Chapter 3: Sudden Enlightenment
"Stay behind?!!"
Only that demon's notebook dared to say such a thing, Director Yao had just told him to hurry up and go out to handle things, the words were still lingering in Liu Siyuan's ears, but it was good for him to stay, NND, this one stayed behind, wasn't he looking for trouble?
Liu Siyuan stood up from his seat, hesitating and uncertain, but after much deliberation, he finally decided to take its advice, after all, he still had some confidence in this laptop.
Just then, Yao Yuan was called away by the Secretary-General due to some urgent matters. So he took the opportunity to slow down his movements in the office, sometimes tidying up files and sometimes tidying up drawers, until Xing Jun couldn't help but joke and ask Comrade Siyuan if he had constipation and couldn't find toilet paper?
Ten minutes later, just when Comrade Liu Siyuan was really unable to grind anymore, a hurried footsteps sounded, and Yao Yuan rushed in and shouted: "In ten minutes, all personnel will have a meeting in the small conference room. The Secretary-General has an urgent situation to report. Hmm? Little Liu, why didn't you go to Eshan County? Never mind, never mind, since you're here, let's go to the meeting first."
Liu Siyuan let out a sigh of relief, thinking that he had narrowly escaped disaster. Judging from her tone, he guessed that something urgent must have come up again. Recently, the misappropriation of agricultural subsidies in Eshan County had left him at his wit's end, and he had already begun to prepare himself for the possibility of being transferred, no matter which deputy director took over. He planned to find an excuse to decline and let Xing Jun go instead.
In the conference room, everyone in the inspection room sat neatly according to their ranking. Liu Siyuan naturally sat at the lowest position, which also had the advantage of being low-key enough that leaders would not glance over here unless necessary. If one's skills were high enough, they could even sleep with their eyes open.
Just as everyone had just sat down, they saw Zhang Zhengguo's secretary rushing in with quick small steps. If it were usual, he would be late for a few minutes and still hold his tea cup, taking eight-character steps to show off his elegant demeanor.
The Secretary General is about 40 years old, with a Mediterranean-style bald head and a big belly. However, his eyes are bright and spirited. As the Deputy Director of the Municipal Government, he has already reached the deputy department level, and it's not unexpected that he will be promoted further. His main job as Secretary General is to serve Mayor Chen, who seems to appreciate him very much. Recently, there have been rumors in the municipal government that he may be converted to a formal position, removing the "deputy" prefix from his title, becoming a full department-level cadre.
"Hanjiang University cafeteria had a food poisoning incident this afternoon, 13 students have been sent to the hospital so far, and the social impact is very bad!" Zhang Zhenggang said bluntly with a dark face.
"Ah!" Everyone present was shocked...
"There are currently 13 students who have been sent to the hospital, and the social impact is very bad. The provincial party committee and government, as well as our municipal party committee and government, attach great importance to this matter and have urgently established an emergency investigation team, led by our Hanjiang Municipal Government, with Vice Mayor Xu personally taking charge. According to the leadership's requirements, our municipal government's inspection office will also send someone to join the investigation team." The situation seems indeed urgent, and Secretary Zhang omitted all the usual pleasantries and directly introduced the matter.
"Secretary, isn't Hanjiang University a ministry-affiliated institution? And one of the 32 deputy ministerial-level institutions?" Zhang Jinsong interrupted as soon as he finished speaking. Liu Siyuan also understood what he meant, this matter is not only beyond the control of their city government, but even the provincial government can't manage it, they are directly managed by the Ministry of Education, the president and party secretary are at the deputy ministerial level, how can a municipal government supervision office say three or four words about it.
Zhang Zhengdong directly interrupted Zhang Jinsong's words and said: "The cafeteria is outsourced!"
Liu Siyuan also realized that the school was shirking its responsibility, meaning it was a problem with the outsourced cafeteria. The school would at most take leadership and management responsibility, and perhaps had even gotten tacit approval from higher-ups to have the municipal government take charge of the investigation. This meant keeping the issue contained within Hanjiang City, without escalating or spreading, and shifting the focus towards food hygiene rather than educational management issues.
"Hmph, the cafeteria outsourcing is not fake, but wasn't the contractor chosen by the school itself? Some people are so greedy for black money that they don't even spare the next generation. Secretary Zhang, I volunteer to take on this investigation task!" Yao Yuyi said indignantly.
