Before being reborn and getting married, the pampered young lady emptied her family's assets to

Chapter 51 Making things difficult
Zhang Chunlan took the letter, glanced at the signature, and frowned.

Without reading the contents, he casually put the letter aside.

Then he looked up and sized Anmin up and down, his gaze as if he were evaluating an unsuitable product.

"Oh, Comrade Anmin. Here, we're doing propaganda work, especially at the grassroots level. It's not an easy job. You have to be able to endure hardship, understand policies, and most importantly..."

She paused, then said meaningfully, "One must have a good family background and sound ideology."

Liu Jianguo, who was standing next to him, also put down his newspaper, pushed up his glasses, and spoke with a condescending tone.

"Yes, Comrade Anmin. I heard you used to be... well, anyway, this job is quite different from being a housewife. We have high requirements here, and not just anyone can do it."

"Don't fall behind the schedule and make Director Yang look bad."

He pronounced the word "wife" with exceptional clarity, as if deliberately reminding himself.

Anmin understood this barbed and menacing challenge perfectly.

Arrogance? This is because they think her background is not clean, that she can't endure hardship, and they want to make her give up.

An Min's smile faded slightly, but she still maintained a polite curve and stood ramrod straight.

She didn't immediately refute or back down; she simply looked calmly at Zhang Chunlan.

"Officer Zhang, Officer Liu, thank you for the reminder. Director Yang recommended me because he valued my grassroots experience in land improvement in Dongxiang Village and my enthusiasm for learning policies."

I understand the job requirements and will try my best to keep up. As for whether I can handle it…

Her gaze swept over the two of them, carrying a confident air of neither servility nor arrogance.

"We'll only know once we do it. Since the organization assigned me here, I'll obey the assignment and work diligently. Please feel free to assign me any tasks."

She brought up Director Yang, highlighted her own grassroots experience, and then, in her last sentence, directly passed the buck back to him.

Since you think she's not up to the task, then give her a job and see how it goes.

It depends on whether you're making things difficult for her, or if she's really not capable.
This response, though calm and collected, was subtly barbed, leaving Zhang Chunlan and Liu Jianguo speechless.

The phrase "obey the assignment" in particular made it seem unreasonable for them to continue using their status as an excuse.

Zhang Chunlan's face darkened further, and Liu Jianguo awkwardly touched his nose, picked up the newspaper again, and tried to hide his embarrassment.

The office fell silent for a moment.

There was still a long way to go, she said, raising her chin slightly as she quietly awaited the first task they had assigned her.

Zhang Chunlan and Liu Jianguo were taken aback by An Min's lukewarm response, and the atmosphere in the office became somewhat tense.

Liu Jianguo picked up the newspaper again, covering most of his face, but his gaze would occasionally slip out from the edge of the newspaper, scrutinizing him.

Zhang Chunlan kept a stern face, her fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, as if she was figuring out how to give her a real lesson.

"Since Comrade Anmin is so confident..."

Zhang Chunlan finally spoke, her voice carrying a businesslike tone.

“Our education department does have a tricky task recently. The ideological work in that newly incorporated residential area in the west of the city has been very difficult, and the residents’ cooperation is very low.”

"The comrades we sent before... didn't achieve the desired results."

She paused, then looked sharply at Anmin.

“Comrade Anmin has grassroots experience and understands mass work, so why don’t you take charge of collecting the first quarter’s ideological study reports as soon as possible? Every household should submit theirs.”

"Is three days enough?"

Liu Jianguo, who was standing next to him, put down his newspaper and immediately chimed in, his tone clearly showing that he was looking forward to a good show.

"Yes, Comrade Anmin. That area is full of military dependents, with varying levels of education, and some are quite stubborn, not even letting people in the door."

This job is the best for developing skills and also the best way to see a comrade's true ability to do grassroots work.

He emphasized the words "real skills," as if he could already foresee An Min returning home in tears, utterly humiliated. This task was clearly a hot potato.

That residential area was notoriously complicated.

Many family members are busy making a living or taking care of children.

They had neither the time nor the interest to sit down and write self-criticism reports; the cadres who had gone before were all turned away with both soft and hard rebates.

Zhang Chunlan deliberately gave only a three-day deadline, just to see An Min make a fool of herself.

An Min knew exactly what was going on.

Her face remained calm as she accepted the task: "Okay, Officer Zhang, I'll do my best to complete the task in three days."

There were no complaints, no haggling.

For the next two days, Anmin left early and returned late.

Unlike the previous clerks, she didn't go door-to-door with a notebook, stern-faced, demanding payment and reports.

Anmin changed out of the relatively neat clothes she wore when she reported for duty and put on a slightly worn blue cotton jacket, and her hair was neatly tied up.

She first went to find Aunt Zhao, the oldest and most respected woman in that residential area.

He didn't mention reporting anything; he just helped Aunt Zhao pick vegetables and coax her grandson.

However, during casual conversation, people naturally inquired about each household's situation: whose child was having difficulty going to school, how the man in the army was doing lately, and whose family was short of needles and thread.

She was like a girl next door, carrying needles and thread and some simple, practical things.

Anmin prepared all of these things secretly.

The Education and Culture Department was not involved.

She was content that she could exchange these things for the villagers' willingness to talk to her.

If any woman needed mending, she would sit down and help; if any child was crying, she would also help soothe them.

She listened patiently to the family members' complaints about the trivialities and hardships of life, occasionally offering a few clever words of guidance.

Talk about the national policies that care for military families, and discuss the benefits of learning new ideas for educating children.

She never mentioned the words "self-criticism report," but the content of their conversation was precisely the most simple and down-to-earth part of a self-criticism report.

On the afternoon of the third day, Anmin brought a stack of papers of varying thicknesses and different handwriting.

Some of the reflections on their thoughts and learning were even dictated or written by An Min. When they were returned to the Education Department and placed on Zhang Chunlan's desk, both Zhang Chunlan and Liu Jianguo were stunned.

The stack of papers contained crooked pencil writing and oral records with red handprints. Although the content was simple and straightforward, it contained the true thoughts and daily life details of the family members.

The completion rate was far higher than ever before.

Zhang Chunlan flipped through the documents, her expression changing repeatedly. She wanted to find fault, but she discovered that even the most picky troublemakers had handed over their things.

She could only say dryly, "...Well, the efficiency is okay, but the content...is too superficial and lacks depth."

This assessment seems weak and ineffective.

Liu Jianguo also came over to look, his eyes filled with disbelief, and he remained silent, embarrassed.

Anmin not only passed the first hurdle, but she passed it beautifully.

Zhang Chunlan's attempts to make things difficult backfired, and instead made her appear narrow-minded.

An Min said with a smile, "Then I hope that Officer Zhang and Officer Liu will give me more guidance in the future."

She wanted to leave them speechless and unable to express their grievances.

(End of this chapter)