Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1141 First Meeting with Engineer Zhai
The steel rolling mill's office building wasn't far from the gate, and Wang Zhan didn't try to catch up with Section Chief Wang; he just followed behind.

Only after seeing Section Chief Wang lock his bike, then carry a black leather bag and walk into the office building did Wang Zhan ride to the bicycle garage downstairs, park his bike, and walk into the office building with his backpack on his back.

Upon entering the building, Wang Zhan was greeted by a young colleague. He went up to ask for directions to the office of Section Chief Wang of the Personnel Department. The colleague told him directly that it was on the third floor, in the third room, and that there was a sign above the door. He could find it by going up to the third floor.

Wang Zhan arrived at Section Chief Wang's office and knocked lightly twice. A voice from inside said, "Come in." Wang Zhan pushed the door open and entered. Section Chief Wang had just sat down and was taking a lunchbox and a notebook out of his bag.

Section Chief Wang looked up and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Oh, let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Zhan. I'm a vocational school intern at the School of Mechanical Engineering this year. My teacher is Professor Xie Yun, who recommended me for this internship at the steel rolling mill. Here are my letter of introduction, letter of recommendation, and academic certificate." Wang Zhan took the relevant documents out of his bag and placed them on Section Chief Wang's desk.

Section Chief Wang frowned, picked up Wang Zhan's file, looked up and examined Wang Zhan carefully again, and said, "I really haven't heard anything about you coming to the factory for an internship. Here, sit here for a while, I'll go ask Deputy Factory Director Nie. You see, I just started working here, I don't even know if he's here yet. Please sit down, help yourself to some water, I'm going out for a bit."

Section Chief Wang was actually quite puzzled. The ministry's clear instruction to the factory was to streamline operations, and some temporary workers still needed to be laid off. How could they bring in new people at this critical juncture? He didn't know who had made the arrangements. He didn't doubt the veracity of what Wang Zhan said, but he didn't know which leader had given the order. So, he could only go to his direct supervisor.

After Wang Zhan saw that Section Chief Wang had left, he sat there idly looking around the office. Section Chief Wang's office was not large. The room only contained a set of desk and chair and two wooden chairs with backs. There was a washbasin stand near the door with a towel hanging on it. On one side of the window, against the north wall, was a filing cabinet. It was made of wood and covered with dense wear marks, showing how old it was.

When Section Chief Wang left, the door was open. Wang Zhan knew this was for his own good, as people coming and going in the corridor could easily see into the room as they passed by.

Several people peeked inside curiously, and almost all of them asked, "Where's Section Chief Wang?"

Wang Zhan answered each question with a smile, but all of them said the same thing: "Section Chief Wang went out and will be back in a little while. He told me to wait for him here."

Not long after, Section Chief Wang returned, and Wang Zhan clearly sensed a change in his attitude.

"Wang Zhan, right? Hello, hello. Let's get acquainted. My name is Wang Qinian, and I'm the head of the Personnel Department. Your matter has been approved by the leadership. It was handled by Qu Wennian, a Level 3 Engineer in the Technical Department. Engineer Qu communicated with your Professor Xie Yun, and it was Deputy Factory Director Nie who processed it. Now, go to the first office and find Comrade Li. He's a staff member in our department, and he'll be responsible for processing your paperwork. Okay, take your things and go." Head Wang explained Wang Zhan's matter clearly with a smile and without any hesitation. It seemed that he had already been to the first office before returning.

Wang Zhan stood up and said, "Thank you, Section Chief Wang. I'll be going now. Please take care of me in the future."

Section Chief Wang smiled and nodded, saying, "Haha, we're all comrades, we're in the same trench, let's look after each other. Go on ahead."

Wang Zhan went to the first office. When he was at the door, he could see the sign on the door that read "Personnel Department".

Before Wang Zhan could even speak, a bespectacled, well-mannered young man stood up abruptly and said, "Wang Zhan, right? Come here." This must be the Xiao Li that Section Chief Wang had mentioned. Wang Zhan walked over, and Xiao Li was very enthusiastic, helping Wang Zhan complete the registration procedures and filing his letters of introduction and recommendation, as these documents would be included in his file.

After all the registration procedures were completed, Xiao Li led him directly upstairs. It turned out that the technical department's office was upstairs from the personnel department. But unlike the third floor, once we got to the fourth floor, it felt quiet and deserted. The sunlight coming through the windows on both sides of the corridor was not enough to illuminate the entire floor.

Most of the offices on the third floor had their doors open, and those that weren't open had glass windows in the doors that let in a little sunlight. But the fourth floor was completely different. None of the doors had glass windows, and since it was already working hours, every room was closed.

Seeing Wang Zhan's confusion, Xiao Li smiled and said, "Feeling the eeriness? That's how it is on the fourth floor. The technical department is the most important part of our factory. Each office has a lot of documents and blueprints, so security here is our top priority. Plus, the people in the technical department... cough cough, I don't mean anything by it, but they're all pretty quiet. They can sit at their desks all day long, so there's not much foot traffic on these four floors, making it quite quiet."

Wang Zhan smiled at Xiao Li and said, "It looks a bit like the teachers' building at our school, I understand."

Xiao Li led Wang Zhan to the innermost office, knocked lightly twice, and a voice inside said "Come in." Xiao Li then opened the door and led Wang Zhan inside.

Upon entering the office, Wang Zhan was astonished. The office was very large. By the window, there was a huge drafting table, where an elderly man with gray hair, wearing glasses, was intently drawing something with a ruler and pen. Except for the side near the door, the other three walls were lined with tall filing cabinets filled with various books, drawings, and documents. Even the sides by the window were lined with such cabinets.

The entire room consisted of a narrow passageway leading from the door to the drafting table, with the rest of the floor covered with various parts and blueprints.

Xiao Li greeted him with "Good morning, Engineer Zhai".

The old man then looked up, took off his glasses, and carefully examined Xiao Li, focusing particularly on Wang Zhan, whom he sized up from head to toe.

Xiao Li introduced Wang Zhan to Engineer Zhai. Xiao Li had only said a few words when Engineer Zhai interrupted him, saying, "Xiao Li, you may not know this, but I know him better than you do, because I am his fellow student and his mentor. Otherwise, why would he come here? Alright, there's nothing for you to do here. After I finish handing over my work, I'll have him come to you."

Xiao Li nodded, turned around, gestured to Wang Zhan, and then walked out of Engineer Zhai's office.

After Xiao Li left and closed the office door, Zhai Gong turned his gaze to Wang Zhan and said with a smile, "My junior brother praised you to the skies, which is why I agreed. By the way, he said you speak three languages, is that true? To what extent?"

Wang Zhan was stunned. He hadn't been paying attention earlier, but when Engineer Zhai asked him a question, he realized that his mentor, Professor Xie Yun, was Engineer Zhai's junior. Wasn't this a great way to achieve twice the result with half the effort?

(End of this chapter)