Liu Siyuan thought to himself, "You're leaving? Then I'll hide even further away."
Zhang Zhengdong glanced at Yao Yuan, who was furious, and immediately pressed down with his hand: "Xiao Yao, you're still busy with the Eshan County thing recently, Mayor Cheng is waiting for the result, can't relax."
Yao Yuan seemed to want to say something else, her mouth opened and closed again, but in the end she still held back.
"Director Yao has been quite busy lately, I'll take on this responsibility." On the other side, Zhang Jinsong took a look at the situation and estimated that he couldn't shirk his own responsibility. Rather than waiting for the secretary-general to ask him, it was better to take the initiative and show his attitude first, which was his clever move.
"Xiao Zhang, I remember you also have three or four tasks pending, such as that energy-saving emission reduction survey..." Secretary Zhang shook his head.
"I've talked to many factory owners, they all fully understand the city government's energy-saving and emission-reduction goals and are actively promoting them, but still underestimate the actual difficulties..." Zhang Jinsong said.
Zhang Zhengdong immediately interrupted him, angrily saying: "What time is it now? You're still talking about these useless things! Our focus now is the food poisoning case!"
"Leader, you wouldn't want me to go, would you? I'm not capable of handling those school leaders. Director Zhang also said that they report directly to the Ministry of Education." Zhang Jinping hurriedly added, who had returned at some unknown time. At his age, he no longer had any thoughts of making progress, and with his seniority, he spoke somewhat casually.
Zhang Zhengdong didn't mind him, to be exact, he didn't even bother to reason with him. His gaze gradually shifted backwards as he said, "In that case, since both deputy directors are busy, I think we should also cultivate younger comrades..."
In an instant, everyone's gaze turned to Xing Jun. It seemed that Director Zhang wanted to give Xing Jun another chance? Xing Jun immediately blushed and was excitedly eager to try, but the Secretary-General's eyes only stayed on Xing Jun for a few seconds before quickly turning to Liu Siyuan who was sitting honestly in the last row...
"Xiao Liu, I'm entrusting this task to you. You must immediately rush to Hanjiang University, join the work team, learn from the old comrades, and do a good job." Secretary Zhang said with a firm tone.
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After the meeting, Xing Jun hung his head, looking unhappy and unfulfilled. Liu Siyuan wanted to comfort him a few words, but there was no time, because Secretary Zhang required him to 'immediately' set off for the scene.
He clearly remembered that just over a year after entering the department, Xing Jun had a very good opportunity to be promoted to deputy director, and Secretary Zhang specially arranged an inspection and assigned him a task to take charge of alone. As a result, Xing Jun, who was taking action for the first time, didn't know whether it was because he was too nervous or wanted to show off too much, messed things up. It's said that his investigation report got Secretary Zhang scolded by the mayor, and since then, he has been down on his luck in the inspection department, and the matter of being deputy director has also disappeared.
Back in the office, Liu Siyuan was still reeling from the shock when Yao Yuen came over and patted him on the shoulder, saying: "Siyuan, you need to fix that rough problem of yours, got it? Forget about the Eshan County thing, I'll take care of it myself. You just focus on completing this task for me with all your heart, don't mess it up! If you're really unsure, call me anytime!" He didn't expect her to be so concerned about him, and these words made Liu Siyuan feel a warmth in his heart, also changing his impression of her quite a bit.
Zhang Jinsong also said seriously: "Little Liu has psychological burden, sooner or later there will be a day when you have to take charge alone."
The investigation team requisitioned a multimedia classroom at the school where the incident occurred - Hanjiang University, which was also Liu Sih-yuan's alma mater - and converted it into a temporary command center and office. When Liu arrived excitedly with his bag, there were already about 20 people gathered inside. The entire office environment of the command center was well-prepared, with tables, chairs, blackboards, computers, telephones, fax machines, and everything else one could need. There were even two water dispensers, and a variety of teas were placed beside them for everyone to help themselves.
Considering that the incident had only occurred half a day ago, this efficiency was truly astonishing. However, he thought again and it made sense after all - government agencies were never short of people, and with more people, things got done more easily. Moreover, handling such emergency incidents also had a very 'professional' team in place.
