The entire General Office spent the whole morning rushing to finish their drafts.
Director Zane hadn't just assigned the task to Johny Lee.
To be safe, he had everyone, Samson (Moose), Tammy, Paul write a draft as well, striving to present Bureau Chief Yates with a buffet of options.
Johny was the most determined of them all.
Although he had never met Yates personally, he analyzed the feedback Tammy and the others had received.
Since Yates was so demanding about the drafts, constantly rejecting their work for being "messy" or "lacking structure," Johny concluded he must be a high-level intellectual.
Therefore, Johny tried to make his writing as ethereal and literary as possible. He scoured the internet for idioms, historical allusions, and complex metaphors, weaving them into a tapestry of sophisticated rhetoric.
When the noon break arrived, Johny finally took his hands off the keyboard. He read through his masterpiece and nodded with satisfaction.
Done...this will definitely work.
Johny, oh Johny... your chance to shine in front of the leadership has arrived!
Holding the printed speech draft, Johny went upstairs to Bureau Chief Yates' office. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door with full confidence.
"Come in."
Johny pushed the door open and entered. Upon seeing Yates sitting in his office chair, he was momentarily stunned.
Yates didn't quite match the 'intellectual' image Johny had imagined. He was burly, with rough skin and calloused hands. He looked more like a construction foreman than a scholar.
However, Johny's preconceived notions were strong. He told himself that appearances could be deceiving, this guy must be a diamond in the rough, an intellectual at heart.
Yates furrowed his thick eyebrows and glanced at him. "You are?"
Johny replied respectfully, "I am Johny Lee, a newcomer to the General Office."
"Oh.The draft is ready, right?" The Deputy Bureau Chief reached out a meaty hand. "...Let me see."
Johny handed him the A4 sheet with excitement, mentally preparing himself for praise and commendation.
He had done a great job; after this, Director Zane and his colleagues would surely look at him in a new light.
But before Johny could even be happy for three seconds, the speech draft came flying back at his face.
Yates threw the paper onto the desk with disgust.
"What kind of rubbish is this? Huh?" Yates' face darkened as he slammed his fist on the desk. "Utter nonsense!"
Johny's face turned pale. "Huh?"
You haven't even finished reading the first paragraph! How is it no good?
Yates shouted, "What is going on with your General Office? I'm baffled! You can't even write a simple speech draft? Especially this one! What topic did I ask for? Look at what you've written!"
He pointed an angry finger at the first few lines of the draft.
"'Know Honor and Stop, Consolidate Harmony Together.' What is this? Huh? What does that even mean?"
Johny blinked, confused. "Uh.....Bureau Chief Yates, you misread it. That... that is 'Know Honor and Shame, Build Harmony Together.'"
The character for "Shame" (耻) looked somewhat similar to "Stop" (止) if you didn't know better.
Yates froze, he had been poked in a sore spot. He immediately flew into a defensive rage.
"I have an elementary school education! Is it wrong not to know the words?!"
Johny was completely dumbfounded.
Holy crap! Are you kidding me?
Aren't you an intellectual? Aren't your language requirements for drafts strictly academic?
Elementary school education? My god! So you're not an intellectual.....you're illiterate?!
Suddenly, everything made sense. No wonder Yates didn't like anyone's drafts! It turned out there were too many words he didn't recognize! The "messy structure" was just code for "I can't read this!"
Oh no... Oh no! I've caused trouble!
Johny knew he had deeply offended Yates by correcting him. This was a career-ending move.
He hurriedly shouted in his mind:
"BACK!!"
...
Flash!
The deafening shouting receded into silence.
Only the clock on the wall was there, ticking away.
"You are?" Bureau Chief Yates looked at Johny, his brow furrowed.
Johny immediately understood the current point in time. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"I am Johny Lee, a newcomer to the General Office."
"Oh. The draft is ready, right?" Yates reached out his hand. "...Let me see."
How could Johny dare to give it to him now? That paper was filled with complex idioms that would only humiliate the Chief.
Johny hid the draft behind his back and hurriedly made an excuse. "I'm sorry, Bureau Chief Yates. I just realized there's a formatting error. It's not quite ready yet. I came to ask... what is the latest I can give you the draft this afternoon?"
Yates frowned impatiently. "Didn't I say it? The sooner the better!"
"Sorry to bother you! I'll go back and prepare it immediately."
Watching Johny leave, Yates stood up and leaned against the windowsill, lighting a cigarette.
Years ago, he had worked at a chemical plant in the suburbs. Later, he followed the right leader and, by sheer luck and loyalty, was brought into the system.
His education level was very low; he didn't recognize even slightly obscure characters.
That was why the speech drafts from the General Office had been heartlessly rejected by him without explanation.
How could he say it? Say that he only graduated from elementary school? Say he couldn't read university-level writing? He couldn't afford to lose face like that!
Yates thought that if no one in the General Office could grasp his intentions soon, he would have to find some of his old subordinates from his previous unit to ghostwrite for him tonight.
The General Office.
On the way back, Johny tore the "masterpiece" speech draft to pieces and threw it into the recycling bin. That damn draft almost cost him his life. Fortunately, he had "BACK" to save him.
Tammy, Samson, and the others returned to the office after lunch. Seeing Johny come in, they asked, "Johny, how's the writing going?"
"Ah, almost done. Almost done."
Jack looked at him mockingly, thinking to himself that the rookie was just pretending to be proactive. If even veterans like us couldn't write a draft that worked, could he?
