Chapter 42: Another Tripwire

Secretary Yang stared at the proposal, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid. He finally made the decision: “The lecture must be held in the commune’s grand auditorium!”

“Goodness, inviting reporters to come and record the interview, these young people nowadays are really daring!” he thought to himself.

“How confident are you that you can invite reporters?” Secretary Yang asked, while personally writing the application for approval of the grand auditorium.

Jiang Anan looked at the red seal stamped on the bottom right of the approval document and thought to herself: With this seal, the probability has now increased to 99%!

A complete case of getting something for nothing.

“Three brother departments are holding an educational event, it’s of great significance, reporters will definitely come.”

Afternoon.

Jiang Anan took the proposal to the police station.

The mind that had been clouded by the pancake that day had already calmed down. Wu Jian Guo hesitated: “Will there be any problems with our subordinate commune holding an event on its own?”

Jiang Anan was glad that she had first tricked Secretary Yang into giving her the document, and now she could use the same rhetoric to trick Wu Jian Guo: “Secretary Yang fully supports the three departments in jointly organizing the event, and not only that, reporters will be invited to report on the scene.”

Seeing the large red seal on the document, Wu Jian Guo instantly became energetic: “Secretary Yang approves of this event, as a brother department, we must fully cooperate.”

Secretary Yang’s biggest backer is County Chief Fang. If Secretary Yang agrees, it means that County Chief Fang will also agree. Being able to show your face in front of the biggest leader in Yunzhou County, the lecture must be held, and it must be held beautifully!

Thus, Jiang Anan, through her continuous persuasion, got this matter settled.

The legal education lecture is scheduled for the last day of the month, which happens to be the days when the teams below bring their pigs to the commune for weighing. The lecture will be divided into three days: the first day will be on marriage law, the second day on criminal law, and the third day will be a concluding gala.

The police station is responsible for communicating with the dozen or so teams below and maintaining order at the scene. The police station’s prestige is no less than that of the commune, anyone who wants to cause trouble will have to think twice. The commune is responsible for providing the venue, while Jiang Anan, representing the Women’s Federation, is responsible for preparing the gala, as well as the most important aspect: publicity.

After communicating the overall program of the event, Jiang Anan knocked on the door of the commune director with these documents.

Secretary Yang has been showing off to Chen Xingtong recently. Does he know what Jiang Anan is busy with, this legal education lecture? Humph! Some cadres from the county, relying on their knowledge, are just doing some fancy things.

Therefore, when Jiang Anan came to ask for his help, Chen Xingtong didn’t even look at the documents and directly dismissed her: “No time, no time, it’s the busiest time of the year.”

“Okay, I’ll leave the materials here, take a look when you have time, and feel free to give me your feedback.” Jiang Anan didn’t get angry at all, she left the copies on the table and retreated, not forgetting to politely close the door gently.

Chen Xingtong has a strong appeal in the grassroots, and it’s easy to mobilize the enthusiasm of the members below. If he could be persuaded to help, it would be twice the result with half the effort.

If she were to be rejected, things would become slightly more complicated, but it wasn’t completely impossible. It would indirectly prove that Chen Xingtong had a strong opinion of her, and that prejudice couldn’t be eliminated in the short term.

He even instructed his staff not to help Jiang Anan. He wanted to see what kind of waves a small intern could make?

“Director, wouldn’t this offend the Women’s Federation?” Little Gao, the staff member, was worried. As the saying goes, “Don’t look at the monk’s face, look at the Buddha’s face.” Jiang Anan represents the county Women’s Federation, and Director Chen is essentially slapping the brother department in the face.

“You’re just timid and afraid of things.” Little Zhang, the staff member, snorted: “Secretary Yang’s background is even stronger than Jiang Anan’s, so what? He’s still been suppressed by our director for years and become the second fiddle. I want to see how Jiang, without our help, can persuade the members below to participate in this ridiculous lecture.”

Little Gao, the staff member, furrowed his brow: “What if this lecture is a huge success? These past few days, Jiang Anan has been running between the commune and the police station, and Secretary Yang has also been walking with the wind every day, which shows that they are very confident and determined to succeed.”

Hearing this, Chen Xingtong hesitated: “If that’s the case, no matter what, don’t make things difficult for them.”

But asking him to help?

Go to hell!

Little Zhang, the staff member, thought that Little Gao, the staff member, was exaggerating. Since Jiang Anan was taking the lead, she shouldn’t blame him for stepping on her to get ahead and making Director Chen look at her with new eyes.

His eyes rolled around, and Little Zhang, the staff member, took the initiative to secretly inform the dozen or so teams below.

Nanxi Team.

The six work quotas had been decided, and the entire team’s atmosphere had been completely renewed. In the past, the members would bicker and argue over trivial matters. These days, everyone was eager to help others, helping old ladies cross the road, carrying water for the elderly who lived alone… striving to be women’s representatives.

Except for the slight commotion caused by Jiang Shulan’s fight for a quota, the other five quotas were accepted by the members.

There was Tiezhu’s mother, who had always been virtuous, Huang Liusheng, who had helped villagers during the famine, Jiang Dayi, who earned ten work points like a man, Liu, the widow who had raised five children alone, and Zhang Sanpo, an eight-generation poor peasant.

For those who didn’t get elected, Luo Jiawang, following Jiang Anan’s suggestion, deliberately leaked the news that there would be another chance.

Therefore, the team’s atmosphere continued to be positive and upward.

Luo Jiawang has been riding high lately, walking with a spring in his step. These changes were all brought about by Jiang Anan, so when he received a call from the higher-level commune, he didn’t hesitate to complain: “Someone is trying to trip you up!”

To this, Jiang Anan didn’t care at all. She took out the propaganda documents she had prepared: “Attendance at the lecture is not mandatory, but only the excellent teams that complete the sign-in task will be eligible to attend the gala.”

In those days, there were no entertainment activities. The subordinate communes had no resources and no money, so they could only rely on the county’s galas. But since a few years ago, the county hadn’t held one for a long time.

Not only the members, but even Luo Jiawang couldn’t help but be moved. After working hard all year, who wouldn’t want to relax and have some fun at the end of the year?

What made Luo Jiawang most convinced was that Jiang Anan linked the gala to the team’s sense of honor. If the team didn’t cooperate with this sign-in activity, they would be drowned in the saliva of the members below.

This was a brilliant move!

“Don’t worry, Nanxi Team will definitely be the first to support the Women’s Federation’s work.” Luo Jiawang couldn’t wait for the other teams to not cooperate, so that next year, the floating red flag would definitely belong to Nanxi Team!

The ceramic jar in his hand was passed down from his ancestors who had been on the battlefield. The glaze was chipped and worn, clearly showing its age. Even so, it always attracted countless envious glances.

But Luo Jiawang was a man with ideals and aspirations. He dreamed of getting his own ceramic jar.

“If there’s anything the team can help with, just say the word.”

Jiang Anan raised an eyebrow. She had prepared a whole belly of persuasion, but there was no need to use it, which made her feel a little regretful.

“There’s just one thing I need the team leader to help with. You’re familiar with the surrounding teams. Could you please visit some old friends and have a chat, and it would be best if you could spread the word about the gala in places where there are many members.”