Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 432 Hidden Rules

Bang bang bang~~
He Yuanchao had just sat down in the chair when there was a knock on the door.

The guy outside seemed pretty anxious! He was still talking to Li Jiefang when he knocked on the door.

"Come in."

He Yuanchao muttered to himself, not pausing for a moment, also wanting to see who this unfamiliar voice belonged to.

As soon as he finished speaking, the office door was pushed open, and Zhou Hongjun walked in with a big smile on his face.

"Brother He, no, Director, I'm here to report for duty. From now on, I'm your subordinate, and I'll do whatever you tell me to do."

After Zhou Hongjun finished speaking, he walked to his desk, took out a cigarette in a very familiar manner, and bowed across the desk to offer one to He Yuanchao.

Don't be fooled by the calm and collected look on this guy's face. He seems very experienced, but the hand that's offering him the cigarette keeps trembling, like he has Parkinson's disease.

Seeing this, He Yuanchao didn't make things difficult for him. He smiled and took the cigarette offered to him, asking, "When did you start work?"

Seeing that He Yuanchao had accepted the cigarette, Zhou Hongjun visibly breathed a sigh of relief. As he lit a match, he replied, "I came to report the day after you asked for leave. If I had known you were taking leave earlier, I would have reported a few days later no matter what."

He lit a cigarette with the match Zhou Hongjun had struck, took a puff, and laughed, "It doesn't matter when you report for duty."

"That's different."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hongjun shook his head vigorously, like a rattle drum, and said:

"My mom said that once I join the security department of the steel mill, I'll follow you. If you say go east, I won't go west; if you say beat the dog, I won't chase the chicken."

Brother He, no, Director, don't worry, I respect you. I'll definitely listen to what you say, do whatever you ask, and I won't let you down...

Hearing these somewhat childish words, He Yuanchao couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. Was this guy here to work, or to drop off his child at kindergarten and watch over him?
He Yuanchao had read Zhou Hongjun's information. There were five children in his family, and Zhou Hongjun was the fourth, with a younger sister. But who would have thought that this 22-year-old lad, who was usually so arrogant and domineering, actually had some mama's boy tendencies?

Remembering his godmother Liu Lihua's advice, He Yuanchao patiently listened to Zhou Hongjun's somewhat foolish words before speaking directly:

"When you came to the security department, which section were you assigned to?"

When the topic of work came up, Zhou Hongjun immediately wilted and said listlessly, "It was the same plan I was assigned to as a staff member in the security department."

Upon hearing that this guy had been assigned to the security department directly under his jurisdiction, He Yuanchao frowned, but then relaxed. Within the security department, no matter which section this guy was assigned to, he was still his subordinate, and he would bear leadership responsibility for any problems that occurred.

"We need to make proper arrangements for this guy; we can't let him cause trouble for us."

Thinking this through, He Yuanchao went through all the security personnel from top to bottom and then said:
"Now that you're in the security department, do your job well. You're probably not used to it yet, so I won't assign you any specific tasks right away. Instead, spend some time getting familiar with the security department's work processes by talking to Li Jiefang, who just left."

Judging by Li Jiefang's energy level, it won't be long before he's dragged this kid down!

Zhou Hongjun was unaware of He Yuanchao's plans. When he heard that He Yuanchao would not assign him any specific work for the time being, and that he would be paired with Li Jiefang, whom he got along with, he immediately perked up and kept expressing his gratitude as if it were free.

He Yuanchao had a lot of things to do and didn't have time to listen to his rambling. He waved his hand to interrupt:
"Alright, instead of saying thank you, get back to work. Go find Li Jiefang and ask him to mentor you."

"Yes, Director. I'll go find Li Jiefang right away."

After saying that, Zhou Hongjun turned to leave excitedly, but suddenly stopped as if he remembered something and looked at He Yuanchao with a hesitant expression.

