was about to leave, they even gave him an invoice of 19888 yuan for reimbursement of future expenses.

  The wife of Deputy Director Cheng received a call from Deputy Director Wang yesterday, saying that he would come to deliver something to the leader's home today. She took a day off and waited at home, hearing the knock on the door, Mrs. Cheng composed herself before opening it. At first glance, she saw the large refrigerator packaging box next to Wang Qunsheng, and her heart was delighted. Seeing Wang Qunsheng standing in front of the door, Mrs. Cheng's face showed a timely smile, "Is Deputy Director Wang here? Come on, please come in."

  "Thank you, sister," said Deputy Director Wang with a flattering smile, slightly bowing his waist and nodding repeatedly, but not immediately entering. "Sister, I heard that your family's refrigerator is old and can't be used anymore. Here, I've brought one over for you to take a look and see if it meets your expectations?"

  "This is... a refrigerator," Mrs. Cheng finally looked at the large yellow cardboard box next to her with a surprised expression, and her face suddenly fell, her tone somewhat dissatisfied. "Xiao Wang, does our family's Lao Cheng know about this? Is it against national regulations? If you don't give me a clear explanation today, I won't let you enter our home."

  "In accordance with the regulations, everything is in accordance with the regulations," Deputy Director Wang said with a smile, without explaining why it was in accordance with the regulations. "Sister, you can rest assured, I'm handling this matter, don't you trust me?... Look, these few comrades from the shopping mall are still waiting to install the refrigerator for you and then hurry back."

  "Is it really in accordance with the rules?" Mrs. Cheng seemed to still have some doubts and asked again.

  "Really," Deputy Director Wang gesticulated wildly, looking as if he would swear an oath, "more genuine than gold and silver... Come on, comrades, hurry up and move them inside."

  "Alright!" A few young men glanced at Mrs. Cheng, and seeing that she didn't stop them, they naturally understood what it meant. Not stopping her was equivalent to approval. In unison, they shouted, "Let's go!"

  The refrigerator was lifted up steadily, and Mrs. Cheng hurriedly stepped aside to let the workers in, pointing to a corner of the living room and saying kindly, "Comrades, just put the refrigerator here."

  Several workers nodded in unison, knowing that this was a big leader and they couldn't be careless. They hastily said to Mrs. Cheng, "Don't worry, ma'am, we are the best movers in our mall, and our leader specially arranged for us to come."

  Mrs. Cheng was very satisfied with the arrangement of the store, and she didn't hesitate to show a smile to these workers, "Your store manager is Little Li, right?"

  "Yes, yes, it was our Manager Li who told us to come over." Hearing this seemingly gentle-looking woman directly address her manager as "Little Li", the workers suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. They had already known that this family must be some kind of high-ranking officials in the city, but they didn't know what kind or to what extent. However, after hearing this middle-aged woman directly address her manager as "Little Li", the workers suddenly felt a surge of reverence for the woman in front of them: it was clear that she was far more powerful than their own manager.

  Beep~~ Beep~~ Beep~~

  Deputy Director Wang was directing the workers to move the refrigerator into place, when his pager on his waist beeped. Seeing several workers glance at the pager on his waist, Deputy Director Wang felt a sense of pride and slightly smugly took it off his waist. However, upon seeing the number displayed on the screen, his relaxed expression disappeared, replaced by a serious one. He hastily asked Mrs. Cheng, "Sister, may I use your home phone for a moment? It's Secretary Lian's office phone."

  "Is it Secretary Lian?"

  Mrs. Cheng naturally knew that Secretary Lian was the secretary of Director Deng of the Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, and at this time, Secretary Lian called Xiao Wang, probably on behalf of Director Deng. Director Deng had something to do with Xiao Wang, so Mrs. Cheng didn't dare to delay. She quickly pointed to a small table next to the sofa in the living room, "The phone is right there, you can call."

  "Thank you, sister," Wang Qunsheng thanked and grabbed the phone, dialing out the phone number that he had firmly remembered in his mind. "Hello, I'm Wang Qunsheng, may I ask who this is..."

  "What are you doing, Wang Qunsheng?!" Before he could finish speaking, a burst of scolding came from the phone!