On a certain day of a certain year, I only found out from the news that Director Chen had actually returned! No, he should now be Secretary Chen of the Provincial Party Committee! Upon seeing this news, I rushed to the Provincial Party Committee Office with great excitement. But soon, after waiting for three hours in the reception room of the Provincial Party Committee Office, my excitement was completely drained...
Cheng Jie-min looked at the last page of the thick diary and couldn't help but laugh. This diary was truly unbelievable. How could Director Chen become a provincial leader, and even a provincial leader transferred from another place? More surprisingly, the date on the last page of the diary was actually twenty years from today!
Cheng Jie-min, puzzled, flipped through the diary again. By the time he reached the middle, his smile began to freeze. The handwriting in the diary was almost identical to his own. No, the more he read, the more powerful and vigorous it became. A huge gap appeared in Cheng Jie-min's mind, as if he had suddenly short-circuited. Instinctively, he looked around the room, suddenly feeling that something was strange, a mysterious cold wind blowing, and cold sweat starting to break out on his back. Who was playing a prank on him?
Cheng Jie-min shivered and flipped the diary back to the first page. There, it clearly read: On a certain day of a certain month, heavy rain, the office decided to hold a speech to select the dispatched cadres. Pang Xiaoguang came to notify me. Why would I go for such a difficult task? As Director Chen's secretary, I am doing well in the office, why should I get involved with them?
Looking at the moonlit and starry night sky outside the window, Cheng Jie-min found it amusing. It was already the twelfth lunar month, and he had seen the weather forecast, which predicted clear skies for the next two days. The dispatched cadres' rural activity was indeed scheduled, but the speech was set for next Wednesday, not tomorrow. Thinking about this, Cheng Jie-min casually flipped a few more pages and saw: Director Chen was transferred to serve as the executive vice mayor of a city in Ximo Province and took office immediately. Before leaving, he instructed me to work hard and promised to continue paying attention to my growth. I was deeply moved, but the attitudes of the people around me began to change.
This was even more absurd. Director Chen had been in the office for less than half a year, how could he be transferred? And at the last leadership meeting, Director Chen had made many suggestions to the head of the office, clearly indicating his intention to make significant changes.
As his direct superior, if Director Chen were to leave, how could there be no prior news? Cheng Jie-min, with disdain in his heart, closed the diary, which he had found while cleaning the bookshelf, and threw it aside.
Lying in bed, Cheng Jie-min, as usual, began to review the day's work. This was a phrase his counselor had told him when he graduated from university: "Reflect on oneself three times a day." This method was indeed useful for summarizing experiences and learning from mistakes.
If it were any other day, Cheng Jie-min would have fallen asleep halfway through his review, but today, his mind was full of straight lines, completely unable to adapt. All he could think about was the content of the black diary.
Although Cheng Jie-min was convinced that the diary was someone's prank, the handwriting and the content related to himself still lingered in his mind. The diary was clearly written in his own voice.
According to the diary, the boss he served was the executive vice director of the Water Resources Bureau, Chen Bingnan. Three days later, he would be transferred to a neighboring province. His position would be taken over by Deputy Director Zhao Huazhong, with whom he had the most conflicts. As Chen Bingnan's secretary, he would be transferred from the office to the old cadres department, thus beginning his career on the bench.
This was truly a process of mental torment. During this period, his presence in the office became increasingly transparent, especially after Zhao Huazhong became the director of the Water Resources Bureau, the situation became even more severe. Although Zhao Huazhong still smiled and called him "Little Cheng,"
When he finished reading the diary, Cheng Jie-min didn't take it seriously, but now, his mind was full of the content of the diary: On a certain sunny day, the new colleague Xiao Wu was assigned a two-bedroom apartment. Although the house was old, he was very happy to move in. In terms of seniority, I was older than Xiao Wu, but I didn't get a house when he did. This seemed unfair, but I was still happy. Because when Xiao Wu left, his dormitory room became vacant.
Xiao Wu was a kind-hearted person. I had already arranged for my mother, who came from the countryside to help me take care of my child, to stay there temporarily. Just as I was happily cleaning the room and buying a second-hand steel bed, Deputy Director Pang Xiaoguang came with some people, coldly ordered Xiao Wu to take out my bed, and rudely replaced the lock with a new one.
Seeing Pang Xiaoguang's arrogant demeanor, I was extremely angry and wanted to pounce on him, slap him a few times, and make him roll on the ground, begging for mercy. But seeing Xiao Wu's nervous face, I held back my anger.