The person sitting in the middle of the command center was Xu Hui, the deputy mayor of Hanjiang City and the head of the investigation team. He had a square face and was scolding an office clerk with a deep hatred expression. When he saw Liu Siyuan, who had just graduated for more than a year, walking into the inspection room, his eyebrows furrowed again, and his mouth corners twitched slightly as he let out a soft sigh: "This old Zhang..." Then there was no further comment.
He didn't even bother to greet Liu Siyuan, and for Liu Siyuan, the deputy mayor was a high-ranking existence, so it was natural for him to take the initiative to disturb him.
Actually, Liu Si had been pondering a question on his way here: why did this usually astute and calm boss suddenly have a brainstorm today and let him come over?
To know that this food poisoning incident is not a big deal, but it's also not small, and it involves many departments, among which the relationships are complex and intricate. One careless move can lead to mistakes. Supervising such matters is full of pitfalls. Take Xing Jun for example, he was so clever, yet he was killed in his first battle, a bloody lesson!
For a moment, he couldn't think of a reason either, and could only say that his own and the leader's boundaries were still far apart. Fortunately, he had an ace in the hole, which was that notebook. At critical moments, he relied on it to make the right decisions. He just hoped that when the time came, this thing would definitely come in handy, after all, it was its three words "stay behind" that ultimately brought Liu Siyuan here.
Finally, a staff member came up and spoke to him, asking about his work unit and name. After checking the form, he politely led him to a location and said a few words similar to "Comrade Liu, you will be working here." He then handed over a contact list with phone numbers, which included everyone from Mayor Xu to each member of the investigation team, including their units, positions, names, and phone numbers. This again made Liu Siyuan marvel at the incredible work efficiency.
At this time, everyone in the investigation team was busy with their own affairs. Some were writing hastily, some were constantly making phone calls, and the tone of their conversation was quite unpleasant, showing that they were very excited and anxious. There were also a few people smoking and chatting in the corner, each with a gloomy face, and the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive. Naturally, no one took the initiative to greet him.
He is still in the dark about the investigation and doesn't know anything, and in the investigation team, he has no power or influence, nor does he have any acquaintances. He can only muster up the courage to ask a young man who looks quite friendly and seems to have an open personality sitting not far away from him.
Through self-introduction, Liu Siyuan knew that he was from the Municipal Health Bureau, named Wang Heyuan, and he came with Director Wei Dachao of the Health Bureau. Director Wei took on the role of deputy head of the investigation team this time.
Wang Heyuan was very talkative, and through him, Liu Sanyuan learned that the thirteen hospitalized students were basically out of danger and would be discharged from the hospital within a week after treatment. The most troublesome thing now is that some students are making trouble, demanding severe punishment for the relevant personnel, with their anger directed at Huang Silang, the head of the school's logistics department.
Liu Siyuan could understand the anger of these college students, as he was one of them just a year ago and might even know some of his junior schoolmates. However, now he has become one of the personnel in the relevant department, completely changing his position. It's really the case that "the butt decides the brain", and it feels a bit unreal to say so.
Soon an employee came running over to inform him that the investigation team was about to hold a meeting and asked Comrade Liu Siyuan to attend on time.
Wang Heyuan was not qualified to attend due to his low rank. Liu Siyuan's rank was also very low, but as the only representative of the Municipal Government Supervision Office, he was qualified to attend the meeting. This made Wang Heyuan quite envious, and he sighed that the Municipal Government Office was indeed better than the Municipal Bureau, and young people had more opportunities.
The meeting went very subtly.
Wei Dachao, deputy head of the investigation team and director of the Health Bureau, said that through emergency investigations, the problematic food was suspected to be pig intestines, and it is currently believed that the school canteen had purchased spoiled pork.
Later, another deputy head, the director of the Municipal Education Bureau, Ying Zhijie expressed his regret over the incident in a heavy tone. He believed that apart from punishing the food company contracted to run the cafeteria, the act of selling dead pigs' meat should also be severely cracked down on.
On the other side, a deputy director of the Health Bureau said that the relevant personnel of the company selling dead pigs have been controlled by law enforcement officers and will be handed over to judicial organs for further handling.
The deputy director of the Administration for Industry and Commerce said that the company is a legally registered company, they have no way to manage it, and hope that the Health Bureau will strengthen daily supervision and management of food hygiene.
