Both the Party Secretary and the Town Head wanted to downplay the matter, but Nan Sheng was determined to escalate it—to ensure no one would dare bully her again in the future.
She first returned to the office. Du Tang wasn’t there, while the others were busy with their own tasks. Peng Clerk watched her storm in, curious.
“Didn’t the Party Secretary ask you to help out? Why are you back so soon?”
Had the discussion fallen apart?
Nan Sheng seemed to be struggling to contain her emotions. “Don’t even ask. From now on, I can’t even talk to any of you male colleagues in the office. Someone actually wrote an anonymous letter accusing me of having improper relationships with all of you! What kind of nonsense is this?”
The moment she finished speaking, the office fell silent. Everyone exchanged glances—improper relationships? What relationships?
They were all upstanding revolutionary comrades!
Just as someone was about to ask for details, Nan Sheng turned and left, leaving them hanging in suspense.
“I still need to go to the Town Head’s office. We’ll talk more when I get back.”
After she left, no one had the focus to continue working. They started speculating about who could be so spiteful as to write such a letter.
Peng Clerk said, “Who was Nan Sheng close with that prompted the complaint? She always seemed very professional to me.”
Zhu Yi also found it strange. “Even if it’s workplace jealousy, it doesn’t make sense. She’s not even as favored by the Town Head as Du Tang is.”
Wang Xian shrugged. “I doubt it’s a big deal. The Party Secretary probably just went through the motions. Still, who would stoop so low?”
Jia Bing grew angrier the more she listened. Why was everyone taking Nan Sheng’s side?
That woman had no sense of propriety. If Jia Bing hadn’t seen Nan Sheng acting intimately with a male colleague after work, she wouldn’t have thought of filing a complaint.
She sneered sarcastically, “Better keep your mouths shut. If this gets traced back to you, you’ll all be dragged into the investigation.”
Her tone was so odd that the others immediately sensed something was off. They exchanged glances and fell silent.
When Nan Sheng knocked and entered the Town Head’s office, Yu Feng and Du Tang were surprised—she was back so soon?
Yu Feng asked, “The Party Secretary must have spoken to you already. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get justice in this matter.”
Nan Sheng looked at him skeptically.
“Even if it’s one of our own colleagues, you’ll still take my side? I’m not trying to make things difficult for you, but since I started working here, I’ve never had any conflicts with anyone.
I don’t care if people give me the cold shoulder or ignore me, but when it comes to anonymous letters meant to ruin my reputation—I won’t tolerate it!”
Jia Bing’s father was a friend of Yu Feng’s, and Yu Feng owed him many favors. Knowing Jia Bing had a high school diploma, he had pulled strings to get her the job.
This had been done discreetly—even Du Tang didn’t know—which was why Jia Bing couldn’t stand Nan Sheng outranking her.
Yu Feng wanted to support Nan Sheng, but if Jia Bing was the one who wrote the letter, he had to tread carefully to balance both sides.
If he mishandled it, the Party Secretary might uncover his favoritism in hiring Jia Bing. That girl had no filter—if pressured, she’d blurt out anything.
“If we find out who did it, how would you want them punished?”
Nan Sheng knew Yu Feng was testing her limits. Now was not the time to soften her stance.
“Sir, I expect them to be disciplined strictly according to regulations. They can’t be allowed to sabotage other colleagues again.
I made my stance clear to the Party Secretary too. If he doesn’t give me a satisfactory resolution, I’ll call the military district and report this!”
Yu Feng sighed. A subordinate who was too sharp was a headache—she knew exactly how to pressure people.
“Rest assured, we’ll handle this severely. But don’t rush to involve the military district. Even if you call, would they really intervene?”
Nan Sheng looked confident. “They will. My husband was just promoted to battalion commander. The military leadership will take my situation seriously.”
Yu Feng exhaled in frustration. Jia Bing had really dug herself into a deep hole this time.
Even Du Tang was stunned. A demobilized army company commander would be assigned at least a Level 19 position in the local government. With education and management skills, becoming a town head would be easy.
If Nan Sheng really called the military district, they would undoubtedly hold local authorities accountable.
Imagining the chain of reprimands from the provincial level down to the town, Du Tang broke into a cold sweat for Yu Feng.
After Nan Sheng left, Yu Feng gave Du Tang instructions. “Go back and summon Jia Bing. And try to calm Nan Sheng down—she’s too fired up.”
If Du Tang were cheekier, he might have said, I wouldn’t dare. What if someone accuses me of impropriety too?
But fearing a beating, he kept quiet.
Nan Sheng and Du Tang returned to the office one after the other. Before Jia Bing could sneer a word, Du Tang told her to report to the Town Head.
Over in Xiaoguan Village, Old Huang had already been stripped of his position, and new village committee members needed to be selected. But with this anonymous letter scandal, no one had time to deal with that.
The moment Jia Bing left, the others crowded around Nan Sheng. “Are you alright? Did the Party Secretary and Town Head reprimand you?”
Nan Sheng scowled. “No, but I’m furious. We’re colleagues—if someone has a problem, they should talk it out instead of resorting to underhanded tricks. I won’t let this slide.”
They all urged her not to overreact. Wang Xian, speaking from experience, advised Nan Sheng to let it go. “The government cares about its reputation. At most, the culprit will get a public reprimand and a disciplinary record.”
But Nan Sheng refused. “Just wait and see. Whoever did this will regret it.
My husband isn’t some nobody—he’s a battalion commander in the army. Bully the wife of a battalion commander? Even if I let it go, the military district won’t.”
After a few more words, everyone returned to their desks, now viewing Nan Sheng in a new light—this comrade was not to be trifled with.
Meanwhile, in the Town Head’s office…
“Don’t call me ‘Uncle Yu.’ Just tell me—did you do this? Do I have to go ask your father to confirm it myself?”
Jia Bing’s eyes welled up with aggrieved tears. “Uncle Yu, you’re biased! She waltzed in as a clerk and doesn’t even do menial tasks. Can’t I get a little payback?”
Yu Feng rubbed his temples in frustration. “Why compare yourself to her? You got this job through connections—do you think that’ll hold up under scrutiny?
And so what if Nan Sheng is a section chief? Do you know how much loss she helped our county avoid? If she were educated, even being Town Head would be beneath her!”
After venting, he finally calmed down.
“Before this blows up, go apologize to Nan Sheng in private. Kneel if you have to, bribe her if necessary—just make sure she doesn’t escalate this. Otherwise, you’ll lose your job!”
Jia Bing was stunned. “Uncle Yu, I’m the one who reported her! Why would I get fired?”
She refused to apologize. Yu Feng was the Town Head—if things went south, he’d protect her for her father’s sake.
She was sure of it.