These two years in the bureaucracy have been too frustrating, and bowing and scraping have become a habit. I didn't care, but I couldn't let Xiao Wu, who had helped me, be implicated. In the evening, seeing my mother lying on a mat on the floor, my heart ached. My mother was old and should have been enjoying her life with her son, but at the age of sixty or seventy, she had to sleep on the floor. Although she said the mat was softer than the bed at home, I knew she was comforting me. I truly felt ashamed as a son!
... My father's coughing became more severe, and his coughs echoed in the hospital corridor. He had been hospitalized for several days but was still lying in the corridor, which made me feel very sad.
When I went to the cafeteria to get food, I met Xiao Wu, who told me that Pang Xiaoguang's wife had sprained her leg and was staying in the hospital. Looking at what he was carrying, I knew he was visiting Pang Xiaoguang's wife.
Watching Xiao Wu walk into the clean and bright high-ranking officials' building, I felt desolate. My father's illness was serious, but as his son, I could only let him stay in the hospital corridor. Although I had asked the hospital leadership many times, the answer was always that the beds were tight. Pang Xiaoguang's wife, who had only sprained her leg, was admitted to a bright high-ranking ward, probably for a minor illness.
... My wife returned from a classmate's wedding, her face pale. At the wedding ceremony, a classmate commented that her ring was too thin and didn't match. My wife is a strong person, and she has endured a lot of hardships over the years. The ring was a gift I gave her, a fake one, because she had told me she didn't like wearing shiny things...
As these lines of text flooded his mind, Cheng Jie-min felt a surge of depression in his chest, like a volcano about to erupt. He felt that the person who wrote the diary was himself, and he could sense the emotions of a man writing these words. Once a person has experienced too much of the world's coldness, the urge to vent becomes overwhelming.
The urgent alarm clock woke Cheng Jie-min from his sleep. Dazed, he looked at the clock and saw it was already 6:30. He quickly got out of bed, put on his clothes, washed his face, and grabbed his bag to head out. As Director Chen's secretary, he had a lot of work to prepare in advance.
However, when he opened the door, Cheng Jie-min was terrified to see the sky had turned dark red, and blue lightning was striking from the sky, splitting the clouds in half. A violent storm suddenly broke out, with lightning and thunder, and the sky turned black in an instant. The sky was filled with web-like purple lightning, and the thunder rolled, with heavy rain pouring down, quickly turning the world into a vast sea.
Seeing all this, Cheng Jie-min was completely stunned: It was raining, it was really raining today!
Last night, the sky was clear and starry. Thinking about the weather last night, Cheng Jie-min felt even more uncomfortable. The content of the black diary seemed like an old movie replaying, flashing through his mind.
At this moment, his first thought was to read the black diary again, but as he was about to go back into the room, he consoled himself: This rain might just be a coincidence. You, Cheng Jie-min, are a college graduate and a party member, how could there be a diary from the past? This must be a coincidence.
Maybe the prankster has a friend in the provincial meteorological bureau.
Taking an umbrella, Cheng Jie-min ran to the office building in three steps, quickly opened Director Chen's office, and swiftly cleaned the floor.
"Brother Cheng, have a cigarette." Pang Xiaoguang, with a slightly flattering smile, came from the other side of the corridor, handed him a butterfly cigarette, and lit it.
Cheng Jie-min took a puff of the cigarette and said lightly, "Xiao Pang, what's up?"
"Ha ha, Brother Cheng, I have a favor to ask. I just received a notice from the office that the selection for the rural construction support team will be held today with a live speech. Brother Cheng, you have a bright future ahead, you definitely won't go to that godforsaken place. Since that's the case, could you do me a favor and talk to Director Chen, please him to cast his precious vote for me? I will remember your kindness for life. How about I treat you to dinner tonight?"
Pang Xiaoguang's eyes were full of pleading, but at that moment, Cheng Jie-min's heart felt as if it had been hit by a heavy hammer. The rain might be a coincidence, but the fact that Pang Xiaoguang notified him that the selection was happening today, could this also be a coincidence?
This could not be a coincidence. As Director Chen's secretary, Cheng Jie-min was very clear about his position in the office. If this decision had been made yesterday, he would have known about it. Since he didn't know, it could only mean that the decision was made just now.
"Ah, Boss Li said that since it's raining today, it's a good time to do indoor work, so the speech has been moved to today," Pang Xiaoguang explained, seeing Cheng Jie-min's silence.
At this moment, Cheng Jie-min was no longer interested in this. The content of the diary dominated his mind. If this was not a coincidence but real, then Director Chen's transfer was only three days away!
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