Liu Siyuan hid in a corner listening to these people talking about various grand theories, after a round of verbal sparring he also understood that everyone was passing the buck, and the Industrial and Commercial Bureau was clearly shirking responsibility. If that company was operating illegally, they couldn't escape liability either. Sure enough, as soon as the deputy director of the Industrial and Commercial Bureau finished speaking, Wei Dachao's face didn't look too good.
The deputy director of the Education Bureau also spoke out, saying that food hygiene management is a very difficult task, but as party members, we must always put the people at heart and bring out the spirit of fighting against difficulties. This statement sounds quite sinister, at first glance it seems to be speaking for the Health Bureau, but in fact, it's still pushing the trouble water to the Health Bureau.
Wei Dachao could no longer hold back, suddenly coughing, after all, he was the deputy group leader, and his level was second only to Group Leader Xu, Deputy Mayor, so everyone saw that he wanted to speak and they all put on a listening expression.
He scanned the surroundings with his sharp eyes, then slowly opened his mouth and said: "Comrades just now spoke freely and made a lot of sense. Whether it's the canteen contracting company or the merchants selling spoiled pork, we not only need to investigate thoroughly but also use one case to infer three, inspect all vegetable markets, restaurants, and schools in the city. Once problems are found, they must be resolutely cracked down on."
Liu Siyuan could tell that Director Wei was counterattacking, deliberately mentioning the school to make a veiled threat. He continued, "However, I heard that the hospitalized students are not seriously injured, which has put my mind at ease somewhat. Later, I will go visit them again. Additionally, I suggest that all medical expenses should be borne by the school. Principal, what do you think?"
Hanjian University Vice President Shan Xiaoming, who was attending the meeting, nodded in agreement. It's just a small amount of money, anyway. Consider it a bad omen and let's just get this over with. After all, we've already lost face because of this incident.
"Our next step should focus on the aftermath, now the students in school have reacted strongly and put forward some demands. What's your opinion, Minister Jin?" Mayor Xu said, turning his gaze to Deputy Director of the Municipal Propaganda Department, Jin Yuzhong.
Jin Yuzhong, who was drinking water, hummed and said in his unique low-pitched voice: "Now the provincial and municipal media are preparing to report on this incident, especially the provincial media is hard to control. I'm worried that if the students continue to make trouble, they may attract some central media outlets, which would be even harder to deal with."
Xu Hui nodded and turned to face Shan Xiaoming, saying: "Principal Shan, it seems that the media side is now very difficult to control. In my personal opinion, we should seriously study the demands of our students."
He wiped the sweat, and he understood in his mind that the so-called requirements of his fellow students were simple, which was to ask the head of the school's logistics department to step down. It seems that Mayor Xu also had this intention, using Huang Si Lang as a scapegoat, but...
"Director Wei, leaders of the municipal bureau, I represent the school to express our deepest apologies for this incident. I can understand the emotions of the students, but it can also be said that this is an unexpected event. Our logistics department publicly tendered and the food contractor's qualifications were not a problem, so it's not appropriate to push all the responsibility onto the logistics department. Our logistics department director, Comrade Huang Si Lang, has also made many contributions to the school over the years. As the saying goes, 'no merit but hard work', we cannot deny a comrade because of one mistake. I still think that we should handle this matter with a attitude of treating the disease and saving the person. Director Huang's brother-in-law, Governor Zhu, also shares this view."
All the previous words are nonsense, and only the last sentence is the key point. It's not a hint, but a clear indication. Zhu Provincial Governor should be called Zhu Deputy Provincial Governor, but that's enough to suppress these guys who are at most at the level of a regular hall-level official. Although Zhu Deputy Provincial Governor is not a member of the provincial party committee, Xu Hui is also not a member of the municipal party committee, and he is obviously one level lower in rank.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly dropped to freezing point, and at that moment, Liu Siyuan suddenly felt a flash of inspiration in his mind, a feeling similar to the Buddhist concept of enlightenment, as if he had elevated himself to a brand new world in an instant. He finally understood why Zhang Zhengdong had sent him here.
As Xing Jun said, when leaders assign tasks, it is actually a kind of attitude. Assigning to Yao Yuan represents severe punishment, assigning to Zhang Jinsong represents leniency, and assigning to Zhang Jinping indicates lack of importance. Then what about assigning to oneself?
It's clear that Secretary Zhang had a long-term vision and foresaw this mess, even knowing the background of the logistics department head. By sending himself, he was making a statement: non-participation!