Section Chief King suddenly felt a bit afraid and hurriedly nodded in agreement. In his eyes, Magistrate Foster was already a very high-ranking leader, and as for the prefectural committee leaders, they were even more formidable. Just thinking that Henry Foster might have made a mistake or offended an important leader in the prefectural committee made Section Chief King feel uneasy, and he didn’t dare to ask any more questions.

  “Henry, sit for a while, I’ll go report to Secretary Ford… Secretary Johnson and Director Wood are both on business trips, so the daily work at the factory is currently handled by Secretary Ford.”

  Section Chief King muttered as he took Henry Foster’s transfer order and hurried out.

  Secretary Johnson is the Party Secretary of the Agricultural Machinery Factory, and Director Wood is the Factory Director. The so-called Secretary Ford refers to the Deputy Party Secretary William Ford. With the secretary and director both absent, daily administrative affairs are always handled by William Ford, who is an old acquaintance.

  For such a big matter, Section Chief King dared not make decisions on his own and naturally had to consult the leadership.

  “Henry, what happened?”

  As soon as Section Chief King left, Miss Johnson sat down across from Henry Foster and asked with concern.

  The so-called Miss Johnson, whose given name is Feng, is actually not very old, about twenty-three or twenty-four, with a charming appearance and naturally alluring eyes—“captivating and soul-stealing”—quite lethal to men.

  Fiona Johnson is the daughter of Secretary Johnson. In fact, she was also Henry Foster’s childhood playmate and used to look after him when they were young. However, she wasn’t good at studying and, in high school, mostly hung out with people from society, just playing around. Because of this, her reputation wasn’t great. At twenty-three or twenty-four, not only was she unmarried, but it was said she didn’t even have a proper boyfriend. Some gossipy women in the factory would privately mention Fiona Johnson with a sneer, calling her “Big Bowl.”

  That nickname really isn’t flattering.

  But Fiona Johnson herself didn’t care much.

  Henry Foster smiled and said, “It’s nothing, just going to the grassroots for some training.”

  “So, how many cadres are in your batch going to the grassroots for training?”

  But Fiona Johnson wasn’t so easy to brush off and immediately pressed for details.

  Henry Foster smiled and said, “Just me. The prefectural committee’s Secretary Grant specifically named me to go for grassroots training.”

  Fiona Johnson immediately fell silent, her face showing a look of fear.

  That made things clear: the person Henry Foster had offended was none other than the top leader of the prefectural committee. Even though Fiona Johnson was “worldly-wise,” she didn’t dare ask further. In a region, what happens if you offend the prefectural party secretary?

  The atmosphere in the personnel office suddenly became a bit awkward.

  Fortunately, not long after, Section Chief King hurried back and said to Henry Foster, “Henry, go to Secretary Ford’s office. Secretary Ford wants to talk to you.”

  “Okay, thank you, Uncle King.”

  Henry Foster politely thanked him and got up to leave.

  Henry Foster was thoroughly familiar with the layout of the Agricultural Machinery Factory’s office building, so there was no need for Section Chief King to show him the way.

  The office building has five floors in total, with the personnel office on the second floor and the factory leadership offices on the third. William Ford was promoted from the position of Youth League Secretary to Deputy Party Secretary a few years ago. He’s relatively young, just over thirty, with delicate features and a gentle, polite manner—almost a bit effeminate.

  Every time Henry Foster saw William Ford, he felt a bit uneasy.

  You see, Second Brother Henry himself is extremely masculine and isn’t used to dealing with men who are too “soft.”

  But this time, since he was coming to work at the Agricultural Machinery Factory, he had to meet the party leadership.

  “Henry, you’re here? Hello, hello, please have a seat!”

  William Ford was very polite. As soon as Henry Foster entered, he immediately came out from behind his desk, walked over quickly, and shook hands with Henry Foster. Although William Ford also felt that Henry Foster’s transfer was quite “strange” and might be due to a serious mistake, as long as William Foster was still sitting as Executive Deputy County Head, he had to be polite to Second Young Master Henry.

  “Henry, I heard the prefectural committee leadership is requiring young cadres to get grassroots experience?”

  William Ford asked casually while making tea for Henry Foster.

  “Yes, Secretary Ford.”

  “Oh, don’t call me that, it sounds too formal, doesn’t it? Just like before, call me Big Brother Ford.”

  William Ford said with a hint of reproach.

  Apparently, when he was just an ordinary Youth League official, all the kids in the factory called him Big Brother Ford.

  “Big Brother Ford!”

  Henry Foster followed along.

  “That’s better… Henry, welcome back to work. Our factory really needs young cadres like you who have both education and ability. The prefectural committee leadership has good judgment. I believe with you here, our factory’s work will soon reach a new level.”

  William Ford sat down on the sofa, smiling warmly and speaking in full officialese.

  “Secretary Ford, you flatter me. I just graduated from school and don’t have much work experience. I’ll need your guidance in the future.”

  Henry Foster replied politely as well.

  This time, William Ford didn’t correct his form of address.

  A secretary is a secretary, a big brother is a big brother—they can’t be mixed up, after all.

Chapter 11 Childhood Friends