Sail across the sea

Chapter 355 You're plotting something again.

In August, the lush forest was scorching hot, and the heat was unbearable.

At the bus stop in front of the Maolin Daily building, a young couple who had just gotten off the bus quickly determined their direction and then walked side by side toward the newspaper office.

The boy was Gao Fan, and the girl walking beside him, holding a small floral umbrella, was Xu Dan, who had just graduated from the provincial commercial school a month ago. The commercial school was a two-year vocational college.

When Xu Dan graduated, her father, Xu Zhenxin, planned to use his connections to get her a job in a unit in Luping City, the capital of the region, but Xu Dan refused. After negotiating with her parents, Xu Dan was assigned to Canghai Fertilizer Plant. Upon joining the plant, she was sent to Canghua Science and Trade Company as the deputy director of the office.

Okay, actually, the office of Canghua Science and Trade Company was just established, and there was only one person in the entire office, Xu Dan. The reason she was appointed as the deputy director instead of the director was because she was too young, and if she were directly appointed as the director, it would easily attract hatred.

According to Xu Zhenxin, he was the office director of Canghai Fertilizer Plant, and his job was to carry bags for Gao Yiping. Now that his daughter has graduated from vocational school and returned home, he'll have her carry bags for Gao Fan; he believes it will be a promising job.

Xu Zhenxin's words were 70% sincere. Gao Fan's demonstrated abilities, as well as the wealth and connections he had accumulated in just two years, all indicated that this young man had a bright future. It was entirely possible that he might be chosen by Zheng Linong as his successor and become a minister in the Ministry of Chemical Industry.

Xu Dan and Gao Fan have a childhood friendship. If Xu Dan starts carrying Gao Fan's bags now, her future prospects will definitely be a hundred times more brilliant than Xu Zhenxin's, the factory office director.

As for whether the two young people could spark a romance, Xu Zhenxin had his wife subtly inquire with their daughter. The answer was that she had always treated Gao Fan as an older brother, and Gao Fan treated her as a younger sister. There was absolutely no possibility for the two of them to develop any feelings beyond that of siblings.

My daughter is not good enough for the Gao family's son.

Xu Zhenxin sighed, "It's saved me a lot of trouble."

Xu Dan's appointment at Canghua Science and Trade was arranged by Gao Fan beforehand. Gao Fan needed to cultivate his own team within the company, and Xu Dan, as a loyal and obedient follower, was undoubtedly one of the most suitable candidates.

The main body of Canghua Science and Trade was the labor service company of the fertilizer plant. The employees in the company were all unemployed youths from the plant, and the vast majority of them were older than Gao Fan.

Although after two years of getting to know each other, the employees have generally developed a sense of admiration for Gao Fan, it still feels a bit awkward for Gao Fan to establish absolute authority over them, as they are a group of people who "watched him grow up".

For example, Xie Qin, who is now the company's production supervisor, used to be Gao Min's best friend. When Gao Fan was still wearing open-crotch pants, she did some unspeakable things to him. How can Gao Fan put on airs in front of her?

Ning Mo, the administrative supervisor, does have some sense of being a subordinate, but he has been intellectually challenged for many years. He is fine as Gao Fan's bodyguard, but it would be a bit much to ask him to do any work that requires brainpower.

Xu Dan is a vocational school graduate from a business school, which in this era can be considered an educated intellectual, and she is a good candidate to play the role of Gao Fan's secretary.

"Xiao Fan, does that mean I have to start calling you General Manager Gao once I walk through this door?"

As they approached the newspaper office, Xu Dan whispered to Gao Fan, "I'm not quite used to my role yet." A hint of nervousness lingered on her face.

"Call me General Manager Gao to strangers, and Gao Fan to acquaintances," Gao Fan said.

"How am I supposed to know who I know?" Xu Dan asked, somewhat worried.

Gao Fan was about to reply when he heard someone at the gate call out to them, "Xiao Fan, you're really punctual." Gao Fan smiled and said to Xu Dan, "For example, she's an acquaintance."

Then, he took Xu Dan a few quick steps and came to the person, saying apologetically, "Sister Shanshan, it's such a hot day, and you still came downstairs to pick me up."

Sun Shanshan, already one of the "Four Great Reporters" of Maolin Daily, returned Gao Fan's smile, then turned her gaze to Xu Dan and asked Gao Fan, "Xiao Fan, you haven't introduced her yet, who is this...?"

"This is my colleague Xu Dan, she just joined our company this year," Gao Fan introduced her formally.

Xu Dan quickly bowed to Sun Shanshan and said, "Reporter Sun, my name is Xu Dan. I'm currently serving as... uh, as General Manager Gao's temporary secretary."

Sun Shanshan looked at Xu Dan's face and said with a smile, "Xiao Xu isn't very old. I think she's about the same age as Xiao Fan."

Gao Fan said, "Dandan and I have been classmates since elementary school. She was born in the same year as me, but a month younger."

"I see." Sun Shanshan smiled even more gently. "Okay, then I'll call you Dandan too, and you can call me Sister Shanshan, just like Xiaofan does, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Xu Dan nodded haphazardly.

She had never interacted with an adult on an equal footing before. Sun Shanshan's aura as a high-profile reporter made her feel a little dizzy. She couldn't help but want to tug at Gao Fan's clothes to give herself a sense of security.

After exchanging greetings, Sun Shanshan led the two into the newspaper office courtyard, upstairs to a small reception room, arranged for them to sit down, and brought out teacups and a thermos to pour them tea.

Xu Dan had a family background in this area. After giving Gao Fan a wink to ask for his opinion, she hurriedly got up and took the tea set from Sun Shanshan, taking on the role of waitress.

After Xu Dan poured the tea and the three of them sat down, Sun Shanshan asked Gao Fan, "Xiao Fan, you said on the phone that you wanted our newspaper to cooperate with you on a publicity campaign. Could you tell me the details?"

Gao Fan nodded, took out a document with a red header from his bag, handed it to Sun Shanshan, and said, "Sister Shanshan, take a look at this first."

Sun Shanshan took the document and saw that the red header read "Maolin Provincial Chemical Industry Department," and the signature also bore the red seal of the Chemical Industry Department, clearly indicating that it was a very formal official document.

The title of the official document was a very complicated sentence: “Request for Publicity on Promoting the Ammonium-to-Urine Conversion Program”. Sun Shanshan didn’t even know how to punctuate it for a moment.

The main text was brief, beginning with a grand claim that the ammonium-to-urine conversion project in Maolin Province was directly arranged by the Ministry of Chemical Industry. It then stated that, to promote this work, the Maolin Provincial Department of Chemical Industry had entrusted Canghua Science and Trade Company to contact media outlets both within and outside the province to conduct related publicity activities, with specific details to be jointly planned and negotiated by Canghua Science and Trade Company and the media.

"I have a feeling you're up to something again?"

Sun Shanshan handed the official letter back to Gao Fan, smiling as she spoke.

(End of this chapter)