Official Career Storm

Chapter 1789: Chapter 1789

After hanging up the phone, Song Guanchao suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

His grandmother called to tell him that she and his grandfather would be spending this New Year at his uncle’s place.

His uncle went to Taiwan Island to do business in the early years and his business grew quite large, and he settled down there early on.

When Song Guanchao was still young, his uncle wanted to bring him and his grandparents to live over there.

However, his grandparents were reluctant to leave their homeland, so they didn’t agree.

According to past customs, his uncle would bring the old couple over each year to stay for a while.

In previous years, they even spent the New Year there, but in recent years, as his grandparents got older, they stopped going as much.

It would be nice for them to go this year too, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with family matters during the New Year.

"Knock knock."

"Come in."

Zhou Xingjian pushed the door open, and there was a woman in her thirties standing behind him, looking timid and moving nervously.

"Wait here for a moment," Zhou Xingjian said to the woman, casually closing the door and walking over. "Director Song, there’s a woman outside looking for you."

"Who is she?" Song Guanchao had a good memory; even if he couldn’t recall names after some time, he would always remember a face if he’d met someone before.

But he had no impression of the woman outside at all.

"Her name is Yang Ling, she’s a teacher at the Sanwan Town Primary School in Gaoshui County."

Gaoshui County...

Song Guanchao squinted his eyes, "Did she mention what she wanted with me?"

Zhou Xingjian looked a bit hesitant, waiting for a few seconds before saying, "She wouldn’t say initially. I had to ask repetitively before she finally spoke up. She’s here to report something to you."

Song Guanchao had already guessed, "Let her in."

Zhou Xingjian said, "Aren’t you going to ask what she’s reporting?"

Song Guanchao sneered, "Gao Qi just came to me not long ago, and now a teacher from Gaoshui County comes to report. She doesn’t go to the Disciplinary Committee or report to the police, but comes to find me, an office director. If I still can’t guess the reason, I might as well pack up and leave."

Hearing him say this, Zhou Xingjian relaxed quite a bit, went out, and brought the person in.

"This is Director Song. Whatever you want to report, just tell Director Song. But let me remind you, Director Song is not the Disciplinary Committee, he has no authority to handle your report. It ultimately has to be transferred to the Disciplinary Committee. Also, the report should be substantial, with evidence..."

"Director Zhou, you can head out first," Song Guanchao interrupted with a helpless smile.

He knew Zhou Xingjian did not want to get involved in this troublesome matter.

But ultimately, whether to intervene or not was up to him to decide.

Zhou Xingjian nodded, and after he left, Song Guanchao poured a cup of tea for the woman while quickly observing her.

She seemed to be about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, but she looked older, with dull skin, dry hair, and timid eyes that didn’t dare meet his gaze.

She wore an unflattering, very bulky down jacket, with cuffs garnished with sleeves that were almost extinct in big cities.

After entering the room, she stood in front of the desk, her hands clenched together, her body slightly tense underneath her clothes.

Her body language was filled with nervousness.

"Ms. Yang, have a seat and drink some tea," Song Guanchao said gently.

He could guess that it was Gao Qi who arranged for this female teacher to report.

The content of the report was highly likely related to County Magistrate Cao.

But he couldn’t figure out how a female teacher from a town would have any connection with the county magistrate?

Although he didn’t want to judge by appearances, he had to admit that a high-ranking county magistrate was unlikely to take an interest in someone as ordinary looking as Yang Ling.

"Than-thank you, Director Song." Yang Ling sat down timidly, as if Song Guanchao’s words were some sort of command, grabbing the freshly brewed tea without caring about the heat and bringing it to her lips.

"The water is hot," Song Guanchao reminded her.

"Mm." Yang Ling moistened her lips awkwardly and uneasily.

Song Guanchao asked, "Ms. Yang, what are you here to report?"

Bringing up the main topic made Yang Ling even more nervous, gripping the cup tightly, showing the veins on the back of her hands.

"I want to report Cao Xiaolou." Yang Ling summoned up the courage and said, looking him in the eye.

As expected, it was a report against County Magistrate Cao.

"What’s wrong with County Magistrate Cao?"

"He withheld the county’s education subsidies."

"Do you have any evidence?"

"We haven’t been paid in 17 months."

Not being paid for 17 months was evidence in itself.

Showing no change in expression, Song Guanchao said, "Ms. Yang, education subsidies are issued from the province to the city and then to the county. They are earmarked for education, and if the money hasn’t been given out, it’s an issue with the Education Bureau. Why do you say County Magistrate Cao withheld it?"

Yang Ling evidently didn’t expect this question, leaving her at a loss for words, and after quite a while, she said, "It’s because County Magistrate Cao withheld it. Everyone says so."

Song Guanchao patiently said, "Ms. Yang, I know you’re anxious about not getting paid. But being fair, you shouldn’t believe hearsay just because you haven’t received your salary."

"I, I..." Yang Ling became increasingly flustered, unsure of how to explain.

Song Guanchao reassured her, "Ms. Yang, don’t get worked up. I’m not saying you’re lying; I’m just clarifying the procedure for this special allocation. Normally, the funds stay with the Education Bureau, and the county magistrate has no authority to intervene, let alone privately withhold it."

"Let’s do this, you go back first, and I’ll forward this matter to the Disciplinary Committee for investigation."

"Oh, by the way, Ms. Yang, please leave your phone number with me. The people from the Disciplinary Committee might need to contact you for more information."

"Oh..." Yang Ling felt very disappointed.

She had received a call from Mayor Gao yesterday, urging her to report the matter in the city, saying that Director Song was different from other leaders.

As long as she found him, the issue would definitely be resolved.

But the reality was far from what Mayor Gao described, completely different.

This Director Song was just like the other leaders she had dealt with before.

He sidestepped the issue, passing the buck, no intention of addressing the problem.

She looked down in disappointment, watching the high-grade tea leaves slowly bloom under the hot water in her cup.

This cup of tea was just like these high-ranking leaders — she and they were destined to live in different worlds.

And people like her, only had the chance to appear in their world once or twice through complaints.

When she left, and the cup was washed out, her traces would be removed along with it, as if she had never appeared there at all.

Placing the teacup down, she left her contact information and exited the office.

Zhou Xingjian was waiting outside and led her out of the building, then immediately rushed back in.

"Director Song..." Even before he could ask, Song Guanchao had already countered, "Have you heard about what she’s reporting?"

"I’ve heard about it."

"Is it true?"

"Not sure," Zhou Xingjian chuckled bitterly, "It’s not in my scope of work."

And besides, even if he did know, what could he do?

Who on earth would willingly run into troublesome matters like this?

Song Guanchao understood and didn’t harshly demand anything of him, rather just felt it was quite sad.

This thought quickly faded away.

He had encountered similar situations in Lingjiang; over two or three years, he felt he had matured a lot.

At the very least, he wouldn’t immediately resort to slamming the table and cursing over such common occurrences.

Being emotional didn’t solve problems.

On the contrary, solving problems required first and foremost avoiding emotional reactions.

Zhou Xingjian watched him cautiously, "Director Song..."

"Director Zhou." Song Guanchao met his gaze, "If I were to say I want to handle this situation, what would you think?"

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