Colorful years

Zhang Cong, though a little arrogant, is incredibly dedicated to his work. As long as his superiors trust him and assign him tasks within his responsibilities, he will do everything in his power to get them done.

Moreover, he wouldn't ask his superiors for a promotion or make unreasonable demands. If the department head were a sensible person, they certainly wouldn't want Zhang Cong to leave the propaganda department. After all, Zhang Cong is incredibly capable, writing all sorts of official documents quickly and well.

Minister He was a leader who knew how to use people very well. After taking office, he sent two section-level cadres to work in districts and counties. These two section-level cadres were actually less qualified and capable than Zhang Cong, but because they were promoted early and sent to districts and counties, they became department-level cadres in their fifties.

This sparked quite a discussion within the publicity department, with everyone privately expressing their sympathy for Zhang Cong. Indeed, Zhang Cong had been working in the municipal publicity department for almost ten years; in terms of seniority, ability, performance, and reputation, he was superior to those two in every way. Yet, he just couldn't get promoted, which must have been truly disheartening.

In fact, Minister He was a leader with a conscience. He kept Zhang Cong by his side. Having already promoted two people who were either from the same hometown or former subordinates, he had long been considering Zhang Cong's future.

He also knew that Zhang Cong was a rare talent, and if he didn't give him a suitable position, he would probably become disheartened sooner or later and might even want to leave.

However, there were no leadership positions available in the ministry at the time, so there was no way to place Zhang Cong. Waiting for an opportunity to reshuffle leadership within the existing structure was fraught with uncertainty. Minister He was also quite troubled by this matter.

However, Minister He and Zhang Cong actually seized a good opportunity. This opportunity also satisfied Zhang Cong's personal strengths and interests.

In the spring of 1996, the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department came up with a new thing – the Hunan Provincial News Center, which was specifically used to plan and coordinate major news publicity and reporting.

This gave the province's news and publicity work a shot in the arm, and the publicity departments in various places were like they had been given a stimulant, seeing a new dawn.

With the province taking the lead, the city naturally had its own ideas. Minister He seized this opportunity and quickly had Zhang Cong submit a "Request for the Establishment of the Zhangjiajie Municipal News Center" to the municipal party committee.

Upon receiving the assignment, Zhang Cong didn't dare delay and quickly began drafting a report. She knew perfectly well that this report was extremely important; it not only concerned whether the news center could be established, but also whether she could seize the opportunity to climb the ranks.

So he put in all his effort, using every ounce of his strength, just to make the report perfect. After a day and a night of hard work, a request report of several thousand words was finally completed! Minister He was overjoyed when he saw it, praising Cong's excellent writing skills and quick wit.

Secretary Xiao of the Municipal Party Committee attached great importance to news and publicity. After receiving the request from the Publicity Department, he wrote the four characters "Agreed to establish" on the report without saying a word.

After receiving the request document with the secretary's approval, the Municipal Organization and Staffing Office didn't dare to delay and immediately launched an investigation. Not long after, it issued approval for the establishment of the Municipal News Center. Just like that, a news center at the deputy division level with three staff positions (one of which was a deputy division-level leadership position) was born!

In November of that year, Zhang Cong was appointed director of the municipal news center by the municipal party committee. This was undoubtedly a long-awaited piece of good news for him.

Although this unit is still under the management of the Municipal Party Committee's Publicity Department, it now has an independent institution and platform, allowing him to fully utilize his abilities.

That year, Zhang Cong had just turned thirty-four. Six years had passed since he missed his last opportunity to be promoted to deputy division-level cadre. In those six years, he had experienced too many setbacks and hardships, and had also devoted too much sweat and effort. Now, finally seeing the glimmer of hope, how could he not be extremely excited?

However, the road to promotion is never always smooth sailing. Although Zhang Cong became the director of the news center, he encountered quite a few difficulties and challenges.

First of all, the news center is a completely new organization. There are no existing experiences or models to refer to, so everything has to be explored from scratch.

Secondly, the staff at the news center were all transferred from districts and counties, and they are not familiar with each other. It will take time for them to gradually get to know each other and adapt.

Also, the work of the news center involves many aspects and requires coordination with many departments and units. If you are not careful, you may offend people or affect the progress of the work.

Faced with these difficulties and challenges, Zhang Cong was neither afraid nor backed down. He was well aware of the great responsibility he bore and knew he had to bravely confront the difficulties and strive to overcome them.

He fully utilized his years of experience and connections accumulated in the publicity department to actively coordinate the strengths and resources of all parties, creating favorable conditions for the development of the news center. At the same time, he also paid great attention to strengthening internal management and team building, striving to create a united, harmonious, and positive working atmosphere.

Under his leadership, the news center quickly got on track and achieved remarkable results in all aspects of its work.

The difficulty of getting promoted isn't just reflected in the work itself. As Zhang Cong's position rose, he gradually felt the pressure and challenges from all sides.

Some people are jealous of his talent and achievements and always set up various obstacles and difficulties for him; some people flatter and fawn over him because he is young and promising and has a bright future; and some people resent him and seek revenge because his work affects their interests.

These complicated interpersonal relationships left Zhang Cong feeling exhausted and helpless, but he still adhered to his principles and bottom line, and was not affected by these things at all.

Once, Zhang Cong worked overtime for several days in a row to plan a major publicity campaign. On the night before the event was to take place, he suddenly received an anonymous phone call.

The person on the phone threatened her in a menacing tone: "Zhang Cong, Zhang Cong, do you think you can do whatever you want just because you've become the director of the news center? Let me tell you, you've offended too many people in the publicity department! If you dare to mess up this event, you'll be in big trouble!" After saying that, the other party hung up the phone.

After listening to the phone call, Zhang Cong felt a little uneasy, but he quickly calmed down. He knew that someone was deliberately causing trouble and sabotage, but he would never give up or compromise because of it.

He immediately convened an emergency meeting with his team, relayed the contents of the phone call, and encouraged everyone to unite and face the difficulties together. Thanks to everyone's joint efforts, the news campaign the following day was a complete success, winning unanimous praise from leaders and the public.

Zhang Cong worked at the news center for five years. Finally, he got the opportunity for a job transfer.