Jane pushed her keyboard away irritably.
"I can't do it! I can't write anymore!"
Paul clutched his hair, racking his brains.
Tammy huffed, "I don't even know what kind of draft he wants! My writing style is good enough!"
Only Old Quinn was leisurely reading the newspaper, acting as if the crisis had nothing to do with him.
Johny didn't have time to chat. He sat at his computer, cracked his knuckles, and began typing desperately.
This time, he truly understood Yates' intentions. There were no obstacles in his writing.
Idioms? Delete.
Allusions? Definitely not wanted.
Metaphors? Similes? Get out of here!
Straightforward!
Simple!
What was needed was elementary-level clarity!
He started typing: 'Hello everyone, the title of my speech is Setting Sail with the Concept of Honor and Disgrace.'
Johny paused. He felt "Disgrace" might be too complex a character so deleted it.
No, Bureau Chief Yates might not know that word.
He changed it to: 'The Rise and Fall of the Nation is Everyone's Job.'
Yes....These were all common words.
He wrote and wrote, simplifying every sentence.
Honestly, writing an "elementary school essay" for a government official was harder than it looked. The language had to be simple enough for Yates to read fluently, but the content still had to sound authoritative enough for a Bureau Chief. It was a delicate balance.
After an hour, the office door was pushed open.
"Uh, Bureau Chief Yates!"
"Chief Yates!"
Tammy, Paul, and the others all stopped their work, jumping to their feet. Their scalps tingled with fear.
Yates' face was as cold as ice water. "The draft isn't finished yet? How long has it been?"
Director Zane quickly came out of his small office to meet him, sweating. "It's finished! I was just about to send it to you. Tammy, Jane, bring the drafts."
Including Samson's and the others, a total of five speech drafts were produced.
Yates took them, quickly scanning through them one by one.
"No... wrong... this won't do either... what is this written here... this one too... no..."
In the blink of an eye, all five drafts were rejected.
"Old Zane, I say... can't anyone in your General Office even write a speech? Huh?"
Tammy, Jane, and the others lowered their heads in silence, humiliated.
"Bureau Chief Yates, we..." Zane stammered.
A higher official's rank can crush a person. If Yates became dissatisfied with Zane, Zane's position as Deputy Director might be in jeopardy. Zane wanted to build a good relationship with this new Chief, but now, the relationship was being ruined by incompetent writing.
The more Zane thought about it, the angrier he got. He couldn't vent his temper on Yates, so he turned around and glared at Jack, Paul, Jane, and the others with a dark face.
Usually, you all act so capable! But when it really comes to the crunch, not a single one of you is useful!
"Bureau Chief Yates."
Johny Lee suddenly stood up, pulling a freshly printed A4 sheet from the printer. "I've finished writing."
Paul glanced at him, thinking the kid was suicidal. Truly a newborn calf not afraid of tigers. How dare he rush up at a time like this? Aren't you just asking to be scolded?
Jack snorted in his heart, coldly watching to see how Johny would make a fool of himself.
Yates had already lost confidence in them. He reached out with a cold face, not expecting much.
Johny cautiously handed him the draft with both hands. "I don't know if it meets your approval. If not, I'll revise it again."
The colleagues in the General Office all sighed in their hearts and closed their eyes, waiting for the inevitable explosion.
One minute...
Two minutes...
Three minutes......
Unexpectedly, the shouting did not start.
After a long while, under everyone's dumbfounded gaze, the dark clouds on Yates' face suddenly vanished.
He raised his right hand and heavily slapped the draft paper, laughing loudly.
"Good! Good! Look at what he wrote! Haha! This is exactly how a speech should be written!"
This unexpected result left Jack, Zane, and the others completely stunned.
Yates patted Zane on the shoulder enthusiastically. "Old Zane, I see your General Office still has some combat effectiveness. Not bad, not bad."
Immediately, Yates looked at Johny approvingly and nodded vigorously. "I remember your name is... Johny Lee, right? Good young man. From now on, no one else needs to do my drafts; you'll be responsible!"
"Thank you for your trust, Bureau Chief Yates!"
Being able to leave an impression on a leader was a rare thing. Johny immediately straightened his back, trying his best to look spirited and loyal.
As soon as Yates left, the General Office erupted.
Tammy was the first to exclaim. "Johny! What did you write? Why was the Chief so happy?"
Jane smiled in relief. "Our General Office is full of hidden talents."
Paul looked at him with naked jealousy.
Jack's expression was sour. How could the picky Bureau Chief be so satisfied? We wrote over a dozen drafts and none worked! What happened?
Johny naturally couldn't tell them that Yates was illiterate. If the Chief found out he was spreading that rumor, he would be dead meat.
So he just shrugged. "I guess Bureau Chief Yates just likes straightforward and concise language."
Curious, the colleagues gathered around Johny's computer to see the saved file. After reading the simple, almost childish phrasing, everyone understood what "straightforward and concise" meant.
Tammy gave a thumbs up, looking at him with worship. "Johny, impressive! You figured out the code!"
Director Zane also realized the truth, he hadn't expected the problem to lie in Yates' education level. He secretly thought more highly of Johny's powers of observation.
He patted Johny's shoulder with great praise. "Good lad. You didn't lose face for our office!"
Zane felt that what the General Office lacked was exactly someone like Johny...someone who could hold the fort at critical moments!
Authors Note:-
Well that's 23 , Johny always finds a way.
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