Chapter 12 The Scene of the Meeting (Part 2)

  Taking a taxi to the venue, some representatives and committee members had already entered. It was still a while before the meeting started, and not many people had arrived yet, so Gu Zixin leaned against the railing at the entrance of the stairs to study the list of personnel in her hand.

  There were five or six people on the list that Gu Xixin had set up in advance. In order to prevent unexpected situations from arising, such as some leaders being unable to attend the meeting due to unforeseen circumstances, or individual leaders being unwilling to accept interviews, Gu Xixin calculated that if she could arrange for four people to be interviewed today, it would be enough to complete her task.

  She walked into the venue, looked around and couldn't find anyone to interview. Instead, she saw Kang Yue and a few government secretaries organizing conference materials. Gu Zixin thought he was busy and didn't notice her, nor did she intend to disturb him, so she retreated back to the corridor, leaning against the railing.

  "What are you looking for?" Gu Xixin was stretching her neck to look downstairs, searching for her target, when Kang Yue's voice sounded behind her. Turning back, she saw Kang Yue holding a stack of materials in his hand, smiling at her, but with exhaustion in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.

  "I want to interview several leaders, waiting here like a guard."

  "Haha, if any leader finds out you've called them a rabbit face, they'll be furious!"

  Gu Zi Xin also smiled and after smiling said: "You guys worked overtime until very late yesterday, right? You look like you're really tired."

  "Right? The meeting was rushed, yesterday's draft, printing materials, packing, setting up the venue, busy until 2 o'clock in the middle of the night, got up at 5 o'clock this morning, three or four hours of sleep didn't feel secure, got up and checked name tags, prepared materials. Now I feel like I can fall asleep standing up."

  "Understand, our two professions just have different busy periods and similar intensity. You guys are busy before the meeting, we're busy after the meeting." Gu Zi thought of something and continued, "Right, do you have the materials now?"

  "It can't be nobody's and it also can't be without yours, I've prepared early. Here."

  "That's great, if there are enough materials, let's give a copy to each of my colleagues who will be attending the meeting, we need to get familiar with the process."

  "No problem, we've brought out all the journalists' equipment, it's enough."

  Gu Xixin flipped through the materials in her hand while rapidly adjusting her interview plan in her mind, refining the questions she had set.

  "By the way, which leaders are you looking for?"

  "Director Xu of the Environmental Protection Bureau, Director Hu of the Animal Husbandry Bureau, the county party secretaries of County T and County B, hmm...and also Director Chen of the Tourism Bureau."

  "Two county party secretaries are having a meal in the large hall downstairs, they should be coming up soon. Director Chen is inside, just came in, you go in and make an appointment first, I'll stay here to keep an eye on other people."

  "Alright, you keep an eye on things for me."

  Gu Xixin rushed around, and finally finished two interview conversations in the last minute before the meeting started, and made an appointment with three other interviewees to make up for it after the meeting.

  After the city leaders took their seats on the rostrum, Gu Zixin quietly closed the door of the conference hall and sat down in a position in the outer lounge, opened her laptop and copied the recording of the conversation to the computer, and simply organized an outline.

  It's almost done, Gu Xixin glanced at her watch and it was already 10 o'clock. She estimated that the opening ceremony would end in about 10 minutes. Gu Xixin thought that the group discussion would start at 10:30, and she had to leave early, otherwise it would be bad if she went late.

  Just then, the door of the conference hall opened and a colleague sitting in the last row near the door was the first to come out. He rushed downstairs while shouting: "Zixi, let's go! The meeting has ended ahead of schedule, don't be late!"

  Gu Zi Xin listened and then hurriedly packed her things, grabbed her bag and rushed downstairs.

  She was in charge of a small group led by a deputy mayor, and the meeting location was at the Municipal Finance Bureau. It wasn't too far away, and it should have taken only ten minutes to get there by taxi. But when Gu Zhi Xin walked out, she found that it had started snowing outside without her realizing it, and there were very few taxis passing by. Gu Zhi Xin ran quickly for half a day but didn't see an empty car.

  As the time drew near, Gu Zhi Xin couldn't help but feel a little anxious. The reporter responsible for reporting on the meeting was late, and this matter could be either big or small. Gu Zhi Xin naturally knew the pros and cons of it.

