“You!”
Section Chief Wang’s expression darkened completely, and panic crept into his heart.
He truly didn’t care about the troublesome girl standing in front of him, but he couldn’t afford to ignore Section Chief Li.
If Old Li found out that Wang had earned such a huge amount of money just by saying a few words, then even if they didn’t fall out completely, Old Li would never include him in anything profitable again.
The county town was only so big, and everyone knew everyone.
If his relationship with Old Li turned sour, life would become difficult for him.
After all, the Civil Affairs Bureau rarely needed favors from the Culture and Education Bureau, while the Culture and Education Bureau had to deal with Civil Affairs all the time.
Section Chief Wang’s chest heaved with anger.
He lowered his voice.
“What exactly do you want? Why don’t we go outside and discuss it?”
This was Old Li’s office.
Old Li had rushed off to process Qin Yuan’s marriage certificate. Given his position, it certainly wouldn’t take him long to finish and return.
If he came back and found the two of them still locked in a standoff, things would become troublesome.
But Qin Yuan simply picked up the pen on the desk, along with a sheet of notepaper bearing the red letterhead of the County Civil Affairs Bureau, and began writing seriously.
She clearly had no intention of leaving.
Section Chief Wang was so furious that he stamped his foot.
“Qin Yuan, I may have taken two hundred yuan, but I also got things done for you! If you’re planning to burn the bridge after crossing the river, then neither of us is going to have an easy time! Section Chief Li isn’t the only person who knows Director Ma. I know him too! If you keep this up, I’ll—”
Before he could finish, Qin Yuan handed him the piece of paper she had just written on.
Her voice was surprisingly cheerful.
“Section Chief Wang, you deserve a middleman’s fee for helping me. But honestly, taking that much is a little excessive. How about this? I’ve only just arrived in the county town, so I have practically nothing. You, on the other hand, know this place inside and out. I’ve written a shopping list here. Please help me get everything on it. Once you do, I’ll pretend today never happened. Even if someone beat me to death, I wouldn’t say a word. How does that sound?”
Section Chief Wang suspiciously picked up the paper.
A long list of items was written on it.
One three-jin quilt and one five-jin quilt.
Two sets each of padded jackets and trousers, long underwear, underpants, shoes, and socks.
Two thermos flasks.
Two lunch boxes.
Five jin of eggs.
Two jin of brown sugar…
Before he even finished reading, he impatiently shouted,
“What is all this? Do you think I’m a department store?!”
Qin Yuan clapped her hands and laughed.
“Hey, you got it exactly right! Two hundred yuan is practically enough to open a little general store!
“Section Chief Wang, since we’re grasshoppers tied to the same rope now, we should share both fortune and disaster. I don’t know anyone in this county town, so who could possibly be more suitable than you to help me buy all these things?
“I made a rough calculation. Everything on the list should cost less than eighty yuan. That leaves you with one hundred and twenty yuan in profit. See how reasonable I am? I’m leaving you the bigger share, aren’t I?”
Section Chief Wang’s eyes widened.
In his heart, he cursed Qin Yuan at least eight hundred times.
Yet there was nothing he could do.
He was afraid Qin Yuan would expose everything to Section Chief Li, but he was equally reluctant to give up the remaining one hundred and twenty yuan in profit.
In the end, he could only grit his teeth and agree.
His brain was screaming, *I refuse! I refuse! I refuse!*
But his hands seemed to have minds of their own as they folded up the shopping list.
He gritted his teeth.
“I never expected you to be this calculating! I really wasted my effort helping you! You don’t understand anything. Sooner or later, I was planning to spend that two hundred yuan building connections with Section Chief Li anyway. I wanted him to speak to his brother-in-law and help transfer me to another position in the Culture and Education Bureau.
“Did you really think I was greedy for the money? Hmph! You schemed against me like this—sooner or later, lightning will strike you down!”
Qin Yuan blinked.
A thought instantly flashed through her mind.
Transfer positions?
Absolutely not!
The national college entrance examination would be restored in the second half of this year.
If she could keep a “grasshopper” like Section Chief Wang tied firmly to his position in the Education Section, things would become much easier when she took the college entrance examination later.
Registration, getting study materials, filling out university applications, checking examination results…
In her previous life, more than ten thousand people in the county had registered for the exam.
Which of those things wouldn’t be easier with an insider helping her?
With that thought, Qin Yuan hurriedly grabbed Section Chief Wang by the sleeve.
