Colorful years

Before Congcong could react, or even ask Teacher Li for details, he could only watch helplessly as Teacher Li boarded the speeding train and quickly disappeared from his sight.

However, even though the train had gone far away, the words Teacher Li had just spoken seemed to still echo in the air—"Zhang Cong, you've been assigned to work in the county propaganda department." These words were spoken so clearly and loudly that every student on the train heard them perfectly.

In an instant, the carriage erupted in chaos as students began whispering and discussing among themselves.

One student muttered under his breath, "I heard that all the math majors in our year are going to be assigned to teach in rural middle schools. How come someone is suddenly able to switch careers and go to a government agency? That's unbelievable!"

Another classmate immediately chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, and Zhang Cong's family is just an ordinary farming family with no connections whatsoever. Logically speaking, how could such a good thing possibly fall into his lap!"

However, another classmate then expressed a different opinion: "That's not necessarily true. Don't forget, Zhang Cong's writing skills are indeed quite impressive. His articles are absolutely brilliant. Maybe it's because of this talent that he got this rare opportunity."

Immediately, various speculations and discussions arose one after another, filling the entire carriage.

"Zhang Cong, don't pay attention to those people's gossip. Everything will come to light when we get to the county education bureau," Chen Ning said, quickly trying to comfort Zhang Cong, who looked a little depressed.

Why worry so much? Zhang Cong pondered to himself. He had already made ample preparations to become a teacher. Getting a job in a government agency would be a bonus, but even if he didn't get that opportunity, becoming a teacher wouldn't be a real loss.

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and decided to face the reality that was about to come with composure.

Soon after, it was proven that the information Teacher Li relayed on the train was accurate.

As the train slowly pulled into the county town's station, Zhang Cong shouldered his heavy luggage and strode confidently toward the Education Bureau.

Following the instructions on the notice board downstairs in the Education Bureau building, he quickly found the office of Li Li, the head of the personnel section who was in charge of personnel allocation.

After gently knocking on the door and hearing a "Come in" from inside, Zhang Cong cautiously pushed the door open and went in.

A middle-aged woman sat at the desk, her head down, busy with documents. She didn't even look up, but casually asked in a slightly indifferent tone, "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"

Zhang Cong quickly stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Hello, my name is Zhang Cong, and I've come here specifically to report for duty today."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman raised her head and looked the young man, who was dressed simply but had a handsome appearance, up and down. Then, she frowned and asked with some doubt, "Are you Zhang Cong?"

Zhang Cong nodded and replied affirmatively, "That's right, I am Zhang Cong! Is there a problem?"

"Truly a rare talent. Congratulations! You've been assigned to the County Party Committee Propaganda Department. Hurry up and report to the County Personnel Bureau!" Li Li immediately became enthusiastic, smiling as he extended his right hand to shake Zhang Cong's hand in congratulations.

Zhang Cong went to the Personnel Bureau, gave his name, and received three documents from the comrade handling cadre personnel relations: one was a personnel dispatch form for being assigned to the Propaganda Department; the second was a list of salary relations for being transferred to the Finance Section of the County Party Committee; and the third was a list of grain relations for being transferred to the canteen of the County Party Committee.

Holding these three forms in his hands, Zhang Cong felt a heavy weight, as if they weighed a ton, because they were proof of his identity. From that day on, Zhang Cong was a formal cadre in the propaganda department.

The fact that Zhang Cong was assigned to work in the county propaganda department had actually begun to emerge and show signs as early as when he was a sophomore in college.

That summer, the sun was blazing and the heat was unbearable, but this did not stop Zhang Cong from visiting Teacher Li, who was now working in the county party committee office.

The teacher and student were overjoyed to be reunited after so long. After exchanging pleasantries, Teacher Li began to inquire about Zhang Cong's studies at university.

Zhang Cong was also very open and honest, reporting to Teacher Li in detail about his experiences on the university campus.

When Teacher Li heard that Zhang Cong not only had a wide range of knowledge about Chinese and foreign literary classics, but also that his writing skills were improving day by day and that he had published a number of excellent works, he couldn't help but smile and think to himself: If such a talented person could join our county party committee's news reporting team, it would be like adding wings to a tiger!

And so, an idea came to Teacher Li's mind—why not recommend Zhang Cong to work in the county party committee's communications and reporting team? No sooner said than done, Teacher Li immediately began a series of covert operations.

First, he cleverly arranged for Zhang Cong to meet with Guo Liang, the head of the county party committee's communications and reporting team, so that the two could become acquainted with each other and leave a good and deep first impression.

Immediately afterwards, Teacher Li presented all of Zhang Cong's excellent works to Guo Liang for him to read and appreciate.

As expected, after this careful preparation, Zhang Cong successfully attracted Guo Liang's attention and importance, and smoothly entered Guo Liang's field of vision for selecting a successor.

You should know that the County Party Committee's News Reporting Group is no ordinary organization! It is an important internal organization of the County Party Committee's Publicity Department, shouldering the heavy responsibility of news and publicity work throughout the county. Its work responsibilities are crucial and highly independent, and it is directly under the personal leadership and command of the Minister of the County Party Committee's Publicity Department.

When Congcong was a senior in college, Teacher Li and Teacher Man jointly recommended him to Minister Wu of the Publicity Department and Secretary Huang of the County Party Committee, and the two leaders approved of his recommendation.

Teacher Guoliang had already decided on Zhang Cong, and now that he had the approval of the two leaders, all that was left was for Zhang Cong to graduate from university. Thus, Congcong's job assignment was determined ahead of schedule.