Looking at Zhou Hongjun's appearance, He Yuanchao asked curiously, "If you have something to say, why are you making such a fuss about this woman?" Although Zhou Hongjun's emotional intelligence was not high, he was good at reading people's expressions. Seeing that He Yuanchao did not seem to dislike him, the shadow of being beaten in his heart dissipated a lot, and he became bolder.

"Director, what do you think of Wu Mengsheng? Ever since I started working here, he's been bothering me every day. He's either asking me to dinner or to go out and play cards. I'm so annoyed. If this keeps up, I might just lose my temper and slap that brat one day."

He Yuanchao stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on his desk and asked, puzzled:

"Isn't it a good thing that I'm treating you to dinner? What's bothering you?"

Zhou Hongjun stared at He Yuanchao with his two clear, big eyes, and said in a somewhat aggrieved tone:
"Director, you're not treating me like one of your own! Everyone in the department knows that Wu Mengsheng doesn't respect you and isn't on your side. What good intentions could he possibly have when he invites me out to dinner and fun?"

Besides, he always acts so high and mighty in front of me. Pah! I, Zhou Hongjun, can eat whatever I want; why would I care about a couple of meals from him?

After listening to Zhou Hongjun's complaints, He Yuanchao couldn't help but tease him:

"So, you don't not want to go eat, but you just can't stand Wu Mengsheng's attitude and think he's taking away your share?"

"That's not how it is."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hongjun waved his hands repeatedly and explained, "My mother said that once I come to the steel mill's security department, I am to listen to only you. If anyone gets along with you, I am to ignore them."

"Director, let me tell you, from childhood to adulthood, I believe what my mother said this time is correct. I've been looking around the security department these past few days, and in terms of ability across all levels of the staff, I think none of them are as good as you..."

"Stop, stop, stop."

Hearing Zhou Hongjun's blatant flattery, He Yuanchao blushed and immediately interrupted:
"Alright, alright, I understand. I'll find a chance to talk to Wu Mengsheng about it. You should go find Li Jiefang now!"

He Yuanchao was really at a loss with Zhou Hongjun, this hothead. Rather than bothering him here, he might as well let him go bother Li Jiefang.

Seeing that He Yuanchao had agreed to his request, Zhou Hongjun didn't waste any more words. He responded with a smile and turned to leave.

Seeing Zhou Hongjun walk to the office door, He Yuanchao suddenly remembered something and quickly spoke up:
"By the way, Red Army, don't let anyone attack Qiu Peng again."

Zhou Hongjun paused for a moment after hearing He Yuanchao's words, then released the doorknob, turned around, and grinned:
"Director, how did you know I did this?"

These words aren't very hurtful, but they're extremely insulting. They make you think everyone's IQ is the same as Zhou Hongjun's!

He Yuanchao glanced at Zhou Hongjun with annoyance and said, "Regardless of whether you did it or not, don't send people to beat Qiu Peng again. This kind of petty trick is not respectable."

Zhou Hongjun was somewhat unconvinced, but seeing He Yuanchao's long face, he didn't dare to argue. After agreeing, he quickly opened the door and left the office.

"It's fine when she's not angry, but when she pulls a long face, it's really scary."

After closing the door to He Yuanchao's office, Zhou Hongjun stood in the corridor and couldn't help but pat his chest and mutter a few words before rushing off to find Li Jiefang.

He Yuanchao sat in the office for a while, and seeing that no one was coming, he quickly got up and left the room to go to Mo Dacheng's office. He had taken seven days off, and when he came back, he had to show his face in front of his supervisor.

This can be described as social etiquette, or it can be seen as respect for the leader.

Just like what happened in his office just now, He Yuanchao might forget who came, but he would never forget who didn't come.

Although he was still a little unaccustomed to this, it was, after all, a kind of rule of the game that had been subtly instilled. If he wanted to have a good time here, he either had to follow the rules or become the one who made the rules.

(End of this chapter)