“Tsk, tsk, Section Chief Wang. It’s not that you wasted your effort helping me. You should be thanking your lucky stars that you helped me! Listen to me—you absolutely must not save that two hundred yuan to spend on connections with Section Chief Li!”
“You don’t know a damn thing! I already agreed to buy your stuff. Are you leaving or not?!”
Section Chief Wang impatiently shook her hand off.
Qin Yuan glanced at the clock in the office.
It was already three thirty in the afternoon.
People working in government offices like this were notoriously difficult to find in the middle of the day, but they were usually at their desks early and late.
Section Chief Li would probably return soon.
That was precisely why Section Chief Wang was so nervous.
But sometimes, the more nervous someone was, the easier it became to manipulate the situation.
Qin Yuan grabbed his sleeve again and said seriously,
“Stop panicking, and don’t underestimate me. I can help you! First tell me this: if you manage to use your connections to transfer positions, where exactly do you want to go?”
Section Chief Wang was nearly driven mad by her.
But if this wretched girl refused to leave, there was nothing he could do.
He could only answer irritably,
“What could a country girl like you possibly understand? Now that the country no longer has university recommendation quotas, nobody cares about the position I’m responsible for. Practically any other position would be better than the one I have now. Hurry up and leave!”
Qin Yuan wasn’t angry.
Instead, she fired right back.
“You’re the stupid one—and rotten too! Haven’t you ever considered that if the country has abolished university recommendation quotas, then naturally there must eventually be another way to select talented students? And you actually work for the Culture and Education Bureau! How can you fail to understand something so obvious?”
“You think I need some country girl to—”
They were still inside someone else’s office.
Section Chief Wang took a deep breath and forced down his anger.
“It’s not that I don’t understand! But the political situation is chaotic right now. One moment they’re cracking down on factions, the next they’re revising textbooks, and then suddenly everyone is told to follow whatever orders come from above.
“My section has been sitting on the sidelines for five months! If I don’t start pulling strings soon, I’m going to be completely marginalized.
“Forget it. You wouldn’t understand any of this. I’m asking you one last time—are you leaving or not?”
Qin Yuan bent down, picked up the three hundred yuan from the desk, and stuffed it into her pocket.
Then she slowly headed toward the door, sighing as she walked.
“People really do let opportunities slip through their fingers.
“In another five or six months, your position will be the most sought-after one in the entire Culture and Education Bureau.
“The country will restore the national college entrance examination sooner or later. When that happens, you’ll have influence over both the printing and distribution of textbooks and the administration of entrance examinations and admissions. There’ll be plenty of benefits flowing through your hands.
“What a pity.
“You’re not smart enough to hold onto such a valuable position.”
Section Chief Wang had almost reached the door when his footsteps abruptly stopped.
Qin Yuan turned around and urged him,
“Come on! Hurry up, you stupid, rotten fool!”
Section Chief Wang: “…”
He had never met such an arrogant country girl in his life!
And yet…
Her words refused to leave his mind.
In truth, he had also considered the possibility that the country might eventually introduce a new system for selecting university students.
But policies from above had been changing constantly over the past few months, while no concrete examination or admissions policy had appeared.
His position offered him no benefits whatsoever.
Things had gotten so bad that even his wife had scolded him several times for holding such an unrewarding post.
That was precisely why he had started trying to use his connections to transfer elsewhere.
But after hearing Qin Yuan’s words, his previously dead hopes suddenly came alive again.
The two slowly walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Finally, Section Chief Wang couldn’t resist moving closer to her.
His tone was noticeably more respectful than before.
“Hey, Comrade Qin… You’re from the countryside. How did you find out about these things? I’m not looking down on you. It’s just that I work in culture and education myself, yet I haven’t heard anything about the national college entrance examination being restored.”
Qin Yuan was already planning to make money with his help in a few months, so she didn’t bother putting on airs.
She lowered her voice.
“Don’t ask how I know.
“Just find a way to call people above your level. For example, leaders in the Provincial Culture and Education Bureau, professors at universities, or other important figures in the education system.
“Ask around and find out whether any of them have recently gone to Jingbei for a small closed-door meeting specifically discussing ‘the shortcomings of the recommendation system.’
“As for why they would suddenly be discussing something like that…
“Surely I don’t need to explain it to an intelligent comrade from the Culture and Education Bureau, do I?”