  Anxious, she looked around and saw a white Golf stopping in front of her. Gu Xixin was about to say that the car looked familiar when the window rolled down to reveal Kang Yue's face: "Get in, I'll take you wherever you want to go."

  Gu Xixin looked around and indeed there were no empty taxis. Kang Yue was still urging from inside the car: "Come on, I can't stop for too long here."

  At this critical moment, Gu Zhi Xin didn't stand on ceremony with him either, opening the car door and getting in.

  "Where are we going?" Kang Yue stared ahead and asked Gu Zixin.

  "Financial Bureau, the group led by Urban Construction."

  "Don't worry, we'll definitely make it on time. The leader's car may not arrive quickly in this snowy weather either."

  Gu Xixin knew he was comforting himself, so she just smiled and didn't say anything else.

  For a moment, neither of them spoke. Gu Xixin couldn't stand the silence and casually took out her camera, notebook, and recorder to check on them. Upon checking, she found that the recorder, which had been working properly just now, wouldn't turn on no matter what.

  Lowering her head and thinking for half a day, still no effect. No way, Gu Zixin was thinking of a solution in her mind.

  "What's wrong?" Kang Yue asked him, noticing Gu Xixin's movements.

  "The voice recorder suddenly won't turn on."

  "Has the power gone out?"

  "No, I charged it yesterday and used it just now, maybe it broke when I unplugged it from the computer."

  "Isn't this necessary? Is there anything important inside?"

  "All previous recordings have been dumped, but a leader's speech must be recorded and notes cannot keep up."

  Kang Yue thought for a moment, "Don't rush, go to the conference room first and take the photos. The leader's speech should be at the end, you just make some simple notes in advance, I'll find a recorder for you, and ensure it will be delivered to you before the leader speaks."

  "Where did you go?"

  "I have colleagues who should be nearby, I'll ask them whose hands it's in." The car had already arrived at the Finance Bureau building, Kang Yue stopped the car and turned around to look at her, "I will think of a way, don't worry."

  Gu Zi thought for a moment and said thank you before getting off the bus.

  As she walked into the conference room on the top floor of the Finance Bureau, some staff members from various units had already arrived for the discussion. Vice Mayor Zhang and two other high-ranking leaders had not yet arrived. Gu Zixin let out a gentle sigh, found a corner seat, sat down, and began to record the names of those present using the materials placed on her seat.

  Ten minutes later, everyone arrived one after another. A deputy mayor and two other leaders followed in and sat down in the conference room, and the discussion began.

  These discussions usually focus on some details in the work report, and combine local characteristics to put forward their own opinions, suggestions and solutions to some problems. In the discussion, everyone expresses their own views, puts forward their own ideas for solving problems they think exist, and records them while listening, while extracting information that they think is valuable for their own draft.

  The vice mayor is mainly responsible for the urban and rural construction planning management and land resources work of the whole city. Although he is not old, his career has been quite impressive, with many achievements that have earned him praise, and he is also a humble person. During the discussion, he didn't say much, but always maintained a very serious listening attitude, and at the right time, he would also speak up with precise words. Gu Xixin gazed at him, and couldn't help but think of a story she had heard before.

  There was a rumor circulating in the neighborhood that one day, several people were eating hot pot in a private room at a hot pot restaurant. The boss lady brought in two men and said there were no more seats available, but these two men were in a hurry and asked if they could join their table. The few people looked at the two men's clothes and saw that they were not ordinary, so they agreed. The two men seemed to be really in a hurry, eating quickly and leaving soon after. After they left, the boss lady came over and told the group that the two men had already paid for their bill. They just looked at one of the two men who looked familiar and asked the boss lady who they were. The result was astonishing - the man who looked familiar was actually the newly appointed deputy mayor of the city.

  The truth of the story is unknown, but since it has been passed down so widely, it can be seen that the common people are still satisfied with this vice mayor.

  Her thoughts had wandered off without her realizing it, and Gu Xi returned to her senses, continuing to listen attentively to everyone's speeches. Just then, the mobile phone in her jeans pocket vibrated, and when she opened it, she saw a text message from Kang Yue asking her to come out for a moment.

  Gu Xixin got up and quietly opened the door to walk out. Kang Yue stood at the staircase opposite the conference room, saw her coming out, and revealed a smile.

  Digression

  Divers' friends, pop up and collect it, good kids have candy to eat oh